Chapter Six
Emily
“Ah, this coffee is good,” I said as I fell back into my chair. I’d been dealing with a particularly difficult child, and I was grateful for the break.
“You know, I usually love my job, but every now and again you get someone that makes the job hard. Thanks for helping out with Martin today. He’s hard work, isn’t he?”
Martin usually saw Terra, but for some reason there had been a double booking, and two different kids had arrived at once. So I’d stepped in to work with him, and we’d promised the parent that they wouldn’t have to pay for the session. I’d been looking forward to the break, but I knew that Terra would’ve helped me if the roles had been reversed. Martin was a tough child to work with.
“Yeah, most of my difficult kids seem like angels now compared to him. The thing is, I don’t think he wants to be here. That’s the toughest part. Teaching someone that doesn’t want to be taught is not easy. But I blame the parents. I met them when they came to get him. They’re not the easiest people to speak to.”
Terra sighed. “Yeah, that’s why I continue working with him. I feel so bad for him. He has a difficult home life. I’m hoping he one day comes around and realizes that I’m only trying to help him. Anyway, thanks for saving my skin. I really appreciate it.”
“It’s no problem at all. I’m happy to help.”
“Thanks, man. So, what’s news on your side? Does Brady still have someone staying with him?”
“Yeah, it seems that way. His truck is always there. I haven’t seen much of him, but every now and again I’ve seen him walking by.”
“And you still haven’t introduced yourself?”
I shook my head. “Still not.”
“But it’s been two weeks now since you first saw him!”
“I know. I know. But whenever I get home, he’s already inside the house. I’m not exactly going to be able to just go and knock on the door.”
“Why not?”
I looked at her in exasperation. “Uh, because I’ll look like a bit of a creep, don’t you think?”
“Or, you know,” she said, “you’ll look like the friendly neighbor you usually are. It honestly won’t harm you to go and say hello.”
I sighed. “You’re right. I keep telling myself that I should go and say hello, and then I get home and chicken out. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Maybe I’m becoming a bit of a hermit these days.”
“Oh dear. That’s not a good thing. Well, maybe I should threaten you?”
“Threaten me? What do you mean?”
“If you don’t go and introduce yourself to him by the end of the week, I’m going to come over to your house and do it for you.”
“You wouldn’t!” I gasped.
She chuckled. “Oh, you know I would.”
“That’s true. I know you. Okay, fine. I’ll do it. I promise.”
“Good. You see, I’m a good friend to you.”
“You just threatened me. How is that being a good friend?”
“Because I’m stopping you from becoming a hermit. That’s why.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re right. Okay, well, I promise. Oh, there’s Wendy at the door. Man, she’s cute. I better go.”
I stood up to get my coffee and opened the door for Wendy. Her father was sitting in the car, waiting to see that she got in okay. I waved to him and ushered her inside. I wondered why he hadn’t come to see me. I hoped he wasn’t embarrassed from the last time. But he’d offered me a big smile now, so maybe he just had somewhere to be.
I spent the next hour working with Wendy, who was even more delightful than before. Probably because I was now comparing her to Martin. Anyone would be delightful next to him.
“Have you been practicing?” I asked her.
She nodded and went on to execute her sentences with near perfection. I looked at her in astonishment.
“Wendy, that’s wonderful. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thank you. I’ve been practicing every day,” she said and smiled. I barely noticed the scar anymore, and I was impressed with how well she said the word ‘practicing’—that one would’ve been almost impossible only a few weeks ago.
When her father showed up, I wondered if he’d wait in the car again, but he came out with a huge smile on his face. I was glad. I didn’t want things to get awkward between us.
“Your daughter is doing exceptionally well,” I said to him as soon as I opened the door.
“She’s an amazing little girl. Oh, I got you something,” he said and fished in his bag.
“You did?”
He pulled out a box of chocolates and handed them to me.
“Wow, what’s this for?” I said.
“Just for everything you’ve done.”
“Oh goodness, thank you. You didn’t have to, though. I mean, this is my job. It’s what I do for a living.”
“I know. But it’s been wonderful. And I really look forward to seeing you every week,” he said and smiled at me again.
He looked forward to seeing me every week? That was a bit odd. I only saw him for a few minutes when he dropped off or collected his daughter.
I smiled uncomfortably. “She’s a great kid to teach,” I said and tried to force the conversation back to being about Wendy.
“Yes, she is. And you’re a great teacher. I was thinking that maybe third time is the charm.”
“The charm? What do you mean?”
“Emily Wessler, will you go out with me?”
I gulped. Surely he was not asking me out again? “Uh, thank you so much. Really, it’s so nice of you, Brett. But I’m just not looking to date at that moment. I’m not going to change my mind, but I really appreciate you asking me again.”
