Page 91 of Forever Enough

“I feel like it was that way with us,” Doug said as he looked lovingly at my sister.

Emily reached for his hand and held it. “I feel the same way.”

I smiled. “I heard a saying once. Fate smiles at Destiny and the result is true love, or something like that.”

We spent the rest of lunch talking about my job at the farm, what it was like living with so much snow, the plans I had for spring, and the ideas I wanted to pitch to Michael and Merit.

“Will we meet Michael?” Emily asked.

“He’s on a cruise with Lou’s daughter. It was a two-week cruise in Europe.”

“Oh, wow. That must be amazing.”

“I’m sure it is,” I replied to Emily.

Emily mentioned they hadn’t had any snow in New York City yet, and she hoped that changed when I came to visit with Bradly. According to my sister, New York City was only beautiful when there was snow on the ground.

We had danced around the subject long enough when I leaned back in my chair and sighed. “Have you heard from Mom since your last call?”

Emily’s face soured. “Yes. She called me as we were leaving for the airport. Apparently, dickhead was out with his friends bowling. She’s so unhappy with that man, I don’t know why she stays.”

“She probably feels like she can’t leave,” Doug said. “I’ve seen so many women in the ER with obvious bruises and marks from their husbands or boyfriends, but most are so defeated or scared that they believe their own lies.”

I tossed my napkin down on the table. “That’s our mother. She only married him because she didn’t want to be alone after Dad died. He swooped in, made her think he was her knight in shining armor, then slowly destroyed her. I can’t feel sorry for her anymore, Em. I did it for far too long. I tried to get her help, then tried to help her leave after I left, and she turned on me—hard. I’m done.”

Emily nodded. “There was a lot of yelling. That’s one thing I remember all too well. I remember you coming into my room one time and telling me to hide under the bed. Her cries…I swear I still hear them sometimes.”

Tears stung at the back of my eyes, and I swore I would never shed another tear for my mother again. Pushing down the emotions, I shook my head. “Emily, I think you need to cut them out for good. It’s not healthy having that kind of hate in your life.”

“Thank you,” Doug said as he pointedly looked at Emily. “I’ve been begging her to step back. Your stepfather is vile, but your mother can be just as cruel, as you well know. The things she says about you to Emily…they make my skin crawl. And when Em tries to defend you, she turns on her. I nearly pulled the phone away a few weeks ago and told her to go fuck herself when I could hear her screaming at Em over the phone. And it wasn’t even on speaker.”

I laughed, but it was humorless. “I would say do it, but that would only cause more issues.” Turning to my sister, I said, “Emily, she’s never going to leave him. She’s never going to be the mom we knew when Dad was alive. He’s poisoned her, and the best thing for you to do is let her go. I had to, for my own mental health, not to mention my life.”

A small sob escaped from Emily, and she gave a small nod as her hand covered her mouth. Doug stood and drew her into his arms. He looked at me and gave a small shake of his head. I gave him a weak smile. I knew how he felt. Helpless to see someone you love, hurt so badly by the one person who should have done everything and anything to protect her.

I joined them, and Doug encased us both in his arms. Emily buried her face in his chest and cried. When she finally had control over her emotions, she stepped back, wiped her tears away, and looked at me.

“Okay. I’ll do what you’ve been asking me to do. I’ll let her go.”

My heart broke in two to see my baby sister finally letting go of a dream that would never come true—our mother would never be the mother we wanted or deserved.

Chapter Nineteen

BRADLY

You could totally see the resemblance between Mackenzie and her sister Emily. Not only did they look similar, but certain parts of their personalities matched. Mackenzie was a bit more guarded, but I was positive that was from how she grew up. You could see how protective she was of her younger sister, and I couldn’t blame her.

We walked into Timberlynn and Tanner’s barn, and both women gasped at the sight before us.

“Who decorated the barn?” Mackenzie asked, spinning in a circle.

I smiled as I took in the space. The barn had been transformed into what looked like a fantasy land of white lights and greenery. A few rows of white chairs were set up in the middle of the barn, with the altar at the end. Small little groups of LED candles were at the end of each row and lined the path of the aisle. White fabric draped down from the ceiling, and lanterns containing more LED lights hung from the rafters.

“How…? Who…?” Mackenzie asked as she kept turning in a circle, taking everything in. “And why do I love that the horses are still in their stalls?”

“Aunt Kaylee used to plan weddings, receptions, parties…you name it. She only does it now for family and friends, but at one time, she was kicking ass.”

Mackenzie turned to me with a confused expression. “I thought she edited books?”