by Brenda Novak
Instead, it was Ethan who stood on her stoop. “You!” she said.
“It’s about time you came back,” he responded. “I would’ve driven to Silver Springs, but it felt too much like entering the lion’s den. Whoever you’ve been with certainly doesn’t like me much.”
“For good reason,” she stated. “But...how’d you know I was home?”
“I asked the neighbor to give me a call if she ever saw you.”
“My neighbor contacted you?”
He gave her a taunting smile. “She happens to be a loyal fan.”
“A loyal fan of yours, maybe. Anyone who was loyal to me would never do such a thing.”
His smile faded. “Look, I’m sorry, okay?”
“For...” She was dying to hear him admit what he’d done, to take responsibility for it. But he didn’t answer. He leaned closer, his eyes widening in shock.
“Are those bruises on your neck?”
“Yes,” she snapped. “That’s what happens when someone chokes you! After everything you’ve done to destroy my life, I can’t believe you’d send some thug out to Silver Springs to intimidate and threaten me.”
“That’s just it,” he said. “That’s why I’m here. I didn’t send anyone. Would I like you to drop the lawsuit? Hell, yeah! But I would never have anyone hurt you.”
“You hurt me!” she cried. “You posted that video online and—”
“Look,” he broke in. “You’re suing me. I can’t comment on that. I’m sorry if anything I’ve done has caused you pain, but I didn’t do this.” He gestured to her neck.
The door slipped out of Emery’s hand as Dallas opened it wider. “We’re going to find the cowboy who choked her and prove you were behind it all, so you might want to admit the truth now. I promise I’ll be in a far more forgiving mood if you do.”
Ethan stepped back. “I know you...”
“I’m going to get to the bottom of this if it’s the last thing I do—even if I have to hire a private investigator,” Dallas went on, ignoring his reaction. “And when I have the proof I need, I’m coming after you.”
Ethan lifted one hand. “You were the guy who came to the house and asked for Tommy. You said...” He glanced between them. “Oh, I get it. That was a setup. You’re also the one who threatened me.”
“Like I said, we’re going to get the information we need—one way or another,” Dallas reiterated.
“I can understand why you wouldn’t believe me. But I didn’t have anyone choke Emery.”
“Maybe that wasn’t what you specifically requested, but if you sent someone out there, you’re responsible for it,” Dallas insisted.
Ethan pressed a hand to his chest. “You don’t understand. I really didn’t do it! Having someone attack her is serious. I’m not that kind of guy.”
The neighbor came out and looked down at them. “Thanks for the call,” Ethan said, wearing a forced smile as he waved at her. Then he lowered his voice, “Can I please come in so that we can work this out in private?”
Emery shot her neighbor a dirty look for taking Ethan’s side, and the woman ducked back into her own apartment as Dallas opened the door even wider. “I’d love to have you come in,” he said.
Ethan shot Emery a worried glance. “This guy’s going to hear me out, isn’t he?”
“To be honest, I don’t know,” she said but only because she took some small pleasure in the fact that he was nervous. For all everyone had to say about Dallas’s temper, she knew she could trust him not to go too far.
“You’ll be fine as long as you don’t lie to me,” Dallas said and waved him in.
Emery perched on the edge of the sofa. She saw Ethan’s eyes flick to the table where their photograph had once been, but he didn’t mention that it was missing. “Where did you meet the cowboy who assaulted me—this Terrell?” she asked as Dallas settled beside her and he sat on the chair across the coffee table from them. “He wasn’t anyone I’ve seen you with before.”
“I don’t know a Terrell, or any cowboys, for that matter,” he said. “What’d he look like?”
Emery described him.
“I honestly can’t think of anyone in my circle of friends who fits that description.”
“You had to have met him somewhere,” she insisted, but before Ethan could respond, Dallas spoke up.
“Could it be Heidi who’s behind what happened?”
“Our producer?” Ethan said.
“Your producer,” Emery clarified.
He blanched at the reminder of her lost job but responded to Dallas. “I can’t see her doing anything like that. She knows if she were to get caught, it would only make matters worse. And she doesn’t have the kind of friends she could ask to handle something illegal. I don’t think she has any friends. All the woman ever does is work.”
“It has to be you or her,” Emery insisted.
“I thought so, too,” Dallas said. “Until I remembered the email that came with that obscene picture. Whoever wrote it mentions the freckle on your thigh.”
“I changed at work all the time,” Emery explained. “She could’ve seen it. It even shows below some of my shorts—my cutoffs, for sure.”
Ethan stretched out his legs and his chest lifted as he drew a deep breath. “I hate to even suggest this, but...do you think it could be Tommy?”
“Tommy?” she echoed. “Why would Tommy do something like that?”
“He’s weird when it comes to me. He has this...crush on me, I guess. He always acted jealous of you.”
Tommy had admitted his feelings for Ethan, and he’d certainly been protective of him—to the point he wouldn’t help her with the suit—but she couldn’t imagine he’d go so far. “He has a partner. And I’m out of the picture. Why would he try to do anything to me?”
