Not Alone

by Amber Nation

  “Bye, pumpkin.”

  My dad had always called me pumpkin. I loved his little words of endearment, it made me feel special, I guess. My mother had always called me Emmy-Lou, since my middle name was Louise, after her mother. I missed her calling me that. I missed her, period.

  Calling Rose at the store, I found out that everything was great. She, of course, was worried about me after she heard what had happened last night. I assured her that I was indeed fine and I told her that I would see her in the morning.

  Halfway through peeling and coring the six medium apples I needed for my pie, I heard the front door open. Toby and Tessa were here often enough they each had a key to get in.

  Rounding the corner Toby’s eyes zeroed in on me and he came at me with outstretched arms. Squeezing my arms just a little too hard, I winced slightly. He jerked back and looked at my arms, realizing what I was wincing at.

  “I’m going to kick his ass!” he growled, anger flashing through his eyes. Toby was utterly flamboyant but he could still kick ass. He had threatened many a time to kick Bryce’s ass for the way he had treated and spoken to me.

  “Get in line! I want a crack at that douche canoe first!” Tessa shrieked. That girl’s voice needed to go down a few octaves. It was always so high pitched, whether she was excited or pissed. In this case, it was the latter.

  Chapter Eleven

  Emmalynne

  “I want to know what happened last night with Mr. Hottie McHottness?” Toby asked while putting his elbows on the counter and cradling his chin in his hands.

  Ignoring him, I measured out the nutmeg and cinnamon for my pie.

  “Uh uh little missy. SPILL YOUR GUTS!” he shrieked.

  “Okay okay. Sheesh, what is with all the shriekage today?!? Could you tone it down a notch or twelve” I said while rolling my eyes. And spilled my guts I did. I told them about how I told Grady all about my sex life, or lack thereof. And then I explained to them how I put myself out there and tried to kiss him and had failed miserably.

  “So I don’t know why he asked me on a date or even why this date is still on. He obviously doesn’t like me,” I stated.

  “Are you kidding me!” Tessa, shrieked yet again. “That man jumped over the counter of the bar and, shoved through numerous people, just to pull that jack nugget off of you, and you think he doesn’t like you?! Gosh, Emmalynne, would you wake the hell up!! You are a beautiful woman, not only inside, but on the outside as well. You are as sweet as can be but apparently extremely obtuse! Of course he likes you, you dummy!” she added.

  “Tessa is right, dear. Do you think he would’ve done that for just anyone? Well, maybe he would have, after all he used to be in the Special Forces so I’d think he’d help out an innocent bystander. But darling, you didn’t see the murderous look on his face one minute and then, when he looked at you, it turned gentle and caring in an instant. That boy likes you. Embrace it. You need to keep an open mind tonight, think positive, and I will make you look fabulous!” Toby explained with all sincerity.

  “That doesn’t explain why he blew me off when I tried to kiss him!” I was beginning to get misty-eyed. I really wished I had Toby or Tessa’s confidence sometimes.

  “Did you ever think that he didn’t want to kiss you because you were drunk? He’s a nice guy and I’m sure he didn’t want you to think he was trying to take advantage of you.” Tessa replied.

  “Perhaps you’re right,” I said on a sigh. Putting the finishing touches on the top crust of the pie, I placed it in the oven and set the timer.

  “I’m going to raid your closet now while Tessa starts styling your hair. Don’t you worry about a thing, we will have you all gussied up for your date in no time,” Toby muttered as he bounced into my room.

  Toby was in his element. He was the go to person for all things fashion. Even though he dressed rather…unique, he could put together a rockin’ outfit on the fly. And by unique, I mean just that. Today he was dressed in electric blue skinny jeans, a black sequined shirt, silver belt, and had topped it all off with black leather studded boots. It was not something I would’ve ever chosen for myself, but on him it worked.

  After having to take a quick break to take the pie out of the oven, and setting it on the counter to cool, they fussed over my outfit, hair, and makeup until I was finally done.

  We fought about me wearing my contacts tonight and I drew the line there. Normally I would’ve let them have their way, but I needed some semblance of comfort tonight. And my glasses were the ticket.

