Read Online Meet Me at the Chapel by Joanna Sims - Free Book Online

her first time back to the ranch since she was a teen. And somehow, even though her father knew she would be visiting the ranch, it felt like a betrayal.
    â€œIs it okay if I let Hercules out?”
    â€œWho?” Her aunt tossed some pillows out of her way so she could sit in her usual spot.
    Casey held up the carrier that resembled an oversize purse. “Hercules, the greatest dog that ever was or will be.”
    Aunt Barb was an avid animal lover. The minute she realized that Casey had a friend she immediately changed course and, instead of sitting down, came over to say hello.
    Hercules was let out of the carrier and into Aunt Barb’s hands. “You are too cute. Is he a toy or a teacup?”
    â€œHe’s a teacup—a micro-teacup, actually. I adopted him from the poodle rescue. My tiny apartment could only really handle a tiny dog.”
    â€œWell, you want to stay with your auntie for a while, don’t you, Hercules? We had to put Ilsa down last month—it’s been so strange without her in the house.”
    â€œOh. I’m so sorry to hear that.” She remembered playing with Ilsa, the family’s German shepherd, when Ilsa was just a puppy.
    â€œThank you. Your uncle’s been having the toughest time with it. They get in your heart, don’t they?”
    With Hercules in her lap, her aunt sat down, then Casey sat down across from her on the couch so they could talk easily.
    â€œIt’s been such a long time, Casey.” Her aunt looked at her with sorrow in her eyes. “So much time has passed. I don’t want to dwell on what we can’t change—what would be the sense in that?—but I have to say this. You do know that we always wanted to see you—you and your sister were always welcome.”
    This was the topic that made Casey squirm inside. This “feud” had started between brothers, but it had impacted everyone. Taylor and she hadn’t had a vote—their aunt, uncle and cousins were taken away from them without warning or discussion. When Taylor made the decision to return to the ranch last year, she blazed a trail for Casey’s return. But she still didn’t feel comfortable talking about it.
    â€œI know, Aunt Barb.”
    â€œWell.” Her aunt’s hands were busy petting Hercules. “You’re here now. That’s what matters.”
    She was here now. The smells of the house, the sounds of the house, seemed to be a part of the very core of who she was now. Everything— everything —unlocked memories and brought them to the forefront of her mind. Things that she hadn’t thought about in years—like the way the library always smelled a little soapy and clean because of the leather cleaner her aunt used to care for the furniture. And the way the wide wooden planks in the hallway creaked across from a grandmother clock that always ran fifteen minutes fast. It was...overwhelming.
    They caught up for a while and then they moved to the kitchen for lunch. Uncle Hank made it a point to stop his work and drive back to the main house to join them. It was so strange seeing her aunt and uncle in person. Their images had stayed frozen in her mind—and even though she had seen pictures of them on social media, it was different seeing them in person. Uncle Hank, a tall, slender man with deeply tanned skin, deep-set blue eyes and white hair that he always parted on the left and combed neatly back from his narrow face, was still a handsome man—but he looked so old to her. And Aunt Barb, who was from Chicago and had worked hard to maintain her city chic in spite of the fact that she had lived on a cattle ranch for over forty years, had aged gracefully. But even though she still wore her hair pulled back in a neat-as-a-pin chignon, it wasn’t blond any longer—it was silver. Time had moved on, had changed them all, and it made her acutely aware of everything she had missed.
    â€œHow’s