Emily's Choice

by Heather McCoubrey

  “Emily?”

  She cracked an eye open. “Where am I?”

  “The hospital. Can I get you anything?”

  “Water,” she croaked.

  Jason stood and brought the straw to her lips. She drank thirstily. “Whoa, just small sips. Doctor’s orders,” he said with a small smile.

  “Sadie?”

  “With your Dad. She’s safe.”

  “Thank God.” The short conversation had exhausted her, so she fell back to sleep, her mind at ease over Sadie. When she woke a little while later, some of the events came back to her. Grace, the funeral, Lila going crazy. The lights were dimmer in the room now, so she chanced opening both eyes this time.

  “Is Sadie safe?”

  “Yes, she’s with your Dad.”

  “And Lila?”

  “Dead. Fred shot her.”

  “Does Sadie know where I am?”

  “Yes. She knows you got hurt and are spending some time in here. When you feel up to it, she wants to see you.”

  “How long have I been here?”

  “Three days.”

  “What?” she asked in a panic, trying to sit up. The pain in her shoulder made tears spring to her eyes.

  Jason gently pushed her back against the bed. “Lie down, Em. You need to rest. You lost a crapload of blood and your shoulder required surgery.”

  “But three days?”

  “You obviously needed the rest. You’ve been through a lot, and did I mention you lost a lot of blood? You weren’t conscious when I found you.”

  “My baby. She’s never been away from me this long.”

  “She’s doing fine, I promise. To her, it’s all a big adventure. Plus, she has Hope.”

  Emily sighed. “Right. Okay.” She took a deep breath. “How long do I have to stay in here?” she asked, yawning.

  “I don’t know. The doctor will be around first thing in the morning.”

  “Why am I so thirsty?” she asked, eyeing the pitcher of water again.

  “Don’t know? Blood loss? The fact you’ve been asleep for three days? Who knows. Another question for the doctor in the morning.”

  “And I’m so tired,” she complained, fighting her eyes to stay open. “I have more questions.”

  “Sleep, Em, we can talk later.”

  She nodded and promptly fell back to sleep.

  When she woke the third time, it was with a squeal of pain as she tried to roll over on her injured shoulder.

  “Em?”

  He was still here, oh God. What was she going to do? How could she face him? What could she say to him to make up for the horrible things she’d said and done?

  She kept her eyes closed, praying he’d leave if he thought she was asleep.

  “Emily? Are you in pain?” He took her hand in his and caressed the back of her hand.

  “Why are you still here? What have I done to deserve it?” she whispered, keeping her eyes tightly closed. Afraid of what she’d see if she looked at him.

  “Because I love you, Emily. Because when I found you, in that room, blood everywhere and you unconscious, I thought you were dead. My heart shattered. I prayed. I begged. I bartered my life for yours. You are and have always been my true love. You will always be my entire life.”

  She cracked an eye open, peering up into his eyes filled with love and concern.

  Hers filled with tears. “I’m so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”

  He leaned closer, his fingers tightening on her hand. “What do you have to be sorry about?”

  “So much, but mostly for running away without giving you a chance to explain. And for keeping Sadie away, you missed all her firsts.”

  “Well, yeah, I guess there’s that,” he said, smiling.

  “With everything that’s happened, I feel like an utter fool for letting it go on so long. All I can say was that I was hormonal, excited, nervous, scared, and I couldn’t see past what was right in front of me.”

  “I didn’t remember a thing. The only way I know nothing happened was because I woke that morning fully clothed.”

  Emily giggled. “Well, we know that’s not normal behavior for you.”

  “See, and that’s what I tried to tell you all along. I don’t remember her being in my room. I don’t remember kissing her. I can’t imagine we got far. I woke up with a hangover you wouldn’t believe. And my first thought was that you were gonna kill me for being late to pick up the cake and man flowers. Then I heard your dad downstairs putting up a ruckus. I raced downstairs and he clocked me,” Jason said, rubbing his jaw like it had happened that morning.

