Emily's Choice (2 page)

September
2008

It was
almost one. The early morning was dark as pitch, the moon hidden behind the clouds.
Emily paced a circuitous route in her bedroom—along her bed, passing the door
and desk, ending at the window. She glanced outside during each pass. Her
fiancé, Jason Vaughn, was due back from his bachelor party any minute. She
could just barely make out the driveway of his house from her window. In a
little over fourteen hours, she’d be walking down the aisle in her backyard to
marry him. Placing a hand on her extended abdomen as she glanced outside again,
she smiled. She couldn’t wait.

She saw
headlights and squealed quietly to herself. Grabbing her phone and her light
jacket, she silently made her way down the stairs and out the back door. She
crossed through the line of trees separating the
Camancho
and Vaughn properties, the well-worn path a testament to the many trips made
between the houses.

She was
young, in love, and far from the superstitious type. Her stepmother, Grace, or
Mama G, as she affectionately called her, had told her earlier in the day to
stay away from Jason until she was standing next to him this afternoon. Emily
had snorted and rolled her eyes. What difference could it make? They’d known
each other their whole lives, had lived together for four years at college in
Santa Fe, and had made a baby together. Bad luck? Please.

Emily waited
in the shadows of the trees, shivering in the cool fall air, until Jason’s
buddies had him safely in the house and were on their way home. She watched as
her brother, Tyler, waved the guys off and turned toward the trees and the
house. He was staying at the ranch for the weekend for the bachelor party and
her wedding. The house he shared with his wife, Sophie, was on the other side
of the ranch—a good 45-minute drive since there wasn’t a road through the land.
Sophie had opted to stay at their house with their three boys until the
wedding. No doubt Tyler was enjoying the short break away from his family. The
boys were rambunctious and crazy full of energy. But they were also the
sweetest, too. Sophie didn’t leave the house often. With three boys under five,
Emily thought she probably wouldn’t go many places either.

“Tyler? How’d
it go?” she asked when he was about three feet from her hiding spot in the
trees.

Tyler
brought his hand to his heart and swore loudly. “What the hell,
Em
? You just scared twenty years off my life!”

Emily
giggled and hugged her brother. “I’m sorry. I thought you saw me!”

“How could I
see you? It’s pitch dark out here and you’re mostly in black, hiding in the
trees,” he said against her hair, hugging her back.

“Did you
guys have fun?” She felt Tyler nod and stepped back out of his embrace. “So,
how drunk is he? Did you show him any mercy?”

“I tried,
but the guys weren’t so nice. He’s hammered,” he said, thumbing toward Jason’s
house. “I doubt he can make a coherent sentence. But he’s up in his room. Jake
and I deposited him there ourselves. Good luck!”

“I don’t
need to talk to him; I just need to snuggle with him. I miss sleeping with him
every night. BUT,” Emily said, pointing a finger at Tyler’s chest, “he better
not be a wreck for our wedding today or I will personally take it out on you
later!”

Tyler held
up his hands. “No way, it’s not my fault. I tried to be the voice of reason,
but no one wanted to listen. Anyway, I’m beat and I had my fair share of booze.
I’m heading to bed. See you later.” He turned and walked through the trees to
their house.

Emily
watched him walk up the steps to the kitchen and disappear into the house. Once
he was gone, she skipped to the back door of Jason’s house and quietly slipped
inside.

The house
was dark, but she knew where she was going. She’d spent as much time in this
house as her own. Jason’s father, Joe, never changed anything. It was the same
as before his wife, Kelly, had died. The same carpet, the same paint, the same
decorations, the same furniture, the same school pictures hanging on the wall.

The same
couldn’t be said about her own home. Grace had changed some things when she’d
married Emily’s father, but for the most part, Emily had always been the one to
change things. It had started with her own room. Growing up, her bed, dresser,
and desk were never in the same spot. Sharing a room with her new stepsister
had made the constant moving around a little harder. With an extra bed and
dresser, there had only been so many configurations she could imagine.
Thankfully, Hope hadn’t cared much about the ever-changing bedroom and
sometimes had offered up her own ideas, which Emily was only too glad to
incorporate.

