The Perfect Homecoming (Pine River #3)

“But there’s not enough room for four people. Or two,” Bob said wearily. “This is a tiny house, Emma. Come by and visit, but I’ve got to have Marisol day to day.”


It was devastating to Emma. She had come to rely on Leo and, she liked to think, he had come to depend on her. Who would watch Jeopardy with him and discuss how Alex Trebek and his crew had landed on the day’s categories? Who would listen to him talk about what the Broncos needed in the playoffs?

What would she do to keep her mind off Cooper? The incessant reel playing in her head of all the things she’d said, then all the things she should have said?

The weather had turned cold; Emma’s kids weren’t in the park these days to distract her. She wandered around Pine River looking in storefronts and drinking fancy coffees, seeking a purpose and found none. There were too many unanswered questions about herself. How could she find purpose without finding herself first?

She was at the Grizzly Café one afternoon, nursing a cold cup of coffee. She noticed an older man seated by himself near the window. He kept shifting his gaze to her, a hint of a smile on his lips. On his lapel he wore an American flag pin.

Emma stood up, put a few bills on her table. She sauntered toward the older man; he sat back, his smile widening. But the remarkable thing was that Emma averted her gaze and kept walking. She walked right past him and his little American flag. She had no desire to tempt him. She had no desire to add that pin to her collection. She had no desire for anything or anyone but Cooper.

It was Leo who rescued her from aimlessness. He must have known she wouldn’t handle Bob’s rejection well, because Bob called her a day or so later and asked her to come back. “Leo’s got something he needs.”

What Leo needed was a party. “A big one,” he’d said. “You know, with balloons and marching bands.”

A party. That was so like Leo. Emma pushed down her grief and agreed. “You want a party, Leo Kendrick? You’re going to get the best party this event planner knows how to throw.”

As part of her planning, Emma explained to Bob that she had things to do around the house. “The house has to be decorated, Bob,” she’d said firmly. “First and foremost, you’re going to have a holiday wedding here, and Luke and Madeline deserve this place to be what they envision.”

Bob had puffed out his craggy cheeks. “Fine,” he’d said. The man knew when he was defeated.

Marisol was not as easy to persuade.

“There are too many things,” she said when Emma showed up with an armful of crystal beads and chiffon sashes. She suspiciously eyed the box Emma was holding. “No room for these things.”

“There’s no room for a baby, either,” Emma pointed out. “Who’s to say this is less important? I will put up all the decorations, you don’t need to worry about a thing.”

“My baby comes with me!” Marisol snapped. “I will take down this tree,” she threatened, gesturing to the tiny tabletop Christmas tree in the living room.

Emma sighed. She put down her box and turned around to face Marisol. “You don’t like me, Marisol—I get it. Trust me, you’re not the first woman to dislike me, and you won’t be the last. But you know what? You and I could be friends. We’re very much alike.”

“No!” Marisol protested hotly. “I’m not like you!”

“I guess it’s a good thing I don’t get my feelings hurt easily,” Emma said to Marisol’s visceral reaction. “Look, we both love Leo,” she said, holding up one finger.

Marisol glanced down the hall, to Leo’s room.

“We both tell it like it is,” Emma said, lifting a second finger. “And neither of us will tolerate nonsense. Do you know how compatible that makes us? We should get a drink after work and talk about how many jerks there are in the world.”

Marisol eyed her up and down. She looked at Emma’s box and waved at it. “Nothing in the way of his chair. And not fussy. Mr. Kendrick, he does not like fussy.”

“Fair enough,” Emma said. “But you don’t touch what I put up until New Year’s Day.”

“I will agree,” Marisol said. “The night nurse comes at five,” she said. “The Rocky Creek Tavern is on the road I take to my home.”

Emma’s brows lifted with surprise. Marisol was apparently ready to have that drink. “Okay,” she said. “What about Valentina?”

“She goes!” Marisol said, as if that was a ridiculous question.

“That’s completely weird, but far be it from me to question your mothering skills. Okay. It’s a date.”

Marisol said something in Spanish, picked up her baby, and disappeared into the kitchen.

Emma got down to work.

As the best man, Leo wanted some of the decorations in his room, too. “Maddie’s garter belt would be awesome,” he said.

“The garter belt isn’t available until after the wedding. And besides, I’m not sure she’ll have one. She’s doing this sort of bare bones.”

“Then her bra,” Leo said from his bed. “That would be just as awesome.”