by Cathie Linz
It wouldn’t be the first time that his curiosity had gotten him into trouble. Hell, he’d wondered what climbing the southern slope of that mountain peak in the middle of the Andes would be like and he’d found out—almost losing his life in the process.
His entire life had been one big risk after another up to that point. Only after coming back from the jagged edge of death had he started questioning things in his past. His curiosity had never extended to his own background before. Until now.
Which meant he had enough on his mind without getting distracted by a woman. She was no babe on a bar stool. But she could well be his ticket into the behind-the-scenes stuff in this town.
If it cost him an autograph, so be it. No big deal. “What was that kid’s name again? Liam?”
He reached for a pad of paper near the cash register and scribbled his name. “Here.”
He could tell by her expression that she wanted to tell him to go to hell. But he suspected that she was too polite to do that. He could practically see her weighing the pros and cons—
but in the end she took the autograph as he’d known she would. She wouldn’t let her friend’s kid down. Just as she wouldn’t refuse to have him go with her to her sisters’
weddings. Because he had something she wanted. And for once, it wasn’t his body she was after. Yet.
But he could change that. And he would. Because he wanted her body, and Jake had a way of getting what he wanted.
Late that afternoon, Maxie stared at the suitcases Emma had gathered by the mobile home’s front door before giving Emma a mother-knows-best look. “Are you moving out because I asked that handsome man to accompany you to your sisters’ weddings?”
“No. I told you that I was subletting a furnished studio apartment in town.”
“I don’t remember you saying that.”
No surprise there. Her mother didn’t register half of what she said. Instead her focus was on the two upcoming weddings. Which was fine by Emma. She certainly didn’t want her mom interfering with her own personal life any more than she already had by involving Jake at the bar today.
“The apartment wasn’t available until this evening,” Emma said.
“But you don’t need it. You can stay here in the trailer with me. Sue Ellen is practically living with her fiance and so is Leena. Living with Cole, I mean, not that Sue Ellen and Leena are both living with Donny.”
Emma ignored her mom’s convoluted comment and stuck to her guns. “It’ll be easier if I have my own place for the summer.”
“That’s just it. You’ll only be here for a few months. So why waste money paying rent on an apartment?”
Because I’d suffocate if I stayed here. “I need to work in a quiet environment,” Emma said.
“I can be quiet. It’s your sisters who are rowdy.”
“Are you talking about us behind our backs again, Mom?” Sue Ellen demanded as she walked into the trailer with several shopping bags dangling over each arm. Leena was right behind her.
“What did she say?” Leena’s voice reflected her suspicion.
“I was just commenting to your baby sister that I do know how to be quiet,” Maxie said.
Leena rolled her eyes and waited until Sue Ellen and their mom had retreated to a back bedroom before she told Emma, “Don’t believe a word she says. No way can Mom be quiet.
Did I ever tell you about the time she came to visit me on a photo shoot in Chicago? Mom swore up and down that she wouldn’t say anything. She promised me that no one would even know she was there.
And do you know what happened?”
Emma shook her head.
“She made so much trouble bossing the hair and makeup people around that she got me kicked off the photo shoot along with her.”
“She came to the bar today,” Emma said.
“She did?” Leena shook her head and gave Emma a commiserating hug. “I told Sue Ellen not to say anything about your trip, but you know how she is. She takes after Mom.”
And who do I take after? Emma wondered. She wasn’t outgoing and rowdy like Sue Ellen.
And she wasn’t confident and feisty like Leena. Both her sisters had gotten their emotional approach to life from their mom. Maybe Emma was more like her father. Not one to wear his heart on his sleeve.
A man of few words. No, she wasn’t really like him either.
“Is Dad coming to the wedding?” Emma asked.
“Whoa, where did that question come from?”
“Well, you and Sue Ellen haven’t talked about it. Is Dad giving Sue Ellen away? Is he giving you away?”
“No way.”
“Why not?”
“Look, we’re not as close to Dad as you are.”
