The coffee this morning tastes bland, and my toast tastes like cardboard. I can barely get a passable smile on my face for Laura as she heads out the front door for work. Thankfully, Mason arrives before Jim can come downstairs to see the fake smile plastered on my face. As I slide into the passenger seat, Mason immediately reaches across the console and takes my hand in his.
“Emily, what’s wrong?” Those three words make swallowing very difficult for me.
“Just drive.” I tell him, and he obliges. But he keeps the music down low to encourage conversation and only takes his hand away from mine to shift. Halfway through the drive, he pulls over onto the side of the highway and turns to me in his seat.
“Tell me what happened.” I’m about to tell him to drive when he puts his fingers on my chin and tilts my head to the side and up so that I’m looking into his green eyes. “Tell me,” he whispers to me, stroking the side of my face with his thumb. It’s not until I try to speak that I realize I’m bawling.
Mason
Listening to her tell me about the dream she had this morning about her mother’s dead body haunting her me makes my insides twist. I was only two when my mother passed, so I don’t really remember the nightmares I must have had. It was harder for me to come to terms that my life was different from my friends’ growing up, but at least I didn’t have night terrors.
I reach across the console and unbuckle Emily’s seat belt. She’s like a rag doll in my hands as I drag her across the center of the vehicle and shove my seat back so that I can cradle her in my lap. It’s as if all of her walls are down now, and she’s telling me all of her deepest fears as we sit alongside the highway. I hold her until all of the tears are finally dried on her face, and when she shifts to look at me I give her a hesitant smile.
“Don’t tell me that you’re sorry.” I tell her as I let her wiggle over to her own side of the car. After putting the key in the ignition, I root around the glove compartment for a small pack of tissues and hand them to her.
“Thanks.” I’m not sure if she’s thanking me for just the tissues or for holding her, but I’m happy to provide both for her again if it means that her soul wounds will heal a little more each time.
We spend six hours working on the living room, and then we spend another hour playing with Baby outside. The sun is setting by the time we get to the diner to have our usual evening meal, and then I prepare to drive Emily home. But before I can start heading back for the car, Emily puts a hand on my forearm and stops me. She pulls me close to her under the tree that our usual bench rests under, and gently puts her ear to my chest.
I’ve had moments before where I thought that this was it, I’d die for her. My arms encircle her on their own accord, and I rest my chin on the top of her head as I look out into the field behind the diner. It’s one of those moments I don’t ever want to end, but eventually it has to. Because I have to take her home, no matter what I’m feeling right now.
Emily lets me take her hand in mine as I lead her back to my car, reluctantly. I kiss her before I open up the door for her, and we don’t speak about this morning as I drive her home. My reasons mostly consist of the fact that I don’t want her thinking about it before she goes to bed tonight. That might bring on another nightmare, so I plan on leaving her with a goodnight kiss that will make her forget all about the emotional turmoil of this morning.
Unfortunately, as I pull up to the curb of her home, I see that Laura is sitting outside on the porch with a book in her hands. She looks up knowingly as I get out of the car with Emily and walk her up to her front door. I won’t let her foster mother scare me off that easily. Laura puts down her book as we walk up and I tell Emily goodnight. It’s pretty obvious that the woman wants to speak with me, so I pull Emily in for a quick goodnight kiss that’s still enough to leave her cheeks flushed.
“Would you give us a minute, Emily?” Someone could convince me that Laura is able to shoot laser beams out of her eyes right now. Emily hesitates, but I shrug one shoulder as if this doesn’t bother me, which it does, and she goes inside. As soon as she’s through the door I turn my full attention on Laura.
“You’re worried.” I state the obvious before she even has a chance to get a word out. I take advantage of her silence as her mouth gapes a little. “Emily and I haven’t done what you’re thinking, and I know exactly why you’re worried. You’re worried that she’s in over her head with me and that I’m going to break her heart. You think it will be the last straw for her if I leave now that I’ve become a constant in her life. But Laura, I just want you to know that I don’t plan on going anywhere without Emily.” I draw in a breath, and she cuts me off with a look.
