Chapter 4
Emerson
My gorgeous rescuer sets me up in an adorable cabin on his campground. I text the cabin's number to Tina, who shows up a half an hour later with my stuff from the hotel. After giving me an enormous hug and telling me how proud she is of me, she breaks open the wine she snagged from the hotel shop.
"Here, drink some of this," she insists.
"Oh, lord. Okay. And what's with the look? What are you about to tell me?"
"Oh, nothing that has any meaning in your life anymore," she says with a sly grin. "Just that Steve had basically a tantrum. He and his god-awful mother and cousins and the rest of them left for Boston soon after they gave up on looking for you."
"Welp. That works, I guess."
"And your dad is taking that secretary of his on your honeymoon because, and I quote, 'I fucking paid for it.'"
I burst into laughter, unable to stop myself.
"Of course, he's bringing freaking Marilou to Tahiti. I wouldn't be surprised if she forces him to elope there as well."
We kill the wine bottle within twenty minutes, and I'm already feeling a bit tipsy.
"Guess what?" Tina says in a sing-song voice as she pulls out a second bottle of chardonnay.
"Wow. You were busy while I was running away," I quip.
She pours me more wine right as there's a knock on the door. Darius, in all of his delicious glory, is standing on the step when Tina opens it.
"Emerson, it's your handsome rescuer," she says, giving me an obnoxious smile, and I feel my cheeks burn.
I stand up, feeling a little unsteady on my feet.
"Hi, Darius. Did you change your mind?"
He laughs, giving me a sexy crooked grin.
"No. Not at all. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. But I see you're already enjoying yourself," he says, indicating the wine.
"Want a glass?" Tina offers.
"No, I'm good. Thanks."
"Oh, fuck," I blurt out, and Tina and Darius look at me with surprise.
"Sorry, I just realized I fucking sold my goddamn condo," I say, turning to my friend.
"I told you to wait to do that." She says.
"Well, that's not helpful to me now, is it?" I snap back, then immediately say, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm just mad at myself. Not you."
"Well, you could always get a flight to Nebraska and move in with me," she says with a shrug.
"Nebraska? You know I'd burst into flames if I lived that far away from the ocean."
Darius clears his throat.
"This cabin is empty for the rest of the week. You are more than welcome to stay here while you figure things out."
"I can't take up this cabin. I'm sure you rely on getting people to stay here."
"We'll pay him for it. Thanks, rescuer," Tina says.
"Darius Robinson." He says, offering his hand.
My friend shakes it and doesn't appear to feel the same electric energy that I received when his palm touched mine.
"I'm paying for you to stay here this week," she says, turning to me.
"What? No! You already wasted money on a plane trip and a hotel room."
"Well, I've already returned your wedding gift." She says with a laugh, "I bought it late anyway, so the return wasn't very difficult since it hadn't even shipped. So consider this my glad-you-found-your-sanity wedding gift."
"Alright, fine," I say, giving up, knowing it's fruitless to argue with her.
"Now that that's settled, I'm starving. At this point in the evening, I was expecting to eat some dry chicken," my friend quips.
We look at Darius.
"Any dinner suggestions?"
"Well, are you looking for something fancy or something casual?"
"Something casual," she says. "Nothing fancy but yummy, you know?"
"There's Sea Glass Tavern on Main Street," he suggests.
"Oh, that sounds perfect. Thank you. Do rideshares come up to your campground?" Tina asks, looking at her phone.
"Yep. They do it all the time, especially in summer. Okay, I'll leave you two to it. I don't want to be in the way. But let me know if you need anything. Okay, Emerson?" He says, giving me a look that makes my heart skip.
"Thank you, Darius," I say, feeling my cheeks burn.
Full from dinner and drinks, we stroll down Main Street, window-shopping in the muggy, honeysuckle-scented evening air before calling our ride back to the cabin.
"Oh, ice cream!" Tina says, pointing across the way.
"I'm way too full," I say, holding my tummy that is filled with an extensive amount of chicken wings.
Suddenly, Tina grabs my arm.
"A psychic shop, come on!" She squeals, her grip tight around my wrist as she yanks me down the sidewalk.
Soon, we're inside an adorable shop filled with crystals, tarot decks, and other odds and ends. No one is in the front. "I don't think anyone's here," I say to Tina.
The velvet curtains in the back suddenly open, and a tiny elderly woman comes out with long silver hair and bright violet-blue eyes.
"Oh, hello," she says.
"I'm sorry. Are you closing?" I say.
"I was about to close, in fact. I just let my employee, Alessandra, leave. But if you two are here for readings, I would be happy to do them."
"Oh, we don't want to be in the way," I say, but Tina is already walking toward the woman.
"Should I wait out here?"
"No. You both can come in. I have an extra chair," the woman says, ushering us in.
Once we are seated, she says, "I am Lady Merla, and I do tea leaf readings."
She pours us steaming hot tea into two teacups on the table.
"Now, I want you two to focus on your question as you drink the tea."
Tina immediately picks up her cup and begins sipping. I'm more hesitant, but quickly realize I know the question that's been bothering me ever since I fled the church. While I sip the strawberry-flavored tea, I think repeatedly: what is my next step?
When we are both close to finishing, she has us swirl our cups several times and then drains the tea onto each saucer. Lady Merla reads Tina first and mentions that she needs to open her heart up to the farmer that she's been considering.
"You've been considering a farmer?" I ask, and my friend shushes me.
"It's your turn for the reading," Tina says, her cheeks lightly pink.
Lady Merla peers at the patterns my wet tea leaves formed on the saucer and looks up at me with her violet-blue eyes. Sitting back, she gives me a warm smile.
"Emerson, your rescuer will also rescue your heart."
When she says this, both Tina and I gasp.
"What did you say?" My friend says.
Lady Merla repeats, matter-of-factly, "Emerson's rescuer will rescue her heart."
"Woah."