“I’ll do that. I think you’ve got a good life here with these people.” He turned around, stepped back up on the porch, and gave her another hug. “Take care of yourself.”
“I will,” Emma promised.
Wyatt’s smile was bittersweet, as if he wanted to say more, and the words wouldn’t come. “This isn’t goodbye.”
“No, it’s not,” Emma agreed. “And thanks again for standing up for me where my money is concerned.”
He just waved over his shoulder as he hurried away. In the blink of an eye, Josh was sitting beside her in the other chair. “Are you okay? We weren’t sure what was going on. He said goodbye to everyone real proper like and then got in his car and left. Can I do something for you? Do you need anything? I’m here.” His words tumbled out like a gush of water.
“I’m fine.” Emma reached over and took his hand in hers. “And for the first time in my life, I really mean that I’m fine. I couldn’t be better than I am right now. I’m home. You are right here beside me. Sophie has been rescued. The sun is shining, and my life is finally good.”
“So, you had a good visit with your father?” Josh asked.
“I really did, and there’s hope for something better between us in the future. Speaking of the immediate future, as in tonight. Are Teddy and Sophie making up?”
“I have no idea. They’re both still in her SUV,” Josh said, “and I haven’t heard any screaming.”
“Well, if they do make up, I might need a place to crash tonight,” she said.
“My trailer door is open tonight or anytime you want to stay with me,” Josh said.
“Thank you.” Emma’s heart skipped a beat and then raced with a full head of steam.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Josh had never thought he could be more nervous than he had been on the day he signed the papers to buy Hummingbird Trailer Park and all the acreage surrounding it, but he was wrong. That evening after supper, not even George Strait’s songs calmed him. He paced the floor and reminded himself that he had slept with Emma two nights already, and this wouldn’t be any different.
“If she isn’t talking about us sharing a bed or a couch, and she just wants a place to sleep, I’m worrying over nothing.” He tried to reassure himself as he checked everything one more time. Clean towels in the bathroom. Clean sheets on the bed. Pillow and blanket on the sofa for him, of course. Cookies on the bar, and plenty of milk and beer in the refrigerator if she wanted a nighttime snack.
Everything was ready, and yet he still nearly jumped out of his skin when she knocked on the back door, poked her head inside, and yelled, “Is it safe to come in?”
He met her at the door and took her tote bag out of her hands. “I’ll just put this in the bedroom.”
“I just need a place to crash. The sofa is fine. I shouldn’t take your bed,” she argued.
“I’m glad to sleep on the sofa.” All the nerves were gone now that she was there with him.
“Well, then, thank you,” she said. “Are those more of Filly’s sugar cookies?”
“Yep, she made them while y’all were gone. She tends to cook even more when she’s nervous, and she was worried about both of you. I’ll put this in the bedroom, and we’ll have a little bedtime snack if you want.” He disappeared down the hall and set the tote bag on the bed, and then he realized that the picture he’d drawn of her was hanging on the wall where he could see it as he was falling asleep. He could take it down and shove it under the bed, but Emma didn’t deserve to be hidden away. The artwork really should be in a gallery with a sign that said FOR EXHIBITION ONLY on it for the whole world to see just how beautiful she was.
“It’s time for her to see it,” he whispered.
“See what?” she asked.
She was standing so close to him that the warmth of her breath sent shivers down his spine. Without turning around, he pointed at the picture to his left. “I drew it when you first came here.”
She stared at the drawing for what seemed like an eternity. If she hated it, he would take it down and burn the damned thing.
“You made me look beautiful,” she finally said. “I still had so much raw pain in those days, but I see hope for a brighter future in the picture. I love it, Josh. Can I buy it from you?”
“Leo made me promise to give him first choice if I ever sell it, but I won’t.” Josh slipped his arms around her waist and sank his nose into her hair. “I just wish I could have captured the coconut aroma of your hair and the smoothness of your skin in the picture.”
