Chapter Seventeen
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
W ord spread quickly about my mini breakdown in the garden. It was one thing to wallow in my own self-pity, but I quickly realized that the consequences of Teddy’s plan would affect hundreds of people. Actually, lives were at stake.
When I actually had to venture into town for something, which was rare, I was met with the same cold stares and silence that had greeted me when I was a stranger three months ago, but worse somehow. All of these people were counting on me, and I had let them down. I’d let my grandparents down. I’d let myself down.
Nine days after the Harvest Festival, there was a knock on my door. Mayor Cole, Belinda, Mavis, Leonard, Erica, and her husband, Derek, in his uniform, were on the other side. I stood aside to let them in without a word and they followed me into the kitchen.
We seated ourselves at the table and Erica began brewing a pot of coffee. Mavis sighed and sandwiched one of my hands in both of hers, making my tears flow.
“So, how bad is this, Emma?” Mayor Cole asked.
I tearfully recounted my and Teddy’s conversation in the diner and our subsequent conversations. Derek silently paced back and forth in the kitchen, his expression grave.
“So, that’s it?” Leonard asked. “We just lose everything. Everything we’ve worked our asses off for, for the last twenty-and-some odd years, just stops.”
“Yes,” Mavis hissed at him. “What’s the alternative? We knew we were taking a risk when we started this, but it’s been worth it.”
“What if we just told this Teddy fellow to kiss my Black ass?”
“Then he would send all of our asses, Black and otherwise, to prison,” Derek said.
“What about all the people that depend on us? Mavis wouldn’t even be here if not—”
“Baby, that’s enough,” Mavis chided him. She tilted her head at me and gave him a pointed look.
“So, there isn’t any alternative?” Belinda spoke. “This man is a politician, isn’t he? He can be reasoned with. All we have to do is find out what he wants and open up the table for negotiations.”
“Well, Emma?” Mayor Cole raised his eyebrows at me.
I let out a deep sigh.
“Teddy just wants two things. Me, and to be president.” I shrugged.
“God help us if he succeeds in that second one,” Mavis muttered.
“What about Melissa?” Erica whispered. “We can’t go back to the way things were.”
The image of Melissa smiling at me when I walked past her at the will reading popped into my head. She was the one person who had always been kind to me.
“I can fix this,” I blurted out without thinking. “Melissa’s going to be fine. Everything’s gonna be fine. I won’t let Teddy hurt anyone I care about.”
“Oh yeah, Emma? And how do you propose to do that?” Derek asked sardonically. “I’m the head of law enforcement. I have a sick child. I have a family that I love. There’s no room for wishful thinking here. I think the best thing to do is cut our losses and figure out our next moves.”
“Maybe we should give Emma a chance,” Erica said to her husband. Derek scoffed.
“How long do we have until the deal is finalized?” Mayor Cole asked.
“Ten days.” I swallowed and cast my eyes to the ceiling. There was a collective groan around the kitchen.
“And you really think you can change this guy’s mind in ten fucking days?!” Derek shouted.
“Lower your voice and watch your language,” Belinda admonished him before turning to me. “Emma?” She raised an eyebrow.
“I have to try.” I looked around at the faces of the people crowding my kitchen. Their expressions held as much confidence in me as I felt in my ability to change Teddy’s mind about the town, which was not much.
They slowly filed out of the house until I was left alone with my guilt and empty promises.
“Hey, girl!” Becks’s cheerful voice called from the speaker of my phone. “I was just thinking I haven’t heard from you in a while. That’s what good dick will do to you.” She chuckled. “Em? Are you there?”
I could only sob in reply.
“Take a deep breath. Start from the beginning, and tell me everything,” she said, and that’s exactly what I did.
Talking to my best friend felt good, but it also made me feel horrible. Recounting the events of the last week and hearing myself say them out loud was sobering. She offered to come down and stay with me. A part of me was tempted to say yes, but I declined. Dan was gone. Everyone in town hated me. My ex-boyfriend was torturing me emotionally. Worst of all, I was running out of wine. After my conversation with the mayor, the sheriff, their wives, Mavis, and Leonard, I couldn’t bring myself to go into town to get more.
I thought about my conversation with my mother, and I felt terrible. I was sad and lonely, and for one insane moment, I wanted to be comforted by her voice.
The phone rang and I held my breath. I was fully prepared to apologize, to tell her she was right about everything. The phone continued to ring, making me wonder if she was screening my call. Just when I was about to hang up, I was greeted by a familiar deep voice.
“Hi, Daddy,” I whispered into the phone.
