Wait for Me (8 page)

She wanted to argue with him just as she had with Lucas earlier but she supposed they both had a point.  “I promise.  I’m not happy about it, but I promise to wait until it’s safer to drive.”

“Excellent!  Maybe wait until Sunday and let Lucas just drive you home and we’ll get a rental car for you Monday morning.  This way we can kill two birds with one stone; I know you’ll get home safely and I have an excuse to get Lucas into the office for a second time in a month.”

Emma smiled at his words.  She knew how much it pained her boss that Lucas spent so much time away from his family and from the rest of the world.  She only wished that he wasn’t pinning his hopes on her making Lucas fall in line with those plans.  “We’ll see.  I can’t force Lucas to let me stay here for another two days and then drive me all the way home.  That’s not my fight to have with him.”

William had to give her credit for her compassion for his son.  Some people in her position might be more than willing to do his bidding to win his favor; but not Emma.  No, she understood Lucas, maybe better than he did, and didn’t want to do anything that would cause more strife.

“You’re a sweet girl, Emma.  I wouldn’t expect you to fight this battle with Lucas for me.  All I ask is that you consider it.”

“I will, sir,” she assured him.  “I have no idea how long he’ll be outside with the tow truck.”  As she said the words, she walked to the window by the front door and looked out to see what kind of progress was being made.  The driveway had been cleared.  When had that happened?  But for all she could see, her car had yet to make an appearance.  “Would you like me to have him call you when he comes back inside?”

“That would be wonderful,” he replied.  “Oh, and Emma?”

“Yes?”

“Make sure he doesn’t
overdo it out there.  I know he doesn’t think that we can tell, but…he’s still not doing well with his knee. I don’t think he wants any of us to know or to ask but since you’re the only person who’s been with him for any amount of time in his house, please make sure he’s okay.”  

There was sadness in his voice and Emma’s heart broke a little for the parent and for the child.  Though they were both grown men, it didn’t seem to matter; to William Montgomery, his concern for his youngest son would never end.  “I’ll make sure that he takes it easy,” she promised before hanging up.

If only she knew how…

The kitchen was really a dream, Emma thought, as she went about making lunch for her and Lucas.  She had no idea how much longer he was going to be outside with the tow truck driver but she needed something to do and messing around in the kitchen seemed like the perfect way to kill some time.  As his father had told her earlier on the phone, Lucas had just stocked up and there was a wide variety of foods to choose from. 

Knowing that he would most likely appreciate something hot after being outside in the cold temperature, she first opted for some soup.  There wasn’t enough time to make any from scratch but she found two cans of chicken corn chowder that she doctored up.  Then came the sandwiches; some nice grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon.  Oh, if only her assistant could see her now!  There wasn’t a salad in sight and Emma was perfectly okay with it.  With the soup simmering and the sandwiches being warmed in the oven, all Emma had to do was wait for Lucas to come back inside. 

She didn’t have to wait long.

Fifteen minutes later Lucas came through the door and Emma jumped.  She had been staring out the back windows and what seemed to be miles of snow covered land.  She turned when she heard him and almost gasped at what she saw.  He was covered in snow and his skin was red and at his feet were all of her bags and belongings from her car.  He nearly slumped to the ground once the door was closed.

“Oh, my gosh, Lucas!  What in the world?”  She nearly ran over to him and it didn’t take long for her to realize that he was in pain.  Without a word she took the hat from his head and began to help him remove his coat.

“Emma,” he said by way of warning her but she ignored him.

“Hush,” she said quietly and went back to helping him get as much of the snow covered clothing off as possible.  With his coat, hat and gloves on the floor, Emma watched as he slowly removed his boots.  It was hard to miss the hiss of pain when he bent forward.

“Go put on dry clothes,” she told him.  “I’ve got lunch ready.”

Lucas stood straight up and looked at Emma as if he’d never seen her before.  He opened his mouth to argue but all she said was “Go” and he slowly lumbered back toward his bedroom where he slammed the door.

Emma made a tsking sound and went about picking up his belongings and taking them into the mud room near the back of the house to dry.  After that she headed into the kitchen to serve up their food.  Lucas stepped from the bedroom before she was finished and walked over to the living room and sat down wearily on the sofa; his head falling back against the cushions. 

It was a no brainer at that point; making up a tray, Emma carried it to Lucas and placed it over his lap.  He looked up at her in surprise and what she saw in his eyes took her breath away.  Gratitude, plain and simple.  How long had this man been taking care of himself?  How long since anyone had done something as simple as preparing a meal for him?  How long since he’d even let anyone?

She gave him a weak smile and turned to walk away.  “Are you going to join me?” Lucas asked, his eyes warm on hers.

“I was just going to make myself a tray,” she reassured.  Within minutes she was sitting on the sofa opposite his making herself comfortable and trying to not spill her soup.  “I wasn’t sure what you wanted to eat but I figured this was your house and if it was here, you’d pretty much enjoy it.”

He gave a small laugh.  “Can’t argue with that logic.  But seriously, Emma, thank you.  You didn’t need to do this.”

“Are you kidding me?  It was nice to have something to do.  I felt so helpless sitting in here where it was warm and dry while you were stuck out there.  I hate that you had to do that for me.”

“We’re not going to go through that again, are we?” he asked.  “None of this was your fault and you need to let it go.”

“How did you get the driveway cleared away so fast?”

“I have a plow blade attachment for my truck.  I simply pulled out of the garage and went to work.”

“Oh, thank
goodness; I thought you had shoveled that whole thing yourself!”

“Not anymore,” he mumbled to himself.  “It didn’t take too long and I wanted to have it done before I called the tow truck.  It would have been pointless to have them drive all the way out here if they couldn’t get onto the property.”

