Chapter 23
23
Emily
E mma hurried inside, ducking her head so none of the Palmer family could see just how upset she was. Already, she could tell she was a complete wreck. Her skin felt tight and dry from all the tears. Her eyes itched with every movement.
On the way home, her chest hurt so much she thought she might be having a heart attack and she’d pulled over on the side of the road. When she’d confirmed it was just a pain she’d never experienced before—the pain of losing someone she loved—she’d forced herself to finish the drive back to Sophia’s home.
It had taken a good ten minutes to get up the courage to go inside. She knew she’d inevitably bump into someone in Sophia’s family. And just like the revelation when she’d met Charlie, Emma knew it wouldn’t go over very well.
There was a very real chance that Caleb would tell Mateo. Emma didn’t know Sophia’s brother well enough to gauge whether she’d be safe here after that. If Mateo had a similar outlook as Caleb, she might be on the road a lot sooner than she’d planned.
Emma made it to Sophia’s room and shut the door as quickly as she possibly could. All she had to do was hide away for the next twenty-four hours, then she could catch the bus in town and leave.
Twenty-four hours. That was the soonest she’d be able to leave this place and all the bad memories it held behind.
Leaning against the door, she listened for any sign that she’d been followed up to Sophia’s room. The only one she expected was Sophia herself. And since they’d been sharing a room since her friend had returned home, Sophia was bound to notice something had changed. It was only a matter of time.
When Emma was no longer worried about an intrusion, she walked across the room and picked up her phone. The temptation to go through her notifications wasn’t nearly strong enough that she was willing to put herself through that sort of trauma—not after what she’d already gone through.
Already, she knew that more than half of them would be frustrated or angry messages from people whose lives she’d upended.
Tossing the phone on the bed once more, she leaned over. Elbows on her knees and head in her hands, she sucked in several deep breaths. That interaction with Caleb had been ten times worse than she had planned. She’d known he was going to be upset—but to that degree?
The worst part was that she couldn’t blame him. He had every right to be upset, and she knew it. Caleb had been nothing but upfront about his views on trust and people who lied or manipulated others. Even with that information, she’d kept so much from him. She really was the villain in this story.
Her hands grew wet as more tears fell. Her sniffles became more frequent by the minute and loud enough that she didn’t hear when the door opened. The first indication that someone was in the room with her was the mattress compressing at her side.
Emma gasped, jumping up and away from the bed only to find a very concerned Sophia staring up at her.
“What’s the matter?” she asked quietly.
Emma shook her head vehemently. “No. I can’t. Not you, too.”
Sophia stood slowly. “You can’t what? What happened when you went to visit Caleb?” She frowned, her brows pulling together and her eyes flashing with anger. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
Shaking her head again, Emma turned away from her friend. “He didn’t do anything.”
“Your tears beg to differ. I mean it, Emily. If you need me to, I’ll send Mateo over there?—”
Emma whirled around, her voice sharp. “No!” When Sophia stilled, surprise replacing the anger, Emma’s voice softened. “No, he doesn’t have to do that. I’m fine.”
“Again, it sure doesn’t look like you’re fine. Does this have anything to do with the fact that you’re Emma Hart?”
Blood drained from Emma’s face. Her legs weakened so dramatically that she stumbled back a few steps to lean against the doorway. She gaped at Sophia, unable to find the words to ask her when or how she’d found out.
Caleb. That had to be the only way. Or maybe Charlie. Either one of them could have called and alerted the Palmers to the fact that they were housing a fugitive.
Sophia rose to her feet, her hands shoved into her pockets. “You’re wondering how I know, aren’t you?”
Emma nodded.
She offered Emma a smile. “I’ve been listening to your music since you were singing covers on YouTube. I would have recognized you if you dyed your hair red and wore purple contacts.”
This wasn’t the revelation Emma had been prepared for. Sophia hadn’t given Emma any clues that she recognized her—not from the first moment they’d met all the way to this moment in time. “But your brothers and sisters?—”
“Oh, yeah. They know too. But I swore them to secrecy.” Sophia tilted her head, and her eyes danced with amusement. “Wasn’t easy, either—especially when your manager lady was trying all sorts of stuff to smoke you out. Man, she must be something else for you to go to such lengths to get away.”
Emma squeezed her eyes shut and took in another shuddering breath. “Rachel is great. She’s the best at her job.” When she opened her eyes, she wasn’t surprised to find Sophia studying her. “It’s just that sometimes she can be a bit… much.”
“That tracks.” Sophia lifted her shoulders, then let them drop. “So, what now? I take it you told Caleb and it didn’t go over all that well?”
“You could say that,” Emma muttered bitterly.
“What happens next?”
