Emmalee (8 page)

           
I laughed along with her—causing more of a scene than I had in
years, but it was fun.  “Okay, so where do you want to go
and celebrate?” I asked as we climbed into my car.  “Pick
anywhere, it’s my treat.  This is definitely a day for
celebration.”

           
Hannah wiggled her eyebrows as she clicked her seatbelt in. 
“Imagine, less than a month ago, Elton didn’t even know I
existed and now it’s so crazy to think that he likes me.” 
She brought one leg up and turned in her seat toward me as I backed
out of the parking spot.  “Okay, so like, no one knows
this, but I have had a secret crush on Elton since the sixth grade.”

           
“No way?” Flabbergasted I smiled and shook my head. 

           
“I know!  Can you believe I had to wait until my senior
year before my little dream came true?  Holy rusted metal
Batman; Elton Bloomfield has a crush on me!” 

We shrieked again as I pulled out
onto the road. 
Well, we’re girls.  Seriously,
what else are we supposed to do?

           
I was in the kitchen helping my mom with dinner when the
doorbell rang later that evening.

           
“Would you get it, honey?  I’m a mess.”

           
“Sure Mom.”  I quickly rinsed my hands and jogged to
the door.  It was Chase.  I could barely make out the huge
smile on his face over the large bouquet of flowers in his arms. 
“Hey you!  Come on in.  What are those for?”

           
He stepped over the threshold.  “A gift from my mom to
yours.”

           
“Oh?”

           
“They’re from the garden.”  He chuckled. 
“Our house is chock full of flowers at the moment and dad has
banned any more from coming in.  So my mom sent them to you
guys.”

           
“Oh, well, come on into the kitchen, Mom’s gonna be
really excited.”  I started to head toward the back of the
house and Chase followed.

           
“You know, I’m really glad I saw you, I have some news
about your friend Hannah,” he said.

           
“Really?  What do you know about Hannah?” 
Intrigued, I stopped near the stairs and turned around.

           
Chase moved the flowers over a bit so he could see me better. 
His smile grew.  “She’s about to get a boyfriend. 
A really nice one at that.”

           
I grinned.  “And how would
you
know?”

           
“He told me.”

           
Elton told you?
  “When did you see him?”

           
“Yesterday, while I was checking out the store for my dad. 
He works there.”

           
The store?  I thought Elton worked at the Pinon Hills Golf
Course? 
All at once I became suspicious, and cautiously I
asked, “Who’s the guy you’ve been talking to?”

           
“Martin Roberts.”  He grinned while I stifled a
groan.  “You know, I’ve only been here—what
two, three weeks?  And I have to say that guy impresses me more
each time I see him.  I really think he’s one of Dad’s
best employees.  Anyway, so when I asked if he had a
girlfriend—you know—just teasin’ him, he mentioned
liking Hannah Smith. 
Your
Hannah Smith.” 

           
“Gee, you don’t say?”

           
“Crazy, huh?  I told him that I thought she was great and
he definitely wouldn’t find a nicer or friendlier girl in
Farmington.”

           
 “Wow.  You said that?”

           
“Sure.  So after about ten more minutes I convinced him to
ask her out.”

           
Good grief.
  “Ugh.”  I took the
flowers from Chase and headed into the kitchen, not caring if he
followed me.

           
Chase followed.  “Emma?  What did you mean by that?”

“By what?”  I kept
walking.

           
“By that grunt just now.”

           
“Grunt?”  I marched over to the countertop and
deposited the flowers, surprising my mother slightly.  “These
are for you Mom, from Mrs. Anderson,” I explained.  “Chase
just brought them over.”

           
My mom looked up from her dough covered hands and arms and smiled
past me.  “Oh, thank you, Chase.  Tell Grace thanks,
and that I said she was very thoughtful.”

           
“I will,” he spoke right behind me as he casually took
hold of my elbow.  “Just wanted to drop those off, if
you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta run.”  Chase
turned on his heel and began to bring me with him.

           
“Okay, bye,” my mom called as Chase maneuvered me out of
the kitchen and into the hallway. 

