“Nothing a reboot wouldn’t cure. She’s so helpless when it comes to technology. But guess who’s on Flutter now? April helped me with my profile and took my photo—she’s really good with a camera.”
Lots of people used dating apps these days, but Emerson was a little gullible. “Be careful on there. Only meet a guy in a public place and never let him know where you live.”
Emerson scowled. “I know that. I’m not an idiot.”
“Of course not. I just worry about you.”
“Well, you don’t have to. I can take care of myself.”
Time to defuse the situation. “I’ve been thinking about what you said before you left, and you were right. I’m sorry about the way I handled things after Mom died. Looking back, I can see I was so set on the expansion that I didn’t want to hear what you thought. I should’ve taken your opinions more seriously. And I shouldn’t have made Mom that promise without consulting you.”
Her jaw set. “And she shouldn’t have asked you to. That wasn’t a conversation for just the two of you. She should’ve included me.”
Charlotte winced. She hadn’t realized her sister was also angry with Mom. “You’re right. She should’ve talked to both of us about it.”
“But she didn’t because she knew I wasn’t as invested in the ranch as you are. She wanted the ranch to stay in the family, and you were the only hope of that happening.”
“Come on, Em. It just came up while we were working one day, that’s all.”
“Well, she could’ve brought it up to me later.”
But their mom died less than two weeks later. What was at the bottom of this? “She loved you so much. You know that, right?”
“Of course I know that.”
The timer went off and Emerson removed the steaming plate. The tempting smell of beef brisket filled the kitchen.
Emerson headed for the living room. “There’s no point in discussing this. What’s done is done. I’ll help out where I can, but if you need a full-time stable hand, you’re gonna have to hire someone else. Now, if you don’t mind, I plan to have my lunch and watchTop Chefbefore I head to the bakery.” She set her plate on the end table and stooped for the napkin she’d dropped.
Charlotte sighed. That could’ve gone better. “I’m gonna grab some lunch.” She headed for the kitchen already thinking about what was in the fridge—basically next to nothing since she hadn’t had time to go to the grocery.
“Where’d this come from?”
Charlotte turned back. And froze in place.
Emerson held the photo of their mom and Charlotte’s biological father—the one from that manila envelope. It must’ve fallen out when she’d spilled the contents of that envelope.
“Who’s this riding with Mom? I’ve never seen him before. They’re on Luna.” She glanced up at Charlotte. “What? What’s that look for?”
The timing wasn’t great, but she had to tell Emerson the truth. She’d probably waited too long already. Charlotte ran hersweaty palms down her pant legs. “Listen, Em, let’s sit down and talk. There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”
“That doesn’t sound good.” Emerson sat in the chair, lowering the photo, her gaze locked on Charlotte. “Is this about Mom?”
Charlotte sat opposite her. She wasn’t even sure where to start. The beginning, she supposed. “Remember when we were cleaning out Mom’s stuff in the office a couple months ago, and we found that safety-deposit box key?”
“Yeah... Did you find a million bucks in there or something? Because that would be welcome news.”
“I wish.” Charlotte swallowed hard. “But I did find that photo.”
Emerson glanced down at it. “Who is it? Why didn’t you show it to me with the other stuff—the legal papers and such?”
“There was a manila envelope in there that had my name on it.”
Emerson’s chin jutted out. “Don’t tell me she wrote you a letter.”
“No, no, it wasn’t anything like that. There were newspaper articles inside it and that photo and a medal.”
Emerson frowned. “I don’t get it. What articles? What kind of medal?”
