Page 64 of Unbroken

“But it never got ugly. Ever,” Shannon continued. “They were always respectful of one another, no name calling or anything like that. It was the type of fighting where they each felt strongly about something, and they wanted the other person to see their side. Sort of like a debate. In the end, the one who made the most sense came out the winner. But the truth was they’d both wind up winners, you know? Because they supported each other, and they were both willing to hear what the other person had to say.”

“That’s how it was with Eli and me.”

The words came out of me before I could stop myself. I hadn’t even said his name since he was last at the ranch three days and fourteenhours ago—not that I was keeping track—and here I was, bringing him up to Shannon.

“Yeah, I could see that,” Shannon agreed. “You two were good together.”

The tears caught me off guard. “Did I make a mistake?”

Shannon reached out to me and squeezed my shoulder. “What do you mean?”

“I was angry with him for not staying when I asked him to, but who am I to keep him from pursuing his dreams? He was always honest about wanting to leave, so why was I such a jerk about it?”

“Because you were hurting, Fi,” Shannon said softly. “I’m sure he knows that.”

“Does he?” It came out as an anguished cry.

“Hey, what’s going on in here?”

Josh’s concerned voice startled both of us even before he came into sight.

He frowned when he saw where we were. “Aw, Fi. I told you that you didn’t have to do this room. I knew it would be tough for you.”

“She’s feeling emotional about this,” Shannon said, holding the file out to him. “And Eli, of course.”

Josh read the note and looked at the photo. “I’ve never seen this photo. This was when Dad had first taken over Lost Valley from Pop-pop, I can tell by his hat.”

“You date things by headwear?” Shannon asked.

“You know how particular he was about his hats. This was one of his good ones, so they were probably having meetings or something. He certainly wasn’t working that day, look at his boots.”

He held the photo out, and Shannon and I squinted at it.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Shannon said, chuckling. “Hey, how busy is Zoe? Do you think she could do her magic with this photo and make it look all shiny and new, so we can frame it?”

“I’ll bring it home for her to play around with it.” Josh tucked the photo back into the folder and stuck it under his arm. “I actually came out because I want to take my sisters out tonight. Dustin got his hands on a bunch of extra tickets to movie night in the park and when I heardNotting Hillwas playing, I figured you’d want to go, Fi.”

I slunk down. “A rom-com? I’m not sure I’m in the right frame of mind for that.”

“Oh, come on,” Shannon said, reaching over to jab at my shoulder. “Hugh Grant will definitely cheer you up. Plus, they always have food carts, so maybe we can con this guy into buying us some hot dogs for dinner.”

“Please, I’ll get you two the gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches if you want.” Josh zeroed in on me. “Come on, you need to get out. I promise you’ll have fun tonight. Plus, it’s for a good cause. All the money from these town events are going to the community center fund. You want to help build the center, don’t you Fi?”

His expression made it clear he wouldn’t accept no for an answer. It was unlike Josh to be so relentless about something like a chick flick, and I was shocked that he actually wanted to go with us, but I chalked it up to Zoe’s influence—plus me being unusually grumpy lately. The Cafferty siblings always banded together when one of us was in trouble. I’d driven all the way from Denver to intervene with Josh when he was all moody over Zoe leaving, it was only fair that he try to return the favor.

“Okay, okay, I’ll go,” I relented.

“Awesome,” Shannon cheered. “I’m going to fix you up. Your hair has been looking like shit lately, so let me at least run a brush through it.”

Josh laughed. “Sounds like a fight’s brewing, so I’m out. Zoe’s coming too. Meet us in the kitchen at six.”

Part of me wanted to curl up in bed and pull the blanket over my head, but I knew there was no way my family was going to let that happen. In addition to our matching auburn hair, the Caffertys had another thing in common: our stubbornness. That was great when it came up against someone else. But when it was Cafferty versus Cafferty? Unless one of us gave in, it would be a fight to the bitter end. A rom-com was so not the hill I was prepared to die on. Not yet, anyway.

I sighed and mentally prepared to subject myself to a happily ever after that wasn’t even close to what happened in the real world. “Hugh Grant, here I come.”

FORTY-THREE

FIONA

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