“He and his partner are on-again, off-again. Now that I’m available, it could be some misguided attempt to curry favor with me.”
“If that were the case, wouldn’t you know if he was up to something?” Dallas asked.
“Not necessarily. He could be hoping Emery will drop the suit before he takes credit for making her do it.”
“No,” Emery said. “If it’s not you, it has to be Heidi.”
Ethan shook his head. “I don’t see it. I would be shocked if it was her.”
“Let’s see if we can find out,” Dallas said.
Emery looked askance at him. “How?”
Dallas directed his response to Ethan. “You tell Heidi, Tommy, everyone you know that a man called you, claiming you put him up to assaulting Emery, and now he’s demanding you meet him at the Santa Monica pier tomorrow night at twelve fifteen with five hundred dollars in hush money. Tell them you’re afraid that even if you give the guy the money, he’ll tell someone and you’ll lose your job and go to jail. Or he’ll just come back and demand more. Say you aren’t going to meet him because you didn’t do anything wrong, but you’re terrified to imagine what he might do when you don’t show.”
“Someone did call me and say those things. He...” Ethan’s words suddenly fell off. “It was you! You did that, too.”
“Yes,” Dallas confirmed.
Confused, Emery scooted even farther forward. “You did what? You mean you talked to him again, after you took the phone from me in the kitchen? How’d you get his number?”
Dallas sent her a sheepish glance. “I’ll tell you about it later, okay? For right now...” He turned his attention back to Ethan. “What do you say? Will you do it?”
“I’d like to find out who’s behind this as much as you—to prove it wasn’t me—so I’m down. But I don’t see how what you’re suggesting will make any difference.”
“I think whoever has gone to such great lengths to protect you will feel responsible for this latest bit of trouble and will show up to try to stop what’s going on
.”
“That makes sense,” Emery admitted.
Ethan bit his lip as he considered what he’d heard. “So you’re hoping Tommy or Heidi will show up to pay off the guy or try to reach a resolution.”
“Yes. They’ll be afraid he might expose them. Wouldn’t you get involved if you’d done something like that and then heard the guy was blackmailing the person you were trying to protect?”
“I’d be tempted,” he admitted.
“Let’s hope it’s a temptation whoever it is won’t be able to resist,” Dallas said.
“Okay.” Ethan stood. “But I want to be there tomorrow night, too, so that I can see for myself if anyone shows up.”
“That’s fine,” Dallas told him. “You can hide someplace where you can keep an eye on what’s happening. And I’ll wait at the end of the pier.”
“Fair enough.” Ethan took out his keys. “I’ll call Tommy and Heidi right away, start the ball rolling.”
“Try to sound as natural as possible,” Dallas cautioned. “You have to sell it, or this whole thing will be for nothing.”
“I understand.” He moved to the door, where he put one hand on the knob before looking back. “So are you two...you know...together?”
“We’re just friends,” Emery piped up.
His attention shifted to the table where their picture had once been. “I planned to marry you,” he said softly. “I couldn’t stand to lose you.”
“So you wanted to hurt me?”
“I’m sorry. I never intended for things to go this far. I was...hurt and angry myself. I know that’s no excuse, but... I didn’t expect you to lose your job or...or anything else.”
She shook her head. “That’s pretty naive.”
“I know. Again, I’m sorry.”
Emery massaged her temples as she tried to decide how to respond. “I can’t say I forgive you. You’ve cost me too much. But...who knows?” She thought of Susan and all Susan had forgiven—and how much better off she was because of it. “Maybe I’ll be able to one day.”
He seemed to accept that, probably knew it was the best he could expect.
“That’s got to feel good,” Dallas said after he was gone. “He admitted what he did. I mean, he didn’t come right out and say, ‘I put up that video,’ but he might as well have.”
“It couldn’t have been anyone else.”
Dallas shoved his hands in his pockets. “Do you think he’s telling the truth about not being the one behind the attack at the Blue Suede Shoe?”
“He seems adamant. I doubt he’d show up here to plead his case if he was behind it, especially because he did sort of admit the part about the video.”
“I guess we’ll find out tomorrow night.”
“Are you sure you should go?” Emery hated that she wouldn’t be around to do it herself, that someone she cared about felt as though he had to do this for her, especially when he could be spending the Christmas holiday with his brothers. “What if Terrell shows up, and the situation gets out of control—he has a weapon or something? We should call the cops and have them be the ones who are waiting.”
“I have to be there to finish what I’ve started, but I’ll call them if I need them. Maybe they’ll be able to make an arrest.”
She pulled her hair up and wound it into a bun before letting it fall. “It’s not right to ask you to take care of my problems.”
“You didn’t ask.”
“That’s true,” she said. “How’d you set all of this up?”
“Do I have to tell you?”
She thought it over and decided she’d rather not know. What was done was done. “I guess not. But after everything that’s happened, I bet you’re sorry you ever met me.”
“And I bet I’ll be sorry I ever let you go.”
