forty | will
FORTYWill
“Okay.” I top off Brighton’s coffee. “What are you two plotting?”
“Plotting?” Bright winks at Cab, who’s sitting across the table from her, devouring the stuffed French toast I made for breakfast. “What makes you say that?”
“Mmm. I don’t know. The picnic basket. The bug spray. The beach towels.”
“A birthday road trip.” Cab is officially thirteen today, but the blob of whipped cream on her upper lip takes me back to when she was a toddler. “To Bond Falls. Just the three of us.”
“Don’t you have a party tonight?”
Cab’s eyeroll gives me a glimpse of the future. “Uh huh, but not until four.”
Brighton carries her plate to the sink. “Emberly mentioned she doesn’t want to spoil the surprises,” she murmurs. “And Iris is so excited about her party, I thought if we got away from the resort, it would make the day go faster.”
I don’t know when Emberly talked to my sister. For all I know, they started their own chat group.
It makes me suspicious that Brighton hasn’t asked many questions about Emberly. But then again, maybe she got all the information she needed from Reeve on the drive home from the airport. And any details Reeve didn’t know, Cab supplied during their shopping trip.
Still, I feel a stab of disappointment that Emberly isn’t going with us.
I’ve been feeling a lot of things over the past twenty-four hours.
Confusion. Frustration.
Longing.
I’m familiar with the first two. The longing is new. I’m content with my life. The decisions I’ve made. Now I’m fighting the what-ifs again, thanks to Em’s mind-bending kiss.
And there’s the longing again.
Emberly is checking out tomorrow and the Eastmans are moving into Firefly. No last-minute cancellations. No more birthday parties to plan. No more reasons to stay.
“You were running around all day yesterday,” Bright continues. “It’s okay to take some time off, Will.”
“Are you trying to make me feel guilty?”
Yesterday was one Drummond Crisis after another. I was relieved that Brighton was here, even though I couldn’t spend any time with her. She and Cab went shopping together for a new outfit while I put out a dozen little fires at the resort.
“No.” Brighton tips her head. “But if I was, is it working?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Brighton’s right. It’s our sister’s birthday. I can take a few hours off. “Sure. Why not? Let’s drive up to Bond Falls.”
Cab claps her hands. “Yay! Can we take Dad’s Jeep?’
I feel that familiar pinch in my stomach again.
“I’m not sure if it will start.”
Brighton sees right through me and squeezes my arm. “I’ll clean up while you find out.”
There’s no sign of Emberly, but Rosie is still parked behind Firefly.
I trust Emberly knows what she’s doing, but at the moment, there’s no indication that Pinehart is going to be overrun with a group of girls wearing tie-dye shirts.
Knox let me know he’d be setting up at three. Reeve’s brother is dropping off the karaoke stage at two and Reeve will be here by four-thirty for the scavenger hunt.
I have no idea what I’m supposed to do, but it feels good to be on stand-by instead of the one in charge.
The temperature shoots up a hundred degrees when I walk into the garage. I peel back the tarp and a cloud of dust rises into the air.
“Hey, Susannah.” I run one hand along the hood and give it a pat, just the way Dad always did.
Yes, the Jeep has a name. Information I wasn’t about to share with Emberly after giving her a hard time about the convertible.
I hop into the driver’s seat and put the key in the ignition. The engine turns over with a confident rumble, so I back the Jeep out of the garage.
It could use a wash and a coat of wax, but the wind will blow the dust away.
My sisters rush out of the cabin.
“I call shotgun!” Cab shouts.
Tears fill Bright’s eyes and I wrap my arm around her shoulders.
“Thanks,” she whispers. “I can’t believe she’s a teenager, Will. Can you believe she’ll be graduating from high school in five years.”
While I’m heading into full panic mode at the thought, because no, I hadn’t done the math yet, Juni pushes the screen door open and trots up to us.
“Sorry, Juni. You can’t go today.” Even if there wasn’t a strict No Dogs rule on the trailhead, I wouldn’t have brought her. It’s stressful enough keeping an eye on Cab as she skips up the narrow staircase that leads to the top of the waterfall.
Juni whines and plants her front paws on the passenger side door.
“She can hang out with me.”
I didn’t hear Emberly come out of the cabin, but she’s standing a few feet away from me. Close enough to reach out and touch …
Brighton clears her throat, as if she knows I was a heartbeat away from shocking our baby sister and half the Drummond clan.
“Happy birthday, Iris.”
Emberly is smiling at Cab but I can’t stop staring at her. Flame-colored hair tamed in a braid that trails over one shoulder, denim skirt, and a plain white T-shirt.
My mind superimposes an image of Emberly wearing a black gown and diamonds at some corporate fundraiser.
I like this version better.
“Thanks.” Cab grins. “Bright and I talked Will into taking a road trip.”
“We’ll be back by three,” Brighton promises.
She and Emberly exchange a knowing smile.
They’re definitely in cahoots.
“Come on, Juniper.” Emberly kneels down and wraps her around my dog’s massive neck. “You can keep me company today.”
Juni licks her cheek and noses Emberly’s pocket.
I’m stunned when Emberly pulls out a biscuit.
“You’ve got someone wrapped around your finger,” Brighton teases.
I pretend I don’t notice that she’s looking at me.