Crashed (13 page)

***

Bright and early the next morning the couple woke to Gran humming along to Johnny Cash in the kitchen as she sat knitting a light pink blanket. Emily bent down, offering a hug to her as she passed by, heading straight for the coffee pot.

“Mornin’ suga’,” Gran said, giving Emily an extra tight squeeze. “Market today kids, this home needs some food. Gotta give an ol’ lady something to do all day.” She smiled sweetly. In a lot of ways, Gran reminded Emily of her own mother. Her mother would have only been a few short years behind Gran. She had given birth to Emily so late in life; in fact her mother had thought she was in menopause when her periods stopped. Surprise! The age difference also became a stress factor in the relationship between her and Amelia. Especially after she learned she lost the vast majority of her inheritance to Emily when her parents passed.

“I wanted to go get my car today,” Emily mentioned to Avery, noticing her pile of stuff in the living room. She walked over to her plush pink robe, picking it up and immediately putting it on.
Ahhhh, feels like home.
She thought to herself. It would be these little comfort items that would get her through this transition.

“Already done. Becca and Tom took care of it last night while I was picking up your things,” Avery said, pouring his own cup of coffee, leaning in to take a sip. Taking everyone off guard, he spit the coffee all over the place.

“What the hell? Who made this?” Gran smiled as she nodded, taking ownership of the freshly made coffee. There was no way Avery would be drinking Gran’s mud in a cup brew.

“Starbucks, Emily?”

He didn’t have to ask her twice, for she eagerly nodded in agreement. “How about if I go to Starbucks, and bring some back to you in a bit? I’ve gotta take Gran to the grocery store this morning.”

Avery nodded in acceptance. “I’ve got a couple things I need to take care of anyway,” he explained, pulling his phone out of his jeans pocket and thumbing through his e-mail.

“Why don’t you go get all made up, Gran? We’ve got a date with the grocery store,” Emily said.

***

A Strawberries and Cream Frappuccino, and two hours later, Emily and Gran walked back into the house with more grocery bags than she’d ever had the pleasure of lugging into the house in all her years.

“Ladies,” Avery said, helping them with the bags. “I have bad news,” he continued while Emily’s heart fell into her stomach. “I have to go back to work tomorrow.”

Relief flushed through Emily. She’d been expecting him to say something else had been ransacked. Emily was far too on edge, and would be until they caught whoever had broken into her home. She didn’t want him to return to work yet, but she also had to get back to life as normal before all hell broke loose. She had at least half a dozen meetings to re-schedule and she wanted to go visit her grandpa.

Avery continued, “But he’s only putting me on twenty-four hour shifts for now. Twenty-four on and twenty-four off, until everything is settled. I spoke with Chief Sullivan while y’all were at the market.”

“Well, that will help ease you back into work. I think I’m going to go visit my grandpa this afternoon. I had to cancel a couple of meetings with business associates of his to come to Georgia.” She paused, picking her phone up and thumbing through her contacts. “I’m sending in my letter of resignation to work, and I’m thinking about starting my own business, like we were talking about.”

As she spoke the words, his eyes lit up. After everything that had gone on, she was still going after exactly what she wanted and that he admired.

She walked down the hallway, heading for the bedroom as she gushed into the phone, “Hey, Grandpa!”

***

“It’s just too small, Avery!” Emily heard Gran’s voice. She paused before walking in the door. She felt guilty for eavesdropping, but she kept listening.

“I know, Gran. I want to get a bigger place. I’ll start looking around, I promise,” Avery replied.

As she walked through the doors, Emily’s face lit up. They both turned to look at her, wondering why she was so happy. Before either could speak, she cut them off.

“This place is too small, and I have the best solution.” Avery looked at Gran, and she looked back at him, puzzled. Then their eyes fell on the excited blonde virtually bouncing around the living room and they knew Emily had an idea. “Hear me out, and I won’t take no for an answer,” she continued, holding up her hand in warning. “Avery, remember the house? In Ponce?” She let the question set for a minute before it dawned on him.

“Yeah?” he replied, slowly pacing across the living room to meet her.

“We’re all going to move in there. There’s plenty of room. There are six bedrooms on three floors. It’s paid for, and it’s just sitting there. It will need a little TLC, but I don’t think it will need any major repairs.”

