Emily's Choice (5 page)

Several
hours later, he returned home, discouraged, defeated, and in pain. His epic
headache from overindulgence never went away—fear and worry replaced it. True
enough, Emily was nowhere to be found. Grace wasn’t giving up the location, and
neither was Emily’s best friend, Gina. He hadn’t been able to locate Phoebe,
Emily’s other best friend, either.

He sat at
the kitchen table, mind spinning, trying to come up with an idea of where she
could have gone. He’d called the hotel they were supposed to stay at tonight in
Santa Fe before they left for their honeymoon. He’d been to Gina’s house,
Phoebe’s house, Emily’s house—all to no avail. In fact, Clint had glowered from
the door, and Jason had decided not to press his luck by demanding entrance. He
assumed if Emily had been home, Clint would have said something then.

He’d
searched all her favorite haunts and had driven to Santa Fe to do the same kind
of search there. They’d spent four years there for college, and she’d racked up
plenty of favorite spaces.

He hadn’t
been able to find her anywhere, which left only a few other options. She drove,
flew, or took a bus out of town and who knows where one of those options took
her. She was with Hope, which meant the world was their oyster. With Hope’s
trust fund, they could, and apparently had, disappeared, and no one would be
the wiser until one of them wanted it. Neither Hope nor Emily was answering
their phones, and Jason felt like his body was trying to escape his skin. He
felt helpless and despondent and unsure what his next move should be.

Where the
hell was she?

That was the
question that kept rolling around in his head . . . and he imagined it would be
the same question he would ask until he found her. He popped another dose of
Advil and paced his room.

Looking at
his watch, he noticed it was a little after eight. His heart sank. They’d be
leaving the reception about now and heading into Santa Fe for their wedding
night. And tomorrow morning they’d be boarding a plane for Hawaii.

He heard a
knock at the door and got up to answer it. The last thing he felt like was
company, but his father was already retired for the night and there was no one
else to answer the door.

He opened
the door and found Tyler standing on the steps. Unsure of his welcome, Jason
kept the screen door in place.

“Have you
heard from Emily?” Jason asked urgently.

Tyler growled.
“No.”

Jason could
see a glint in Tyler’s eyes and watched his jaw working in anger. Sighing, he
popped open the screen door and motioned Tyler to enter. He knew why Tyler was
here, and it wasn’t to chitchat. Better to get the unpleasantness over with.

“It’s
probably better if you come out here,” Tyler said. “I don’t see this
conversation ending well.”

Nodding,
Jason walked outside and down the steps into the dirt and gravel of the
driveway.

Turning to
face Tyler, Jason held up a hand. “Your father was here this morning.”

“I know.
After getting an earful from Grace when I woke up, he barged his way into the
house and gave me a second helping.” He took a step closer to Jason, who held
his ground. “You know, if you didn’t want to marry her, you should have been
man enough to say something. This was a low-down dirty cheap shot, and you’re
lucky to still be alive.” Tyler grinned, though the mirth didn’t reach his
eyes. “Sure would love to know how you sweet-talked your way out of an
ass-kicking this morning. Dad was fit to be tied.”

“I noticed,”
Jason said, rubbing his still sore jaw. “Do I get to tell you my side of the
story or are you going to just take Emily’s word for it all?”

“She’s the
one who’s gone, Jase. She left everyone behind, and you’re still here.”

“I
swear,
I didn’t have sex with Lila. I was still fully
clothed at six thirty when I woke up, hung over as all hell.”

“That’s not
how Dad saw you when he came by.”

“I know. I
took some Advil, ditched my clothes, and went back to bed. I didn’t wake up
until I heard your father downstairs.”

“Where was
she?” Tyler demanded. “Jake and I brought you up to your room, and I didn’t see
her anywhere.”

“I don’t
know. I swear,” Jason said, hands raised in front of him. “I don’t remember a
thing from the point we left that bar in Santa Fe. We did those shots as soon
as we got back in the limo and after that, nothing. I’ve got nothing from that
moment until I woke at six thirty.”

