Emmerson's Heart (13 page)

Chapter 11

****Present****

Paul             

Two in the morning. Who in the hell was calling? Like hell I was going to answer. I had to be up in a few hours to begin chores and take care of that damn horse of hers. Again. Last night had been nothing but a reminder of the very day that he had come to the ranch. The piss in him was coming back out and not one of us could control him. When I
saw her next, I would throttle the life out of her.

Hitting the silence button, I rolled over
and felt Becky’s body warmth, and snuggled tightly under the heavy down comforter. My stomach clenched tightly as the scent of her shampoo drifted in the air. At least she was predictable and didn’t give me a headache every ten minutes. Not like Emmerson. Completely not like Emmerson at all. Becky was what I needed, wanted. Had been for some years now.

And I ha
d no idea why Emmerson hated Becky so much. Becky had been nothing but nice to her and didn’t mind that Emmy hung out with us a few times. The last straw was the attitude at Thanksgiving. I had it with her, with Emmerson. If she wanted to be my friend, she had to understand that I would be with Becky, but yet, she didn’t respect that at all. Of all the shit that girl had pulled, that I had covered up, she had the nerve to tell me that I wasn’t being fair to her? When had I not been fair to her? I was just sick of it, sick of her crap. Even Becky had tried telling me that I was too hard on Emmerson, but Becky hadn’t known all the stuff that the girl had caused.

No, I had to push Emmerson away. My life was always dropped when it had come to her. Then, to have my dad ask me if I had feelings for her? That was the eye opener there. Emmy was a sister to me, that was it. That was all that she could be to me. I had crossed the lines when I had kissed her and I knew that I had. The way that she had looked at me with those large and widened aqua eyes of hers, I knew that I had really screwed up. It wasn’t just embarrassing, it was humiliating. It was downright heartbreaking seeing that look, seeing that I had these feelings for her that made me want so much more with her and all she had seen me as was her brother. Pushing
her away was the best thing that I could do. It was the one thing that I had to do.

My life was with Becky
. It had to be. That was why I had bought that damn ring. Even before Emmy had come into our lives, I had wanted Becky. Now that I had her, I couldn’t let her go. It was the one way to keep me from making a complete and utter fool to my family and to Emmy again. And I would make everything right to Becky. I did love her. Always have.

The phone rang again. This time, I silenced it right away. Becky was sleeping and I didn’t want to wake her. I had kept her up talking too long as it was and she had to go to work in the morning. What was there not to like about Becky? She was perfect. Her body was long and slender, her skin flawless and soft, and her hair was a chestnut that shimmered with the silkiness. It was never a pissing contest with her on who was better. Nope. It was easy and she was always happy.

It rang again. Cursing, I snatched it off the nightstand and answered it. “Whatever the hell you want, you better tell me now.”

“Dude, it’s Rob.”

What the hell? Rob knew what time I had gotten up. And it wasn’t like he couldn’t wait to talk to me tomorrow. I would see him in the barn first thing. “I don’t freaking care. Dude, go screw her, play with her, or leave her. Just don’t bother me.” Just before I hung up, he gasped a little.

“Listen to me. Dad went to go and drag Emmy back for Christmas…”

“He needs to stop running to her every time that she throws her little temper tantrums. She’s being a little stuck up bitch, Rob. God, I don’t need this. I don’t. I quit. Have the ranch. He wants to keep running to her, then let him have her. I am done. I can work at Becky’s dad’s ranch and not have the damn headache that girl gives me. I don’t even want to see her anyway.” Slipping out of the bed, I dug my jeans out of the pile of clothing and slipped them on. “Dude, she’s a damn nuisance and I should have left her to fend for herself that night instead of saving her ass.”

“You don’t mean that, Paul.”

“I do. She has been nothing but a damn thorn in my side. I just…hate her. I have my own life starting now and she will not be a part of it. She can whine and cry all she wants, but I just don’t want anything to do with her. I’m done. I’m out. You guys take my share. If it means never to see her again, I will walk away, sign everything over to the three of you, and never deal with her again.”

