doesn’t think that way about other people,” Monica insisted. “It’s just me. I’m her sister—her twin. Somehow, she thinks we’re supposed to want the same things.”
Mention of Melissa had brought down the mood of the evening. Emily had always wanted a sister or brother, and it made her sad to see sisters not getting along.
“When is she coming?” Brooke asked.
“I don’t know the exact date. She’s in the Middle East right now. When it quiets down a bit, they’ll give her some free time.”
“It sounds like an exciting job,” Emily said, then realized she sounded too wistful when Brooke gave her a warning frown. “I mean—”
“Emily,” Monica interrupted with a smile. “I’m not that sensitive, whatever Brooke thinks. Of course Missy’s job is exciting. But it’s not exactly glamorous most of the time, especially when she’s covering earthquakes and tsunamis, and people are dying right in front of her. Sometimes she can’t get a lot of food because it might make her a target for starving, desperate people. But if it sounds interesting to you, then you should talk to her about it. She’d love that,” she added dryly.
“That’s the problem—I don’t know what sounds interesting to me.” Emily clenched her beer bottle in frustration. “I know going back to college is the right thing to do, but I didn’t enjoy it the first time, and I have no clue what to study. Although I think I’ll rule out international journalism.” She grinned at Monica. “Too much travel.”
“You don’t like to travel?” Brooke asked in surprise.
“I do, but I want to have a family, and that would be difficult.” She smiled shyly. “I’m going to adopt.”
“That’s a great plan,” Monica said. “You’re not waiting for a husband to share it with?”
“I tried that, and it didn’t work. I’m getting too old to wait around for the right man, especially since I’ll have to save up adoption money.”
“You might not know what you want to do for a job,” Brooke said, “but you’ve got a plan, and that’s important.”
“You must have been a cheerleader in high school,” Emily said.
“Bite your tongue. I was a barrel racer, and the high-school girls’ champion of Colorado.”
“I’m impressed, and I don’t even know what it means,” Emily continued. “You ride horses around barrels?”
“Something like that. I’ll show you sometime.”
“Speaking of plans,” Monica said cheerfully, “Emily, you mentioned needing some furniture in your apartment. What do you have?”
“I don’t need much since I won’t be here long. There’s a bed frame, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable using the mattress.”
Brooke visibly shuddered, and they all laughed.
“What size bed?” Monica asked.
“Looks like a double, since the bedroom is pretty small.”
“Let me see what my parents have.”
Emily frowned. “What do you mean? I certainly can’t take your family’s furniture.”
“They’ve been talking about remodeling the guest bedroom for the longest time. Now that Missy’s coming home, I’m sure my mom will jump right in.”
“I detect sarcasm,” Brooke murmured.
Monica briefly stuck out her tongue.
“I don’t know if I feel right about this . . .” Emily began.
“Quiet. What else do you need?” Brooke asked.
“There’s already a table and two chairs. With those and a mattress, I’ll have eating and sleeping covered. That’s all I need.”
The two women looked at each other doubtfully, and Emily prepared herself to insist, but nothing more was said about furniture.
Brooke set her empty beer bottle down with a thump. “Guess it’s time to go. I need to be up before dawn.”
Monica shuddered. “You work long hours. I don’t know how you do it.”
Brooke shrugged. “It has to be done. Emily, can I drop you off on my way home?”
Emily gladly accepted, no longer feeling guilty about it, since the boardinghouse really was on the way to the ranch. After letting herself in the back door, she came up short when she found Mrs. Thalberg, dressed in a housecoat and slippers, sitting at the kitchen table with papers spread out before her.
Mrs. Thalberg lifted her head and smiled. “Did you have a nice evening, Emily?”
She grinned. “I did. Brooke taught me a line dance, and I wasn’t too terrible. But why are you still up at midnight?”
“I just wanted to prepare our new applications for the committee meeting tomorrow. Now that I don’t have to get up before dawn, I do some of my best thinking at night.”
Emily found herself picturing the redheaded grandmother chained to a brothel, and barely held in a laugh.
“When it’s not so late, I’d love to hear all about your work. It