Page 112 of Forever Enough

Mom worried the necklace she had on and nodded.

“You two go on in, I need to talk to the police.”

I looked at Mackenzie and was about to argue with her when I felt my mother’s hand on my elbow.

“Bradly, why don’t you let Mackenzie handle this.”

“But…I want…”

Mackenzie placed her hand on my arm. “Will you please make sure my sister is okay? She’s going to blame herself because they followed her here.”

I exhaled. “Of course. If you need me…”

“I know,” she whispered as she reached up and gently kissed me on the cheek. “I’m okay. I promise.”

It took every ounce of strength I had to turn and walk away from her.

Once we got to the table, Emily stood. “Is she okay?”

I nodded. “She’s fine. She asked us to come in and make sure you were okay.”

Emily wiped a tear away as she sank down onto the chair. She said quietly, “She’s always done that. Since I can remember. Our stepfather used to beat our mother, and when that wasn’t good enough, he’d take his anger out on Kenzie. He never hit me, and that’s mostly because…because… Kenzie always kept him away from me.”

She buried her face in her hands, and Doug wrapped his arm around her.

“George and Anna have maintained a rather rocky relationship with Emily,” Doug continued for her. “She’s tried to keep them at bay, but her mother has a way of making her feel guilty.”

My mom reached for Emily and pulled her hands down from her face. “It’s over now. You’re going to get a restraining order against your parents just like Mackenzie did. Okay?”

Emily nodded and sniffled as she attempted to keep herself from crying more. “She’s had restraining orders against them since I was still in high school. They both threatened to kill her.”

My mother gasped, and my father cursed, as did Uncle Ty.

“Why?” Mom asked, clearly shocked.

Emily wiped a tear away. “My father left us each a sizeable inheritance. We both got it when we turned eighteen. Mackenzie used hers to move out of the house, go to college, and she used what was left to move to Montana, trying to get as far away from Mom and George as she could. He’s always wanted her money. I don’t know why he hasn’t figured out that of course she spent it on her education. I just know that he’s wanted to make her pay since the day they woke up on her eighteenth birthday and found her gone.

“I did the same thing when I turned eighteen. I moved to New York City and went to college there. I mean, I didn’t have to leave in the middle of the night, like Kenzie. My mother always treated me a bit differently, and I think…I think it’s because I look more like my father than Kenzie does, and Mom loved our dad deeply. I’ve tried to keep my contact with them to a minimum, for my own mental health, but she asks about Kenzie all the time. I always ignored her questions, because I didn’t want George to find my sister. I never thought they’d come here and follow me.”

My mother cleared her throat. “Emily, sweetheart, if your mother is allowing your stepfather to do these kinds of things to your sister, she is no better than him. Like I said, you need to file a restraining order against her as well.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling her,” Doug said gently as he kissed the side of Emily’s head. “She’s been slowly pulling away from them more and more. So I’m not surprised they came to New York, given how little Em has been communicating with them.”

“And I led them right to Kenzie.”

“No, you didn’t,” I stated. “You had no way of knowing they were in New York, Emily. Your sister isn’t going to want you to blame yourself.”

She sniffled and leaned her head on Doug’s shoulder.

Mackenzie finally approached the table, pulled out her chair, and sat down. All eyes went to her. She smiled, picked up her napkin, placed it over her lap, and calmly said, “I pressed charges against them both. I’ll need to call my lawyer tomorrow.” Her attention went to her sister. “I’d like for you to speak with him as well. You’ll need to file a restraining order against them both. I have a feeling they’ll be spending some time in jail in New York City, so that’s a good thing.”

Picking up the menu, she began to read it as we all stared at her.

Dropping the menu after a couple of minutes, she looked around the table. “I refuse to let them have any more of our time. So, let’s put it all behind us, enjoy our evening and the celebration of Bradly’s score today, and let the legal system take it from here.”

Avery let out a disbelieving laugh. “Oh my God. I want to be you when I grow up. Bad. Ass.”

“Avery!” my mother chastised.