“You’re right. I’m worried about her mental health now that you’ve stepped in. I don’t want her to rely on you for her happiness, Mason. You’ve swept that girl off her feet, and I’ve dealt with plenty of men like you in my own long, ancient history. I just hope that I’m wrong about your good looks and your suave.” I almost laugh at the word suave. She thinks that I’m suave-like?
“I assure you that my intentions for Emily are honorable, and that’s the only reason I haven’t pursued things further with her.” Maybe I shouldn’t have put it that way, but I could have put it in a much more graphic way. So I think I’ve done pretty well, but apparently to Laura it’s not convincing enough.
“I don’t trust you Mason. I like you, but I have no reason to trust you with my Emily. Jim seems to think that your intentions are good but good intentions-”
“Are what pave the road to Hell.” I finish for her with a smile. I sit down on the porch next to Emily’s foster mother and look at her as if she is Emily’s biological mother. Even though they’re not blood related, I think Laura considers herself Emily’s true mother. I definitely see her that way. “Emily is special. Some would say that she’s caring to a fault, but I would say that she’s one of the rare gems of the world. Mrs. Furlong, I’m in love with Emily. And I’m not going to let anything get between me and that woman.”
Shockingly Laura actually chuckles at me and puts her hand on my forearm as she looks at me. Then she pulls me into a light hug, and I try not to stiffen with shock. I pat her on the back gently, and when she pulls away I see tears glistening in her eyes. I have a feeling that someday Laura Furlong will tell me exactly why they went to an orphanage to adopt someone, but today is not the day.
“You should get home before it’s too late. Oh, and we’re having a small party for Emily on Wednesday afternoon for her birthday. Perhaps you’d like to come?” I roll my eyes and put an arm around her shoulder.
“I just professed my love of your daughter to you, and you’re asking me if I’ll come to her birthday party? Of course I’ll be there. Do I have to wear a suit again?” Laura pats me on the shoulder and shakes her head at me.
“Go home, Mason, and don’t wear a suit to my home. You wear what you want. We’re not fussy.” I give her a light kiss on the cheek and wonder if the smile blossoming across her face is because I said that Emily is her daughter.
I manage to make it to Wednesday without giving Emily her birthday present early. She complains about not seeing me on Tuesday, but I tell her that’s because I have to go get her the gift. We banter back and forth for a few days as she tries to guess what I got her, but in the end it will be nothing that she expects. As Wednesday morning rolls over me, I find myself making coffee in the wee hours of the morning in my father’s kitchen.
The small box on the counter seems to be mocking me, and I wonder if she’s going to accept my gift. My coffee is excruciatingly hot, and I manage to burn my top lip as I try to take a sip. I end up dumping the coffee down the drain with exasperation, and then I pick up the small, rectangular box and take it upstairs with me. The only reason it’s out is the fact that I showed it to my father last night.
Inside the rectangular box is the first in a series of gifts I plan on bestowing upon Emily over the months. This is a key to my new home. I plan on invit
ing her to stay with me as often as she would like, but I won’t ask her to move in yet. No, I’ll give that another month or two to stew around in her mind. It’s not that I’m not ready for that step. I just think that Emily needs more time to come to terms with the fact that I’m not going anywhere.
Acknowledgements
To further elaborate on my dedication, I would like to thank my great grandmother who passed away nine years ago. She really taught me the meaning of empathy.
I would also like to thank my grandmother for teaching me that animals are a gateway to the soul.
A huge thank you to everyone who has liked me on Facebook and my fans. I really appreciate all the feedback, whether it is criticism or praise. All of those message and reviews help me to be a better writer.
And finally, the artists I listened to while I wrote this book:
Disturbed, Shinedown, Seether, AWOLNATION, The Black Keys, Cold, Black Stone Cherry, Imagine Dragons, A Perfect Circle, and Slipknot
More By Nadene Seiters
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Emmaline’s Bodyguard
Trouble
Crossbred
Rescue (Emily and Mason) Page 13
