by Norah Wilson
Tucking her credit card away, she put her backpack down on the table beside their breakfasts—two eco-friendly take-out boxes packed in a big paper bag—and slid out of the booth. As she did, she felt the gaze of many other diners on her.
She couldn’t blame Jace for taking the call outside, both for privacy and to get away from the din. And after Budge Colpitts’s display, when Jace rose with the phone to his ear, all eyes had been on him again.
Not that being the cynosure had intimidated him. Not in least. He’d given them that face she remembered from his boxing days. That look of steel in his eyes, the hint of challenge in the set of his mouth.
Apparently some things hadn’t changed. He’d still stand up to anyone.
What had he said? Somewhere inside, I’m still the same Jace and you’re still the same Ember.
And that kiss. It had done the same old things to her, stirred up the same old feelings. And then some. She was no virginal eighteen-year-old anymore.
She grabbed her jacket from the hook on the side of the booth, pulled it on and zipped it. Shouldering the backpack, she grabbed the take-out bag in her other hand. Then she put the bag down again and patted her pockets.
Dammit. Her lucky red scarf. She was sure she’d had it on when she’d said goodbye to her brothers and set off for the cabin. Had she lost it along the way? Then she remembered that sense that she was forgetting something when they’d packed this morning to go meet Ryker at the river’s edge.
She’d left it at the camp. Crap! She loved that scarf.
Okay, not the greatest loss in the world, Ember.
Right. She had more pressing matters to think about.
She picked up the take-out bag again and headed for the exit. She was almost out the door when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She stopped and turned, holding the door ajar, half expecting it to be Budge Colpitts again. Well, if she or anyone else wanted to give her a piece of their mind, take a parting shot about her association with Jace Picard, she was ready for them.
Except when she turned, she met a friendly male face. A familiar one, though she couldn’t quite place it. The man was tall, well-muscled, middle-aged, and he was holding the hand of a little girl with lopsided, falling-out braids tied at the end with red elastics. She shot Ember a confident smile. Ember smiled back.
“My name’s Janette,” she said. “They tell me I look like a Janette, so you might have guessed that all ready.”
Ember nodded. “Why, yes, I had. A very smart and awesome Janette.”
It was the girl’s turn to nod. “I know, right?”
“Sorry to bother you,” the man said.
It clicked as soon as she heard his gravelly voice. “You’re a friend of Dad’s, aren’t you? I’ve seen you out at the farm. Mr…” She reached for his name, but her memory just wouldn’t cough it up.
“Kirkpatrick.” He smiled. “Stuart Kirkpatrick.”
“Right, Mr. Kirkpatrick.”
“Stuart, please.”
The more he spoke the more she remembered him. “You’ve been to quite a few of our Christmas parties in the Far South Barn.”
“Quite a few,” he acknowledged.
“Didn’t you used to bring those enormous chocolate chip cookies, big as the palm of your hand?” Oh, she was way too hungry to be thinking of those.
He smiled. “Guilty.”
“Those cookies are the best!” Janette said. “But Grampy says I can only have half of one, ’cuz I’m small.”
Ember’s smile widened, imagining the little girl eating even half of one of those monster cookies. “Your grampy is a wise man.”
Stuart’s own smile slowly faded. “Listen, Ember,” he said. “I saw you here with Jace Picard. About what Budge said…she was way out of line.”
Ember looked around the busy restaurant. The head of the PR-PUSH, or whatever Jace had called it, had since left the premises. Too bad. She’d love for her to get an earful of this.
“I couldn’t agree more. She was completely out of line. I’ve been away for a while, but I know Jace Picard. He’s a good man. He’d never do anything to hurt this region or the people. He’s his father’s son.”
“And a lucky lad he is,” said a male voice at a nearby table.
“Lucky?” She glanced at the speaker, an old man. With his grizzled, patchy beard, skeletal face, and rheumy eyes, he made Mrs. Dufour look like a spring chicken. “How so?”