“It stinks.
The whole thing stinks. There have been those rumors off and on since Lila got
here. Emily has been sick over them for years. I think the only time she’s been
at ease has been while you guys were in Santa Fe. They started back up again
once you two came back. Did you know that?”

Jason shook
his head. He wasn’t lying, either. He hadn’t heard any new rumors, but then
again, it wasn’t like he’d been listening. He’d been focused on helping Emily
plan the wedding and his job of house-hunting, all while doing his own duties
around the ranch. Truth be told, he wasn’t much of a listener of rumors anyway.

All the
rumors that Emily had brought to him their last two years in high school had
been news to him. He went to the same school, had the same classes, but never
heard one rumor until
Em
brought it to his attention.
He’d done a lot of consoling and reassuring, but he’d never resented it.
Em
was the love of his life, and he’d go through hell to
prove it to her, and anyone else, who didn’t believe him.

“How are you
so oblivious?” Tyler roared.

Jason knew
him well enough to know that Tyler was on the verge of losing his temper. “I
don’t know. I just don’t listen, I guess. Or no one talks around me. It’s not
because I’m in cahoots with her, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“What I’m
thinking is that you’re a low life. A cheating bastard. I’m thinking you broke
my sister’s heart, and you should pay for it!” Tyler took two steps and swung
his fist at Jason’s face.

Knowing he
deserved it, if for nothing else than not doing enough to deter Lila from her
machinations, he stood still and took the punch on the jaw.

Tyler
quickly followed it up with a left hook to the face and then pummeled him in
the gut. Jason bent over from the force of the gut punches and Tyler laid him
out on the ground with another punch to the face.

“Seriously?
You’re not going to fight back?” Tyler fumed, standing over Jason’s prone body.

He shook his
head. “Nope, figure I deserve this.”

“Pathetic,”
Tyler spat.

“You get
this one time, Ty. You come at me again, on a different day, and you’ll get a
different scenario.”

“Well then,
I guess I better take care of you once and for all,” Tyler said, placing a
well-aimed kick to Jason’s ribs.

Clutching
his ribs, Jason slowly got to his feet. He glared at Tyler. “Well, come on.
Finish me off,” he taunted.

Tyler shook
his head and waved a hand. “You’re not worth it. I’d advise you to stay away
from the house for the foreseeable future. Dad was telling Grace he was leaving
his shotguns by the doors and she was to use them if you showed your face on
the property. He’s furious, and I’m right there with him.”

“I didn’t
cheat on her.”

“Whatever
man. Seems to me you’re protesting too much, and the evidence is damning. Did
you forget Emily was planning to come by? You need better lessons in juggling
women, Jase. You don’t invite the whore over the night before the wedding,
especially when your pregnant fiancée is waiting by the door for your return.”

Jason
watched him turn on his heel and walk across the yard to the house. He waited
until Tyler had passed through the trees before he turned and shuffled up the
steps and into the house. He walked into the kitchen and got another beer out
of the fridge and a bag of peas out of the freezer. He went into the living
room, fell into the La-Z-Boy and cracked open the beer. After taking a swig, he
leaned his head back against the chair and carefully set the bag of peas on his
face.

What the
hell? He had to find Emily. He had to explain. Hell, he had to find out what
happened last night.

He tipped
the bottle up to his lips and took a large gulp of beer. He didn’t dare show
his face anywhere Lila might be, and he couldn’t ask her. She’d never tell him
the truth, and if anyone saw them together, no amount of protesting, pleading,
or begging would convince them of what he was doing. So if he couldn’t go to
the source, how was he going to find out?

All this
thinking was making his head pound even harder. Where was Emily? He knew if he
could just talk to her they’d be able to straighten the whole thing out. He was
sure it was something simple, something easy to fix. Cold feet, nerves,
something silly that was probably 99% hormones. Or stress. They’d just
graduated, she was pregnant and searching for a place to open her design
business. They were getting married. She was doing the heavy lifting on
everything but the house-hunting. That was his job. He had several showings set
up for when they returned from Hawaii, but what he really wanted to do was to
build a house on the other side of his father’s property, kind of like Tyler
had done. Close enough so he could still work the ranch with his father but far
enough away that they were alone.

