Chapter Two #2
He knew damn well she'd been avoiding him for weeks now, and it wouldn't do. He'd been furious with her that night when she made dinner for the girls, but worse than that, he knew that what she'd said was true. He took care of his business himself, and he didn't thank anyone for trying to help him.
Not because he didn't appreciate it, but because he didn't need it. Things had been tough since Emily died. It wasn't easy being a single dad, especially not as a widower, to two girls who'd lost their mom far too young. But he'd made it work. With Emily gone, he'd felt like everything was on him.
Because it was.
And he was perfectly capable of taking care of it by himself.
He blew out a sigh as they approached the baggage carousel. Harper was still determinedly staring around and not engaging with him, and that was fine. Once they were in his truck, she'd be a captive audience and he'd say his piece.
He rolled his shoulders. The right one still gave him grief when the weather changed, or when he was tense.
"For someone who wants to talk, you’re not saying much," said Harper after they'd stood there for a few minutes in silence, waiting for the bags to come out.
He turned to her but decided against getting into it. Right here, there was always the possibility that she might disappear into the crowd and rent a car to get home, instead of riding with him.
"I thought we should collect your bag first."
She pursed her lips. "That's fair, I suppose. And there's nothing you want to say to me right now?"
He held her gaze for a long moment. There was so much he wanted to say.
But not yet.
"Do you want a coffee for the road?" he asked.
Her eyes widened. "Oh, uh, yes, I would. Do you want one?"
"Yeah, I'll go get them. The bags probably won't be out before I get back, and there’s no point in me waiting here because I won't recognize yours. What do you want?"
She reached for her purse, but he shook his head. "Don't even think about trying to give me money for it, Harper. What do you want?"
She glowered at him as she said, "I'll take a vanilla cappuccino, thank you."
He turned and stalked away toward the coffee shop, hoping that her bag would be out soon, so that they could get on the road.
When he returned with their coffees and saw her stepping forward, looking as though she'd spotted her bag, he thrust the cups into her hands. "Which one’s yours?"
She narrowed her eyes at him and jerked her chin toward a surprisingly practical-looking brown leather case. He hauled it off the carousel and picked it up by the handle. "Is that everything?" he asked, hoping that they could finally get out of here.
"That's my only case, yes, but there's no need to carry it—it's a roller. If you set it down, I can push it." She held one of the cups forward. "And you can have your coffee."
He dropped his head as he set the case on the ground, feeling a little foolish.
He might not travel much, but it wasn't as though he hadn't seen a roller case before.
He snapped the handle up and took the coffee she offered, hoping that she wasn't giving him the sickly sweet cappuccino she'd ordered. She must have read his expression.
"Don't worry, that one's definitely yours. I didn't need a taste test to see that it was dark and bitter." She grabbed the handle of her case with a saccharine smile. "Shall we get going, then?"
He let her take a couple of steps before he followed, not wanting her to see him smile.
She was a tough cookie with a sharp tongue, but she was witty.
When she checked back over her shoulder, he lengthened his stride to catch up.
He had to face the fact that her sharp humor was only one of many things he liked about her.
When they reached his truck, he held out his cup, and she took it with a smile. "Since you're giving me a choice about it this time, I'll take that for you while you load the case in the back. Don't worry, I won't offend you by saying I'll do it myself."
He gave her a grudging smile. "Thanks."
Once the bag was loaded, he walked her to the passenger door. When he opened it for her, she raised her eyebrows. "I am capable of climbing in, you know."
"I'm sure you are. Do you have a problem with me opening the door for you?"
"Oh." She looked a little flustered at that. "I—well, sorry, no. That's actually rather sweet of you."
He risked taking her elbow to help her up, and when she was seated, the way she smiled down at him loosened something in his chest. "Thank you. I'll admit that this is a damn sight higher up than my little truck."
"You're welcome. And if this is a moment of truth, I'll tell you that I'm impressed with your little truck. It's the kind of thing I've had my eye on for the girls when they're ready."
He shuddered. "Not something I want to think about, but I know it's coming." He frowned, wondering why he'd told her that. She opened her mouth to reply, but he closed the door and jogged around to the driver's side to get in.
She turned to him as he fastened his seatbelt, and he braced himself. But rather than spouting advice about the girls or about Alana learning to drive, she said, "Let me guess—you expected me to buy a Subaru or some other touristy vehicle?"
"Yeah, I guess I did." He glanced over at her. "And thanks for changing the subject."
She feigned innocence. "I don't know what you mean. I was just curious about what kind of vehicle you would expect me to drive." He almost believed her until she added with a small smile, "But you're welcome anyway."
After that, they rode in silence and were soon back on the interstate.
Emmett knew he should get into it soon, but he didn't. Now that she was here, he didn't know where to start.
If he wanted, he could probably back down.
He might have been determined to come and pick her up because they needed to clear the air. But she didn't know that.
He could claim that he had to be in town today anyway and had volunteered, since it was the least he could do. She ran the girls around for him all the time. It was only right that he should be the one to pick her up from the airport.
He glanced over at her and found her watching him curiously. In fact, no, that look wasn't just curious—it was expectant. Now that she was here, he was going to have to explain himself.
"So?" she asked after another few moments.
He blew out a sigh. "I'm here because I need to talk to you."
"I think we already established that much."
He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Yeah, they had. And now he had to figure out how to say what came next.