by Amanda Tru
However, she didn’t know if she could actually manage to call him that. “Leo” seemed too simple and casual. “Leo Jacobs” was big and important. A force.
She, on the other hand, was just plain Emma and trying to be “Miss Sheldon” would feel quite uncomfortable.
“Emma, can I ask you a question?”
Despite her reservations about using his first name, her name on his lips sounded just right.
“Yes,” she answered, thinking it strange. He’d never hesitated with asking any questions of her earlier, so why now?
“There’s something that’s bothering me, but it might be too personal.” Without waiting for her permission a second time, he pushed forward. “Why are you here? Why aren’t you with your parents? Did you spend Thanksgiving alone?”
Emma blinked, surprised. She usually assumed that everyone already knew the details of her life. At least, most people seemed to, or maybe they just didn’t bother to ask. Of course, Emma’s world was pretty small. Most people she interacted with attended church with her family or were friends of her parents. Emma’s list of friends consisted of only a few names of those who made an effort to be her friend, rather than the other way around. Leo fit none of those categories, and before tonight, she didn’t recall knowing anything about him beyond what she occasionally read in the local newspaper. She didn’t often encounter someone who cared enough to ask personal questions beyond what they already knew.
“Oh, no,” Emma replied. “My parents were home for Thanksgiving. We had Thanksgiving dinner here and invited another family from church. The family was a single mom and her children who didn’t have the means for a big meal, so we got to treat them to dinner. Then Mom and Dad took a flight from Brighton Falls early this morning to go to my brother’s house to visit. They will be back in a week.”
“Why didn’t you go with your parents?” Leo asked, opening the refrigerator and rummaging around.
As if she suddenly felt her mother’s presence in the room, Emma hurried over to the refrigerator with the realization that she wasn’t fulfilling the duty of hostess in her mother’s stead. “Oh, I’m sorry! What would you like to eat? Mom left a bunch of leftovers in there. Do you want a turkey sandwich? Maybe a piece of pumpkin pie?”
“Emma, it’s fine,” Leo said, pointing for her to return to the counter. “Sit down and take those pills you’ve been looking at the past five minutes. I’m not a guest you need to wait on. I can find something to eat and get you something as well. I somehow doubt you’ve eaten dinner either. What would you like?”
Emma looked at the pills in her hand. Her mom was such a good hostess, Emma could picture her getting out of bed in order to serve someone who came to their house. Emma lacked the social skills her mom possessed, but she still didn’t like the idea of others waiting on her and doing the things she could do herself.
“Emma?” Leo said, calling for her attention. “Take the pills. Your pain and nausea medication will wear off any time now. We need to keep them on schedule, and you need to eat something with them. What do you want?”
“I made the apple pie,” she said, by way of an answer.
“Great! I love apple pie!” Leo said enthusiastically, immediately beginning an in-depth search in the refrigerator. “Do you have ice cream? I’ll have some of that with you and follow it up with a turkey sandwich.”
Leo cut two large pieces of pie and warmed them in the microwave. Then he topped each of them with a generous serving of vanilla ice cream and slid one of the plates in front of her. Emma’s reluctance quickly dissolved with Leo’s thoughtful treatment, and she appreciated that he didn’t even mention the fact that pie and ice cream didn’t count as the healthiest of dinners. Emma’s mother could not have let it slide without such a comment, followed by a turkey sandwich and a side of carrots soon making a not-so-subtle appearance in front of her.
Instead, Leo pulled up a stool beside her and dug into his own piece as if pie and ice cream for dinner counted as the best idea ever.
Orion stood up and wagged his tail hopefully, looking from Emma to Leo and back again, as if trying to decide who was the easier target from which to beg a sample.
Wordlessly, Emma shook her head and pointed to the dog food and water positioned by the back door. Head down, Orion silently moseyed over, but he clearly felt dog food a pitiful substitute for apple pie.