She would
have liked to redecorate as well, but her father and Mama G had drawn the line
there. It cost nothing to rearrange furniture, but the same couldn’t be said
about redecorating. Emily had talked about repurposing old furniture and sheets
and stuff. Sometimes she could talk her way into acquiring something new, but
more often than not, she was limited to just rearranging the furniture.

It was no
wonder she’d studied interior design at college, interned at a design firm in
Santa Fe the entire time she was at college, and had plans to open her own firm
once the wedding was over.

As she
silently crept up the stairs to Jason’s room, she made sure to jump lightly
over the seventh stair from the bottom. No reason to alert Joe of her
late-night visit. Her plan was to slip into bed with Jason and sneak home
before anyone got up in the morning. She covered her yawning mouth, ready to
snuggle with Jason and find sweet oblivion in sleep. After four years of
sleeping together every night, this forced separation was wreaking havoc on her
rest. Well, that and the pregnancy-related exhaustion.

Finally, she
stood outside his door, and as she turned the handle, she thought she heard
voices. She let go of the doorknob and looked behind her, scared his father had
caught her. The hall was clear. Shrugging her shoulders, she opened the door
and walked inside.

Tears
immediately filled her eyes, and a barely stifled gasp nearly gave her presence
away. Her hands slowly rose to her mouth, pressing firmly against her lips to
keep the scream of horror locked inside.

Jason stood
next to his bed, his arms wrapped around her cousin’s naked body. Lila’s hands
were busy unbuttoning his shirt and Jason’s lips were dancing across her face
and down her neck. His hands were busy reshaping Lila’s breasts, and judging by
her moans, she liked the new shape.

Emily’s eyes
closed against the picture in front of her, bile rising fast. She cast one last
glance at the love of her life and caught Lila’s pale blue eyes shining with
satisfaction, a smirk on her face. Emily spun on her heel and raced down the
stairs not bothering to avoid the squeaky step. She ran out of the house and
across the yard in tears.

Out of
breath and devastated, Emily crashed into the kitchen, collapsing against the
door. She covered her face with her hands, sobbing as her knees gave out and
she slid to the floor.

They were
supposed to get married this afternoon. How long had this been going on? Had he
ever loved her? What about their baby?

Her mind
spun out of control with all these thoughts. There was no way she could go
through with the wedding. No way could she spend the rest of her life with him.
She’d never be able to look at him again.

Anger,
disgust, and a deep hurt settled in her heart. She couldn’t bear to face the reaction
this news would bring in the morning. The pity and righteous anger would surely
be present when her family heard. It would make the whole thing more real than
she could handle.

She had to
get out of town before everyone woke up. Rising shakily to her feet, she
stumbled up the stairs to the room she shared with Hope. Finding the room
empty, she briefly wondered where Hope was as she pulled out her suitcases.
Shrugging aside the thought, and more than a lot grateful for the solitude, she
threw enough clothes into one suitcase to get by for a couple of weeks. She
could always have the rest of her things shipped to her when she got to where
she was going.

She snuck
down to the bathroom and gathered up her makeup, toothbrush, and shower gear,
throwing them into her toiletry bag.

“What are
you doing,
Em
?”

Emily gasped
and spun around. Hope, her stepsister by marriage but her sister by heart. They
were as close as real sisters; they shared everything and were hardly ever seen
without the other. It had been an awful adjustment when they’d graduated high
school and gone off to college. Emily had gone with Jason to Santa Fe, and Hope
had returned to her roots and traveled back East to Boston to attend Harvard
University, which was her father’s alma mater. She was getting a business
degree while also beginning her modeling and photography career. Like Tyler,
she was home for the wedding, though unlike Tyler, she had a condo in Boston
rather than a house on the other side of the ranch.

Groaning at
the intrusion and heart racing, she ignored her stepsister and ran back to
their room.

Hope
followed closely on her heels, slipping into the room before Emily could shut
the door on her. She gasped at the scene in front of her. “Oh my God, Emily!
Are you and Jason eloping?”

