Shelter Me: A Frazier Falls Novel

by Collins, Kelly

  My heart hurt thinking about him because there were so many good things about him.

  Sadly, he hadn’t contacted me once since I left, which I both expected and deserved. It wasn’t as if I had contacted him, either. Outside of my daily check-ins with mom, everything related to Frazier Falls made my heart hurt, so I avoided it.

  I thought back to the day I’d left. Mom had been upset when I rushed into the house to pack my belongings. She didn’t want me to leave—not out of selfishness for her, but for a chance there might be an Eli and me.

  “I take it you don’t want to go out for drinks?” Sadie asked, pulling me out of my thoughts once more. “You know, the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.”

  I stared at her. “Sex isn’t a solution.”

  “Sure it is. Eli Cooper isn’t the only man in the world for you.”

  I refused to tell her how wrong she was. “I’m exhausted. I think I’ll throw myself into bed as soon as I get home.”

  “Sounds healthy.” She looked me up and down. “You do look like hell.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Only telling it like it is. Take care of yourself this weekend.”

  “You too, Sadie.” She turned and left the office, leaving only Don and me. I stared at him. “I thought you were leaving.”

  He laughed lightly. “Not before you. As in, leave now. Go to bed, like you said you were planning. You need rest.”

  “What are you, my dad?”

  “If that’s what it takes to get you to look after yourself, then sure, why not?”

  “You’re thirty years too young to be my dad, and he’s a dead-beat son of a bitch currently living in an alcoholic stupor in the middle of nowhere, Ireland.”

  “Then clearly you need a stand in.”

  It was impossible to be in a bad mood when Don was around. He put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed slightly.

  “Come on. I’ll take you home.”

  I didn’t have it in me to protest, so I shut down my computer, collected my things, and followed Don to his car. I only lived a short walk from the office, but the drive back to my apartment was appreciated once it sunk in how tired I was.

  “Don’t work yourself so hard,” he said, pulling in front of my apartment. “Burnout won’t do any of us much good.”

  “I know, I know. I can do better than this.”

  He smiled. “Everyone is allowed to have a moment or two.”

  Whatever song that had been playing on the radio had finished, and the DJ was giving a weather report.

  Something about a major storm hitting the southwestern states, including Colorado. I tuned in to hear them say that experts were warning residents to stay indoors and prepare for potential blackouts.

  “Oh, crap,” I let out as my insides went cold.

  His expression grew serious once he saw the look on my face. “Emily, it’ll be okay. Colorado has had a month of reasonable weather. There’s no snow or ice on the ground to make things dangerous. As long as your mom stays indoors, the storm will pass, and she’ll be fine.”

  “Yeah, I guess so …” I mumbled, not entirely convinced. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong. I chalked it up to a daughter’s natural inclination to worry about her mom. I gave Don a halfhearted smile and a wave as I walked toward my apartment. “I’ll see you on Monday. Have a great weekend.”

  “You, too. Get some sleep and stop worrying.”

  When I got into my apartment, I took out my phone and called mom to make sure she was okay. When she didn’t pick up, I glanced at the time. It was just after six in the evening. Remembering that she was supposed to be going to Lucy Rogers’ place for dinner, I forced myself to remain calm.

  “She’s fine,” I told myself. “Go to bed early, and in the morning, everything will be okay.”

  Hours later, and I hadn’t slept a wink. I laid on my bed, restlessly tossing and turning as sleep evaded me.

  I grabbed my phone and called my mom again. I would have expected her to call me back by now, especially if she was stuck indoors by herself.

  Once again, she didn’t pick up. The cell phone rang until I reached her voicemail. I tried the house phone a few times for good measure in case she was asleep, but every call went unanswered.

  “I’m allowed to be worried now, right?” I asked myself aloud, shivering despite the warmth of my apartment.

  I didn’t know what to do. If my mom didn’t pick up, then I wouldn’t know what was going on. I stupidly didn’t have the contact information of her friends in Frazier Falls. I had no way of reaching them to check in on her.

  Then I glanced at my phone. I scrolled through my contact list as dread washed over me. I had one person who could check on her—Eli.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Eli

  There was nothing like working up a sweat. Hard work and muscle fatigue satisfied in a way that office work never could.

  Owen might have been inclined to disagree on the latter point, but for me, working with my hands gave me a true feeling of completion.

  With the weather having cleared up over the past few weeks, Cooper Construction had finally been able to pick up the delayed February projects. We’d been working around the clock to make up for lost time, and now, in mid-March, we finally had.

