Chapter Seven #2
Cash chuckled. "No, she's expecting me. Before you go getting it into your head that she's to blame for any of this, she isn't. This is all my doing.
I figured I needed to blindside the pair of you.
I gave her a ride here and told her that I'd be passing her cottage again on the way home.
" He shrugged happily. "And that wasn't a lie.
I will. I just won't have her with me when I do. "
Emmett let out a short laugh. "You know, one of these days you're going to go too far and really piss someone off."
"Nah, I push my luck to the edge of its limits. But I know the line." Cash looked more serious as he added, "I know I've come close to crossing that line tonight. And if you're mad at me, if you don't want to do this, I can take Harper with Libby. It's not a problem."
Emmett looked over at her. She was still standing on the steps talking to Libby. She met his gaze for a moment before looking away.
"No, I'll take her."
"Good, that's all I'm going to say. I'll give you a call tomorrow. See when I can come over for that roast with you and the girls. Okay?"
Emmett nodded.
Cash was already turning away, calling, "Come on Lib, let's get out of here. We can stop at The Mint in town before I drop you home."
Emmett hovered beside his truck as Libby and Harper came toward them.
He stepped forward, expecting to say hi to Libby, but she just grinned at him and said, "I'll call you tomorrow.
I want to get you out to the barn to look these new horses over for me.
" She slipped her arm through Cash's and the two of them scurried away back to his Suburban, leaving Harper standing there, smiling at him.
She was a good-looking woman. That had caught him off guard the first time he met her.
Not only how attractive she was, but how hard it hit him.
She was so pretty, it made him ache. His chest ached, as if there was a big hole in it, which there was, but he thought he'd grown used to that.
And there was the other ache too, the one in his pants, that he'd long believed was a thing of the past.
He stood there staring for a few moments before he realized what he was doing. Then he smiled and said, "Hi."
He was relieved when she chuckled and said, "Hi right back. Sorry about this."
"It's not a problem. It's..." He let the words trail off. He'd been about to say, it's my pleasure, but that might be too much. He gestured toward his truck and followed her to open the passenger door for her.
"Thanks," she said as she climbed in, then smiled down at him, just as she'd done when he collected her from the airport.
He nodded before jogging around the hood to get back in. Neither of them spoke until they were back on the highway. Emmett got as far as clearing his throat a couple of times, but that was all.
As they sped down Highway 89, he realized that he was going to run out of time to say anything soon. He glanced over at her, and some of the tension left his shoulders when he found her smiling back at him. "Does Cash do this a lot?" she asked.
He inhaled sharply before he sputtered, "He's never set me up with a woman before, no."
Her eyes grew wide, and he realized his mistake, but she covered it with a smile. "That doesn't surprise me, but I was only wondering if he maneuvered you into situations without letting you know what he was up to."
Emmett kept his focus on the road ahead, grateful for the darkness in the cab of the truck, since he could feel the heat in his cheeks. "Yeah, I realize that," he mumbled, "and the answer is yes. It's his way."
He was relieved to hear her chuckle. "I thought as much. I've seen him do it with other people. I just... I didn't know... if he'd try it on you."
He glanced over at her again. "Yeah, he's more careful with me—they all are. I guess I'm just prickly."
"No, you're not," she said indignantly. "Sorry, I don't mean to be short with you, but I think you're being hard on yourself. You're not prickly. It's just that you’re..."
He held his breath as he waited to hear what exactly she thought he was.
"Damn, this is hard, isn't it? I want to find the right words without offending you."
"But you wouldn't be worried about offending me if you didn't think I was prickly."
She let out a short laugh. "That's not it.
That's not it at all. I don't..." He sensed rather than saw her waft a hand in the air in front of her face.
"You know what? I can't tiptoe around you.
It's not my way. I'm more of a straight shooter.
I prefer to say my piece and apologize later, if necessary, than to censor myself in advance. "
"Me too, so go ahead."
She blew out a sigh. "Okay, I'll just say it then. Although no, I'll say it on one condition."
"What's that?"
"My condition is that if I screw this up, if I embarrass you or embarrass myself, you'll still let me hang out with the girls."