Emily burst
into a fresh round of tears. Clutching the toiletry bag to her chest, she sank
down onto her bed and buried her face into the bag.

“Emily?”
Hope said uncertainly, placing a hand on Emily’s shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“Lila. He’s
kissing Lila!” Emily choked out.

“Who?” Hope
asked in confusion.

“Jason!” she
wailed.

“What are
you talking about? How could you possibly know?”

“I . . . I .
. . I saw him.”

“When?”

“A few
minutes ago.” Emily stood up and threw the toiletry bag in the closest suitcase.
“Oh God, I have to get out of here!”

“She was
kissing him? That bitch! When I get my hands on her. Mom’s going to . . .”

“
Shh
!” Emily cautioned, worried Hope was going to wake the
house with her yelling.

“What about
the wedding?”

“Wedding?”
Emily growled in disgust. “There isn’t going to be a wedding,” she spat out. “I’m
leaving. I can’t be here in the morning. Not when everyone finds out. I can’t
bear it.”

“But where
will you go?”

“I don’t
know, and I don’t care so long as it’s far away from this place.”

Hope put a
staying hand on Emily’s arm. “Why don’t you come to Boston with me? I have a
huge condo, and you’re welcome to stay with me as long as you want. I’m hardly
ever there, and when I am, I’m so freaking lonely. It’ll be nice to have a
familiar face around.”

“I don’t
know. Isn’t it expensive? I won’t have a job right away.”

“It’s okay.
My trust pays for the condo.”

“But that
money is for you from your father,” she stated flatly, keenly aware that it was
the only thing Hope had left of her father, who had died of a heart attack when
Hope was four.

“Whether you’re
living there or not, the trust is still going to pay for the condo. It’s just
money. I have my memories of him in here,” she said, pointing to her heart. “The
past four years have been amazing, getting to know his side of the family
again, hearing stories, seeing pictures, and just being surrounded by them.
That more than anything has brought him back to life for me.” She shook her
head and waved her hands in front of Emily’s face. “We’re getting off-topic
though. This is a no-brainer, and I’m making the decision for you. You will
come live with me.”

“I don’t
know, Hope, it just seems wrong. And what about the baby?” Emily asked,
wrapping her arms around her belly. “I’ll have to find my own place before the
baby comes.”

“Why? It’s a
three-bedroom,
Em
. There’s plenty of space.”

“I don’t
want to take advantage of you.”

“You aren’t.”
Hope reached out and squeezed Emily’s hand. “I’m offering. You’re my sister and
you need this. Please come.”

“I don’t
know, Hope,” Emily hedged.

“How about
this? Come stay until you figure things out. It’s far away from here, and the
distance will help you sort through everything. I don’t care if you stay
forever, but if it makes you feel better to think of it as a temporary thing,
then be my guest.”

Emily
scrunched up her face while she thought it over. It sounded great, exactly what
she needed. She just worried about overstaying her welcome. Hope had a whole
new life, and she hadn’t planned on a roommate, or a baby, for that matter. But
she did need someplace to go, at least temporarily. And Hope was offering that
to her. She nodded slowly, coming to her decision. She’d go and she’d be
grateful; she wouldn’t overstay her welcome and she’d do whatever she could to
be a good roommate, for however long she stayed. “Okay, yes.”

Hope’s face
lit up. “I’ll go pack.”

Fifteen
minutes later, the sisters were driving down the road in Hope’s rental car,
heading to the airport in Santa Fe. Emily had taped a note to her bedroom door
telling her parents not to worry and that she’d call later that morning with an
explanation. And knowing her best friend slept like the dead, she didn’t
hesitate to send Gina a quick text telling her the wedding was off and she’d
talk to her later in the day.

Emily leaned
her head against the passenger window, hands resting lightly on her belly, her
pregnancy weighing heavily on her mind. She’d be alone now. A single mother.
The weight of responsibility would rest solely on her shoulders. Would she be
able to handle it?

*****