“Should we yell surprise?” a man whispered from behind the wall of the Silver Canyon Bar and Grill, and Emilia held in a chuckle.
“It’s not a surprise,” Sam answered. “She knows there are going to be people here.”
“But does she know there’s going to be this many?” the same man asked, which made Emilia’s stomach twist into a knot of uncertainty.
How many were there, and who was the man doing the talking?
She could do this.
Coming home after almost twenty years wasn’t that big of a deal. Besides, it wasn’t home now. Oregon was home, and she loved the friends she’d managed to accumulate over the years.
Although, most only knew of the new Emilia and very little about the original Hailee, all by design, of course. One thing she found about living right outside Portland was that while the people were friendly, they didn’t really want to know about your business, which was perfect for her because she didn’t feel like sharing it.
“I think as long as Josh doesn’t show up, she’ll be totally fine.” Sam laughed, and Emilia’s chest tightened.
Had Sam told his cousin she was in town? Was that even a possibility?
New York was a long way away from this little mountain town, but it wasn’t impossible. If he hopped on a plane this morning, he could very well show up tonight. It would be late, but it could be done.
She bit down on her bottom lip and let out an annoyed sigh. Who did she think she was to actually believe that Josh Turner cared enough to fly across the country for her? She probably wouldn’t recognize him anyway, and he surely wouldn’t recognize her.
Emilia smoothed out her skirt and turned the corner to see a restaurant full of people yelling “Surprise” as she slowly stumbled to a halt. Her eyes scanned the room, recognizing more friendly faces staring back at her than she could ever have imagined.
Even Sheriff Bauers was standing in the front, shouting with the rest of them, and that was when she realized he was the other voice. Her cheeks reddened at the thought of the last time she ran into him. She was seventeen and running out the back door of a friend’s house, whose late-night party was busted up by the local police thanks to a nosy neighbor down the road. The memory brought back a wave of warmth and happy memories as she thought back to such simpler times.
Her grandparents were still alive then, and she knew she had a happy home to run to where they’d never mention the run-in and pretend word didn’t travel fast around Silver Ridge. They knew Emilia well enough to know the little encounter with the police had scared her straight to stay away from parties with booze. She’d also spent most of the night lying next to the porcelain throne, promising herself and God that she’d never drink anything that stung her throat ever again.
Emilia gave a quick wave to everyone suddenly surrounding her, feeling the familiarity of the small town wash over her.
“I would recognize you anywhere.” The Norths’ grandma clapped her hands together and stepped through the crowd. “You’re absolutely ravishing.”
Emilia laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. She had no idea Grandma Martha would remember her after all these years. Emilia had only run into her a few times, and it was generally around the school carnival when Grandma Martha was donating her pies.
“This is all such a surprise. I didn’t even know Silver Ridge had this many residents.” Emilia hugged Grandma Martha, who chuckled before stepping out of the way.
“It’s not every day someone as special as you comes to visit. Not to mention, I hear you’re famous now.” Grandma Martha winked, and a flush fell against Emilia’s cheeks again. “Everyone wants to see our own local celebrity.”
“Not even close.” Emilia laughed just as a woman walked toward her whom she recognized immediately.
Josh’s sister, Dakota, was making her way over, and all Emilia wanted to do was crawl under the nearest table. Not only had she dated Josh, but one of her closest friends happened to be Dakota, and the moment she left Josh and Silver Ridge, she left Dakota as well.
“Emilia Hudson.” Dakota’s long brown hair fell below her shoulders and her smile lit up the room. “No wonder I haven’t been able to find you for the last eighteen years.”
Emilia drew in a deep breath and smiled, feeling more sheepish than anything else as she stared at her high school sweetheart’s sister.
“Yeah. The name change would complicate things a tad.” Emilia laughed and took a step forward to give Dakota brief hug before a few other acquaintances from high school swung by to say hi to Emilia.
She spotted the open bar hopping with people, and she knew the real reason people showed up tonight had more to do with free food and drinks than seeing her. Although, after fifteen minutes of hugs and handshakes, she started to believe that maybe they had come to say hi. Between her softball coach, Traci Miller, and the boy, James Lowe, who was her first kiss, she was spinning in old memories.
Emilia saw Dakota making her way back over from the buffet.
The Silver Canyon Bar and Grill was a beautiful place to have a function, with the fireplace ablaze and floor-to-ceiling windows allowing everyone the view of snow falling gently over the base of the ski mountain. It was a ski-in-ski-out restaurant, which made it a fun place to hang out at after a long day on the slopes. As she glanced around the restaurant, she could feel Dakota’s gaze on her.
“So, you’re a blogger for a living?” Dakota asked, taking a sip of her martini.
“I am.” Emilia nodded, wishing she had a drink too. “I kind of fell into it.”
“What do you blog about?” Dakota’s brown eyes sparkled, and Emilia knew Dakota had already looked her up and knew the answer, which only made the discussion even more awkward.
“Relationships.” Emilia flagged down a server and asked for a beer. “Life, dating, love… really, anything that pops into my head. It started as a hobby and somehow took off.”
“So are you currently dating anyone?” Dakota’s grin grew wider.
“Several someones.” The server brought over a pale ale, and Emilia immediately took a sip, hoping it would work its magic. “But nothing serious. It’s better that way. Makes for more interesting reading material.”
“I see.” Dakota nodded and took another sip. “I’d imagine it would.”
“How about you?” Emilia asked, glancing at her empty ring finger.
It was a bad habit that she kept vowing to correct.
“Not a soul, and I intend to keep it that way for a very long time.”
Emilia laughed. “You and me both.” She took another sip and glanced at Sam, who raised his glass in her direction. He was definitely proud of himself for organizing tonight’s event. “So you live in Silver Ridge?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I moved to one of the islands several years ago and love it.”