She shrugged. “What do you think happens? I’m going home. I have a lot of things I need to set right and a lot to put back into motion.”
“You mean with your tour.”
Emma gave her friend a double take. “I keep forgetting that you knew this whole time and didn’t say a single word.”
Sophia grinned. “I could tell you needed to feel normal for once. If I admitted to knowing who you were, then there was no chance you would have trusted me.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Okay, so you’re going home.” Sophia shifted, then got to her feet and wandered through her room. “You’ll go home, and you’ll forget all about us.” There was a disappointing lilt to her voice. She didn’t seem thrilled with the notion.
Emma moved across the room toward her. “I don’t think I could forget about Copper Creek even if I tried. This place? This whole town? I love it here.”
Sophia nodded. “It’s pretty great. But that doesn’t mean you will ever come back.”
“Says who? I know where this place is. I know how to get here. Maybe one day in the near future I’ll get tired of my life, and I’ll just leave it all behind.”
They both knew that wasn’t going to happen. She would never walk away from her career—the one she spent so many years creating. There was zero chance of that happening. Even if she decided to take a step back from all her public appearances, she’d still want to write music and perform occasionally. It was where her heart was.
Emma swallowed hard. “I will come back,” she promised. “I don’t know when, but I will make sure I come back. When I do, we’ll have to try going on that ride again.”
Sophia laughed. “I don’t know if I’m willing to believe that.” She pulled Emma into a quick hug. “I’m so glad I got to meet you.”
Pulling back, Emma frowned. “You’re really not upset about me lying?”
She scoffed. “Technically you didn’t lie. You gave me your name. You’re not a criminal. Why would I be upset?”
“Because—”
“Hey,” Sophia hushed her, “don’t listen to what Caleb said. You don’t owe us anything. We were strangers when we met, and I didn’t need your life story to know that you needed help.”
Tears stung Emma’s eyes. She couldn’t seem to get past all the emotions that threatened to overtake her. She closed her eyes, but it didn’t help the burning sensation subside. Sophia wrapped her arms around her again.
“Sophia!” A deep voice from the first floor called up to her. “We have a problem!”
Emma withdrew and shot Sophia a concerned look. “What do you think that’s about?”
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” she assured her. “I’ll go check it out and be right back.”
Emma nodded, hovering in the doorway as Sophia hurried downstairs. There were hushed, anxious voices—more than just Mateo and Sophia. Emma couldn’t hear a thing, even with how much she strained to listen.
Footsteps raced up the stairs and a very worried Sophia materialized. “There’s a reporter at the door.”
Emma gasped. “A reporter?”
She nodded. “Do you think Caleb…?”
Emma shook her head. “I don’t think he’d do something like that. He might be really mad at me, but I don’t think he’d intentionally try to hurt me. What about Charlie?”
This time Sophia shook her head. “The Keagans might be a lot of things, but they wouldn’t intentionally hurt anyone. I doubt this has anything to do with them.” She moved to the window and stared down at the front yard. “Mateo is out there talking to him. He said he’d tell him to leave and that you’re not here. Does anyone else know?”
Emma couldn’t think of anyone who would have recognized her. On top of that, Caleb and his family were the only ones to know that Sophia had let her stay.
Then her thoughts came to a screeching halt and her heart hammered against her ribs with the strength of war drums.
There was one person who might know.
Emma’s eyes lifted and she glanced in Sophia’s direction. “My manager,” she whispered.
Sophia turned around, her concern deepening. “You don’t think she would do that, do you?”
“I think Rachel is capable of anything as long as she thinks she’s going to get something out of it. If she thought that some good publicity would dredge up interest in an otherwise dull news segment, she’d send someone.” She moved across the room and stood beside Sophia.
“Do you recognize him?”
Emma shook her head. “But that doesn’t mean anything. They all look the same. They all hold a camera in my face and steal pictures. It’s their job. If there’s only one, then it’s likely she’s got him in her pocket. He won’t tell anyone else because he wants the story.” Emma groaned. “I can’t believe she did this. I told her I was coming home.”
“It’s like you said. She’s doing this because she thinks she’s got your best interest at heart.”
“Yeah,” Emma said. “And I think it’s about time she suffers the consequences for going against what I’ve asked. Her contract is going to be up soon. As much as I appreciate what she’s done for me, I’m going to make it perfectly clear she will no longer be my manager if this is what I have to look forward to.”
“That sounds fair to me,” Sophia said. “Someone who works for you has to toe the line, you know?”
“Exactly.” They watched Mateo and Ruben march the reporter to his car. The man wasn’t happy about it, but at least he didn’t linger. “I think I’m going to have to leave sooner than I planned. I don’t want him drawing more attention.”
Sophia’s look of understanding was all Emma needed.