“Oh, come on—just one date. I thought you enjoyed teaching my child.”
“I do. Wendy is amazing. But that’s got nothing to do with going on a date. I’m just not ready at the moment.”
“Did you have a bad breakup or something? Because I would never hurt you, Emily. I’m one of the good guys. I assure you. Why don’t you just give me a chance? Did someone hurt you?”
There was something in his voice that I didn’t like. An edge to it that I hadn’t noticed before. I couldn’t figure out what it was, but he was making me very uncomfortable.
“Uh, no. Nobody hurt me. I’m just not dating at the moment. It’s nothing against you. I promise.”
“Nothing against me? You turned me down three times, Emily. How am I not supposed to get upset at that?”
The change in tone caught me off guard, and I took a step away from him.
“It’s not a crime to turn someone down. Like I said before, you’re a great guy, but I’m just not dating at the moment.”
“Give it some more thought at least. I think we’ll be great together, and I’m a firm believer of never giving up.” He smiled at me and then turned to his daughter who was sitting at the end of the room with her books. “Wendy, time to go!”
She ran up to him, and the two of them walked out together.
“Just think about it. I could make you happy.”
I didn’t answer him. I just waved goodbye to Wendy and smiled awkwardly until I was sure that they were gone. Then I walked into Terra’s office where I knew she’d be standing and listening in.
“Did you hear that?”
“I heard it. Okay, I take back what I said about dating him. He’s super creepy man. He was so pushy.”
“I know. What the hell? Asking me out once was sweet. Asking me out twice was also sweet. But three times? That’s pushing it a bit.”
“Yeah, I didn’t like the way his voice changed either. He had a weird tone to it. Why don’t you speak to Mr. Dalton about it?”
Mr. Dalton was our boss, and the two of us got along well with him. He worked from home most of the time, so we barely saw him, but when we did, he was always kind-hearted. He’d started the company because his own daughter needed a speech therapist, and since then his company had gone from strength to strength.
I shook my head. “No, if I get him involved, then he’s just going to tell Brett that he’s not allowed to come in anymore.”
“Isn’t that what you want? I mean, isn’t that the exact point?”
“Well, yeah. But that would also mean that Wendy doesn’t get to finish her sessions with me. And she’s doing so well. I could easily kick Brett out, but I can’t do that to Wendy. She’s such a sweet girl. And I had no idea that her father was such a creep. It makes me want to protect her even more.”
“Dammit,” Terra cried. “You’re right. We can’t do that to Wendy. That would be devastating to her. Anyway, he’s probably not a creep. He just really likes you and is trying his best to have you. I’m sure after getting turned down three times he’s learned his lesson.”
“I sure hope so,” I said.
“Well, just make sure that you’re not in this place alone when he’s here.”
“I’m hardly ever here alone. You’re normally here. And I know you’ll kick his ass if you had to.”
She laughed. “I will. You have my word for it. But hopefully it won’t even come to that. Now, before we go home, how about we tuck into some of those chocolates he gave you. Is it sealed? I don’t want to eat chocolates from a maniac if they’re not sealed.”
I laughed. “They’re sealed. And yes, good idea. We might as well at least eat the chocolates.”
As usual, we ate so much that we felt sick, and then spent another half an hour on some weird sugar high. We drank coffee with the chocolate, so the sugar high was mixed with a caffeine high. It was incredibly amusing.
“Right, that’s my exercise done,” Terra said with a smile.
“Exercise? Since when did you do any exercise? You’ve been sitting in front of me this whole time.”
“Hey, laughing is great for abs,” she said.
“And chocolate is not.”
She waved her hand dismissively. “I’ll focus on the laughing part, thank you very much. It’s a highly underrated sport. So, what are you up to tonight?”
“Oh, I have an exciting night planned. I need to go home and change into something sexy.”
“What? You do? Tell me more!” she exclaimed.
I burst out laughing. “How well do you know me? I have nothing planned. I think I need a cat. That way I won’t be home by myself.”
“You will not get a cat and be that sort of woman already. If you’re going to get an animal, then at least get something quirky like a hedgehog or a guinea pig.”
“It’s not a bad idea. My cousin had a guinea pig once, and I fell in love with the fluffy little chubster. They’re very cute.”
“You see, I’m full of good advice,” she said and then popped one more chocolate into her mouth and groaned. “What am I doing? Take these things away from me.”
I was still chuckling to myself when I headed home. I was in a good mood, and the sugar-caffeine high had made me feel almost tipsy. Which, I concluded, was great for introducing myself to the handsome new neighbor. I was still figuring out what I was going to say to him when I got home and saw that my house was on fire. I stopped the car and stared. Just then, a fire truck pulled up next to me, and a group of men went running toward the house. One man told me to stand back, and I stared in horror as they began hosing down the flames.
“What the hell?”