by Debra Holt
“Can you tell me about the wish? Or is that not allowed?”
Charlie thought for a moment. Her voice lowered but there such a glow in her beautiful eyes as she shared with Emma. “I found my mother. I want the angel to make her want to be my mother. Then Christmas will be perfect.”
The words were simple, but they shot to Emma’s core. Had Charlie been able to find out about Pamela? She had just met her one time, correct? Could a child, even one abandoned so young, recognize her mother after so long? How else could one explain it? Charlie’s heartfelt wish was for Pamela to be her mother. In that second, everything became crystal clear for Emma. In that second, everything had changed.
*
“I’m glad we ran into each other. I did want to apologize again for any inconvenience I might have caused by showing up unannounced the other evening.” Emma was caught off guard as Pamela appeared in the diner and slid into the booth across from her, uninvited. Emma had stopped into the diner to ask a favor of Darcy but she was busy with a delivery, so she waited.
Emma was struck again at how she could see the superficial beauty that had attracted both Drayton brothers to Pamela. And she was equally certain this woman was well-versed in using every ounce of her sexuality in getting whatever she wanted from a man. Cole had been lucky to escape her once. But he seemed to have some lapse of memory in recent days with her reappearance. Underneath the makeup and hair and the designer clothing, Emma sensed there wasn’t much substance… and there certainly wasn’t any signs of a heart.
“What is it you want?”
The woman’s gaze narrowed and Emma was struck at how unattractive she really was when the façade cracked. “You do like to be direct, don’t you? I can see that Mae might like that about you. But I don’t think Cole would find that attractive. But be that as it may, I’m sure my attorneys can still make a jury believe all sorts of things about you.”
Was she threatening Emma? Emma began to see red. Keep it cool. Don’t give her ammo. She took a sip of her tea and counted to twenty. “You obviously have some threat you want to deliver so how about you stop wasting my time and yours and get to it?”
“You know, in some ways, you remind me of myself. I think we both know what we want when we see it. And you played your cards well. Getting Mae to invite you into their lives. Being the perfect little nanny for Charlie. Being there to comfort Cole. The problem about all of that… when the people of this little town start hearing certain things… well their regard for their clean sheriff and upstanding family might begin to crack.”
“What is it you think you can do?”
“Throw enough mud at the wall and something will begin to stick. What do they seriously think has been going on in the sheriff’s home, next door to his daughter’s bedroom? Do they seriously think you two stay in your separate beds? What sort of fit father would put his child in such a situation? Need I say more about what my attorneys will do if Cole doesn’t fall in line? Get lost now, and you’ll be doing everyone a favor… Charlie most of all.”
“That’s rich that now you’re thinking about the child you abandoned. How you live with yourself over that one, is something I can’t understand. You don’t care for her now and you don’t care for Cole either. So, it must be money. The other brother drop you? He’s smarter than I give him credit for if that’s the case.
“And if your lawyers were so smart, they would have told you to keep your mouth shut… especially since there are so many listening devices around these days.” With perfect timing, Emma brought her hand up… the cell phone visible in it. She smiled. She didn’t need to say anything else. Pamela shot her a look that told her exactly what she could do with that phone and stormed out of the diner with a haughty toss of the bleached blonde hair. Exit needs a bit more work, sweetie.
“I was debating if I needed to come over here and toss her out on her plastic keister or not. But looks like you handled it just fine on your own.” Darcy walked up as Emma dropped the phone into the tote beside her. “Dare I ask the topic of conversation?”
“Just a friendly attempt at blackmail,” Emma responded. She hoped she sounded more at ease than she felt. The anger was still boiling inside her. “I think we came to an agreement.”
Darcy grinned. “I knew I liked you from the beginning.”
“That’s why I stopped by today… to ask a favor. I believe I can trust you with something important to me.”
Darcy slid into the booth across from her. “I have a feeling I might not like this favor. But I’m ready to listen.”
Emma had a feeling Darcy would hate the favor she was about to ask of her. But who else could she trust with something that meant so much?
*
“Gone? Gone where? Into Austin?” Cole looked at the woman who had barged into his office and caused him to disengage from a phone call with the county attorney.
The look on her face had told him before she spoke that something had gone terribly wrong someplace. Mae Drayton usually handled most issues with reason and calm. Her eyes were anything but calm. When she had announced herself by sailing through the doorway and then said, “She’s gone. Emma—”
He had no recourse but to question.
“No… she’s really gone. As in for good. She left notes. Darcy just delivered mine. She said there was one for you that Emma left at your house. Did you have any idea about this?”
Cole felt as if he had been hit in the gut with a baseball bat. This news came out of the blue and just as lightning quick as a fast ball. He tried to marshal his thoughts that had scattered with the word gone. Emma couldn’t be gone. There had to be some mistake.
He rose from his chair. “What did she say in your note?”
“She began by apologizing for having to ask me to pick up Charlie from school this afternoon. And she was sorry that she wouldn’t be able to fulfill her bargain to stay until spring. But she had an opportunity for a job in the city and she needed to take it.”