“Who says you are shy and socially backward? That was the most romantic line I’ve ever heard.” She covered his hands with hers.
“Only around you, Em,” he admitted. “When your father showed up, I had to make myself sit on the porch with him and Teddy. I can talk to Teddy some, but I was pretty nervous around your dad at first. He asked about my art, though, and before long we were talking like we’d always known each other. I liked him, Em, I really did.”
She leaned back against his chest. “I was nervous with him at first, too, but I think we might find some common ground to be friends.”
Time stood still for Josh. He and Emma were the only ones in the universe. The only thing that mattered was that they were together and would be forever. “Happy anniversary and welcome home.”
She whipped around and wrapped her arms around his neck. “This is May first, isn’t it? I’ve been here a whole month, and it is home. Thank you for remembering. Now are we going to take the next step and go to bed?”
“Are you ready for that?” Josh asked.
“I think I am.” She went up on tiptoe just slightly, kissed him, and reached out and closed the bedroom door.
Emma awoke the next morning to the aroma of bacon and coffee. She reached for Josh, but all she got was a fistful of air. She realized that she was totally naked under the covers and sat up so fast that it made her dizzy. She pulled the sheet up under her arms as her thoughts and emotions swirled around like a hurricane approaching land.
“I’m all right,” she whispered. “I liked making love with Josh.”
Josh came through the door wearing nothing but a smile and carrying a tray in his hand. “Good morning. I thought we’d share breakfast in bed this morning.”
“I feel like a princess,” she said, “and I’m so glad that Sophie and Teddy got things worked out. If they hadn’t, I would have been consoling her, not spending a wonderful night with you.”
“You are not a princess. You are definitely the queen. Want me to draw you with a diamond crown to prove it?” He set the tray down on the bed, fluffed up the pillows behind her, and crawled into bed with her. “I have a confession to make. Last night was my first time. I was a thirty-two-year-old virgin,” he said.
“Were you disappointed?” She felt a slow burn moving from her neck to her cheeks.
He leaned across the tray, cupped his hand under her chin, and kissed her. “Oh, Em, what we had was beyond words and went beyond even my wildest expectations. I was just wondering if it was good enough to set this tray on the floor and—”
“Oh, yes,” she butted in before he could finish the sentence.
Sophie awoke the next morning with her cheek on Teddy’s chest. How could she have ever doubted anything about him or their relationship? She lay there for several minutes listening to the steady beat of his heart that was so like the solid, kind man he was all the time. She eased away from him and slid off the side of the bed, grabbed his shirt, and pressed it against her nose for a second, breathing in the woodsy cologne that he wore. Then she slipped her arms into it and buttoned it up the front. She tiptoed to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee, and when it had dripped, she poured herself a mugful and carried it to the porch. A steady breeze moved fluffy, white clouds across the sky. A cute little bunny dashed across the yard in front of her and headed off for the mesquite grove in the distance.
This must be what it would feel like to confess my sins, she thought. The bu
rden is lifted from my heart, and I’m ready to go forward with life.
“Good morning, beautiful.” Teddy came out of the trailer with a mug of coffee in his hands. He set it down on the rail of the porch, wrapped his arms around her from behind, and buried his face in her hair. “It’s going to be a good day. How are you feeling this morning?”
“I’m fine,” she said and smiled. “That’s what Em said when I first found her, though she didn’t mean it. I was so guilt ridden when I came back from Del Rio, I wouldn’t have meant it, either, but now I’m fine and I mean that with my whole heart.”
“Do you think Em feels the same way?” Teddy asked.
“I hope so, but why don’t we ask her?” She nodded toward Josh and Emma heading toward them. “I’d say from the glow on both their faces that they’re more than just fine.”
“Good morning,” Emma said.
“Mornin’ to you,” Sophie and Teddy said at the same time.
“Coffee?” Sophie asked.
“We’ve had breakfast.” Emma grinned.