  “He didn’t,” she gasped.

  “He did. Knocked me back against the railing. Would have done more, too, if Dad hadn’t pulled him off me!”

  She ran her hand down his face. “I’m sorry.”

  “It might have been worth it,” he grinned, raising his eyebrows. “If this conversation is going in the direction I hope it is.”

  “And what direction is that?”

  “In the direction of you plus me equals happily ever after.” He lifted her hand to his lips and placed a delicate kiss on her palm.

  “I have a life in Boston. It’s going to take me some time to extricate myself from that.”

  “Understood. We can make it work, we can make everything work—so long as we believe and trust in each other,” he said earnestly.

  “You’re right,” she said, taking a long, deep breath. “We can and we will.”

  “When they let you out of here, I have something special to show you.”

  “Are you really going to do that to me?”

  “What? Leave you in suspense?”

  “Yeah.” She nodded.

  “Sure am. I figure I have a few freebies to use and this is one I can’t pass up. It’ll be totally worth it.”

  Emily grinned, inclining her head. “You do. And I guess I’ll try to be patient.”

  “How long do you think it’ll take for you to pack up your life in Boston?”

  “I don’t know. I have some projects to finish up. I won’t leave Kendra in the lurch. Ideally I’ll wait until she hires my replacement, but I can work from here. Well, once my shoulder is healed.” Her eyes widened and she gasped. “Oh no.” Her eyes darted around the room. “Where’s my phone? Oh crap!”

  “What?”

  “The proposal and Maryanne,” she groaned.

  “Calm down. I spoke to some guy named Phil. He called your cell phone the other day, and I answered it after the fifth time he called.”

  “You did?”

  He nodded and smile reassuringly. “I did. I told him what happened and he said to tell you to take your time, take it easy. He has the proposal well in hand. And he presented everything to Maryanne. She loved your design with the new window and wants to go with it. And she’s willing to wait until you’re all better to get started.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “About what?”

  “Maryanne.”

  “Yeah, that’s what Phil told me. He also said to tell you: ‘You’re the Man.’ Whatever that means.”

  Emily barked with laughter, which quickly turned to a moan when her shoulder resisted the sudden movement.

  “Please be careful,” Jason pleaded.

  “We bet on Maryanne’s designs,” she explained. “I won. That’s what he meant.” She giggled, trying hard not to move her shoulder. “Anyway, as I was saying. Ideally, it would take about a month to get situated, but here’s the thing.” She paused to catch her breath and gather her thoughts and courage. She took a sip of water and looked him straight in the eye. “I love you, Jason. In fact, I never stopped. I dreamed of you almost every night. I wished for our life, the one we planned in our apartment in Santa Fe after we found out I was pregnant with Sadie. I longed for your arms around me, your strength, your sense of humor. I longed for a partner, someone to snuggle with in front of the TV, someone to cozy up to in bed. Every breath I took was yours. Every beat of my heart sang
your name. I am so sorry for running away. I promise never to do that again.” She finished strong. No tears and she was proud of that. She wanted him to know she meant what she said. No questions, no qualms, no worries.

  “Ah, Em.” He rested his forehead on the hand he was clutching in his. “Do you know how long I’ve waited to hear you say that?”

  “Like two years?” she laughed.

  “Yeah, like that.” He bent over and placed a tentative kiss against her lips.

  She wasn’t having that. She reached up with her good hand and pulled him closer. She parted her lips, letting him know she was all in.

  God, how she’d missed this. Missed him. She wanted more. So much more. She slanted her head, trying to get more. And he gave her more.

  It didn’t last nearly long enough. He pulled away.

  “Em, we need to slow down. You are in no shape for this.”

  “But it’s been so long,” she cried in frustration.

  “It has,” he agreed. “But you still need to rest. And besides,” he said, sitting back down in his chair. He reached into his shirt pocket. “I can’t give this back to you if your lips are busy with mine.” He held up her engagement ring. It sparkled in the fluorescent lights, and she gasped in delight.

