Home Again: A Whiskey Ridge Romance

by Rachel Hanna

  Kissing her, even as chastely as he did, had brought back a rush of memories and feelings he thought he’d left way back in the past. But now, every time she touched him at therapy or even looked at him across the room, his stomach flip flopped and his palms would sweat. And yet she seemed unaffected.

  “She doesn’t feel that way about you, so just be cool,” he said to himself. He was talking to himself a lot lately which was making him a bit worried about his sanity.

  He walked up the front steps and rang the doorbell. Inviting her to his family’s cookout had been a spur of the moment idea, but begging her to reconsider her initial “no” had been surprising even to him.

  Emmy opened the door, and he literally felt his breath leave him. God, she was a gorgeous creature, and the years had only made her more beautiful.

  There was a wisdom in her eyes now. The pain he’d seen in those first few weeks had vanished, and her smile was present more often now. He liked to think he had something to do with that.

  “Wow. You look… great,” Nash said, stammering like an idiot. She was wearing a red sundress that perfectly showed off her freckled shoulders. He’s always loved those freckles that dotted her skin during the warmer months.

  “Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself,” she said with a sly smile. “Let me grab by purse.”

  As they walked down the steps to his brother’s truck - which he was finally able to drive thanks to her therapy skills - it felt like old times. Like those first dates they’d had as kids so many years ago.

  Nash opened the door for her, as he’d always done. Chivalry was something he’d learned from so many of the men in their small mountain town. Always open doors, pay for dates and walk on the outside so that the woman never gets mud splashed on her from the road.

  “So this is Billy’s truck?” Emmy asked as they drove toward the downtown area.

  “Yes. Can’t you tell by the mess in here?”

  Emmy laughed. Billy had always been a mess. “What’s that smell?”

  “I think it’s the old burger I found under the seat this morning. Sorry about that,” Nash said, embarrassed. “I tried to cover it.”

  “With… what is that smell… cinnamon?”

  “Actually, it’s called Autumn Harvest,” he said, holding up an air freshener he’d stashed under the front seat. Emmy giggled. “Sorry. It was all I could find in the house.”

  “Maybe you need your own car.”

  “I have a vehicle back in Vegas,” Nash said, not making eye contact.

  “Of course.”

  They drove in silence for the rest of the way. Nash was always uncomfortable when the conversation turned toward Vegas. Emmy seemed tense when they talked about him going back there, and in reality, he was starting to feel weird about it too. The longer he was gone, the less it felt like home.

  “Here we are,” Nash said as they pulled up at his father’s house. Emmy didn’t move and looked straight ahead, her body stiff as a board. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. I guess I just never thought I’d be here again.” She looked at the house like she was staring through it.

  “If you don’t want to go in, I’ll totally understand…”

  “No. It’s fine,” she said after taking a deep breath. “I’m an adult now, and there’s nothing he can say that will change my life like it did back then.”

  Nash felt guilty for not reigning his Dad in all those years ago, but what could he have done really? He was just a kid, and Brick was way more powerful than he was.

  “Ready?” he asked as he came around and opened her door. Emmy reached down and took his hand as he helped her out of the truck. Billy sure did like his trucks to be high up in the air.

  As they walked up the stairs, Nash had to wonder if this whole thing was a good idea or not. But it was too late. Emmy was about to come face to face with his father.

  The butterflies in Emmy’s stomach were apparently having a kickboxing match. Why was she so nervous? She wasn’t dating Nash. She never had to see Brick again after this, and he had literally no power over her life as an adult.

  And yet she felt her insides shaking like one of those cheap 70s motel vibrating beds her mother had told her about way too many times.

  “Emmy!” Billy said, raising his beer bottle in the air from the kitchen. He looked the same as always with his big cowboy hat and scruffy beard that didn’t fully grow in.

  “Hey there, Billy,” she said with a smile as he moved across the room and pulled her into a big hug.

  “Don’t smother her, man,” Nash said, shooing his brother away from her after a few moments. Emmy quickly surveyed the room, but didn’t see Brick or his fiancee.

