Chapter 41
CHAPTER
FORTY-ONE
Emelia
Idid some more digging today and found out that all three of those LLCs were filed by the same attorney. That can’t be a coincidence, but it’s not exactly proof either. So I dug some more, and what I found has me even more on edge.
The three properties in question fill a gap in and around the parcel we’re trying to acquire from the town council, and create a much larger, continuous stretch of lakefront. But the parcel the town owns is smack dab in the middle, connecting them all.
I’ve been here selling a contained development to the residents of Echo Lake, and I’m starting to wonder if that’s not the reality at all.
That feeling of dread in my stomach only grew throughout the day. And pulling into the driveway and coming upon Elliott talking to Kate? What a way to end an already terrible day.
I thought a lot about Baylor today, wondering how she was feeling about meeting her mom.
Elliott hasn’t reached out to me since I came upon him in the driveway, and I haven’t reached out to him either. He’s going through it today, and I figure he knows where to find me.
What once felt easy and natural between us is feeling more strained. I’m not sure if it’s because Kate has popped back into his life and he’s dealing with a lot, or if it would have happened anyway as my time here in Echo Lake ends.
The time to say goodbye is approaching. I know that when we started up, we both said that we wouldn’t worry about what it might become, but the truth is, we knew it couldn’t last. I’m leaving. That’s a fact.
I’ve just changed into a pair of flannel pajama pants and a tank top when there’s a knock on the door.
It’s late, later than usual for Elliott to seek me out.
I open the door and find him there, shirtless and wearing a pair of pajama bottoms not unlike my own.
His eyes drop to my pants. “Great minds.”
I lift an eyebrow. “Aren’t you cold?”
He shrugs and steps inside. “It’s not that long a walk across the yard. You could go shirtless too. Give it a try.”
A laugh escapes me as I close the door behind him. When I turn around, we stare at each other for a beat, the weight of everything pressing down between us.
“How are you?” I ask.
He takes two steps forward, erasing the distance between us, and pulls me into an embrace, tucking his head into the crook of my neck. I relax into his arms, wrapping mine around him and taking in the warmth and security of his body surrounding mine.
“I wanted to tell Kate to leave about a hundred times during her visit.”
I nod, squeezing him harder.
He pulls back and tucks a piece of hair behind my ear.
“When I went back into the house after she left, I talked to Baylor. I wanted to see how she felt about the visit. She was already changed into a dress that Kate brought for her, and she demanded that she be able to sleep in it tonight. She’s amped up, for sure, but I can tell there is still some uncertainty about what it all means. ”
“That makes sense. It’s a big change for her.”
He nods. “I know. I just wish I knew the answer, that’s all. I still don’t feel like I can trust Kate.”
I bring my hand to his chest. “That will take time.”
He sighs and tips his head back, staring at the ceiling for a beat. “Yeah, yeah, I guess. I just wish I could be sure.”
“Elliott, listen,” I say, and he lowers his chin and meets my eyes.
“I’m a grown woman, not a child, but I can say I’m glad I found out more information about my birth mother.
I haven’t spoken to my cousin since, and I don’t know that I will, but regardless, I’m happy to stop wondering.
To stop making up scenarios in my head about what she looked like, what she might have been like, what that side of my family was like.
I have to believe that Baylor will be the same as she gets older. ”
“I just don’t want her to be hurt.”
My chest tightens. Neither do I, though I’m not sure I have any right to that feeling.
“One thing is for certain. You don’t want her ever thinking you kept her mother from her.
What Kate does from this point forward is on Kate, not you.
You’ve given her a chance to right her wrongs.
Baylor will understand that as she grows up. ”
He lets his forehead rest against mine. “When did you get so smart?”
“Years of repressing my feelings did wonders for me.”
He chuckles, then brings his lips to mine.
This is the closest I’ve felt with him since Kate made her reappearance, and since I discovered something more troubling might be happening with the development.
Both things can jeopardize everything we have, and as much as his ex’s reappearance affects him and Baylor, the Kate thing seems minor compared to the development thing.
The thought of that, and how Elliott would feel if I deceived him, whether intentional or not, has me pulling back from our kiss.
He tilts his head. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, just a long day, that’s all.”
A line forms between his brows. “Anything I can help with?”
I shake my head. “Nothing a good night’s sleep can’t fix.”
That’s a lie. Because if what I suspect is true, a night of good rest won’t change anything. Especially not how Elliott—and the rest of the people in this town—will see me.
I’ll be the enemy…the outsider. Again.