she’d led them to, Emma shook her head. “No, you’re not stuck with me or anything like that.” She’d made a real muddle of things, she realized. “I have no intention of imposing on you, I swear.”
They met her promises with blank stares.
She started trembling again. She’d never felt more unsophisticated or more trashy than she did right at that moment, standing among them. The comparison between herself and them made her stomach pitch. She wanted to take off running and never look back.
Soon, she promised herself. Very soon. “I have some money that I’ve saved up, and I know how to work. I’m going to go to Ohio first thing in the morning.”
“What’s in Ohio?” Casey asked, and he didn’t look so even-tempered now. He looked ready to explode.
A new life, she wanted to tell him, but instead she lied. Again. “I have a…a cousin there. She offered me a place to stay and a job.”
Her expression worried, Honey glanced at Sawyer, then Casey, before tilting her head at Emma. “What kind of job?”
What kind of job? Emma blinked, taken aback by the question. She hadn’t expected this. She’d thought they’d be glad to see her gone. Oh, she’d known that they would offer to let her stay the night, that they’d be kind. She wouldn’t have come to them otherwise. But she figured once she told them she had a place to go they’d send her on her way with no questions asked.
Think, she told herself, and finally mumbled, “I’m not sure, actually. But she said it’d be perfect for me and I assume it’ll be something…reasonable.”
The way they all looked at her, they knew she was lying. Emma started backing away toward the phone. “I…I’m going to call a cab now.” She dared a quick peek at Casey, then wished she hadn’t. In all the time she’d known him, she’d never once seen him so enraged. “When…when I get settled, I’ll write to you, okay?”
Casey again crossed his arms over his chest. “That won’t be necessary.”
Her heart sank and she wanted to crumble in on herself. “I understand.” Why would he want to hear from her anyway? She’d offered herself to him plenty of times—and every single time he’d turned her away. And still she’d barged into his life.
“You don’t understand a damn thing.” Casey began striding toward her. “Emma, you’re not going anywhere.”
His tone frightened her. She felt locked in his gaze, unable to look away, unable to think. “Of course I am.”
“No.” Sawyer strode toward her too, his movements easy, nonthreatening, which didn’t help Emma’s panic one bit. “Casey is right. It’s damn near the middle of the night and you look exhausted. You need to get some sleep. In the morning we’ll all talk and figure out what’s to be done.”
“No…” She shook her head, dazed by their reactions.
“Yes.” Sawyer took her arm, his expression gentle, his intent implacable. “For now, I want you to eat a sandwich and drink some hot chocolate, then you can take a warm shower and get some sleep.”
In a quandary, Emma found herself reseated on the sofa. They weren’t throwing her out? After what she’d done, what she’d just admitted to them?
Her own father, despite everything or maybe because of it, had used the opportunity of her supposed pregnancy to rid himself of her. And her mother… No, she wouldn’t, couldn’t, think about that right now.
Honey smiled at her. “Please don’t worry so much, Emma. Everything is okay now.”
“Nothing is okay.” Why couldn’t they understand that?
Honey’s gentle smile never slipped. “I felt the same way when I first came here, but they’re sincere, I swear. We’re all sincere. We just don’t want you rushing off until we know you’ll be all right.”
Confusion weighed heavy on her brain. She didn’t know how to deal with this.
Casey sat down beside her and shoved a peanut butter and jelly sandwich into her hand. Emma stared at it, knowing she wouldn’t be able to swallow a single bite without throwing up. She had to do… something. She had to get out of here before their acceptance and understanding weakened her resolve.
She would not become someone else’s burden.
Her mind made up, she put the sandwich aside. “I’d really like to just take a shower if that’s okay. I know I look a mess.”
Using his fingertips, Casey wiped away a lingering tear she hadn’t been aware of. He hesitated, but finally nodded. “All right. You can sleep in my room tonight.”
Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. Casey grinned at her, then pinched her chin. “I’ll, of course, sleep on the couch.”
Mortification washed over her for her asinine assumption. At her blush, Casey’s grin widened. She couldn’t believe the way he teased her in front of his parents.
“You could have used Morgan’s old room, except that Honey’s been painting it and everything is a mess in there.”
Morgan was his uncle, the town sheriff. Most people thought he was a big, scary guy. He was enormous, but he’d always been kind to Emma, even when he’d caught her getting into trouble, like breaking curfew or being truant from school. Newly wed, Morgan had recently moved into his own house.
“I’ll take the couch.” Emma thought that would be easier, but Casey wouldn’t hear of it.
“You’ll take the bed.”
His father and stepmother agreed with him. In the end, Emma knew she was no match for them. Exhaustion won out and she nodded. “All right.” It would be strange sleeping in Casey’s room, in his bed. A secret part of her already looked forward to it. “Thank you.”
Casey took her down the hall to the bathroom, then got her one of his large T-shirts to sleep in. She knew it was selfish, but she accepted the shirt, holding it close to her heart. It was big and soft and it held his indescribable scent. Since she couldn’t have Casey, it was the next best thing.
Their bathroom was bigger than her whole bedroom. It was clean and stylish and that damn envy threatened to get hold of her again. Emma swore to herself that someday, she’d have a house as nice as this one. Maybe not as big, but just as clean and warm and filled with happiness. Somehow, she’d make it happen.
Knowing it would take forever for it to dry, she didn’t bother washing her long hair. When her opportunity arose, she had to be ready, and she didn’t want to run away with wet hair. She did brush out all the tangles and tie it back with a rubber band. The shower did a lot to revive her and make her feel less pathetic.
After she’d dried off and donned the shirt, Emma glared at herself in the mirror, and cursed herself for being such a crybaby. Casey wouldn’t be a whiner. If something happened in his life, he’d figure out how to deal with it. He’d do what he had to.
And so would she.
With the makeup washed away, her red nose and eyes looked even worse. The bruise showed up more too.