“Lucky to have landed a good-looking little gal like you.” He nodded to her. “Man needs a good woman by his side.”
“Amen to that, Charlie,” someone muttered.
Practically everyone in Chloe’s Back Porch was looking at her now, many nodding in approval. Ember felt the heat rise in her cheeks. Always lovely on a redhead.
“About what Budge said and folks’ reaction...there’s just a lot of tension,” Stuart said. “Economically, it’s hard times around the region. But nobody wants to see something come in that’ll hurt the area down the road.”
She was itching to get out the door to find out what Jace had learned, yet she couldn’t walk away from these people whose concern was written so deeply in their lined faces.
“I know,” she said.
“I hope Budge’s outburst won’t dissuade you from setting up practice here. I mean, if you were considering the area. Were you?”
In point of fact, she hadn’t been. “I’m…I’m thinking over all my options.”
“Well, I hope coming home is one of those options,” Stuart said. “We badly need another doctor in the region.”
Murmurs of agreement rose from those gathered. Even Janette.
Ember smiled. “Good to see you, Stuart.”
He patted her shoulder warmly. “You too, Ember.”
“Catch you later, Janette,” Ember said.
“Later.”
She pushed the door fully open and damned near banged into Jace in the entryway.
Her surprise was momentary. Of course he would take Bridget’s call in the vestibule rather than outside in that howling wind. She’d locked Ryker’s truck so that wasn’t an option.
Jace stood there, leaning on his crutches, cell phone tucked away. Storm in his eyes. “I was just about to come back in.”
“What did she—”
“Let’s talk outside. In the truck.”
He held the outer door open for her, a ridiculous act of chivalry given that he was on crutches. She preceded him, but then held the door so he could exit more easily. They hurried across the parking lot, fighting the blustery wind and a few drops of rain. Ember opened the passenger side door. When he’d stowed his crutches behind the seat and climbed in, she passed him the takeout bag, then closed his door behind him. Circling the truck, she climbed in behind the wheel.
Before she’d even dealt with her seatbelt, she asked, “What did Bridget Northrup have to say?”
“Next to nothing.” He jammed his own seatbelt into place with an audible click.
“She didn’t remember that night either?”
He pulled a hand over the scruff on his face. “Didn’t say that.”
“Did she know who it was calling her?”
“Yeah. She remembered me.” He met her gaze. “And she knows Terry quite well, as you guessed. Or rather knew him. It’s been awhile since she’s had contact.”
Not that it was that difficult to put together. Terry was well known for sleeping around. Bridget-with-the-Spider Northrup was undoubtedly not the only girl he’d taken out to the camp.
“So what did she remember about that night?”
“She wouldn’t talk about it over the phone.”
Ember’s jaw dropped. “Why?”
“She wants to meet us. In person. Tomorrow.”
“Us?”
“Us.” That telltale muscle ticked in his jaw. “I told her you were here with me.”
“And she knows who I am? The old girlfriend?”
“Yeah.” He faced forward, but she had the idea he wasn�
�t really seeing the other cars in the parking lot or the trees dancing in the wind. “I was prepared to fight to have you present, so you could hear what she had to say unfiltered, but I didn’t have to. She was adamant about you being there.”
She swallowed. Bridget Northrup wanted to meet her? Why? She would have thought she’d be the last person Bridget would want to see.
Things didn’t seem quite so cut and dried as they had years ago.
The silence in the truck was so complete, the scattered, wind-driven raindrops hitting the roof sounded impossibly loud.
“She knows we broke up because of that night.”
He turned to face her, looking so much like his teenage self. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed in her chest.
“And she knows how much I cared about you,” he continued. “ She—”
“Let’s go see her right now.”
“We can’t,” he said.
She frowned. “Why not?”
“She’s going to see her aunt today. And I already asked—the visit can’t be delayed. She’s delivering something her aunt has been waiting on. So it has to be tomorrow, if that fits your schedule...”
“Oh, it fits,” Ember said.
