Chapter Two

        “Emma Jean?”

        “In here!” Emma Jean answered Tally’s frantic call.

        “Emma Jean?” Tally called softly from the doorway.

        Emma Jean hung her head, her hands covering her face in a vain attempt to hide the damage.

        “Emma Jean, please look at me.” Tally’s voice was gentle yet stern, so Emma Jean did as she was told, but flinched when Tally gasped. “I’m sorry, Ems. So sorry you’ve had this happen to you.” Suddenly Tally’s voice changed. “ But, that motherfucker deserves an epic beatdown.”

        Emma Jean choked out a laugh at her friend’s uncharacteristic swearing, though she couldn’t really disagree with the sentiment, and then groaned at the pain from jostling her ribs. “Please don’t make me laugh. It hurts.”

        “Sorry,” Tally mumbled. “I’m calling you an ambulance,” she said, tapping on her phone.

        “No! No, please,” she begged, panic-stricken.

        “Honey, look at you,” Tally tried to reason. “You can’t even stand up on your own. You need medical attention.”

        Emma Jean felt the tears sting her eyes. “I know,” she admitted miserably. “But I don’t want the cops involved.”

        “Why the hell not?! It’s the least that mother- jerk  deserves.”

        “I know, but the cops, they...look at women like me and they...they probably think I got what I deserved,” she finished, her eyes dropping to her lap.

        “Ems, that’s just not true.” Tally squatted down in front of her. “Look, going to the cops or not is your choice. I’ll support you no matter what you decide. But, you have to at least allow me to take you to the hospital.”

        Emma Jean couldn’t speak for the tightness in her throat, so she just nodded.

        “Luke’s outside. Is it okay if he comes in? I’m afraid if I try to pick you up by myself I’ll end up hurting you even more.” Tally’s voice was full of genuine concern, and Emma Jean found herself wishing she had sought her friend’s help much sooner.

        So, she nodded again. Luke was nice. He’d always been nice . And he and Tally had been in love since high school. Even when Luke left Medicine Wheel to join the Army and ended up being captured by insurgents, he made sure to come home to Tally and their son, Tucker. Emma Jean knew she could trust him like she trusted Tally.

        Moments later, Tally and Luke were helping Emma Jean to her feet as she huffed and cried and cursed her husband six ways from Sunday. Once she was on her feet she could shuffle her way to the door without assistance. Tally made sure she had her purse and asked her what else she might need for a few days.

        Emma Jean frowned. “A few days? Do you think they’ll keep me at the hospital that long?”

        “I don’t know, but you can’t come back here, so tell me what you absolutely have to have for now, and I’ll pack you a bag.”

        “Tally, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

        “Emma Jean,” Luke cut in, “I think it’s best if you stay with us for a while.” When she looked like she was going to protest, Luke added, “It’s not safe here.”

        Well, she couldn’t very well dispute that claim. So, she let Tally pack her a bag, and the three of them shuffled out the front door toward Luke’s Jeep. A large, dark SUV pulled up to the curb just as Luke was opening the back passenger door for her.

        “Tal!”

        Emma Jean froze. Please, no. She couldn’t face him . Not like this.

        “Tal, what’s going on?” Tally’s older brother, and Emma Jean’s first crush, Noah Hawkins, asked. “Emma Jean, are you alright? What happened?”

        She flinched when he reached for her.

        “What the fuck?” he whispered. His fists clenched at his sides. “He did this? That son of a bitch la id his hands on you?”

        “Noah, calm down.” Tally tried to soothe her brother’s anger, but it did no good.

        “I’ll kill him, I swear. Where is he? He in there?” He pointed at the house, turning his body like he was about to go storming the castle.

        “Noah, man, he’s not in there,” Luke said, walking toward Noah and leaning into him. “You gotta get it together .  She’s hurt and we need to get her to the hospital, okay? Let’s take care of Emma Jean first. We’ll worry about that asshole later.”

        Noah must have seen reason because he nodded stiffly before stalking to his vehicle. “Go. I’ll follow you.”

        With that, Luke helped Emma Jean into the back of his Jeep, and they set off for the hospital with Noah following closely behind.

***

        The hospital smelled like ammonia, and the scent sent Emma Jean’s stomach rolling. She wanted to curl in on herself but her screaming ribs wouldn’t allow it. Once they had gotten her to the emergency department, a swarm of medical professionals surrounded her. Some shouting orders, some carrying them out. Emma Jean underwent a bevy of testing, including blood work, x-rays, and a CAT scan. The good news was she wasn’t dead or pregnant. The bad news was she had cracked ribs, an orbital fracture, and a concussion. Though, Emma Jean figured ‘bad news’ was relevant. Her injuries could have been a lot worse.

        “Can you hand me my phone, please?” she asked Tally, who sat in the lone chair next to the bed. Luke and Noah stood side-by-side against the far wall, simultaneously keeping an eye on her but also giving her space.

        “Thank you,” she whispered as Tally handed the phone over. Her first order of business was to log into her e-banking app and gauge her checking account balance. She prayed she had enough for a cheap motel because she sure as shit wasn’t going home once she was released from the hospital. She may have been weak, but she wasn’t stupid. “Damn it,” she muttered when she got a look at her account balance. It was nowhere near what she’d need to survive on, let alone secure a place to sleep.

        “What’s wrong?” Tally’s shrewd gaze pierced Emma Jean’s last piece of armor, and she felt the tears well in her eyes.