  “How did you?”

  “Grace found it one day while she was cleaning. Gave it to me, just in case.”

  Emily reached for it.

  “Uh-uh.” He raised it just out of her reach.

  “Hey!”

  “Nope, you can’t just have it back. It comes with conditions.”

  “Oh, really?” She raised a brow. “Like what?”

  “Like, you have to promise to love me forever.”

  “Done. Promise.”

  “You have to promise to move back here and live happily ever after.”

  “Done. Promise.”

  He dropped to one knee. “You have to promise to marry me.”

  “Oh,” her voice cracked, tears gathering in her eyes. “I promise.”

  A smile, bright as the summer sun, bloomed across his face. “All right then. I guess you can have this back.”

  She held out her hand and he slid the ring back on her proper finger. It still fit perfectly, and it felt so right to be wearing it again.

  “I love you, babe,” he said as he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

  “I love you.” She sighed, leaning her head back against the bed. “Will you be here when I wake up?”

  “Wild horses couldn’t drag me away. I’ll have your Dad bring Sadie in the morning.”

  “Perfect. I miss her.” Her eyes drifted closed. Just as she drifted off to sleep, she remembered the canceled hotel. “There’s just one thing I can’t figure out,” she said sleepily.

  “What’s that?” he asked, stroking her hair.

  “Who canceled our hotel room? Lila never mentioned it, and I would assume after everything she confessed, she wouldn’t have forgotten that.”

  “Oh,” Jason said, smiling brightly. “That was me.”

  “What?” Emily gasped.

  “Yep. They were booked solid, so I canceled your rooms, knowing you’d have to get some elsewhere. It was my sneaky trick to spend more time with you while you were here.”

  Smiling to herself, Emily laid her head back against the pillows and closed her eyes. “Sneaky, indeed. But it worked. You started worming your way back into my heart.”

  Jason leaned forward and placed a kiss on her lips.

  “Thank you Jason,” she mumbled, quickly losing her battle with consciousness. “Thank you for not giving up on me.”

  “Anytime, babe,” he whispered, brushing a lock of hair away from her eyes as she drifted into sleep. “You don’t give up on the one you love. Ever.”

  Epilogue

  Six weeks later

  “Where are we going?” Emily asked, looking out the window of Jason’s truck.

  “It’s a surprise,” he replied, grinning.

  “Are you finally going to show me what you promised me in the hospital?”

  “I am.”

  “We have enough time?” she asked, glancing at the clock on the dash.

  He nodded. “It’s on the way, and it shouldn’t take too long.”

  Emily smiled and reached for his hand. She tilted her face to catch the warm breeze blowing through the truck’s window. In a few hours she’d be on a plane back to Boston to start packing up the apartment. Jason would be following next week with Sadie and they were going to drive the moving truck back to Mosquero.

  Emily smiled to herself, thinking back on the couple of weeks after she’d gotten out of the hospital and was recuperating at home. She’d been half-afraid to call Kendra and offer her resignation, but she knew it was the right decision. She wanted to move back to New Mexico, to be with Jason and close to her family. If Grace’s death and her own near-death experience had taught her anything, it was that family was important and you never knew when your time was up.

  So, when she’d called to offer her resignation, Kendra refused to accept it. Instead, she’d given Emily her dream come true. She offered Emily a partnership in the company, an equal partnership, and suggested Emily open an office in New Mexico.

  She was still pinching herself. She’d been calling around Mosquero, Logan, and Roy looking for office space, but so far she hadn’t found anything she liked or that worked for her purposes. She didn’t really want to go to Santa Fe, the commute and time away from her family wasn’t something Emily was excited about.

  Phil was planning to take over all of Emily’s Boston projects, starting with Maryanne’s remodel. When Emily got back to town, she and Phil were going to go over all the plans and Emily was going to help him start the remodel later in the week.

