Emma looked up as Dane approached. “You’re right. I should have done this a long time ago. I got lucky this time.” She took the ax and began chopping off branches along the trunk of the tree.
“Would you like some help?”
Emma stopped and handed the ax to Dane. “Suit yourself.”
Dane took the handle, placing her hand over Emma’s, trapping her fingers. “I’d be happy to help out with things around here. It would be good for me to stay busy, and I’d like to help. Maybe if you didn’t have to do everything around here you could get a little rest, relax a little.”
Emma pulled her hand away. “I can take care of myself. If you want to help, then help, but don’t expect any favors.”
“Ouch,” Dane said. “That isn’t what I meant. I’m just trying to help. I don’t want anything from you, Emma.” That wasn’t exactly true. Emma was beautiful. Dane would have to be crazy not to notice her.
Emma’s cheeks and neck turned red. Dane braced herself for the next round, expecting Emma to explode.
Emma squared her shoulders, steadying herself. “I’m sorry. I know I’ve been rude to you, but all I have is Curtis and this farm and that bar. I’ve lost everything and everyone else. I can’t afford to lose this too.”
Dane took a step closer to Emma. “I’m not the bad guy. I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I hope you’re right, city girl. I hope you’re right.” Emma turned and walked away, leaving Dane staring after her. What did Emma mean about losing everything and everyone? Was she talking about her parents? Why was she so afraid?”
Frustrated, Dane turned back to the tree and sank the ax into a branch. She kept swinging the ax as she tried to work through the conflict with Emma. Her thoughts twisted and took her back to another place. The sun was hot on her skin and sweat ran down her spine.
She was running late again. As expected, Michelle was pissed at her. “Just give me five minutes and I’ll meet you downstairs at the car,” Dane pleaded.
“Why do you always do this? It isn’t just your ass on the line, Dane—I need this job. I’m part of this team too.”
Dane grabbed Michelle’s arm. “I’m sorry, I screwed up, okay. It won’t happen again.”
Michelle shook her head. “Get your own ride this time. I’ve got to go.”
“Michelle,” Dane called as her best friend walked away, pushing through the hotel doors without looking back. She watched Michelle get into the car waiting at the curb. She glanced up at Dane, her eyes full of disappointment, then closed the door. An instant later a red ball of fire exploded in front of Dane. The glass front of the hotel shattered into a million flying shards of shrapnel slicing its way through everything in its path.
Dane hit the floor as glass and shards of metal and mortar rained down on her.
“Dane? Dane, are you okay?”
Dane frowned. Someone kept saying her name. Her head hurt. She reached up and pressed her hand to her forehead.
“Shit, Dane, answer me.”
Dane blinked. Emma’s blue eyes looked back at her with fear and concern. Dane frowned. “What happened?”
“Thank God. I thought you’d killed yourself,” Emma said with a heavy sigh.
“Why would I do that?” Dane was having a hard time figuring this out. One moment she was cutting a tree, the next she was getting blown up.
“You can’t just throw an ax around like that. You have to watch what you’re doing. You smashed through one of the dead branches and it flew back and hit you in the head.” Emma grimaced. “That’s one heck of a goose egg you’ve got there. That’s going to hurt for a while.”
Dane was mesmerized by Emma’s voice and the way she looked at her. She wanted Emma to keep talking so she would stay with her a little longer.
“You have pretty lips,” Dane mumbled.
Emma frowned. “What?”
“Tell me another story. I like your stories.”
Emma groaned. “Shit. This can’t be good.” She tugged Dane’s arm around her shoulder and helped her to her feet. “I think you have a concussion. We need to get you inside.”
Once inside Emma had Dane lie down on the sofa. “Stay here. I’ll get some ice.”
Dane sluggishly reached for Emma, not wanting her to leave.
“Here, hold this on your head.”
“Ouch,” Dane complained as the ice pressed into the wound. “It was all my fault. I’m sorry I was late. I should have been with you.”
