Flirt (Chasing Hope Book 1)

by Lavinia Leigh

  The next day Ginny and she took turns visiting the hospital as they’d planned. Emmeline was grateful when Ginny arranged to stay the whole week, which flew by abnormally fast. Between visits to the hospital, Emmeline’s regular work schedule, and Millie’s increasingly busy theatre schedule, she barely had a minute to spend with Joel. She felt tired, completely run off her feet. When Ginny went back to finish school, it made it so much worse. By the end of week two she was cursing her morning alarm clock and how heavy her eyelids were feeling, and the healthy homemade dinners that Emmeline prided herself on turned into fast food runs eaten in the car.

  It must have been written on her face, because when she showed up to see Pernella one night after a particularly long day, Pernella made a big announcement.

  “I’ve decided to move into a retirement residence. They will be releasing me soon, and I’ve lucked into finding a place that is just opening. They have everything I need to recoup the rest of the way, and they can look after me from now on. I won’t have you killing yourself.”

  Emmeline’s mouth fell agape. She could tell by the tone in Pernella’s voice that the decision was final and there was no arguing with her.

  “You guys can stay in the house as long as you want. Don’t worry about that. But this is what I need to do for me. My left side is regrettably weak, and it’s going to take a while to get back my mobility. I don’t intend for it to stay like that, but for now this is what I have to deal with.” Her words were still a little slurred, paced slower and more methodically than normal.

  Much to Emmeline’s surprise, the arrangements really had already been made. Pernella would stay at the hospital until her room was ready at Evergreen Terraces. They would take it from there.

  Emmeline was at a loss.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  I should have seen this coming, Emmeline thought as she left the hospital, still struggling to process the new information. This was the last thing she had expected that morning when she left for the hospital. How could they stay at Pernella’s house when she wasn’t even living there?

  The house should be sold to help Pernella with the expenses of living in a retirement home. Everyone knew those places weren’t cheap. Besides, who knew what else she’d need the money for? What if her condition worsened and she needed more intense care? The prices skyrocketed when that happened. There was still going to be the cost of a wheelchair, and other assistive devices for the bathroom—all with hefty prices. The list just went on and on.

  There was no choice. Emmeline and Millie were going to have to find a new place to live. She knew this situation was temporary when she moved in, but it had been so comfortable. She wasn’t ready to leave, but she couldn’t in good conscience stay either.

  The problem was, Emmeline wasn’t exactly making the big bucks at the bakery, but maybe she could swing rent along with her other bills if they pulled back a little. Not that they did too much, or spent all that much on frivolous things. At least they had a little time to figure things out. Between Ginny, Joel, and Callum, Emmeline was able to keep from panicking, and she talked endlessly with them about her options.

  “By the way, have you called the lawyer’s office yet about that letter you got?” Ginny asked during a marathon brainstorming conversation on the subject.

  “Not yet. I’ve had too much on my mind.”

  “You really need to do that. You can’t put these things aside.”

  “I’ll call them, I promise.”

  They ended the call, and Emmeline checked the clock—well past operating hours, but she could leave a message anyway. It would be so much easier if the lawyer’s office was the same one Ginny’s parents ran, where Ginny would be starting out very soon. Ginny had thought about trying for one of the big law firms in the city, but decided that if she moved back to Port Hope she could finish paying off some debts from law school. She also knew that she’d have a lot more freedom to actually practise law in her parents’ firm instead of being some big shot’s coffee assistant or research monkey. Emmeline suspected there was a good chance that she would be running that office in a matter of months, and probably take over when her parents retired. It made good sense, and aligned with Ginny’s practical nature.

  Emmeline rifled through a stack of papers on the kitchen table until she found the envelope she had gotten ages ago. She was slightly embarrassed that it had taken so long to call, but she couldn’t imagine that it was of any importance. She dialed the number and let the phone ring through to voicemail, leaving her name and return telephone number.

  She then went and put Millie in the tub, and did a few dishes, mulling over what her options were. The main problem was she couldn’t afford the high rents in this area and still pay for Millie’s theater classes. Her after-school activities were getting more and more expensive due to Millie’s determination. Moving to a less expensive town made a lot of sense. But they had a life here, and there was Joel, who had been amazing during the past weeks of turmoil and chaos. He still hadn’t met Millie officially, but he did sneak by after Millie went to sleep, making those moments bearable. Millie hadn’t taken Pernella’s decision very well.

  She and Pernella were as thick as thieves, and no matter how hard Emmeline tried to explain, Millie just couldn’t seem to make sense of the whole situation. As far as she was concerned, there should be no reason why Pernella couldn’t come home. She promised that no matter what, she would look after Pernella and her every need. The first thing Millie did when she heard that Pernella would be coming home was pull everything out of Pernella’s room, rearranging the space to make a spot for her hospital bed. Emmeline tried to stop her, she tried to explain, but Millie just cried as Emmeline sat down with her and tried to explain that this was best for Pernella, and more importantly, it was what Pernella wanted.

  “You’re just happy she’s gone so that you can spend more time with Joel.” Millie exaggerated the syllable when she said his name. The anger in which she said it shocked Emmeline.