“Hey, baby girl.” His voice was resigned, and I knew my mother must have told him about our last phone call.
“Is she there?”
“Yes.” He sighed. “She’s in her office.”
“Is she still mad at me?” I sniffled.
“Emma, you said a lot of hurtful things.”
“So did she!” I protested. “I only wanted the truth.”
“Well, the truth is that losing your sister was the worst pain that I’ve ever experienced. The truth is, I’m still experiencing it. The worst of it was watching you and your mother suffer through it. The weight of our grief almost broke our marriage.”
“What? How did you get through it?”
“We had you.” He let out a small chuckle. “Even as a little girl, you always tried so hard to take care of other people and make sure everyone else was okay. Sometimes I wondered if that was healthy for you, or too much weight to put on a little girl.”
I wanted to tell him that it was, but I didn’t want to hurt him, and I also wanted him to keep talking.
“And love, baby girl. I love your mother very much and I always will. We made a vow to each other, even before we walked down the aisle, that we would always be there for each other. Nothing would be stronger than our bond to each other. We’ve been tested time and time again, but you don’t give up on the people you love.”
“I love you, Dad.” I sighed into the phone.
“I love you too, Baby Girl,” he replied.
After a few moments, I added, “Could you tell Mom that I love her, too?”
“She knows, but I’ll pass on the message.” He let out a small sigh. “Is everything else okay?”
“Yes,” I lied, triggering a fresh flow of hot tears down my face. “I have to go. I’ll talk to you soon.”
My phone call with my father made me miss Dan even more. I also felt pity for my parents and lamented my last phone call with my mother.
I thought I had reached my lowest point, but I was wrong.
I’d passed out on the couch, clutching Dan’s king, when I woke up to my phone ringing. I snatched my phone off the coffee table and swiped to answer it before I could look at the screen.
“Dan?”
“No, it’s Teddy,” he growled in an irritated voice, which was slightly satisfying. “I’m just calling to make sure everything’s gonna be ready next week. Preston Smith, his bosses, Mama and Daddy, a couple of my deep-pocket donors, and some big Georgia media outlets are coming to tour the town and watch us close the deal. Everything better be perfect, or you’ll be talking to your precious Dan during visiting hours.”
I ended the call, found the half-empty mug of wine, and swallowed the last of it before passing out on the couch again.
Usually, one needs a celebration to drink champagne. In my case, I was celebrating the fact that I had consumed all of the wine in the house and there was nothing else left to drink. It’s possible that I looked as terrible as I smelled, but I wouldn’t know because it had been days since I’d gone upstairs or had even come close to looking in a mirror.
My phone rang and I didn’t recognize the number, but I picked up anyway. I almost dropped the phone when I heard the voice on the other end.
“Emma, darling. I’ve missed you.”
“Nina?” I asked.
“Of course, sweetie. Who else would I be?”
“I’m just surprised to hear from you,” I stammered.
“I know, I know. We had an unfortunate falling-out.”
“You fired me,” I reminded her.
“Yes,” she said with a deep sigh. “All right. Let’s not beat around the bush here. I need you to come back.”
“Nina, I—”
“I know I said I’d give you time to think about it, but I’m done waiting. Before you say anything, listen to what I have to offer. LA is still happening, and I need you. I am willing to admit that letting you go was a mistake. I didn’t get to where I am without being willing to accept my failures, fix them, and move forward.”
“Okay, but—”
“I want you to head up the LA division. You would have to relocate, but this opportunity isn’t one that will ever come around again. It also comes with a raise and a partnership in the firm. You’re at the top of your game, the perfect person to shoulder this responsibility, so please don’t waste either of our precious time by telling me no or that you need time to think. Just say yes and I’ll have my lawyers get started on the paperwork.” A long pause followed. “Emma, say yes,” Nina repeated.
“Yes,” I finally whispered and flopped backward onto the couch with the phone to my ear and the bottle of champagne still gripped in my fist.
“Perfect. Talk soon!” The call ended.
Two weeks ago, I never would have considered going back to work at the firm, but with my life crumbling around me, I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice. I had to accept that, after decades of exhausting perfection, I’d finally failed at something: my relationship with Dan and the town’s residents who’d trusted me with my grandparents’ farm. I had to mentally prepare myself to return to a life I hated, but one I at least knew how to navigate. Plus, once I knew that the town’s residents were safe, I could relocate to LA and start fresh where no one knew me.
I sniffled and wiped my nose on my robe before feeling myself drift off to sleep on the couch again. I dreamed that I heard the front door creaking open. I called Dan’s name, and everything faded to black.