“Because of his drinking?”
Leena shot her a look of surprise. “You knew about that?”
Emma nodded. “I have some vague memories. But Dad hasn’t had a drink in twenty years.”
“I know that. He’s just not a touchy-feely kind of guy, you know?”
“And that’s why you don’t want him giving you away at your wedding?”
“What do you mean you’re not having your father give you away?” Maxie said from the hallway as she walked toward them.
“Sorry,” Emma mouthed to her sister.
“I’m a big girl now,” Leena said. “I don’t need anyone giving me away.”
“You’ve always been a big girl,” Maxie said. “Large boned. But I don’t see how that has anything to do with your father giving you away. Are you saying that if you weren’t a size sixteen, you would have him in the ceremony?”
“No, that’s not it at all,” Leena said.
“Then what’s the problem?” Maxie turned to Emma. “Do you know what this is about?”
“I, uh . . .” Emma tried to think fast. “I believe what Leena means is that she doesn’t feel the need to have anyone give her away because she’s her own woman.”
Leena nodded. “That’s right. I’m my own woman. A successful businesswoman. Since our website was picked out and featured on Oprah a few months ago we’ve gotten half a million hits per month. Advertisers are clamoring for our attention.”
“You know about Leena’s website, right?” Emma said to their mom. “She and her partner started it last fall as a place for women to learn how to increase their self-esteem. They offer all kinds of help—from blogs to message boards to tips from guest speakers. They have sections for all age groups and ethnic groups. The website has really become a big deal in a short period of time.”
Leena grinned. “Who knew empowering women would be so popular?”
Maxie wasn’t impressed. “I don’t see what any of that has to do with your wedding. At least I can count on Sue Ellen to do the right thing? Right, honey?”
“Huh?” Sue Ellen looked up from the pair of sundresses she had in her hands. “Which color do you like better? This one?” She held a cherry red one in front of her. “Or this.” She switched to a lemon yellow one.
“The yellow,” Maxie said. “And I was just telling your sisters how you’ll do the right thing and have your father give you away.”
“I, uh . . .” Sue Ellen looked around as if searching for an escape route. “I think I’m gonna barf.”
She ran for the bathroom.
“Maybe you shouldn’t pressure Sue Ellen right now,” Emma told her mom. “She’s already under a lot of stress.”
“Is she okay? I’m supposed to leave now to meet Donny’s mother so we can go over some last-minute things about the wedding and bridal shower,” Maxie said.
“Then you’d better go.”
“Okay.” Maxie grabbed her seashell-covered purse. “But we’ll continue this conversation when I get back.”
“Not if I can help it,” Leena muttered as their mom left.
“I won’t be here when Mom gets back,” Emma said. “I’m moving into a studio apartment in town tonight.”
“Chicken.”
“Absolutely,” Emma
readily admitted. “Do you think Sue Ellen is really okay?” The sounds coming from the bathroom were not pleasant ones.
“She’s fine. She’s just pregnant.”
“Pregnant? ” Sue Ellen a mother? Emma couldn’t quite wrap her mind around that image.
Her big sister had never even taken care of a pet let alone an infant. “Does Mom know?”
“No, and you’re not gonna tell her.”
“Of course not. You’re sure Sue Ellen is okay?”
“She’s just peachy.”
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
“She had to tell her fiance first.”
“How’s he taking the news?”
“The same way Sue Ellen is. They’re both totally, almost obnoxiously thrilled.”
“Who’s obnoxious?” a pale Sue Ellen asked as she plopped onto the living room couch.
“Emma knows you’ve got a bun in the oven,” Leena replied.
Sue Ellen frowned. “You know I can’t bake. Except for cupcakes. Donny taught me. Ohhh.”
Emma could almost see the lightbulb go on over her oldest sister’s head. “You mean she knows I’m pregnant. Why did you tell her?” Sue Ellen smacked Leena’s arm. “I wanted to do that myself.”
“I told Emma because she was worried about you puking in the john.”
