Page 23 of That One Night (The Heartbreak Brothers Next Generation #4)

Chapter

Nineteen

You should have woken me up before you left. – Hendrix

Emery smiled softly at the message on her phone. She’d left his place while he was still sleeping, so deeply she couldn’t bear to wake him to tell him she was heading home. It had been right before five and she wanted to get home before there was any chance of waking her mom.

Plus, she had a lot to think about. So she’d pulled on her clothes and softly tiptoed out of his bedroom, stopping to grab the paperwork that was piled on his table. Mostly because it was grating on her, seeing it all scattered and untouched.

She’d go through it for him. Find out if there was anything pressing in there.

He hadn’t said as much, but she wondered if he had some form of reading disorder. She’d been a teacher for long enough to be able to spot it.

She also knew that some people hated admitting to it. Yes, he could type out a text message. But the reams of words on these long letters were possibly more than he could bear to look at.

You looked like you needed your sleep. – Emery

She tapped it out and hit send, trying not to grin. It was almost impossible not to. She hadn’t stopped smiling all morning.

I’ll see you tonight. – Hendrix

It felt like a promise. One that made her heart race.

“What are you doing?” her mom asked, leaning over the table. “Those aren’t ours,” she said, seeing Hendrix’s name at the top of one of the letters.

“I know.” There was no point in trying to hide it from her. “I’m just going through these for our neighbor.”

“Why?” Her mom frowned.

“Because I’m being friendly. And I figure that having a working farm across the road can only be helpful for the sale.”

“Oh, yes. I guess you’re right.” Her mom pressed her lips together. Like she was trying to find the right words to say.

Then she let out a sigh, and Emery knew something bad was coming.

“Do you think Trenton would like it if he knew you were going through another man’s mail?”

Emery blinked. No, he wouldn’t. He’d like it even less if he knew what she’d been doing with the same man last night.

But she didn’t care what he thought.

Swallowing, she looked up at her mom. “Hendrix is a friend.”

“But Trenton is your fiancé.”

Her stomach tightened. She didn’t want to have this conversation with her mom. For a second, she wondered if she should just come clean.

And break her mom’s heart by letting her know about the blackmail and the lien? She blinked that thought away.

Yes, her mom wasn’t as fragile as she had been when Emery first arrived home. But she still cried herself to sleep every night.

“You don’t have to worry. I told you, I’m just being neighborly.”

“Okay. But Emery… don’t do anything you’ll regret, all right?”

“Like what?”

Her mom’s smile was weak. “You’re going to be Mrs. Montclair next year. It’s normal to think about what you might be missing out on. But you’re a good girl, Emery. You’ve always been a good girl. Don’t do anything that will make you less than that.”

Her chest felt tight. “Mom…”

“It’s okay.” Her mom waved her hand. “I know you wouldn’t do anything. I’m just being silly. Now, can you do me a favor and go get some eggs? I think I’m going to do some baking. Book club is tonight. I want to take a cake.”

Sensing a reprieve, Emery pushed herself away from the table covered with paperwork and headed to the hallway.

Grabbing her sneakers, she pulled the front door open, sliding her feet into them before she ran down the steps to the chicken coop.

“Hey,” Jed called out to her from the lane. “You look like you’re in a hurry.”

She pressed her lips together. “Just collecting some eggs. How are you?”

“Good.” His gaze went to her face. “You look healthy.”

“Is that a good thing?”

He shrugged. “I’m a farm man. Healthy is always good. And you’ve caught the sun.”

“Hard not to here.”

“True.” Jed looked down at his sunbaked hands. “How’s your mom?”

“About to bake a cake.” It came out tight. Enough for Jed to notice the tone of her voice. He lifted a brow.

“It must be hard for you,” he said, “coming home after being away for so long. After a while, it’s not good for young people to be living with their parents. You want to live your own way, and it’s tough when they still treat you like you’re a child.”

She swallowed, because he’d hit it right on the nail. She wasn’t a kid. Hadn’t been for a long time. But her mom couldn’t see it sometimes.

“I guess she means well.”

