A Town Called Valentine(113)

Three young men—Emily’s brothers—stood around their sister, almost as if she needed protection.

“Emily,” Joe said, “these are our children, Will, Chris, Daniel, and Stephanie.”

Stephanie was a pretty girl, with her father’s crystal blue eyes and bright blond hair that she wore in a ponytail. Suspicion and wariness twisted her expressive face, and Emily’s hopes began to sink. Joe had said he’d told his children about her, but he’d never explained how badly Stephanie must have taken it. Emily had made a terrible mistake coming so soon, but it was too late to change it. Stephanie looked as pale as winter frost.

Emily’s tension had coalesced into a little ball of pain in her stomach, and she was certain she wouldn’t be able to eat anything. Her very existence had caused this poor girl grief. She was tempted to leave but knew that would make it seem as if she had been chased away.

Thankfully, the three young men eyed her curiously but without dismay. Will was taller and broader than his dad, with sandy blond hair, frank, hazel eyes, and a cleft in his chin centered in a square jaw. Chris’s hair was lighter, as were his pale blue eyes. He was built more like his dad, leaner and compact, though with the same chin as his brother. Daniel, still in college, had inherited his mother’s darker hair and gray eyes. He sported several tattoos on his arms and wore a silver stud beneath his lower lip. But his smile was curious and friendly as he nodded a greeting.

All three men could have been just as suspicious as Stephanie, upset that their lives had been disrupted by an old secret, but one by one they shook her hand and gave her a polite, even curious, smile, which she returned though her lips trembled. These were her brothers. She didn’t know what to think, but she wanted to be happier rather than so nervous and uncertain.

Will and Chris must have realized her mood, because they shared a look before Will said, “So you’re my big sister.”

Emily gave him a faint smile.

“How sad for you, Will, that you’ve lost all your ‘oldest child’ privileges,” Chris said dryly.

Emily actually chuckled, and she almost covered her mouth with surprise.

“What privileges?” Will demanded indignantly. “I had to babysit you.”

Will’s good-natured disgruntled look encompassed both his brothers and sister. Stephanie’s lips twitched as if she fought a smile. Then she looked at Emily, and her eyes went cool again. Emily sighed. She wished she could join in the bantering, but words stuck in her throat, and her chest felt tight with unshed tears. Staring at their faces as they teased each other, she wondered what it would have been like if she’d known them as children. She was a sister, but a stranger. It seemed so insurmountable to ever be more.

They were her family now, but it felt all wrong. She’d longed for this her whole life, but how could only occasional visits back to Valentine mold them into the close family she’d dreamed of? Was she making a mistake in leaving?

“Kids,” Faith said, obviously assessing Stephanie’s mood—and perhaps Emily’s—“come finish helping me in the kitchen so your dad and Emily can talk.”

Stephanie glared at Emily over her shoulder as she followed her brothers out. She caught her dad’s frown and looked guilty, hunching her shoulders.

When they were alone, Joe said, “I’m so sorry about Stephanie’s behavior.”

Her eyes went wide. “No, oh please, this isn’t her fault.”

“I guess I should have told you she was having a hard time with my past,” he said solemnly. “But . . . I didn’t want you to misunderstand. This really isn’t about you but about me. Guess I’m not her perfect father, you know? She always thought of herself as Daddy’s little girl.”

Emily didn’t know what to say as she stood there awkwardly in the middle of their living room.

“I feel badly that you have to go through this. I wish—well, I could wish for a lot of things, but the past is the past, and we can only live for the future.”

Emily couldn’t help wondering what he wished for—that he’d never slept with her mother? That she’d never been born? Or should she give him the benefit of the doubt and hope he meant he wished he’d known about her all along?

“I don’t know how to say this, so bear with me.” Joe put both his hands on her shoulders. “I’ve thought a lot about the renovations you’ve been doing, how hard you’re working on your future.” He smiled at her, but there was uncertainty in his eyes. “I haven’t been able to help you grow up, and it really makes me sad. Could I—would you let me help you now? I know you have plans to go to college, and I’ve helped my sons with their tuition. Would you let me do the same for you?”