“Maybe all your babies will too,” Kimi teased.
Carolyn blushed. But she didn’t say anything else.
After taking one last drag of her cigarette, Kimi flicked the butt out the window. The scenery flew by. Nothing changed here. The desolate landscape depressed her. It always had.
Aside from Carolyn’s giddiness about her husband-to-be, it shocked Kimi that her sister had signed on to live in the vast void of Wyoming for the rest of her life. They’d both talked of getting out. Moving on. Kimi had selfishly hoped Carolyn would move to Chicago with her friend Cathy. Then she’d have a place to go when she finished her sentence at St. Mary’s, because there was no way in hell she was ever coming back here. No way.
One more year. She could survive that. She’d taken extra classes the past two years so she could graduate a year early—not that anyone in her family besides Aunt Hulda was aware of her plans. Catholic school had been tolerable with Carolyn around as a buffer. Everyone adored her big sister and that admiration had provided Kimi with a layer of protection from the holier-than-thou girls populating the school. Now that Carolyn had graduated, the torture had already begun for Kimi during her summer classes.
She hated her classmates’ judgment and supposition. They called her a fast girl just because she paid attention to the opposite sex when she had the chance. Kimi wasn’t fast or loose—as evidenced by her virginal status. But just to entertain herself, she’d adopted the attitude of a wild child. Let her classmates whisper and talk about her. It amused her that her only transgression had been detention for getting caught smoking.
“Kimi? You all right?”
She tamped down her melancholy. “I’m just tired.” She dreaded being left alone with her mom and dad while Carolyn and Aunt Hulda worked on the wedding dress. But she’d sworn not to cause any family problems. Her sister had enough to deal with. “This will be a quick trip for us.”
“Does that mean you won’t see any of your friends while you’re here?”
“What friends? I’ve been livin’ in Montana for six years. That’s longer than I went to school around here.”
“I recognize that disjointed feeling,” Carolyn said softly. “Like you don’t belong here and you don’t belong there.”
That startled Kimi. Carolyn never said things like that. She always looked on the bright side of everything.
“But Carson changed that,” Carolyn said.
“How so?”
“Now I know exactly where I belong. With him.”
Kimi reached over and squeezed Carolyn’s knee. “You are such a sap. Are you gonna cry during the wedding ceremony?”
“Probably.”
“Then I’ll make sure to tuck some extra tissues into my bra.”
Carolyn lifted one brow. “Extra? How is that different from how you dress every day?”
“Hey! I’ve never stuffed my bra!” Kimi cupped her breasts and lifted them up. “No need to. More than a handful is a waste.” She paused thoughtfully. “Or do guys say more than a mouthful is a waste?”
“Good lord, Kimi.”
She laughed. “You started it.” She cranked up the radio. By the time the chorus to “California Dreamin’” started they were both singing along. She let her worries float away and embraced these last few days with her sister before both their lives changed.
***
Kimi decided sitting in silence in the sun porch while Carolyn and Aunt Hulda sewed the wedding dress was a far sight better than being berated by her father as he sat in front of the TV.
No surprise he hadn’t given her a hug when he’d seen her, even when it’d been eight months since she’d been back here. Sometimes she wondered how her mom had gotten pregnant so many times when her father never showed her—or anyone else—the slightest bit of affection.
Her brothers didn’t say much to her—they mostly steered clear of the uncomfortable situation.
Carolyn got up early Sunday morning to make the entire family breakfast, even though it was her wedding day. Aunt Hulda huffed about it but didn’t say anything when her nephews scarfed down the food with scarcely a thanks and walked away from the table.
Kimi shooed Carolyn out of the kitchen, telling her to get ready while she tackled the dishes. She needed a moment alone to get a handle on her anger. This family expected so much from Carolyn—and Kimi when she was here—but gave so little in return.
One more day. Thankfully she had her date with Cal McKay to look forward to tonight. Part of her had wanted to tell her father about it after he’d started spewing crap about the McKays last night. Part of her had wanted to ask her mother what was wrong with her for saying nothing in defense of her daughter’s future husband. But she knew it’d be a waste of breath. Plus, it’d make things worse for her sister, since Caro believed their mother had stood up to their father, when in actuality, she’d just shut up. Kimi’s responsibility as Carolyn’s maid of honor was to manage the stress and drama so the bride could focus entirely on the happiest day of her life.