“Really? Which one?”
“Fireweed.”
The mere mention of Fireweed Island made her long for her grandparents. Every summer, they would rent a cabin along the coast of Fireweed and Emilia never wanted to leave. They’d have beach bonfires, hot dogs over the burning fire, and long nights of talking about dreams and destiny as they all looked at the endless starry skies.
“I love Fireweed. God, I haven’t been there for almost twenty years.”
“It probably hasn’t changed too much.” Dakota smiled. “It seemed like the perfect place to open a studio.”
“A studio?”
Dakota nodded. “I do stained glass.”
“Oh, wow.” Emilia was utterly impressed and equally confused.
Dakota had always said how she wanted to leave Silver Ridge behind and move to a big city. She was the complete opposite of her brother, Josh, who said he wanted nothing more than to stay in the small town he grew up in. Yet, it appeared they had done role reversals with their dreams.
As if sensing Emilia’s observations, Dakota chuckled. “I know. Who would have thought I’d trade one small town for another? But it felt right.”
“Dreams are allowed to change. Look at me.” Emilia took another sip of her beer. “I thought I wanted to be a veterinarian and now I write with zero pets.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Dakota’s eyes narrowed on her. “Things really do change.”
Emilia drew a deep breath and waited for the question she’d been dreading, especially coming from either Josh or Dakota, but instead, Dakota polished off her martini and set the glass down on the table next to them. Emilia spotted her staring at the chef behind the buffet table emptying a basket of something onto a tray.
“Want something to eat? I suggest the truffle fries with garlic aioli, and my cousin supplied plenty of both. It looks like the chef just fried a fresh batch.” Dakota’s warm smile puzzled Emilia, but she’d gladly take it over the alternative.
“Who in their right mind could turn down fresh fries?” Emilia set her beer glass next to Dakota’s empty one and followed Dakota over to the buffet table.
She was waiting for the moment Dakota said something about her brother. It was like every second that ticked by caused even more tension between them. Emilia felt like she was one pinprick away from exploding. Blood rushed through her head, and each breath felt a little less achievable, all because of a mess of anxiety and nerves that balled up into one Silver Ridge homecoming.
Or it was entirely in Emilia’s head, which wouldn’t surprise her, but the truth of the matter was that the moment she’d left Silver Ridge, she’d felt guilty.
She hated herself for the way she’d left. Emilia was brave on many fronts, but the way she left this small town wasn’t one of them. She’d always felt like a coward for how she’d handled saying goodbye.
Because she didn’t. She just left.
Emilia followed Dakota’s lead and piled the fries on her plate along with a couple of sliders with cheese and chicken wings.
“My brother would die if he knew you were back in town.”
Emilia nearly choked on her own spit as Dakota spun around to catch her reaction.
“I’d hope not.” Emilia recovered and took a bite of a slider. “How’s he doing, anyway?” She tried to act blasé, but she probably failed miserably. Her eyes always gave away how she was genuinely feeling, which was why dating men she absolutely cared nothing for or about never worked out well. She was awful at faking it.
“He’s doing well.” Dakota smiled, and complete adoration swept over her features as she thought about her brother. “He loves his job, but who wouldn’t, right? Living in New York and going to all the hottest parties and having a penthouse and all that. I’m pretty sure I could get used to that.”
Emilia’s brows rose in surprise. What in the world did he do for a living? The look on Dakota’s face implied she thought Emilia knew what would have brought him such success, but she didn’t have the faintest idea. She kind of wanted to keep it that way too. The less she knew about the boy who no man could ever live up to, the better.
“I say that now, but I actually think I’d get pretty bored pretty quickly. I’m delighted living in my one-bedroom cottage on the beach.”
“Living on the beach sounds pretty amazing if you ask me.” Emilia’s chest felt tight with apprehension mixed with disappointment.
How had she let so many lives escape her? She’d let perfectly incredible relationships die so she could hide from an outcome she’d never be able to change.
“It’s pretty incredible.” Dakota laughed. “To be able to do most of my work in the little shed I built on my property makes it perfect. I only have to leave for groceries.”
This sounded absolutely nothing like the girl Emilia grew up knowing. She was vivacious and the life of the party. In fact, she was the reason she was at the party that the Sheriff had busted up so many years ago. If there were anyone who wanted to become a hermit, she would have thought it was Josh, but she was apparently wrong about many things.
“I guess people grow up, huh?” Emilia asked, teasing. “Last I remember, you wanted to join a sorority and—”
“A sorority with you,” Dakota interrupted. “I wanted to join a sorority with you, remember? We were going to go off to college in Arizona and party it up and then in our last year of college, we were going to settle down. You were going to marry Josh, and I was going to find someone to marry.”
Emilia laughed. “Sounds about right.” She’d done an outstanding job of pushing out those memories. If she hadn’t, she would have started her young adult life riddled with guilt and the inability to do what she wanted, which was to start over far from Silver Ridge.
“And then we grew up.” Dakota’s friendly smile put Emilia at ease. “Well, I’m sure Josh will be bummed he missed you. He was here earlier this week visiting my parents.”
Dakota’s eyes stayed on Emilia’s, and Emilia’s entire dinner felt as if it were at her throat, ready to make another appearance. It was one thing to imagine Josh coming and going from Silver Ridge, but it was quite another to hear his sister telling her she’d just missed him.
“You don’t look so good,” Dakota said, her eyes narrowing. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” A cold sweat washed over Emilia’s entire body, and the room began to spin as she thought about everything and everyone she’d left behind.
“It was for the better,” Dakota assured Emilia. “I probably would have dropped out of college anyway.”
Emilia nodded and took a deep breath, trying to keep standing as Dakota started telling her about her latest glass commission, when everything went black.