Emily's Choice (18 page)

“Are we
ready to go?” Clint asked as everyone gathered in the foyer.

“Yes,” Emily
agreed, opening the door and walking out onto the porch.

The
Camancho
clan was not the first to arrive at the church.
Many of Grace’s friends were already there and eager to shake hands and offer
their sympathies. They got out of the vehicle and headed toward the entrance.
Elizabeth rushed to Clint’s side and gave him a hug. “Thank you for being here,
Elizabeth,” Clint choked out. “I’m so lost.”

Clint’s
sister, Elizabeth, and her daughter Chloe, had arrived late last night from
California and were staying at Tyler’s house. It had been at least ten years
since Emily had seen them, and though the reason was sad, she was excited to
see them.

Chloe came
to Emily’s side and gave her a hug. “I’m so sorry,
Em
.”

Emily nodded
and returned the hug. “It’s good to see you.”

They walked
together into the church, but it was slow-going because many of the people
already in attendance stopped them to offer condolences and share stories. They
finally made it to the front and filed into the pew. Gina and Phoebe joined
Emily in the pew. Emily grasped Gina’s hand. “I don’t know if I can do this,”
she whispered in Gina’s ear.

“You can do
this,” Gina said fiercely. “And tonight, when it’s over and everyone has gone
home, we’ll go down to The Dustbowl and get shit-faced.”

“Deal,”
Emily said, offering a small smile.

When the
minister stood at the pulpit, all talking ceased. Emily sat back and listened
as the minister, her father, and several of Grace’s friends honored her. She
was doing well until Hope went up to give her eulogy. Hope spoke of meeting
Emily and Tyler for the first time, how happy she’d been to be accepted into
their family. How the loss of her father had devastated her, but the love and
acceptance from Clint, Tyler, and Emily had helped to heal not only her, but
also Grace. The best decision Grace had ever made had come in the move to
Mosquero
. With tears in her eyes, she looked straight at
Clint and thanked him for his love, acceptance, and his family.

“My mother
was happier here than I’d ever seen her, even in Boston. She found herself out
here in the desert and she bloomed. I’ll miss her so much. She got cheated out
of so much, but I know she’s looking down on us,” Hope said, smiling through
her tears. “And she’s at peace.”

When the
service ended, they all piled back into the cars and followed the hearse to the
cemetery. The grave-side service was short, and all too soon, the casket was
being lowered and they were taking turns throwing dirt down on it.

Friends,
family, and acquaintances filed by to offer their condolences. Emily was
itching to be gone, needing some time to process all the emotions she was
feeling, before having to share her home and her stories with everyone. After
what seemed like an hour, they were back in the SUV and on their way to the
ranch.

What she
really wanted was to saddle a horse and take a long, hard ride across the
desert. She needed the wind whipping past her face, the chance to be alone, to
lash out and expend some of the emotions swirling around inside her. She couldn’t
do it today, but she promised herself that first thing in the morning, she’d do
just that.

They arrived
back at the house before anyone else. She assumed most had gone home to get
their food offerings and maybe even change into something a little more
comfortable.

Emily went
straight to the fridge to start taking out the food she’d purchased for today.
She also poured herself a stiff drink, her standard rum and coke, and guzzled
down the first glass without stopping for a breath. She poured herself another
and set it aside while she prettied up the food.

Two more
drinks later, people began to arrive and Emily had a good start on numbing her
pain and grief. She wandered through the house, stopping every now and then to
thank people for coming. Most gave her a hug and shared some tidbit about
Grace. Most were happy or funny stories and Emily was able to keep her tears at
bay.

She was
sitting on the couch in the living room, chatting with Chloe, when Lila
arrived. Hope had mentioned Lila’s visit and her edict that Lila stay away from
the reception. Without realizing it, Emily stood and stormed over to Lila. She
reached back and slapped her in the face. “How dare you?!” Emily whispered
urgently. “Get out!”

“Excuse me?”
Lila said, reaching up and holding her cheek.

“You know
you aren’t welcome here. Hope made that plain. Get out. Leave!” Emily said,
grabbing her arm and leading her toward the door.

“I’m here to
pay my respects,” Lila yelled, trying to pull her arm out of Emily’s grasp.

“We don’t
want them!” Emily pushed open the screen door and hauled Lila out onto the
porch. “Get off our property and don’t come back.”

Emily turned
to reenter the house when Lila reached out and snatched Emily’s arm. “You’re
the one who’s unwelcome here,” Lila sneered.

“What’s that
supposed to mean?”

“You broke
their hearts when you ran away. How dare
you
come back here? You act
like you never left, like you still own the town and the house.”

