by A J Manney
Liam didn’t say anything. Finally, he opened his door and climbed out. He opened Emma’s door for her. She climbed out, and he shut the door behind her. She didn’t know what to do, so she walked towards the front door. He walked around to the passenger side and leaned against the vehicle.
“Emma,” he called out when she was almost to the door. She looked back at him. He had a sad expression on his face. Emma hated that. “I can’t. I’m sorry,” he said. Emma didn’t say anything. She opened the door and went into Hope House without looking back.
Emma went to her room instead of going right to dinner. She walked into her room and was grateful to see it was empty. She sat down on the bed and realized for the first time that she was still wearing Garrett’s suit coat. She closed her eyes in frustration. She would just have to hide it. The door to her room opened, and Emma stood up quickly, taking the coat off. She quickly placed it under her pillow and sat in front of it. Her roommate looked at her but didn’t say anything. A moment later, her roommate grabbed something from her drawer and left the room again.
Emma quickly knelt on the floor and hid the coat with her other things. When she stood back up, she noticed a note on the dresser. She picked it up and saw it was from Amy. She wanted to meet at dinner to discuss something. Emma sighed. She really didn’t want to go to dinner, but she would have to now. Strangely, she thought her stomach would be hungry, but it wasn’t. She just kind of felt numb. She left her room to head to supper.
Chapter 11
She saw Amy and Olivia right away. From the smile on Amy’s face, she knew something good was working out for them. Emma grabbed a plate of food and sat with them. She managed to get several bites down while Amy talked.
“So, I got a new job, one that I think is really going to work out,” Amy said as soon as Emma sat down.
“That’s so great. I’m so happy for you,” she said. She took a moment to sign to Olivia and ask her how she was doing. Olivia responded and Emma smiled. She was so happy to be able to communicate somewhat with Olivia.
When Amy finished telling her about the job, Emma smiled again. “It sounds amazing. What can I do to help?”
Amy looked at Emma uncertainly. “I got permission for Olivia to be here and you too if you’re willing in the afternoons. The job is from two thirty to ten thirty.”
Emma’s mind scrambled for a moment. That was going to be hard to work out with as early as she had to get up. Amy continued on, “I’m so sorry to ask this of you. I know it’s a lot, and you totally don’t have to do it. I can find someone else or work something else out.”
Emma put her hand on Amy’s arm. “It’s totally fine. This is a great opportunity.” Amy nodded and relief flooded her face.
“You’re sure this isn’t too much?” she asked.
Emma smiled at Amy and Olivia. “Of course not. I’ll get to learn more sign language.”
Amy signed to Olivia, and Olivia burst into a big smile. A pang hit Emma’s heart at that smile, and she knew she would do whatever it took to help these precious people out. “When do you start?” Emma asked.
“Tomorrow. Is that okay?” Amy asked.
“Perfect. You have it cleared for me to get in early?” Emma asked.
Amy nodded. "Renee said you can get in at two.”
Emma nodded. “That should work. I should get here at the latest by two fifteen each day. Is that enough time for you?”
Amy nodded. “Yes. It’s only a few minutes away. Thank you so much for doing this. I don’t know how to repay you.”
Emma smiled. “Just take care of that precious girl of yours.” They finished their dinner and went their separate ways. Emma needed to do some laundry, so she could have a clean shirt to wear tomorrow. She went into her room to grab her belongings. Thankful her roommate was out of the room again, she got down on the floor so she could grab her few belongings to wash them. Emma looked under the bed. “No, no, no,” she said. In an almost full-blown panic, she pulled everything out from under the bed. The suit coat wasn’t there. Emma put her hands over her face as dread wound through her. She felt nausea rising in her stomach and up into her throat. What in the world was she going to do? She had no idea how much that coat cost, but she knew it was a small fortune. Anger swiftly rose on the heels of the nausea. How dare her roommate take it. She was sick of her taking her things.
