15. Emerson
CHAPTER 15
Emerson
H ow did I not hear him come in? How could I have possibly missed the fact that he was right here in the house, watching me the whole goddamn time?
“Emerson!”
I can’t find my voice. Shaking, I inch toward him, eying the door as I consider running. Fight or flight, right? But I’m a twenty-eight-year-old woman, not a toddler. I can’t just run away.
I brush past him. “I have to go.”
“With our toothbrushes?” he demands dubiously. “Are you collecting our DNA?”
Oh, he’s definitely onto me. There’s no denying what I’m doing. But I still can’t bring myself to confess the truth to him.
Almost in a sprint, I rush toward the front of the house where I’d left my running shoes and half jam my feet into them before bursting out the door and making my way toward the coach house to lock myself in. I’m shocked he didn’t try to grab my arm or stop me in some way.
Panting and trembling, I lean against the door and stare at the baggies in my hand, wondering what the hell I’m going to do with them now. I have the DNA I need, so I can get a paternity test done.
But at what cost? I still need to explain all this to the triplets somehow.
I turn and look into the darkness, expecting to see Brock storming toward the coach house after me, but I don’t see him.
I’m acting like a lunatic. He probably has no idea what to make of what just happened.
And where are his brothers?
Beads of cold sweat break out over my forehead as I push off the door and hurry upstairs to the loft to lie down and collect my bearings for a minute. Dizziness and nausea threaten to consume me, but I don’t let them as I tuck the toothbrushes under the mattress and take deep breaths.
“It’s okay,” I say to the empty coach house. “Everything is going to be okay.”
I should call Mae. Mae will be the voice of reason. She’ll talk me down.
Sitting up, I head back down the stairs to find my phone and again look out the window warily. There’s still no sign of Brock or anyone else. The lack of movement is almost as daunting as the idea of seeing him.
“Hi, sugar,” Mae answers sweetly. “How are you feeling?”
“Brock caught me looking for his DNA,” I blurt out hysterically. “What the fuck am I going to do?”
“Oh shit!” She sounds appalled. “What do you mean? What did you do?”
I can only imagine where her mind is going. “Geez, Mae!”
“What?!”
“I was in their house while they were at a fundraiser, and I took their toothbrushes, but Brock came home early and caught me.”
“Oh… well, that’s not so bad.”
“It’s bad, because now, I have to explain why I was doing it!”
“Oh… well, yeah, I suppose that’s bad. But honey, you were going to need to do that eventually anyway, weren’t you?”
I grit my teeth.
“What did he say?” she asks.
“Nothing! I took off without explaining!”
“Took off? Where?” she demands.
“I’m at my place now, waiting for the world to implode.”
She exhales. “Look, Emmy, just go back to the house, and tell them what’s going on. One way or another, the truth has got to come out. Frankly, it’s their own damn fault for being so drunk that they didn’t recognize you anyway, isn’t it?”
“There’s enough blame for everyone here,” I sigh.
“I don’t know why you’re even calling me for this. You know what needs to be done.”
She’s right, of course.
“Fine. I’ll do it in the morning when they’re all here,” I mutter.
“I would do it tonight, or that poor man’s going to think you’re doing some kind of ritual sacrifice with his toothbrush,” she teases.
“No, he asked if I was after his DNA. They aren’t dumb.”
“Well, maybe he’s put it all together by now, and you don’t need to bother with any of it,” she reasons. “In any case, let me know how it goes.”
“All right,” I mumble. “Thanks, Mae.”
“Good luck, Emmy.”
I hang up and look out of the loft window toward the back of the property. The full moon illuminates the trees along the back, and a scrawny coyote slinks into the shadows. My heart pangs at the sight as I remember my first day here and how I thought I’d never get used to the beauty of the sight.
I’m going to miss it here.
Too bad it was so short-lived. I would have liked to have enjoyed it just a bit longer, but I didn’t plan this out very well.
But the baby I’m carrying, this will be their birthright, won’t it? Maybe one day they will grow up to enjoy this property if their father does right by them.
I draw in a shaky breath and close my eyes. Here’s to hoping.