Broken Love (Broken #4)(40)

I held up my hands in defense. I could see that pushed Ava to the edge. “I’m sorry … I guess it is a little strange how similar they both are.”

When I reached over, I began thumbing through some of Ava’s designs and my heart dropped. The last time I had sat in this very room with Kate, she had shown me some dresses she had designed. She said she was going to bring back the style our great-great-grandmother Lizzy wore. Ava’s sketches were eerily similar to those drawings as well. “Are you going for an older look with these?” I asked as I turned the pages back about four. The gowns almost seemed like they were from the early nineteen hundreds.

With a weak grin, she tilted her head and said, “I’m not sure. It was something I was feeling at the time, so I was mostly playing around.” With a deep breath in, she grinned bigger and said, “Maybe we should get a move on if we’re heading to Helena.”

My heart felt heavy as I watched Ava glance at the designs and then shut the books. I’d seen my sister Kate get lost in the world of her own, the last thing I wanted to see was Ava do the same. I’d help her with this little adventure, but as soon as we got back, I was going to suggest moving into the main house and out of the stone house.

I wasn’t sure how much longer Ava would be staying here in Montana, and as greedy as it sounded, I didn’t want to share her with some romance story of Robert and Lizzy. I wanted her to myself, but at what cost would that come?





THE FORTY-MINUTE DRIVE into Helena wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought with Ryder’s truck being plenty big for my stupid broken leg.

“This is it,” Ryder said with a huge smile as he pulled into the driveway of a beautiful Queen Ann Victorian house.

My heart was racing. I hadn’t had any time to read more of Kate’s journal because I was consumed with her drawings, so I wasn’t really even sure what I was looking for. Kate’s secret might not have had anything to do with Robert and Lizzy. But now that we were here, I couldn’t wait to see the inside of the house.

“Oh. My. Word,” I gasped. “This house is amazing!”

“Wait until you see the inside,” Ryder said as he parked and took my hand. Turning to him, I shook my head in wonder.

“Why is no one living in this house?”

With a shrug, he said, “Don’t know.”

Nate pulled up behind us and quickly jumped out to try and beat Ryder to opening the truck door and helping me out. I couldn’t believe it when they got into a pushing match right there in the driveway.

“Seriously? Are the two of you twelve?”

Ryder acted as if he was going to leave it be, but turned suddenly and tackled Nate to the ground. As they rolled around in the snow in the middle of probably one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in Helena, I managed to get out of the truck and get my own crutches. I wasn’t about to try to walk as I wasn’t sure if there was ice on the sidewalk.

“Stop putting snow down my pants, you *!” Nate yelled out as I waited for the two of them to grow up.

“I see some things never change.”

Turning to my right, I saw a woman my age walking up. She had blonde hair that was pulled up into a French twist. Even though it was freezing outside, she was without a coat. Her pencil skirt and tight blue blouse showed off her curvy body as she stood in I swear ten-inch heels. With a smile on her face, she reached out her hand to me. “Vanessa Emerson. I live next door.”

What? How in the hell does someone my age afford to live in this neighborhood? “You own the house next door?” I blurted out.

She must have caught my stunned expression because she chuckled and said, “Let me rephrase that. I live with my parents … next door.”

“Ava Moore, and I’m sorry for the stunned expression, it was rude.”

With a bigger smile, she simply said, “No worries.”

Vanessa glanced over to Ryder and Nate and shook her head. “You’d think they would be too old to do this.”

Putting her fingers up to her mouth, she whistled so loud I was sure I would hear ringing in my ears for the next two weeks.

“Holy shit balls!” I said.

Ryder and Nate immediately stopped and turned to see who whistled. When they both saw Vanessa they began pushing each other to stand up first.

Once they stood up, they both shouted, “Vanessa!”

“I see the two of you haven’t changed much.”

I’d never seen Nate move as fast as he did. “Hey how have you been?” he asked, engulfing Vanessa in a hug.

When Ryder followed suit, I wasn’t sure how to take the way it made me feel. I’d never been a jealous type of person, but for some reason I didn’t like something about this whole Vanessa thing.

“Vanessa, you look amazing! Are you still working for Judge Walter?” Nate asked.

“Yes I am and loving every minute of it. How long are you boys in town for? I’m sure my mom and dad would love to have you over for dinner.”

Nate spoke up first. “Just tonight.”

“Well then how about I see if they are free.”

Ryder shook his head, “Oh no, Vanessa don’t do that. No need to bother your parents.”

I stood there like an idiot … not to mention I was freezing my ass off.

“Sorry to break up your little reunion here … but this Texas girl is cold.”