  “Come get something to drink,” Billy said, pointing toward the kitchen area. Emmy followed him with Nash right on her heels, as if he was protecting her from some wild animal that might attack at any moment.

  “So who else is coming?” Emmy asked.

  “Well, Dad and Lola are upstairs getting ready. My new girlfriend, Anna, is coming…”

  “New girlfriend?” Nash asked, a stunned look on his face. “When did this happen?”

  “Oh, about three weeks ago now.”

  “Another one from the bar?” Billy wasn’t known for having a longterm girlfriend. He was more of a “love ‘em and leave ‘em” kind of guy.

  “No. Actually, I met her at one of the events. She runs a flower shop over off Elm.”

  “Is it serious?” Emmy asked.

  Billy cleared his throat. “I think it might be.”

  “Wow! Someone is finally roping the elusive Billy Collier?”

  “Well, I haven’t brought up the idea of rope or typing each other up yet…”

  “Gross,” Emmy said, punching his arm playfully.

  “But yeah, I think she could definitely convince me to shut down this whole dating operation and get one of those white picket fences.”

  Nash glanced at Emmy, his mouth hanging open a bit.

  “Well, I can’t wait to meet her then,” Emmy said, smiling up at Billy.

  They continued chatting beside the breakfast bar for the next few minutes until Emmy started hearing noises and realized it was footsteps coming down the stairs.

  “You must be Emmy,” a woman said, her voice peppy and welcoming. Emmy looked over to see the woman, who she assumed was Lola, standing there. She was beautiful and had one of the biggest smiles Emmy had ever seen. Before she could respond, Lola pulled her into a big hug like they’d known each other for years.

  “Nice to meet you,” Emmy said as they broke apart. “You must be Lola?”

  “Yes, honey. I’m so sorry I didn’t properly introduce myself before grabbing you for a hug!” She laughed loudly as Emmy glanced at Nash. He was smiling. He was comfortable here, and that made her happy.

  “Lola, can you help me?” Billy called from the kitchen where it sounded like pots and pans were falling from the sky.

  “Coming, honey!” she called as she trotted away.

  “Hi, Emmy,” Brick said from the bottom of the stairway. Emmy froze for a moment, feeling like she’d been pulled all the way back to being a scared teenager standing in front of this towering man.

  “Mr. Collier,” she said, her voice even and unchanging.

  Nash swallowed so hard that Emmy could hear it. He was nervous too, apparently.

  “Please, call me Brick. You’re an adult now too,” he said with something resembling a smile on his face. He seemed less frightening now. Maybe it was because she was an adult. Maybe it was because he was older and turning gray.

  “Okay,” Emmy said. “Thanks for letting me come to the cookout.”

  The conversation was stiff to say the least. Emmy kind of wanted to run straight out the front door and go back to her cozy cabin by the river.

  “Hey, baby!” Billy suddenly yelled across the room. A young woman walked in with red hair and the biggest pair of blue eyes Emmy had ever seen. This must be Anna, she thought.

/>   “Emmy and Nash, this is Anna,” Billy said proudly. Emmy had never seen him smile so big.

  “Nice to meet you, Anna,” Emmy said, shaking her tiny, petite hand. If she had looked up the word “adorable” in the dictionary, Anna’s face surely would’ve been there.

  “Nice to meet you,” she said back as Nash shook her hand too.

  After all the pleasantries were exchanged, it was time to eat. Emmy made sure to stick close to Nash. The last thing she wanted to do was get stuck sitting next to Brick.

  Surprisingly, dinner was easier than she thought it would be. Stories were shared, laughs were frequent. Emmy found herself enjoying the company of everyone, although she refused to make eye contact with Brick.

  Even so, he seemed different. Nash was right. This woman had changed him. He looked at her with adoration on a frequent basis. He laughed and told jokes. He and Nash ribbed each other. It was like a real family, and nothing like the way Nash had been raised.

