19
Bracing her arms on the steering wheel, Emma stared at the red light wishing it would turn green. She didn’t expect to be at her attorney’s office for over three hours. Her attorney . The word pairing sounded odd. Life had sure handed her lemons. She could forget about making lemonade, these lemons were old, hard, and crusty. All she wanted to do was to fall into bed and spend as little time talking with Mike and Linda as possible. Her brain was a ball of dust bunnies. Sam better arrive early in the morning.
She dreaded handing the truck keys to Wade. Purplish bruises encased her heart where he was concerned. She’d be leaving Nashville for Whispering Creek and probably wouldn’t see him for a while, if ever. If Cole popped the question, she’d see Wade across the aisle at the wedding. Her spirit free-fell at the thought.
In her gut, she knew a doctor’s release was in Wade’s future. He could get on with service calls and running the business like he did before the crash. Her life was stuck in quicksand.
A peppy honk jarred her into reality. Green light. She hit the accelerator.
“Lord, get me through this hand off to Wade. I need Your strength right now because I am running on fumes.”
She took a deep breath to increase her oxygen levels. The truth of the situation poked her conscience. Wade really didn’t do anything wrong. If their roles were reversed, and an employee was a threat to her parents’ candle business, she’d have fired the employee. Thriving businesses weren’t built in a day, but over years of sacrifice, ingenuity, and grit. What she regretted most was not being able to spend her days with Wade. All her troubles began with an R, not a W. Still, it was hard getting over what resembled a betrayal from a man she was beginning to lo…like.
A white SUV was parked in front of Wade’s house. A geyser of energy streaked through her veins. Sam had arrived a day early like the Calvary.
“Thanks for sending reinforcements, Jesus.”
She wished she had placed a microphone under Wade’s couch, not that it mattered. Her legal woes had taken center stage. She didn’t have plans to return to Nashville unless it was to see her attorney or reclaim her stolen inheritance. She was shutting the truck door on everything that could have been with Wade, and she might as well have slammed her hand in it.
The front door opened, and Sam wrapped her in a big hug.
Emma needed those warm, loving arms to make her body feel real. She wasn’t even going to imagine what an embrace from Wade would feel like. Slow dancing with him rated eleven out of ten.
“I’m so glad you’re here.” Smashed against Sam’s shoulder, her words came out muffled. Why did she have to be shorter than all her friends?
“Someone had to whisk you away to Whispering Creek.” Sam stepped backward and blocked the glare of the porch light. “Herbie misses you, and Ernie keeps asking about the scents wafting from the shed.”
“Those candle scents have been discontinued just like my last two jobs.” She tried to smile, but her mouth was stuck between a grimace and a grin.
Wade hovered a few feet from Sam in the foyer. He looked contrite with puppy eyes and his hands in his jean pockets. Her mind couldn’t process the what-ifs. She threw the keys to Wade. They sailed more forcibly than she had planned.
“Thanks for letting me use your truck. There’s only one new ding.” Ask my heart. “I’m only kidding.” The nerves in her lips started to tap dance. She had to leave before she blubbered, for this day ranked as one of the worst in her life.
“Emma, I’m—”
“Don’t.” Please don’t make me cry. She waved as a fire ignited in her chest. She tugged Sam toward the SUV. Back lit by the foyer lighting, Wade stole her heart once more. One last time. I’m sorry, too.
~*~
After Emma left with Sam, Wade plopped on his leather couch, exhausted as if he had lapped it two hundred times. Even the room reminded him of Emma. His dislike for Ron Runyard bordered on hate, and he hadn’t met the man. Forgive me, Lord. From the grave, Ron was trashing people’s lives.
His phone buzzed, and he glanced at the screen. Great. Cole was calling. No doubt Sam had filled him in on the firing. His muscles tensed as he swiped to answer.
“Hey.” He spoke casually, hiding the implosion of his life.
A gust of breath filled Wade’s ear. “Heard you let Emma go. That must have been tough on you since you two seemed to work well together.”
His brother made him feel lower than a worm snake, but Wade didn’t like an armchair quarterback. Especially one that had never been in charge of the team. He didn’t need his brother’s approval, or any handholding. Wade had worked alongside his father for years and owned fifty-one percent of the business.
