“Yes.” She frowned playfully at him. “That much I do know.”
“Hey.” Logan leaned his forearms on the table between them. “All kidding aside, you aren’t going to hold a grudge against me for giving you those tickets, are you?”
“No, I’ve never been much of a grudge holder.”
“That’s good...because as maid of honor and best man, I think we’re going to be spending a lot of time together.”
“I’m sure we will,” she agreed. The thought of spending time with Logan made her want to turn on her phone and check to see if Brice had called.
No messages, no missed calls.
She couldn’t believe it. He still hadn’t called or so much as sent a text. But she kept her phone turned on this time, just in case he tried.
Logan didn’t want Josephine’s attention to be distracted from him or their conversation. After she checked her phone, the expression on her pretty face changed. The muscles along her jawline tightened; her lips became tense. Perhaps a less casual observer wouldn’t notice these almost imperceptible changes, but he did. He noticed.
“Well, I’m glad you’re a forgiving woman, or this trip could’ve been a real bust.”
Josephine looked up from her phone. “I could really say the same about you.”
“I’m not sure I follow.”
“I was kind of rude to you after you gave me the tickets. You were trying to tell me who you were and probably that you were heading to the same place I was, but I cut you off.”
“Trust me, I’m used to it. Nobody’s happy when I hand them a ticket.”
“I’m still sorry. I was just...”
“Mad at me.”
“Mad at you...mad at me...mad at...” Brice. “...the stupid clock that said I was late!” She laughed at herself, and then asked him, “But did you really have to give me three tickets? I mean, come on! I really think that someone with my driving record deserved a warning.”
“Your driving record is the reason I dropped the charge down from reckless driving.”
Josephine frowned. “Would you have still given me all of those tickets if you knew I was Jordan’s sister right away?”
“Of course.”
“Seriously?”
“Enforcing the law isn’t personal for me. It’s my job. Most people just don’t get that.”
Josephine’s phone rang and interrupted their conversation. “It’s Brice!”
“Hi, honey. Hold on, okay?” Josephine stood up, moved out of Logan’s earshot, and sat down in the last seat at the very back of the jet.
“Okay, are you there?” she asked in a lowered voice. “I’m so glad that you called...”
Head down, Josephine listened carefully to what her boyfriend called to say. After a couple of minutes, she asked in a harsh whisper, “What do you mean you aren’t coming to the wedding?”
Josephine didn’t really think that Brice had deliberately tried to spoil her first homecoming in years. But that’s what it felt like on her end. He had called specifically to tell her that he thought it was best if they took a break from their relationship. He had basically broken up with her, and left her dateless for her own twin’s wedding in the span of five minutes. Brice had said what he called to say and then got off the phone. He had been between appointments when he called.
After they’d hung up, she had stared at the phone for a while, wondering what to do next. Pretty quickly, she decided it would be best if she pretended, for a while at least, that the phone call had never happened. What if this whole thing blew over in the next couple of days and she had been bemoaning their breakup to her family the entire time? Her family didn’t need one extra piece of ammo against Brice. So, pretend she did...
She smiled all the way through their mini family reunion at the Helena airport. She smiled her way through the long ride home to Bent Tree, the family ranch. And she smiled and laughed her way to the end of dinner and clearing the table and loading the dishwasher. And she didn’t stop smiling and pretending until she could retreat to her third-floor bedroom. This was the bedroom of her adolescence, the bedroom that she had shared with Jordan. She switched on the antique Tiffany lamp next to the door and gently pushed the door shut. The room smelled of cedar and cinnamon, and the nostalgia for her uncomplicated youth made her start to tear up.
She wiped the tears out of her eyes and said sternly to herself, “Stop that!”
Josephine worked very hard not to cry while she unpacked her suitcase and carefully hung up her clothing in the small closet. Undergarments and jeans were neatly folded into a dresser drawer, a nice variety of shoe options was neatly lined up in the closet, and toiletries were put away in the small en-suite bathroom. Josephine had stowed her empty suitcase beneath the bed and began to unpack her books.
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
