Page 34 of That One Night (The Heartbreak Brothers Next Generation #4)

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

“If you stare at that computer for too long your eyes are going to fall out,” her mom said, folding her arms across her chest as Emery finally closed the lid of her laptop.

She’d spent most of the day emailing and calling lawyers, trying to find somebody who dealt with agricultural property and debts.

Not a single one of them had replied to her messages. Even the phone calls were useless – just promises of a callback when the lawyer was available. Time moved slowly here, especially in the summer. Nobody was ever in a rush.

Except her.

“You’re right,” Emery murmured. “I’m going to head out for a walk. Clear my mind.”

“No wonder you’re all worked up,” her mom said, her voice soft. “Seeing Trenton must have reminded you of how much you miss him. But it won’t be long now. You’ll be going back home soon.”

Yeah, she would. And one way or another she’d tell her mom the truth. She’d been so ready to do it last night, before he’d arrived.

It was almost six, and there was no sign of Hendrix when she walked over to his farm, seeing Frank resting his head on the fence. He let out a bray as she stroked his wiry head.

“Why can’t life be easier?” she asked him.

Frank pushed against her hand, clearly wanting more stroking. She covered his head with both hands, petting him, a smile pulling at her lips, when the sound of an engine coming from the main road pulled her attention.

It was Hendrix’s truck. Her heart started to speed, because she hadn’t seen or heard from him all day. She knew they were busy harvesting, but it felt like a balm to her soul to see him pull into his driveway and climb out of his car.

“Hey.” She gave him a wide smile, because yes, her life was a clusterfuck right now, but he was the one good thing in it.

Okay, there were a lot of good things. But this man was definitely the best.

He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets, the action squaring his shoulders, and walked over to where she was cuddling Frank.

“Hi.” There was an awkwardness to him. She assumed because her mom could be looking.

“How was your day?” she asked him.

“Long. Yours?”

“Pretty terrible. I spent most of it trying to track down a lawyer to get me out of this lien.”

He blinked but said nothing.

“Nobody is calling me back, of course. I hate the way life moves so slowly here sometimes. I just need this to be over.”

He nodded, looking strangely thoughtful.

“Hopefully, I’ll get to speak to somebody tomorrow,” she continued, barely noticing that he wasn’t replying. Was barely looking at her, actually. His gaze was set over her shoulder, but his eyes were hazy.

Like he was caught in his own mind.

“Sorry for going on about it, you must be tired. How’s the harvest?”

“We were picking sweetcorn.” He looked down at the earth, at the work boots he was wearing, covered in brown dust. “Emery…”

“Is everything okay?”

They both spoke at the same time. And she gave a little laugh, but he didn’t.

“I just…” He shook his head. “I think we should cool things a bit.”

Emery blinked, his words taking a moment to sink in. “Of course. Though I think we’re doing pretty good at keeping this thing under wraps.”

He shook his head, still not meeting her gaze.

“I mean… it’s all a little fast, right?” He took a breath, then blew the air out.

“You’re just out of a relationship. You and I are going to be living hours apart in a few weeks.

Maybe we should take a break. Give you a chance to concentrate on getting the farm sold. ”

Her mouth dropped open. “Are you breaking up with me?” she asked, her voice low. It was impossible to hide the hurt on her face.

He ran his hand through his hair. “I’m not good with words. I told you that.”

“Yeah, and you hide behind that,” she told him. “If you want to split, say so.”

God, this was the last thing she was expecting. And maybe that’s why it felt like her chest was being crushed.

“I don’t understand,” she managed to whisper. “You said you were all in. That you’d be here for me.”

He winced at the pain in her voice. “I’ll always be here for you,” he told her. “Just… as a friend.”

“I don’t need any more friends, Hendrix,” she told him. “I have enough.” She shook her head, the realization washing through her. He was ending their relationship because she was too much. Her situation was too much. He wasn’t willing to fight for her, and that hurt.

But she still had her pride. It might be the only thing she had left. And she was damned if he was going to take that from her, too. “I guess that’s it then,” she said, giving Frank one last stroke. The goat nuzzled her like he knew something bad was happening. “I’ll see you around.”

She turned, managing to stop the tears from falling. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing that. One foot in front of the other , she told herself. Just keep walking.

“Emery?” he called out when she was halfway across the lane. The sound of his voice felt like a blanket and a knife.