“Josh, I was wondering if I could get you to help me load up Sophie’s things,” Teddy said. “I thought we’d just grab a couple of bananas and some breakfast bars to eat on the way. We need to start taking care of business in Del Rio.”
Josh let go of Emma’s hand and brushed a kiss across her lips. “Sure thing. This shouldn’t take long.”
Emma slumped down in the chair beside Sophie. “So you got things all worked out, right?”
“We did,” Sophie said. “We’re going ahead with the house and the gallery, and even the commitment ceremony. We talked half the night and had makeup sex the rest of it.”
“And you feel better, right? You’re not going to let the past ruin the future?” Emma asked.
“I’m working on it, and Teddy has vowed to help me,” Sophie said.
“You’re going to be all right?” Emma asked.
“Are you?” Sophie fired back at her.
“I don’t kiss and tell, but you don’t have to worry about me being afraid anymore,” Emma said. “And I’m home at this trailer park, no matter which trailer I sleep in at night.”
“Even Arty’s?” Sophie teased.
Emma air-slapped her on the arm. “Arty is like a favorite uncle, so yes, I’d feel right at home on his sofa if I needed a place to stay. Sophie . . .” Her voice cracked.
“I know.” Sophie smiled. “Words aren’t necessary between friends like us, and goodbyes will always be tough.”
Neither of them could keep the waterworks at bay any longer. They stood at the same time and wrapped each other up in a fierce hug, sobbing as if their hearts were broken.
“I’m getting tears on your shirt,” Emma said, but she didn’t take a step back. “Oh, Sophie, thank you is so little to offer.”
“It’s Teddy’s shirt, and . . .” Sophie had to stop to catch her breath before she could go on. “And, God, this is hard.”
“We’re both happy, so why does it hurt so much?” Emma finally took a step back and wiped her eyes on the tail of her shirt.
“It’s crazy, isn’t it?” Sophie dried her wet cheeks on the sleeve of Teddy’s shirt.
“I promised myself I wouldn’t cry when you left,” Emma said. “This is not the end of our friendship. It’s the . . .”
With a new batch of tears streaming down her face, Sophie laid a hand on Emma’s shoulder. “It’s being friends forever.”
“No, it’s being family forever,” Emma corrected her. “I’ll see you on July Fourth, right?”
“No, I’ll be back next week. Teddy and I don’t want to wait until July Fourth to have our commitment ceremony. We’re coming back next Saturday and having it on Sunday. That’s Mother’s Day, and Mama said she couldn’t ask for a better present than a son-in-law. And before you ask, I don’t feel like I’m rushing into anything at all.”
“I’m so, so happy for you, Sophie, and for me since we get to be together for your ceremony in a week. Can I pretend that Rebel is my mother that day since it is Mother’s Day?” Emma managed a weak grin.
“Of course you can. Rebel would have an adoption ceremony if there was such a thing to make you her daughter, too,” Sophie answered. That brought on even more tears. “I’m so sorry that Victoria is . . . well . . . you know,” Sophie said. “You deserve a mama like mine.”
Emma stepped forward, and the two women wrapped their arms around each other again.
“Mother failed. She tried to make me weak and dependent, but I’m a strong woman who can make it on her own now,” Emma said.
“Strong enough that you helped me, so . . .” Sophie wept. “We’ve got to stop this bawling like babies.”
“We’ll call them happy tears.” Emma moved back a few steps. “Now, get dressed and go make a home and business with Teddy. Who all is coming to the commitment ceremony?”
“Teddy’s father, Jonathan, and Rebel are the only ones coming from outside the park family, so don’t go to too much trouble,” Sophie answered.
Emma sat back down in her chair. “Tell Filly that. This is like her daughter getting married.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Josh slipped his arm around Emma’s waist and pulled her close to his side that morning when Sophie and Teddy drove away in two separate vehicles. Arty and Filly came out of their trailers and waved from their front porches right along with Josh and Emma until the dust had settled back to the dirt road.
“Ready for a long inspiration walk?” Josh asked.
