Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
When they reached the parking lot, a dirt field next to the farmers' market, Emmalyn's hands were sweating, and her heart was pounding hard against her chest. Her anxiety was moving into panic, and if she'd been driving, she might have turned around and left.
Hunter gave her a questioning look as he turned off the engine, and she made no effort to get out of the car.
"I don't know if I can do this," she muttered, meeting his concerned gaze.
"You don't have to," he returned. "We can leave right now."
The fact that he didn't say she should suck it up and do what she'd come to do made her like him even more. "I don't have to," she agreed. "I don't owe my mother anything. But I do owe my aunt. She saved me, Hunter. And she's the one who asked for my help. She's the reason I came. I can't let her down."
"Okay."
"I also don't want my mother to be sick or unhappy. And I do want her to leave Haven. I just don't know if I can face hearing her say no again. I'll be angry and also incredibly sad. Why do I need to put myself through that?"
"You don't."
"But my aunt is trying so hard to save her. She has never given up on my mom. She's a better person than me."
"They have a different relationship. It's not the same."
"But her determination and courage are why I'm free. Why I've been able to live a normal life."
Hunter didn't say anything, and as the quiet of the car swirled around them, she knew she couldn't leave. She also couldn't sit here all day. "I'm going to do it."
He gave her a faint smile. "I figured."
"Really? You didn't think I was going to run? Because I did."
"You're a strong woman, Emmalyn, and surprisingly more complex than I imagined you'd be when we first met."
"Most people are complex. I used to think when they made us all wear the same clothes at the compound that they wanted us to believe we were all exactly the same, but we weren't." She shook her head and let out a breath. "None of that matters now. I'm going to get out of this car, meet my aunt, and hopefully have a conversation with my mother. I doubt whatever we will say to her will work. But at least, I will have tried. And I can live with that."
"Then let's go."
Hunter swung open his car door and stepped out. Emmalyn followed suit, her heart hammering against her ribs as they walked through the entrance. The farmers' market contained at least fifty booths arranged in meandering rows, each one a small universe unto itself. Fresh produce gleamed under the morning sun: pyramids of bright red tomatoes, bundles of kale and arugula, and crates of ripe peaches and strawberries. Artisanal bakers arranged displays of sourdough loaves alongside pastries that sent delicious scents of cinnamon and butter into the air.
Beyond the essential provisions, the market boasted a gallery of local craftsmanship. Silver jewelry caught the light, handwoven textiles draped from rustic displays, and watercolor landscapes captured the hills visible in the distance.
Children's laughter spilled from a cordoned play area where face-painted toddlers chased bubbles, their parents watching from shaded tables near a retrofitted Airstream trailer that dispensed everything from espresso to botanical teas.
The market pulsed with weekend joy, everyone reveling in the simple pleasure of buying fresh food. Everyone except her . The weight of her impending reunion pressed against her chest, making each breath shallow.
Hunter suddenly reached out and took her hand. His touch was warm and shockingly welcome as she sought stability in a swirling sea of uncertainty.
"Do you see your aunt?" he asked.
"Not yet," she said, but then she turned her head and there she was—Linda McGuire, a tall woman with brown hair and brown eyes and an energy that never seemed to flag. When Linda wasn't trying to save her sister or raise her niece, she'd been running an interior design business that had supported both of them. She was the kind of woman who could juggle a million balls and never drop one.
She let go of Hunter's hand as Linda looked up from her phone and saw her. Relief ran across her features, and she quickly moved forward, as if she were afraid Emmalyn might disappear.
"You made it," Linda said, giving her a hug. "Thank you."
"I don't know if I'm going to be able to help you get the result you want."
"You're here. That's all I wanted." Her aunt's gaze moved to Hunter, then back to her, with a questioning gleam in her eyes.
"This is Hunter Kane. He lives in my building," she said. Hunter was quickly becoming more than just a guy who lived at Ocean Shores, but she was too stressed out to even try to explain who he was to her.
"Nice to meet you, Hunter. I'm Linda McGuire."
He gave her a nod. "I'm going to let you both do what you need to do. But I'll keep an eye on you, if that's okay. I won't be too far away"
"It would be better if you kept your distance," her aunt said. "I don't want to spook Sara. She's going to be very nervous just seeing Emmalyn."
"What about the people she's working with?" she asked. "Will they let her leave?"
"It's usually a group of three women, and they each take breaks. Sara has told me in the past that they have a driver who drops them off and comes back at two when the market closes, so hopefully, this will go smoothly."
"Where are we meeting her?" she asked.
"I'll hang back," he assured Linda.
