Chapter Six
Jake
I’ve spent the past four years convincing myself that Emily Grey doesn’t matter. One look at her proved I was wrong.
The moment the boy’s arm is wrapped and secured to his chest, she pats his shoulder. “I know you can walk, buddy, but with the hit you took to your head, I think you need a cool ambulance ride.” She tips her head sideways and arches her eyebrows. “What do you say?”
“Lights and sirens?” The boy mimics her expression.
“Sure.” She grins, and my traitorous heart skips a beat.
It shouldn’t be possible, but Emily is even more stunning than she was at eighteen.
“I think we can manage that, but the sirens only for a few seconds. We don’t want to worry anyone about your condition.
” She glances over her shoulder at her partner. “What do you say, Dale?”
“You’re on.” He winks and clasps the kid’s mother’s upper arm. “Do you have a ride to the hospital?”
“Yes.” The woman’s face is stark as she wrings her hands together.
“Good.” Dale lets go of her arm and wheels the gurney toward us while Emily remains squatted beside the boy.
“You’re in good hands.” She winks playfully at the kid. “Dale here hasn’t had a car accident in two weeks, even though he drives like he’s on a racetrack.” She says the last like they’re conspiring to report him to the police. Which is me. But she’s not telling me anything.
“Really?” Clint’s eyes light up with interest. Yep, he’s all boy and a daredevil. I remember those carefree days.
“I’m teasing. Although he does drive a little crazy.”
“Bummer.” The boy wrinkles his nose.
Dale grips the gurney as he steps on the wheellocks. “Once we get you all patched up, you need to promise no more acrobatics on the park equipment.” The man has a barrel chest and looks like he could plow me over with an outstretched hand and a poke to the chest.
“Yes, Sir.”
Emily’s gaze darts to mine. Her hazel eyes don’t hold an ounce of warmth. “Thank you, Officer Thompson.”
Officer Thompson? Seriously? That’s all I get? I was at her house more than I was at my own during the last two years of high school. We ate dinner together nearly every night, and at least twice a week, we hung out in the living room watching movies.
Anger floods through me. “You’re welcome, Em.”
“Don’t call me that,” she says with a voice that’s barely above a whisper, but the underlying hostility is unmistakable. “I go by Emily now. Or better yet, EMT Grey.”
“It’s nice to see you’re still stomping your foot like a child.”
“I’m not a child.”
“Then stop acting like one.” I rotate my shoulders and straighten my spine. The scent of her perfume swirls around me. Vanilla and jasmine. It used to make me want to bury my face in her hair. Now it makes my stomach turn.
Half the damn town is watching us like we’re tonight’s entertainment.
“Then stop bossing me around,” she snaps. “Once we’re on the scene, we take over. Can you manage to remember that? Or did that four-year degree teach you nothing about staying in your own lane?”
Right. Let it go. You’re not here to rekindle friendships with the locals. You’re here to do your job. I rise from my squatted position and rub my hands over my thighs as they transition Clint to the cart.
As I take a step toward Clint’s mom, two teenage boys jog by tossing a football back and forth between them.
After catching a lob from his friend, the redheaded kid says, “Hey, aren’t you Jake Thompson?”
“Yes.” I nod and rotate my shoulders. Crouching for that long has my back knotted with tension.
“I watched you play football when I was in fifth grade. You were my idol.” The redheaded teenager, who’s the taller of the two boys, shoves out his hand. “My name’s Todd, and this is Damion. I’m a receiver, and Damion’s a cornerback.”
“Hey.” The boy with ebony hair and black-rimmed glasses lifts his hand and gives me a brief wave.
“How’s the team this year?”
Most of the crowd has dispersed, except for a woman rubbing the upper back of Clint’s mother. I don’t recognize either one of them, which is unusual in a small town. They’re clearly new to Brookhaven.
“We’re four and one.” A leaf from the massive oak tree that stands watch over the blue painted jungle gym flutters to the ground to join the other golden-tinted leaves that’ve fallen.
“Isn’t Levi Wood the quarterback?” Levi is the younger brother of Dominic, one of my best friends.
“Yes, he is.”
“I’ll have to take in a game.” I shove my hands into my pockets as the hairs on the back of my neck stand. I don’t have to turn around to know that Emily is glaring at me. It takes everything inside of me to keep from turning around and laying into her.
What does she have to be pissed off at me for? I tried to help her out of a bad situation, and she threw it in my face. And now, she’s angry at me? I’m the one who has every right to tell her to fuck off, not the other way around.
“Definitely show up. We’d love to have you there,” Damion says as he tips his head toward his friend, causing his hair to flop at the ends. “Todd and I’d love to hear your advice.”
After they jog off, I approach Clint’s mother. “He’s a strong kid. He’s going to be just fine.”
“Thank you.” She smiles weakly. “I’m always telling him not to do crazy things, but he never listens.
Maybe this time, he’ll realize he’s not invincible.
” She tosses a strand of blonde hair behind her shoulder and bites her bottom lip.
“I’m new in town. I moved here after my divorce from Clint’s father. You seem to be quite the celebrity.”
“Uh…. Thanks.”
“My name is Rebecca. Rebecca Morales.” She rests her hand on my upper back and tips her tits toward me. “Thank you so much for helping my boy.”
When her thumb brushes along my shoulder blade, I force down a groan. “You’re welcome.” The last thing I need is for someone to throw themselves at me when I’m working.
“Would you–”
“Your son is in good hands.” I step to the side, causing her hand to drop. “It was a pleasure to meet you.”
“Uh…” Rebecca’s face turns red as she clears her throat. “Thank you.”
She’s a pretty woman. Nice figure. Seems like a good mom. None of that means a damn thing to me. I can’t remember the last time I was interested in hooking up with someone. God, that makes me sound pathetic.
Emily grabs the gurney handle nearest Clint’s head as her partner grasps the other end. Together, they roll the cart toward the ambulance.
When she’s beside me, her eyes flash with anger. “We’re here as public servants to the community, not to hear everyone gush about the town golden boy.” Her voice is again low enough, so that no one else can hear her.
“And you still think you know everything about me.”
“I know enough.” Her jaw flexes as she marches past me.
Obviously, Miss High and Mighty. Apparently, she’s forgotten the last time we saw each other when she was behaving like a spoiled kid.
I warned her about Spencer. And she still laughed with him. Sat with him. Touched him. Like I didn’t matter at all. The worst part wasn’t even the kiss. The worst thing was realizing she’d been smiling at him the whole damned time.
“Take care of yourself, Em.”
Her back straightens, but she makes no other move to show she heard me. Like I’m not worth acknowledging.
A cloud slips over the sun, sending a shadow in front of me as Emily slams the ambulance door shut. Her shoulders slump like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders before she slips around the other side of the vehicle. And just like that, she’s gone.
Like she was never there at all.
I slide into the cruiser and report to the station that the boy is on his way to the hospital for an evaluation.
“There’s an animal rescue needed at the corner of Cedar Ridge and Main. Kitten in a tree.”
“I’m on my way.” I yank the gearshift into drive and pull onto the street.
Some people might not see the importance of retrieving a kitten from a tree, but to the little girl crying on the sidewalk, and to the desperate animal in the tree, I’m a superhero.
Emily isn’t the girl I remember. Which is a problem. Because apparently, I still want her. I shake my head at my own stupidity. I should’ve never come back to Brookhaven.