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I nodded. It didn’t take long after that to sign the paperwork. I couldn’t help but smile. I’d done this on my own. Something my mother would never have done.
Hewouldn’t have approved of me paying cash for a car, butheno longer had any say in my life. I didn’t even tell him where I was going when I walked out of the courtroom, leaving behind the BMW he’d bought me, as well as a four-thousand-square-foot house.
Not even the only living family member I still spoke with, Aunt Mary, knew where I was going. The only thing she knew was that I was leaving Texas and never coming back. I’d told her once my divorce was final, I’d be gone. She was the only person on this earth who’d known whattrulywent on behind the closed doors of my home, and it was only a short five months ago that she’d found out.
As promised, the moment the court granted my divorce, I left.
Today.Today truly was the beginning of my new life. A chance to finally put the past behind me and move on.
As I slipped into the Pilot and turned it on, a memory hit and froze me in place.
“Youdriving an SUV? Right, Emma. You can hardly drive the small car you have. You’ll wreck it the first week you get it. Stop living in a fantasy, will you? You’ll drive the car I bought for you and that’s the end of it. Argue with me about it again and you won’t leave this house for a week.”
My eyes closed, I counted to ten, and then whispered, “Do not do this, Emma. It. Is. Over.”
I opened my eyes, pulled the address up for the cabin I’d booked in Estes Park, and put my brand-new SUV in drive.
The route was familiar. It warmed my heart as I thought about the few years my father had brought my mother and me up to Estes Park for our summer vacations. They were the only happy memories of my childhood that I could remember. Or had chosen to remember.
Everything changed, though, when my father found out I wasn’t his biological daughter. Apparently, my mother had confessed to having an affair and that I was the product of that. My life was turned upside down, and I went from a happy childhood to one where I watched my mother cry every single day, then drink until she passed out.
An hour and a half later, I saw the sign that welcomed me to Estes Park. Ten minutes after that, I pulled into the small cabin on Big Thompson River. The same cabin I’d stayed in as a child. I thought I would feel relief when I saw it. Instead, all I did was sit and stare out the windshield with a feeling of sadness. My life wasn’t supposed to be filled with such…loneliness.
I refused to cry. I was done shedding tears over my ex-husband, my father, and my mother. Done allowing them to have power over me one minute longer. Right now, and from here on out, this was about me living my life without the emotional baggage.
And I couldn’t wait.
CHAPTER TWO
EMMA - NEW BEGINNINGS
My knee bouncedas I sat in the waiting room of the small employment office. A younger girl took a seat opposite me and smiled warmly.
“Hi, I’m Eleanor.”
Returning her smile, I replied, “Hello, I’m Emma.”
“Beautiful name.”
“Thank you, it’s a family name. There’s been at least one woman in each generation named Emma and I guess I’m the honoree now.”
“Cool!” the girl said. She looked to be no older than seventeen, if that.
I glanced around the room and tried to keep my nerves at bay.
“Are you here for a job, I take it?”
I cleared my throat. “Yes, God willing.”
Her smile grew bigger. “Are you new in town?”
With a slight chuckle, I replied, “Yes, I am. I visited years ago when I was younger. The town has grown a lot since then, andthere seems to be a larger number of tourists visiting now, which has to be great for everyone’s business.”
“True that! Well, my mom owns this agency, so she’ll be out to help you in a bit. I’m waiting for her to finish, then we’re going dress shopping for homecoming.”
Warmth filled my chest. “How exciting. What grade are you in?”
“I’m a junior. I need to get my grades up in math, though, or I won’t be able to go to the dance.”