Fingering the pills in her hand, she finally addressed the unpleasant task of swallowing them, quickly followed by the far more pleasant task of pushing the pills down with spoonfuls of warm apples, cinnamon, flaky crust, and sweet cream. Nothing else had sounded palatable, and the pie tasted heavenly.
“You make a delicious pie,” Leo concluded in between bites.
“Thank you,” Emma said, appreciating the compliment. “Dessert is usually my assignment for any holiday dinner. The pumpkin pie is good, too.”
“Maybe I’ll eat a piece of that for dessert,” he said in all seriousness.
Emma’s first impression of Leo was that he was a surly sort of fellow, but the past few minutes made her think that assumption unfair. Instead, it seemed possible that he really was a nice guy with a good sense of humor.
“I didn’t go to visit my brother with my parents because I had work to do,” Emma said, finally answering the question he’d asked before the distraction of pie. “This is my busiest time of the year. They usually take a trip around this time, and I always stay home to work. Then again, I usually stay home for their other trips, too. They travel a lot.”
She paused, trying to think how best to express what she wanted to say. How could she explain her life? Most twenty-eight-year-old women didn’t live with their parents. She had been on the receiving end of enough comments to figure out the obvious assumption that if a woman her age did live with her parent, there must be something wrong with her.
With the choice being blunt or saying nothing, Emma chose the first option. “I don’t live with my parents because I need to,” she explained firmly. “It’s a choice. Years ago, I was planning to move out, and they asked me to stay. Both my parents were retiring, and they wanted to travel. Since they didn’t want to leave the house empty, it made sense for me to stay. We turned one of the upstairs rooms into a studio for me to do my business, and I also have the run of dad’s shop in the garage. The arrangement has worked well, and it comforts my parents, in multiple ways, to have me home. We got Orion so I wouldn’t be alone, and it’s just the two of us quite often.”
Finishing his own snack, Orion ambled back as if on cue, making himself comfortable once more at Emma’s feet.
Leo nodded. “That makes sense, but you really don’t need to explain yourself to me. Lots of people live with their parents, and for much worse reasons than yours. I guess your parents probably baby you more than you would like, which makes you rather defensive from the start.”
Emma’s eyes narrowed. Emma had attended enough therapy sessions to recognize the rhetoric, and she didn’t like it. “I’m not sure I like you psychoanalyzing me, Chief Jacobs. I was just attempting to make conversation, which I’m admittedly not too accomplished at.”
“As was I. And It’s Leo.”
Emma scowled, watching silently as Leo assembled and ate a turkey sandwich.
“I didn’t mean to offend you,” he finally said after slipping the last bite into his mouth. “Your parents seemed quite concerned when I spoke with them. I think they will try to get home as quickly as possible, which you probably feel is unnecessary.”
Emma sighed and reluctantly acknowledged, “You’re right. About nearly everything. My parents are overly-protective of me. Though I love them and enjoy their company, I also enjoy the independence I have when they are gone. I hope they don’t cut their time at my brother’s house short. I’m fine.”
Despite her declaration, pain and exhaustion hounded her. Though the medication hadn’t halted the headache, she was beginning to feel a little groggy and knew she should go to bed before makin
g a fool of herself about more than accusing Leo of psychoanalyzing her.
Leo washed down his sandwich with a tall glass of water and cleaned up the kitchen.
“I’m going to bed,” Emma announced, standing to her feet. Orion stood up with her, brushing up against her leg protectively. She swayed, feeling the world shift as she tried to gain her bearings.
Orion whined, and Leo immediately appeared at her side. “Take it easy, Emma. Why don’t you let me help you?”
“I’m fine,” Emma repeated, realizing that seemed to be her mantra.
Despite her words, Leo put an arm around her shoulders and guided her into the living room.
“We have a spare bedroom if you’d rather sleep in there than on the couch,” she said, shrugging out of the supportive arm as soon as they approached the couch.
“No, I’d rather take the couch.” Leo yawned wearily and reached his arms out high in a stretch. Apparently finding his uniform shirt too confining, he unbuttoned it and tossed it on the couch, leaving him clad in a thin, white undershirt.
