Page 73 of Trouble Me
She had to stick to that rule, because look what had happened the last time she’d broken one of her hard-and-fast rules. She’d ended up falling in love with a man who’d made her feel whole, and she’d forgotten about that dark part of her soul. She’d been normal with him.
And then he’d ripped her heart out and stomped on it.
“Oh, Em.” Amelia’s eyes were sad when she patted Emma’s knee.
Emma stared off into space, thinking back to that night mere days ago that was like hitting rock bottom all over again. “But I called my sponsor and she reminded me of all the things I learned in rehab, and in those rooms. I need to live life on life’s terms. And sometimes that means feeling the pain even when it would be easier to numb it all.” She blew out a breath. “So, I poured my father’s seven-hundred-dollar bottle of Jack Daniels special edition whiskey down the drain.” Her smile was rueful. “I figure he’ll be haunting me soon about that.”
“The fact you dumped it says something,” Graee said. “You can stand on your own, Emma.”
Emma nodded, tears burning her throat, leaving her unable to speak.
Stella moved forward to sit on the edge of the recliner. She picked up Emma’s hand and held it tight. “Emma, listen to me. I love you like you were my own daughter. I know what you dealt with. Your parents loved you, but there were issues no child should have to deal with. God rest their souls, they did try. Your father was a great man, when he could get away from the gambling and alcohol. I want you to hear me when I say that hanging on to this house is toxic. It won’t bring back your parents or change anything about your childhood. Keep the memories. But if you keep the house, in the end, it will suck the life out of you, just like it did your mother. It won’t change any bad decisions you made or any sins you think you committed. Nor will it atone for anything that was done to the family name.” She squeezed Emma’s hand. “This family is strong, stronger than any demon brought into it. If anything, you have shown everyone that our resolve is unbeatable. It’s you, Emma. Not this house or the land it sits on.”
Stella put a finger under Emma’s chin and lifted her face. “It’s you, baby girl.”
Emma couldn’t help it. All the things she’d tried so hard to do to keep things afloat, the fact that Shane was gone, and that she’d sent him away, crashed in on her. She crumbled into a ball of tears.
Within seconds, the entire family surrounded her in a group hug, murmuring to her and calming her down. After a while, her sobs subsided to sniffles. Her female cousins shed a few tears as well. Of course, Del, Noah, and Aidan looked uncomfortable, like men caught in an estrogen shit-storm. Emma snorted out a laugh when she looked at them.
“What’s funny?” Noah demanded.
“I was just thinking that you three look like you’re stuck in a gynecologist’s office, having to talk about periods and cramps.”
That made the three Reynolds men look at each other and grimace while the women laughed.
“First you cry, then you talk about stuff like that?” Aidan shuddered. “I don’t want to know.”
Emma let out a sigh. “Okay. I’m going to sell the property. To KVN. Let it all go. Make some new memories in a new place.”
“You can come live with me for a while if you need to,” Amelia offered.
“I may take you up on that.” Emma wrinkled her nose. “Wait. Are you still a slob?”
“Yes,” everyone in the room answered at the same time, causing Amelia to protest.
Emma shook her head. “For someone so clean in her kitchen, I don’t get how you’re so messy otherwise.”
“Em, there’s something else we came to tell you.” Noah stepped forward, looking even more uncomfortable with his hands in the back pockets of his jeans.
She swallowed, wary of the solemn expression on his face. Fear clawed at her throat. “What is it?” Grace and Amelia sat next to Emma, holding her hands.
“It’s Alan Kavanaugh. He passed away yesterday.”
The fear turned to a hollow, sad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Tears came again, this time for the man she loved and the devastating loss he must be feeling. And for a man she’d never met, but had hoped to meet one day, so she could tell him what a fine man he’d raised, both in business and in life.
Now she’d never have the chance.
“Shane must be...” She lifted her head to look at Noah. “Have you talked to him?”
“Not since yesterday, when he called to tell me he wouldn’t be back for a while, and that he’d need my help managing the rest of the renovation.”
“I should call him.” She stopped, tears clogging her throat again. “No, he doesn’t want to hear from me. We didn’t end things well.”
“He’d want to hear from you, Em. I know he would. He asked about you.”
She stilled. In spite of the tears, her heart lifted and her belly fluttered. “What did he say?”
“Wanted to make sure you were okay. I told him I couldn’t say. I hadn’t seen or heard from you. It didn’t seem to sit well with him.”
