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“No, not really. He’s a good guy.”
“I know that Molly loves him very much.”
“Yeah,” he agreed glumly.
Shelby offered a sympathetic smile. “Feeling a little daddy sad, are you?”
“I guess so. Seems like just yesterday, Molly was riding her scooter on the driveway and turning cartwheels across the backyard. I’ll never forget the time she and Emma—” He broke off abruptly and snapped his jaw shut.
Emma.That’s twice in an hour that he’d spoken her name aloud. Bet he hadn’t done that in a year.
Shelby didn’t mention his slip, but the look in her eyes revealed that she’d noticed. “Have they set a date yet?”
“December twenty-eighth. She told me she wants a destination wedding in Lori Reese’s hometown.” It saddened him that she wouldn’t get married here, but he wasn’t surprised. He doubted her mother would return to the Wildcatter, even for their daughter’s wedding.
“Eternity Springs,” Shelby said, nodding. “Lori showed me pictures of it when I visited Molly in College Station last spring. It looks like a charming little place.” She hesitated, then asked, “You will go to the wedding, won’t you?”
“Of course, I’ll go to the wedding!” Jared scowled at his sister. “I’ll pay for it, too. I am her father.”
“One more reason you need to keep that nest egg available. Weddings are expensive.” Shelby studied her fingernails. “And I assume her mother will be there.”
Jared couldn’t sit still any longer. He pushed to his feet and paced to the bar, where he poured himself a scotch. “Do you want something to drink?”
Shelby sighed as she rose from her seat and gathered her papers. She crossed the room to her brother, went up on her tiptoes, and kissed him on the cheek. “I love you, Jared. You are a great brother and a wonderful father. Before Frank screwed it up, you and Emma were more in love than any two people I’ve ever met. I know that what happened was horrible for you both. I know that each of you has a right to be angry. But hasn’t the silence gone on long enough? It’s time you and Emma talked. Molly’s wedding can give you that opportunity.”
“I love you, too, Shelby,” he replied.
She waited, but when he didn’t address the rest of her comments, she sighed and left his office. Once alone, Jared finished his drink and exited the ranch house. The night was dark, and the sky had a million stars. He looked above into the starlit heavens and wondered where in the world his wife was tonight.
Did he even care?
PARTII
December 21
Eternity Springs, Colorado
Emma Stapleton clutched the wheel of her rental SUV with a white-knuckled grip as she drove over the summit of Sinner’s Prayer Pass. Although the snow was piled high on either side of the road, the plow had been out, and the road was dry. She had experience driving in the mountains in winter, so the drive itself wasn’t the reason for her nervousness. She didn’t fear sliding off the hill and crashing to her death. Instead, what scared Emma was the knowledge of what awaited her arrival in the town nestled in the valley below.
A family reunion. A family Christmas. A family wedding.
It promised to be a week from hell.
“At least I look good,” she murmured to her traveling companion, a three-month-old mixed-breed puppy. The poor little guy had been abandoned by his owners in the suite next to hers at the Hotel Imperial in Vienna. Emma’s frequent travel made it silly for her to own a dog, but after listening to his pitiful whines and the hotel staff’s tales of animal shelter overcrowding, she couldn’t turn her back on the pup. So, she’d named him Mozart and allowed him to sleep at the foot of her bed.
She awoke every morning to find him snuggled against her.
Now, Mozart lay snoozing in his pet carrier, so he didn’t respond to her observation. That didn’t prevent her from continuing the conversation.
“New hairstyle, new makeup, new clothes—two sizes smaller, thank you very much. I have muscle definition in my arms and a spring in my step because I am confident. I am bursting with self-confidence.” As she headed down the mountain, she broke into song, channeling her inner Julie Andrews playing Maria on the way to meet Captain von Trapp by singing “I Have Confidence.” She sang with as much heart as she could manage—considering that her heart was all but in her throat.
Was Jared already at Angel’s Rest? They’d managed graduation without setting eyes on each other. Would he see her when she arrived? Would he come out to meet her car? Or would he wait for her to approach him? Was she getting to Eternity Springs ahead of him? If so, would she see him when he arrived? Would she go out to meet his car? Would she wait for him to approach her?
“Besides which, you see, I—” Emma quit singing as her SUV negotiated the final switchback before the road leveled out and led into Eternity Springs. She croaked out, “I am confidently scared to death.”
Her GPS guided her down what appeared to be the main street in town. She had to admit Molly’s description of “charming” was spot-on. Eternity Springs was a scene right off a Christmas card. Snowdrifts hugged the base of Victorian storefronts bedecked with evergreen garlands and wreaths sporting bright red ribbons. Potted fir trees stood beside entry doors trimmed in decorations in keeping with the business conducted within. Toothbrushes and dental floss decorated the tree in front of a dental office. The library’s tree was hung with dozens of miniature books. The tree at a barbershop was wrapped in red and white ribbon and plastic combs in red and green. Emma couldn’t help but smile despite her nervousness.
At the intersection of Spruce and Fifth, her GPS instructed her to turn right to reach her destination, Angel’s Rest Healing Center and Spa. But when she spied a church steeple and the sign for St. Stephen’s off to the left, she went in that direction. Molly and Mason were to be married in this church next week. “Oh, it’s lovely,” she murmured to her dog when she got her first good look at the small wooden structure.