Emma gulped, noticing that the thick muscles in his arms and upper torso, while being quite effectively hidden beneath his uniform shirt, now clearly defined themselves through the papery white undershirt.
“Could you please leave now?” she asked abruptly.
Emma was unaccustomed to noticing a man’s physical attractiveness. Rather, she didn’t know how to react when she noticed. Historically, if ever she found a man handsome or attractive, she purposely looked the other way. An attractive man was forbidden candy. Why look when such a man would never feel the same way about her, especially with her challenges?
Leo sighed, and Emma read the impatience in both the glance he sent her way and the clipped tone of his words. “Look, I’m sorry if what I said made you feel like I was psychoanalyzing you. But I’m not leaving.”
“It’s not that. It’s just…” Emma struggled to find the words to explain her mess of emotions. “I would be a lot more comfortable if you left. Neither my parents or Angie need to know that you weren’t here, and I’m sure you would sleep much better in your own bed.”
Leo shook his head, looking at her sternly. “This isn’t about comfort, Emma. It’s about safety. I cleared it with your parents. You talked to them yourself. What if this evening’s assault wasn’t random? What if those three men know you and followed you to the church? What if they targeted you for some reason and didn’t intend for you to wake up from that hit to the head.”
Chills raced down Emma’s neck. What he said didn’t make any sense. Emma didn’t have enemies. She didn’t really have friends either, so the chance that she had encountered someone long enough for them to be angry and hold a grudge seemed very slim. She just didn’t interact with people outside her business, and the business of mailing off ornaments to those who ordered them online was about as impersonal as you could get.
Still, even though her mind calculated the likelihood of the attack being targeted as near impossible, Leo had spoken the thoughts aloud, and with them, the shadows seemed more sinister, and the windows hid imagined eyes that followed her every move.
Swallowing with more difficulty that she liked, Emma lifted her chin, reached down to stroke Orion’s head, and spoke bravely. “There is no evidence to suggest the thieves targeted me. I am not a child, and I don’t need a babysitter. I’m not stupid, and I’m fully able to make my own decisions. I know Angie told you to be kind and take care of me, but I get so tired of everyone tiptoeing around me. I am a smart and capable adult. I don’t want to be treated differently. If I were anyone else, you would have let me go home myself without a second thought.”
Emma wasn’t usually so vocal or emotional, and the effort of her speech left her breathless.
“Fine. I won’t treat you differently,” Leo said, flopping on the couch. “I’m staying. Go to bed. Leave me alone.” He shut his eyes as if completely dismissing her from his presence.
Emma opened and shut her mouth like a fish, feeling at a complete loss in how to respond. She expected an argument. When her mom gave an impassioned speech disagreeing with her dad, then he took a turn, resulting in an argument they later labeled a discussion. Leo, however, wasn’t even willing to take a turn and closed the discussion before they’d officially held one.
Emma’s options were scarce. She was smart enough to know that she wasn’t going to convince Leo to leave, not when he felt he was doing his job to protect her. Throwing him out of the house wasn’t an option. He weighed over twice her own weight. Convincing her parents to make him leave seemed unlikely as well. With a touch of amusement, she wished she could call the police and report him as a trespasser. They might even assign the case to the police chief himself—Leo Jacobs.
Her emotions deflated like a balloon, leaving her to feel unbearably weary. Her thoughts became muddled with the probable effects of the medication, and she realized she was no match in an argument anyway. Fearing that if she didn’t leave willingly, Leo might hop off the couch to carry her kicking and screaming to tuck her in bed, she turned for the stairs.
About five steps up the staircase, Emma realized Orion wasn’t following and turned back to see her dog still sitting by the couch, looking from her to Leo and back again. It was as if he didn’t want Emma to leave with unfinished business.
Following Orion’s gaze to Leo, guilt caught up with her at the sight of him sprawled across her couch.
I didn’t treat him well, did I, Lord? she realized, feeling the prompting in her spirit reminding that her actions should reflect and please her Savior.
