were all there…except the events hall.
They had no insurance. There was no coverage for the weddings they’d had to cancel. There was no damage cover to repair the building.
Her breathing shallowed as she fought to push the panic that was rising back down. She checked the date of the final email, the first one she had seen. Her father had received the email thirty-six hours before he’d gone to the bank to take out the loan. Five days after Liv’s breakdown.
So that’s why you didn’t tell us what was going on.
Liv had been causing them all so much worry with her erratic behavior and deep depression. Their father hadn’t told them because Liv would have felt it was her fault for sending the papers in incorrectly, no matter how much they would have reassured her.
Her heart ached for her father working through it all alone. The desperation he must have felt. Tears burned her eyes.
Those last few days before his heart attack, her father had looked more tired than usual. Dark circles had ringed his eyes. When Emerson had asked him what was wrong, he’d told her he thought he was coming down with something. She’d tried to encourage him to go home, to take a few days off and get some rest.
But he’d seemed more committed to his work than ever.
They’d argued about the production schedule, him trying to push for more production, her pleading for the investment they’d needed so badly.
Oh, God. Their argument.
She’d piled on when she should have been trying to lighten his load.
He’d been carrying the burden alone, trying to figure out how to fix things. And the stress of it had killed him.
Oh, Daddy.
She let the tears come. There was no point fighting them. She cried for Liv. She cried for her dad. And out of self-pity, she cried for herself. How on earth could they move forward? She couldn’t lie to Jake and Olivia about a non-existent insurance payout.
She’d have to tell them both.
Perhaps together was better.
It isn’t the end of the business. It isn’t the end of the business. It isn’t the end of the business.
She repeated it over and over.
They had the means to pay back the loan from the sale of the house. It wouldn’t go under. And if she had to sell her house, the business could have whatever equity was left in it. They’d stay afloat, and if Olivia altered her plans slightly, they might have enough for a fourth still. They could make it work.
There were also emails to the brides and grooms whose weddings had been cancelled. Deeply personal emails from her father, begging them to stop, offering them cash. Some of them had been kind in their acceptance. Others had argued and bargained to get more.
The shock left her cold, and she wandered to the bedroom to grab her sweater. A pile of Connor’s laundry sat on a chair, waiting to be put away. There was a hoodie, one he wore to go to the gym. She pulled it on, and it smelled of his laundry detergent.
It smelled of comfort.
The sleeves were too long, so she pushed them over her wrists. Suddenly tired, she sat down on the bed. The month felt as though it were a hundred days long. Tomorrow was Halloween, but the excitement she’d felt for her favorite holiday, second only to Christmas, was gone.
She slipped beneath the covers and closed her eyes, thinking of her father until sleep claimed her.
“Em, sweetheart…are you okay?” Connor’s voice sounded as if it were down a deep well. “Emerson?”
Groggily, she opened her eyes. “What time is it?” she muttered.
“A little after eight. I just got back. Have you been crying? Come here.” Connor pulled her to him, and she put her arms around him. “What happened?”
Emerson told him the whole story. No tears this time because she had none left. When she was done, he looked as shocked as she felt.
“I’m so sorry, Em. For what it’s worth, I have huge respect for your father, trying to do what was best for Olivia.”
“Me too. It didn’t need to kill him, though. And he could have told me.” She looked at Connor. “Why didn’t he tell? Did he not think I would have supported him? Helped him?”
“From what I know about your family, your dad remained your father first and the owner of a company second. He took care of you before he took care of business. He’s the complete opposite of my dad. Believe me,