All the
stress along with the hormones . . . maybe it was too much and at the last
minute she just snapped. Dammit, he needed to talk to her. Why wouldn’t she
answer her phone?

A
Month Later

“Emily
Camancho
?” a petite brunette asked.

“That’s me,”
Emily said, struggling to her feet. Would she ever get used to her new center
of gravity?

“Ms.
Nickerson will see you now.”

When she’d
arrived for her interview with Kendra Nickerson of
A
Touch of Flair, she hadn’t expected the interview location to be a house. She’d
been shown into the living room and had sat on the most comfortable couch she’d
ever sat on in her life. Ms. Nickerson was on the phone when Emily entered the
dining room and she was glad. It gave her the opportunity to observe the woman
she hoped to work for. She had long, red curly hair and was dressed in a dark
blue pinstripe suit with a bright white shirt underneath. She was studying the
paperwork on the desk in front of her, so Emily couldn’t see the color of her
eyes, but she could see that her skin was flawless and pale. She had freckles
everywhere, as most redheads were affected.

Taking a
deep breath, Emily sat in the chair opposite Ms. Nickerson and waited.

“I don’t
care what it takes, Ed. I want that office space by the end of the month.” She
hung up the phone, moved the papers to her file bin, and cast the greenest gaze
on Emily’s face.

“Sorry about
that, Emily,” she said, smiling and holding out her hand. “I’m Kendra
Nickerson. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,”
Emily said, returning the handshake.

“So, you’re
here . . .”

“Mommy,
Mommy, Mommy!” A tiny redheaded girl ran into the room and straight toward
Kendra. She climbed into Kendra’s lap and wrapped her chubby arms around her
neck. “Aiden is poking me.”

“Where’s . .
.”

“I’m so
sorry, Ms. Kendra,” a plump, gray-haired woman with a Spanish accent said as
she hurried into the room. “I turned my back to scold Aiden and she ran right
out of the room.”

Kendra
turned apologetic eyes on Emily and smiled. “This is why I need that office
space.”

Emily
grinned.

“It’s okay,
Juanita. I understand.” Kendra pulled the little arms away from around her neck
and set the toddler on the floor. “Izzy, you can’t run from Ms. Juanita, and
you can’t bother Mommy when she’s working. Ms. Juanita will take care of Aiden.
Go back upstairs now.” Kendra gave the little girl a hug and then playfully
swatted her diaper-clad bottom. “Shoo!”

The little
girl laughed and clutched the hand of her nanny. Emily watched them leave the
room and rubbed her hands over her belly. Soon, very soon, she’d have her own
to love.

“Never a
dull moment around here.” Kendra laughed. “Shall we start again?”

“Not necessary,”
Emily smiled.

“You’re here
to save me from the mountains of work I’m drowning in?”

“I hope so,”
Emily said as she passed Kendra a copy of her resume and letters of reference.
Kendra glanced through everything quickly then looked up at Emily. “When are
you due?”

Emily sighed
and tried not to let her disappointment show. “December fourth. I only plan to
take the six weeks and then come back to work. I know it’s a pain to hire me
only to lose me so soon, but I promise you won’t regret it.” With her heart
racing and her clammy palms clenched in her lap, Emily finished her passionate
plea.

“I wasn’t
asking so I had a reason not to hire you. I asked because I was curious,”
Kendra said, smiling. Emily relaxed
.

“Do you have
any experience with AutoCAD?”

“Yes, I
interned at Santa Fe Designs for four years while I was in college. AutoCAD was
my not so best friend,” she answered, smiling.

Kendra
laughed. “Yeah, it can be a pain, can’t it?”

Emily nodded,
and Kendra continued with her questions.

“What is the
standard height for a kitchen countertop?”

“Thirty-six
inches.”

“Have you
passed the NCIDQ?”

She leaned
forward taking two papers out of her briefcase and passing them to Kendra. “Yes,
here are my certificates. One from New Mexico and the one from Massachusetts.”

Kendra
quickly looked them over and then shuffled them under Emily’s resume, which she
was glancing at.

“It says
here on your resume that you were part of the team to redesign the Governor’s
mansion?”

