Emery had called during breakfast to say she was in north Alabama, on her way to Cleveland. She sounded tired and sad, yet resolved.
His news was nothing exciting. He’d slept horribly, but this morning he was hoping to lure Cassidy out.
“You know you said there were some things you couldn’t tell me?” Caleb waited, hoping for a response. “Remember?” He paused again. Nothing. “But you can tell me anything. The truth is probably better than anything I could imagine.”
Suddenly, the door jerked open and Cassidy emerged, dressed in a stained T-shirt and baggy shorts, her blond hair stringy around her face, in need of a wash. Caleb stood, pointing to breakfast.
“The food is on the—” She launched into him, knocking him back. Arms locked around his waist, her head buried in his chest, Cassidy’s tense frame shook with deep, rolling sobs. Caleb wrapped her up.
“Hey, hey, I’m here, I’m here. Everything’s going to be all right.”
“I want to come home, Caleb. I want to come home.”
“Then come home, Cass. Come home.”
28
EMERY
On Tuesday evening, she walked into the Quinn household, which was fragrant with Blakely’s taco efforts.
She’d spent the afternoon with Lou Lennon, who gave her a shot of encouragement as only he could do. In his gruff, put-on-your-big-girl-pants way.“Do the jobyou were hired to do,Emery. Don’t shrink backand hide.”
As she left Lou, she called Elliot and explained what happened with the paper and why she was in Ohio, assuring him Rex was at the helm until she got back.
He was kind, saying they’d talk when she returned to Sea Blue Beach. His steady, almost monotone, voice gave her no clue about the paper’s future, nor her own.
A text from Rex brought her up to date with the Wednesday edition. After multiple tests to the printer—all of Sunday’s missing ads included—he was confident the edition would print just fine. Nevertheless, he planned to stay on guard.
“Yay, Emery’s here.” Blakely greeted her from the kitchen, where she was browning fish in a cast-iron skillet. How many times had Blakely declared, “Yay, Emery’s here,” and Emery hadn’t responded? Dozens. Pain and fear made her blind and dull.
“Look who’s home.” Blake pointed the spatula toward the family room, where Joanna reclined in her BarcaLounger, wearing a robe and fuzzy slippers. Dad sat next to her, reading a book. Elianna was ragdolled in the oversized ottoman, half awake. A game show was muted on the TV. “Just in time for Taco Tuesday, her favorite. Em, please, please, please make your guacamole.”
“Yes, please,” Joanna said with a nod at Emery. “It’s one of Rosie’s recipes.”
“Who’s going to help me cut up the avocados? Dad? Elianna?” Emery said, with a small smile at Joanna, and then feigned a stink when no one’s hand raised. “Oh, I see how it is. Big sister and little sister are left on their own. Ha, shows you. We’ll leave the cleaning up to you guys.”
She’d just mashed the avocados when Ava and Jamie walked in, waving their marriage license.
“It’s real now. No going back.” Ava glanced at Emery, and everything in her expression said,Thankyou.
“She’s stuck with me,” Jamie said. “Well, almost.” He glanced at Emery with his own look of gratitude. Who knew the guy who hit her in the head with a Frisbee as she crossed the Oval would become her friend and, one day, her family?
Dinner was lively, with everyone talking at once, then among themselves, then across the table. Dad and Joanna presided from their prospective ends, Joanna’s weak physical presence nothing against her inner strength.
By the time Emery crawled into her old room’s very comfortable Murphy bed, she had confirmed she’d walk down the aisle in front of two hundred guests wearing pink. She’d also agreed that hunk-o-rama Caleb Ransom would be her plus-one.
She hoped, anyway. She’d not asked him yet. But he did love her. And love was a powerful force. She’d done some research on the power of love and forgiveness, considering a series for theGazette. Sea Blue Beach itself could use a bit of both.
Along the way, she read quite a few articles about the disastrous royal visit.“Whatwere the royals doing in Sea Blue Beach,Florida,inthe first place? Princess Gemma does come from a shady,redneck background. Has she infected the royal family?”
Funny how narrow-minded people can be so ... narrow-minded.
But for now, she was tired and full of yummy fish tacos and the love of her family. She’d taken too long to accept what Dad and Joanna built.
“Em?” Blakely knocked on the door, then peeked in. “Your phone was pinging and ringing downstairs.” She extended it toward her.
“I was about to miss that thing.” She reached for the phone, seeing a missed call from Simon.