Emma seemed confused. “Who are you talking to, sweetie?”
Dane frowned but wouldn’t answer, still having trouble keeping up with what was happening.
“I’m going to call an ambulance. You need to see a doctor.”
Dane pushed Emma away. “No. No hospital.”
“Dane, you hit your head really hard. You’re not making much sense right now. I need to have you looked at. This is serious.”
“No hospital,” Dane insisted, trying to get up.
Emma pushed Dane back down onto the sofa and sighed. “Okay, let me make a phone call. Just be still for now.” She had to get a grip. Panic was making her irrational. Her heart thundered a rapid beat in her ears, and all she wanted to do was hold her hand against Dane’s chest to feel the steady beat of her heart, reassuring and strong. Emma was scared. She had seen the limb snap back, hitting Dane in the head. Dane crumpled like a rag doll tossed to the ground. Dane was unconscious when she reached her. She had thought Dane was dead.
Emma reached for the phone, returning to her seat next to Dane the instant she had the cordless in her hand. Fear clutched her like a hand closing around her throat during the few seconds it took to retrieve the phone. Dane was lucky to be alive. Emma pressed her hand to Dane’s neck, feeling the strong steady pulse beneath her fingertips. She swallowed hard, feeling her fear loosen its grip. She took a deep relieved breath. She cupped Dane’s cheek in her hand, brushing her thumb lightly against Dane’s cheek. Dane’s skin was silky smooth and warm against her palm.
Emma hung up the phone just as Curtis bounded into the room.
“Dang, Emma, what did you do to Dane?”
Emma glared at him. “I didn’t do anything to her. She was cutting a branch off a dead tree and it snapped back and hit her in the head.”
Curtis laughed. “Don’t worry, Dane, that’s happened to me before too. And don’t worry about it when she yells at you. She just gets scared.”
“I didn’t yell at her,” Emma protested, her frustration getting the better of her. “You’re not helping, Curtis.”
Dane was quiet.
“How are you feeling,” Emma asked, kneeling on the floor beside her, checking the knot on her head.
Dane moved the ice pack. “I feel like someone hit me in the head with a baseball bat.”
Emma was relieved. This sounded more like Dane. “Do you know where you are?”
“I’m in your house.”
“Well, you sound better, at least. You were a little confused earlier. Will you go to the hospital now?”
Dane put the ice back on her head. “I don’t do hospitals. People tend to die there.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “You need to have your head checked.”
Dane laughed. “Believe it or not, you’re not the first person to tell me that.”
Curtis laughed.
“This is serious,” Emma protested.
Dane reached for Emma’s hand, gripping her fingers in hers. “I know what a concussion feels like, and I’m sure you’re right. But I’ll be fine. If my headache gets worse or the confusion returns, I’ll go to the hospital. But right now, there’s no need to waste a day to have a doctor tell me the same thing.”
Emma was getting angry. And she didn’t want to think of the tingling sensation rippling through her hand where Dane’s fingers were laced with hers. “I can see I’m wasting my breath.” She turned to Curtis. “Watch her while I go get ready for work. Do not let her go to sleep.”
“All right,” Cur
tis agreed.
Dane watched Emma storm out of the room. “What’s her problem?”
Curtis shrugged. “She’s been a little sensitive about stuff like this since Momma and Daddy died.”
Dane considered the information. “I know you said your mother died of a broken heart, but what happened to your father?”
“A bad man shot him.”
Dane pushed up onto her elbows. “Who shot him?”
Curtis shrugged. “Nobody knows. Emma didn’t live here then. She lived somewhere in the city. She came home to help Momma for a while, but then Momma died too. I was still kind of little. I don’t remember much about it.”
Holy shit. No wonder Emma didn’t trust anyone. Someone murdered her father and ripped her family apart. She’d given her whole life to this place.
Curtis continued talking. “Erin came around for a while, but she didn’t like it here much.”
“Who’s Erin?”
