Love In Secrets (Love Distilled #3) - Scarlett Cole Page 0,91
it. I need to know you don’t hate me for this.” The last words came out on a whisper.
Liv threw her arms around him, and he patted her arm softly. “Don’t cry, Liv. It’s going to be alright, Liv. I promise.”
“I said this would hurt,” Emerson said. “I didn’t realize it would hurt this way or this much.”
He reached for her hand. “We can do this, Em. We’ve done everything else together. We all got through when Mom died, when Dad died, when this place was falling apart.”
“But you won’t be here when we come out of the other side of it, will you?”
Her teary eyes studied his, and he shook his head. “No, Em. I won’t.”
“I can’t imagine what it will be like without you here. I don’t want to imagine not seeing you every day. And Cassie never comes back here to visit,” Liv said through tears.
“I can’t imagine how we’ll do it on our own, Liv.” Em’s voice was rough, wavering, but she continued. “Jake has been the one constant. I know you guys said I was the glue that kept us together, but without Jake showing up every day, I don’t know how we’ll replace that with someone who isn’t family, someone who isn’t as invested or works as hard as we do. As Jake does.”
“I’ve thought about it,” Jake said. “It might mean hiring two people to replace me, or bringing on Sienna. We need to give it more thought.”
“I can’t do logistics right now.” Liv slipped her hand from his. “I need some time to process what this means for us all. And I think Em and I need some time to discuss whether we think we can do this without you.”
Jake quickly looked between the two of them. “What do you mean?”
Em shrugged. “You know how much work this place is. Even with someone to replace you as a distiller, we all wear a thousand hats. You leaving . . . I don’t know. We need to think about how much it will be for us to shoulder without you.”
“You wouldn’t sell, right? That isn’t what you’re saying?” His heart raced. Of all the outcomes he’d puzzled over and problem solved, this had not been one of them.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Emerson sniffed and closed her eyes for a moment before focusing on him. “We need to get this conversation in order. I’m happy for you and Cassie, Jake. You’re my brother, you’ve carried us for well over a year, and you deserve happiness, the kind Liv and I have found. The kind Mom and Dad had.” Talking about their parents made the tears she’d been fighting slip over her lashes.
“Em,” he choked.
“Don’t. Let me get through this. There is no doubt this is going to be hard. Our lives, our work, the distillery . . . everything is so intertwined. Untangling everything will take a while. And as we do that, yes, Liv and I will need to question whether we do want to go on or not. There may be times when we’re angry, when the compromises we need to make don’t suit any of us. But never doubt that I’m happy for you—I just wish there was a different way to sort this out other than you leaving.”
Liv sniffed next to him. He reached for the box of tissues that always sat in the center of the table and handed her one. Once she wiped her nose, he put his arm around her and squeezed her tight, kissing the top of her head. “We’ll make it through this, Liv. Don’t cry, please. I’m holding on by a thread.”
He turned to Emerson. “I love you. If anyone is capable of running this without me, you are. You doubted you could do this, Em, but I never did. By the end of the year, we’ll be in the new distillery. Production won’t be anywhere near as constrained. Operating costs will be lower. We’ve already come through the worst. Honestly, I’ll fight you if you sell because you don’t think you can handle it. Sell if you don’t want to do it . . . that’s something entirely different. But don’t sell it because you’re scared it will be too much. Promise me, Em.”
Emerson held his gaze. “I promise. I have a suggestion. We’d talked about increasing sales volumes as quickly as possible. But let’s think about building some inventory. As soon as we’re established in the new distillery. Perhaps there’s