  They walked me in front of my full length mirror to show me the final result. I was dressed in a pair of nice, dark washed slimming jeans, a pale yellow camisole, and a gray, short-sleeved cardigan. My shoes were pale yellow ballet flats, and of course I had my mother’s necklace on. My hair had a little more volume to it, due to the mousse Tessa put in it, and my eyes were smoky with a thick coat of mascara. I had never seen my eyes stand out more.

  To say I was shocked was a serious understatement. I looked…pretty. “You guys…” I said while tears welled up in my eyes.

  “Stop! Don’t you dare cry, your mascara will run,” Tessa scolded. “Now, put some lip gloss on and let’s talk about this purse.

  “What’s wrong with my purse?”

  “What’s wrong is that it is ginormous and you don’t need to bring it on your date!” Tessa added, “I have just the purse you need.”

  She passed me her beloved gray Coach clutch. The one she had had her eye on and had begged Brock over a month for.

  “Are you sure I can borrow it?”

  “Of course! Just promise me you will keep an open mind and, above all else, have fun! You deserve it girl.” Tessa gave me a small hug before they started moving out of my bedroom.

  I thanked them as I walked them to the door, then locked it behind them after promising to text the minute I got home from my date.

  Chapter Twelve

  Emmalynne

  Since it was only four thirty, I called Tucker to pass the time before Grady got here.

  “Hey Tuck, how are you sweetie?” I asked.

  “Hey mom, I’m good! Gramps and I were getting ready to go shoot some hoops outside,” he replied.

  “That sounds like fun! I hope you are having a good time at Nana and Gramps’ house, and you’d better be behaving yourself.”

  “I’m having a great time. A boy my age just moved in across the street so I’ve been playing with him a lot today. His name is Drew and Nana said he could stay the night with me tonight. What are you going to do tonight?”

  “Oh, nothing much. Just going out with a friend, then, probably coming home and watching a movie.” I wanted to see if this thing between Grady and I progressed before involving my son, so I didn’t mention that it was a date. “Well, you have fun with your new friend and I’ll see you tomorrow when I pick you up. I love and miss you so much!”

  “Love and miss you too mom, bye!” And with his parting words, he hung up.

  Nana and Gramps, also known as Martin and Connie Morgan, were Toby and Bryce’s parents and quintessential Country Club goers. The atmosphere in their house was always stuffy and uptight. They turned their noses up at anyone who didn’t hold up to their standard. They didn’t think too highly of me whenever Bryce and I first got together, me being the daughter of the Sheriff. Eventually they thawed their ice cold demeanor, somewhat. Being serious influences in the Country Club community, they frowned upon Toby’s sexuality as well.

  I didn’t understand that at all. To me, being a mother meant accepting your child, no matter whom or what they became, a parents’ love was unconditional. Now, being the only living son, they are ashamed of how he chooses to live his life. Their words not mine. It was absolutely their loss. They were missing so many wonderful things in Toby’s life. He was so much more than his sexuality. He was one of the absolute best guys that I knew, he would do anything for you at the drop of a pin without hesitation, but they would never know or understand. Ultimatel
y, all he wanted to do was love and be loved in return, just like everyone else.

  I wasn’t blatantly rude to anyone, I was raised better than that, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have to attempt to bite my tongue when they outright disrespect Toby in front of me.

  Glancing at the clock it was only four forty-five, fifteen more minutes and Grady would be here. My nerves were definitely kicking in to high velocity. I started pacing around my living room, taking deep breaths trying to calm myself. I needed to give myself a serious pep talk.

  “You can do this Emmalynne. It’s just a date. A nice meal among two people, although, one person is hotter than Hades. Geez, oh Pete, is he hot. Great now I’m rambling. And I’m talking to myself, out loud.”

  The doorbell rang. I jerked my head towards the direction of the clock. Four fifty-five. Dang he was early.