When her roommate happened to walk in a few minutes later, Emma was ready to explode. She stood to her feet quickly. “Where is it?” she asked. Her roommate ignored her and walked over to her bed. “Where is it?” Emma asked again, angrily. Her roommate continued to ignore her. She lay down on her bed and put her headphones on. Emma closed her eyes for a moment trying to calm down, but it didn’t help. Storming towards her roommate, she pulled the headphones from her ears. Her roommate sat up and swore at her. Emma was past caring. “Where’s the jacket?” Emma asked again.
Her roommate stood up and got in Emma’s face. “It’s gone. I sold it,” she said.
Emma laughed. “You couldn’t have sold it. I was only gone for thirty minutes.”
This time it was her roommate who laughed, a scary, evil laugh. “Shows how much you know,” she said. Then before Emma had any clue what was happening, her roommate punched her in the stomach. Hard. Emma sunk to the floor in pain. Her roommate kicked her in the ribs with her heavy boots, and Emma curled into a ball. After two more kicks, her roommate knelt next to her. “Don’t ever take my headphones away from me again.”
Emma lay on the floor, trying to catch her breath. This wasn’t the first time she had been beaten, far from it. She knew how to breathe through the pain. She knew it would get better in time. She finally eased herself up into a sitting position and managed to crawl to her bed. Finally, she lay down on her bed. She painstakingly turned so her back was to her roommate, probably a dangerous decision, but she was in too much pain to worry about it. She faced the wall as the tears began to flow. She wasn’t sure how long she cried, but sometime later, she finally fell into a restless sleep.
When her alarm woke her the next morning, Emma wanted to cry again. She was in so much pain, she could barely roll over, let alone walk. She finally managed to drag herself out of bed and to the showers. Everything was slowed down. She finally managed to get a shower; she didn’t wash her hair, though. It was too difficult because of the pain in her ribs. She got dressed and managed to get her hair into a topknot. She pushed herself to keep moving. She dropped her belongings back in her room in her drawer. There was no use hiding them now. Her roommate knew where they were. She glanced at the clock—4:15. She grimaced. It had taken her longer to get ready than she thought it would. She slipped out of her room and closed the door behind her. She thought she might cry at the thought of the long, cold walk ahead of her; but she forced herself to just keep moving. There was nothing she could do. If she ever wanted to get out of this place, she had to keep this job. She opened the door and stepped out into the dark and was shocked to see Liam leaning against the same car he had brought her home in last night. She stopped moving. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
He opened his mouth and let out a massive yawn. He mumbled something under his breath. Emma grinned for a moment, forgetting about her pain. Somebody was not a morning person. She started moving towards him, trying to make herself walk smoothly so he wouldn’t know she was in pain. He opened the door for her, and Emma grit her teeth as she climbed into the backseat. She took a minute to try and relax through the pain.
Liam climbed in the driver’s seat and began driving. Emma wasn’t gonna lie; this sure beat walking to work in the cold and dark. “Thank you for picking me up,” Emma said quietly. “You didn’t have to.”
Liam just grunted at her, and Emma smothered a smile. The ride passed quickly. Soon, they were in front of the shop. Emma glanced at the clock and saw it was still a little bit before four thirty. After glancing at the shop, she saw the lights weren’t on yet. Helen must not be there yet.
“You can wait until she gets here before getting out,” Liam said with his eyes closed, his head against the seat.
Emma smiled again. She so wished she had a phone, so she could take a picture of him to use for some future time when she needed blackmail material. She only had to wait a few minutes before Helen arrived and turned on the lights. “She’s here. I’m going to head in,” Emma said quietly. She opened her door and started to slide out. “Thanks again for the ride. I really appreciate it, but you don't have to do that again. I’m fine.” At his grunt, she slid out of the car and into the shop Helen had unlocked for her.
“Good morning,” Helen called out. “You ready for this?”
Emma smiled despite the pain she was in. She really was excited about the new possibilities. She walked slowly behind the counter to the back counter where Helen had all her supplies out. “This is all perfect, Helen. Thank you for getting this all and for giving me a chance.”