Leo didn’t want to be here any more than she wanted him here. He wasn’t getting paid, nor was anything like this listed in his job description. He was trying to take care of her out of the goodness of his heart because Emma had no one else. And she had acted ungratefully and treated him terribly, all because he appeared too good-looking for her comfort.
“Can I get you some blankets… Leo?” she asked meekly.
Leo opened one eye. “No, I can get them myself.”
Emma nodded. “They are in the closet at the top of the stairs.” She paused, not wanting to leave with him being so obviously upset with her. “Can I get you anything else?”
“Go to bed, Emma,” he growled. “Before you get a taste of what I’m really like!”
At that moment, Orion jumped up to the middle of the couch, right on Leo’s stomach.
“Argh!” he groaned, scrambling to sit up with an 80-pound dog working to ride his lap like a cowboy on an angry bull.
“Orion, get down!” Emma ordered, tottering back down the stairs to pull her dog off the couch. “I’m so sorry, Chief Jacobs. Orion sometimes decides he’s a lap dog.”
“It’s Leo!” the man grunted. Then he pointed upstairs. “To bed! And take your dog, too!”
Emma nodded vigorously and hurried up the stairs as quickly as her weak legs allowed. “Come on, Orion,” she whispered, trying to make sure the dog followed obediently.
About halfway up, Emma stopped, waiting for the blackness around the edge of her dizzy vision to clear.
“If you need me to help you get up the stairs, I can do that,” Leo immediately called. “I’ll be right there to carry you up to bed,”
Emma’s eyes flew wide at the threat. “No, I can do it,” she assured, quickly putting one foot in front of the other to propel herself to the top.
Emma managed to brush her teeth and get herself in bed. Despite her discomfort at the knowledge of Leo parked on her couch downstairs, Emma fell asleep quickly.
She only stirred once in the night when her bedroom door creaked open softly. Strangely, the sound didn’t startle her. She woke with the immediate realization that Leo was coming to check on her, and she felt no fear.
Instead, she kept still as he noiselessly crept closer. She felt Orion shift and lift his head from where he lay at the foot of her bed and heard him whine softly in recognition. Then she felt Leo’s presence and knew he st
ood right beside her. Holding her breath, she felt his gaze take a slow, careful inventory of her face.
“Emma, I need you to wake up and take these pills.”
At his soft voice, Emma immediately sat up. Obediently, she accepted the pills and the glass of water and quickly took them before lying back down.
“Emma, can you tell me the name of the stars in your favorite constellation?” Leo asked quietly.
Emma pulled the pillow over her head and didn’t answer. If he really wanted to know, then he should ask her when it wasn’t pitch black outside.
“Please, Emma!” he pleaded gently. “I just need to make sure your concussion isn’t causing more trouble.”
“Regulus, Denebola, and Algieba,” she rattled off groggily.
A long beat of silence punctuated Emma’s words. Finally, as if concerned she had lost her senses and was speaking pure gibberish, he asked cautiously. “What are those?”
“The brightest stars in my favorite constellation,” she answered, sitting up slightly in bed so she could speak clearly and leave no doubt that she was fully coherent and simply needed to be left alone. “Now there are about eight other stars that help make up the main constellation and about ninety total stars that could be considered part of it as well. How many names do you actually want?”
“That won’t be necessary,” he answered swiftly. “The three names you gave are more than enough. Good night, Emma.”
Emma turned away to sink back into her pillow, pleased that she apparently passed observation and bypassed any further questions from Leo.
However, instead of simply turning to leave, Leo paused and gently pulled a blanket back up to Emma’s chin from where it had fallen off the side of the bed. Like a soft whisper, he was gone before she was sure he had been there at all.
Toward morning, Emma grew restless. Strange dreams plagued her, and yet she couldn’t stir enough to shake them off until the first rays of dawn’s light broke, turning the black in her room to gray.
Emma woke suddenly, skipping the in-between, confused stage. She woke clear-headed, instantly remembering what had happened yesterday and finding an urgency to accompany her immediate resolve.