Page 14 of Splintered Memories (Ember Hollow Romance #2)
August
S he was…acting normal. Normal for Emersyn, at least—slightly surly with a dash of unpleasantness.
I sat in one of the armchairs next to her desk down in her studio. It had taken me a lot of convincing to get her to let me down here. Begging was probably a better word for what it was, but I’d meant it when I said I would keep an eye on her.
My laptop balanced on my knees as I checked emails and payroll and bills. I’d been keeping Hearthstone running as best I could while away from the office. It wasn’t easy. I’d had to hire out the security job contracted with the college, but a good buddy was willing to take that up for me.
Fox was taking care of everything else on top of his busy schedule, but things were tight.
I glanced up from my screen and at the woman who hadn’t left her desk in hours. She’d stuck a bandage over the gash on her forehead that looked comically large on her small face. A few specks of red had started to seep through the flesh-colored fabric backing .
My brows pulled together. “You should probably change that bandage sometime before you go to bed.”
Emersyn jumped, her head snapping toward me as though she’d forgotten about me.
Emersyn worked like nothing else in the world mattered.
She poured herself into it. No mindlessly scrolling through social media, no watching videos or episodes of her favorite show.
She was hyper focused on the work in front of her.
For a while, she worked on a script for her show, fingers furiously typing as she glanced back and forth from the stacks of research she’d printed out and layered all over her desk.
From what I could tell, she had everything from police reports to newspaper articles to transcripts of police interviews. She was thorough.
Emersyn blinked at me from behind her usual green-rimmed glasses. I was glad she’d put them back on. She was pretty without them, of course, but I’d missed them at the bridal shop this morning. They were just…Emersyn.
Her startled expression hardened as fast as it had come. That mouth tightened into a sharp line. “I don’t need to be coddled.” She looked back down at her desk.
She finished the script a half hour ago and moved on to organizing piles of what seemed to be merchandise for the podcast. She had business cards and stickers and pins and shirts with the podcast’s logo on it. She placed them all into neat piles from a large cardboard box.
“If you think I’m coddling you, then you clearly have never been coddled.”
“I’m fine. I can take care of myself.”
Of course she could. I doubted there was anything Emersyn couldn’t do .
I scanned her as she went back to ignoring me.
Physically, I believed she was going to be fine.
As long as she took care of herself, the wound on her head would heal in a few days.
I could tell by the way she moved and held herself that she was sore from the attack, but her muscles, too, would heal.
But someone out there was trying to hurt her. That fact had to be concerning, even for someone as headstrong as Emersyn.
She had seemed shaken on the drive home after the attack.
I’d been worried that she was experiencing some shock.
I wouldn’t blame her. But the moment we’d pulled into her garage, it was as if she’d morphed.
She’d looked around, taken a few deep breaths, and pulled back her shoulders.
When she’d gotten out of the car, she was as steady as stone.
Any sign of fear or shock completely disappeared.
I shifted in the armchair, rolling my bad shoulder. “Is all that for the podcast?” I gestured to the items she was piling on her desk.
She nodded without looking at me.
“You do a really good job with it, you know. The podcast.”
Emersyn paused. She looked over at me, eyes wide. “You watch my podcast?” she said, her voice taking on a weird, squeaky quality.
I tilted my head, studying her. “Of course I do. I love it. Granted, I don’t follow many podcasts, but yours is quite impressive.”
She blinked at me, the tops of her cheeks redding. She opened her mouth, but then closed it again. Tearing her gaze back to the merchandise, she shook her head as if to clear it. “Thanks,” she mumbled. “I’ve been working on getting things ready for Emberlight.”
I blinked at her. “Emberlight?”
The Emberlight Festival was an annual event the town put on to welcome in spring.
Center Street would be closed off to traffic during the day for a huge farmers’ market.
Booths from local businesses and artists and farms would line up and down the street.
Food trucks would be surrounded by picnic tables in the local park, where there’d be carnival games and bouncy houses and face painting for kids.
At night, the park would be illuminated with strung-up lanterns and fairy lights.
Near the back, right where our little town looked out over the river, there would be a massive bonfire flanked by a few smaller ones where people would gather to drink and talk and roast marshmallows.
Emberlight had been one of my sister, Thea’s, favorite town events. We’d go every year.
Emersyn placed an enamel pin on its coordinating pile before she sighed, forcing her eyes back to mine. “The last few years, I’ve had a booth at the festival for the podcast. There are a few fans who always come and hang out with me.”
I stared at her, waiting for the punchline. It never came.
I leaned forward. “You’ve got to be joking.”
Her mouth pulled down, brows narrowing. “Why would I be joking?”
“Emersyn.” I stood, tossing my computer onto the chair. “You were literally attacked today. Less than a week ago, you were shot at. And now, you want to set up a booth with your literal name on it, surrounded by people you do not know, in the middle of a very public, very crowded, town square?”
Her expression didn’t change. “Well, yeah.”
She was going to be the death of me. If I could keep her alive, that was.
I shoved a hand through my hair, pulling on the strands. “Did you learn nothing from today? ”
Her nose crinkled in anger, and maybe a bit of annoyance. “What did I learn ?”
I stepped closer, but her desk forced plenty of space between the two of us. “You have to stop being reckless.”
Her head jerked back, as if I’d slapped her. “Reckless?” she hissed. “Where the hell do you get off trying to scold me?”
My hands curled into fists. “I’m not scolding you.” That’s not what I wanted to do, but she needed to understand. “Sneaking off without me today was reckless, Emersyn. I need you to understand the danger you’re in now.”
She sucked in a breath between her teeth. “It sure as hell sounds like you’re scolding me. I wasn’t trying to be reckless. I can take care of myself.”
She repeated the phrase, as if convincing herself as well as me.
“It’s my job to take care of you now,” I said. “I need you to understand that I’m looking out for your best interests.”
“You’re looking out for yourself and for my father. Don’t try to act like this is really for me. I don’t want all this.” She flung a hand toward me, her face twisting with anger. “My father is paying you, and my father has never had my best interests in mind.”
I stilled. Her hands shook slightly, one clutching another enameled pin. It was shaped like a skull, matching the one that sat as decoration on the bookshelf behind her desk.
Emersyn obviously didn’t have a good relationship with her father, but under all the rage thrown into those words, there was a whole lot of hurt too.
I swallowed down the frustration, softening my expression. I leaned over her desk, pressing my palms against it. “Emy— ”
“Don’t call me that,” she snapped, looking away.
“Emersyn.” I sighed. “I’m really—”
“You should go.” She cut me off. “I have a lot of work to do and you’ve been down here long enough. I need to focus.”
She didn’t seem to have a problem focusing, but I wasn’t going to win this time. That sharpness in her tone sliced right through me.
Giving her one last look, I grabbed my computer and walked to the stairs leading up to the main floor of the house. She was already working again, her movements fast and flustered. Her eyes remained cold and hard, zeroed in on the desk before her.
But under all her bravado and stoney exterior, pain radiated from her like a hot, infected wound.
What happened to you, Emy?
My jaw clenched. I didn’t want to leave, but my presence would probably make things worse. I stepped onto the bottom stair, but I couldn’t let it go. I couldn’t leave her down here alone without saying it.
“I’m sorry,” I said, my words quick before she could stop me. “I’ll figure something out for Emberlight.”
She tensed but didn’t look up. Her jaw clenched.
I took the next step up, but I wasn’t quite done.
“I might not deserve it yet,” I whispered low, “but I’m going to prove to you that I can keep you safe.”