           
“Will you knock it off?” I hissed.  I jerked my
elbow, but it wouldn’t budge from his grasp.  We were
walking much faster than necessary and Chase Anderson was seriously
beginning to get on my nerves. 

           
“Not until you tell me what that grunt meant,” he
replied.  Chase literally propelled me into our front room and
released my arm.  “Now talk,” he demanded as he shut
the door.

           
“Of all the stupidest, rudest, Viking-est things ever!” 
I walked right up to him with my hands on my hips.

           
“Viking-est?”  Chase grinned and one eyebrow rose.

           
I felt like smacking that grin right off his face.  “Yes. 
Viking-est.  What are you some Neanderthal caveman?  You
can’t go around dragging people like that.  This is the
twenty-first century, we’ve evolved since then.  I swear
Chase, if you—”

           
“Emmalee Bradford…”  He folded his arms
across his chest.  “You can rant and rave all you want,
but you’re not leaving this room until I get some answers.”

           
What?
  “You wouldn’t dare.”  I
stomped my foot.

           
His eyebrow rose higher.  “Wanna make a bet?”

           
This is ridiculous.
  I decided to take control of the
situation and let Chase come to me.  “Fine,” I
huffed, before I turned around and plopped down on a sofa. 

           
It worked.  He walked over and sat down on the couch across from
me.  Chase drilled his stubborn blue eyes right into mine. 
“So, what do you have against Martin Roberts?”

           
“Nothing.” 
As long as he stays away from
Hannah.

           
“Em-ma?”

           
He sounds like my stepdad. 
I crossed one leg over the
other and willed my foot not to bounce in irritation.  “Look. 
I don’t have anything against the guy, okay?”

           
“So why are you acting weird?”

           
“Because, believe it or not, sometimes you bug me.” 

           
“Do I bug you because I talked to Martin?  Or, do I bug
you because I act like a Viking?”

“Ugh!”  I leaned
forward with my elbows on my knees and put my hands over my face.

           
“There’s that grunt again.”

           
I chuckled and shook my head.  My voice was muffled when I
warned, “Chase, you really know how to push a girl.”

           
“I hope so.” He chuckled.

           
I sighed and sat up.  “Okay, you want me to be straight
with you?  Fine.  Hannah, did get asked out by Martin
today, all right?”

           
“Really?”

           
“Yes.  And no thanks to you, she rejected him.”

           
“What?  Why?”  He looked shocked.

           
I’ve had enough.
  I put my hands on my knees and
stood up.  Chase quickly copied me.  We had a small ornate
coffee table between us.  “You really shouldn’t try
to set people up, you’re not that good at it.  Believe
me.  Hannah happens to like someone else, that’s why she
said no.”  I put one hand up.  “And before you
ask if I’m sure, yes, I am.  I saw the email she wrote to
him.” 

           
“Emma,” he croaked. 

           
My eyes flew to his not sure what to make of the emotion he seemed to
barely control.  I couldn’t tell if he was angry, or sad,
or frustrated, or— “What?” I asked.

           
“Y-you wrote it, didn’t you?  That email.  You
were there.  You wrote it.”

           
“I-I—”

           
“You know what?  I don’t care.  You-you, go and
do whatever juvenile
high school
thing it is you want to
do.  But, you better watch out and be aware of the pitfalls that
come from messing with people’s lives.”

           
Me, messing with people’s lives? 
“Whatever! 
What about you?” 

           
“Emmalee.  You may think you know it all now, but you
don’t.  You can’t—you’re just—”
All at once Chase stopped.  His gaze wearily traced my angry
features in silence.  He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep
breath.  When he opened them again they were a deep sad grey. 
“I’m sorry to hear that Hannah told Martin no.” 
He looked down—shaking his head briefly—before bringing
his eyes back to mine.  “I hope he’ll be okay.”

           
Frozen in place by the intensity of his gaze, I whispered, “So
do I.” 

           
Chase grinned ruefully and brought his hands down to catch my
fingers.  “I have something to say and I don’t want
you to take it the wrong way.”  He squeezed my hands and
gently swayed them.

           
What?