  Emmy found herself thinking about how maybe people could actually change. After all, Steve had certainly changed, only in a bad way. And if people could change for the worse, couldn’t they also change for the better?

  “So, what’d you think?” Nash asked, walking up behind Emmy on the deck. She was enjoying the homemade vanilla ice cream that Lola had churned the old fashioned way while everyone else was inside playing a spirited board game of some kind.

  “I had fun, actually,” Emmy said quickly. Watching Nash smile gave her more butterflies.

  He moved closer and leaned into her ear, his warm breath causing chills down her body. “Not as bad as you thought?”

  Emmy turned to face him, realizing too late that his face was going to be so close to hers. “Not bad at all,” she said. They both froze for a moment, only an inch or so between them, before being interrupted by Billy yelling out the door.

  “Ya’ll gonna play the next game or what?”

  “I think we’re going to skip it,” Emmy said back. Billy grunted and shut the door as Nash stepped back a bit.

  “You’re trying to avoid my father, aren’t you?”

  Emmy bit her lips together. “Maybe.”

  “Em, I thought you were here for closure?”

  “No… You said you needed closure, Nash. I’m here so you can get that with your father. But I don’t need anything from Brick Collier.”

  The sound of Brick clearing his throat behind them caused Emmy to jump. There was no question he’d heard what she said.

  “Sorry to interrupt. Just thought ya’ll might want to join us for coffee.” Brick closed the door without waiting for a response, and for some reason Emmy felt a little guilty. He really did seem different, but did that mean she had to forgive him?

  “Well, I’m stuffed,” Billy said, leaning back against the sofa and rubbing his stomach. Although he was tall and still as lean as their teenage years, he looked like he had a small baby bump after chowing down all day.

  Brick was quiet and hadn’t looked her way since hearing what she’d said on the deck earlier.

  “Hey, Billy, I have to go,” Anna said as she came back from taking a phone call on her cell.

  “Really? Something wrong?”

  “Apparently the alarm is going off at my shop, so I have to meet the alarm guys over there. We’ve been having problems with it.”

  “Dang. I don’t want to miss seeing the fireworks with you. Why don’t I come along and we can just meet everyone on the square a little later?”

  Anna nodded, smiled and jetted out the door with Billy hot on her heels. It was just starting to get dark outside, so fireworks would be in a couple of hours. And truthfully, Emmy couldn’t wait to get back to some semblance of normal. Being around Brick was making her stomach knot up so much that a Boy Scout couldn’t get the thing untangled.

  “Say, Nash, do you think you could help me with something upstairs?” Lola said suddenly. Emmy felt like she was going to throw up when she realized that would leave her sitting alone with Brick.

  “Now?” Nash said, cutting a glance at Emmy, knowing full well she wasn’t going to be okay with it.

  “If you don’t mind. Your Daddy’s birthday is coming up, and I want to run something past you,” she whispered with a sly smile.

  Brick looked at Nash and threw his hands up. “What the lady wants, the lady gets. Just humor her.”

  Nash stood and squeezed Emmy’s shoulder as he followed Lola up the stairs, glancing back one more time at Emmy.

  Brick cleared his throat and leaned forward as if he was going to say something, but Emmy shot up from her chair and moved toward the kitchen.

  “Jeez, where are my manners? The least I can do is help Lola clean up a bit in here…”

  She could feel Brick following her to the kitchen. She grabbed a dish towel and started wiping down the non-wet counters.

  “Emmy, I wanted to say…”

  “Where are your anti-bacterial wipes? Salmonella is a dangerous thing…”

  “We didn’t eat chicken.”

  “Still, one can’t be too careful.” She was giggling nervously and was completely unable to stop which made her sound like a lunatic.

  “Emmy.” Brick only had to say her name in that way of his to get her attention. She stopped in her tracks, just like she was a kid again.

  “Yes?” Finally, she looked up and made eye contact with him. He still made her a nervous wreck.

  “While they’re upstairs, I just wanted to clear something up.”

  “Not necessary, Mr. Collier. Really.”