  “You know that’s not true,” Emmeline said, resisting the urge to smack her across the bum. “I get that you’re having a hard time with this. So am I, but we need to do what is best for Pernella, not for us.”

  “Grammy Pernella being with us is what’s best for her!”

  “I wish it was, but right now it’s not. She needs to be with the doctors and nurses who know how to help someone in her condition. She needs to be where she feels comfortable, where she feels safe. She’s not gone, she is just moving, and I get that is really scary for you. But her body wants her to go on a new adventure, and Grammy is ready for it. She wants to find out about the next stage in her life, and we have to respect her decision. And if you can’t do that, then you haven’t been listening to what she has been trying to teach you for practically your entire life.” Emmeline paused. Tears were streaming down her baby’s face.

  Emmeline felt awful, and yet this was something Millie needed to hear. Life never stayed the same, and just when you thought you’d got a handle on it, everything changed. That was about the only thing Emmeline felt she could count on. She had tried to shield Millie from it, to only give her what she thought she could handle, but there was nothing she could do about this, and it totally sucked. Besides, Millie needed to learn that she couldn’t control every situation, and more importantly, she couldn’t throw a temper tantrum every time she didn’t get what she wanted. Every kid had their struggles; this was Millie’s.

  “Now, it’s not like we won’t see her. She’s not that far away. We can spend time with her whenever you want. We can visit, you can call her every night. She isn’t leaving forever; she is just not going to be in this house anymore.”

  Millie was in a full outcry. Emmeline pulled her closer and scooped her up in her arms, then carried her over to the couch and sat down. Millie’s tears were soaking her hair. Her little body trembled. This had scared her. She was, after all, the one who found Pernella slumped half over, semiconscious on the floor, her words
slurring and her face drooping unnaturally down.

  “Did you think she was going to die?” Emmeline asked softly.

  Millie nodded, hard. “Like Daddy.”

  “Oh, my brave girl,” Emmeline said as the tears fell out of her eyes again. “No matter what, Angel Face, no matter what happens to her, you hold on to the fact Grammy loves you beyond measure. And know that even if she had died, she’d be up in heaven with Daddy, watching over you every day.”

  “I miss Daddy,” Millie said.

  “I do too.”

  ***

  Six weeks to the date of her stroke, Pernella officially moved to her new home. She took it in stride, as she always did. She needed a wheelchair, but at least she could move herself in and out of it, preferably with someone around in case she fell, and go to the bathroom by herself. She still had one good hand to paint with and a mouth that worked so she could, as she said, “Give ’em hell.”

  Ginny came up for the weekend to help Emmeline pack what was on Pernella’s list of wants for the retirement home.

  Ginny had officially finished university, and a few days prior she had moved to her new apartment in a hundred-and-fifty-year-old house a three-minute walk from Port Hope’s downtown. She lived in the divided Victorian’s old servant’s quarters and had the luxury of her own entrance, making it the most private.

  “You’ll never believe it,” Ginny said as they sorted through Pernella’s room. “Nothing has changed there; everyone is the same. I swear they still have the same haircuts and clothes as high school.”

  “Beauty of a small town,” Emmeline said. She missed it there some days. Oakville was a city, very busy and always changing.

  “Did you ever look into that letter about your grandmother’s estate?”

  “I called and left a message, and we’ve been playing telephone tag ever since.”

  “Go and get it for me, please.”

  Emmeline went into the kitchen and riffled through a pile of disorganized papers, looking for the letter she had cast aside weeks before.

  “Here it is.” She came back and handed it to her friend and newly minted lawyer.

  “Give me a minute,” Ginny said. She pulled out her cell phone and stepped out of the room, leaving Emmeline sorting through Pernella’s decidedly racy underwear drawer. A few minutes later Ginny returned with an amused smile on her face. Emmeline pulled out a leather bustier and held it up.

  “Not exactly sure what this is for?” she said, making a face.

  “Only Pernella! I’m not sure I own anything that sexy. Not that I have anyone to wear it for right now. Speaking of which, how is Sugar Boy doing?”

  Emmeline beamed. “He’s amazing. He’s away right now. Work takes him to so many amazing places. He’s in France. Can you imagine France? He keeps sending me all these pictures. I wish I was there with him.”

  “Are you missing a little boyfriend time?” Ginny winked.

  “Hush!”

  “I can just see you traipsing along the French countryside, eating baguettes and pink cloud meringues the size of your head.”

  “Don’t tempt me! Like that is even a possibility. I just get to watch and dream.”

  “There’s hope for us yet. Anyway, I just talked to Ron at the law office and he said—oh, I hope you don’t mind, I told him I was your lawyer.”

  Emmeline nodded.

  “He said that you are the proud owner of some prime real estate in downtown Port Hope. Congratulations.”

  “How is that even possible?” Emmeline asked. This was about the last thing she thought would come out of Ginny’s mouth.

  “Your grandmother Emmeline left a building in trust to the Port Hope Historical Society. They had free use and control for a period of fifty years. When their time was up, the control and ownership was to be reverted back to the family, and specifically, to the current reigning Emmeline. That means you. If there was no Emmeline, then official ownership would revert permanently to the Historical Society. I guess that was one way she could ensure that her name was passed on.”

