Chapter 14

Autumn

It was hard to leave him there, but I knew he needed time to think and time to settle in. To my surprise, I hadn’t been in the house for twenty minutes when he called my name.

“Autumn?” His voice carried from the other room.

I peeked around the long counter that separated the kitchen from the rest of the house. “I’m here. Come on in.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to just walk in.”

“You’re welcome to anytime, really. Make yourself at home. I know that kitchenette is empty next door, but this one is stocked with more than Pen and I can eat, so you help yourself.”

“I’d like to help out with groceries if at all possible.” He raised his nose to the air. “What’s that smell?”

“I just put that pie in the oven. The one I promised you. I thought that we could celebrate your homecoming.”

“You’re too good to me.”

“Nonsense. You’re my friend. My oldest and dearest.” I reached up and brushed my hair out of my face, but it didn’t manage to stay put.

“Here, allow me.” He reached up and tucked the stray tress behind my ear. Then he looked into my eyes.

“What’s on your mind?” I asked.

“I’m just wondering why I stayed away so long.”

“You thought things were okay here, and you trusted me to your best friend, not knowing what an asshole he was?” I gave a little laugh, but before I could say anything else, Penelope walked in. She had changed into her princess dress and was wearing a pair of plastic heels that clanked across the floor as she stiffly made her way to the table.

“Well, don’t you look like a princess.” Emmett watched her as she passed and then looked at me with a big smile on his face.

Penelope had made herself up, hoping he’d notice, and she no doubt had a new infatuation with Emmett. I knew I did too, even though it wasn’t so new but rekindled. “This is my evening gown. I just came to get a glass of juice.”

“Well, you look beautiful. I love those earrings, too.” She had on her little diamond studs.

“Thanks. Mama and Paisley’s mom took us to get our ears pierced last week. I didn’t cry a tear, but Paisley did. She cries a lot easier than me.”

I smiled, not daring to tell how she was the one who was too scared and had to be talked into it, or how her eyes had ringed red, but she refused to cry after being so strong for Paisley.

“I had my ear pierced once,” he said. “Your mama did it with a hot needle and a potato.”

“Don’t tell her that, Emmett. You have to be careful what you fill in that little head of hers.” I brushed back her blond hair and then walked back over to the fridge to pour her a glass of juice.

“Did you get to see the whole house, Emmett?” Penelope asked.

“No, just the guest suite, but it’s beautiful. Maybe you could show me around?”

“I’ve got at least thirty minutes on the pie. Why don’t we both show you?” I took out my phone and set the timer as Penelope took his hand.

I found myself wishing I was young and carefree again so I could hold his hand.

Pen looked up at him. “What do you want to see first?”

“How about some of these pretty flowers?” he asked.

“You like flowers?” she asked.

“When you’ve been cooped up as long as I have, you do. I have missed the outdoors.”

I nodded. “There are trails in the surrounding woods, but I haven’t been brave enough to take Pen out there yet. I’m always afraid we’ll find a snake.”

“You used to not be afraid of snakes. What happened?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’m just more cautious with Pen. I look back on some of the things we did, and my heart sinks thinking how we could have been injured or killed even.”

“I had no idea we were so dangerous.” He laughed and I kind of felt silly.

Pen dragged him down the stone path that led to the garden where I had a special fountain for my mother.

“This is like the one you had at your old house.”

“It is that one. It was Mom’s, and I went back to buy it from the new owners. I was glad they still had it. They had taken it down, and it was headed for the dump.”

“You rescued it. I like that. It was always really pretty. I never remember it making such a nice sound.”

“That’s because we were loud kids.” I stepped up close to see the fountain, and he took my hand and gave it a squeeze.

“I wish I could see her again,” he said.

I hadn’t ever realized how much my mother meant to him until that day in the hospital. I wished I had gotten in touch personally then, but I was still holding grudges for him leaving. I was bound and determined not to mess things up with pettiness. I kept his hand tight in mine in case he thought about pulling away.

“Want to see my bike?” Pen grabbed his other hand and gave it a tug.

“Sure,” he said. She dropped his hand and took off to the back of the garage where she kept it. “She’s something else.”

“She’s showing off for you, you know? I think she might have a little crush.”