“Emmy’s….”

“I do not care, Rob. I do not. Get it through your head. I do not care if she died tomorrow. I don’t. I am sharing my life with Becky and nothing will ever stop me.”

A loud curse came from him. “I hope you eat every single one of those words, you fucking prick. Sign the shit over and get the hell out. And by the way, they don’t know if she will live or not. She’s in critical care right now and
Dad didn’t make it. Merry Christmas and have fucking happy life.”

My heart stopped as I looked at the phone. He had hung up and it had flashed that I had three missed calls from my mom. Choosing to hear the first voicemail, I entered in my password and pressed the phone to my ear.

“Paul…” Yes, that was my mom with the most painful voice ever. “It’s mom. Um…there’s been an accident….um…I need you to…” The sobs came out as the phone was muffled. “Um…Honey, your dad…” she cried hard. “Your dad…Emmy….Oh god!” The cry tore through my heart as I felt the tears rolling down my cheeks.

Hanging up, I slipped back into the bedroom and dressed into my shirt and sweatshirt as fast as I could. My phone rang again and my mom’s name had come up. Answering it as fast as I could, I hel
d it to my ear as I sat on the side of the bed. “Mom, I’m sorry.”

“Oh god, Paul. He’s gone! He’s gone!” She cried as hard as she could. “Emmy’s….Emmy’s….”

“Mom, just slow down and take a deep breath.” My chest clenched even harder, taking the air from my lungs. If she had died after what I had said, I would never be able to live with myself. I was a prick.

“Emmy’s….they don’t see her making it much longer,
Honey. She’s bad…she’s so bad.”

“Mom, are you at the house? I’m on my way,
Mom.” Standing up, I brushed the tears off my cheek and looked at Becky sitting on the bed holding the comforter to her chest. Rolling those big brown eyes of her, she shook her head and laid back down.

“They told us to come. They told us to come and say goodbye! How can I? She….he….Paul…”

“I’m on my way, Mom. I will be right there.” Hanging up, I tried to suck in a deep breath, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t breathe. This wasn’t happening. Christmas was next week, the time of year that Emmy had just loved now because of our family. “I have to go…”

“Paul? What’s wrong?”
She jumped up on the bed and wrapped her arms around me, letting her silk nightgown strap fall over her shoulder. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. I don’t.” Crying into her shoulder, I let her just hold me for a while not caring if I had looked like a six-foot-three baby. My dad was gone and Emmy probably wouldn’t make it through the night. Oh, my Emmy. My Tyke. How could I ever hate her? All she wanted and had saw me as was the one that saved her life, her best friend. Hell, I wasn’t even mad at her. It was killing me that she wouldn’t return any of my texts or calls. I would never admit that to Becky, but it was. I missed my friend. I missed my spunky headache.

“Let me throw something on and I will take you over to the house.” Letting me go, she pulled on her black jeans and pulled a sweater on over her nightgown and walked me to the door. Helping me get my coat on, she smiled as she brushed the tears off my face. “Baby, it will be okay. Cry, cry all you want. I am right here.”

Nodding, I felt the pain sinking in a little more. My poor Emmy. If they had told my mom to come into the
hospital now, the girl wasn’t going to be good. I just hoped that she would hang on so that I could at least tell her how sorry I was.

The snow was so deep, but yet Becky drove my truck over to the ranch
and pulled right up by the house. Shoving the passenger door open, I ran inside, leaving her there. She knew the way in. I had to see what happened. I had to see how Emmy was doing.

My mom was dressed in a pair of blue sweatpants and a parka with her head tucked in her hands and the tears just draining from her eyes. Rob was leaning against the counter with the pain and the anger deep in his eyes. I was surprised that he hadn’t come with his fists drawn at me after what I had said to him. His shirt was buttoned crooked and his jeans were stained with the muck from this morning’s chores. Will had come around the corner
, wearing a pair of green pants with a purple shirt and his hair all messed up.

