Page 24 of Mistletoe Mine

Stepping away, he said, “Where do we start?”

She released a heavy sigh. “I guess everything started with Frank.”

* * *

Frank.

The old feelings rolled through Jared at the sound of his brother-in-law’s name. Anger. Fury. The sting of betrayal. The passage of time had dulled them to some extent, but they were far from extinguished. “I don’t want to talk about your brother.”

Emma’s chest rose as she drew in a deep breath. “I think that’s been part of the problem.”

Jared winced. She was right. They’d had one rip-roaring fight and never discussed the situation again. “I’m still angry at him, Emma.”

“So am I. He wronged both of us terribly, but that doesn’t mean I don’t mourn him. That doesn’t mean that I don’t still love him.”

Jared’s mouth flattened into a grim smile. “Loving someone doesn’t preclude being furious at him.”

To his surprise, Emma laughed. “Yes, Jared, I know.”

He met her gaze and saw warmth in her big blue eyes, and his tension eased. Hope lifted his heart. “What is it that you want to say about Frank?”

“Will you listen to me this time, Jared? Really listen to me?”

This was his chance, he realized. It was their chance. If they didn’t make it through this conversation, he knew they’d never reconcile.

“Yes, I’ll listen.”

She blew out a heavy breath. “Okay, then. The first thing I want to say is that I apologize. It was wrong of me to try to hide Frank’s problem from you. I was an enabler, and in the end, that hurt my brother worse than doing nothing and allowing the truth to come out sooner.”

Exactly.Jared kept the thought to himself. He knew that giving it a voice would be counterproductive at this point.

“However,” Emma continued, “I won’t apologize for giving him the money to pay back the Wildcatter. My parents would have wanted me to do that with the proceeds from their life insurance policies. Giving Frank the money wasn’t a mistake. Giving the money to Frank directly so he could gamble that away, too, was a bad decision.”

“Can I say something about that? Will you listen to me, too?” When she nodded, he continued: “I wasn’t angry that you gave him the money, Emma. It was your money to give. It was the lie that I couldn’t abide by. You protected him rather than protecting me.”

“Because I didn’t tell you that my brother stole money from the Wildcatter?”

“Yes.”She finally got it!

“Don’t you see, Jared? I thought I was protecting you both. You loved Frank just as much as I did. Honestly, maybe more. You two might not have been related by blood, but you were a true brother to Frank. I knew you’d be devastated to learn he’d stolen from you.”

“Not just from me but from my family. Emma, we almost lost the Wildcatter. Only the grace of God and a banker who bucked his board to work with me kept that from happening.”

“I’m so sorry, Jared. I’m so terribly sorry that my brother’s addiction cost you so much.”

“He costus,”Jared continued, the words he’d wanted to say for so long spewing out of him as he paced the cave's confines like a caged mountain lion. “He cost Molly. If the man wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him for what he did to us! He was such a freaking coward to take his own life!”

“Yes, he was.”

Jared closed his eyes and fought back the bitterness. He wouldn’t let Frank ruin this opportunity. “I was so angry at him for killing himself.”

“You were angry at Frank, angry at me.”

“Angry at myself. I couldn’t mourn him, Emma.”

“I know. I was angry at you because of that. I missed him so much. I lost my brother, and all you could think about was saving the cursed Wildcatter.”

He raked his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry, Emma.”

---