        “Where am I gonna go?” She felt so alone, and her helplessness led to frustration. “I can’t go to my parents. They can’t see me like this.” She started to sob, but the intensity was too much for her body, in its current state, to handle. She gasped from the pain, which sent Noah rushing to her side.

        “Easy there, sunshine . You’re going to be just fine,” he cooed as he swept her hair back gently.

        “You’re going to stay with me. Like Luke said.” Tally’s tone left no room for argument, even as she looked at her boyfriend for confirmation.

        Luke nodded. “Absolutely. You’ll stay with us .” Luke gave Tally a pointed look as he stressed the word ‘us.’

        The two of them were finally making their way back to each other after Luke had been gone for several years, and Tally was having to adjust to them being a couple again. She had gotten used to doing things on her own. Running her ranch, making her own decisions, raising their child as a single parent. Emma Jean was happy for her friend, finally getting the love of her life back, even if it was a process, and happily ever after didn’t happen overnight.

        “Sorry to interrupt, folks. Need to have a word with Mrs. Sampson.” Brett Jenkins, the Gallatin County sheriff, stood just inside the doorway.

        “Sheriff Jenkins,” Emma Jean greeted the older man stiffly. She didn’t know him well, but his son, Justin, had played football with Cody in high school. He’d never given her any real reason to distrust him, still, she chose to tread carefully. “What can I do for you?” What are you doing here, and who the hell called you?  were also questions that ran through her mind.

        The sheriff glanced around the room, taking in the present company.

        “You can speak freely, Sheriff. These are my friends.”

        “Alright, then, Mrs. Sampson. Why don’t you tell me what happened to you to cause such injuries?” His tone was gentle and coaxing, but Emma Jean was still wary.

        “I fell down the stairs,” she said confidently.

        “Emma,” Noah warned under his breath.

        Her eyes darted to Noah with her own warning before moving back to the sheriff. “I’m terribly clumsy, you see.”

        Sheriff Jenkins’s jaw clenched, but his tone remained friendly. “Are you sure that’s what happened, Emma Jean?”

        “Positive, Sheriff.”

        It was obvious to everyone in the room Sheriff Jenkins didn’t buy her story, but Emma Jean was surprised when he said pointedly, “I hope you’re taking precautions, so you don’t...fall down the stairs again.”

        “I am,” she replied, jutting her chin.

        “And you got folks who can help you with that.” That wasn’t a question, but she answered anyway.

        “I do.”

        “Good,” he nodded once. “If you need anything...should you find yourself becoming more accident prone…,” he said drily, “I trust you’ll call.” Again, not a question.

        Emma Jean’s lips twitched slightly. It appeared she may have misjudged the man. “Thank you, Sheriff. If I ever find myself...tripping over my own feet...I’ll be sure to let you know.”

        “Very well,” he sighed. “Speedy recovery, Emma Jean.”

        She watched as Sheriff Jenkins lumbered out of the exam room.

        “That was stupid, Emma,” Noah clipped.

        Emma Jean reared back under the force of his anger. “Excuse me?”

        “You should have told the truth! Turned that bastard in! Who’s to say he won’t come after you again?!” he shouted.

        “Noah!” Tally and Luke scolded in unison.

        Emma Jean started to shake, unsure if it was her own anger or fear that Noah’s concern was valid. What if Cody tried to come after her?

        “Hey, man, let’s go get some fresh air,” Luke suggested, not-so-subtly, gripping Noah’s shoulder.

        “Yeah,” Noah gritted out as the two men turned to leave.

        “Ems, you okay?” Tally softly called.

        Emma Jean’s mind was a jumble of what ifs. “Do you think he’ll come after me?” Her voice was thready and weak.

        “You’ll be safe at the ranch. If he steps one foot on my property, I’ll have him arrested for trespassing. Or Luke will beat him up. Or I’ll get Storm to run him over. I have contingency plans,”  she joked, and Emma Jean couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of Tally’s huge stallion running roughshod over Cody’s prone body. Gallows humor might be the only alternative to crying at the moment.

        “I was planning to leave him, you know? Someday.” Emma Jean suddenly got very serious. “I was saving money.”

        The smile dropped from Tally’s face as she listened intently.

        “Cody never wanted me to work, so I never had money of my own. Sometimes, I think that was his intention, to keep me under his thumb. So, every week, when I got groceries or put gas in the car, I’d take out a couple of extra dollars. Not a lot, because I didn’t want him to catch on to what I was doing. Sometimes it was as little as two dollars. Sometimes as much as five or six. But I’d take it and deposit it into another checking account. One Cody didn’t know I had.” She paused in her explanation to swallow roughly. “So, you see, I was going to do it. Finally stand up for myself. I might be weak, but I’m not stupid,” she repeated the thought she had earlier, this time out loud.

        “Sweetie, you are not weak. Or stupid. You’re so strong. Look at you. You figured out a way to do it on your own, even if it was going to take you a while to get there. But now you don’t have to do it alone, because you’ve got me. And Luke and Noah.” Tally sat on the side of the bed while she gave her pep talk. “And with the three of us comes the rest of the Hawkins Stables family. You know, Jonas may be old, but he’s wily,” she smirked, causing Emma Jean to giggle again. “And Carter’s huge, he’d terrify anyone if they didn’t know what a big teddy bear he really is. And Fiona...well, Fiona may not be any help at all, because she’s just too darn nice. But I bet if she was pissed off enough, she’d surprise us. So, you see? You got a whole army at your back.”

        And thank God for that. She was going to need it.