Love, Alabama (Alabama Series Book 2)

by Susan Sands

  Comprehension and anger dawned on Matthew then. “Is that what you think of me? Emma, look at me. I never laid a hand on you that night, nor would I have taken advantage of any woman in such a position.”

  Her head came up. “But you were convicted as a sexual predator; what was I supposed to think? You haven’t been honest with me.”

  He shook his head. This was a true deal-breaker, if there had ever been a deal. “The fact that you believe I could somehow have misused you proves you and I can’t be together.”

  “What was I supposed to think? You’ve been lying since we met—again.”

  “I’m not going to dignify that by telling you what happened. Since your family is so good at digging up dirt, why don’t you figure out what happened on my eighteenth birthday? By the way, I was taken off that list within a couple months.”

  He stood. “Emma, I’m more sorry than you know that I didn’t tell you about how we met. What was done to you by someone you trusted makes me want to rip down things with my bare hands. I tried to protect you the only way I knew how back then without scaring you to death. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to turn away from me without giving me a chance. It’s obvious you haven’t given anyone a chance since then and I didn’t want to spook you. But the fact that you have so little faith in my character to think that I might have done something terrible to you, based on what Tad told you or some report that didn’t tell the whole story, wounds my heart beyond repair.”

  He walked slowly toward the door, his feet nearly as heavy as his heart.

  Emma was crying. It was more a keening, sobbing kind of sound and he likely wouldn’t get it out of his head for a long time, if ever. “Goodbye, Emma.”

  “Matthew, wait.” He could hear the pain in her raw throat.

  But he didn’t. He couldn’t, because if he faltered on the way out now, he’d give in. If he did that, this pain would scar over and never really heal, only fester.

  *

  Emma didn’t want to know, but she needed to find out what Matthew’s ghosts entailed. So, she Googled. Now that she had his name he used back then, apparently his adopted name, she could pull up court records. They were there, and they made her want to cry—for him.

  On his eighteenth birthday, he and his steady girlfriend, Betsy, had gone out to the lake and made love, not for the first time, but for the first time with him as an eighteen-year-old. Betsy was sixteen, about to turn seventeen. They were only a grade apart in school.

  He was a senior and she, a junior. But Betsy’s parents found out about their sexual relationship that night and her father used all his small town political pull to have Matthew tried and convicted as a sexual predator. Fortunately, after his conviction, the ruling was overturned and the case thrown out as cooler heads prevailed. The court decided that if it used its time and resources to prosecute every teen couple to the full extent of the law, it set a bad precedent for angry parents who couldn’t control their hormonal children.

  The damage to Matt Blanchard was that the whole messy incident and damage to his good name in the records couldn’t be completely erased. What had been done was done.

  Emma’s head throbbed after reading the files. The unshed tears now rolled down her cheeks. How could she have even considered such awful things about him? He was a good man. And he’d been treated poorly by her and by so many others.

  “Hey, honey. You okay?”

  “Oh, Mom. I’ve done Matthew such a disservice. He is the victim here.” She turned the laptop toward her mother.

  Mom read silently as she held Emma’s hand. As she finished reading, she said, “This has been a confusing time for everyone, Emma. When you’re wrong, you just have to say you’ve made a terrible mistake and own it. I know Matthew really cares for you. I have a feeling you two aren’t done yet.”

  Emma shook her head. “I don’t know. He sounded pretty sure when he left the other night.” It had been two days since he’d walked out the door and, so far, she hadn’t heard a word. Cammie said he’d been at work. Emma had gone through the motions at her studio and jumping every time the bell jingled on the front door.

  Somehow, she had to make this right.

  *

  His family visit had gone so well and that momentum seemed to have carried him with such exhilaration that he’d hardly remembered the ride back to Ministry. After a couple days’ work, he’d shut off the thinking and now was trying to only focus on getting through his days. He knew that he’d screwed things up with Emma by not telling her immediately who he was, but the very idea that she could believe something so disgusting about him made him want to hide under a rock and not come out.

