So, even if all I ever get is today, that will forever be enough to tide me over.
But I’m not one to give up easily. Not when it’s something this important. I will find a way for us to be together. I honestly believe it was meant to be.
A Cooper and a Wilson, who would’ve thought.
Henley
Chapter 3
Em
Considering I’m supposed to be gettingmarriedin a few hours, I’m sure there are plenty of things I should be doing as a soon-to-be bride. Instead, I’m wrapped up in a blanket in the barn, sitting on a hay bale outside one of the stalls where Asher’s pet pony, Rodney, is glaring out the window at nothing at all. Since he’s grumpy and put out, I decided he needed some company.That’s the excuse I’m running with, anyway.
Rodney thinks he’s a big horse and tries to do ‘big horse’ things andusuallyhe’s busy getting into all sorts of situations that ponies shouldn’t be in, like trying to jump a fence and getting a frontandback hoof stuck in the process. Which is why he’s currently confined to his stall for a week.
I don’t even know why I came out here in the first place. No, that’s a lie. I needed to go somewhere so that I could catch my breath and try and process whatever happened this morning between my father, Jude Cooper, and myself.
Because I can tell you right now, I didn’t wake up this morning expecting to end the day being married to a total stranger—albeit, a very handsome, intriguing, calming one.
My mind has been a scrambled, conflicted mess ever since the Coopers left with promises to take care of things and comeback this afternoon. Jude didn’t look as shell-shocked as I felt, but he was definitely distracted.
Though that has nothing on the hell that broke loose the minute us Wilsons were all alone around Dad’s hospital bed in the living room.
“What just happened?” I ask the room at large. “Is this some weird dream?”
“She’s not marryin’ a Cooper,” Asher declared.
“Why did you agree?” EJ asked me.
“I’m confused,” BJ announced. “I thought we’re supposed to hate the Coopers.”
Dare was quiet though… concerningly so. While Dad was answering everyone else’s questions as well as he could, Dare stared across the room at me. It was as if he was trying to get inside my head. He looked almost contemplative. Then I realized exactly what it was…he was conflicted.
That’s when I muttered something about having to see a man about a horse, and here I am, watching an almost catatonic pony stare out a window because he misbehaved.
The sound of boots on dirt tell me I’m no longer alone. I don’t even need to look up to know that it’s Dare coming to check up on me.
“Rodney’s still mad, I see,” he says, his deep rumbling voice somehow strong, gentle, and reassuring all at the same time. “Pity. He’s a good listener sometimes.”
Glancing at my hulkingly tall, big brother, noting he still looks like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Then again, our father is dying and though we’ll all take over the ranch once he’s gone, it’s Dare who feels the most responsible.
And yet, he’s here worried aboutme.“I’m OK, Dare,” I tell him, answering his unasked question.
He sits down next to me, the bale rocking a little at the move. “You know it’s OK if you’re not, Little Em. I’m kind of pissed Dadlaid that on you. He should never have put you on the spot like that.”
I grab some hay and hold it out through the wooden slats for Rodney to nibble on, which he does after trying to pretend he’s not interested. “He’s dyin’, Dare. He’s allowed to do whatever the hell he wants,” I reply.
There isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do for my father. I’m a daddy’s girl through and through. Ma used to say she thought getting a girl would mean she had a best friend for life. Instead she got a tomboy who followed her dad around the ranch whenever she could instead of baking, sewing, and doing all the other things society tells you Moms and daughters should do together.
That’s not to say Ma and I weren’t close, I was just all about Dad growing up.And now I might only have days—maybe a week left with him.
“He may be dyin’, but he’s graspin’ at straws to court favor with a mountain spirit we don’t even know exists. Who believes in fate anyway?” he says, somewhat bitterly. “I’ve been tryin’ to sway him from doin’ anythin’ drastic for months now, yet even from his sick bed, he’s not ready to give it up.”
“It’s OK, Dare. Apparently he wants to see me married and believes that it will unite the mountain and bring our families back together. It’s symbolic and just for Dad, and I’m happy to do this for him if it brings him some peace before he leaves us.” My voice cracks just at the thought of living in a world without my father. “As long as Jude and I know it’s just a formality and it’ll never be legal, that’s all that matters. It’s such a small thing to do for him, Dare.”
“Then why are you out here communin’ with Rodney instead of in the house gettin’ ready, huh?” Weddin’ days are special, Em. They’re not supposed to be symbolic and just for show.”
“I’m fine with it. I promise.”