It had been a long time since Emily had stepped foot inside her childhood home, but everything about this just seemed right. The little voice on her shoulder was telling her this was exactly what needed to happen. If her parents were alive today, this was exactly what they would have guided her to do. She would step up and get over all her hang ups, and work through her own healing process. After two long years of putting it on the back burner and just ignoring it, this was exactly what needed to happen.

This would be her new beginning, with a new family, Avery and Gran. Emily found herself hopeful for a new beginning.

“I’m gonna have to see this house, Suga’,” Gran said, breaking the silence in the room. Avery and Emily both smiled at his sweet grandmother. She had no idea what she was getting herself into.

“Throw on your shoes, Gran. We’ll take a drive down there.” Emily waved her on with excitement while grabbing her car keys. Avery eyed Emily before pulling her into his arms for a kiss.

“You comin’ too, Avery?”

“Wouldn’t miss this for the world,” he said with a laugh.

Chapter Nine

Moving Day

Ten days had gone by since Emily walked Gran and Avery inside the abandoned beach house. She hadn’t stepped foot inside of it since the loss of her parents. Most of their furniture still decorated the first floor of the home, but Amelia had done a good job of finding homes for the rest of their belongings. The garage was jam packed with photo albums, memorabilia, and kitchen dishes, everything no one had wanted to deal with. But Emily had found a new reason to tackle the difficult task before her, and healing stood front and center.

Two days after the break in of her apartment, Emily entered the leasing office of the complex and notified them she would be moving. Her lease was coming to an end, and for the first time in many years she wouldn’t be renewing it. She loved the home she’d made in her beachfront apartment, but she couldn’t bring herself to spend the night there again, knowing they still hadn’t caught whoever broke in, completing trashing her home. Tonight, she would work on emptying the apartment with Avery, Tom, and Becca.

Paranoia had set in to her daily routine. She looked in her rear view mirror as she drove along, thinking about how she’d changed. Now, she repeatedly checked the locks on the doors when she was home, and looked over her shoulder as she walked anywhere. It didn’t matter where—the public mall, boardwalk, out to dinner, anywhere. She was paranoid, and until the police discovered who the blood belonged to, her guard was sky high. Emily sent up a silent prayer that it wouldn’t be much longer till she could go back to living a damn normal life.

She had two business meetings and secured a lawyer and a business manager for her new venture, thanks to her grandpa. Paperwork had been filed to start Taylor Interior Decorating. Her letter of resignation had been brought in to Mark at the firm. Saying he was devastated would’ve been an understatement. Emily would be greatly missed in the office.

Instead of looking for commercial space, she would work from her new home. They had six bedrooms and only would be occupying two. Picking the back corner bedroom on the second floor seemed like the perfect choice. The bedroom was lined with four windows facing the Atlantic Ocean. At one point in time it had been her mother’s sewing room. Emily’s daydreams snapped her back into reality when her cell phone started ringing. She snatched her phone off the table, eyeing the display before answering Avery’s call.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Hey, you,” Avery replied into the phone. “Did you pick your paint out yet?” She thumbed over the pile of samples on the kitchen table, embarrassed she was still torn. Her go-to color had always been pink, but it just wouldn’t do. She wouldn’t subject Avery and Gran to it either.

“Gran picked hers. I’m still undecided, but I found a beautiful blue for our bedroom.” She smiled at the thought of her words.
Our bedroom.

“I like the way that sounds, our bedroom. Hmmm I miss you,” Avery whispered into the phone. Emily could hear the ringing of the bell in the fire house alerting them to a call somewhere in town.

“I hear it, I’ll see you when you get home later on,” and like that the phone line was dead.
Oh, the life of loving a firefighter.
Another two hours until Avery would be off work.
Might as well knock buying the paint out myself!

“Hey, Gran,” Emily called down the hallway of Avery’s house, gently knocking on the door before she got the okay to enter. Gran sat in her favorite rocking chair from home, in the corner of the room next to the window, reading a copy of
Southern Living
. Emily smiled sweetly before Gran began gushing over a recipe for tomato pie she just had to try.

“Want to come with me to pick up the paint? I was going to wait for Avery, but I thought I’d surprise him. One less thing for him to do after a long shift.” Emily ran her fingers through her hair, gently pulling her hair clip out and re-positioning it. She watched as Gran marked her place by folding the page and setting it down onto the end table next to her.

“Yeah, I wanted to get out of the house for a little bit.” Gran slipped her flats on, following Emily as they both headed for the front door. Emily stopped to grab her iPhone and purse and turned for the door, locking the house up behind them.

