Chapter 63
GEMMA
When I open my eyes, the first thing I see is Emily.
After our emotionally charged conversation last night, I didn’t want to leave her.
I was afraid she’d leave without telling me like she did the last time she showed up on my doorstep, alone and scared, in the middle of the night.
I don’t think she had any intention of telling me what’s been happening to her. The real reason she came home.
Abandoning the wine, I took the brownies and my best friend upstairs where we piled into bed the way we used to when we were younger.
We didn’t talk about why she’s here. We didn’t talk about her husband or what he’s been doing to her for the past seven years.
The fact that she’s pregnant or that the baby’s father is the same man who’s been abusing her.
We just talked.
We talked about what’s happening in her latest book and about the house she bought next door.
Even though we have absolutely no guarantee that I’ll be her next-door-neighbor, this time next month, we decided that we’re going to pull the fence down that separates our yards.
We talked about my idea to open a microbakery and the fact that June offered me thirty percent of her profits to come back and bake for her.
We talked until there was nothing else to talk about but him.
“Was it hard?” I whispered to her in the dark. “Seeing him again?”
She knows I’m asking about Cade. I don’t have to say it.
She nods her head on the pillow we’re sharing. “Yes.”
“Is it going to be too much?” I’m suddenly worried that it might be. That after everything she’s been through, being this close to Cade again will be the thing that breaks her. “Being here, around him all the time.”
“I’ve learned something about myself over the past seven years, Gemmie…” She let her eyes close after she says it. “I’m a helluva lot tougher than I look.”
After that, she fell asleep and I followed after her.
Deciding to let her sleep as long as she wants, I crawl out of bed, taking the brownie pan with me.
Checking my phone, I’m surprised to see that it’s nearly nine o’clock in the morning.
I can’t remember the last time I slept so late.
Closing the bedroom door behind me, I make my way down the hall, the quiet murmur of deep, male voices pulling me down the stairs.
When I land in the kitchen, I find Riggs sitting at the table.
Colt standing at the counter, both of them looking at me like I interrupted something.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, looking at Colt. He doesn’t usually make an appearance on the weekends, choosing to sleep in and suffer with bad coffee and lumpy oatmeal for breakfast.
“Checking to see if you need a ride to Scar’s party,” he says, before taking a sip of his coffee. “Mom said she’s expecting the cake by noon.”
Shit, that’s right.
Looking at Colt, I sigh because I’m not sure how much Riggs told him about our surprise houseguest. “Emily was here, waiting for me on the front porch when Cade brought me home last night. She’s upstairs,” I tell him, making a conscious decision to keep the fact that her return to Barrett is permanent to myself for now because I can only handle one crisis at a time.
Turning to Riggs, I shake my head. “She’s pretty worn out from her flight, so she’s probably going to be sleeping most of the day, I don’t want her to wake up alone. ”
“It’s fine, Gem,” he says, flicking Colt a quick look before he shakes head. “I have things I need to do around here, so I can hang back and keep her company.”
“Things? What things?” Suddenly nervous, I take a step forward. “If I find out you’ve been climbing those fucking stairs while I’m not home, Riggs Wheeler,” I whisper shout at him so I don’t wake Emily while Colt snorts into his coffee cup. “I swear to god I’ll?—”
“The only thing that’s up there that I’m even remotely interested in is the bath tub, Gemma Rae—” he tells me with a knee-knocking grin. “and that’s only when you’re in it.”
“Okay.” Setting his coffee cup down, Colt shoots us both a nauseated look. “Entirely too fuckin’ soon.” Making his way toward me, he drops a quick kiss on top of my head. “Be back at eleven,” he says before looking at Riggs. “Later.”
Riggs gives him a chin tip before taking another drink of coffee. Neither one of us says anything until we hear the front door close. “Are you hungry?” I ask, on my way to the fridge. “I think I have some eggs left. I can?—”
“No.” Reaching for my hand as I pass him, Riggs tugs me to the table. “Sit down—I need to tell you something.”
“Alright...” I say it carefully while lowering myself into the chair next to him. “What is it?”
“Did you get your supplies ordered?” he asks, shifting my hand in his grip to lace his fingers between mine. “I left my credit card in your notebook.”
“Yes.” I nod my head, even though I know that’s not what he wants to talk to me about. “I found it. Thank you—everything should be here this afternoon.”
“Good… that’s good.” Flicking me a quick look, he swallows hard before aiming his gaze at our linked hands. “Bruce told me something on his way out yesterday.”
This is it.
I can tell by the way he won’t look at me.
“You’re leaving.”
When I say it, he looks up at me with that sick, panicked look.
“My CO is going to be here Monday,” he says instead of answering me directly.
“He wants to check on my progress.” Shaking his head, his Adam’s apple bobs and scrapes along the inside of his throat like he’s trying not to choke. “I asked for six months but?—”
“It’s okay.” Squeezing his hand in mine, I will myself not to cry like last time. “I understand. I always knew this was going to be temporary.”
“It’s not okay… they’re going cut the funding for my care,” he says quietly. “You need that money. I know?—”
“Oh.” I didn’t even think about it. The fact that when Riggs leaves, the money I’ve been putting toward my tax mess leaves with him. Without it, even if the gamble I’m taking on the microbakery pays off, I’ll still fall short of the goal line.
“I have money, Gem,” her says, repeating what he said to me in the bathtub the other day. “Not a lot but it’s more than enough to?—”
“No.” Shaking my head, I force myself to smile at him. “Thank you, Riggs—but no.” Untangling my fingers from his, I stand. “I’m going for a walk. If Emily wakes up, let her know I’m down by the river if she needs me.” Leaning down, I press a quick kiss against his cheek before I walk away.