A quick, loud knock on the door startled her. Before she could react, the door swung open, and Jordan barreled into the bedroom with the family cat, Ranger, flung over her shoulder.
“Okay if we come in?” Jordan asked.
“I think you’re already in, aren’t you?”
“Good point.” Barefoot, her sister sat cross-legged on the bed and gently put Ranger down on the mattress. Ranger, a big coal-black cat with bright golden eyes, immediately flopped onto his side and began to wash his long, black whiskers.
“So...what’s wrong, Jo?”
Josephine looked over at her sister, gave her a weak smile. She knew she had to tell her twin about Brice now; lying to Jordan was a waste of time. They had never been able to keep secrets from each other.
“Brice and I are...going through a rough patch.”
Jordan moved over to one side of the bed and patted the spot next to her. “That’s what I figured.”
Josephine kicked off her shoes and joined her sister and Ranger on the bed. She sat cross-legged, facing her sister with Ranger sprawled out between them, belly up.
“This is just like old times, isn’t it?” she asked Jordan. “Except we had two single beds in here instead of this queen-size bed.”
“I had a picture of Ian from his modeling days hanging up right there.” Jordan pointed to the spot just above the rolltop desk.
“And now you’re marrying him, Jordy...the man of your dreams.” Josephine smiled right before she felt new rash of tears starting to form.
Jordan saw the tears swimming in her eyes. “Tell me what’s going on, Jo.”
Josephine pressed her lips together tightly, looked away for a moment to gather her emotions before she said, “Brice called and told me that he isn’t coming to the wedding. He thinks we should use our time apart this summer to reflect on our relationship in order to make a prudent decision about our future”
“Wait a minute...he dumped you?” Jordan’s eyebrows collapsed together. “The knuckle dragger dumped you?”
“He didn’t dump me exactly. He just wants us to reflect...”
“Oh, my God, Jo! Don’t defend him!” Jordan nearly yelled those words.
Josephine jumped off the bed and shut the door. “Could you keep your voice down, please? I don’t want anyone else to know! This whole thing could just blow over tomorrow.”
“Why would you even want it to blow over?”
Josephine sat back down on the bed. “Because I love him, that’s why. We’ve been together for over five years. I’m not just going to throw that all away just because there’s a little bump in the road.”
“This isn’t a tiny little bump, Jo, this is a ginormous frickin’ crater!”
Josephine scratched Ranger beneath his chin and on the top of his silky head. “I know you’ve never liked Brice, Jordy.”
“I never once said that I didn’t like him.”
Josephine looked up at her sister. “You call him ‘the knuckle dragger’ more than you call him Brice.”
“Fine, so I don’t like him. But that’s just because he thinks he’s better than us, Jo. He thinks he’s better than you, with his family money and country club and connections to Beverly Hills, like any of us could give a rat’s behind.”
“I know that’s how he seems to you, to all of you, but do you really think that I’d be with him for five years if he wasn’t a good guy?” Josephine said pointedly. “There’s a lot more to Brice than any of you really know because none of you have given him an honest chance. Dad’s always so stiff around him and Mom has refused to warm up to him just because I decided...” She put her hand on her heart. “I decided to spend the Christmas after Daniel died with his family instead of coming home.”
“Well, Brice knew your brother had just died. It was stupid of him to even invite you to his parents’ La Jolla beach house in the first place.”
Josephine sighed from frustration. “Just promise you won’t tell anyone. Okay? If they need to know, I’ll tell everyone myself.”
Jordan pretended to lock her lips and toss the key over her shoulder. Her sister stood up, wrapped her arms around her shoulders, and gave her a tight squeeze.
“Now, come on, let’s go downstairs. There’s no sense in you sitting up here by yourself moping, especially if you don’t want anyone to pick up on the fact that something’s wrong,” Jordan said. “Besides, nothing’s better for heartbreak than family.”
* * *
As it turned out, Jordan was right. Spending time with her family had helped get her mind off Brice’s sudden, and unexpected, desire to end their relationship. And the plans for Jordan’s wedding were the best kind of distraction for her. Her mom had turned the family library into “Wedding Central,” and once she went back downstairs, she spent hours in the library with Jordan and her mom looking through all of the wedding regalia. She was blissfully surrounded by cake toppers and invitations, seating charts and stacks of RSVPs that needed to be answered. There were scrapbooks filled with all of the selections that had been made for the wedding and Josephine immersed herself in looking through each and every one. She spent hours, laughing and talking with her sister and her mother, and she was stunned when she realized that Brice had barely crossed her mind.
But afterward, when she was alone in bed, in the dark, all she could think of was Brice. Her mind just kept on going over the last several months of her relationship over and over again. Had there been signs that she hadn’t seen? Red flags that she had willfully ignored? Yes, he had been distant and unavailable, but he had just been handed the biggest case of his young career. This case could make or break his career in the field of environmental law. He needed to be focused and she had understood. But now that he had suggested that they take a “break” from their relationship and left her without a wedding date, the idea that his withdrawal from their relationship was only work-related was no longer a plausible explanation. So, what was it?
“Another woman?” Josephine queried quietly aloud.
It feels like another woman.
That’s what her head was saying. That was what her gut was saying. But her heart just couldn’t accept it just yet. Another woman meant that everything that they had been working toward together for years was over. Done. A horrible waste of time for the both of them.
Knowing that she wasn’t going to be able to go to sleep with all of these questions buzzing around in her brain, Josephine got out of bed and quickly pulled on some sweatpants and matching sweatshirt. Josephine tiptoed down the wooden stairs and she was careful to avoid the creaky boards. Life on the ranch started before dawn, so bedtime was early. Chances were, she’d have the downstairs to herself, which was exactly what she wanted. At the bottom of the stairwell, by the dim light streaming in from the library lamp that was always left on, Josephine stopped to straighten the picture of her brother, Daniel, in his Army uniform. She had three older brothers, but everyone knew that Daniel had been her favorite. After he was killed in Iraq, it was hard for her to imagine the ranch without him. It still was.
After one last look at her brother’s portrait, Josephine continued her quiet route to the front door. The front door was always unlocked, so she slowly turned the knob, and pulled the door free from the frame. Once that was accomplished, she carefully pushed the squeaky screen door open a crack, slipped through, and stepped out onto the front porch. She’d started suffering from insomnia when she was in high school, and when she couldn’t sleep, she had always found her way to the giant rocking chairs on the front porch. Still holding the screen door open, she closed her eyes and