Chapter 13

Emmett

I was just getting my papers filled out for my release when Jodie showed up after another long break.

“I bet you thought you were going to be released before you ever saw me again.” She gave a snicker as she walked into my room with a cookie tin in her hand.

“You abandoned me this past week and the week before for days. So, why should I expect anything?”

“Now listen to you. You act like I’ve done gone and mistreated you.” She placed the tin on the bed near my duffle.

“Are those cookies?”

“Yes, but I don’t know if I should give them to you. I told you last week if you didn’t start treating the other nurses as nicely as you treated me, that I was going to send you a box of coal.”

“Your Santa complex is a little late; it’s springtime; I wasn’t worried.”

“You got someone picking you up?” She stood near the end of the bed as I continued gathering up the things in my room.

The Mylar balloon had deflated, but I carefully folded it along with the picture and put it in my bag.

“I’ll get a car, and then the military is arranging for me to stay in a shelter for a few nights since I don’t really have any family to stay with. As soon as a different place opens up, they’ll move me.”

“A shelter? Like for the homeless?” She gave me a sideward look.

That made me scratch my head and think. “I suppose I am homeless, but no, it’s a house for veterans.”

“Well, if you need anything, you let me know.” She turned and headed for the door.

“Now you see why you’re my favorite and why I get in a bad mood when you don’t show up. You’re a good lady, Jodie. Don’t ever change.” She’d spoiled me with her company, and when she’d pull a no-show, I was in the foulest mood ever.

“See, I’ve sworn to those others that you’re not that bad. They still don’t believe me. Maybe you should stop by the station and tell the others goodbye and have a nice day.”

“Don’t push it, Jodie.”

“I’ll get you a cart and be back with the wheelchair.”

“What?” I turned to stop her, but she was already on her way out.

She returned a moment later with a cart for my things, which weren’t many, and then Ava brought in a wheelchair behind her.

“What’s all this?”

“Hospital policy, Mr. Burke,” Ava said with a sly grin. She knew I was going to put up a fight and prove Jodie wrong.

I looked over at my favorite nurse, who seemed to be waiting for me to protest. “I can walk out of here.”

“Nope, you can’t. It’s hospital policy.” Ava pushed the chair closer.

“Thank you, Ava.” I put my duffle on the cart and reluctantly sat down in the chair. “I’d love to take a ride on this lovely day.”

“Why thank you, kind sir.” Ava and Jodie exchanged a laugh, and Jodie took the cart while Ava pushed me out of my room and down to the nurses’ station where I was forced to say a pleasant farewell.

Thankfully, the nurses and I made nice, and Ava had mercy on me. I was glad to be leaving and hoped that once I got out of the place, I’d be able to figure out my next steps. I didn’t want to stay in the shelter too long, and I had enough money that I could get me a place of my own if I could find something. I didn’t want to sign a lease or get into renting a place when I had no idea how long I’d be in Raleigh.

“Here’s where I drop you off.” Ava stopped me at the door, and then I stood and got my duffle bag off the cart. “You take care, now.”

“You have a nice day, Ava. Thank you.” I forced a smile and gave her a nod.

The big double doors opened as I stepped in front of the sensors, and when I walked out into the parking lot, I found Autumn and Penelope walking toward me.

“I’m so glad we caught you,” she said. “I called, and they said you were being released.”

“Yeah, you’re just in time.” She had been to see me two more times without Penelope, and both times, she’d been on her way to business meetings. When we were growing up, I knew her father always had a lot going on, and I wondered if she was turning into him with the busy schedule.

“I thought you might need a ride.”

“Sure, I’d like that.”

“Yay!” Penelope grabbed my hand as we walked to the parking garage. “Where do you live?”

“I don’t have a house, but the military has a place for me.”

Autumn looked disappointed. “I was hoping you’d consider coming to stay with us if you needed a place.”

“Yes!” shouted Penelope. “Please come to our house. You can see Mrs. Kitty Whiskers, and we can have a movie night.”

I grinned. “A movie night? That sounds fun.”

Autumn flashed me a big smile. “Then it’s all settled; you’re coming home with us. I have a place for you to stay, and I think you’ll be a lot more comfortable.”

“If you’re sure, Autumn. I don’t want to impose on your home.” I had no idea what kind of place she had, but she gave me a reassuring smile and reached over Penelope’s head to give me a pat on the arm.

“I have plenty of room. Trust me.”