"Behind the last jewelry booth in the second row," her aunt said, checking her watch. "It's almost eleven. We should go now."
"Does Mom know I'm coming?" she asked as they started walking, Hunter lagging behind them.
"Last time I saw her, I told her I would try to get you here," Linda replied. "But she seemed doubtful you'd come."
"I almost didn't. It feels so hopeless, Aunt Linda. Mom will never leave Haven."
"She was different the last time I saw her, Emmalyn. She knows she's sick, and she's afraid she's getting worse. But it's not just her illness that's weakening her tie to them. Jeremy has moved on to someone else, someone younger. She said she got moved into a room with three other women. She's sleeping on a bunk bed and working from dawn to dusk."
"I'm sure she'll find another man to take her into his room and pretend to care for her. She's always been so needy for male attention."
"I know," Linda agreed. "She never got love from our father, and she kept trying to find it somewhere else. I'm just praying that if she's not so tightly tied to Jeremy, she'll be able to walk away."
She looked at her aunt in admiration. "You never give up, do you?"
"I can't give up. Sara is my sister. I'll fight forever to get her back."
She felt guilty for not feeling the same, but the only way she'd been able to move on with her life was to let go of her mother and stop praying for the impossible.
When they reached the jewelry booth, they walked around the side of it, and there was no one there. She exchanged a worried look with her aunt.
"We're a little early. She'll show up," Linda said confidently.
She saw Hunter meandering around the booth across from them, which featured leather belts and wallets. At least he wasn't stuck pretending to look at earrings.
Tapping her foot and crossing her arms, she tried to take some deep breaths, because she had a lot of anxiety coursing through her body, and it had nowhere to go.
Finally, a woman came through the crowd. She was short and thin, wearing a long blue skirt and a long-sleeve white blouse, which was the travel uniform.
Emmalyn's breath caught in her throat as she realized how much weight her mother had lost. While the clothes masked her body, her mom's face was very thin, and her hair had turned gray.
When her mom saw them both, her step faltered, and for a moment, Emmalyn thought she might run in the opposite direction. Then she took a breath and moved forward, coming around the side of the booth. They moved farther toward the woods behind them, putting some distance between themselves and the crowded market.
Her mother's gaze ran across her face and down her body. "You're so pretty, Emmy," she said, her old nickname slipping through her lips.
Her heart squeezed despite her resolve to not get emotional. "Hello, Mom."
"You look well," her mother continued. "Are you happy?"
"I am. I'm a teacher now."
"That's what Linda told me. Kindergarten, right? You were always so good with the younger children, so kindhearted."
"I didn't come here to talk about me. You don't look good, Mom. Aunt Linda says you're ill. You need medical care, and I want to help you."
"I'm feeling better," her mother said, which was clearly not true. There was not one part of her that looked healthy—not her hair, her skin, or her body.
"Don't lie to her, Sara," Linda said sharply. "You're not better. And you know it. The herbs they're giving you aren't working. You look worse than the last time I saw you. Are you eating at all?"
"I haven't been that hungry, and natural remedies have always been enough for our community," her mom said, but her voice lacked conviction. "I'm just getting older."
"You're forty-seven, Sara."
Linda's words actually surprised Emmalyn. She'd almost forgotten that her mom was only forty-seven. She looked more like sixty.
"I'll be all right." Her mom's mouth quivered. "I'm sorry, Emmy. I know I failed you."
She was shocked to get an apology. Maybe her mother's resolve was not as strong as it had once been. "If you want to make it up to me, you'll let Aunt Linda take you to the hospital to get some care."
"We can go today," Linda said.
"I don't have anything…no money, nothing."
"You don’t need anything. You have us. We're your family, Sara. We always have been."
"I—I don't know." Her mother gave them both a terrified look. "How can I leave? I don't know any other life. It's too late. It's been too long."
"I didn't know any other life when I had to start over, Mom. And I was a child. But you had a life before you went to Haven. And you can have one now if you come with us. I want you to get better. I hate seeing you like this."
"I would think you would hate me for more than my appearance."
"I have a lot of emotions about you," she said, unwilling to pretend she didn't. "But you're my mother, and if there's a chance we can start again and you can get better at the same time, I want to take it. But you have to want to take it, too."
Her mother gave her a look of anguish. "I'm scared, Emmy."
"I know, but you're not alone. Aunt Linda and I will help you get better. You can do this. But you have to decide now."
"Emmalyn's right," her aunt said. "This is your second chance, Sara. Please take it."