“I know she does.” Jed nodded. “She’s a good woman. She’s just a little adrift, is all. She needs to find herself again.” A smile ghosted his lips. “And that way she won’t spend all her time thinking about you.”

“You’re a wise man, Jed.” Emery grinned. “You know that?”

“I’m just a farm man.” He shrugged. “But people aren’t that different to cattle.”

A low hum of an engine came from the main road. She turned to see a cloud of dirt lifting behind a motorcycle. And of course her breath stuttered, because even though she’d seen him a couple of hours ago, it felt like so much longer.

Like he could read her mind, Jed turned to see the motorcycle taking the curve from the main road onto the track that led to their farms.

“He’s gonna hurt himself riding like that one day,” he murmured.

“I think he knows how to take care of himself,” Emery replied. For a second she could feel Jed staring at her, like he was trying to read something in her expression.

The bike took a turn into Hendrix’s driveway, coming to a stop with a skid. He climbed off and looked over at her, a smile pulling at his lips.

And that was all it took for her heart to slam against her chest.

“Well, I’d best be getting back to work.” Jed patted her arm. “Give your mom some time. She’ll get used to the fact you’re a grown up and can make your own decisions.”

“I hope so.” She gave him a soft smile.

“And honey?”

“Yes?”

“Your dad would be proud of you, you know? For trying to help your mom.”

Her throat felt tight. “Thanks Jed.”

“No problem.” He winked. “Now go fetch those eggs. That cake isn’t going to bake itself.”

“Honey, I’m heading out to book club,” her mom said later that day, walking into the kitchen to grab the cake she’d left on the table. “Are you sure you don’t want to come?”

Glancing out of the kitchen window, Emery saw movement coming from Hendrix’s house. The front door opened and he called something out to Frank, who turned his head to look at the stupidly handsome man walking toward him.

Her breath caught. He was fresh out of the shower, his chest bare, his jeans loosely fastened at his waist, revealing the band of his boxers. His hair was slicked back and he had a bottle of beer in his hands, beads of condensation clinging to the brown bottle.

He lifted his head, like he was looking straight at her. Then he put the beer to his mouth, tipping his head back to take a sip. She watched, fascinated, as his throat undulated as he swallowed the ice cold liquid down.

“That man,” her mom huffed, her voice making Emery jump, because she hadn’t realized her mom had gotten up from the table and was right behind her. “He’s always parading around half naked. Like he’s some kind of… what did Rita-Mae call it? Thirst trap.”

Emery tried not to laugh.

“He’s probably just overheated,” she murmured to her mom. “He’s been working on the farm all day. Remember how Dad used to get bright red and sweaty?”

“He always wore an undershirt,” her mom pointed out.

“Yeah, well, I remember you sneaking looks at him like he was the hottest thing this side of the Mississippi River,” Emery told her.

A smile pulled at her mom’s lips, like there was a secret memory there.

For a moment she looked younger than her years.

Like the woman Emery remembered from when she was a kid.

So pretty in her dresses. Giggling every time her dad made a joke.

The two of them would sneak kisses every time they thought Emery wasn’t looking.

“Yeah, well he might be easy on the eye,” her mom said, nodding over at Hendrix. “But he’s still trouble.”

“Aren’t they all?” Emery said.

Her mom actually laughed. And it sounded so sweet that it made Emery’s heart ache. Was this the first time she’d heard her mom giggle since she’d come home to help get the house ready?

“True,” her mom agreed. She was still looking at Hendrix, who had his back to them now, filling Frank’s trough. His muscles rippled in the light of the setting sun. And for a second Emery considered confessing everything to her mom.

How much easier her life would be if she told her what was really happening. That Trenton was blackmailing her, that Hendrix was actually the good guy here.

“Your dad was so handsome when I met him,” her mom said, a wistful note to her voice. “All the girls used to fight over him. But I was the one he asked to dance at senior prom.”

“Yeah.” Emery nodded, not wanting to break the spell of this sweet truce between them. “Of course you were. You’ve always been the pretty one.”

Her mom hugged her from behind. “You’re such a good girl, Emery.”

Yeah, well she didn’t feel like a good girl right now. And she liked that. She’d been shackled by the need to obey the rules for too long.

It was time to fly free.