“I didn’t want to fire her. It was a direct order from Brent. I wasn’t going to pull Dad off a service call to do the deed. Even though he hired her, and you did your best to encourage it.” He didn’t want to alienate his brother again. Cole had only recently stepped back into the business after Wade’s accident, but truth was truth. Wade’s jaw ached from tamping down his frustration. “Hey, I’m sorry.” Another reminder of Emma.
“Maybe we could have come up with another solution.” Cole sounded discouraged. After Emma stormed out of his life, Wade was drinking from the same glass of discouragement.
“I don’t know.” He’d hoped for a possible long-term relationship with Emma, and it had exploded at work. Wade had shoveled enough blame on himself. Should he have pushed back on the attorney? Hindsight had perfect vision. He didn’t trust his decision-making capabilities right now. “Brent kept asking questions. We didn’t hire Emma the right way, and with her association with Runyard, it all blew up when she had access to his money. I didn’t want any blowback on the company. People count on me for their paychecks.”
“They count on us. Dad and I would have been there for you if anything went south. I’m sorry you had to deal with this because it couldn’t have been easy for you or Emma. I heard you made a good team.” Cole’s words brought Emma front and center into Wade’s brain and showcased how they had learned to complement each other. They’d even become friends. Started going deeper in a relationship. He shared Emma’s anger at the whole situation.
Should he have contacted his dad before firing Emma? His dad had enough on his plate since Wade’s accident. Wade doubted Brent’s advice would have changed even if Dad had reached out. This situation was way beyond his and his dad’s expertise. And it was a galaxy beyond Cole’s.
“Sam mentioned you hired her a lawyer.”
“Brent knew a guy, but I didn’t hire him.” Another thing he would have considered in the office if he hadn’t been blindsided. “Apparently an old roommate handles these types of cases. The guy met with Emma tonight. He works for a big firm downtown.” At least he could steer Emma in the right direction after he dried up her source of income.
“You let her go downtown alone?”
Watch the tone, little brother. He didn’t need another serving of guilt.
“She drove here from Wisconsin all by herself, and she’s driven me all over the city. Sam was here and took her to Mom and Dad’s. I’m Emma’s least favorite person at the moment, except for Runyard, and he’s dead. She made it clear that she didn’t want me around.” He gripped the armrest of the couch. Should he have insisted on going along? The flash drive held millions. “What was I supposed to do? Brent sent a clear message that the company needed to distance itself from Emma. I run the company. Emma is a smart woman, and she made it clear that I should get lost.” He wanted to fire himself over this situation. Oh man, had he messed up.
Cole didn’t reply. Silence settled like humidity before a thunderstorm. He could feel Cole being pulled between the stickiness of family and the concerns of a future fiancé.
“I get it.” Finally, some understanding. “I guess I’m overly cautious because Sam worries about her. But when Emma sets her mind on something, there’s no stopping her. You were in a tough spot.”
He had Emma to thank for the newly filled relationship potholes with Cole. She had helped him release some misplaced animosity toward his brother over the accident. Another reason he should have thought about pushing back against his boss brain and kept super cute, super-organized, superhero-manager Emma.
“I mean, this whole scam fallout is surreal.” Cole’s voice rose like it always did when he was trying to smooth things over. “Did Emma say if she needed anything?”
“Not to me.” He wished he did know what Emma needed. He wished he knew if she thought of him as more than just a friend before the flash drive hit the fan. “I doubt Emma will open up to me anymore.” The statement sent a stab to his heart. Lord, what have I done?
“Anymore? Were you two starting something?” A hint of disbelief made his brother sound as if he had been the one to find a flash drive full of money. “Sam thought you might be.”
“Emma was an employee.” Evasive truth. He wasn’t going to admit anything to Cole. Why bother? Emma would disappear to Whispering Creek or Wisconsin as soon as the attorney got her out of this mess. If the attorney got her out of this mess. Please, Lord, please get Emma out of this mess.
“Well, if I hear any updates from Sam on your former employee, I’ll text you.” Smug Cole had returned. “These problems with Runyard are bound to blow over. I’m praying for you and Emma. Don’t count her out.”
“Thanks.” He was pretty sure he was down for the count with Emma. He should have placed a night drop box on his front door because seeing her distraught and emotional earlier brought a hurricane of hurt and regret. “Text me with news.”
Just when his life was almost back to normal, whirlwind Emma had found an unlocked door to his feelings, ripped it open, and blew off the hinges. All he needed to do was locate the door and try and install it again. If that was even possible.