Her mother hesitated and drew in a breath that seemed to come from deep down in her body, shaking her limbs. She held it for a long second and then let it out. "Okay."
Emmalyn couldn't quite believe her answer. "Okay?"
Her mother nodded, her face tight, her eyes wide with fear.
"Let's go," her aunt said.
They started walking, each taking one of her mother’s hands, positioning themselves on either side like protective sentinels.
Hunter met her gaze, assessed the situation, and immediately followed. Every step they took was filled with tension. She was afraid her mother would change her mind and bolt, or that someone from the commune would see them and try to stop them. But they made it to the parking lot without anyone shouting or coming after them.
"I'll take her in my car," her aunt said. "I'm just over there." She pointed to a gray SUV in the second row, which was only a few vehicles away from Hunter's car, so they headed in that direction.
Ten steps away from the car, a male voice rang out, and they froze.
"Sara, stop!" a man shouted.
Emmalyn turned her head to see a tall man with a graying beard approaching them. Despite the years, she recognized him immediately—Jeremy. His eyes were as cold as she remembered, his mouth set in a thin, disapproving line beneath his beard.
"Get back here, Sara."
"I—I have to leave," Sara mumbled so quietly there was no way Jeremy could hear her.
"You're coming with me," Jeremy said.
As he stepped forward, Hunter jumped in front of him.
"She's not going anywhere with you," Hunter said forcefully.
Jeremy looked Hunter up and down, probably noting his height and strength advantage, his military bearing and the hard set of his jaw. "This doesn't concern you," Jeremy said. "They're trying to take my wife."
"Sara can make her own choices. If she wants to leave, she leaves," Hunter returned.
Jeremy's lips tightened. "You can't do this, Sara. I'm your family."
"I'm her daughter," Emmalyn said fiercely. "And she's coming with me. Get in the car, Mom." She looked at her mother, who gazed back at her in conflict. "Please," she added.
The simple word seemed to convince her. Linda opened the back door and then grabbed her mom's hand and got her into the car while Hunter prevented Jeremy from getting any closer.
"You'll be sorry, Sara," Jeremy warned. "This isn't the end. And when you come back, things won't be good for you."
Her aunt slammed the door shut so her mother could no longer hear Jeremy's threats.
"Leave her alone," Linda told Jeremy. "She's done with you."
Jeremy's anger flared, and he took another step in their direction.
"Don't," Hunter ordered. "Walk away."
Jeremy's expression tightened, but he clearly realized he was no match for the younger, taller, stronger Hunter. After a tense moment, he stepped back.
Emmalyn hadn't planned on going with her mom and aunt, but she didn't want to leave them alone in case Jeremy tried to follow them. Hunter gave her a subtle nod, so she got into the back seat with her mom. Linda started the car and drove past both men, dust swirling up behind them, finally blocking them from view.
Turning back to her mother, she saw her visibly shaking. She put her arms around her as tears streamed from her eyes. "It's okay, Mom. You did it. You're free now."
Her mother didn't answer, but it didn't matter because she'd finally gotten her back, and she wasn't going to let her go. She met her aunt's gaze in the rearview mirror and saw tears on her aunt's face as well. This rescue had been a long time coming, and it was all because Linda had never given up on her sister.
After a few minutes, Hunter called her on the phone.
"I'm right behind you," he said. "I don't think that guy is following you, but I'm keeping an eye out."
"Thank you," she said gratefully.
"No problem. Where are you going?"
She paused at the question. "Hang on. Aunt Linda, would Jeremy know where you live? Should we go to my apartment?"
"I'm house-sitting for a friend for the next few months. The address is 211 Franklin Place in La Jolla," Linda said. "I don't think anyone from Haven would know my address, but I wanted to be sure, so I'm staying elsewhere for a while."
"You thought of everything," she murmured, impressed with her aunt's planning.
"She always did," her mom said. "Linda was better at planning ahead than I was."
She got back on the phone and gave him the address.
"I'll see you there," Hunter said.
"Was that the man who stopped Jeremy?" her mother asked as she ended the call.
"Yes. He's a…friend."
"Well, he has my gratitude," Linda said. "I'm not sure we could have gotten away without him. I didn't think Jeremy would be at the market, Sara."
"He decided to come at the last minute," her mother replied. "I didn't have time to tell you. He's going to come after me, or he'll send someone. They don't let people just leave."
"They don't have a choice," she told her mom. "You're done with them. This is a new chapter."
"Maybe. But I don't know how long this chapter will last. I think something is really wrong with me," her mother said.
Her lips tightened as she looked into her mother's very sickly face and hoped that this rescue hadn't come too late.