Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Emerson
It was the end of the week, and Adam was due home today. Alex and I never talked about that night he got drunk. He wouldn’t talk about it and had been irritable all week long. We didn’t have sex, and I barely saw him. He reverted back to staying late at the office, and when I would text him and ask when he was coming home, he would reply, “soon.”
I pulled out my map and laid it across my bed to make my plan for my next move. With Alex’s behavior, he was making it easier for me to leave. What happened to the man back in Napa and Seattle? Something went seriously wrong, and I wanted to know what it was. The night he left and told me he was going to the office, nothing had happened, and I thought things were good between us. He was shutting me out again, and it hurt. It hurt me right down to the very core of my soul. I thought a lot about things and needed to put my mind to rest and concentrate on where I would go next. I still couldn’t help but be bothered that my money was almost gone. Something wasn’t right because I didn’t live to the extreme. I was very careful with what I spent.
As I was looking over my map, I glanced at my phone, and it was seven p.m. Just as I diverted my eyes back to the map, my phone rang, and it was Adam.
“Hey, Adam.”
“Hey, Em. I wanted to let you know that I’m on my way over. I should be there in about ten minutes. I can’t wait to see you, sis.”
“I can’t wait to see you either.”
I took in a deep breath and folded up my map. As I was on my way to the kitchen, the front door opened, and Alex walked in.
“Impeccable timing, Parker,” I spoke as I continued walking.
“What do you mean?” He followed me into the kitchen and set his briefcase down.
“Adam should be here in about ten minutes. Make sure to have a bottle of wine ready to pour for me. You and he will have to get your own.”
Alex
I’d been a real bastard to Emerson all week. The reason? I couldn’t stand the thought of her leaving. If I distanced myself from her and put everything we had done and been through behind us, it would be easier on me when she left. It was wrong, I know. But it was the way I dealt with things. I loved her so damn much that it was killing me to know she wouldn’t be around much longer. I wanted to talk to her about that night but couldn’t. It was a lost cause. I would have confessed my feelings to her and been left there standing like an idiot. If she loved me, she would stay. Adam was on his way over, and I wasn’t sure how that would go. Since he never talked about his family, I would bet my life that his views were completely different from Emerson’s, and there would be a lot of arguing. I was glad I came home from the office early. This reunion was going to be interesting.
I went down to the wine cellar, grabbed a bottle of Pinot, and brought it upstairs.
“Here’s your bottle.”
“Thanks.” She smiled.
She took out the corkscrew and attempted to open the bottle. I noticed her hands were shaking. I placed my hands around hers and spoke, “Let me open that for you.”
She let go of the bottle and reached up and grabbed a glass from the cabinet, dropping it to the floor.
“Fuck!” she yelled.
This wasn’t like her. “Emerson, don’t touch the glass. You’ll cut yourself.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll buy you another glass.”
“Fuck the glass. What is wrong with you?” I asked as I walked over to her. “Are you that nervous to talk to your brother?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I am. These conversations never go well with him. It’s the same thing over and over again, like a vicious, never-ending cycle.”
“Maybe this time will be different,” I spoke as I bent down to clean up the glass.
“Doubt it.”
The doorbell rang and she stiffened up. I couldn’t help myself. I kissed her head and hugged her before sending her into the war zone.
Emerson
I was happy to see my brother but was not looking forward to our conversation. The moment I saw him, I stood there for a moment as tears filled my eyes. It had been a long time.
“Hey, sis.” He smiled as he held out his arms.
I ran to him and hugged him tight. “It’s so good to see you.”
“It’s good to see you too. Look at you.” He slowly shook his head.
“Adam.” Alex walked over and shook his hand.
“Alex.” He smiled. “Thanks for looking after my sister.”
I studied the look on Alex’s face. He smiled and gave Adam a nod. “Can I get you a drink?”
“Bourbon would be great. Thank you.”
I led Adam into the living room, grabbed my glass of wine, and took a large sip.
“So, how was Tennessee?” I asked with a smile.
“It was okay. I got the company up and running again with no problems.”
“Good.”
Alex handed Adam his drink, and I couldn’t help but notice how he stared at Alex and me.
“Have you decided where you’ll settle?” he asked.
Wow. Let’s just cut right to the chase.
“No. I need to talk to you about the money situation first. I really don’t understand how it’s almost gone.”
“That’s because you were off on your own little adventure without a care in the world.”
I took a deep breath because, suddenly, the air became much thicker.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Alex said as he began walking away.
“PARKER, SIT!” I commanded in a harsh voice.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Sit down!” I pointed at the chair and glared at him.
He took a seat in the wing-backed chair and looked at Adam.
“You let her talk to you like that, man?”
Alex shrugged, and Adam got up from the couch.
“So why don’t the two of you tell me what’s going on here.”
“Nothing,” Alex responded.
“Adam.” I tried my hold my composure. “You brought me back to talk about me and my, as you call them, ‘adventures.’ This is about you and me. Not about Alex and me.”
Adam gave me a stern look as he sipped his bourbon. His tone changed as he sat beside me on the couch and took hold of my hands.
“Listen, Em. You spent the last eight years gallivanting around the world, and now it’s time for you to settle down and make a place your home. You can’t keep going on like this. It isn’t healthy, and it’s irresponsible.”
“Why is it irresponsible? Because I chose to see the world instead of being held up in a stuffy office working a 9-5 job that I hate?”
“I don’t hate my job. You’re living off our dead parents’ money, sis.”
“I’ve had a few jobs over the years. Hell, I worked at Billy’s ranch, for God's sake.”
“Who’s Billy?” he asked. “Oh wait, the bull rider.”
I tilted my head and narrowed my eye. “No. That was Austin in Montana.”
“You were in Montana?” Alex asked as he cocked his head.
I held my hand up to him.
“You never mentioned Montana,” he spoke.
“It wasn’t worth mentioning. Anyway, Billy was the cowboy from Texas.”
“That’s right. The most recent one. The reason you needed to leave Texas.”
I sighed as I got up from the couch and took my glass of wine with me.
“That money is mine to do whatever I want to do with it. You sure didn’t give me this much hell when I left in the first place.”
“You know why I didn’t?” Adam spoke with a raised voice. “Because I thought it was temporary. I didn’t think you’d be gone for eight fucking years!”
“I told you that I wasn’t coming back here!”
“You had everything going for you. You healed an arm that the doctors said you’d probably never be able to use again. You broke three records at Nationals. You had the best universities kissing your ass, hoping you’d pick them. You could have made something of yourself, but you chose to run instead. Run away from what happened here, from me, your friends, and everything that made you who you are.”
“That’s not true,” I spoke as tears filled my eyes.
“If it’s not true, then explain it to me!” he yelled.
“I don’t have to explain anything to you! I’m an adult!”
“You can’t explain it to me because you’ve been running for so long, you don’t even know why anymore.”
“I’m doing it for Emily. We have always dreamed of and talked about this since we were kids.”
“You don’t think I know that!” Adam got up from the couch. “The two of you were always talking about going somewhere. It was a pipe dream the two of you had.”
I gulped when he said that. “How dare you.” I pointed my finger at him.