  He’d just arrived home from the set, wanting only to shower, eat, and try and sleep. Then the doorbell rang, he cursed.

  Ready to growl at whoever invaded his privacy, he opened the heavy door. Emma’s brother, Ben stood outside, his expression grim.

  “Ben.” He nodded by way of greeting.

  “Hello, Matthew.”

  “What can I do for you?” Matthew asked.

  “I wanted to apologize for my part in this.”

  “For getting partial information to confirm Tad’s suspicions about me so that Emma believed me capable of doing something unspeakable?”

  “Yeah. I guess that’s part of it. I ran a background check on you when we were gathering all the info about Tad. The only reason I did it was because I knew Emma couldn’t take it if you weren’t who or what you said. She’s been let down too much in her personal life because of Tad, and I didn’t want anything else to keep her from being happy. The background inquiry was more to confirm that you were a good and honest person rather than disprove it. Unfortunately, because of Tad’s bad intentions to scare Emma, it worked against us all.”

  “I appreciate your trying to protect your sister. I love my sister and probably would have done the same thing. And I would have wanted to protect Emma as well. But you can’t go throwing words like ‘sexual predator’ around in this day and age, man. It can mean anything. I had sex with my girlfriend on my eighteenth birthday. We’d been in a relationship, as young and immature as it was, for a year. It wasn’t until that particular day that anyone had a problem with it. I fought tooth and nail to regain my good name so that I could get a job. That kind of thing follows a person around.”

  “I’m an attorney, man. I, of all people know that. The document only had a short paragraph, mostly in pure legal jargon regarding the indictment, conviction, and the subsequent overturn. I hadn’t read it yet when Emma got hold of it. All she saw was that you’d been convicted. She was beside herself with grief and believed that yet again, she’d trusted her instincts and was wrong.”

  Matthew ran a hand through his hair. “I still can’t believe she thought I would have hurt her in any way. It’s not who I am.”

  “She knows that and she knew that before, but after Tad cornered her and intimidated her alone at her studio and then having what he said reinforced in black and white, it was pretty damning in her eyes.”

  “Wait, what do you mean, he intimidated her?”

  Ben’s eye grew dark. “Emma said he came to her studio as she was leaving and physically cornered her and got personal with her.”

  “What did he do?” Matthew saw red.

  “Not much before she racked him with her knee. He’ll be lucky if he recovers full use of his testicles.”

  “Good. I hope she put that bastard down. I wish I knew where he was so I could have a shot at him.”

  “Best that you don’t. Believe me, we put him in his place. He won’t be able to hurt Emma or anyone else in this town again unless he wants to spend many years in prison. We made sure of it.”

  “That’s a relief. Thanks.”

  “So, what about you and Emma. Are you going to forgive her and put you both out of your misery? You know she’s crazy about you, don’t you?”

  Matthew didn’t know what to say.

  “She didn’t want
to believe what she thought was right in front of her. It was a perfect storm of misinformation and emotional manipulation. Not many of us could have stood up against that. Plus, you lied to her the entire time you’ve been in town. You really can’t blame her.” Ben said.

  Ben was right. This was, in large part, his fault. “Thanks for coming over, man. Sounds like Emma and I need to talk.”

  “The sooner the better.” Ben slapped Matthew on the shoulder and turned to go, leaving Matthew with that crazy hope again.

  Chapter Sixteen

  ‡

  The weekend had come around again, and she hadn’t any commitments on her calendar. The whole idea that things had gone so wrong with Matthew was just beyond sad. The fact that Tad had been the ultimate player in bringing it all about made her angry beyond belief. He’d had the last laugh after all. Wherever he’d gone, he could bask in the satisfaction that he’d screwed up things for her once and for all.

