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"Now I'm going to ask you a question, and I want the truth."
"Okay."
"Do you want to move out of the clubhouse?"
I sniffle again and shake my head.
Jake stands. "It's settled then."
That was the end of the conversation between Jake and me about my moving out. Thinking about that day also brings back the memory of the fight Blake and I had later that night. He’d gotten wind of my plans and lost his shit. Closing my eyes, I shake off the memory and all thoughts of Blake, because everything about us is complicated. Right now, I need to focus on the disaster at hand: my parents.
Picking up my cell, I call my sister. She answers on the second ring.
"Hey."
I blow out a breath and flop back in my bed. "I just saw the announcement."
"Mom is making me come home."
I sit up. "But you're in the middle of your semester."
Scarlett blows out a breath. "I know. She says she and Dad need me."
"They just want to parade you around for Dad's campaign."
"I know, but what choice do I have, Ember?"
"You have a choice, Scar. What does Keith have to say?"
Keith is the guy my sister is secretly dating. He's a mechanic and five years older than her. They’re head over heels for each other, and my sister has never been happier. Our parents would shit bricks if they found out about him.
"It's not that easy, sis. And I haven't told Keith yet."
"Scar."
"I'll figure something out. Don't worry about me."
Scarlett is in her second semester of college in North Carolina. My little sister is the timid and shy sister out of us two. She doesn't know how to stand up to our parents. She was still little when I left and never showed her how to endure the pressures and expectations they dish out. I carry guilt with me every day, knowing she's miserable.
After I left, they pushed Scarlett the same way they did me, demanding perfection from her, knowing she wasn’t like me. Scarlett has dyslexia, but our parents refuse to acknowledge it. I didn't communicate with my sister for three years after leaving home because my parents forbade it. Then one day, when she was thirteen, I called the private school she was attending, pretending to be our mom. I'll never forget hearing my little sister's voice for the first time after so long. We spoke long enough for me to give her my number. That was the beginning of our secret relationship. Things were going great until Mom found the gift I sent for her sixteenth birthday. I remember getting a call, expecting it to be my sister. Instead, my mother's scornful voice demanded I never speak to Scarlett again.
After that, they disconnected my sister's phone. Almost one month later, I received a call from an unknown number in the middle of the night. It was Scarlett. Our parents had pulled her from private school and sent her to boarding school. She pleaded with another student to use their phone and called me. Scarlett is older now, but she is still very much under their thumbs. I don't blame her, though. I blame them. My parents' number one priority always has been and always will be their reputation and my father's career. One positive thing I can say is my baby sister is changing, and I have Keith to thank for that. She has blossomed since being with him. I can only hope my support and her love for Keith will be enough for her to break away from our parents' hold on her.
"Look, I'm meeting Keith for lunch. I'll call you tomorrow."
"All right. Talk later. I love you, Scar."
"Love you too."
After hanging up with my sister, I check the time. It's after midnight, but, knowing I won't get any sleep with everything on my mind, I check my email. Grabbing my laptop, I cross my legs and set it on my thighs. As expected, I have an email from Alice asking when she can expect my next manuscript. I type out a quick response letting her know she can expect it by the end of the week, six days before my deadline. I smile and shake my head. Alice is just as anxious for the next Montana Nights book as my readers.
For the next hour, I check all my socials and answer a few reader questions. I'm still blown away at what my life has become in the past year-and-a-half. I wasn't much of a reader until Alba and Leah roped me into joining their book club. Two chapters into the first romance novel, I was hooked. It didn't take long for me to start conjuring up my own stories. One day, I started writing down all my ideas. Then I started thinking aboutwhat if I wrote my own book?One afternoon, I sat down with my computer, and the words poured out. I'd never typed so much in my life. It was very therapeutic. I discovered something in myself that had been missing.
Over a few weeks, I wrote over 300 pages, had my first rough draft, and needed help figuring out where to go from there. So, I joined several online support groups, and with their help figured out the tools I needed to self-publish my story. And I did just that. I published the first book in my Montana Nights series, under the pen name Ellise Brooks, a year and a half ago. The series follows four brothers who are cowboys that live on a ranch in a small town, overcoming their trials and tribulations to find love.
I remember how nervous I was during the launch of my first book. I didn't have any high expectations for it. I would have been happy if only one person read and loved it. And I'm not going to lie; I started to doubt myself and my ability to write a good story for the first few months. Then one day I got online to see book sales exploding. It's true when they say success can happen overnight. Now here I am, about to finish my fourth book. The real kicker is nobody knows. I mean, no one. Not the club, not the girls, not even my sister. Honestly, it's a goddamn miracle I haven't spilled the beans to Alba and Leah yet.
I chuckle to myself. Bailey Ember Rhoads, who graduated high school at thirteen and graduated college at eighteen with a double major in business and political science, writes smut.