  The long, exhausting days were exactly what I needed to keep my mind focused on anything other than Emily Flanagan.

  Finally, the snow, ice, and gale-force winds had dissipated, which meant I was never trapped inside my house with only thoughts of her for company. I managed to stop thinking about her until the end of the day when I was in bed and waiting for sleep to wash over me.

  I’d never thought of my bed as too big … until now. In a short time, I’d grown accustomed to her lying by my side, nestled against my arm or leaning on my back, her soft, slow breaths tickling my skin. It had been a wonderful experience, and I missed it more than I could bear.

  My brothers, as well as Carla and Rich, knew that Emily had left quickly, but I hadn’t said a word to any of them about what had transpired. What could I say? At the end of the day, Emily went back to Los Angeles at the first given opportunity, which is what she had always said she would do.

  Maybe she’d been right. Maybe I had been reading too much into our relationship. Even if she had developed serious feelings for me, which a desperate part of me was clinging to as true, that didn’t change a damn thing. Emily lived in Los Angeles. Her whole life was there.

  And yet, knowing that she wouldn’t choose me, no matter how she felt, absolutely sucked. Not for the first time since she’d left, I wondered whether it would have been such an outlandish idea for me to move to California. People always needed accountants and builders. There was no doubt I could find a job, but that went against everything I’d wanted in life.

  Here in Frazier Falls, I was my own boss. I worked with people I cared about, in a town I loved. I couldn’t give that up, even as part of me screamed that I should get on the next flight to Los Angeles and show up on Emily’s doorstep, begging her to give us another shot.

  I shook my head, laughing bitterly. All I had to do was give her a second, and she consumed my thoughts.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Pax looking at me strangely.

  “You finally losing it, Eli? You sound like a villain coming up with some heinous plot all by himself.”

  “That’s a colorful imagination you have there. Get back to work.”

  He pointed upwards to the sky. “I don’t like the look of those clouds. The wind’s picking up and the temperature is dropping. I say we pack up for the day.”

  “Surprisingly, I agree with you,” Owen said as he wandered over with Pax. “I checked the forecast. Turns out, there’s a storm coming our way.”

  Pax looked at me suspiciously. “This wasn’t your doing, was it, Mr. Villain?”

  I gave him the finger.

  “In any case, it’s best to get the
site secured against the storm,” Owen directed. “Want to come to my house for a beer afterward?”

  “Sounds great.” Pax was always up for free beer.

  I shook my head. “To be honest, these late nights are wearing on me. I think I need to get some sleep. I’ll head home.”

  “Eli?”

  “You guys go on and have fun,” I pushed. “I’ll join you next time.”

  “That’s what you said last Friday,” Pax said.

  “And the week before,” Owen added.

  “And the—” Pax piped in again.

  “Okay, I get it. I get it. Fine, I’ll join you for one, then I’m going home.”

  Paxton brightened up immediately. “That’s the spirit.”

  Owen watched me with an unreadable expression. He turned to Pax. “Why don’t you stop by Wilkes’ while Eli and I finish up here?”

  “Don’t need to tell me twice. I’m out of here,” Pax said, giving Owen a mocking half-salute before hurrying off before he could change his mind.

  Owen and I cleaned up the construction site in uncomfortable silence. Eventually, it grew too much for me, so I turned on him. “Spit it out, Owen.”

  He feigned ignorance. “Spit what out?”

  “All this silent judgment you’re throwing my way. Say what you want to say.”

  “What, that I think you’re being stupid by not trying to make amends with Emily? I’m not thinking that at all.”

  “You’re hilarious.”

  “Eli,” Owen said, growing serious. “None of us have seen you like this before. You’re barely sleeping. You’re not socializing. Hell, you hardly speak a word to anybody. We’re considering calling you Paxton. It’s so unlike you. Of course, we’re all worried.”

  “What, and you’re so perfect?” I said, glaring at him. “I do recall a certain somebody having a panic attack on stage instead of apologizing to Carla Stevenson and getting her to help you once more.”

  “But that’s exactly my point.” Owen bundled the rest of our tools into the truck before we jumped inside and headed out. “Everything between Carla and me could have been solved if we simply communicated with each other. There was nothing else to it. Now it seems so stupid to think back on it. It seemed so complex and infuriating and impossible at the time, but in reality, it wasn’t like that at all. We loved each other. What more was there to it than that?”