           
“I don’t know for certain, but I’m pretty sure
you’re thinking Elton and Hannah are going to hit it off. 
Well, if that’s the case, I don’t want you to get your
hopes up.  The Bloomfields are known for being—uh,
selective when it comes to girlfriends.  Believe me, I grew up
with Elton’s older brother, it wasn’t pretty.”

           
Just when I thought Chase is acting decent for a moment he’s
gotta go and blow it.
  I pulled my hands away from him and
folded my arms.  “If I
was
thinking of Hannah and
Elton getting together, then I would’ve been worried about your
warning, but, since I’m not, I—”

Chase leaned over and kissed me on
the cheek, surprising me into silence as he whispered.  “Good
bye, Em.”

           
What?
  “You-you’re going home?”

           
 “Yeah, I don’t want to argue with you.” 
His rueful smile was back.  “See ya.”     
And with that he was gone.  This room’s door was still
swinging when I heard the front door shut behind him.  

Chapter 8

“I must be a snowflake, 'cuz
I've fallen for you.”

           
After Chase left.  I vowed not to feel guilty or get emotional
at all.  Except, I had to wonder why I felt like crying. 
I
mean, I was in the right after all, wasn’t I?
  I
slowly climbed the stairs to my room debating that question. 
Martin Roberts didn’t deserve my friend.  And besides
there really could be no other explanation for it: Elton Bloomfield
liked Hannah Smith. 
I don’t care who says he
doesn’t.  I know the truth.
  It was time I
showed Mr. Chase Anderson that I was right. 

           
A couple of days later, I hit on the perfect opportunity to prove it
to him.  I was going to throw a party.  A party designed
especially for getting a guy to come clean and announce that he loved
a certain girl.  So when seven o’clock came and Hannah
showed up for our study session, I pounced on her and practically
dragged her to the upstairs parlor.  Mom was reading one of her
Regency novels when we burst in.

           
“Mom!  Hannah and I have just come up with the best idea
ever!”  I could barely contain my enthusiasm.  Hannah
looked just as shocked as my mom did, but she didn’t say
anything.

           
“What is it?”  Mom placed her bookmark inside the
book and set it on the table next to my favorite chair.

           
I opted to sit down on the small ivory sofa and Hannah, hesitantly,
sat next to me.  “I think I should we should throw a
party.”

           
“A party?” My mom seemed interested.  “What
kind of a party?”

           
“I don’t know.”  I shrugged.  “Something
small—I mean no more than like ten people.  I thought we
could watch a movie, or something?”

           
I glanced over at Hannah, she was smiling.  I grinned back.

           
“Hmm?  Are you talking dinner and everything?”

           
“Uh?” 
Dinner?
  “Well, maybe
pizza and popcorn, that kind of thing.  Nothing major Mom, I
promise.”

           
“Well, we can’t go overboard, you know.  Dad can
only handle one major party a year.   He doesn’t like
these sort of things.”

           
“I know.  But this is hardly anything like your ball or
something, sheez.”  I rolled my eyes.  My mom’s
definition of overboard was her annual Christmas ball she held every
year. 
I did mention she was an Austenite right?
 
“It’s just a few people, honest.”  I leaned
forward.  “Look, we can all go to the basement with that
big TV and I’ll put the movie on down there.  That way
it’ll be like you won’t even hear us—you won’t
even know we’re there.”

           
Mom still wasn’t convinced.  “Who are you thinking
about inviting?”

           
Inviting?
  “Uh, well, Hannah of course.” 
Mom smiled over at her.  “Elton—Dad likes Elton. 
Um, I was thinking a couple of people from school—”

           
“How about Chase?  Will you invite him?”

           
“Yes, definitely.”

           
“Good, now what about the Hart sisters?  They could really
use a night out—“

Ugh.
  “Are you
kidding?  You want me to invite Cassidy Hart and her little
sister?”  I threw my head back.  “This is
supposed to be a party—you know, where you have fun.”

           
“Emmalee Elaine, you have got to be kidding me.  They are
nice girls.  And now that the Anderson’s are practically
related to them, they must be included.  What would they think
if you didn’t invite them?”