His shoulders sagged. "Do you really think I'm that bad?
That I'd keep you away from them?" He shot her a quick look.
"They think the world of you, Harper. They're so much better off having you in their lives.
" He cleared his throat again before adding, "And I know they've come to mean a lot to you as well. "
"They have. I adore them. And no, I don't think you're bad at all. I shouldn't have said that. I wasn't judging you; I was protecting what's important to me."
"Fair enough. So, now that you have my word that whatever you tell me won't come between you and the girls – now or ever – what were you going to say?"
She fiddled with her purse for a few moments. "Okay. At the risk of embarrassing myself or both of us, I think Cash engineered this because he knows that I... that I like you." She let out a short laugh. "Sounds like we're in high school, doesn't it? You're an attractive man, Emmett."
A rush of warmth filled his chest, hearing that.
"And I feel like there's, at least there might be, something there between us if we were to... but I know your situation and it's not... so I would never have..."
"But Cash..." he interrupted, needing to say something rather than leave her floundering for words, not knowing what he was thinking. "Cash is perceptive like that," he said after a few moments.
"He is. I don't know how he knew but he saw through me somehow."
Emmett inhaled deeply and blew it out slowly before saying, "He saw through me, too, or he wouldn’t have meddled.
I know that for a fact." He felt her turn to look at him but kept his gaze fixed on the road ahead.
"It's mutual," he said eventually, then waited, feeling as though those two words might crack his world in half.
He hadn't thought he'd ever feel like this, let alone admit it. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, waiting for her reaction. When she reached across and touched his arm gently, he felt himself relax under her touch.
"Thank you," she said. "I can see how much it cost you to say that. Do you think that's enough for one night?"
"No, I don't. I'd be a coward if I backed away from it now." He could feel his heart thumping in his chest. But it was true, he knew himself too well. If they left it at that, he'd retreat for a while. That wouldn't be right. And surprising as he found it, it wasn't what he wanted.
"Okay," Harper said slowly. "So...?"
"So, I have no idea what I mean. I'm just trying to be honest."
"I am, too. So how about this? How about we stick a pin in it for now. We've both admitted it. Doesn't mean there's any rush to figure out what, if anything, comes next. Does it?"
"No."
"And before you back off on me, Mr.—this doesn't mean I'm backpedaling. It means I'm trying to be respectful of you and your situation. And..."
"I know. Thanks, Harper."
He turned off the highway, following the road across the river before turning onto East River Road.
They were almost back to Jim's place now.
"I'm not going to invite you in when we get there," said Harper.
"I'd love to talk about it. But I know you'll want to get home. The girls need their Papa Bear."
He smiled through pursed lips.
"Oh crap, I wasn't being sarcastic with the Papa Bear."
That made him chuckle. "It's okay, I know. And you're right. I need to get home. But... maybe we should find a time when we can talk."
"Okay, I'd like that. But when...?"
He frowned. "Not tomorrow. I have a long day at work. Saturday morning too. Then Saturday afternoon, Alana's invited Tanya and me to go and watch one of their rehearsals. It's some special one that parents and friends are invited to."
"Oh well, if nothing else, I'll see you there, then. Alana invited me, too."
Emmett slowed the truck as they approached the entrance to Jim Sheridan's ranch. "Wanna ride up there together then?"
"Oh, I, uh, yes, if that's okay with you, I'd love to."
"Okay, I'll call you tomorrow and we'll figure it out."
He brought the truck to a stop in front of the cottage and turned to face her. Her eyes seemed to shine in the moonlight as she smiled at him. "I'm going to get out now and I'll talk to you tomorrow."
He raised his eyebrows. He thought they could sit and talk for at least a few minutes.
She shook her head rapidly. "Of course I want to stay and talk to you, but once I start we'll be here all night. For now, I'll just say... thanks Emmett and if you change your mind, don't worry, just say so." She reached for the door handle. "I mean, I hope you won't, but..."
He started to get out but she turned back. "I know you're a gentleman about opening the door and all that, but I'm just going to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay. And Harper," he added, once she'd climbed out.
"Yes?"
"I’m not going to change my mind."