Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirtee n
Thayne
“I haven’t seen you with a piece of paper and a pen since high school.” Sally laughs as she places down a hot plate of bacon and eggs in front of me.
I’d come over to the main house to give Emberli some breathing space. I demanded that if anyone had any news about Elijah or his whereabouts, they consult me first before talking to Emberli, who I heard up in the early hours of this morning. When I came downstairs, she’d fallen asleep on the couch with her face under that notebook of hers that she always carried around.
“That’s partly why I came over, I didn’t have any at my place and besides, it’s not for me.”
Sally takes a seat in front of me, a serious expression on her face. “Who is it for?”
“Emberli.”
“The singer you hired? Aca told me you two didn’t get along.”
“We don’t. But it’s best I keep her close to monitor what she’s doing.” The lie rolls off of my tongue before I can take it back and Sally gives me her famous look of disappointment .
She was always great at keeping my siblings and me in line, even at school, and if any of us messed up, we’d be greeted by the exact look she was giving me now.
Despite her pushiness, I was grateful to have someone like her. She was a mother figure to us all after losing our own and that meant being hard on us at the times we needed it. I don’t think I could ever thank her enough.
“I know you don’t mean that.”
Did I mention this woman sees straight through me?
For some unknown reason, Sally has always held me to a higher standard than what I’m worth and I never understood why.
“Fine. I’m trying to do my part around here. Everyone else is.” I grumble, stabbing through the yolk of the egg in front of me.
I didn't tell her that my perspective of Emberli had suddenly shifted, that maybe she isn’t as stuck-up as I’d originally thought, that maybe I was wrong. “Don’t smile like that.”
I’ve seen this smile one too many times from all the women in my life when I so much as mention the name of another female, because God forbid a man speaks a few words to the opposite sex.
Despite me telling her on numerous occasions that I didn’t need a life partner to determine my happiness in life, Sally was always hopeful that I’d find someone.
“Like what?”
“Like that.”
“Okay.” She breathes out a long sigh, calming herself down from the over-excitement that’s written all over her face. “May I ask why you’re doing this?” She gestures to the paper in front of me.
“Because I want her to write a list.”
“And she didn’t have any paper herself?”
As I said, she sees straight through me.
I glance up at the woman who knows me all too well as she sips from her mug.
“Fine. Maybe I do need a bit of advice.”
She grins and rests her chin in the palm of her hand .
“She mentioned to me yesterday that she was worried about what it meant for her when the baby arrived, that she had nothing to show for her life prior.”
“It makes sense she feels that way.” Sally nods. “It’s a huge responsibility for a partnership, let alone doing it all on your own like Emberli is doing. Especially whilst healing from Elijah leaving her on her own like that, and let’s face it, we know Elijah. So does Emberli. We don’t know what she’s been through.”
I take all of Sally’s words in, suddenly feeling guilty for the hard times I’ve given Emberli. She was only healing, just as I am.
“Should I ask her?”
“You can try. She might not want to talk about it just as you don’t.”
“So what else can I do?” I ask.
“You can only be there for her, Thayne. Like you already are.” She sighs. “I couldn’t imagine raising you guys without Doug.”
“I don’t want to overstep but I thought I’d get her to write a list of all things she hasn’t done yet but wanted to do before the baby arrives. I’d help her complete them.”
I suddenly regret telling Sally any of this and look for possible escape routes as my flight or fight kicks in.
Flight. Flight. Fucking Flight.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I groan.
“I can’t speak for Emberli, but I think that’s really sweet of you to do.”
“Okay.” I nod slowly, hoping Emberli would feel the same way.
“Can you just make sure that you’re also looking after yourself as well, please?”
“I’m fine, Sally. Always have been.”
“You may be fooling everyone else, but you’re not fooling me, kid.” Sally’s hand reaches for mine as she gives it a reassuring squeeze. And even with my best efforts to disguise the hurt I’ve faced, Sally knows the truth, as well as her eldest son who plonks himself down next to me and snags a piece of bacon off of my plate .
“What are we talking about?”
Aca glances between Sally and I as he chews loudly and reaches for another piece of bacon.
Sally slaps his hands away. “None of your business. You best have taken your shoes off, boy.”
Aca stops chewing and he slides out of his chair, cautiously walking over to the door in the hope that he and his very dirty boots won’t be seen. His mom sure could be scary when she wanted to be.
Sally turns back to me as soon as Aca’s out of the room. “So what’s going on between you and Emberli?”
“Nothing.”
“You and your lack of communication is worrying. Can’t you give me a little bit of an insight? I heard she’s even staying with you now.”
“She is.”
“Thayne. I need more than one or two word answers.”
“She’s only staying with me until Aca moves out.”
“What?” Aca blurts out as he re-enters.
“We had this conversation, remember?”
Aca blinks and it’s clear that he doesn’t.
“And have you seen The Hollyhead? Someone ought to check that out. It’s got to violate like ten different health codes.”
“I heard that you two were talking yesterday, next to each other and everything.” Aca grins, feeding his mom’s delusions even more.
Fuck me, news travels fast in this goddamn town.
“Look. Emberli isn’t who I thought she was. Is that what you want to hear?” Seeing Emberli as vulnerable and unguarded as she was yesterday woke something in me. I wanted to make sure she never felt like that again.
I dig into the breakfast Sally had made for me and ignore the stares from the mother-son duo who, judging by the way they’re looking at me, seem to think they know something I don’t.
“You have to invite her for breakfast. Please?” Sally asks with a glint of hope in her eyes .
I groan, because Sally is one of the few women in my life who I try to steer away from disappointing like I have done in the past.
Call it human growth or just a pushover, but I just couldn’t say no to this woman.
“Fine. I’ll invite her for breakfast tomorrow but I can’t promise she’ll come.”
That night, I hear the engine of a truck pull away from the drive just as the spare set of keys I gave to Emberli jangle against the front door. I told her to take a few nights off work if she needed it but she claimed she didn’t and I knew exactly what she was doing. I knew better than anyone how to distract your mind when everything around you was plummeting into the ground.
She sighs at first, not realizing I’m sitting in the living room. “Oh, hey.”
She drops her bag off her shoulder and places the guitar down next to her.
“Mack drop you off?” I made sure he would.
She nods. “Yeah. He did. I didn’t think you’d still be up.”
It’s one in the morning and usually I’m not, especially on my day off. But my mind couldn’t shut off tonight, so here I am.
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“I know the feeling.”
Right. She does.
It seemed Emberli and I were more alike than I thought.
“You’ve been invited to breakfast at the main house tomorrow.”
“I have?” She asks, surprised.
“Aca’s mom won’t give me a break until you come, so please consider it.”
Her laugh fills the living room. “Okay. I’ll come.”
“And after, if you’re not doing anything. I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk.”
She points between us. “You and me? Walk? Together?”
I roll my eyes at her dramatics. “I want to talk. ”
She pauses before nodding and turns, walking into the kitchen before she begins to open numerous cupboards in search of something.
“What are you looking for?”
“Decaf?” Emberli turns to me hopefully and groans in disappointment when I shake my head.
“I’ve got no decaf. When you’re up early every morning like I am, you need the real thing.”
Her head thumps against the cupboard in defeat.
“Are you okay?”
She shakes her head and turns to me. “Not really, no.”
Did something happen at the bar?
“What’s wrong?”
“Just thinking about the whole Elijah thing.” She waves me off with her hand before reaching for a glass in the cupboard.
I made a mental note to rearrange the cupboards so that things were more accessible for Emberli, who stood at around 5’6 and was evidently struggling.
Her defeated sigh haunts me and I find myself stepping closer.
“Here. Let me help.”