Chapter 24 #2
“You could tell?” Jake asked.
“Yeah.” He pointed toward the window. “She’s one talented young lady, and she’s smart too. And she has a good heart.”
“Yeah, she does. You’re not dreaming; there was something going on. But I messed it up.”
Mom shook her head. “I doubt that. She’s been devoted to you since you were kids. I doubt she’d give up on you so easily.”
“But I didn’t defend her last night.” He sighed.
“I shouldn’t have stayed quiet while Claire was going on and on about our fake engagement.
I just . . . I knew how much you guys wanted a wedding, and I didn’t want to hurt you.
I had no idea what to say in that moment.
But my inaction . . . I think that’s what hurt Emily the most.”
Jake turned toward the window and spotted the barn in the distance. An idea overtook his mind, and he steepled his fingers.
He was going to find a way to get Emily to talk to him, but first he needed to take care of another issue.
Claire.
Later that evening Jake pushed open the door at the Coffee Bean and breathed in the aroma of freshly roasted coffee and buttery
pastries. He nodded at familiar faces on his way to a booth in the back corner. He adjusted his ball cap on his head and glanced
down at his phone. He’d been grateful when Claire agreed to meet with him, and his plan was to keep this conversation short
and sweet. He’d make his point and then get out of there as fast as possible.
Jake had attempted again to talk to Emily, but by the time he’d made it to the barn, she was gone. The mural was done—and
it was breathtaking—but she was nowhere to be found. He’d tried again to call and text her, but both had gone unanswered.
He hoped that his plan for tomorrow would come together and they could put this awful fight in the books before they moved
toward a future together.
He checked his phone for the hundredth time today to see if Emily had responded to his messages. Finding no response, he sighed
and glanced toward the front of the coffee shop just as Claire pushed through the doors. She caught his eye and waved before
strutting toward the booth.
When she reached the table, she gave him a confused expression. “You’re in a coffee shop, but you’re not drinking coffee.”
“I’m not planning to stay long.”
She pointed toward the counter. “What would you like?”
“Nothing.”
She harrumphed. “Then what’s the point of meeting at the Coffee Bean?”
“Just sit down so we can get this over with,” he seethed, working to keep his flaring temper in check.
She studied him and then did as she was told. “Okay. Go ahead and get it over with.” Her tone mocked him, but he ignored it.
She folded her hands on the table and sat up straight. “I’m ready.”
“Good.” He paused for a moment. “I’m not sure what you were trying to prove by staging a fake engagement party last night.
Maybe it was your idea of the ultimate prank, but you’re not going to get away with it. I told my parents the truth, and now
it’s time for you to tell your parents. We’re not engaged, Claire. I’m not going to marry you. I’m not going to get back together
with you. It’s over. You need to accept it because that is never going to change.”
She stared at him for a moment, and her expression remained blank. “Your mother was so excited last night that she was in
tears. I guess you told her and broke her heart?”
“Actually, she understood completely. I should’ve done it last night. That’s on me.” He leaned forward and tapped his finger
on the table. “Now, I need you to listen to me. I’m done. Don’t call me. Don’t text me. Pretend I don’t exist, because I’m
over you and I’ve already blocked your number. So move on. I sure have.”
“With Emily?” She scrunched her nose as if she smelled something foul.
“Yes.” He leveled his gaze with hers. “Yes, with Emily. I’m crazy about her, and you’re not going to change that.”
She snorted.
“I really don’t care what you think.” Jake pushed himself out of the booth. “Have a nice life.” And as he walked toward the exit, he felt as if a thousand-pound boulder had been lifted off his shoulders.
Now he just needed to convince Emily that he was ready to begin forever with her.
Emily sat across from Andi at the Splendid Kitchen and pushed a piece of meatloaf around on her plate. She’d managed to avoid
Jake the remainder of the day and then texted Andi to ask if she could meet for supper. Emily shared the events that had happened
at Claire’s house and then told Andi about the mural before their server brought their meal.
“Wow,” Andi said. “I never liked Claire that much, but I didn’t imagine she would ever stoop so low as to throw herself a
fake engagement party.”
Emily sagged in the booth. “Yeah. Jake begged me to take him back this morning, but I was so hurt and angry that I couldn’t
do it.”
“I believe that Claire arranged it all. I don’t think Jake would use you like that.”
“I know.” She sighed and summarized what he’d said to her. “I think he meant it.”
Andi reached across the table and touched her hand. “I do too. I truly believe that you two are meant to be together. If he
was begging you to talk to him, then he really cares. Jake’s a genuine guy. He’s one of the few good ones.”
“Emily Carmichael?”
She turned as a middle-aged man stopped by the table. “Yes?”
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I drove by the Hughes Family Orchard today and checked out your mural. It’s really a sight to see,” he exclaimed. “I’m going to take my family to the anniversary celebration tomorrow, and I told my neighbors about it. You’re really, really talented.”
Emily was stunned silent for a moment. “Thanks,” she managed to say.
“I only speak the truth.” The man nodded at Andi. “Enjoy your meal.”
Emily stared after him.
“That was incredible!” Andi said. “Seth drove by the mural today, and he told me about it. I can’t wait to see it tomorrow.
He said the orchard was crazy busy because of it, that all kinds of people wanted to get their photo in front of it. You’re
a viral artist now.” Her smile dissolved. “Are you okay?” She touched Emily’s hand.
“I feel like I’m at this crossroads. I can try to work things out with Jake or go back to Charlotte. And I don’t know what
to do.”
“What’s your heart telling you to do?”
Emily met Andi’s sympathetic gaze. “Give Jake a chance.”
“Then that’s your answer.”
Emily nodded. She agreed with her friend. She just had to find the right time to talk to him.
Emily steered her Jeep toward Jake’s house. She parked in his empty driveway and spotted Dusty sleeping in his front window.
She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel and then pulled out her cell phone. She’d listened to all of Jake’s voicemail
messages and read all of the texts he’d sent, and they basically said the same thing. They begged her to forgive him and talk
to him.
Guilt weighed heavily on her shoulders as she recalled the pain in his voice. She should’ve talked to him earlier in the day, but she was still working through her own heartache. Now she was finally ready to talk, but he wasn’t home.
Maybe it serves me right.
Turning toward the orchard and the barn, she smiled as her heart began to put itself back together. “This is home. Jake is
home. I can’t let go. I love him too much.”
At that moment Emily knew she was going to fight for him, no matter what it took.
She unlocked her phone and then stilled. This wasn’t a conversation she should have on the phone. Instead, she wanted to talk
to him in person.
Jake was hers, and she was going to tell him tomorrow. She stuck her phone in her pocket and then drove toward his parents’
house as a plan came together in her mind.