But she didn’t turn back. Didn’t stop walking. Sometimes, moving forward was the only thing you could do.

He stood there watching her until she reached the gate to her mom’s farm. She didn’t walk up the steps to the porch, though. Just walked around the back, to where the fields sprawled out with their golden corn. Once she disappeared from view, he let out a long, painful sigh.

It was the right thing to do. He knew that. It was the only way for the lien on her mom’s farm to be removed.

You could have told her the truth.

No, he couldn’t. He couldn’t give her another burden to carry. Another lie to tell. He knew she hated this whole situation. The very least he could give her was the ability to sell her mom’s farm and move on.

And he definitely couldn’t let Trenton ruin his mom’s charity launch. The memory of her face that night when he’d seen her sobbing in the kitchen was enough for him to know that.

They were the two women he loved the most. He knew that now, even if he’d never told Emery the truth of his feelings. He loved her.

And sometimes love meant making sacrifices. It meant walking away because they deserved better than you could give them.

Even if it felt like every cell inside of him was being crushed right now.

A nudge against his stomach brought him out of his thoughts. Frank was staring up at him with soulful eyes.

“I know, buddy,” he murmured. “It’s a fucking mess.”

Frank tipped his head to the side, like he was agreeing, then pushed against Hendrix’s stomach again. Harder this time, like he was annoyed.

No, goats couldn’t talk. Nor could they understand the words you said out loud. But from the way Frank was glaring at him right now, maybe he knew that Hendrix had just lost the one person that had made him feel whole in the last few years.

And yeah, he deserved to feel like shit.

Taking his phone out of his pocket, he walked up the steps to his house, finding the number for the man he hated the most.

And when he found it, Hendrix sent a message containing two words.

It’s done.

How she managed to keep her tears inside until she made it out to the pasture, Emery would never know. And yet she’d done it, her body stoic, her face still, until she collapsed against the fence and let the tears flow.

Of all the things she’d expected him to say, ending things wasn’t one of them. She was blindsided, unable to breathe. And for a moment all she could do was sob. Why was this so painful? It felt a million times worse than when she’d broken up with Trenton.

Because he made you believe in him. And for the first time in forever you didn’t feel so alone.

She pulled out her phone. It was almost seven. Which meant it was after midnight in Europe where Maisie was.

She couldn’t call her. But she sent her a message, anyway. Hopefully, her friend would see it in the morning.

Hendrix ended things between us. Can you call me when you wake up? – Emery

She hit send, knowing that she’d still be awake in the middle of the night when Maisie woke.

Before she could put her phone away it rang. For a second her heart did a little twist, knowing that her friend was still awake to hear her tales of woe. But then she saw the name on her phone.

Trenton Montclair.

Her stomach twisted. What the hell did he want?

“What?” She didn’t bother to try to sound nice.

“Emery.” His voice was soft. “I called to apologize.”

She blinked. Of all the things he could have said, she wasn’t expecting that. He never apologized. He didn’t do it after she found the dating app on his phone, nor after she ended their relationship.

“Apologize for what?” Her voice was thick. Half her mind was still on the farm opposite her mom’s. And the man who lived inside it.

“For being so rash last night. I was hurt.” He exhaled heavily. “And I said some things I shouldn’t have.”

“Like you were going to ruin my life?”

“I would never do that. I know things between us… were messy. But we still spent years together. You’ll always be part of my heart. And I shouldn’t have treated you like that.”

“No you shouldn’t have.”

“I’ll be back in town on Saturday,” he said. “My parents will be back from their cruise. I’ll be telling them about out breakup. And then I will release the lien.”

“You will?” She frowned.

“You have my word. There’s just one thing I’d like you to do.”

Oh, here we go. She rolled her eyes, knowing she never should have answered the damn phone.

“Will you come with me?” he asked her. “I’d like you to be there. Give everybody some closure.”

“Will they even want to see me?” She loved his dad. But his mom, well not so much. He was a mommy’s boy, after all, and they both knew it.

“I just think, after all this time, it will be good for us to stand as a team. One last time. Before we both walk away.”

“I don’t know…”

“Think about it,” he suggested. “I can sign the lien documents at the same time. Kill two birds with one stone.”

“Okay. I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you.” He paused for a second. “Let me know before Saturday.”

“I will.”