Emily yanked
her arm out of Lila’s grasp and took a step closer to Lila. “Get out! You have
no right to be here, you have no right to speak to me. You ruined our lives,
every single one of us.
You’re
poison, Lila. Go away.”

Gina and
Phoebe came out onto the porch and flanked Emily. “Problem?” Gina drawled.

Lila’s fury
shone bright in her eyes. She glared at each of them in turn and stormed off to
her car.

Gina and
Phoebe made a show of dusting off their hands and turned back toward the door. “Let
it go,
Em
,” Phoebe said quietly. “She did this on
purpose, to rile you up and upset you more.”

“She
succeeded.”

“Of course
she did, it’s what she does. But let it go for now. You can take it out on
something later, but right now you have to go in there and act like the
grieving daughter you are,” Gina advised.

“I know, I
know,” Emily mumbled, blowing out a deep breath. “I just need a minute.” She
turned and sat on the porch swing. “Shit!”

Gina and
Phoebe followed and sat down next to her.

“She’ll come
back,” Emily said. “I doubt today, but she’ll be back for her pound of flesh at
some point before I go home.”

Gina nodded.
“And when she does, give her the hell she deserves.”

“Why can’t
she just leave well enough alone? She got what she wanted. I left town and she
got Jason all to herself. Why couldn’t she have just left us alone today? Just
one day. That’s not too much to ask for, is it?”

Gina rubbed
Emily’s back and Phoebe stood, pacing in front of the swing.

“That’s not
who she is,” Phoebe said. “She was put on the Earth to cause hate and
dissension. She’s at her happiest when she’s bringing misery to everyone.”

“And we have
to do our best to take the high road and ignore her,” Gina continued.

“But it’s
her aunt’s funeral,” Emily cried.

“Doesn’t
matter,” Phoebe said. “She doesn’t care about anyone but herself.”

Emily
sighed. “I know.”

“What do you
want to do?” Gina asked.

“I don’t
know. I need to go back in there,” she said, pointing toward the door. “But I
think I want to just catch the first plane home. I can’t take this; I really
can’t. Between Grace’s death, Jason’s hovering, and now Lila—I just can’t take
anymore.”

She really
couldn’t. Lila’s appearance was the last straw. She knew Sadie wanted to stay,
hell—
everyone
wanted her to stay. But she just couldn’t see herself
doing it. Not with Lila still living here. Or Jason, for that matter. How could
she stay? He broke her trust and her heart. And the one he broke it with was
making it her mission in life to make Emily’s life hell.

Two hours
later, Emily was sitting with her aunt and cousin when Tyler appeared in front
of her. “There’s someone here to see you,
Em
. I put
him in Dad’s office.”

A puzzled
frown crossed her face. She wasn’t expecting anyone and couldn’t fathom who
would be here for her. “Who is it?”

Tyler
shrugged. “Don’t know, but he said it was urgent and would only take a moment.”

“Hm.” Emily
stood and went to her father’s office. She opened the door and found a man
standing by her father’s desk. “Can I help you?” she asked.

“Hello,
Emily.” He walked toward her with his hand held out.

“I’m sorry,
do I know you?” she asked, folding her arms against her chest.

“Not yet,
but we’re about to get very well acquainted.”

Emily took a
step back. “Listen, we’re in the middle of a funeral. Whatever you have to say
to me is nowhere near as important as that.”

“I think you’ll
change your mind once you hear what I have to say.”

Emily tapped
a finger against her arm, eyebrow raised. “Then say it so I can get back to my
guests.”

“You need to
come with me.”

“Excuse me?”

“The life of
your daughter depends on it.”

Emily’s
heart stopped and she dropped her arms to her sides. “What are you talking
about? What have you done?”

“She is safe
right now, but if you don’t come with me—quietly and willingly—then I can’t
promise her fate.”

“Of course she’s
safe,” Emily said with forced bravado. Sadie was still next door with Papa Joe,
she had to be. He would have called her if Sadie was missing.

“No, that
she isn’t.”

“Who are
you?” Emily yelled.

“My name is
Edward.”

“What do you
want? How do I get Sadie back?”

“Come with
me.”

Emily took a
deep breath and nodded. “All right, I’ll come. What do I need? Money?”

“No.”

She followed
Edward out of her father’s office, down the hall, and through the living room.
She kept her eyes on his back, knowing if she caught anyone’s eye, she’d give
up the charade and risk Sadie’s safety.

Scenarios
flew through her mind, all bad. She tried to tamp down the panic that was
threatening to take over. Her mind was so busy on the worst case thoughts that she
almost missed Sadie’s giggle. But there it was, distinct and safe across the
room.