27
Monday, December 21
Preparing to say goodbye to Dallas was every bit as difficult as Emery had expected it to be. As the hours slipped by until it was time to leave for the airport, she kept coming up with compromises in her head—options she could suggest that might make him change his mind. But she knew if he wasn’t willing to look for common ground and offer some compromises of his own, they’d never make it.
Bottom line, he had to fight for what they could have together, just like she was willing to fight, or she would only prolong the inevitable—and possibly screw up her life in the process.
She had to do what was best. That was the only way to make her future better than her present.
Afraid she’d falter at the last second, that all the longing she felt would come pouring out, she held herself rigidly as he turned into the airport. LAX was always busy, but today, with Christmas coming up, it was totally congested.
“Are you sure you have everything you’re going to need?” he asked.
She watched the Christmas decorations on the light poles—green wreaths with red bows—creep past as they inched forward. “If not, I’ll have to buy it while I’m there. We don’t have time to go back to the apartment. I’ll miss my plane if we do.”
“I’ll be in Silver Springs until after Christmas. I could always come get whatever it is from your apartment and ship it to you.”
He knew she’d left a key out, in case she had to ask someone to take care of something. But she wouldn’t ask him. She wasn’t going to continue to communicate with him, not once she learned about tonight and whether he was able to find out who was behind the attack. Calling and texting each other after that wouldn’t lead to anywhere good. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine.”
They hadn’t made love last night. As much as Emery wanted to be with him in that way, she couldn’t do it again, not while she was trying to leave with some dignity.
He’d seemed to understand, because he’d simply curled up beside her to sleep—hadn’t attempted anything more.
“Well, just know that I’m willing if you need me,” he said.
“Thanks.” She knew he’d be surprised if she told him that she planned to block his number and cut off all contact. He wouldn’t understand why she had to do that. But he wasn’t in her position. She had to do whatever she could to get over him and move on. Otherwise, she feared she’d hang on forever.
“This is it,” she said when they reached her airline.
He got out and retrieved her big suitcase from the back of his van while she grabbed her purse and carry-on.
“Have a safe trip,” he said as he brought it to the curb. “Call me when you land in Boston so that I know you arrived safely.”
“I’ll arrive safely. Millions of people fly every day without incident.”
The frown he’d been wearing so often the past two days reappeared. “What’s one phone call, Emery?”
“It’s nothing, but we can talk after you’ve been to the pier. I’ll be dying to know about that.”
He acted as though he was tempted to argue but ultimately sighed in resignation. “It’s three hours later in Boston. Do you really want me to wake you at three-thirty in the morning?”
“Absolutely.”
“Okay.”
She took her suitcase and gave him a smile she hoped didn’t look too wobbly. “Thank you for everything. I really appreciate it.”
He leaned in to kiss her, but she turned her face at the last second and his lips brushed her cheek.
“Thanks again,” she said, and gave him a brief but impersonal hug before she rolled her suitcase into the terminal.
She could feel his gaze boring holes into her back as she started toward the counter, but she didn’t turn around to wave. She was only pretending to check in while waiting for him to leave. She didn’t want to face airline employees or fellow passengers quite yet.
As soon as she felt safe that Dallas was gone, she found a seat, sat down and buried her face in her hands.
* * *
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Dallas arrived at the pier alone. Seth had almost driven to LA so that he could come along—he’d tried to insist on it—but Dallas had talked him out of it. Since Dallas had come to town with Emery and then stayed over, he was already in Los Angeles. There was no need to make his brother drive almost two hours for what would probably amount to a five-minute encounter, especially when Dallas felt confident he could handle it on his own.
The wind whipped at his hair and clothes as the lights of the Pacific Wheel, the world’s only solar-powered Ferris wheel, showed a giant festive snowman that waved—so large and bright it could be seen for miles. This section of the California coast was almost always busy, especially during the holidays, but the attractions they featured here, like photographs taken with fully costumed merpeople, were long over and most everyone was gone. Although the park would be closing any minute, the pier was open 24-7, but tonight it was too cold for many people to have lingered.
He’d talked to Ethan half an hour ago and knew he was already in place, hidden to one side of a closed tourist shop. Ethan said he hadn’t seen Tommy or Heidi, but he was being careful not to go too close to the Ferris wheel, so it made sense that he wouldn’t. Dallas hoped one of them would show up and end his search for whoever put that cowboy up to threatening Emery. Providing they could catch that person, they should be able to catch the cowboy, too. All they’d have to do was search phone records, contacts, that sort of thing, and he felt certain the police would be willing to do that, given that the cowboy had gotten so physical with Emery.
Pulling his coat closed, Dallas ducked his head as he picked up his pace. He hadn’t been able to get Emery off his mind since he’d left her at the airport. The way she’d acted once they returned to Los Angeles had been so remote. He could tell she was preparing to move on without him, and he couldn’t blame her. He had to respect her for being unwilling to settle for less than what she wanted, but he definitely felt the loss. On top of everything else, his mother and brother thought he was crazy for letting her go.