AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I found him, but the conversation didn’t go the way I wanted it to.” Rosie peeled off her coat and hung it up. “Maybe I should fly home with you. We could all fly home and have Christmas in Honeysuckle Cottage.” Once, that would have sounded so appealing, but for some reason it no longer did. She felt sick and a little panicky. She’d lost something she knew she’d never get back. She was frustrated, miserable and a little angry, but mostly she was sad.
“We’re not flying home.” Katie looked horrified. “We’re going to fix this. You’re getting married. Do you want to get married?”
“Of course! But it’s too late.”
“It can’t be too late. He’ll change his mind.”
Rosie thought about Dan. “He’s not going to change his mind. And you don’t think I should be marrying him anyway.”
“I do. All I ever wanted was to make sure this was what you wanted. That night on the phone when I was working, and you told me he was perfect—it freaked me out a little. I’d come from dealing with a woman in an abusive relationship. At the beginning she thought the guy was perfect. He made damn sure of it until he’d reeled her in. I suppose I don’t believe in perfect people, and then you used that word and it worried me.”
“I never said Dan was perfect. No one is perfect. I said—” Rosie frowned. What had she said? “I think I said he was perfect for me. That’s not the same thing.”
Katie looked stricken. “You’re right. It’s not the same thing at all. Which proves I should never take personal phone calls when I’m at work because yet again my judgment was flawed.”
“It’s done so now let’s drop the subject. I’m cold, and I need to warm up.”
“You’re mad, and upset and—” Katie placed her palm on Rosie’s cheek “—and you’re cold. Freezing. Where have you been?”
“To talk to Dan. On a snowmobile.”
“A snowmobile?” Katie removed her own scarf and wrapped it around her sister’s neck. “Who can have a conversation on a snowmobile?”
“Not us.” She tugged off her boots. “But I’m starting to think we can’t have a conversation anywhere.”
“This is all my fault.”
“It’s not your fault.” Rosie flopped facedown on the sofa. “It’s my fault for not having confidence in my own decision making. I’m sorry I yelled at you.”
“I deserved every decibel. And I feel terrible. What can I do?”
“Nothing.” Rosie’s voice was muffled by the sofa cushions. “I tried talking to him but he’s made up his mind.”
“Well, that’s ridiculous.” Katie stroked her back gently.
It made her remember being little, being poorly, when she’d snuggle on her sister’s lap and listen to her read a story.
“If I ask you to grab my inhaler from my bag, are you going to freak out?”
“Your—of course—” Katie scrambled to her feet and dug her hand into the back pocket of her jeans. “Here. Sit up. Breathe. Good technique, remember? Why didn’t you have this with you? Never mind, use it, that’s all that matters. I’m not freaking out, I promise.”
“You carry an inhaler in your pocket?” Rosie sat up and took it from her. “Since when have you suffered from asthma?”
“I don’t, but you do so I like to be prepared. Stop talking. I can’t believe you went out in the freezing cold like that. But I’m not going to worry and be overprotective. You’re an adult.”
“I had a scarf but it was colder than I thought.” And she hadn’t been thinking about her breathing, she’d been thinking about Dan.
She closed her eyes and used the inhaler twice.
Katie took it from her and knelt down in front of her. “Sit for a minute, don’t try to talk. I’ll do the talking. I’m really sorry for everything. I haven’t been in a good place the last few weeks.”
“Stop.” Her chest felt so tight. She should have used her inhaler sooner. “Everything you said was true. I do change my mind about things. I’m like a grasshopper, leaping from one thing to the next. And Dan is right. I should have been able to talk to him. But sometimes he plows right over me, and he doesn’t even know he’s doing it.”
“And when he calms down, you can tell him that.” Katie stroked her hair. “A conversation requires two things, someone to talk and someone to listen. Maybe he’s upset that you didn’t talk, but you’re upset that he didn’t listen. Fifty, fifty, Rosie. No, don’t talk. If your breathing doesn’t improve in a few minutes, we’re going to the hospital. You should be so mad with me.”
“I’m not mad.”
“Stop talking. I’ve been a bad sister. I’ve been overprotective, I know that, but from the moment you were born I wanted to make sure nothing hurt you. I fell in love with your funny little face the moment I saw you.”
