A Kiss for Emily (Emily Stokes Series)

by J. P. Galuska

  Sam grinned a cheesy grin, almost like he knew what I was thinking. I kind of hoped he did, and would say something like, I’ve been waiting for you my whole life. But he didn’t. Instead, “Look there, Miss Emily,” came out. And he pointed into the dense woods.

  Retrieving my head from the clouds, I took a stance next to him.

  “Straight ahead, you’ll see some poplar trees.”

  I cleared my throat and tried to follow his path of sight. “You’re too tall. Crouch down.”

  Resting his hands on his knees, Sam matched my height. He turned to face me and unexpectedly, his lips were even with mine. Instantly, whatever point he was trying to make became immaterial. Suddenly I was filled with a new fantasy about being lost in the woods. Together. Just him and me. Now that would be an adventure.

  “How’s this?” he asked.

  Another shiver flushed my skin. “Nice?”

  Looking back into the forest, Sam pointed. “Look for the three trees that seem to be tied together in the middle of the trunks. Notice how they curve in and then back out.”

  Affirming my feeling of love at first sight, I forced my attention toward the trees. “The ones with the white bark?”

  “Yep, the aspens. Your house is in a straight line from here.” Sam pointed with a stocky finger. “I reckon you can keep a direct path if you use the trees as a reference.”

  I looked up at him, in gratitude. “Thank you, Sam.” I felt my cheeks flush red, realizing I would have been completely lost had it not been for him.

  “It’d be a mighty shame to find you mauled by a bear or something,” he laughed under his breath.

  “Bears, too?” My eyes widened.

  He chuckled louder. “It would be mighty unlikely, but one can never be too careful...”

  “Sam, you stop all this nonsense. We are in Kansas, not in the Land of Oz,” I shot back, a bit miffed, but secretly enjoying his sense of humor. “When can I see you again?”

  My forwardness seemed to surprise him. Then he stuffed his hands in his back pockets. “Tomorrow, I hope. There’s work to be done in the garden. I reckon the seeds can’t plant themselves.”

  Returning the smile, I waved a childish goodbye and headed towards the trio of trees.

  I was nearly there when his voice echoed through the woods, “Stay on the yellow brick road, Dorothy.”

  I spun around quickly, but he was already out of sight. Running back to the water’s edge, I looked up the creek. He was gone.

  Disappointed, I turned back around for home, when some markings in a tree trunk caught my eye.

  “This way to Sam’s” was carved in the trunk, with an arrow pointing upstream.

  I was in love.

  Chapter Twelve

  NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON’T

  MOM WAS BUSY IN THE KITCHEN when I walked in from the deck door.

  “Mmm! Something smells good.” I hugged her before peering into the simmering pot of homemade stew. “I’m glad I didn’t miss dinner.” Setting the lid back down, I turned a graceful pirouette over to the fridge and pulled out the jug of milk.

  “I was getting worried. God only knows where we’d begin to look for you if anything ever went wrong.”

  “I’m sorry,” I offered meagerly. Twisting off the cover, I held the plastic container to my lips and chugged four gulps. “Ahhh!” Wiping the white residue off my upper lip I asked, “Can I help you with anything?” I felt on top of the world and eager to share my happiness.

  Mom paused from arranging the sliced tomatoes on a plate and gave me the look that expressed, “So…you had a good day?”

  “This place might not be so bad after all. Call me for dinner, I’m going upstairs.”

  “Dinner,” she said, matter of factually, adding, “You can tell us all about your day over supper. Now, call Dad and Kat. We’ve been waiting.”

  “DAD AND KITTY, TIME FOR DINNER!” Since I was standing in the middle of the kitchen, I wanted to be extra loud.

  “Thank you, dear.” Mom handed me the plate of tomatoes and then opened the oven door. The aroma of hot biscuits filled the room.

  Kat came racing from the sunroom and sat down at the table, “Last one sitting down smells like skunk poop.”

  “That’s enough of that at the table, young lady,” Dad warned as he rounded the corner from the opposite direction.

