Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 155900 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 780(@200wpm)___ 624(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155900 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 780(@200wpm)___ 624(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
I’d been shocked when I read it.
A cold dread curling through me when I saw her wishes.
It was a chill that hadn’t left me since.
As if to underscore my qualms, a bout of laughter echoed from the front room, Maci’s tinkling and my mother’s lower as they played memory with a deck of cards.
“I found it!” Maci shrieked, her laughter wild.
“What? How did you remember?” my mother sang.
“Because I got a good brain. My mommy says I’m extra smart, don’t you know?”
I could almost see Maci’s adorable nod to emphasize the point. The smile that would be on her face.
“I’m going to be an astronaut and fly aww the way up in the sky.”
“To the moon?” my mother played along.
“No way, Grammy, not the moon. We already been there. I gotta go to Mars or Venus.”
My spirit clutched because I knew she didn’t understand that her mommy would never get to tell her that she was smart again. Wouldn’t get to see her grow and become an astronaut or a doctor or whatever amazing thing that she would become.
Blowing out a strained sigh, I forced myself to unfold the letter, and for what had to have been the thousandth time, I let my eyes trace over the flowing script that I knew so well.
Dear Emery,
If you found this, then I guess I’m gone. God, I can’t even bring myself to imagine what that might be like. Not being here with you. Not being here with her.
Our childhood was so simple and so good. Do you remember how we always played? Laughing. Teasing. Sharing secrets that neither of us could ever keep since we could never keep a thing from the other. The two of us were the only thing either of us ever needed.
Except, I kept a secret from you. I told you that I didn’t know who Maci’s father was. I told you he was some random guy that I hooked up with after going out with friends for drinks one night.
But that was a lie.
I knew his name.
I shouldn’t have kept it from either of you. It was wrong, but I had my reasons.
And if I’m gone, then he needs to know about Maci. He needs to, Emery. I know you don’t understand, but I need you to trust me.
Go to him. Find him. Give him the chance to raise her. She deserves to have a father like him. I believe he’ll know what to do. He’ll protect her and take her into his sanctum. I know it.
I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, especially if it comes down to a situation like this. I know how much you love her and would do anything for her.
So please, do this for me.
You are my other half. Not my opposite, but the one I see when I’m looking in the mirror. My confidant. My heart. My twin.
My sweet, sweet sister.
I love you so much. Forever. No matter where this life takes us or when it ends.
Xoxo ~ Emmalee
Kane Asher
17364 Dove Trail Lane
Moonlit Ridge, California
Hot tears poured down my cheeks as I read the last of the words, and I sniffled, trying to sop them up with the back of my hand.
Why, Emmalee? Why didn’t you tell me? Why wouldn’t you trust me with this?
Because that little girl had been the other half of my heart for the last four years, and what I didn’t trust was putting her in a stranger’s hands.
Did she even know this guy? His lifestyle? His conscience? Had she been secretly dating him?
Had she not noticed what I immediately recognized last night?
The wickedness he exuded that made me certain he was dangerous?
Maybe that’s why I’d wanted him so badly. Because so often it was only fear that could chase away the numbness.
My thoughts moved to the part that had bothered me the most. I believe he’ll know what to do. He’ll protect her and take her into his sanctum. I know it.
That unsettled feeling swamped me again. The sense that something had been off about my sister’s death that had been ruled an accident. I’d felt it from the beginning.
My therapist had told me it was only part of my grieving process. The denial and unacceptance of the facts.
But I couldn’t shake the dread that kept sinking way down deep to my bones. That feeling that something was all wrong.
I swiped my face with the sleeve of my shirt before I inhaled a shaky breath, and I tucked the letter back into my bag then stepped out into the main room.
Maci was on her hands and knees on the floor, hovering over the cards that were spread out on the carpet in front of her, the child searching for the match to a queen of eights. Wearing an adorable yellow sundress that made the gold flecks in her emerald eyes glint and twinkle when she looked up at me.