  Her family had tried to get her out of the house, but in the end they’d given up. Her plan was to turn her television on, not shower, order takeout and binge-watch old, sad movies until she couldn’t cry anymore. There was no time like the present to get started. She’d stocked up on Big Al’s favorite squeaky toys so at least she had company during her weekend-long cry-fest. Hopefully, he’d not need therapy after the weekend. So far, he was happily chewing and squeaking away, occasionally casting her a sympathetic glance.

  “Thanks, buddy.”

  It wasn’t often she allowed herself to give into such a pity party, but Emma was predicting one for the record books. She had stocked her freezer with an obscene amount of Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey and bought three new boxes of Kleenex with the lotion built right in, so her nose wouldn’t show obvious signs of wear and tear.

  She’d pulled down all her window shades in the front of the house; well, just in case.

  As Emma settled in with her first pint of Ben and Jerry’s, the infernal doorbell rang. The words that streamed from her lips were neither kid-friendly, nor adult-friendly, and she’d likely only used a couple of them one or twice in her life. She paused Scarlet O’Hara on the screen just as she was hanging on to Ashley’s lapels, begging him to leave her milksop of a sister. Emma decided to be very still and quiet, and since there weren’t any other lights on in the house, maybe the intruder to her peace would go away. Of course; she’d meant to close the garage door, but hadn’t gotten around to it. Dammit!

  Big Al, who saved her life from possible intruders on regular basis, sounded the alarm in his deep, scary bark—just in case.

  The bell rang again, followed by an insistent knock—more like a banging.

  Then, she heard a muffled, “Emma, I know you’re in there. I spoke with your mother.”

  Al whined excitedly, obviously satisfied she wasn’t about to be home invaded and personally assaulted. So much for his being an excellent judge of character.

  It was Matthew. She wanted to see him less than anyone right now. She was purging him. It was what she’d done with the others when things hadn’t worked out.

  He rang and banged on the door again. “Emma, open up. I’m not going away.”

  Apparently he wasn’t going away. She bit her lip. Who was she kidding? Ben and Jerry’s wasn’t going to solve the Matthew Pope, or whatever he called himself, problem.

  She disentangled from her blanket cocoon and regretfully set down the container of perfection on the coffee table. “Fine. I’m coming.”

  She unbolted the door and opened it. The sunlight hit her eyes full force and she blinked like a possum whose hidey-hole had been unexpectedly exposed. She didn’t say anything as her eyes adjusted to him. She’d forgotten how heartbreakingly gorgeous he was. She drank in his wavy dark hair and beautiful, sculpted jaw. The scent of him reached her nostrils, and it was all she could do not to inhale deeply, and obviously.

  “Hey, there.” He grinned, obviously happy to see her.

  Then, she remembered how she must look. Ack. She hadn’t shaved her legs since Thursday morning. Had she even brushed her teeth today?

  “I wasn’t expecting anyone. In fact, I was expecting no one at all.”

  “Can I come in anyway?” he asked, then not waiting for her permission, stepped inside, giving Big Al a moment of his attention.

  Al, content with the greeting, left them to their issues and went back to his job of liberating the squeak function from the hairy/feathery faux fowl next to the sofa.

  She frowned. “I don’t think so. I’m having a party.”

  He looked beyond her at her paused television screen and the pint of ice cream on the coffee table. “Party for one?”

  “Yes. My favorite kind.”

  “I like Gone With the Wind and I love ice cream. If I promise not to take all the covers, would you mind a little company?”

  “Why?” she asked.

  Emma thought they were done. Finished. Why was he here? “Why are you here?”

  “Because I spoke with Ben. Because I was wrong. And because you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me and, if you’ll allow me to, I’ll spend the rest of our lives proving it to you every day.”

  She blinked again, but this time it wasn’t from the sunlight; it was from pure shock and dawning comprehension. “You want to be with me? After everything that’s happened?”

  “Only if you’ll try to forgive me for lying to you all this time. I should have come clean the day we met on the set.” He ran a hand over her tangled hair.

  “Hang on one sec.” She held a hand up, turned, and ran toward her bedroom.