She stopped
in her tracks and quickly scanned the room. Her eyes almost immediately found
Sadie, sitting on Jason’s lap. Her panic dropped a half level. But she was
still scared. Right on the heels of “she’s safe” came “who is this man and why
is he threatening us?”

She caught
Jason’s eye for a second, and he must have sensed something was wrong because
he handed Sadie off to Phoebe and started in her direction. She averted her
gaze and caught up with Edward who was just opening the screen door.

When he
cleared the threshold, Emily closed the screen door between them. “I don’t know
what game you’re playing, but it ends now. If you show your face around here
again, I’ll call the sheriff.”

Edward walked
to the screen door and tried to open it. “Your daughter’s life is hanging in
the balance, lady.”

“My daughter
is safe and sound, this I know as fact. Get off my property.”

He opened
his mouth as if to say something, but Jason arrived and stood like a sentry
behind her.

“Problem?”
he drawled.

“No, this
man was just leaving.”

Rage burned
in Edward’s eyes as he turned on his heel and left.

“Who was
that?” Jason asked.

“I don’t
know who he was,” she said, turning away from the door and moving into the living
room. She scanned the room again, searching for Sadie. She needed, more than
anything right now, to hold her baby girl. Who would threaten a baby?

She found
Phoebe by Grace’s piano. Tyler was playing one of Grace’s favorite songs. Sadie
was smiling, clapping, and dancing in Phoebe’s arms.

“Mama!
Dance!”

Emily
smiled, tears brimming in her eyes. The sudden release of adrenaline made her
weepy and even more out of sorts than she already was.

“Why are you
crying?” Jason asked.

She jumped,
not realizing he’d followed her. “You know why I’m crying,” she said, keeping
her face averted. She held out her hands and Sadie jumped into her arms. Emily
buried her face in Sadie’s neck, breathing deeply of her baby scent. Thank God
she was safe.

Jason took
hold of Emily’s arm. Startled, she looked up and knew immediately that she’d
given everything she was thinking and feeling away.

“What’s
going on, Emily?”

“I don’t
know!”

“Who was
that man? What did he want?”

“Look, this
isn’t the time or place.” She nodded toward Sadie.

“You’re
scared. I can see it in your eyes!”

Emily
sighed. She nodded toward the kitchen and handed Sadie back to Phoebe. Emily walked
through the kitchen and out onto the back porch.

“I don’t
know who he was. He said his name was Edward. He just showed up and told me to
go with him because Sadie’s life was in danger. He wanted me to believe he’d
kidnapped Sadie. And I was on my way to go with him when I heard Sadie giggling
across the room.”

“And you
didn’t think this was important to tell me? She’s my daughter, too.”

“I know
that. But it was over, he left. And Sadie is fine.”

“But there
was still a threat. A threat happened. One that you were
gonna
sacrifice yourself for.” He reached out and pulled her to his chest. “When are
you
gonna
realize you don’t have to do this all
alone?”

For a moment,
she allowed herself to revel in the strength and comfort he offered. She’d
missed this. She could admit it to herself. But never to him. She took a deep
breath in, capturing his scent in her memory, and then stepped back.

“He said he’d
hurt her. I couldn’t risk not going with him.”

Jason
nodded. “Until we figure out who he is and what he wants, Sadie can’t be left
alone.”

“Jason, she’s
eighteen months old. She can’t be left alone anyway.” She smiled to take the
sting out of her words.

“Right.” He
grinned. “You shouldn’t be alone either. It’s obvious you were his main
objective.”

She sighed. “Jason,
I’ve told you. We,” she moved her finger between them, “aren’t a thing. Don’t
try to use this as some way to slither your way back into my good graces.”

He
stiffened. Hurt and anger flashed in his eyes. She immediately regretted her
words.

He turned
and started walking away from her. “I need some air. Tell Sadie I’ll be back in
a little bit.”

Emily
reached out a hand. “I’m sorry,” she said softly.

Turning, he
glared at her. “Excuse me for still caring about you. But hey, you’ve proved
just how independent you are. I get it. You don’t trust me. You don’t need me.”
He turned his back on her. “Do what you want. You’ve been doing that all along,
anyway. Why stop now?” With that stinging barb, he stalked off.

Gina
appeared behind her. “What’s his problem?”

Shaking her
head, she cast sad eyes on Gina. “I messed up.”

“Care to
elaborate?”

“Not right
now.” She looked back at Jason’s retreating back and for a split second thought
she should chase him down. But what would she say?

What hadn’t
been said a thousand times already?