Chapter Twenty-Seven

        The next week was fairly monotonous. Emma Jean got up at six o’clock each morning, went to work, and came home to her parents’ house in the evening. On the outside, she was thriving. She enjoyed her job, she adored her coworkers, and she loved spending time with her mom and dad. On the inside, she was barely going through the motions. Her nights were filled with restless sleep in a lonely bed with an aching heart. Tally had invited her over for dinner, which she had declined. Fiona had asked her to go riding with her, but she’d made up an excuse and begged off. She did everything she could to avoid being anywhere near Noah’s orbit, even if it meant alienating her friends.

        By Friday afternoon, she was ready for her softest leggings and her coziest sweater. By the time her work day came to a close, she was ready to add a bottle of wine to her evening agenda.

        “Any plans this weekend?” Dr. Fetterman asked as they were locking up for the night.

        “No, just relaxing. You?”

        She swore she saw disappointment flash across his face before he answered. “Just the usual.”

        She realized she had no idea what his usual was. “What exactly is your usual? Birthing a goat or two?”

        He grinned and shook his head. “I do do other things besides work, you know. Actually, Friday nights I go line dancing down at The Mill or that place over in Pine Creek.”

        The Mill was Medicine Wheel’s one and only tavern. “You line dance?”

        “Sure. Dance with a pretty girl or two. Have a couple of drinks in a place where they expect you to throw your peanut shells on the floor. It’s a good way to unwind.”

        “Huh. I did not see that coming.”

        “Stick around, Emma Jean; I’m full of surprises,” he smirked.

        They said their goodnights, and she climbed into her Subaru Outback. It was the car she left behind when she left Cody because it was in his name. With him gone, she supposed it was hers now, though Cody’s affairs weren’t officially settled yet. Despite that, she already had plans to sell the house and the car once she was legally able to do so. In the meantime, she needed transportation and didn’t want to continue relying on her parents for longer than absolutely necessary.

        Pulling into the driveway, she spotted two familiar vehicles, neither of which should have been there. One of them made her heart clench, but the other one made her blood boil. Imagining all the horrible things that were likely being said, she stormed into the house ready to do battle on behalf of the people she loved.

        All heads swiveled her way when she slammed the door.

        “Richard. Susan. What are you doing here?” Her in-laws sat stiffly on her mother’s floral print sofa.

        Richard stood as he addressed her. “You didn’t come to Cody’s funeral.”

        True, she hadn’t. She had no desire to play the grieving widow, which is what would have been expected of her, when in reality she was eager to close the door on that chapter of her life. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you expected me to attend the last rites of a man who made my life miserable and then tried to kill me. Three times, I might add. You know, I could never figure out if you two were really that clueless or if you just didn’t care what a monster your son really was.”

        “Emma Jean,” her mother gasped softly, likely appalled by Emma Jean’s lack of empathy for a couple who just lost their only child, despite the circumstances.

Emma Jean was not a cruel person by nature, but she’d had enough with feeling downtrodden and expected to give deference to those who would keep her down. The oppressed did not owe respect to their oppressors.

Susan Sampson’s eyes were sad, whether it was from grief, Emma Jean’s words, or something else, she wasn’t quite sure. She wasn’t sure she cared, either. Richard, on the other hand, looked angry, and if he was itching for a fight, Emma Jean was about to give him one.

“My son is dead because of you,” he spit out, his face red with rage.

She vaguely noticed Noah rising from his seat but kept her focus on her father-in-law. “Your son is dead because he chose to get behind the wheel, drunk I might add, and attempt to run me off the road.”

“He only wanted his wife back.”

She didn’t much care for the way he stressed the words ‘his wife,’ like she was nothing more than a possession to be kept. “Three broken ribs.”

Confusion clouded Richard’s face.

She tilted her head as if trying to think something through as she spoke. “Three broken ribs. A broken eye socket and a concussion. That’s what your son did to his wife .” She was referencing the straw that broke the camel’s back. “Now, tell me, Richard, why do you think Cody would do something like that?”

Richard shook his head, sputtering, unable to come up with an acceptable answer.

Emma Jean provided the answer, though it was far from acceptable. “Because he ran out of beer. And instead of going to the store and buying some, he chose to kick me in the head so hard that I lost consciousness,” she stated matter-of-factly. “It wasn’t the first time he’d hit me, but it was the most brutal.”

Susan was crying silently, while Richard seemed to deflate, perhaps finally understanding the hell that his daughter-in-law had lived for three years.

Finally taking in the others in the room, she also saw that Noah’s hands were clenched into fists, her father’s face was so red with fury that she feared he might explode, and her mother’s face was so ravaged with grief that she knew she’d never forget the image for as long as she lived.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Richard declared, “I think we should go.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Emma Jean agreed, sweeping an arm in the direction of the front door. “And, please, for my sake, don’t ever come back.”