“It’s morning sickness. The doctor says it will pass. Otherwise I’m healthy and so is the baby,” Sue Ellen said.
“How far along are you?” Emma asked.
“Four months. I was afraid that I’d already reached my expiration date. Or that my eggs had.
You know, you two aren’t getting any younger either. Neither are your eggs.”
Emma ignored that comment. “When are you going to tell Mom?”
“I haven’t decided yet. Maybe after Donny and I have left on our honeymoon. I could leave her a letter. Or a card. A ‘Congrats, you’re gonna be a granny’ card. Do they sell those?”
“I have no idea,” Emma said, still struggling to picture her oldest sister raising a baby.
“They should. Maybe I should design one. I could probably make a bundle on it.”
“The only bundle you should be focusing on is the one you’re gonna be delivering in five more months,” Leena said.
“Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?” Emma knew she was asking a lot of questions but she couldn’t help herself.
Sue Ellen shook her head slightly. “No. Donny and I want to be surprised.”
“You realize what this means, don’t you?” Emma said to Leena. “We’re going to be aunts.”
Sue Ellen grinned. “Auntie Leena and Auntie Emma. Sounds cute.”
“If it’s a girl, I can dress her in cute outfits,” Leena said.
Sue Ellen’s smile turned dreamy. “They do have the cutest outfits for little girls. But there are some adorable ones for little boys too—like onesies with the Steelers logo. Donny is a big football fan.”
“So Donny wants a son?” Emma asked.
“He says he’ll be happy with either a son or a daughter.”
“How do you think Mom is going to take this news?” was Emma’s next question. Her older sisters both eyed her suspiciously. “I’m not going to tell her,” she assured them.
“You better not. Or Dad either. Oh no, what if I barf on my way down the aisle?” Sue Ellen demanded. She tipped over until she was semireclining on the couch, her hand dramatically draped over her forehead like a Victorian heroine.
Leena wasn’t impressed. “I told you that you should have eloped like your friend Skye did with her fiance, Nathan.”
Sue Ellen glared at her. “You only said that because you didn’t want me taking your spotlight.”
“You were originally supposed to get married in the fall, not right before I get married,”
Leena said.
“Pregnancy issues changed that,” Sue Ellen said,
“Pregnant!” Maxie stood in the doorway to the trailer. “Who’s pregnant? And before you answer, it better not be any of you!”
Chapter Three
Uh-oh. Emma hurriedly stood up and headed straight for her suitcases. Time for her to leave. The faster the better.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Maxie demanded.
“I told you I was moving out,” Emma reminded her.
“Not until we get this settled.” Maxie pointed to the couch. “Go sit down.”
Emma wanted to rebel. She also wanted peace and an end to global warming, but it didn’t appear that any of those things were about to happen anytime soon.
The sad truth was that she had very few rebel genes in her. Her older sisters had gotten them all.
She sat on the couch.
“What are you doing back here, Mom?” Leena asked. “I thought you were meeting somebody to pick out a dress.”
“I forgot my cell phone. I left it here on the charger.” Maxie calmly unplugged the phone and put it in her large seashell purse. “What’s going on, girls?”
“We’re not girls anymore,” Leena said. “Sue Ellen is thirty-six, and your baby Emma here is nearly thirty.”
Stung, Emma said, “I’m only twenty-seven.”
Leena shrugged. “Like I said, nearly thirty.”
“You will always be girls to me,” Maxie stated firmly. “Now tell me what’s going on, and one of you had better start talking pronto.” She glared at Leena, who glared right back.
Emma felt the situation slipping away from her and it drove her crazy. It was like waiting for a train wreck to happen. “Perhaps I should moderate this discussion,” she suggested.
“Why do you do that?” Leena’s glare shifted from their mom to Emma. “You never use a little word when a big word will do. Is it to prove how smart you are? There’s no need. We already know you’re the one with the fancy degree. The one Mom likes best. The one who never messes up.”
