Page 8 of If You Loved Me

Theo was leaning against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest. “Where were we?” I asked.

“You were going to update me on the town’s juicy gossip.”

My heart shot through my stomach as I recalled the events of this past summer. There certainly was a lot of juicy gossip. The town had seen more in the span of a few months than it had in an entire decade.

“I guess the best place to start is that Willow finally got what was owed to her by her grandmother. We still aren’t completely sure what led Madeline Baxley to give over her estate to the one person she tried to keep out of her family. The only thing we can think of is that Madeline wanted the estate to stay in her bloodline, even if the only survivingfamily member had tainted blood.” I spat out the last words because the idea that my best friend wasn’t considered pure due to her biological father being poor was such an archaic thought process. Cut us open and we all bled the same color and experienced the same pain. Money didn’t change any of that, no matter how much some people wanted it to.

“I never liked the woman. Even when she smiled, it looked like she was frowning.” Theo’s face twisted in disgust.

Closing my eyes, I shook off the memories from last summer because I never wanted to see my best friend in that much turmoil ever again. “I’m just glad to see Willow putting all that money to good use. Honestly, I’m not sure if I would have the willpower to give up that gorgeous estate. But she seems perfectly happy living with Johnny in his house.”

He nodded. ”It takes a special person to be that selfless. I know she didn’t have the best time growing up and it sounds like she wants to give to the future generation of kids who were just like her.”

“Yeah, she’s pretty amazing.” I smiled.

“So are you, sis. Just because you weren’t given an opportunity to give back in that way doesn’t mean you wouldn’t. I know you say it would be hard for you to give up something as grand as the Baxley estate, but I don’t buy that for one minute. You’ve always been generous, kind, and thoughtful. I know you would give back in whatever way you could.”

I blushed. “Thanks, Theo.” He always saw the best in people. Even when we couldn’t see it ourselves.

His big palm splayed over my bicep and he gave it a gentle squeeze. “I also wanted to say I’m sorry I wasn’t here for everything that happened last year. I know you probably didn’t get much support from mom and dad.”

I snorted. “I hardly saw them all summer. Mom even robbed me of my largest account in some screwed-up attempt to teach me a lesson. She thought that by showing me that she was the one who actually controlled the citizens of Pebble Brook Falls I would fall in line and do something more worthy of my time than be a bakery owner.”

Conflict danced in Theo’s eyes. The anger that swelled from being pressed under our mother’s thumb for too long was warring with the love he still had for her. I could see it because it was the same conflict that I felt swirling in my soul all the time. I didn’t hate my parents for what they wanted for me. They were simply products of their upbringing and the pressures that society put on them. I just wanted them to be the ones to break the cycle. To realize how much their actions were tearing our family apart. That it didn’t matter what Theo and I did for a living, as long as we were happy.

But, I’d grown to understand that hell was more likely to freeze over than my parents realizing the error of their ways.

“Let me talk to her, I can?—”

“No,” I cut my brother off. “No. You’ve already done enough to protect me. It’s my turn to take the brunt of things for a while. Give you some space to live your own life.”

Just as he opened his mouth to give me a retort, my phone pinged in my apron pocket. Not even a second later, Theo was fishing his phone out of his jeans pocket after his dinged as well.

“Speaking of the she-devil.” He showed me the screen of his phone where our mom had sent a group text to both of us.

I reached into my apron and tried to stall the reflexive reaction of my heart plummeting through my stomach every time I saw my mom’s name flash across the small screen. But there was no stopping it as I swiped my thumb across the screen and opened the message.

Mom

It’s been a while since we have had a family dinner. I fully expect both of you to be home this Sunday evening by six o’clock sharp.

I groaned. “I thought we were done with family dinners.”

Theo’s sigh was a mirror for the internal upset I felt strangling my gut. “At least we’ll be together?” he offered.

“Yeah. At least we’ll be there together.”

We stood in silence for several long minutes. Feeling the heaviness of what was to come from that family dinner put me right back into the countless times when my mother told me I wasn’t good enough. All the moments I saw a disapproving look from my father. The moment I learned that my own mother had robbed me of my largest baking account twosummers ago when she told little Tommy’s mom to choose another bakery for his elaborate birthday party.

But as I looked at my big brother and saw the same worries etched on his face, I knew I had to be stronger this time. It was my turn to jump into the line of fire so that he could finally have his moment of peace.

Chapter 4

Sarah

Yesterday kicked my butt. Between meeting with Theo and learning that our mother decided to revamp the old family tradition of having Sunday dinner together and the huge crowd the bakery had throughout the day yesterday, I was dragging this morning.

Normally, I woke up with enough enthusiasm and energy to run an entire city, but today felt different. It felt like those years in high school and the first few after graduation when I could hardly get myself out of bed in the morning. Putting a smile on for everyone around me because I felt like there was no other choice. And I didn’t want my sadness to negatively impact the people I loved.

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