“Yeah?” He turned and met my eyes and then gave me a shy smile. “So, how come you and I never got together?”

I knew it was the perfect time to confess the major crush I’d had on him since we were kids and pour my feelings out about him, but I didn’t know what to say. Instead, I got a little awkward and Pen rode up the stone path on her bike.

“See! I got it for Christmas.” She turned and rode back to the front between the house and garage.

“It looks like her seat needs raising.” He pulled me along with him as he went to see.

“Do you think so?” I hadn’t thought about her bike needing any work, and I had no idea how to raise the seat or if I had the tools to do it. “She has gotten a bit taller since then.”

“Yeah, I can fix that for her.” He walked over and stopped her and started looking at the seat. “Do you have any tools?”

“In the garage, there’s a toolbox. I bought them for Jason, but he never used them and didn’t take them in the divorce. He’s not much of a handyman.” I walked him into the garage and showed him the red rolling cart.

He shook his head. “That’s a nice toolset. Leave it to Jason not to appreciate what he had.”

I laughed, and he looked back over his shoulder as if he wanted to make sure that Pen hadn’t heard him call her father names.

“I wanted to talk to you about something later, Emmett.”

“I’m all ears.”

“Well, it’s about a job.”

“Oh, hey, don’t worry. I plan on getting one. I’m not going to be able to sit around and mooch. I get that.” He turned to dig in the toolbox.

“Emmett, that’s not what I mean. I know you’re a hard worker, which is why I want to offer you a job at my company. I know you’ve got the education and I have a spot I need to be filled. You could live right here until you find a place, but there’s no rush, of course. I really mean it.”

“I don’t know.” He looked uncertain, even though I could tell he wasn’t completely opposed to the idea.

“Come on. You have to say yes. I won’t take no for an answer.” I took his hand and held it in both of mine as I searched his eyes.

“Fine, I’ll take it. If it makes you feel better.”

“It does.” I let out a long breath and was so happy that he was going to be staying around. I needed him in my life, and even though I wasn’t going to get all sappy and tell him that, I couldn’t help but show my happiness with a big smile.

“Are you going to answer my question?” he asked.

“What question?”

“About us. How come we never got together? I mean, we’re two of a kind, we get along better than anyone I know, and we like the same things, come from the same place.”

I was so nervous about how I felt toward him, how much I wanted him, and yet, how much I was afraid to lose him. “I don’t know. I guess it’s just I’ve always thought of you as a brother. I mean, you have to admit we’re like brother and sister to one another, right?”

His smile faded, and he gave a short nod. “Yeah, I understand.”

I knew I had better explain. “I just always felt that if we ever tried anything like that, then we might lose what we had.”

“Yeah.” He turned back to the toolbox and opened a few of the drawers until he found the tool he wanted. “This should fix it.” He walked away and seemed to dismiss me, and I hoped I hadn’t hurt his feelings.

I watched him for a few minutes as he fixed the seat and adjusted it perfectly for Pen, who got on it and tried it out. I couldn’t help but think how he’d have been a much better father to my daughter than her own dad had even thought of being. Emmett was a genuine soul and a caring man, and he had a way of always being there for me. I knew he was perfect for me, but I’d never been able to find the right words to tell him how I felt.

We were a lot like brother and sister, but we weren’t. Our friendship had been solid through our lives, and I just had never wanted to disrupt it. We were like a well-oiled machine, and throwing a wrench into it had never sounded too appealing. Besides, it wasn’t like he’d ever made a move on me. I just assumed he wasn’t into me like that.

My beeper went off, and I silenced my phone. “That’s the pie. I’m going to take it out and get the ice cream ready.”

He turned and gave me a half-hearted smile as Pen climbed back up on the bike and then rode away.

“I’ll be inside in a minute. I just want to make sure that we got the right height.” He was suddenly distant, and I felt the same loneliness as I had when he’d left.

“Okay, sure.” I left the two of them out front and headed inside to the kitchen where the oven timer was buzzing.

I hurried over and grabbed the pot holders and still managed to burn my wrist as I was taking it out of the oven. Tears sprang to my eyes, but I knew they were for more than the pain. I should have told him how I felt and not disappointed him. I should have just told him that I’d always loved him, even back before Jason, how I’d wanted him to like me instead of his friend.