“And what did Darcy say? Anything?”
“Not much. But after a bit of coercing, I did get the fact from her that Pamela had words with Emma at the diner yesterday.” She went on to tell Cole all she knew about what Darcy had described.
Cole anger rose. He had kept himself from strangling his ex-wife one too many times since her arrival. Now she had hurt Emma. Emma. Where had she gone?
He reached for his hat as he headed for the door, Mae close behind him. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going home and read this note you said she left there. Then maybe I’ll have a better handle on things. Tell Dad we need to meet with Paul as soon as we can. And if you can keep Charlie with you for a couple of days or until I can get on top of all this, it’d be a big help.”
“Charlie—” his mother began and he stopped to look at her. “What, if anything, should we say to Charlie about all of this?”
“Nothing right now. As far as she needs to know… Emma had an emergency and had to go take care of some family business or something. Make something believable up… something that will buy us some time.”
“This is one of those times when I hate lying to a child but it’s our only recourse. The truth would hurt her too much right now.”
“We don’t know what the truth is right now, Mother. Let me do some investigating. I’ll be in touch.”
He turned but Mae’s hand on his arm stopped him. He glanced down at her. “Find her, son. I just need to know she’s okay.” There was a shimmer in her eyes and his gut twisted even more. He knew exactly how she felt.
*
His note was propped on the dining room table. It wasn’t much more than Mae’s.
‘I’m sorry I couldn’t give you more notice, but this career opportunity came and I could not pass it up. We’re just two months shy of my planned departure. But plans have a way of changing. With Charlie’s mother being back and all the issues that need to be addressed with that, and finding what was for the good of all concerned, I believed
it was the best decision to remove myself and allow the family the freedom needed to consider the future without a stranger in your midst.
I will miss each of you more than I can say and will cherish all the memories I take with me. Please give Charlie my love and let her know that I’m praying she gets her heart’s wish and I know the angel on the tree will provide it. As for Angel, the dog… I know you were not fond of her in the beginning, but I think she’s been accepted as one of your family now. It would be wrong of me to take her away from Charlie. If you find she is a nuisance, Darcy has assured me she will be glad to find her a good home. Just let her know.
Goodbyes are not my favorite thing. And this one is most difficult. Please know that I will never forget any moment of my time with your family.
Emma’
*
That’s it? He sat stunned after the first reading. It didn’t improve much no matter how many times he went over it… word by word. What had he done wrong? Had he pushed his feelings on her too fast? Maybe not fast enough? Too much? Too little? Expected something that was never there? Had he misread her responses? He could have sworn she felt the same things he did. He had taken another chance on trusting a woman with his heart… because this one was different. Was she? Or was she just like Pamela? Cut and run when something better came along? He could have sworn his life on the fact Emma was different. But she had left. That was the bottom line. What right did he have to think she would want to come back if he could find her? There were too many questions and he had no idea where to find the right answers.
Chapter Sixteen
The adults sat around the table in the Draytons’ kitchen. They had talked and talked the subject out until they were exhausted. Emma had been gone for almost a week.
“I agree with Cole,” Vernon said, rubbing a large hand over his face and considering the emptiness of his coffee mug. “It’s time to tell Charlie. She’s going to be more upset the longer we wait. She has to know that Emma is not coming back as much as we might hope otherwise.”
“I’m not ready to throw in the towel and say that’s that.” Mae was a definite holdout in the group.
Cole sat quietly, his gaze watching the faint snowflakes fall outside the kitchen window. The first snow of the season… possibly the only one. Christmas was still a week away. He didn’t think he had the heart to draw out Charlie’s heartbreak until after the holidays. Her birthday was two weeks after Christmas, so, either way, one important event was going to be ruined for the child.
A knock sounded at the backdoor and then Darcy’s familiar voice was heard. Mae rose to greet her and get her coat hung up. Cole poured her a cup of coffee as she joined them at the table. She warmed her hands around the sides of the mug.
“I didn’t realize it would start snowing when I called for you to come join us.” Mae apologized.
“Nonsense. It’s not sticking on the road. I enjoy being out in the country. Do I need to ask what this is about or can I just guess by the long faces, sleepless eyes, and absence of the usual Drayton smiles? We are discussing Emma?”
“We’re trying to put some sense to it and decide on telling Charlie now before Christmas or afterwards and before her birthday. Neither is an easy decision. I suppose we were just hoping that there was something you might share. Anything you gleaned—” Mae was interrupted by her son.
“Mother, face it. Emma was upfront with us from the beginning. You came across her that day and she told you her plans… her dreams. She wouldn’t have been in McKenna Springs at all if she hadn’t had car issues. This was never more for her than a stopgap to get her on the road again. You want to hold on to some fairy tale you have in your mind.”
“Yes, I admit it,” Mae spoke up. “I want a happy ending for us all. And for Emma. I had the distinct impression that meant she wanted to stay right here, with us… with Charlie and with you. Then something happened.”
Cole gave a deep sigh. He looked at Darcy who was looking at the floor beside her. “Okay, Darcy. I will ask what your opinion is. Is there anything else you can add that we haven’t talked about already this week?”