Nodding,
Emily leaned back in the chair, trying to ease the pain in her lower back.

“It was a
fun project. I was a junior designer; it was my second year in school. We
completely redesigned the main level of the mansion. Kitchen, bathrooms, living
spaces. I brought photos with me, if you’re interested?” Emily motioned toward
her briefcase.

“I would.
Let’s finish up this interview, and then we can get to the fun stuff.” At Emily’s
nod, she continued, “What is your favorite color combination?” Kendra
asked her.

“Right now
it’s cream and deep purple.”

“What type
of window treatment would you put in a living room with south-facing windows?”

“Sheer
draperies layered with blackout panels.”

“Why?”

“The
light-blocking curtains will keep the room cool and dark during the strong
light of the day. The sheer curtains will allow the user to open the room,
while still having some privacy, so they don’t feel claustrophobic all the
time.”

Kendra
nodded. “What is your favorite design?”

“Simple and
uncluttered.”

“When can you
start?”

“
Wha
. . . ? Um. Seriously?”

Kendra
smiled and nodded.

“Right now.
Tomorrow. Whenever.” Emily grinned.

“I think
tomorrow morning is soon enough.” Kendra stood up and walked around the table.
She held out a hand and helped Emily to her feet. “You’ll be my right hand . .
. and probably my left. Let me introduce you to Jenny, my receptionist and
office manager. Next week, we’ll talk about getting an intern in here to fill
in for you while you’re out on maternity leave.”

Emily
stopped mid-stride through the kitchen. “Thank you so much,” she said, reaching
out and awkwardly hugging Kendra.

Kendra
laughed and returned the hug. “We’ll see if you’re still thanking me in a week
when you realize how much work there is to be done.”

When Emily
got home, she called Gina to tell her the news.

“That’s
great,
Em
! So, I guess that means you’re staying in
Boston for a while?”

“At least
for the foreseeable future.”

“I miss you.
I was hoping you’d be coming home soon.”

“Is Jason
still there?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I can’t
come home. I’m not ready to see him.”

“He still
loves you. He’s so confused,
Em
. He swears he didn’t
cheat.”

“I’m sure,”
scoffed Emily.

“I’m
serious. He cornered me at The Dustbowl the other night when Fred and I were
out with some of his buddies from the station. Anyway, he was in there drinking,
and he came right over when he saw me.”

“And you let
him speak to you? I thought you were my friend!”

Gina
groaned. “Seriously,
Em
? He’s miserable. It took
everything I had to keep your secrets.”

“Don’t say
another word to him, Gina! Have you forgotten what he did? The night before our
wedding?”

“Of course
not. But he was trashed. Fred said some of the guys had to carry him in the
house and up to his room.”

“I saw them
carry him inside. And then I saw what he was doing with Lila. He didn’t look
drunk to me.”

Gina sighed.
“Maybe you should talk to him?”

“Talk to
him?” Emily said quietly. “I’m the one who has to reach out? The one who has to
make the effort?”

“Who else?
You won’t let anyone tell him where you are.”

“It’s not my
problem.”

“I just wish
you could see for yourself that he’s hurting.”

“Oh, and I’m
having the time of my life?”

Sighing
deeply, Gina said, “I know you’re hurting, too. I hate to see either of you
this way. I just want it fixed and you both happy and together.”

“He ruined
it. I’m in Boston with no family except Hope. Instead of running my own
business, I’m working for someone. Instead of having a husband, I’m single and
about to have a baby on my own. He has everything, and I lost everything.”
Emily kept her eyes tear-free and her voice strong. She would not shed another
tear over him.

“
Em
.”

“Enough.
Drop it. I don’t want to waste any more time, or tears, on this subject. I want
. . . no, I need to concentrate on my career. Concentrate on building a new
life. Concentrate on being the best mother I can be. Concentrate on loving this
baby. But most of all, I need to concentrate on moving on.”

“Consider it
dropped.”

“Thank you,”
Emily said curtly.

“So, have
you picked a name yet?”

When Hope
got home later that afternoon, they decided to go check out the baby shop. They
found several cute outfits, and Emily couldn’t leave without the soft white
bunny toy.