  She lifted her arm to put her hand out the window, wincing a bit at the pain in her shoulder. The doctors told her she’d feel it for at least a few more weeks and encouraged her to continue with the physical therapy. She just wanted to be better, and the drive into Santa Fe twice a week was starting to wear on her.

  Jason had been her constant companion. He’d surprised her several times with romantic dinners, picnic lunches, and hours of togetherness. She was enjoying getting to know him again and loved watching him with Sadie. He was a terrific father, and Sadie was blossoming under his love and attention.

  The aftermath of Mama G’s death was still hard to come to terms with. There was a huge empty hole in the family and Emily could feel it even in the house. Clint was throwing himself into work on the ranch and spending time with all his grandchildren. There wasn’t a quiet moment in the house when Clint was away from the ranch work. Emily would catch glimpses of his grief deep in his eyes when he didn’t think anyone was looking.

  Hope was grieving in her own way. She’d flown Lila’s body to Boston and attended the funeral. Lila’s parents had kept her crimes a secret and no one could blame them. There was nothing to be done anyway; Lila had paid the ultimate price for her crimes. Death.

  Hope was contemplating a move to New Mexico as well. Derek had kept himself close, working from the kitchen and being available for Hope. They’d chosen a date for the wedding, Grace’s birthday, and were busy planning the big day.

  Emily felt Mama G’s presence often in the past weeks. A smile on Sadie’s face for no reason, the scent of her perfume on the breeze, a bit of peace in the midst of grief. Yes, moving back was the right choice, and if she had but one regret, it was that she’d ever left in the first place.

  “Here we are,” Jason said quietly, pulling her from her thoughts.

  Emily looked up and then turned to Jason.

  “What is this?” she asked, confusion marring her face.

  “Our home,” he said simply. “At least, I hope it’ll be our home.”

  “Our home?” Emily asked, pulling the handle on the door and jumping out.

  Jason grinned and joined her in front of the truck. He took hold of her hand and started leading her to the front
door. “Our home. This was supposed to be your wedding present. Of course, it wasn’t finished then, basically just an idea on paper. But I’d gotten Dad to give me some land and started gathering bids for the job.”

  “Oh, Jason,” she croaked, tears gathering in her eyes. She turned stricken eyes on him and leaned her forehead against his chest.

  “I had hope that I’d win you back eventually, so I chose a company to build the house. And after you said you’d marry me, I called them and had them build an addition.”

  They’d reached the front door and Jason opened it. He bent down and scooped Emily into his arms, walking her across the threshold. “Welcome home, babe.” He leaned down and brushed a gentle kiss across her lips.

  “This is the sweetest, most amazing gift,” she whispered.

  “I hope you like it,” he said, setting her on her feet.

  They spent the next twenty minutes exploring the house. The huge kitchen with bay windows overlooking the backyard. The four bedrooms upstairs, one already decorated for Sadie. The master bedroom and bathroom adjacent to the kitchen. The great family room, complete with fireplace and large windows. Emily oohed and aahed over it all, finding no fault with anything she saw. Excitement bubbled up inside her when she thought of all the ways she could decorate.

  “One last thing before we head to the airport,” he said, taking her hand and leading her outside. They rounded the side of the house and Jason led her into what Emily assumed was the garage. But once she crossed the threshold, she realized what she was actually looking at.

  The perfect office space.

  “It’s not attached to the house; you have to go outside to get to it. I can have them change that, but I thought it would be a better idea to have it separate. That way it really feels like an office and you don’t have clients going through our house.”

  “It’s wonderful,” she said, eyes bright with more tears. “It’s perfect.”

  “You like it?”

  “I do, I really do.” She turned and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Thank you.”

  He kissed the top of her head, wrapping his own arms around her. “I love you, Emily.”

  “My heart is overflowing, Jason,” she said, squeezing him tightly. “I love you.”

  “Good surprise, then?”