Emily and Marco were to be married on the winter solstice.
The family began gathering four days before that.
The entire town had been invited, along with guests from all over the world. The general had promised he’d be there; so would Khan, the reigning prince of Altara, who would be Marco’s best man. Caleb, Jacob and Travis would be his groomsmen; Jaimie and Lissa would be Emily’s maids of honor; Sage, Addison, Jennie and Laurel, Khan’s wife, would be her bridesmaids.
But for those four days, it would be only the Wildes who would be at El Sueño. Not even Emily and Marco were there; they would fly in the day before the ceremony.
It was wonderful, spending time together. There was lots of laughter, lots of remembering, lots of sighs and smiles, and even a few tears.
Everyone was happy.
Jaimie, not so much.
She was quiet. Very quiet. She knew, from the glances sent her way, that her family was concerned, so she tried hard to be cheerful and bright, but she wasn’t a very good actress and it only made things worse.
Something was wrong. They all sensed it.
The brothers went out riding early on the first morning. They talked about Jaimie in worried tones.
Jacob wondered if Jaimie’s off-kilter behavior was the result of her new job.
“It’s not new,” Caleb said. “She’s with the same firm as before.”
“But she used to be a Realtor.”
“She used to be an accountant,” Travis said. “Now, she’s an accountant again. So the job’s not new.”
“Maybe she doesn’t like living in New York” Jacob said. “All those tall buildings, closing you in, all those people…”
“Urbanitis is your problem, dude,” Caleb said. The others stared at him. He shrugged and looked sheepish. “OK, so it’s not a real word, but it describes how Jake feels about cities.”
It did, and he was right.
But big cities weren’t Jaimie’s problem. She was one of those people who could be happy in the Texas hills and equally happy in Manhattan’s concrete canyons.
After a lot of conjecture, Caleb cleared his throat.
“Maybe it’s…” He cleared his throat again. Travis and Jake stared at him. “She’s been through a difficult time lately,” he said, and told them about Steven Young.
“Dammit,” Travis growled, why didn’t you tell us?”
“I couldn’t. I couldn’t even tell her that I knew what was happening. Jaimie had confided in Lissa and Lissa came to me for help because of, you know, my background in—in—”
“In spookdom,” Jake said.
“That’s such a stupid word, Jacob. I was not a…” Caleb sighed. “Yes. That’s right. That’s why she asked for my help.”
Jacob: “But the prick’s been caught.”
Travis: “He’s out of Jaimie’s life.”
“He damn well is.”
Gusty sighs all around, followed by shakes of the head.
“So we don’t have a clue as to what’s bothering her.”
“No,” Caleb said.