After
exhausting themselves with shopping, they decided to let someone else cook and
stopped at Legal Sea Foods for dinner. After giving the server their orders,
Hope turned to Emily with her serious eyes.

“I talked to
Mom today.”

“How is she?”

“She’s good.
Have you spoken to her recently?”

“Over the
weekend, but not so far this week. Been too busy interviewing.”

Hope nodded.
“Well, you know Jason has been showing up there every day, right?”

“What?”
Emily asked, sitting up straight and almost spilling her water as she set it
down on the table with a loud bump.

“Okay, you
didn’t know.”

“No, I didn’t
know.”

“I guess he
waits until Dad leaves, and then he knocks on the kitchen door. Mom lets him in,
and he’s been asking every day where you are and how you and the baby are
doing.”

“Well, at
least she hasn’t told him where I am. Does she tell him about the baby and me?”

“We didn’t
go into the specifics of what she’s telling him or not. But, she did mention
that he’s confused. Everyone is accusing him of cheating, but he doesn’t
remember a thing about that night.”

“Oh my gosh.
Gina said the same thing today when I spoke to her.”

“She’s
spoken to him?”

Emily
nodded. “At the bar the other night. He cornered her and asked for all the
details. She didn’t give me up, but she said it took all she had not to.”

Hope moved
closer to the table. “Mom said he’s hurting, a lot. She said he’s beside
himself with grief. He’s devastated.”

Emily shook
her head and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms against her chest. “I
don’t buy it. He has to remember, and he’s just trying to talk everyone into
believing him. Devastated? Please. He’s devastated because he got caught, not
because I’m gone.”

Hope opened
her mouth and then promptly closed it. She sat back in her chair and picked up
her water glass. “You’re probably right. I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

 “Mama
G and Dad still coming for Thanksgiving?” Emily asked, desperately trying to
change the subject.

*****

It was the
week before Thanksgiving and Emily was exhausted. “I’ve been working
twelve-hour days to get things caught up and ready before Baby Girl arrives.”

“Don’t wear
yourself out, darling. You need to rest as much as you can before she’s born.”

“I know,
Mama G, but it’s my first real job, and I don’t want them to forget how awesome
I am while I’m out on maternity leave.”

“Darling, no
one could forget that.”

Emily
laughed. “You’re still planning to be here Wednesday?”

“Yes.”

“Fabulous. I’ll
do my best to get this place ready for you and Dad.”

“Don’t
stress too much about it.”

“Can’t wait
to see you guys!”

“Us either.
Love to all three of you. Get some rest,
Em
.”

Emily hung
up the phone and glanced around the apartment. It was Sunday afternoon, and she
had a lot of work to do to make their place presentable before Wednesday.
Dishes, dusting, vacuuming, laundry, bathrooms. The list was never ending. Plus,
the baby’s room was a disaster. Everything she’d received and bought had been
dumped into that room. Nothing was organized. The crib wasn’t even put
together.

 Since
she’d started at A Touch of Flair, the time had flown by. She loved the job,
she loved Kendra, and she felt she was making a difference. Kendra had brought
on the promised intern, Phil, to cover for Emily while she was out on maternity
leave. Emily really liked him.

Lying under
the covers, the lights off and her alarm set, Emily rubbed her burgeoning
belly. Baby Girl was due in twelve days, and she was terrified. Of caring for
this tiny human. Of juggling work and child care. Of being solely responsible
for raising her to be the best woman she could be. Of all the little things and
all the big things.

She wasn’t
supposed to be in this situation. Jason was supposed to be with her, standing
next to her and helping her. She wondered what he was doing right now.

Adjusting
the pillow under her head, she closed her eyes, wishing for sleep to claim her,
but fear was eating away at her fragile confidence. Everyone said she’d make a
wonderful mother, but how did they know? How could they be sure? Just because
she’d always been able to make babies coo and little children laugh didn’t mean
she had what it took to raise a baby.

Frustrated
at being unable to fall asleep, she sat up and reached for the baby name book.
She picked up at the O names, added a couple to her short list and continued to
the S names. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the name Sadie, which meant
princess.