  A few minutes later, she returned. She’d run a brush through her hair, brushed her teeth and put on deodorant. But Emma would never reveal that to Matthew. “Now, where were we?”

  “I was groveling and telling you how much I love you and want to marry you.” He’d dropped to one knee and produced a ring box.

  He was smiling, his expression joyful and filled with such hope that her knees nearly buckled right with his.

  “Oh-ooooh.” She opened her mouth and closed it again, unable to communicate her thoughts. The ring was the most gorgeous thing she’d ever seen. “I c-cant. Not until I apologize to you and know that you forgive me. I’m not sure I forgive myself. How could I have thought that you would do anything to hurt me—or anyone for that matter? You’re good and kind, Matthew, and I misjudged you in the worst way.” A tear rolled down her cheek for the wrong she’d dealt him.

  He took her left hand and slid the ring on her ring finger. “You had no other way to protect yourself. Look, I understand why you might have questioned my character; you were set up and manipulated to do that. But we know each other, and we both understand how strong Tad’s motivation was to keep us apart. Everything else just played right in.”

  “Don’t ever speak of him to me again. He is not relevant to us anymore. I love you, Matthew Pope, or Matt, or whatever your name is. I don’t care whether you’re from Alabama or New York City. I love you—the man you were ten years ago who protected me, and the man you are standing here now. Yes, I will marry you.”

  “You can call me Matt.” He kissed her then, the kind of kiss that made her very glad she’d brushed her teeth. “And being here, in the South isn’t a punishment. It’s where I grew up and where I belong. My family is here—you are here. I’m not sure what my future with the network looks like, but for now, everything I care about is right here in Alabama.”

  She sighed. “I like the sound of all that, Matt.”

  “So, I have one question,” he said.

  “What?”

  “You gonna just let that Ben and Jerry’s go to waste?”

  “Ice cream? Really? There’s a pretty high fat and sugar content in that container, you know.”

  “I don’t care. In fact, Next time we’re in the diner, I’m ordering a donut.”

  She grinned. “I would never deprive you of your healthy and tasteless breakfast just so you could prove something.”
<
br />   “Are you kidding? I love doughnuts. I’m just not feeling quite so rigid about things anymore.”

  She snuggled close. “You feel pretty rigid to me.”

  He growled and scooped her up in his arms.

  “But our ice cream will melt.”

  “Stick it in the freezer for dessert.”

  Epilogue

  ‡

  “How’s Sarah Jane?” Ben asked Sadie.

  “It’s been a confusing few months, but with Sabine’s help, I think she’s been able to talk through a lot of her feelings about her father. She was mostly worried about disappointing him or angering him all the time. She’s a much more carefree child these days.” Sadie said.

  “What about visitation?” he asked.

  “So far, Tad hasn’t answered Sabine’s e-mails or voice messages about seeing Sarah Jane for Christmas. Sarah Jane hasn’t shown any real interest in seeing him, or we would have hunted him down and tried harder. I think eventually maybe they’ll see one another. It might just be too soon. He had been very harsh with her leading up to his leaving town, so I think she was very intimidated by him.”

  “Please let me know if I can do anything more to help,” Ben said.

  “Thanks so much. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everything you did to help me get free of him.” Sadie replied.

  Ben wondered at his friendship with Sadie. She was completely uninterested in him and it was such a relief. They could chat like brother and sister without any friction.

  But when Sabine O’Connor entered the room, it was as if the ground shook beneath his feet. She seemed as unaffected by him as Sadie. Actually, she was adversely affected it seemed—as if his mere presence made her want to empty her stomach contents. It was confounding.

  “Hey brother.” He turned to see the bride, looking especially lovely with her groom at her side.

  “Well, aren’t you two a sight?” He grinned at them, so relieved they’d decided to tie the knot almost immediately. Of course, Emma discovering that she was carrying a Mini-Matthew likely helped with the timing of things.