  With dinner served, a lively conversation erupted at the table. I patiently nodded at all the right moments as I listened to Kat, who needed a bigger container for the insects she was collecting, and questioned the ethical practice if she were to freeze them alive in ice cubs, just to see what happened. Next, Dad was pleased with how comfortable his new hammock felt and had the best nap in his life. Mom took her turn next.

  “I saw a fawn and its mother today,” she said.

  “Sweet! Kat squealed with glee.

  “It was not!” Mom shrieked.

  “Oh?” Dad asked, wearily. Mom never said anything even remotely negative about any animal.

  “There they were, strolling through our yard.” Her expression clearly indicating this normally in control woman could go off at any second.

  “And?” he asked bravely.

  “They ate most of my new flower garden!”

  Mom loved her flowers.

  “Bastards!” Dad pounded the table with his fist. “Do you want me to get the guns?”

  For once, I kinda hoped that Mom would take the easy option. I could just see her forcing us into building some giant crates, like when we trapped and released the five rabbits that ate Mom’s tulips at our old house.

  “John, you are no help at all.”

  Dad put on his best I care face. “Don’t worry, Izzy. I’ll buy you some new flowers.” It was obvious he hadn’t purchased flowers before. She swooned at his generous offer.

  Even without a resolution to the deer problem, I couldn’t wait any longer to tell everyone about Sam. Just thinking about him made me go giddy.

  “I went for a walk today!”

  Smiles surrounding the table faded into vacant expressions.

  “Good for you, Honey,” Dad offered. “And you found your way home, too.”

  “I had a perfect day,” I insisted, ignoring his sarcasm, “well, except for when I fell and hit my head.” Uh-oh. Now I did it.

  “What?” Mom’s brow rose in worry, “You hit your head? Where? Let me see.” Mom got up from the table to inspect my head. “This is exactly what I was referring to. You could have been laying there for days and no one would have known where to find you.”

  “No, Mom, I’m okay. Really.” I tried to shoo her hand away.

  “Oh, you have a big lump on the back of your head.” She continued to sift through my hair.

  “Mom!” I growled, annoyed, mostly because my story was ruined.

  “When did this happen? We need to put some ice on it. John, we shouldn’t let her sleep alone tonight with such a big goose egg on her skull.” Mom continued fretfully. “I think I see a small cut.”

  Dad rolled his eyes as he headed for the freezer to retrieve the bag of peas marked “Do Not Eat.” Mom always overreacted when it came to head trauma.

  “Did you lose consciousness?” she asked, almost sounding frantic as she continued her interrogation.

  “I don’t think so.”

  As Dad walked past me, I saw him wince at my choice of words, which included the word “think.” It would give Mom an opening for more obsessing. Kat, who was also used to Mom’s overreactions, kept busy eating, avoiding eye contact. She couldn’t hide her smirks from me though. I kicked her underneath the table.

  “Ouch!” Kat said.

  “Did that hurt?” Mom asked me, still examining my head.

  “No, Mother, that wasn’t even me.”

  Kat giggled again. Returning with the frozen peas, Dad handed them to Mom who took them and gently laid them on my head.

  “I’ll clear the table,” Dad offered, probably as an excuse to escape, taking
several items with him to the sink.

  “Mom! Really, I’m fine,” I stated as firmly as possible. “I’ll tie the peas on my head for a while if that will make you happy, but I don’t think it’s necessary. It stopped hurting almost right away.” I turned sideways in my chair to look at her.

  Mom smiled at me with such love in her eyes. “All right, my Emily. But first we need to wash the cut.” She bowed her head and kissed me on my forehead.

  “I’ll get the ACE bandage to wrap up Emmy’s head.” Kat jumped up off the chair, excited to play medic.

  Hiding out in my bedroom with the bag of defrosted peas tossed on the floor, I absentmindedly flipped through a magazine. Luckily, Mom didn’t press the injury issue and take me to the ER to have an MRI. That would have prevented me from reliving my afternoon with Sam, over and over again. And the sign Sam left for me in the tree.

  At least I hoped it was for me.