“That was Emma’s girlfriend. She stopped coming around after Momma died. Emma got real sad after that. It’s just been me and Emma ever since.”
Dane had a good idea what had happened. “Wow, I guess I’d be angry too.”
* * *
Dane spent part of the day going over county records and making phone calls, but her head hurt so bad she couldn’t read anymore, and no one would tell her anything over the phone. She was pretty sure she’d found a lead and was eager to check it out. She decided to have Curtis drive her around a while. If he was with her, people were a little more receptive to her questions.
She couldn’t stand the thought of just sitting around the house all day. At least driving would help her learn her way around better. She had town mastered, that was no big deal, but the smaller side roads twisted and wound through the mountains like a labyrinth. Just in the time she’d spent with Curtis, she’d realized many of the roads he’d used were not on her map. They were old logging roads or Jeep trails people had cut through the mountains as they cut timber.
Around here it wasn’t uncommon to see a family of six go up the road on an ATV on their way to church. They might not own a car, but a four-wheeler or a side-by-side ATV were part of their way of life and gave them access to places that were otherwise inaccessible except on foot. Dane had lucked out when she bought her Jeep. It was the perfect vehicle for what she needed to do here.
Dane went to the house, but Curtis wasn’t there. Her next stop was the bar. It was early, so the bar wasn’t busy yet. Just a few regulars sat around playing cards and watching a baseball game.
“Hey,” Dane said to Emma as she walked up to the bar. “Is Curtis around?”
Emma shook her head. “I thought he was with you. He’s supposed to be watching you today. How’s your head?”
“It still hurts a little, but it’s okay. Curtis didn’t want to go to the courthouse with me, so he bailed. I thought he’d be home when I got back, but he wasn’t at the house.”
“He hasn’t been around today. There’s no telling what he’s up to. What do you need him for anyway?”
“I think I found some information about my family. There’s a place I wanted to look at in Smoky Junction, but I don’t know if I can find it on my own.”
Emma frowned. “Be careful around there. People won’t like you poking around. Don’t turn around in anyone’s driveway or you might be met with a shotgun in your face. The Junction is a tight community. Most of those folks are related to each other and they don’t like strangers coming around.”
“Ha,” Dane laughed. “How is that any different than around here?”
“Trust me. We’re friendly compared to those people.”
Dane wasn’t laughing anymore. She had the feeling Emma was dead serious. “I don’t really need to talk to anyone, not yet anyway. There’s an old family cemetery up there that may give me some clues. I can’t believe it’s been so hard to get answers about this. I thought there would be more records at the courthouse.”
Emma sighed. “They’ve been trying to update the records for the past couple of years. Since they built the new justice center, anyway. People complain all the time that things are not right, that things have been lost, or entered wrong. You may do better going through the old archives, if you can get them to let you have access.”
Dane bristled. “Those are public records—they have to give me access.”
Emma shrugged. “They may not say no, but they may have a good story that keeps you out. Things work a lot different around here, big city, and you’re going to have to learn that if you plan on sticking around.”
Dane felt her resolve slip. Every turn she made seemed to put her up against a roadblock. Her shoulders slumped. “I need to find them. I need to know about my mother’s family. I need to know there’s something different for me.”
Emma frowned. “What do you mean?”
Dane looked away. “I’ve been around the world. I’ve done a lot of things and met a lot of people. But I’ve never done anything worth remembering. I remember my mother. She was something special. I’d like to think I have something of her in me. I need to know I’m more than a self-centered bastard.”
Emma flinched. “That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?” She was shocked to hear Dane describe herself this way.
Dane looked Emma in the eye. “No. So far, I think it’s a pretty damn good assessment.”
Emma opened a beer and slid it across the bar to Dane. She wasn’t sure where this was going, but she had the feeling if Dane was up for talking, this was a story she would want to hear. “What are you talking about? What did you ever do to hurt anybody?”
