“She’s not changed all that much, Fordy.”
Sully appears at my left, looking better than I’d have thought. The gash on his forehead has stopped bleeding and doesn’t look like it’ll need stitches despite the amount of dried-in blood. Aside from that, there’s only a swollen eye to show for his part in the brawl at Rebels.
I shake my head, watching everyone else disappear inside, my momma clucking over Lawson’s injuries like a mother hen. “I remember her being headstrong, but this version is something else entirely.”
“You’re witnessin’ the version she’s become in the aftermath of steppin’ up as the eldest of the household — and before you say a word, Iknowyou sent Abi the money to run this place, but Ford, it takes more’n money.”
His eyes hold mine as he frowns heavily.
“Your sister made somethin’ outta this place through her blood, sweat, an’ tears. Maybe you swoopin’ back in after allthis time away has her thinkin’ you’re here to take everythin’ she’s built. To take the very thing that’s given her purpose since your daddy was taken away. So, yeah…it might take time to get behind those sky-high walls she’s spent damn near her entire life buildin’, but once you get back there, it’ll be sweeter for the wait.”
His words weigh heavily on me as we walk inside, and Faith strides closer, taking one look at Sully before she points at a chair. “Sit. That gash needs a Steri-Strip.”
While everyone else gets down to the task of tending wounds, Emmy catches my hand and leads me to the porch swing, where we settle ourselves underneath some blankets. She burrows in against my side as I loop my arm over her shoulder, pulling her closer to kiss the top of her head, her familiar scent a balm to my soul.
“Are you okay?”
Her soft question takes me by surprise, and I sit back as she looks up to meet my eyes.
“AmIokay?” She nods, her wide blue eyes overflowing with concern. “Emmy, I should be askin’youif you’re okay. With everythin’ that happened tonight, with what your brother said?—”
“Well, knowing you the way I do, you just spent the entire car ride back here beating yourself up inside for allowing the clash in Rebels to happen in the first place.”
I tip my head to one side, regarding her with wide eyes. “That’s neither here nor there?—”
Suddenly, she pulls away, rising to her feet before straddling my lap. Her palms cup my face as her deeply intent eyes flicker between mine, and I know she sees everything I’m not saying.
All the fear. The anger. The regret. Thegrief. All of it.
And in this moment, I feel laid bare before this woman.
“And all that aside, there’s the matter of what my brother disclosed…”
I grimace as my chest clenches in agony, and Emmy sighs, brushing the pads of her thumbs over my cheekbones.
“Whatever the circumstances of my mom’s death, it was a tragedy. One that I grew to accept quickly, thanks at least in part to my age.”
Her smile is sad as she sighs wistfully.
“I was only ten years old when she went to work and never came back. Some days, I find it hard to remember what her face looked like when she laughed. And small details like the scent of her perfume or her vocal warm-ups before a show.”
My chest aches at the thought of what Emmy lost, at the hands of my damn father, no less, but before I can allow myself to shoulder the fault, Emmy spears me with a no-nonsense look.
“But I never once doubted her love for me. Her dedication to our family. I’ve always aspired to follow in her footsteps. To be just like her…like I knowyouwanted to be just likehim.”
The painful honesty of her words cleaves a hole in my chest. Breathing feels difficult and, once again, I’m astonished at how deeply this woman understands me. How she knows my thoughts before I’ve worked through them myself.
“And when the truth of his duplicity came to light, your whole world imploded. That’s what you’ve lived with these last five years, Ford, as you’ve tried to find a way to reconcile yourself with who you think you want to be, who you alreadyare…and who you’re afraid you’ll become.”
I clench my jaw so tight it aches.
“I know who you are. In your heart. And in all the ways that matter.”Her fingertips glide along my cheeks before she presses a gentle kiss to my lips, whispering, “Iknowyou, Ford Holloway.”
She presses her forehead to mine, and her eyes never falter. Not once.
“But like you told Lissie earlier tonight, it’s all just words untilyoubelieve them. And I think the only way to find that belief is to face your fears head-on.”
And as her words sink in, I know that the time has come. I can put it off no longer.
