For Now and Forever (The Inn at Sunset Harbor-Book 1)

CHAPTER TEN

Emily stood there, heart pounding, irate. Trevor Mann had really stirred her up.

But she could hardly reflect on her anger, his visit—because her mind was pulled back to the letter in her back pocket.

Her father's letter to her.

She reached in and pulled it out, examining it in awe.

"What a jerk," Daniel began. "Do you really think—"

But he stopped himself as he saw her expression.

"What have you got there?" Daniel asked frowning. "A letter?"

Emily looked down at the envelope in her hands. Plain. White. A standard size. It looked so innocuous. And yet she was so afraid of what it would contain. A confession to a crime? The revelation of a secret life as a spy, or as another woman's husband? What about a suicide note? She wasn't sure how she would cope if it were the last, and couldn't even begin to guess at her reaction if it was any of the former.

"It's from my dad," Emily said quietly, looking back up at him. "I found it locked away with his things."

"Oh," Daniel said. "Maybe I should go. I'm sorry, I didn't realize—"

But Emily reached out and put a hand on his arm so that he had to stay put. "Stay," she said. "Please? I don't want to read it alone."

Daniel nodded. "Shall we go and sit down?" His voice had become softer, more caring. He gestured toward the door to the living room.

"No," Emily said. "This way. Come with me."

She led Daniel up the stairs and down the long corridor which ended with her dad's study.

"I used to stare at this door when I was a kid," Emily said. "I was never allowed in. And look." She turned the handle and pushed the door open. With a little shrug she turned back to Daniel. "It wasn't even locked."

Daniel gave her a caring smile. He seemed to be treading on eggshells around her and she could fully understand why. Whatever was in the letter could be dynamite. It could set off some kind of catastrophic reaction in her brain, send her reeling, spiraling into despair.

They went inside the dark study and Emily sat down at her dad's desk.

"He wrote this letter right here," she said. "Opened this drawer. Popped it in. Locked it. Hid the key in that vault. And then walked about of my life forever."

Daniel pulled up a chair and sat beside her. "Are you ready?"

Emily nodded. Like a scared child peeping through their fingers during a scary movie, Emily could hardly look as she picked up the letter and tore open the top. She slid the paper from the envelope—it was just one piece of eight-by-eleven paper, folded in half. Her heart began to beat wildly as she opened it up.

Dear Emily Jane,

I don't know how much time will have passed between me leaving and you reading this letter. My only hope is that you haven't suffered for too long wondering about me.

That leaving you will be my biggest regret, I'm in no doubt. But I could not stay. I hope one day you'll accept why, even if you will never be able to forgive me.

I have only two things to tell you. The first, and you must believe me when I say this, nothing was your fault. Not what happened to Charlotte, nor the state of your mom's and my marriage.

The second is that I love you. From the first moment I saw you to the last. You and Charlotte were my greatest contributions to this world. If I never made that clear when I was around then I can only apologize, though sorry doesn't seem a big enough word.