“Well, giving you a chance has surely played out well in hiring you, so let’s try this too,” she said with a smile. “Unless you need me, I’m going to work on getting things ready for opening.”
“I’ve got this,” Emma said, nodding. She walked back to the backroom to get an apron and saw the coat hanging there that Garrett had given her. Her mind immediately went to his suit coat; she had forgotten about it this morning in the midst of trying to get ready and get to work. She would have to find a way to talk to him and then figure out how in the world she was going to pay him back. She sighed. It was all too much this morning. She pushed it from her mind so she could focus on the task at hand.
A few minutes later, she was covered in flour and enjoying herself. She felt a smile on her lips. It had been a long time since she had made these, but it was like riding a bike. She didn't think she would ever forget how to make these cinnamon rolls. She had made them every Saturday with her father for as many years as she could remember. Just smelling the mix and kneading the dough brought back so many memories for her—happy memories. She didn’t realize a tear had slipped down her cheek until it dripped down onto her apron. She missed her father so much. She wondered what kind of a different path her life would have taken if he hadn’t passed away.
“You okay, dear? You’re pretty quiet this morning,” Helen said as she came over and stood next to Emma.
Emma smiled at her. “Making these cinnamon rolls makes me nostalgic. I used to make these with my dad every Saturday. He passed away when I was twelve. Making these reminds me of him,” Emma admitted.
Helen wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “Thank you for sharing that with me. Sometimes the best way we can remember someone and honor their memory is to share with others something we shared with them. I think you will be able to do just that with these cinnamon rolls.”
Emma nodded. “I think you’re right.” If these ended up doing well and selling, maybe they could bring a kind of healing to her by sharing what used to be a special thing between her and her dad with others. Emma smiled as she continued working. Soon, she had the first pans warming by the oven so the dough could rise.
The coffee shop opened, but Helen told Emma to keep working on cinnamon rolls. By six, the first pans of cinnamon rolls came out of the oven. The entire shop smelled of cinnamon and vanilla. Each of the customers that came in were surprised by the new offering, and almost each one of them bought at least one. Emma felt satisfaction as rave reviews came in from their early customers.
Emma finished the last of the rolls and went back to ringing up and filling orders. They kept the pans of cinnamon rolls in the oven on low, so they would be hot. Emma was loving every moment of it, but she was really starting to feel the aftereffects of last night. Between all the mixing and movement of pulling things from the oven and making drinks, her injuries were really taking a toll on her. She could kill for some pain reliever. She thought about asking Helen for some but didn’t want to explain why she needed them and what had happened. She couldn’t do anything to jeopardize this job.
She heard the bell jingle, and she turned, forcing a smile to her face. She watched as Garrett, Liam, and the other guy that was usually with them walked into the shop. “Cat girl,” Liam called out. Emma smiled. He was definitely doing better than he had this morning. “What is that divine smell?” he asked.
Chapter 12
“Emma’s homemade cinnamon rolls,” Helen said as she came and stood next to Emma.
“You can make amazing coffee and you can bake? Marry me,” Liam said with his hands over his heart.
Garrett walked up behind Liam and made a low noise in his throat. Liam turned to him with a laugh but didn’t say anything more. “I’ll take a large dark roast coffee with a little cream and two cinnamon rolls,” Liam said.
Emma rang him up and took his money. “Looks like you’re feeling better than you were this morning,” Emma said, trying not to laugh.
Liam instantly frowned at her. “Hey, I wasn’t that bad.”
Emma laughed out loud, then instantly regretted it as pain shot through her stomach. She forced herself to keep her smile, though. “You were pretty bad,” she said when she caught her breath. “I felt worried about leaving you in the car.”
“Yeah, well, nobody should be awake at that ungodly hour, let alone be out and about,” Liam said with disgust. Emma smiled and went to make his coffee and get his cinnamon rolls.