With the Sampsons gone, Emma Jean was engulfed in her father’s arms. “I’m so sorry, my sweet girl,” he rasped in her ear. “If I’d had any idea what you were living with-”

“Don’t, Daddy. Don’t do that. You couldn’t know. I would never have told you. I was too embarrassed. Or maybe too proud. Or some weird combination of the two. I had to figure a way out on my own.”

Her father gave her a knowing look. She spoke the truth, he knew, because she was so much like him. Stubborn to the bone and determined to do it her way. “Your mother’s devastated. She’s going to need some time to come to terms with everything you just said. Be patient with her while she works through it, yeah?”

“Yeah, Daddy.”

“You two stop whispering. I want to hug my baby,” Melissa scolded them while pulling them apart and inserting herself into their huddle.

When she’d had enough of her parents’ mauling, she extricated herself from their grasps. “Can you guys give us a minute?” She darted her eyes in Noah’s direction.

“Oh! Of course, sweetheart. We’ll be in the kitchen if you need us.” Melissa took Brian’s arm and all but dragged him away.

        Emma Jean shook her head at them in mild amusement knowing full well her mother was probably going to eavesdrop. She faced Noah where he stood in the middle of the room. All the confidence that came with her righteous anger while she confronted the Sampsons had fled. She stood in front of Noah feeling insecure and self-conscious. “What are you doing here?”

        “I can’t do this anymore.”

        She tried to ignore the pain that sliced through her heart. He had already made his feelings known, so why did he find it necessary to come here and repeat her humiliation? “I know,” she said softly.

        “Then come home.”

        She blinked slowly. “What?”

        “It’s time to come home.”

        She blinked again. “What do you mean?” she asked cautiously, feeling her heart begin to race but not daring to hope.

        He ran a hand through his already mussed hair and sighed. “You said you needed time and space. And I tried to give that to you, but I can’t do this anymore. I need you to come home. If you need more time, you can have it, but you can have it at home with me.” He was rambling now, and she was struggling to understand what exactly he was saying.

        “You...want me to come home?”

        “Yes.”

        “But...I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”

        “What? Why would you…” He looked at her like she had lost all her marbles. “Emmie,” he said slowly. “The last time we spoke, I was upset. I know I said things-”

        “You were right,” she blurted. “You were so right. I was being thoughtless and selfish. I was trying to figure myself out, and I never stopped to consider that you could help me with that, or that you even wanted to. We were supposed to be an us, and I made sure to sabotage that, though I didn’t do it on purpose.” Her words were contrite, and she hoped he heard the truth in them. And her apology.

        “I know you didn’t. I’m sorry I pushed you when you weren’t ready. But, sunshine, you gotta know, when I suggested you spend some time with your folks, I never meant it as a permanent solution. I was just giving you what you asked for.”

        “Time and space,” she murmured.

        “Yeah. Time and space. But you gotta come home now, ‘cause I’m going absolutely out of my fucking mind without you.”

        The hesitant smile that had been toying with her lips broke free and grew into something big and bright. She closed the distance between them, throwing herself into his arms. Their kiss was one of reclaiming, each of them branding themselves on the other. They pulled apart when they heard Melissa tittering in the hallway leading to the kitchen. Emma Jean tried to bite back her laughter. She knew her mother would eavesdrop, and her father was likely trying to pull her away so she’d mind her own business.

        “There’s something I need to tell you,” she said. “There’s nothing going on with Dr. Fetterman.”

        He frowned. “I know.”

        She narrowed her eyes into slits. “What do you mean you know?”

        “Well, aside from the fact that I know you, and I know you’re madly in love with me-” He grunted when she slugged him in the shoulder. “I also talked to Fetterman. He encouraged me to come after you. Said you were miserable without me.” He granted her a shit-eating grin, earning himself another shoulder shot. “Easy there, slugger,” he chuckled.

        She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You looked so upset when you saw us at Bucky’s.”

        “I was, but not because I was jealous. Well, that’s not true, I was jealous, but not for the reason you think. I didn’t think there was anything romantic going on between you, but you were talking and smiling and you seemed like you were at ease with him. I wanted so badly for that to be me. I want to be the person who eases your burdens. The one you turn to when shit gets hard. I want to be the one who makes you smile when you’ve had a shitty day.”

        Emma Jean gulped back the tears that threatened to choke her. “You are that person, Noah. You always have been.”

        His arms tightened around her. “You’ve been away for too long, baby. Please come home.”

        “Help me pack?”

        He lifted her off the ground, nuzzling her neck. “Let’s hurry, so I can show you just how much I’ve missed you.”

        Heat stained her cheeks. “Race ya.”