  Turning the knob to the front door, I muttered under my breath, “Here goes nothing.” As I swung open the door, my heart faltered. There was Grady in all his hot male glory. And he was smiling. Be still my beating heart, he is breathtaking. He was wearing faded jeans, a black long-sleeved button up shirt, with the sleeves rolled up halfway, showcasing his muscular arms, and black motorcycle boots. “Jesus Christ on a cracker,” I muttered.

  “What was that?” he asked with a smirk.

  Realizing I had been caught ogling, I said, “Oh, I meant, hello, come on in.” Good save. NOT.

  He stepped inside and closed the door. He then, turned towards me and said, “First thing, there is something I’ve been dying to do.” The next thing I knew is he was pushing me up against the wall as he cupped my jaw with his hands and pressed his lips to mine. I gasped, not even the in slightest bit expecting him to kiss me. He took my gasp as an invitation and slipped his tongue into my mouth. And oh, what a wonderful tongue it was. Inside I was doing a major happy dance. I finally got over my shock, wrapped my arms around his waist, and returned his kiss. The kiss was hot and heavy. I was feeling a tingle in the pit of my stomach, feelings that had been awakened by this beautiful man. Feelings I had long ago forgotten. We continued exploring each other’s mouths, it could have been minutes, it could have been hours, then, all too quickly he pulled away, resting his forehead against mine.

  The heat in his eyes made my stomach quiver even more with anticipation. “Wow,” we both breathe simultaneously. And wow was right I’d never had such a reaction to a kiss. That soul-searing, earth shattering feeling; holy mother of mercy my mind was blown.

  “Sorry I’ve been thinking about that all day. I know you tried kissing me last night, but with you intoxicated and just being attacked, I couldn’t bring myself to kiss you. I knew I would lose control once my lips touched yours and I was right.”

  All the reasons I had running through my head as to why he didn’t kiss me last night suddenly went out the window. He had proven me wrong. Perhaps, in this case, the hot guy actually dug the fat girl. I supposed, in some strange universe, it could happen.

  “Okay,-“ I breathed out. I couldn’t come up with a better response, and that one said it all.

  He released my jaw and went to run his hands down my arms, when he looked at one and stopped cold. Apparently, during the time we were kissing, the sleeves to my short-sleeved cardigan had risen up a bit, thus uncovering the bruises from last night.

  He said nothing as he slowly traced each bruise, then he bent down and lightly brushed his lips across my right arm. I felt my knees start to buckle as he looked me in the eyes and said, “I could’ve killed him last night, Emmalynne. No man has the right to put his hands on a woman, EVER.” I noticed a spark of recognition appear in his eyes, like he was all too familiar with the situation, even before last night.

  It wasn’t my place to ask what that meant, so I just softly said, “I’m okay Grady.”

  He straightened and stepped away taking his hands off of my arm and making me long for his touch again. “Let’s get going, shall we? We have a pit stop to make before dinner,” he told me.

  Knowing all too well what that pit stop entailed, it wasn’t something I was looking forward to, but something that needed to be done. I had to press charges against Corbin Montgomery.

  I picked up Tessa’s clutch and caught Grady chuckling quietly.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Where’s your Mary Poppin’s bag?”

  “My what?”

  “The gigantic ass purse you carry around. Your Mary Poppins bag?”

  “Oh” I said looking towards the clutch. “Toby and Tessa wouldn’t let me take it for our date, so Tess let me borrow her clutch.”

  Guiding me out the front door, Grady made sure my house was locked up before leading me to his truck. He actually opened the door passenger door for me. When they said chivalry was dead, they obviously hadn’t met Grady Finnegan. Before letting me get in, he tilted my chin up so I was looking him in the eyes, briefly touched his lips to mine, and said, “You look beautiful tonight, Emmalynne. I meant to tell you when you opened the door, but kissing you was my only priority at the time.”

  SWOON!

  Who was this man and why hadn’t someone snatched him up?

  Chapter Thirteen

  Emmalynne

  The trip to the Sheriff’s station didn’t take as long as I thought it would. Sheriff Mitchell made sure that all I had to do was write down my statement for the time being and he took pictures of the bruises on my arms. They were in the middle of working on getting a warrant issued for Corbin Montgomery, and then they were off to haul him in.

