Sophie excuses herself to go speak with one of the company lawyers about next steps, but Morgan, Erica, and I hang back in the conference room. The three of us stand there awkwardly for a moment, years of distance and unspoken things hanging in the air between us, the Seattle skyline glittering through the windows like it’s watching us try to figure out how to be sisters again.
“We owe you an apology,” Erica says finally, rubbing her face with both hands like she’s trying to scrub away the tension of the past hour. “We should have pushed back against Sloane years ago instead of just going along with whatever she wanted because it was easier than thinking for ourselves. Or easier than having to deal with her blow ups.”
“We were scared,” Morgan adds, her voice quiet but steady. “After Mom died, everything happened so fast, and Sloane stepped up before any of us could catch our breath. It was just easier to let her take the reins.”
I recall those first months after we lost her, the fog of grief that made everything feel muted and far away. Sitting in lawyers’ offices signing documents I barely read. Nodding along to things I didn’t fully understand. We were all so young, really. Too young to lose a parent, too young to inherit a company, too young to know how to hold onto each other while everything fell apart.
“I understand,” I tell them. “We were all just trying to survive.”
“Does this mean you’re coming back?” Morgan asks, tucking her hair behind her ear in a nervous gesture I recognize from childhood. “Really coming back, being part of the day-to-day operations, helping us rebuild what Mom and Dad created? We need you, Emma. Mom always said you had her instincts for what kids actually need.”
I think about my classroom, all those small faces looking up at me every morning. The quiet peace of Dark River, the way the mountains look at sunset, the sense of belonging I’ve found in that little town where nobody knew my family name or expected anything from me except to be myself. Theo and Chloe. The two people I love more than I ever thought possible. My hand drifts to my stomach without permission. And maybe a third, soon.
“I can’t,” I say softly. “I’m sorry, but I can’t move back to Seattle. My life is in Dark River now. I have a teaching job I love, students counting on me to be there every day.” I pause, the words about the baby pressing against my teeth, desperate to be spoken, but Theo has to know first. He deserves to hear it before anyone else.
Morgan nods, and there’s understanding in her expression rather than disappointment. “I kind of figured. I know you always seemed happier being hands-on with kids than dealing with the corporate side of children’s education. We’ll hold strong here with Sophie.”
Erica winces slightly. “God, we owe Sophie the biggest apology too.” She pauses, glancing toward the door Sloane stormed through. “Maybe Sloane was serious about being done, but if not, I expect some battles ahead.”
There’s a sureness settling into my bones, a clarity about my path that feels right. Why not both? Why not have the life I’ve built in Dark River and still be part of protecting what my parents created?
“I won’t disappear again,” I tell them. “I promise. I’ll consult on content, join video calls, review curriculum proposals. I’d actually love having input on the educational programming, just in a more hands-off capacity.” I take a breath. “I’ll transfer a bigger percentage of my shares to you three and Sophie to reflect that. It only seems fair if you’re doing the day-to-day work.”
They both nod in unison, that twin synchronicity that used to drive the rest of us crazy as kids, and we all look at each other with eyes that are too bright, emotions running too close to the surface.
Morgan wipes her eye with the back of her hand. “Mom would be proud of you. She always said you were the bravest of all of us.”
My eyes wet with tears. Mom. What she would say if she could see us now, if she could see the fight we just won and the bridges we’re starting to rebuild.Trust your gut, girls. It knows things your brain hasn’t figured out yet.
My gut is telling me to go home. To Dark River. To Theo. To whatever comes next.
CHAPTER 29
Theo
The jewelry store on Maple Street is small, the kind of place I’ve walked past a hundred times without really seeing. But today I’m pushing open the door and stepping inside because I’m buying an engagement ring. I’m going to ask Emma Hayes to marry me. I just need to get her back first.
The woman behind the counter looks up when the bell chimes. She’s probably in her sixties, silver hair pinned back neatly, reading glasses hanging from a delicate chain around her neck. “Can I help you find something?”
“I’m looking for an engagement ring,” I say, and the words feel surreal coming out of my mouth but also completely right, like I’ve been waiting for years to say them. “Vintage style with a gold band if you have anything like that.”
Emma’s talked about loving antique jewelry before and how pieces from the twenties and thirties have this romantic quality that modern rings can’t quite capture, like they carry the love stories of everyone who wore them before. I’d filed it all away without really thinking about why I was filing it away, but itturns out some part of me was already planning a future with her.
The woman nods thoughtfully. “I have several pieces that might work. Art deco era? Edwardian? Do you have a sense of what style she gravitates toward?”
“Art deco,” I say. “Something with character.”
“I like her already.” The woman smiles and disappears into the back room, returning a moment later with a velvet tray. “What size?”
“Six,” I say immediately. A few months ago Emma had ordered a vintage ring online, some piece she’d found on Etsy that she’d been excited about for days. When it arrived, she’d been so disappointed because it didn’t fit properly. “It said it was a size six,” she’d complained, showing me how loose it was.
The woman sets the velvet tray on the glass counter, and I lean forward to examine the rings arranged in neat rows. This is insane, part of my brain tells me. We’re not even really together right now, and here I am buying an engagement ring like I’ve already won her back.
But I know what I want, and I’m done waiting for the universe to deliver it. Sometimes you have to go get what you want yourself.
I study each ring carefully, taking my time. A square-cut emerald in a platinum setting, beautiful but too cold for Emma. An oval diamond with sapphire accents, striking but not quite right. A rose gold band with a ruby center stone, gorgeous but she’s mentioned preferring yellow gold. I move methodically through the tray, picking up each piece, turning it in the light, trying to imagine it on her hand.
Then I see it.