“Thanks,” Dane said taking the beer. “I’ve spent so much time trying to run from my father that I didn’t see that I was being just like him. I was never there when it was important. I let people down. I just want to start over.”
“Why have you been running from your father?” Emma asked, wanting to keep Dane talking. That hit to her head might have shaken something loose.
Dane clenched and unclenched her teeth, making the muscle in her jaw jump. “He acted like my mother getting sick was something she did to him. It wasn’t like he was around most of the time anyway. He was always working, or that’s what he had us believe. I don’t know why he bothered marrying her if he thought so little of her. After she died, he refused to talk about her. It was as if he wanted to erase every memory of her. I was the constant reminder he couldn’t get rid of. He married his second wife only months after my mother died. I don’t know which of us was more eager for me to finish school and move out.”
The pain in Dane’s voice touched something deep inside Emma. “How old were you when your mother died?”
“Fourteen. I had four long years in that house pretending I didn’t exist, trying to avoid my father’s wife. I wasn’t allowed to go to college anywhere but the University of Tennessee. If I’d had my choice, I would have chosen something on the other side of the world. As soon as I graduated, I left. I haven’t seen my father in years. We’ve barely spoken. I get an email from time to time, but he’s mostly interested in my job.”
“What kind of job?” The more Dane talked, the more Emma found she wanted to know about her. Dane was a mystery. It had been easy to think of her as a troublemaker at first, but the truth was Dane upset her. Dane came from a world that had been stripped from Emma’s grasp. Dane was devilishly attractive, and Emma didn’t want to fall for her charms. Hearing Dane tell her story made her more relatable. Emma’s grip slipped on her resolve not to get close to Dane.
“I’m a photographer. I worked with an overseas news team for the last few years. You know, the stories you read about the real people in different countries, what their lives and cultures are like. Stories that help us see people as human and not as an enemy.”
“So you worked hard and made a life for yourself. What’s wrong with that?”
Dane grimaced. “Let’s just say, I wasn’t a very good friend. I used my past as an excuse to do whatever I w
anted, no matter who it hurt.”
“Who did you hurt?”
Dane shook her head, not ready to tell that story. She never talked about what happened, too afraid she wouldn’t be able to control the memory once it escaped. She put the bottle down on the bar with a few bucks to cover the drink. “Thanks for listening, Emma. But that’s a story for another time.” She slid off the stool. “If you see Curtis, let him know I’m looking for him.”
“You aren’t going to go up there alone, are you?” Emma asked, her words thick with concern.
“It can’t hurt to go for a drive and visit a cemetery. I’ll be careful. Promise.”
“You could wait till tomorrow or at least until Curtis shows up.” Emma bit her lip. “I’ll even go with you on Monday if it can wait.”
Dane smiled. It meant a lot that Emma would offer to help her. “Thanks. I may take you up on that.”
“Dane,” Emma called.
Dane turned back to face Emma.
“We all make choices we regret. But regret isn’t a fair emotion. It takes away from what we were going through, what we were feeling in the moment. It’s like looking through a foggy window. Stories have a way of telling themselves if we give them time. Be patient. You’ll either find what you’re looking for, or it will find you.”
Dane frowned, not sure what Emma meant. She shrugged. “Don’t worry. I’ll be all right.”
She stepped out into the sun, squinting against the blinding light. Her head still hurt. Maybe Emma was right. Maybe she should just take a break today. The dead weren’t going anywhere. She’d have more daylight tomorrow and maybe a clearer head.
* * *
“Where are we going, Curtis?” Dane asked. They were supposed to be going to the cemetery to look for her family, but Curtis had her off on a wild goose chase. They had been driving through rough Jeep trails for the past hour, and Curtis still wouldn’t clue her in on what he was up to.
The road widened and then opened into an expansive circular clearing. There was a large mound of dirt across the clearing with ATV tracks crisscrossing the sides. There was a huge fire pit in the center with evidence of frequent use.
Tennessee Whiskey Page 4