“Which means she’s not the one who’s pregnant,” Maxie said.
“Hold on a second.” Emma held up her hand like a traffic cop. “I never said I don’t mess up.”
Leena waved her words away. “You don’t have to say it. Mom says it all the time.”
“Then get angry at her, not me,” Emma said.
“If anyone has a right be angry around here, it’s me,” Maxie said. “My own daughter didn’t tell me she’s pregnant.”
“You just said two seconds ago that none of us had better be pregnant,” Emma replied.
“I was upset. In shock. What mother wouldn’t be?” Maxie took a moment to compose herself. “So it’s Sue Ellen, right? That’s why she tossed her cookies.”
Emma avoided her mom’s eagle eye. She certainly didn’t want to be accused of revealing secrets because she blinked at the wrong time or something. She already felt guilty that her mom had overheard them all talking.
Maxie stomped her foot, a sure sign she was losing her patience and her temper. “Who’s pregnant?”
“We both are,” Leena said.
“What? ” Emma’s mouth dropped open. So did Maxine’s and Sue Ellen’s.
Sue Ellen recovered first to say, “You can’t be pregnant. I’m pregnant.”
Leena shrugged. “You haven’t cornered the market on being pregnant.”
Sue Ellen pointed an accusatory finger at Leena. “You’re only doing this because I’m pregnant and you have to do everything I do!”
“Hardly,” Leena retorted.
Emma edged closer to her suitcases once again. Her sisters and mom were the drama queens.
Emma liked things calm and orderly. “I, um, think I’ll let you three work things out.”
“What, you’re not part of this family now that we’re pregnant?” Sue Ellen said. “Nice to know where your loyalties lie.”
Emma resented that accusation. “Hey, I’m wearing that Pepto-Bismol pink bridesmaid’s dress with the dumb-looking butt bow and stupid puffy sleeves to your wedding. I think that proves my loyalty.”
Leena nodded her agreement.
“My bridesmaids’ dresses are much better than Sue Ellen’s.”
“See, that’s what I mean.” Sue Ellen glared at Leena. “This is just a competition to you.
The weddings, having a baby. All a competition.”
“Hey, I’ve had my wedding date set for ages,” Leena said.
“Yeah, well my proposal was more romantic than yours,” Sue Ellen retorted. “And Donny makes more money than Cole the veterinarian does. Smiley’s Septic Service is a gold mine.”
“You know the concept of sibling competition is an interesting one,” Emma began, hoping to stave off any further escalation in their argument. “So is the part that birth order plays in character development . . .”
Her attempt at playing peacemaker was not greeted with appreciation. Instead both her sisters turned to her and shouted, “Shut up!”
“You shut up,” Emma shot back. “I can be as messed up as you both are.”
“Are you going to tell me that you’re pregnant too, Emma?” Sue Ellen demanded.
“No, but—”
“Having a baby trumps everything else,” Sue Ellen stated.
No surprise there. Her sisters had always demanded their place in the spotlight, leaving Emma standing on the sidelines. A mixed metaphor maybe, but an apt one. Their crisis du jour had always been more dramatic than anything Emma could come up with.
Not that Emma was vying for that kind of attention. She wasn’t. She never had. Even as a kid, she’d always been the observer. The one quietly in the corner with her head in a book, off in another world.
Her mom patted her shoulder. “Ignore them, honey. They’re just jealous that you are an important professor.”
“Your daughters tell you they’re pregnant and all you do is think of Emma.” Sue Ellen’s voice held more than a tinge of bitterness. “Figures. No surprise there.”
Maxie turned to her oldest daughter. “Now what are you talking about?”
“The fact that Emma has always been your favorite.”
“She’s a good girl.” Maxie gave Emma another approving pat on the shoulder.
We’re all good girls, Emma wanted to say but somehow couldn’t. She wasn’t sure her older sisters would appreciate her attempt to stick up for them. Maybe they didn’t want to be good. Maybe they liked being nonconformists.