Page 6 of Sunny Skies Ahead
Imogen Phillips
Sounds good, thank you!! :)
My stomach did a weird jump at the presence of two exclamation marksanda smiley face emoji. I did my best to ignore it.
I had a tendency to overthink, and nowhere was that more obvious than when Imogen Phillips was involved.
Chapter three
Imogen
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when Wednesday night dinners became a tradition at the farmhouse.
What had started with a single dinner, where Abbie brought Connor and I together to break bread and make amends, had turned into a once a month tradition where Kameron, Lucas, Abbie, Connor, and sometimes Kevin and his girlfriend, Kyrie, came over to share a meal together.
We started out with rotating chefs, but after the fiasco that was Lucas Morales trying to cook in my kitchen and almost burning the house down, I put my foot down. Only Abbie and I were allowed to cook.
The boys could help, but only with supervision, particularly around the stovetop and sharp tools.
After spending a long Saturday afternoon at the Winding Road Barn with Abbie and Lucas finalizing the design details for the flower arrangements, I was exhausted. Kameron hadn’t been there, which had proven to be more of an issue than I’dexpected. Lucas had many gifts, none of which involved his ability to embrace a grander vision.
He was the most practical person I knew. Asking him to imagine what the barn would look like decked out in string lights and daisy garlands was like pulling teeth.
The first time we’d toured the venue, it had been far from finished. But now the barn was stunning. Exposed wood beams and high vaulted ceilings, gorgeous windows, and a lofted space that provided additional storage.
Kameron had taken his dream of a multipurpose venue and run with it. The barn would be a gorgeous place to host weddings, but I also knew there were many conventions and organizations that would love the space, too.
The pasta sauce bubbled at a low simmer on the stove. My phone sat on the counter, mocking me. I’d been procrastinating on calling my sister. We’d sent out wedding invitations weeks ago, and while Cassie and Abbie had never been close friends, I’d hoped my older sister would see my best friend’s wedding as important enough to come back to Watford for. We hadn’t received her RSVP, but we also hadn’t received a note saying she couldn’t come, either.
I took a deep breath and dialed. Only one way to find out for sure.
“Hello, this is Cassie.”
I rolled my eyes at the formal greeting.
“Hi, it’s me. Your sister,” I added emphatically, just in case she’d forgotten she had one.
There was a brief pause, followed by shuffling in the background, as if she’d pulled her legs up to her chest like she so often did when we were kids.
“Hi, Im. What’s up?”
“Are you coming to Abbie’s wedding?”
There was a long pause. I probably should have minced my words, given that this was the first phone conversation we’d had in months, but I was exhausted by always being the one to chase her down.
“Imogen, you know I would love—”
“Don’t do that,” I snapped, slamming the spoon down on the counter. Tomato sauce splattered against the backsplash and I cursed softly. “Don’t use the fancy divorce lawyer speak on me, where you twist what I’m saying. Just talk to me directly.”
“Alright,” Cassie huffed. “I just took a new job, Imogen. I’m putting my condo on the market. I can’t just drop everything in Seattle to come home.”
“The wedding is still a month away,” I argued. “We sent out the invitations months ago. You can’t put in a paid time off request?”
“When I received your invitation, I told you I was changing jobs. I know you don’t understand—”
“Oh myGod, Cassie, you can be such an ass sometimes. I know you’re a lawyer and you’re busy. I’m not some hick that’s never left Watford.”
The words stung harsher than I meant to, and guilt churned in my gut at Cassie’s sharp inhale.
