Crushed (49 page)

Reece had moved in the day after
they graduated
. Beth had set that as her one rule. She owned the house. She wanted Reece at home
until
they had both finished school. It was a logical
, reasonable
request
.
He had, however, spent almost every minute of his free time there during the past
school year.
Or at least, he had when Cleo and Luci weren’t at
his
house.

Now, f
or the most part, his belongings were already unpacked. Occasionally, Beth was still
dropping off things he’d forgotten. Or
frequently dropping off
items she thought they could use
—items she’d simply had fun shopping for
. They were still busy sorting through a few new boxes.
However, Emma had stopped by when Cleo called her to say she had something exciting
to share.

“I’m so lucky,” Cleo said as she glanced at Reece and then Luci. “A year ago, I never
would’ve thought my life could turn out this way.”

She was now officially Luci’s guardian and Paul was serving time for what he had done.
He was no longer employed at the mill. That was a decision immediately made by Beth.
Cleo hoped that once he was out, he would decide not to stay in Sheridan.

“We’re both lucky,” Luci said with a grin.

“No, all of us are,” Reece corrected.

“So did you
pick a date yet?” Emma demanded as she settled into a chair.
Her smile was huge as her eyes darted back and forth from Reece to Cleo.

“The last weekend in August,” Cleo told her.

“They want to be married before
classes start
,” Luci said. She was proud that she knew something that Emma did not. They would
both be attending the local university in the fall.
“Because after that, they’ll both be really busy.”

Emma’s eyes became huge. “That leaves almost no time to plan!”

“Sure it does,” Cleo said. “I only want a small wedding.”

“At my parents’ house. So there, one thing taken care of,” Reece said with a grin.
“I thought it would be nice to have the ceremony overlooking the lake.”

“Awww!” Emma said again.

To Reece’s complete surprise, his parents were together
. Kind of.
They had been
separated for over half a year this time.
Landon had not moved back in yet. But
they
were spending an awful lot of time together. They were still attending counseling
sessions weekly.

Finally, Landon seemed to truly realize what he was about to lose. Reece had refused
to talk to him for months o
n end. He had been
furious at his dad for interfering in his life like he
had
. He had even refused to see him over the Christmas
holiday
when Landon had
Reece’s
sisters over.

That, more than anything, had hit Landon hard.
Reece had refused to leave his mom’s
house, where Cleo and Luci had been spending a whole lot of time.

Reece didn’t speak to his dad until
he
—
seemingly of
his own accord
—went to Cleo to apologize. Landon had admitted to Beth that it was actually at the
urging of the counselor she had insisted he continue to see. But he did realize it
was something that needed to be done.
Cleo had insisted to Reece that the apology was heartfelt.
She urged him to try to repair their relationship.

It had taken a few more weeks, but Reece had finally agreed to speak with Landon.
That had been just in time for Easter.
The whole family, along with Cleo and Luci, had spent the holiday together. Luci
adored
Amanda’s daughters
. She enjoyed being the big kid for a change.

After a few more months, Landon and Beth agreed that they wanted to try to reconcile.
Things were still
a little shaky but
it was obvious to everyone how hard Landon was
trying.
And he always went out of his way to be
kind
to Cleo and Luci.

T
o Beth’s dismay, Reece and Landon had come to an agreement. Reece had agreed to work
for his dad for the summer. If he still had no interest in the family business in
the fall, when he and Cleo would begin their classes at Sheridan U, he wouldn’t press
Reece on the issue anymore. He promised to fully support him in whatever field he
chose.

And if Reece did decide to take over the business, Landon would be satisfied with
a
business
degree from
their local university.

“Isn’t
this so exciting!?” Luci asked as she bounced on the couch next to her sister.
“And
I even get to be in the wedding!
”
she told Emma.

“And you too, Emma?” Cleo wondered
. “Will you
please
be
a bridesmaid
?
I still need to talk to Lauren and Melanie
. B
ut I wanted to ask you first.
”

After the truth had come out, Lauren and Melanie had been completely supportive of
Cleo.

“Yes!” Emma said with a huge grin. “
Oh my goodness!
There’s so much to do!
You need to pick out a dress! And shoes! And dresses and shoes for us…
jewelry…
cake…
invitations…
hairstyles…
music…
colors
…” Her eyes grew wider as her list grew longer. “
Hey Luci
, c
an you go get me Cleo’s laptop?”

The laptop had been a graduation gift from Beth and Landon.

“Sure,” Luci said the same moment Cleo said, “For what? Why do you need my laptop?”

“Because,” Emma said with a huge grin, “w
e have a wedding to plan!”