  What if the message was old—meant for a past girlfriend? What if he has a girlfriend now?

  Mom poked her head around the corner of my door, interrupting my new worry. “How are you feeling?”

  “Fine.”

  “Let me check your pupils.” She was on the verge of restarting her obsession.

  “Mother!” I glared.

  “Okay, okay. I just worry,” she confessed.

  “Too much.” I tossed the magazine over the bag of peas in hopes she hadn’t spotted them yet. “But I love you, anyway.” I got up off my chair to hug her and to let her stare at my pupils. She hugged me again. I dared to ask a seemingly random question, “Can I paint my bedroom green?”

  “Green? Where did that come from?”

  “Today, walking in the woods. Green is just so, calming. And cheery.” And Samish.

  Without so much as a blink of an eye, she gave her consent. “Let’s go look at paint samples this week.”

  “Yeah!” I squeaked, a bit over excited, clapping my hands together in tiny movements.

  “I’m off to bed. Don’t stay up too late.”

  “’Night, Mom.”

  She turned and left but not before getting her official goodnight kiss. Flopping back on my lounger chair, I realized I was a bit sleepy myself. Sliding my tongue across my teeth, I felt little fuzzy sweaters covering most of them. After a good brushing, and other bedtime rituals, I headed back to my bedroom. On the way, I noticed a dim glow coming from Kat’s room.

  “Are you still up?”

  “Yeah, I’m not tired.” She was watching a video on a small TV that sat upon her dresser.

  “Guess what?” I taunted.

  “You hit your head and now you can’t remember who you are.”

  “Whatever,” I sneered. “I met someone today.” I whispered, almost like it was a secret.

  Kat sat up in bed, “Who?”

  “His name is Sam. Come here, I want to show you something. He gave me a flower.” I grabbed her small hand and pulled her out from under her quilted bedspread. Grabbing my shirt from the back of my desk chair, I reached into the pocket to retrieve the delicate red bud from its place of safety. Only there were no soft petals. Instead, I felt…grit. I pulled the pocket open wide and peered into its depths. It was filled with dark, dry dirt.

  “That’s strange.”

  “What is?”

  “I must have lost it,” I said disappointedly, shaking the dirt out into the wastebasket.

  “It’s just a stupid flower.”

  “And you’re too little to understand.”

  She crossed her arms. “All right, tell me more.”

  “He is the cutest guy I’ve ever seen in my life. No one at T-West even begins to hold a candle next to him.”

  “Even Alex?”

  “Especially Alex. I’m going to see Sam again, tomorrow. We’re going to plant a vegetable garden together.”

  Kat’s face cringed. “You?”

  “I know, it sounds weird, but he is just so—cool.”

  “Did ya kiss him?” Kitty’s eyes gleamed, waiting for details.

  I imagined him and me in a romantic first kiss. “No.”

  Her eyes dimmed.

  “But I’d like to.”

  Kat’s nose crinkled.

  Chapter Thirteen

  A ROAD LESS TRAVELED

  DRUGS PROBABLY WON’T kill a person the first time they try them. But sometimes, there are worse things than dying. The road to hell always begins as planned… excitement, comfort, numbness—whatever it is the person is after. If not, Satan would never get anyone to play along.

  Alex was after anesthetic qualities. He could no longer stand the pain that resided in his otherwise barren heart that was first betrayed by his wreck of a family, his father’s suicide, and now dismissed by the girl he’d loved since seventh grade. He used to spend many nights imagining himself as the Prince Charming type, rescuing the girl from herself. The only problem was that she never needed rescuing. She was everything he was not.

  It was him that needed the rescuing.

  He closed his eyes, hoping to end the torment, as he relived his desperate, unorganized display of affection, at which he failed miserably. After five years of wishing, hoping…she was gone. Emily was gone, forever. He knew she wouldn’t call.

  All of his energy had left him. He hadn’t showered since the night she left Topeka. He hadn’t found the desire to eat. He hadn’t done anything in the past miserable week, except today. He went to the side of town where no one should be, to buy the stuff that no one should buy. Other than that, he remained confined to his bed, with the shades closed tight and the lights turned off. He felt less in the dark. He craved less pain, if there ever could be. His pain was excruciating, even in the dark.