Emma leaned against his side. “Yes, but, Josh, I already miss her.”
“She’ll be back for the ceremony next weekend.” Josh dropped his arm and took her hand in his. If someone had told him five weeks ago that a beautiful brunette would come into his life and he’d be so comfortable with her that he would have a relationship with her, he would have thought they were bat-crap crazy.
“I don’t like change,” Emma said. “I didn’t realize it until right now. Maybe that’s why I let my mother dominate me for so long.”
“That’s because the big changes in your life turned out to be disastrous. Think about it, Em. First your mother decided to have you tutored at home, and you didn’t see Sophie anymore. You were isolated from all the people you knew at school. Even if they weren’t your friends, you were used to seeing them.” He kept her hand in his and stepped off the porch. “Then you went to college and the change you experienced there was really devastating. Don’t be afraid of change now. Sometimes it’s a good thing.”
“I’m not afraid of anything anymore. If Sophie had decided to have a huge church wedding in Del Rio, I would have gone to that. But I am glad she’s having her ceremony here. It’s a special place.”
“Yes, it is.” Josh squeezed her hand gently and then stopped and pointed to a turtle hiding in a clump of grass. “Take a picture with your phone. I can see one of your paintings of this old boy with hope written on his back.”
“Hope is the magic that heals hearts and souls,” she whispered as she took several shots of the turtle.
The sun was straight up overhead when Emma and Josh returned to the trailer park. Arty and Filly motioned them over to the picnic table, where they had laid out sandwiches, chips, and Filly’s homemade cookies for lunch.
“We were hoping you kids would be back in time to eat with us and talk about the wedding next week,” Filly said.
“I was thinkin’ maybe I’d make an arch for them to stand under when they say their vows,” Arty said. “They’ll pass through the arch to jump over the broom on the other side, and then we’ll have a big reception for them. What do y’all think?”
“Sounds wonderful.” Josh waited for Emma to sit down, and then he took his place beside her. He held her hand while Arty said grace, then passed the platter of sandwiches over to her.
“What do you want when you get married, Em?” Filly asked.
“The same thing as Sophie. My folks had the big wedding with the huge cake, big whi
te dress, and a reception at the country club. That had to be the worst marriage in history, so I sure don’t want anything like that,” she answered.
“Smart choice,” Arty said.
“I’ll make a trip to town tomorrow for silk flowers. I’ll need to make two bouquets plus a few corsages and boutonnieres for everyone. Plus, we’ll need stuff to decorate the arch. Sophie left it up to me to pick the colors. I think red roses would be nice,” Filly said.
“Why go to town? If you made an order now, they’d all be delivered to your doorstep in two days,” Emma said.
“That’s a great idea. After we get done eating, Josh can bring his laptop out here, and we’ll get everything ordered,” Filly agreed. “That will save the whole day that it takes to go to town, shop, and come home.”
“What do we do if it rains?” Josh asked.
Filly glared at him. “It wouldn’t dare. Not on Sophie’s day. So, give me your opinion. Red roses?”
“Sophie loves this place so much,” Emma said. “Maybe we should think about using cactus flowers, and what do you think about some little hummingbirds on the arch?”
“I could dig up some blooming cactus and desert grass, plant them in a couple of big pots, and put them beside the arch,” Josh offered.
“I’m liking that idea.” Filly nodded. “That sounds like we should use sage-green tulle instead of white?”
“I believe you’re beginning to see the light.” Arty grinned. “This will be the ceremony of the century.”
Emma was already just a little jealous. This was exactly what she would want when she got married. This place and these people had saved her life. Maybe she could save all the decorations for the day when it was her turn to jump over the broom.
A rumble out in the distance took their attention away from the upcoming festivities. Emma shaded her eyes with her hand and stared at the dust boiling up behind a vehicle coming down the road. Sophie must have forgotten something, and Emma felt two ways about it. Part of her was excited that she could see Sophie again. The other part didn’t think she could bear another goodbye.
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