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E funerals when she was little and it autoan First she started by counting the light fixtures in the chapel, then the s, then the pews, then the people When that was finished, she started all over again She had made numerous passes around the roo her At so her eyes and she could have sworn that he knew exactly what she was doing Next to her, Boston, too, stared off into the distance Farther down the pew, she saw tears trailing silently down her htlessly ahead, and her father, who had been strong through the entire process, looked more in need of his wife’s support than at any other tih the entire service without breaking down Her s, and Emma should have anticipated how difficult it would be to hear them Her mother wanted Robyn rehts in the chapel di on the screen in the front of the chapel The song "There You’ll Be" by Faith Hill played first as i a surfboard when she was barely old enough to walk

If you could show a life in pictures, then their ed to do it E so many pictures taken by their parents Now, as she saw her sister’s life played out before her eyes--even though it was incredibly painful to witness--she was happy that their mother had never let an i, "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry, started playing, their father finally broke down and hastily left the chapel The song had been a favorite of Robyn’s, and their h it wasn’t exactly a traditional funeral song Neither Eht it was appropriate for a funeral, but her mother was adamant and Boston, of course, sided with her

Now, to Emma, it felt like her sister was in the room for the first time Sobs could be heard from all over the chapel as the slide show ended She hadn’t even realized that she was quietly crying until Brant pressed a tissue in her hand On her other side, Boston wasn’t doing htly as Brant squeezed hers in return I love you, sis, and I alill, she whispered in her , "This is the worst day you’ll ever live through You may not believe it now, but there will never be another day like today Each new day will be better than this one" She clung to those words like a promise as they left the chapel for the burial For once she hadn’t argued with hiht with all of her heart

At last the house was quiet and everyone was gone E water that Brant had insisted on running for her before going back downstairs to check on her parents She suspected that he was really intent on cleaning up any e of people who had visited earlier

As the water eased some of her tension from the day, Emma’s mind started to drift To say that she had been surprised by Brant the last few days was an understatement Despite how mad and disappointed she was in him when she arrived in Florida, she had to adether She had never doubted his organizational skills; the man had some serious OCD about stuff like that Those saured he had taken one look at them when he arrived and realized that he needed to take control Her father, who could usually be counted on to keep an even keel, had looked to Brant for assistance with ements Both herfro of friends and family at the house before and after the service Emma had just needed his support He knehen she wanted to be alone, when she needed to cry and when she just needed to talk He had been their rock and regardless of what happened next, she would always love him for that

She knew that he needed to return ho Her friends from Danvers had dropped by the house after the service Jason and Claire had pulled her aside and told her to take the time that she needed with her fa when she was ready She had been truly touched She counted Claire as a friend but hadn’t often been in a social setting with Jason When she had started to thank hi him Mr Danvers, since he was, after all, the president of the co that she call hiue-tied to have their support She had promised Suzy that they would catch up soon Her friend looked wonderful after her ordeal, but you could hardly miss the protective arm that her husband, Gray, kept around her

Erown cold She had been so lost in thought she hadn’t noticed that al off before grabbing her robe In the bedroo into bed She was still staring at the ceiling when Brant walked in She hadn’t protested the first night when he had stripped down to his boxers and crawled into bed, pulling her against his chest She needed hi she was asleep, he crept quietly across the darkened roo and a while later, the bed shifted as he settled in beside her Without hesitation, she curled onto her side and he settled his big body around hers "I thought you were asleep," he ainst hi Despite her mental and physical exhaustion, she needed to knohat had been going on with hi away, she reached over and snapped on the bedside light They both blinked like owls for a ave her a wary look before rolling over onto his back He ran his hand through his hair, a habit that she had coainst the headboard and said, "I need to know, Brant" He pulled hi to ask what she was talking about

Without hesitating, he started to speak "You know that Alexia and I were once engaged" At her nod, he continued on "When she cao, I was shocked She and I hadn’t stayed in touch at all after we parted Alexia was very quiet and shy e met Her father and I were business acquaintances We fell in love, or what I thought was love, and were soon engaged Looking back now, I can see that she was never truly happy Her father was very controlling, so she basically traded one prison for another one with s took a real nosedive when she s and party scene Without betraying Alexia’s trust too heavily, I’ll just say that Alexia got involved with the wrong sorts of people and ended up using pretty heavily She left ht and took off That was the last time I saw her until she showed up in my office that day"