She brought them back and handed them to Liam. Then she looked at Garrett. He was watching her intensely. She noticed he was wearing another suit today, and instantly the reminder of what had happened slammed into her. Without thinking, she blurted out, “I need to talk to you.”
He didn’t bat an eye. “Okay,” he said simply. Then he ordered two large dark roasts, black. Emma went to make his coffee, feeling her face flaming. She always said and did stupid stuff in front of him. What was it about that man that made her lose her equilibrium?
She managed to calm her breathing down before giving him his coffee. When he didn’t move away from the counter, she looked up at him. “Can I get you something else?” she asked.
“You said you wanted to talk,” he said in a low voice.
Emma could have smacked herself. “Oh, yeah, I did. I do. I mean...” she stopped. She watched Liam grin as he turned away from where he had been standing next to Garrett. She turned to Helen. “Is it okay if I talk to Garrett for just a minute?” Emma asked.
Helen waved her away. “Of course. Go ahead. You’re past your break time anyway,” she said.
Emma took a deep breath and walked out from behind the counter. She could feel Garrett watching her. She tried to move normally, but it was getting harder and harder to do so. She began walking slowly towards a table they could sit at, while her heart began slamming against her chest. As they made their way, a couple came into the shop. Emma smiled at them. “Welcome to Sip and Drip,” she called out.
The couple nodded and moved past Emma and Garrett. Emma stepped out of the way, but in doing so, stepped at the same time the woman did. Her big bag ended up hitting Emma right in the stomach. It wasn’t hard, but it was enough to knock the air from Emma as pain exploded from her ribs.
“Sorry,” the woman muttered as she moved past.
Emma couldn’t respond because of the pain she was in. She felt a hand on her elbow. Garrett turned her towards him. “Who hurt you?” he asked in a deadly voice.
Emma couldn’t respond; she was still trying to catch her breath. She blinked furiously at the tears in her eyes. “I’m fine,” she finally gasped out.
“You’re not fine,” he said furiously.
When Emma finally felt like she could get air in, she straightened from her bent position and looked into his eyes. She was scared of the anger she saw there and tried to pull her arm from his grasp, but he held on tight, not hurting her but not releasing her either. “What happened?” he demanded.
Emma shook her head. “I just got hurt,” she said, trying to brush aside his concern. “I
need to tell you something.”
“Tell me who hurt you first,” he demanded.
“No,” Emma said. There was nothing he could do, so it didn’t matter.
She saw his eyes darken. “Emma,” he said in what she could only describe as a warning. He took a step closer to her.
“Those cinnamon rolls were ah-mazing!” Liam interjected, coming to stand beside Garrett. He looked at Garrett and something passed between them. Garrett’s hold on her released slightly.
“She’s hurt,” Garrett ground out, and it sounded like the effort cost him. Emma glanced at him again. He seemed to be on the verge of losing control; what she didn't know was why. She hadn’t even told him what she needed to tell him yet.
“I need to confess something,” she blurted out, trying to draw the attention away from her injury. Liam and Garrett both looked at her in surprise. She met Garrett’s eyes and cringed, hating what she was about to tell him. “I don’t know how to tell you this, and I’m so sorry. I really am. I hope you can forgive me. I promise to pay you back. I’m not sure when, but I will I pr—”
“What?” Garrett demanded in a tone that said he had had enough.
Emma closed her eyes. “I lost your suit jacket,” she whispered in anguish. When she didn’t hear anything, she peeked a glance at Garrett. He wasn’t nearly as angry as she thought he would be.
“Okay,” he said simply.
“Okay?” she repeated dumbly after him.
“Okay,” he said and shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s not okay,” Emma said, trying to keep her voice soft. “You don’t understand. It’s gone. I don’t have it anymore. I can’t imagine how much it costs. I—” She lowered her voice and looked around the store before continuing quietly. “I don’t have the kind of money to replace it. I’m so sorry. I should have never taken it with me. I knew she would take it. I’m so sorry.” Emma bit back tears—tears of frustration and physical pain.