“Anyone get hold of Marc?” Biting my lip, I sat my hands on
Mom’s shaking shoulders and pressed my lips to the top of her head.

“He’s at the hospital now. They closed off the highway so we can’t go.” Rob’s dark eyes turned at me.
“Best go home, Brother. Sorry to have bothered you. Go on back to your happy life without her.”

“Hey, I was just pissed….”

“No, you meant it.” Nodding, he dropped his keys on the table and walked out of the house.

“I didn’t.” Looking over at the tears in Becky’s eyes, I knew that she had heard what I had said.

The phone rang and Mom jumped. Picking up the phone, she pressed it to her ear. “Hello?” Covering her mouth, she had tipped her head and cried. “Yes….okay….Everyone is here.” Taking the phone from her ear, she pressed the speaker button. “Marc?”

“Mama, they ha
ve taken her back into the operating room. She’s so bad. She’s…she can’t breathe and they think that her rib has punctured her lung. Her shoulder is shattered and her leg….they might have to remove it. Oh, Mama.” He cried. “She’s…Oh my god, please. Please, let her live.” He cried just as hard into the phone. “They said that she don’t look nothing like her picture. They don’t know how she’s still alive. They don’t. Mama, they don’t think that she will….they don’t….oh god.”

“What happened?” I asked
, wrapping my arms around my mom. It was bad enough having to bury her husband of thirty years right before Christmas. But her only daughter, too? It would kill her, kill all of us. She just had to make it. Emmy had to live.

“They were at the hill and just coming down when a truck had come up so fast behind them and slid into them
, pushing them off the cliff. She was the only one they found….alive….” He gasped a little. “They said that she was still holding onto his hand. She was still holding onto him!” Another cry came through the phone loudly. “They said that they had to pry them apart. He was holding onto her so tight that he had broken her arm. Dad was trying to save her. He was trying to protect her. Just the way that she was in the seat, that was what they had said it had looked like.”

“Have you gotten to see her?” Will brushed the tears off his face.

“No, they won’t let me. They won’t yet.” Clearing his throat, he let out a curse. “I have to go, but if I hear anything more, I will call.”

Hanging up, I pulled my mom out of the chair and just held her as tight as I could. Becky rested her chin on
my shoulder and forced in a deep breath. “Why don’t you all go into the living room and I will make some coffee?”

Gathering my mom, I took her to the couch and let her cuddle into my lap. Rob sat on one side of me and Will on the other. It was all a waiting game now. That was all that we could do. God, how I hated myself for everything that I had ever said about her. She wasn’t a bad girl at all. Not for what she had grown up in. Those scars that she was so self-
conscious about were nothing. Absolutely nothing. All the times that she had said that her dad had made her ugly, she wasn’t. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. There had been times when I would pretend to be napping to watch her, see those little dances that she had done in the barn while she had worked. The way that her hips moved, how her nice breasts would bounce slightly. God, I was infatuated with her. Since graduation, I had seen her as a woman, one that I would never be able to have.

“Do you remember when
Dad had to come to school because of the fight when I had broken that Parker’s nose?” Will reached over, taking Mom’s hand and holding it tightly. “It wasn’t me that did it. She was the one that clocked him.”

“Emmy?” Rob chuckled a little.

“Yeah. Dad had just thrown the fit about us fighting Adam and told her not to be fighting, that it wasn’t the way to solve problems. Well, she “talked” to Parker Andrews all right. I tried to grab her, but it had come out of nowhere. She was talking to him with this concerned face of hers and those eyes just sparkling. When she drew in her bottom lip, listening to him defending himself on why he had said what he did about us, she just smiled and told him not to do it again with this sweet and innocent look…” He swallowed hard. “Then, when I had thought she would just turn and walk away, she didn’t. She punched him and he thought it was me because I had jumped to stop her.”

“That was
the only way she knew how to handle her anger.” My mom sniffled a little as she pressed her lips together. “He was so mad at her about it. He was livid every time that she would, but how could you tell her not to when all she was doing was defending us?”