  Chapter Fourteen

  LOST CHANCES

  AFTER TUCKING KITTY BACK INTO HER BED, I went outside to play my guitar. I was no longer tired and my head was full with thoughts. Warm night air still lingered in the breeze, and the partial moon shined brightly, unveiling varying shades of gray. An owl’s hoot rose out from the darkened woods while a pair of frogs took turns at filling the otherwise quiet night sky. The frogs were safe for now, but I wondered how long before their croaking would lure in one of the varmints Sam talked about.

  I strummed my guitar.

  God, I hope he doesn’t have a girlfriend.

  I knew I shouldn’t let my emotions get the best of me, but it was difficult to deny these feelings. I’d never felt this way before in my life. If it wasn’t love, what else could it be?

  There were so many things I didn’t know about Sam. What exactly do farmers do all day long? Or maybe, he planned on giving up farming and that’s why he wasn’t going to plant crops this year? And what about his family? Where were they?

  Butterflies tickled my stomach in anticipation of seeing him again tomorrow. I could hardly wait. Since he was a farm boy, I assumed he woke up at sunrise. Was that too early?

  Probably. And what about Kat? I didn’t want her tagging along. Being annoying. I wanted it to be just me and Sam.

  The call of the wild let itself be heard off in the distance: howling. Whether it be a fox or a coyote, I had no idea. Nevertheless, Sam was telling the truth. There were creatures out there. Some of them no doubt ferocious. Not that I thought he would lie, but this just seemed to add to his credibility. He was amazing.

  Something brought my attention back to myself and I was surprised to realize I had stopped playing my guitar. A smile spread across my lips. It was a good place to end the day.

  Without turning on a light, I cranked the windows open in my bedroom and continued to listen to the sounds of nature. No honking horns. No screaming sirens. Just nature. The passing of a train began to vibrate the floor beneath me. Maybe Sam and I could jump aboard the train together.

  I opened my eyes to the bright sunlight shining directly into my room. Spring not only extended the evening daylight hours, but also brought an earlier morning. I looked at my clock, seven am.

  After rolling ou
t of bed, I shuffled to the top of the stairs and overheard my parents talking. They hadn’t left for work yet. Mom stated my name and Kat’s name in the same sentence. I decided I’d better see what it was about and trotted downstairs.

  “Good morning, Sunshine.” Dad seemed chipper.

  I smiled a tired smile, trying to appear enthusiastic.

  “Oh, Emily, dear. I’m so glad you’re awake. How are you feeling?” she asked, walking over to me with raised hands, ready to inspect my head.

  “Still fine, Mom.” I looked over at Dad who was twirling his finger beside his temple in a “she’s crazy” gesture. “Thanks for asking.”

  “Emily, dear,” Mom began again. She needed a favor, I could tell. “Will you take Kat into town today for day camp?”

  I knew it. I was about to protest when I realized this could work for me. I would be free to spend the day with Sam. “Sure, I’d love to.”

  Mom and Dad shot a look of surprise at each other. “Who are you, and what have you done with our daughter?” Dad asked.

  “Ha, ha. What time does she need to be there?” I sounded too excited for the task. I must remain calm, I reminded myself, but I thought I was going to bust, just thinking about it.

  “I was just leaving you a note that explains the details. It starts at nine am.,” Mom said. “You don’t need to worry about picking her up. We’ll bring her home with us after work.”

  “Perfect!” I agreed, and it really was.

  With high expectations, I got myself ready, and then went to wake up Kitty. Surprisingly, she was already awake. I found her sitting at the table, sipping chocolate milk from a neon green straw.

  “You get to go to camp today!” I celebrated her fun, as well as my own freedom from babysitting.

  She released the straw from her lips. “Yeah.” She solemnly returned to taking another long sip.

  “Come on, sleepy head.” I tousled the top of her hair. “It’s going to be a great day!” Again, I was thinking about my own day more than hers.