“Ya know, Ems. I like your little car lots more than his monster truck.” Gran chuckled while opening the passenger’s side door and belting herself in. “I’m too old to be climbing into that thing,” she continued with a laugh, clearly cracking herself up.

“I prefer my small car too, Gran.” Emily carefully backed out of Avery’s driveway, narrowly missing a black car whipping around the corner. “Jeez! Asshole!”

Emily barked to herself as Gran smiled at her before adding, “That’s why I don’t drive!”

They traveled in silence for a couple miles, heading over the bridge into Port Orange and toward the Home Depot across from Emily’s favorite local Walmart. Gran continued looking out the window, taking in all the sights and sounds of a new town.

“So, y’all never told me how you met.” Her words came out of nowhere, but Emily realized she was right. Emily smiled before she started her story.

“Well, honestly? He pulled me out of my car after someone hit me and took off.” She chuckled, remembering that morning. At the time, it was anything but funny. Someone clearly had wanted them to meet that morning, though. “I was in the hospital for a good week, and he came with the Captain to check on me. He ended up coming back later on that night and bringing me some real food. Burgers and milk shakes. Honestly, he had me at milk shake.”

“The boy brought you food?” she questioned.

“Yeah, we sat up in my hospital room talking for a couple of hours until one of my mean nurses kicked him out. He begged to take me out on a date when I got out of the hospital. I couldn’t say no to those green eyes.” She shrugged as they pulled into the parking lot. “The rest is really history, Gran.”

“How long ago was that?” Gran asked.

Emily internally started to panic. She could feel a small sweat starting to break out. What would she think of the short time they had been together? “Almost a month,” she said in a whisper, praying not to feel the wrath of Gran.

“When you know, you know. I knew my late husband for ten days before we got married. That was in 1957, and I was sixteen. Things have changed, but you know when it’s right. Don’t let no one tell ya different.” Gran’s words made her smile. She had been trying to tell herself everything was meant to be and they weren’t pushing it too fast. She often found herself trying to add months and years to the time they’d been dating in her own imagination to be more comfortable. It all was unnecessary, though.

“Let’s go get some paint, Gran,” Emily said while they strolled into Home Depot, armed with paint color samples, her purse and a shopping cart. As they waited in the paint department for an employee to come and help them, Emily stood examining her sample choices which were spread out all over the counter. Her body suddenly jolted forward as someone fell into her back.

“Oh, I am so sorry, miss,” was all she heard as she began to turn around to meet the man behind the deep voice. She stopped in shock, starting back at Jared.

“Dr. Hart?” Emily questioned, staring at him, remembering the last time she’d seen him. The hair on the back of her neck stood straight up in fright. He scared her, scared the shit out of her to be exact.

“Emily, I told you, call me Jared.” He flashed her a smile. “Painting something?” he questioned, looking down at her mass of paint samples scattered on the counter. With hesitation she eyed Gran, and then brought herself to answer Jared.

“Yeah, moving into a new house. Lots of painting to do,” as she spoke the words, a young man with a full beard approached, wearing the bright orange Home Depot vest, looking to help her with her paint needs.

“I should run,” he said, while he started to shift nervously on the balls of his feet. “It was nice to see you again, Emily. Enjoy your new house in Ponce,” and with that he walked away, leaving Emily completely creeped out, and in a rush to get her paint and leave. Gran just watched without saying a word. It probably was better off, because Emily had no desire to discuss anything to do with Jared.

Gran settled on a beautiful pale yellow called
Yellow Whisper
and picked a perfect shade of cream for the accents in the room. Emily finally decided on
Watermark,
a light blue for the master bedroom, and the same cream color for the room accents that Gran picked out. All the other colors would have to wait for another day, one when Emily was not only less shaken, but more decisive.

She whizzed down the paint supply aisles, grabbing paint trays and brushes, filling their shopping cart up to the brim with speed, her senior companion barely able to keep up with her frantic pace. Once they made it through the check out and back to the safety of the car, she was able to relax a bit.

She pulled her iPhone from her purse to shoot Avery a quick text before heading to the new house. He would be worried if he came home and they were missing.

Going 2 the beach house. Meet you there?

Her phone quickly beeped and buzzed, signaling his speedy reply.

Emily, go directly there. I will talk to you when I get there. Don’t go anywhere else.