Emma nodded.  “How bad did it look?”

“The road?”

“No, my car.  Was it bad?”

Lucas took a hearty bite of his sandwich and seemed to chew slowly.  Emma did not take that as a good sign.  “It was about what I expected,” he said finally.

“Meaning what exactly?”

“It looks like you ran it into a tree.  The front end is pretty banged up but luckily you weren’t going very fast so it could have been much worse.  I had Bill take it to his shop; he’s a friend of mine and I trust him and his work.  He’ll get a good look at it probably tomorrow and have an estimate to us by Monday.”

“Us?”

“Emma,
Montgomery’s is going to take care of this.  It wasn’t your fault and you were on company time.  We’ll take care of the repairs and your car rental for however long it takes to get your car fixed.”  In that moment he sounded very much like a boss and Lucas saw something cross across Emma’s face.  Confusion?  Disappointment?

“That’s very generous, Lucas.  Your father called while you were outside with the tow truck and he told me the same thing.  I don’t like or expect your company to take care of this expense but I appreciate the help.”

“Well it was dad’s fault,” Lucas stated firmly, still angry at what could have happened to Emma because of his father’s inconsiderate behavior. 

“I could have told him no, Lucas.  He didn’t hold a gun to my head and force me to drive up here.”

“No but he certainly did all that he could to sweeten the deal for you.”  Emma frowned at that statement.  “What?  What’s the matter?”

She looked over at him and gave a sad smile.  “I was actually really looking forward to it; the spa, the pampering, all of it.  I never indulge in things like that because it always seemed like a frivolous thing but once it was offered to me?  I found that I really wanted to do it.”

“Well maybe you’ll get another chance.”

“I’m not driving up here again until the summertime!” she joked and was rewarded when Lucas laughed with her.

“How about someplace local?  I’m sure we can arrange something like that for you when you get back.”  Again, he came across sounding like her employer and even though that was exactly what he was, he still hated sounding like that to her.  “It’s the least we can do.”

Emma seemed to sober instantly.  “That’s a very generous offer but I don’t expect the company to pay for a day at a spa for me.  It’s really not necessary.”  Her tone was formal, as if she were talking to someone in the office.

They ate the remainder of their lunch in silence and Emma rose to take both of their trays into the kitchen.  “I don’t expect you to wait on me, Emma,” Lucas said, his eyes watching her as she moved around the room.

“Well, you fussed over me yesterday when I was hurt and now it’s my turn to fuss over you.”

“Why would you say that?” he demanded, sitting up straighter on the couch.  “I’m not hurt.”

Emma stared at him point blank, eyebrows arched.  “Really?” she asked sarcastically.

“Yes, really,” he replied defiantly.

“Okay, stand up.”

“What?”

“You heard me.  Stand up.”  She crossed her arms over her chest and waited.

“And what will that prove?”

“Stand up and walk around the sofa without limping or scowling.”

Lucas did not like the challenge in her tone.  “And if I don’t?”

“Then you’ll just be proving me right.  I’m not a fool, Lucas; your knee is hurting and there’s no shame in that.  You probably messed it up yesterday carrying me up from my car and then again today helping the driver get my car out of the ditch.  Why is that so hard to admit to?”

“Because you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” he snapped.  “There’s nothing wrong with my knee and I resent you saying that there is.”

“Then prove it.”

Rage built in Lucas faster than he thought possible.  In the two years since his injury, no one had provoked him like this.  People left him alone; even the physical therapists stopped pushing him when he refused to be challenged.  How dare Emma come here and make these ridiculous demands on him!

Sure his knee hurt; anyone would feel some sense of pain after the way he had exerted himself in the last twenty-four hours.  But it wasn’t like he couldn’t handle it.  Lucas knew he could get up right now and do a damn jig and never let on that he was feeling any kind of pain.  He glared at Emma and saw that she hadn’t budged. 

Fine.  He’d prove her wrong and then they could move on with their day.  Placing both hands firmly on the sofa Lucas braced himself and pushed to a standing position and went to take a step.

And crumpled back down to the sofa with a growl of disgust.  Emma was at his side immediately and he heard her soft curse.  “I cannot believe that you are so stubborn that you would rather risk aggravating an injury than admitting that you have one.”

His first instinct was to argue but she had hit the nail on the head. 

“What do you need?  Heat or ice?”

What he needed right now was to have his solitary life back and to be left alone in his misery.  One of the reasons he’d quit going to rehab was because he hated having anyone help him; it reminded him that he wasn’t the man he used to be. 

“Lucas?” she said, snapping him out of his reverie.

“Ice,” her mumbled and sat back on the sofa, lifting his leg up onto the coffee table.  In no time at all Emma was beside him and rolling up the leg of the flannel pajama pants he had thrown on earlier.  All Lucas wanted to do was push her away but he just didn’t have the strength to. 

He flinched when she placed the ice pack on his scarred and swollen knee but refused to look at her.  Lucas didn’t want her pity and that was what he was certain he was going to see in her eyes.  There was the sound of Emma’s feet walking across the room and he heard her moving around in the kitchen and then she was back offering him water and ibuprofen.

“Do you have anything stronger?”  He shook his head.  “Okay, then.  What do you usually do when this happens?”

“Who said this ever happened before?”  Lucas knew he was sounding like a belligerent child but couldn’t summon the energy to care. 

“I’m trying to help you,” she said wearily.  “This is all my fault and I’m trying to do what I can to help you.  Can you please just cooperate?”

“Really?  Like you cooperated last night?”

“Did you not wake me up every two hours?  And didn’t I answer all of your stupid questions each time?”

“Stupid ques…look, I know how to handle a concussion, Em
ma; you don’t know the first thing about a knee injury!”