The Perfect Homecoming (Pine River #3)

Emma nodded, her vision starting to blur with tears that were building behind her lashes.

“I told you I was strong enough for you, and I meant it. I am strong enough for your extraordinary love, Emma. I’m strong enough for both of us. So this is your loss.” He let go of her then and got out of the car. He stepped up onto the curb, then turned around and tapped on her window. Emma rolled it down. “And your sister, Laura? She is no friend of yours,” he said. “She’s a snake in the grass around you, waiting for a chance to bite. Steer clear of her.” He straightened up and walked into the terminal without looking back.

She watched him disappear inside, watching him through the plate-glass doors, certain she could still see him.

A policeman knocked on her hood, gesturing for Emma to move on.

She put her car in gear, her mind twirling around his warning about Laura, but mostly, hearing the same thing reverberate in her head. I am strong enough for your extraordinary love, Emma.

She gripped the St. Christopher medal in her fist as she drove.





TWENTY-TWO

Emma drove back to Homecoming Ranch without stopping, even when fat lazy flakes of snow began to fall. As she climbed up over the mountains, the snowfall was heavier, and she had to slow down.

It was ten o’clock when she pulled into the drive at the ranch. She was exhausted, starving, and emotionally spent, having replayed everything Cooper had ever said to her on the long road back.

The snow had spent itself by the time she reached the ranch and was falling very lightly when Emma stepped out of her car. She paused to pet the dogs that had come out from the garage to greet her, then hauled herself up the porch steps and inside. In the entry, she braced herself against the wall and pulled off her boots.

“Emma, is that you?” Libby called from the kitchen, and a moment later, she was standing in the hallway, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “Hey, where’d you get off to today?” she asked cheerfully.

“Is there any food?” Emma asked.

“There’s some sandwich stuff,” Libby offered. “So where’d you go?”

“Denver,” Emma said, and walked into the living room.

Madeline was on the couch under a throw, a notebook in her lap. “Denver!” she said, and yawned, stretching her arms high above her. “How come?”

Emma halted her drive toward the kitchen and looked at her sisters. “Cooper was flying through and I went to meet him.”

Libby’s face suddenly broke into a grin. “See?” she said gleefully to Madeline. “I told you!”

“It’s not what you think,” Emma said. “I stole a St. Christopher medal from him that his grandfather had given him. He wanted it back.”

Libby’s very gleeful look faded. “Huh? You stole what? You stole something?” she asked, as if those words made no sense to her.

“A St. Christopher medal. A charm,” Emma said with a flick of her wrist.

“But didn’t you take something from that other guy?” Libby asked uncertainly.

“Yes,” Emma said. She felt very weak, as if her legs wouldn’t hold her. In fact, she felt herself swaying a little.

“I don’t get it,” Libby said.

“Hey,” Madeline said, frowning. She sat up, tossing the throw over the back of the couch. “Are you okay?”

Emma couldn’t help the sour laugh. “No,” she said. “I am really, seriously fucked up,” she said, and her legs gave out. She crashed to the floor in a heap. She heard Libby and Madeline shriek, felt hands and arms around her.

“Damn it, Emma, when was the last time you ate?” Libby demanded.

“I don’t know,” Emma said, and rubbed her forehead, only now realizing that she had a biting headache as well.

“What is the matter with you?” Madeline cried and jumped to her feet, running into the kitchen.

Libby tried to help Emma up, but it required Madeline’s help when she came back from the kitchen. Together, they put Emma on the couch, and Madeline shoved a banana into Emma’s hand. “Eat it,” she ordered. “Eat it now.”

Emma took one bite of the banana and began to cry. “I’m so hungry,” she said tearfully.

Libby disappeared and returned a moment later with a bag of chips. “Eat that! I’m making you a sandwich!”

Emma choked down the banana and a few chips before Libby returned with a slab of ham between two thick slices of homemade bread. “What happened?” Libby asked Emma, stroking her hair.

“I’ll tell you,” Emma said, tears streaking her cheeks. “But you’re not going to like it.”

“What else is new? Just tell us,” Madeline said. “It is very possible that we could help, you know?”

“I don’t even know where to begin,” Emma said sadly between bites of food. “Maybe with Grant.”

Madeline and Libby exchanged a look.

“You can’t really be surprised,” Emma said flatly.