Page 1 of Breaking Emily's Rules
CHAPTER1
Emily
All things considered, I would rather be at the cemetery.
Instead, I pointed my truck in the direction of the Silver Saddle because when my sister, Molly, got an idea in her head, she was like a pit bull with a bone. Today that bone was dancing, and she’d cornered me into going along.
“You can go to the cemetery any ol’ time. All those dead people aren’t going anywhere.” Molly pulled down the passenger side visor and smoothed on bright red lipstick.
As if Molly needed any help channeling her inner hussy.
“A little respect, please. Some of them might be our relatives. I have a lot of gravestones to inspect if I ever want to complete the Parker family tree.”
I pulled into the gravel parking lot filled with cars and eased my truck into a space in the back. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. There might be men in there. There would certainly be plenty of smart women glancing in my direction and whispering.
Did you hear? Poor Emily. She didn’t see it coming, but maybe she should have. After all, didn’t everyone else?
“Awesome. Friday night and this place is crazy.” Molly unclicked her seat belt. “What are you waiting for?”
I didn’t move, glancing out the windshield from the safe place inside the cab of my truck. Couples were milling around the entrance, fools on a quest for the impossible.
“I’m not so sure about this.”
“Why not? You’re not still on the giving-up-men thing, are you? I thought you were kidding.”
“You know, there are more important things in life than men.” I fiddled with my keys, still safely in the ignition. I hadn’t made any firm commitments to getting out of this truck.
“Name one.”
Think, Emily, think.“Family, of course.” There was more, but I didn’t work well under pressure.
Molly scowled. “Fine, but you can’t do the really fun stuff without a man.”
Spoken from a woman who loved men a bit too much. “What did being man-crazy ever get you?”
“Don’t start with me. I swear the condom broke. Why won’t you believe me?” Molly slapped the dashboard, reminding me of the little girl she’d once been, raising hell wherever she went. The red hair fair warning to anyone crazy enough to tangle.
The fact that Molly was seven years younger than me and already had a child shouldn’t have bothered me. Except, sometimes it did. As usual, Molly didn’t appreciate what she had.
“Let’s not talk about this now.” I resisted the urge to pound my head on the steering wheel.
“You brought it up. You might want to be a mom, but that doesn’t mean every girl wants that.”
“Who says I want to be a mom?” When Molly got mad she tried to hurt anyone within spitting distance. Pulling the keys out of the ignition, I grabbed my purse, opened the door and leapt out of the truck. I needed to blow a little steam off now, thanks to my bratty sister.
“Well, your biological clock is ticking.” Molly followed.
“It. Is. Not. Ticking!” I could give as good as I got with my sister, even if my blond hair wasn’t the slightest shade of red. Even if I’d always had to look out for the little squirt.
“You’re twenty-eight. I think it’s started to tick.”
“Twenty-eight is the new eighteen.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means if fifty is the new forty, and forty is the new thirty, then what the hell do you think the new twenty-eight is?” I spoke loud enough that some of the patrons hanging outside the entrance turned to stare at us.
I grabbed my sister’s hand and pulled her toward the entrance. “I’m doing this on one condition. All we’re doing is dancing, and then we’re going home. Alone. I don’t go home with anybody, and neither do you.”