She was the same old Autumn, always there to help me out, and I guessed I could handle spending a night or two on her couch or in her guestroom. As a single mother, I could probably help her out a little, because from what it sounded like, Jason hadn’t done shit to help either of them.

We drove across town and out of the city, finally turning down a street that led to a private neighborhood. The houses were all large brick homes in what seemed like an upscale family neighborhood, but then we turned down another road, and I suddenly wondered just how successful she had been working for her father’s company. I’d known it had grown a lot and wondered if we were stopping off at his house on the way to hers.

“Here we are,” Autumn said as she turned down a long driveway that stretched up to a large stone house with a sprawling lawn and so many magnolias and live oaks that for a moment, I wondered if we’d stumbled upon an old plantation.

“This is your house?” I expected her to laugh and tell me how ridiculous I was.

Penelope leaned up between our seats. “Yeah, this is where we live.” She grabbed a small bag from the console, and then when Autumn stopped the car in the large, circle drive, she jumped out of the car and headed to the door which she unlocked and went through.

“It looks like you’re doing well for yourself. Did you get this place in the divorce?”

“I bought it after, actually. Jason and I had a place together, but I wanted a change, and we wanted to be farther from the city.”

“Wow, you really are doing well working with your father’s company. I guess all those years he devoted to work and nothing else really paid off.”

“Yes, and the fact that I doubled the company’s net worth once I came on board didn’t hurt, either.”

“That’s amazing, Autumn.” She had been the smartest girl in school and the smartest that I’d ever known. “I’ll have to remember not to underestimate you.”

“You should have learned that a long time ago.” She patted my hand and then turned to get out. “Well, are you coming? I’ll show you to your place.”

“My place?”

“Yes, there’s a guest house off the back near the pool room. I thought you’d be more comfortable out there, and I haven’t had anyone use it yet, so I kind of wanted to get my money’s worth.”

“That would be great. It sure beats the military shelter, and I’ll probably get a better night’s sleep.” I had a lot to do to get back up on my feet and settled in the civilian world.

She walked me through her house, which was surprisingly warm and cozy despite its size. It wasn’t set up like a museum, but a family home, with small touches of Penelope and Autumn everywhere. “It’s beautiful.”

“We love it. We’ve made it our own as you can see.” There were pictures Penelope had drawn on the walls, displayed like fine art, and small trinkets that they’d collected on the vacations depicted in their photographs.

She walked me into a sunroom and then through a huge patio door, across the expanse where the pool was to the other side. “This is it. I hope you’ll be comfy, and if there’s anything you need for the kitchenette, you feel free to come inside to cook or eat or get something. I want you to feel at home and not like I’m shutting you out.”

The small cottage was like something you’d see in a fairytale, except it wasn’t made of gingerbread, but it was just as charming. “It’s so much nicer than I could have imagined, Autumn. Did you do all of the decorating yourself?”

“Yes, Pen and I did a lot of it, including painting the walls ourselves out here. We wanted it to be a nice getaway if we ever had company, but so far, the only people who have slept out here is us. You should see the skylight in a lightning storm. It’s really spectacular.”

“I bet it is.” I looked up to see that there was indeed a large skylight in the living room, and that was where all of the natural light was coming from.

“We watched the lunar eclipse here, too. My Pen is a bit of a stargazer.”

“She’s like her mother then, for sure.” I remembered the two of us going to lay out on my back deck and watching the stars for hours. We’d see who could spot the most meteors and make wishes on falling stars.

“Yes, she’s a lot like me and some like Jason, too. Have you thought about reaching out to him?”

“No, I don’t think I will.”

“I don’t want you to think you have to choose between us.” She wrapped her arms around her front and rubbed her upper arms.

“I don’t. It’s just been so long, and I don’t really have anything nice to say to him.”

She smiled and stepped closer. “I don’t either.”

It was so tempting to kiss her, but I didn’t want to take advantage and figured we had a lot more to talk about before we did anything like that. “I have to go talk to my sergeant next week and see what happens next, but I will call him and let him know I’ve found a place to stay for now.”

“You stay as long as you like. There’s no deadline, Emmett. And as for your meeting, I’ll make sure you have a ride.” She gave me a sly smile and then turned to head to the door. “I’ll leave you to settle in. There is an intercom if you need me.” With that, she turned around and left.

I walked over to the couch and sat down to take it all in. Not only was Autumn back in my life, but I was staying with her in her big, fancy house. I closed my eyes thinking maybe I hadn’t yet woken from that coma and this was all a dream.