Darcy took a moment and looked at each face around the table. “I made a promise to Emma. But sometimes promises can’t always be kept when weighted against the greater good of a situation. What would I want done if the shoe was on the other foot?”
“These are things I know. I know that Emma loved being with Charlie. She loved being part of your lives and the life of McKenna Springs. She just seemed to really want to be part of everything and I think she saw that she could find herself staying right here.”
Vernon asked the question that hung in the air. “But? What’s the ‘but’ in all of that?”
“But that seemed to change when Pamela showed up. I could sense her stepping back. I know that there was something Pamela told her when she came to the house that night. That planted a seed of doubt in Emma’s mind. Then she mentioned what Charlie had said to her, about this wish Charlie had, and I think that made her decision. She needed to leave and not give anyone any cause to hesitate because of her. That’s what I know.”
“So, you’re saying she left because of Pamela? And what does Charlie have to do with anything? Whatever could that child have said?” Mae glanced toward the den where Charlie and Angel were watching movies.
“It’s time we find out. We can ask Charlie, but what can we do about Pamela? She’s gone for good, but Emma doesn’t know that.” Vernon added.
“I think Pamela gave Emma the distinct impression that you and she were getting back together.” Darcy leveled a solemn gaze on Cole.
“Whatever made her think that?” Cole was shocked.
“Well, being a woman, and thinking what a woman like Pamela is capable of, I would say it had something to do with sex.”
“Mother!” Cole couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth.
Vernon shook his head. “We’re all adults here, son. I agree with your mom. Think about it. How was Emma acting before that evening toward you? Then afterwards? If I wanted to get rid of someone I considered a rival in some way… well, we’ve seen how low Pamela has stooped in the past.”
Cole thought back over the days and nights, the conversations… and things had changed just about that time. He had chalked it up to Emma having been so concerned and worried from the surprise visit after the incident in the tree lot with Charlie. Why had he just assumed? Then he remembered the bit Emma had spoken about gloves the night Pamela came to the house. How could he have let that go?
And he had drawn back a bit from pushing time with Emma and having that talk they never got around to having… had she construed that as his withdrawing from her? Changing his mind? Wanting to get back with the mother of his child? A light was dawning big time.
Cole stood and went into the den. He lowered himself to sit beside his daughter, Indian-style on the carpet. “How’s the movie going?”
She gave the shoulder-shrug. She had grown quieter of late. He had assumed it was because of Emma. Stop assuming. “You don’t seem as excited as you were about Christmas. What happened?”
“What if Emma doesn’t get back before Christmas? She needs to be here.”
The words were rough to hear. They echoed his thoughts almost every moment of the day since Emma had left. Only he wanted her for a lot longer than just this Christmas. He had a hunch Charlie did, too.
“Did you and Emma have a talk about the angel on top of the tree before she had to leave to take care of her business?”
Charlie looked up at him. She seemed to be deciding something in her mind before she responded to the question. She nodded.
“Can you tell me about that?”
“I told her about why I make a wish every night with the angel on the tree.”
“And can you share that with me?”
“I told her about how Granny said that my wishes would come true if there was an angel on my tree and I wished really hard. On Christmas morning, the angel
would make my wish come true. My wish where I get the mommy I really want. But if Emma’s not here, I won’t get the one I want. I didn’t tell her, but she’s the mommy I asked the angel to bring.”
Everything made sense. Cole shook his head. “Thank you, sweetheart.” He dropped a kiss on his daughter’s head before he stood up.
“Do you think the angel will bring Emma back in time?”
Cole hoped the angel was listening… that angels everywhere were listening to his words. “I think the angel will do all she can to make that happen.”
Cole strode through the kitchen to the wall phone. The three people still seated at the kitchen table watched in mystified silence. “Davis, I need another favor. I need to take you up on that offer of that tracker you spoke about. I need to reach him tonight. There’s not much time to waste.”
*
“That snow is really coming down, but it should let up in another few hours according to the weather report.” One of the truckers shared that bit of news as he slid into one of the vacant seats at the counter of the café. He smiled as Emma set the cup of coffee in front of him.
“Walt’s really improved the scenery around here. Sure you don’t want to have me show you around town? I know all the fun places.”
“I’m sure. I don’t have time to socialize. Too busy looking for a job in the city.” She set the coffeepot back on the burner on the counter. The burger plate was in the window and she took it and the ticket to the man seated at the opposite end of the bar. The snow had caused it to be an early night for most of the traffic they usually had at that hour. Emma minded simply because it meant she had more time on her hands. Time thoughts could intrude upon.
She didn’t need that to happen. She didn’t want to think about what a certain little girl was doing at the moment or what her daddy was doing either. Those thoughts weren’t helping anything. She had hoped with each day that passed, she would think less of what she left behind in McKenna Springs. She had travelled almost three hundred miles north. It wouldn’t matter if it had been three thousand. The distance would never lessen the pain in her heart. She had to learn to live with it. And slowly, things would get better. They had to.