  Pulling up in front of a restaurant, I noticed that it was Magdalena’s, a little Italian place on the outskirts of town. They made killer fettuccine Alfredo and garlic bread sticks that were to die for, and they always went straight to my thighs.

  As he guided me through the restaurant, he placed his hand in the small of my back as the waitress lead us to our table. The restaurant was small, but the atmosphere was cozy and warm. Little square tables outfitted with a crisp, clean white tablecloth were scattered about along the floor and a lit candle was positioned in the middle of each one. Grady made sure to pull out my chair for me and waited until I was fully seated before sitting down himself.

  Conversation was light and flowed very easily as we waited for our entrees. The waiter came and refilled our waters before he sat down our orders. For me it was, of course, the fettuccine Alfredo, and for Grady, eggplant parmesan.

  I took my first bite, tasting the garlic and basil in the Alfredo sauce. I closed my eyes, and not realizing it, I let out a small groan. Opening my eyes, I noticed that Grady was staring at me, fork suspended in midair. His eyes reflected a look of pure hunger, but, if I were to guess it wasn’t for food. Wiggling in my seat, I started getting a bit antsy.

  “What?” I said, breaking the silence, trying to play it cool.

  “If you keep letting out those agonizingly sexy groans every time you take a bite, I’m going to rush you back to your house and fuck you senseless. And I know you aren’t ready for that…yet…” he said with a promising tone. I melted right then and there. Hello libido, nice of you to join me after several years in hiding.

  In all the years I was together with Bryce, not once did he ever make me feel anything close to what I just felt just a moment ago, and all Grady simply did was open his mouth and made a derogatory comment.

  The way he was looking at me now, you’d think that he was a starving man and I was his dessert. This was so completely out of my comfort zone as I was definitely not used to this type of behavior. That cocky gleam in his eye wasn’t a look I was all too familiar with, used towards me at least. The million dollar question: was I ready for the adventure Grady’s gleam suggested?

  Changing the subject, I asked, “So, how do you like Brown County so far?”

  “It’s a lot to get used to, and it’s almost a bit too quiet. I am finding that I am getting pretty partial to the people around here though,” he looked up and gave me a wink, giving me the under
standing that he was referring to me. He continued, “I’m used to the hustle and bustle of New York. I was stationed at Fort Drum for the past three of my fourteen years in the Army,” mentally trying to calculate how old he might be, he said as if reading my thoughts, “I’m thirty-two. I enlisted in the Army once I graduated High School. I started off as Infantry before I became a Ranger. Then for the last seven years I was part of Special Forces.”

  So this meant he was one kickass force to be reckoned with. I knew that to be a part of Special Forces you had to be the best of the best. The cream of the crop.

  The way he talked about it, it seemed he genuinely loved his job which brought me to my next question. “Why did you get out of the Army?”

  “I was part of a mission, where I can’t say, but my team was ambushed and I got injured. I was shot and it messed up my shoulder pretty bad, and ended up being flown to Germany for surgery. With the damage to my arm, I was unable to maintain my position within Special Forces. I had no desire to do anything else, so I decided to take the Honorable Discharge and get out. I’ve been overseas and out of the country more times than I can count. It was time to take a safer job and I don’t know, possibly settle down and start a family.” His cheeks turned a little pink. Grady was actually blushing. And just as quickly, it was gone. “That’s enough talk about me, what about you? Tell me about Emmalynne.”

  “I’m not very interesting. I’m a twenty-eight year old single mother who bakes and owns a bookstore.” I wasn’t very comfortable talking about myself, so I tried to make it short, sweet, and to the point. But Grady didn’t see things my way.

  “Emmalynne, don’t sell yourself short. You seem like an amazing mother who would do anything for her son. You bake the best desserts I have personally ever tasted. And your store is something you should be extremely proud of. You forget I’ve been in your store; you seem to be really doing good for yourself. But what I have noticed is you don’t think very highly of yourself, and that doesn’t fly with me.”