  “Please call me Brick.”

  “I’d really rather not.”

  Brick nodded and sighed as he leaned against the counter. “I was a complete and total jackass back then, Emmy.”

  She chuckled under her breath. “Well, you’re certainly right about that.”

  Brick smiled. “I’m very sorry for how I treated you. I know that doesn’t make up for anything, but I want you to know that I’m not proud of how I acted or even who I was back then.”

  “Do you have any idea of how you hurt me? And Nash? We could’ve been together all these years.”

  “You still love Nash, don’t you?”

  Emmy swallowed hard. “My personal life isn’t any of your business.”

  Brick walked to the refrigerator and took out a water. He opened it and took a long drink. “You’re totally right. None of my business. But second chances are hard to come by in this life, Emmy. If you get that chance, don’t waste it. Just a little piece of advice.”

  “I didn’t ask for any advice,” she said, staring down at the counter. She could feel her jaw clenching so hard that she’d probably need a dental visit after this conversation.

  “I know you probably don’t forgive me, Emmy. And that’s okay. But please know that if my son loves you, which I think he does, and you don’t want to be around me I’ll understand. I’ll do whatever I can to make you feel comfortable.”

  “You know what? I don’t need you to make me feel anything. I’m fine!”

  “Emmy, what can I do to make things right between us?” he asked, running his fingers through his still thick hair, much like Nash did when he got frustrated.

  “She was your granddaughter,” Emmy heard herself saying barely above a whisper.

  Brick swallowed so hard that Emmy actually heard it. She looked over to see his eyes watering a bit, although he cleared his throat and turned the other direction when he saw her looking.

  “It was a girl?”

  Emmy took in a deep breath. “Yes.”

  “Does Nash know that?”

  “I told him recently.”

  “My granddaughter,” he said, barely above a whisper. After he gathered himself, he turned back toward her. She wasn’t as nervous anymore. “I can’t change the past, Emmy. I sure wish I could. There’s a lot I would change. The crazy thing about age is that it allows you the benefit of looking back over everything in your life, but it’s also like a prison because you
can see it but you can’t do a damn thing about it.”

  “I get that,” Emmy said, thinking back to her own past and the things she would change if she could.

  “I don’t expect anything from you, but please don’t punish my son for my misdeeds. He turned out to be an amazing man, despite the parents he had, thank God.”

  Emmy started to feel a softness in her heart. She didn’t want to, and she definitely wasn’t anywhere near ready to forgive Brick. But a part of her believed him, that he had regrets and had changed over the years.

  “Look, I appreciate your apology. I really do. But right now, I can’t promise anything will change as far as how I feel.”

  “I understand.”

  “Plus, Nash is leaving to go home to Vegas soon, so you and I don’t have to see each other anyway.”

  “Everything okay in here?” Nash asked as he entered the kitchen, a worried look on his face.

  “Yeah, everything’s fine,” Brick said, forcing a smile. Lola slid her arms around his waist and put her head against his chest.

  “You about ready for some fireworks?” she asked, looking up at him adoringly. Brick smiled down at her. Emmy was so conflicted as she watched them. Who was this man?

  “Nash, do you mind running me back by my house? I think I forgot my wallet.”

  “Sure. No problem. We’ll see you guys later on,” Nash said, giving Lola a quick hug and shaking his father’s hand.

  “Thanks for inviting me,” Emmy said, ready to make her escape. Lola pulled her into a tight hug.

  “Anytime, sweetie.”

  “Mr. Collier,” she said, nodding her head at him.

  “Emmy.”

  Chapter 13

  As they drove down the long road toward her house, Emmy was quiet. She just couldn’t get her conversation with Brick out of her mind. And then when she’d said Nash was going home soon, his face had changed, almost like he was surprised to hear that. Had he not thought Nash would leave one day?

  “You sure are quiet over there,” Nash finally said, looking at her. “Did my Dad say something to upset you?”

  Emmy smiled. “No. He actually apologized… more than once.”