Her heart sank to her stomach, reading his words. Emily started chewing on her bottom lip while she started the car and set off for her new safe haven. It was amazing how full circle being at that house had become.

***

Avery walked into the front door of the beach house after his work shift. He searched through the kitchen, living room, study and back deck before peering in the last room left on the first floor of the home, Gran’s. She was standing next to the window, watching the waves in a daze. Before he could announce himself, she acknowledged him with a few simple words.

“She’s upstairs, boy,” and he took off toward the stairs. She must be in the master bedroom which was two flights up. The beach house was beautiful. Everything was perfect, like a movie. The master suite was the only room on the small third floor. It included an ensuite bathroom and a gorgeous view. As he bounded up the stairs, he could hear her singing to herself and banging things all around. Slowly, he opened the door, trying not to alarm her with his unannounced presence.

“Emily,” he spoke, snapping her out of her project. She’d begun painting. A single tray of light blue paint lay on the floor, while blue painter’s tape was stuck to the walls and baseboards on the sides and under the windows. When she turned to face him, a small speck of blue paint was front and center on the tip of her nose. It took everything in him not to stop her and ravish her right then and there. He would never get enough of her body. Everything about their relationship, especially in bed had been wild and extraordinary.

“Detective Denton called me this afternoon. It wasn’t official business, but he wanted to tell me what he has found out so far. He’s a good friend, but you knew that already.” Her body stiffened up at his words as she continued painting like he wasn’t trying to have a serious discussion with her.

“What’d he say, babe?” she asked while she dipped the paint roller into the tray, then turning to the last white wall left in the room.

“The lab is backed up. It could be months before they get the blood sample tested. But they got a description from your neighbor, that bigger fella. Brian? He saw a man leaving your apartment.” Avery ran his fingers through his hair and started chewing on his bottom lip. He didn’t want to share what he knew with Emily, but he had to.

“The person he saw leaving was tall, dark hair, dark features, and very familiar. Familiar to all of us, Emily. It was Dr. Hart.”

The paint roller fell from her hands and smashed onto the floor, splashing paint all over the shiny hardwood flooring. Slowly, she turned to face Avery. Her bright features faded and she looked as though she’d seen a ghost. She lowered herself to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest and clasping her hands tightly around her bare legs. Her chin rested on her knees as tears pooled in her eyes. She stared into Avery’s eyes before she started to speak.

“It was Jared?” was all she could ask. Her words wouldn’t form, her breathing began to speed up and she could feel her body slowly breaking out in a sweat.

“I think it was, Emily. I think seeing you in the hospital triggered something with him,” Avery admitted. He took a few steps toward her, and sat down on the floor next to her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and pulled her head to rest against his neck.

“It’s okay, Emily. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, and neither is Denton. He’s on their radar in a big way; he won’t even be able to sneeze without an officer following him right now.” Avery finished with a sigh.

“Avery, you don’t get it. I bumped into him today! He literally ran right into me in Home Depot. It was beyond creepy.” She nuzzled closer to him. If she could have climbed into his body at that moment, she would have. A chill ran down her spine. “Avery, I’m going to have an alarm system installed this week.”

“I promise you, Emily, I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I swear it,” he whispered into her ear before pressing a kiss to her cheek. “By the way, you don’t know how adorable you are with paint all over you.” He laughed, running his finger along the spot of paint stuck to her nose. Leaning in, he kissed along the spots, starting with her nose, then a little smudge on her chin and finishing with her lips on his.

As his lips gently met hers, she pulled him closer, never breaking their kiss as she climbed onto him, pushing his back to the floor while straddling him. Her tongue grazed his bottom lip and he opened up, letting her tongue explore his mouth. Their tongues tangled with urgency as they started tugging at the other’s clothes. Emily’s booty shorts and paint stained white tank top hit the floor first as they both scrambled to their feet.

She pushed Avery against the freshly painted bedroom wall, working on his belt with her clumsy fingers. Finally freeing it, she repeated the process with his work pants. As she tugged them down, he pulled his shirt over his head, throwing it next to the pile of clothes she was creating. Emily stood in nothing but her pink Victoria’s Secret bra, taking the lead from Avery and going commando around the house.
Surprise!

Avery stood against the wet wall, pants around his ankles trapped by the work boots he didn’t have time to remove in their urgent moment. He reached behind Emily’s back, unclasping her bra and letting it fall to the floor with the rest of her clothing. He backed away from the wall, pulling Emily into his arms and pressing her against the wet surface.