He smiled at her vehemence. “That’s what I figured you’d say. So I told her we’d be there as early as we could.”
“Good.”
He turned his gaze forward again, allowing her to study his face in profile. His worried face.
Several seconds ticked by.
“What is it?” she asked softly. “I know something else is on your mind.”
He hesitated. “You know what Budge Colpitts said inside? The hazardous waste stuff?”
She nodded.
“Terry wants to bring a facility to Harkness.”
“To Harkness? No way! What would that do to the environment? Oh God, what’ll it do to the town?”
“You mean what’s left of the town.”
Okay, that was fair. Like many areas of New Brunswick, Harkness’s population was steadily dwindling with the exodus of citizens—mostly young adults—going west in search of jobs. It was an economic reality. But a hazardous waste treatment facility? Wayne Picard had been a strong believer in job creation, but not at such a potentially high cost to the environment.
“I understand we need jobs, but this...this is so wrong for Harkness.”
“Agreed. And wrong for WRP Holdings too. Well, Dad’s vision of it, anyway. But it’s right for Terry.”
“Is it right for you, Jace?”
She studied his face. What was it? That sudden hardening of his jaw, the shift in his eyes. Why such tension pouring in?
Ember’s phone rang. She fished it out of her jacket and looked at the display. “I’ve gotta take this.” She tapped to answer. “Dad, hi,” she said brightly.
He was relieved to hear her voice; she could read it in his tone. And in his carefully worded inquiries about her well-being.
“I’m great, no worries.” Conscious that Jace was listening to the exchange, she glanced over at him. “But Dad, you know that parcel Danny Parker needed delivered out to the old Picard camp? Well you’ll never guess who the patient was. You know…the one whose name you forgot?”
Chapter 12
APART FROM getting out of the truck to stand in the driving rain, all Jace could do was listen to Ember’s conversation with her father. The same as he’d listened to her talking to the folks back at Chloe’s diner.
Okay, there was a difference. She knew he could hear her conversation with Arden. Back there at the restaurant, she’d clearly had no idea he was on the other side of the slightly cracked door while she’d defended him.
Yes, defended him. And pretty vehemently. He was still trying to process that, coming as it had from a woman who’d called him a son of a bitch not twenty-four hours ago.
She sighed into the phone, drawing his attention.
“Dad, I’m a grown woman. We don’t need to have that talk.”
Jesus, what had that been in response too?
Ember smiled throughout the call—through the bucketloads of fatherly advice that Arden was obviously dishing out. Finally, she ended the call with a “Love you too. Goodnight, Dad.”
At her loving tone, Jace felt that scraping inside. He couldn’t help it.
Family. The Standishs were that kind of close-knit, caring family he admired. He’d always been happy that Ember had such a happy family life, but it was hard sometimes.
He used to dream about building a family. He swore if he ever got the chance to be a father, he’d be just as supportive and attentive as he knew Arden Standish had always been of his children. But these days, that was a big if. Oh, there were lots of women around who’d gladly walk down the aisle on the arm of a Picard man, and they probably wouldn’t be too particular which one. That wasn’t going to happen for Jace. He’d marry for love or not at all. If the parents didn’t love each other, he didn’t see how they could forge the kind of family he wanted.
Ember shoved her phone into her pocket and returned her attention to him.
“So, back to Bridget. What else can you tell me?”
“I can tell you my Google search results were behind the times. She’s taken a year off from teaching to complete her master’s in education. She’s sublet her place in Crandler, and is staying with her fiance in Edmundston.”
“Edmundston? What’s she doing way up there? I mean, if she’s doing her MEd, wouldn’t she be in Fredericton?”
He shrugged. “Maybe she’s doing it online.”
“I suppose. Or maybe through a thesis option.” She brushed a strand of wet hair back from her face. “So, how far away are we from Edmundston? Two hours?”
“A little longer, I think. But I haven’t traveled that road in a while so I don’t know what condition it’s in.”