  Emmeline stopped stuffing clothes into the suitcase and sat down on the bed. “I always knew there were supposed to be some benefits to being named after my grandmother, but I’m not sure I actually believed it was true.”

  “Seems as though it is. The Historical Society has already officially vacated the premises. I guess they’ve been preparing for years for this eventuality and purchased property just outside the town to turn into a proper museum. The president of the Historical Society is as pleased as punch to finally be able to put his Allis Chalmers on display permanently.”

  “What’s an Allis Chalmers?”

  “No idea, but Ron seemed to be into this whole idea. He went on and on about it.”

  “So, that means…”

  “That you have a full building in downtown Port Hope, all yours, vacant and ready to be moved into.”

  Emmeline was speechless.

  “What’s going on?” Millie asked. “And what the heck is that?” She pointed to the leather garment on the bed.

  “Those are Grammy’s pantaloons,” answered Ginny dryly.

  Millie made a face. “What’s wrong with her?” she asked Ginny, pointing at her mom.

  “She just won the lottery,” Ginny answered.

  Millie made another face at her Auntie Ginny.

  “No, really, she just inherited some property downtown. I think she is in shock.”

  “What do we do with that?” asked Millie.

  “I have no idea,” said Emmeline.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Emmeline went to the airport to pick Joel up; she could hardly wait. He’d been gone for almost two weeks, and so much had happened in that time. So much to catch up on, so much missed kissing time. They messaged each other regularly, but it wasn’t the same. Besides, she wanted to tell him the news about the building in Port Hope.

  Despite her excitement, the thought made her stomach clench, rolling in knots whenever she thought about it for too long. She couldn’t decide what to do, and she wanted to talk it over with him. In her heart, what she really wanted was to take Millie and move back to Port Hope to open the bakery she had always dreamed of. She imagined it: hot pink with a black awning, with tiered cakes and towers made of cream puffs covered in spun sugar. Cupcakes, napoleons, and double fudge brownies, in clear glass casings. Her in a pink fifties style apron and sleek black tablecloths on French bistro tables. She could even see some of Pernella’s artwork on the walls. The more she dreamed about it, the more real it became.

  Yet with Joel coming home, the idea somehow became foggy. What if he hated her plan? She remembered what it was like when she almost lost him before, and she wasn’t interested in going through that again. There was Millie too. She was settled here, had her theater group and people she loved. Whatever Emmeline decided, it would change her life forever.

  There was always the possibility of selling the building and trying to open something in Oakville, near where they lived, but even thinking of selling a building that had been in her family for so long seemed wrong. Besides, she could never afford to rent, let alone buy a building in downtown Oakville. The rent there was at least three times what it was in Port Hope, and she hoped since she owned the building, she could use it as collateral against the loan she would need to renovate and turn it into the place she wanted it to be.

  There was also the matter of living in Pernella’s home without her. Emmeline felt like it was time for her and Millie to move on. Joel was the only thing holding her back.

  It was almost impossible to make a decision. Her dream job versus her dreamy guy.

  She had talked about it extensively with Callum, who very plainly said that if Joel was the guy, then Joel wouldn’t care where she was, he would find a way to be with her. Callum insisted that was what he would do. That made Emmeline feel a little better, and yet, this was going to be a major change in their fledgling relationship. It had only been six months. Six glo
rious months—other than the few weeks here and there that he was traveling, where she missed Joel dreadfully.

  The loudspeaker at the airport announced the arrival of Joel’s plane and her heart jumped. He would be there soon, and she would tell him. She had got up at six just to get herself ready, wearing a short, flowered sundress and nude heels. She had taken the time to curl her hair and actually had makeup on. Normally, he took a cab home from these trips, but Emmeline had volunteered to come and get him since she desperately wanted to talk to him.

  About twenty minutes later, among a throng of people coming out of the doors after customs, she saw Joel, his pack thrown over his back and wearing his leather jacket. He saw her and grinned, then threw down his bag, running to her side. He planted a kiss on her that provoked the usual longing she felt for him between her thighs.

  It took a few moments for her to catch her breath. She missed that, and if there weren’t a hundred other people standing around gawking at them, she might have been tempted to take it a bit farther.

  “I missed you,” he said, running his hands through her hair. “It’s so much better to see your face than some taxi guy’s.”

  “I missed you too,” she said softly. I felt so good to be back in his arms. “Let’s get out of here.”

  He put his arm around her waist and they walked out to where she had parked the car. Leaning against it, they had a proper hello without the prying eyes of the rest of the airport.

  “You could kiss me for a hundred years, and I’d still never want to stop,” he said, pushing Emmeline’s hair out of her eyes. He caressed her cheek, and then pulled her in to kiss her again.

  “I think you just hate it when I wear lipstick,” she teased, trying to be funny, but breaking the mood. She mentally kicked herself.

  “You could wear a paper bag and I wouldn’t care. Although I must admit, I do love it when you wear a skirt.” He slid his hand along her thigh and up under her skirt, squeezing her bum. Her skin shivered, and she sighed softly.