“I guess. Sometimes I can’t work out if Lena wants me around, though,” he said. “Or Cass, for that matter.”
“Maybe we keep taking every little hiccup too seriously,” Wye said slowly. “Maybe the fact that Lena and Cass can tell you how they really feel means they’re comfortable with you.”
“Maybe.”
“And maybe it means sometimes you have to decide what to stand up for and what to let go of.”
“Like letting Cass make the coffee for everyone else after I make it for the General.”
“Exactly like that.”
“What about living at the Park?”
“What about it?”
Following the others, they walked up the back steps and into the warmth of the house. Cass was already making more hot chocolate. Hunter and Jack were struggling with the Christmas tree in the front room. Alice was telling Brian and Logan where the ornaments were stored.
“Might as well pull them out now so we’re ready for tomorrow,” she said.
Emerson took Wye aside. “I thought it would be good for us to have some distance between us and everyone else, but the General says we should pick a building site close to the main house. What do you think?”
Wye glanced away. “I think that’s a conversation to have when we’re engaged. If we get engaged,” she added hurriedly when he grinned at her.
“When we get engaged,” he teased, bending to kiss her. Wye let him, glancing up at him through her lashes when he pulled back again.
“Who’s up for the skating party tomorrow?” Connor asked, looking up from his phone. “The Night Sky Party is happening in town, and I haven’t skated in ages.”
“Me,” Cass said.
“Me, me!” her sisters chimed in.
“Wye? Emerson?” Connor asked when everyone else had said they’d go.
“I’d love to,” Wye said. “It’s been years since I’ve been on skates. Emerson?”
“I don’t think so.” He tried to be nonchalant. “My ankle probably won’t support me.”
Wye’s face fell. “Of course. We can find something else to do.”
“You can still come and look at the stars,” Cass urged them. “There will be telescopes set up, too. The Night Sky Party is an annual fundraiser. It’s for a good cause.”
“What do you think?” Wye asked.
“Sure.” But Emerson already dreaded it. What were the chances someone wouldn’t suggest he give skating a try—just to see if he could do it after all?
The following night, his prediction came true. He might have known it would be Lena who issued him the challenge. When he and Wye joined everyone at the Night Sky festival, they all took their turns at the telescopes to look at the moon, the Milky Way and a planet. But as soon as they were through, Lena shouted, “Last one on the ice is a rotten egg! Come on!”
Most of the family hurried after her—even Cass. She’d declared that she was perfectly capable of skating calmly around the edge of the rink with Brian to shield her from anyone who lost control.
Wye stuck with Emerson. “Let’s check out the bonfire,” she suggested.
But just then Lena turned back to see if there were any stragglers. “Wye, come on!”
“You go ahead,” Emerson told her. “I’ll watch.” He hoped she didn’t know how much it pained him to hold back. He’d always loved to skate. Had played endless rounds of hockey on the frozen pond with all his cousins, an activity his aunt and uncle accepted if all their other chores were done.
“Are you sure? I can stay with you if you like. Or maybe you could give it a try? We could stick to the edge of the rink, like Cass is. You could lean on me.”
He bit back a sharp retort, knowing Wye didn’t deserve it. He couldn’t help feel a stab of betrayal, though. She was with him constantly. She knew he was injured.
“You don’t have to,” she said quickly. “I’ve just noticed that when you’re not thinking about your ankle, you seem to do pretty well getting around.”
“I can walk okay,” he told her. “That doesn’t mean I can skate.”
“You don’t have to,” she said again, but Lena was still waiting.
“Come on, Myers. You’ve been walking all over the ranch,” she called. “If you can walk, you can skate.”
Hell. Was that a challenge? Or did Lena simply want to see him fall on his ass? He had a feeling that though she was trying her best to overlook it, she still resented his closeness to her father.
“Fine,” he said to Wye. “Let’s try. But if I fall, you’ll have to drag me off,” he warned her. Humiliation was good for the soul, right? People would keep on pushing him until they saw for themselves the extent of the damage to his ankle.
“I will,” she promised him. “Come on.”
It took time to rent their skates and get them on, but all too soon, Emerson was limping toward the ice, leaning more heavily than he’d have liked on Wye’s shoulder. His gut was tight with discomfort. For all his bravado, he hated the idea of everyone seeing his weakness.
“This isn’t going to work,” he said.
“Maybe not. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”
Easy for her to sound so chipper about it. She wasn’t the one who’d be crashing on the hard ice in another minute.
Wye stepped onto the little rink first, got her bearings and then extended a hand to him. “You’ve skated before, haven’t you?”
“Plenty.” He stepped gingerly onto the ice with his good foot.
“That will make it easier.” Wye supported him as he stepped forward with his injured ankle. He winced as he tried to put weight on it, feeling how weak it was, balanced on the thin blade.
“Easy does it.” Hunter appeared on his other side and offered an arm.
“I’m fine.” Emerson waved him away. It was bad enough having to lean on Wye.
“Let’s make sure of