“I guess we’re going on a road trip, then.”
Jace looked into Ember’s eyes. God help him, he should tell her about the farm. But if he did, she’d never go with him to meet with Bridget. She wouldn’t hang around for explanations. She’d kick him out of the truck and drive off. She sure as hell wouldn’t go on a road trip with him.
He had to hold off telling her. He wanted her to be there when he finally heard the truth—whatever that turned out to be. No, he needed her there.
She was going to hate him all over again, but he’d cross that bridge when he came to it.
“Yes, a road trip. But by the look of things, we’d better wait until tomorrow to set out. This heavy weather is coming from the east, and I don’t imagine it’s going to ease up in a hurry.”
As if acting on Jace’s command, every light within sight of the parking lot of the small business complex went out. The flashing yellow arrow bulbs of the well-lit Chloe’s Back Porch flickered to life momentarily, then died again. The traffic light at the nearby intersection was out too, and the wind gusted so hard, it rocked the truck.
“So, find a motel and get that ankle elevated again?” Ember said.
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Then I’m going to get Ryker’s truck back to him and rent a car. There’s a rental car shop on the edge of town—Faulkner’s. I’ll stop in there.”
“Makes sense. I know the place. We can pick up the rental, and I’ll follow you out to Ryker’s to return the truck.”
She shook her head. “Not a great idea. You need to rest that ankle.”
“I’m fine.”
“And you’re under my medical care now. So, like I said, I’ll drive out to Ryker’s in his truck. He’ll drop me at Faulkner’s and I’ll pick up a rental.”
“There’s no need to—”
“Yeah, there is a need,” she corrected. “He’s my friend. I want to see him. Visit, have coffee, talk. Say thank you.”
“How cozy,” he drawled. Ryker Groves. He had no right to be jealous. Wouldn’t be. Dammit—wasn’t. “Sorry,” he said. “That remark was uncalled for.”
She shook her he
ad. “This is strange for both of us, Jace. After all this time. Us. Spending time together. Being together. Here.”
He paused. Strange and more. He’d dreamed of this. Seeing her again. Talking. Being alone and close. “Here as in Crandler?” he asked.
“I meant close to everything finally being out on the table. All of it. Truth laid bare.”
Jace’s jaw tightened. How bare? Would she be willing to tell her end of things? And would it change things if she did?
Why had he let it change things then?
The thought hit him like a ton of bricks.
“Jace?”
He shuttered his expression. “You’ll need a credit card, if you plan on renting a car.”
“Got it on me.”
“You hiked to the camp with your credit card?”
She shot him a look of waning patience. “I always pack my wallet, with ID. It’s just habit, even if I’m headed out to the woods.”
He nodded. “Of course.”
“Breakfast.” Ember gestured to the take-out sitting between them. “Let’s get a motel, eat our breakfast there, then I’ll give Ryker a call and make arrangements.”
“Sounds good.” Jace’s appetite had deserted him, but he’d clean that take-out box completely before he’d let her see that. He said nothing as she drove, keeping his gaze trained out his window. The power outage and the increased wind seemed to galvanize people. They darted out into the storm to bring in patio furniture and anything else that wasn’t tied down.
And inside the truck, maybe the two of them were getting ready for a storm of their own.
They drove by a church, closed up tight, the parking lot empty, but the sign outside invited. “Join us for the Ladies’ Auxiliary Thanksgiving Feast!”
Thanksgiving weekend. A time for family, friends. Turkey and football.
Who’d have thought—in a million years—he’d be spending it here with Ember? Yes, here. This time and place. With those dark blanks in his memory—soon to be filled in by Bridget-with-the-Spider.
Chapter 13
AS HE’D warned her, Ryker hadn’t yet made it home when Ember landed at his place. From their earlier phone conversation, she knew he was visiting his nephew for a bit, but he assured her he would leave the door unlocked. It was. She let herself in, locked the door behind her, dropped her knapsack in the foyer, and headed straight for the bathroom.