  I made a face as a smattering of rain began to hit the windshield. “It’s so easy for you to say.”

  Owen frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “You and Carla both love Frazier Falls. There was nothing standing in the way of you guys being together. Even if the Stevenson Mill had been forced to close, Carla still wanted to live here. The two of you could have made it work no matter the outcome of your presentation.”

  “I wouldn’t exactly say that,” Owen replied, grimacing slightly. “I know my flaws. I wouldn’t have been able to face her, knowing that I had failed. Knowing that I was the reason her family business had to close. I highly doubt we’d still be together if that had happened.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Somehow, I have trouble believing that. The way you guys look at each other.” I shook my head. “No way would you be able to stay away from each other.”

  “You think you and Emily are different?”

  I paused. “You never saw us together, so how can you say anything on the matter?”

  “I don’t need to have seen the two of you together to know what’s going on. All I need to see is you without her.”

  “She wants to live in Los Angeles. I want to live here. She hates Frazier Falls. What more is there to say? There’s no compromise there.”

  Owen sighed. “Are you sure you’re both not confusing want with need?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Does she really love Los Angeles or simply what it gives her?”

  “I’ll never know.”

  “You could have asked her. Why didn’t you?”

  “I tried to talk to her. I tried to stop her, but she begged me to let her go.”

  “You messed up.”

  “Excuse me?” I almost laughed at the irony of saying those two indignant words. I sounded just like Emily.

  Owen rolled his eyes. “I bet you went about it the wrong way.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Because I know you. And you’re an idiot. All of us brothers are.”

  “What, and now you have a fiancée, so you’re somehow less of one?”

  Owen pulled up outside the office, cutting the engine before giving me a level stare. “I’m probably no less an idiot than I was before, but now I have someone to balance me out.”

  I winced as the rain suddenly grew heavier, followed by a sharp gust of wind that rocked the truck.

  “Maybe we could continue this lecture somewhere else, or, you know, stop having it altogether.”

  Owen laughed. “Sounds like a plan, but think about what I’ve said. Now get out. I’ll see you at the house in a few.”

  I glanced over at my own truck, then up at the sky. “I’m only staying for one beer.”

  “One to start.”

  “I’m afraid not.”

  “I thought I was the one getting old.”

  “Getting old and being sensible are two different things.”

  “Debatable.”

  I followed Owen out of the parking lot, then made my way through the torrential rain to his house. When we got there, Pax was already inside building a fire.

  “Thanks for that,” Owen said.

  We enjoyed the fire. I made everyone dinner and nursed my one beer while my brothers moved onto their fifth. By the time it hit nine, I was thoroughly exhausted and dreaming of bed. The wind roared outside while the rain pelted against the windows like bullets.

  “Owen, did we move over to the backup generator in the past few hours?” Pax asked nonchalantly. “The lights haven’t flickered at all.”

  “I actually swapped over to it as soon as we got in,” he explained. “Figured a blackout was inevitable, so I thought I’d play it safe.”

  I frowned. “The power went out?”

  “Nearly two hours ago, I think.” He searched through his phone for a weather update. “Yeah, after seven. Why?”

  “No reason.” An uneasy feeling knotted in my stomach, and I didn’t know why. Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I took it out to see Emily’s name flash across my screen.

  I nearly didn’t answer. I didn’t know what I would say, but something told me I had to pick up.

  “Odd hearing from—”

  “Eli, please,” Emily cut through, not letting me speak. Her voice sounded panicked and desperate, which immediately set me on alert.

  “What is it, Emily?” All thoughts about being angry, or dismissive, or insulting went out the window. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my brothers watch me with interest, having heard me utter Emily’s name.

  “It’s my mom,” she answered. “She hasn’t—she won’t pick up the phone.”

  “How long have you been trying to contact her?”

  “Since six. She’s not answering the house phone or her cell. Eli, I don’t know what to do. Is the power out?”

  “Yes, for a couple of hours. That’s probably why you can’t get her on the house phone.” I tossed my empty bottle into the trash can. “You want me to check on her?”

  “Could you please?”

  Her voice was scratchy and frantic and full of tears. All I wanted to do was hold her tightly against my chest. How was I ever angry at her?

  “You bet,” I replied, grabbing my jacket and moving toward the front door without so much as a goodbye to my brothers. I threw myself into my truck and started up the engine, balancing my phone between my ear and my shoulder as I pulled out of Owen’s driveway. “Emily, it’ll be okay. Hang tight, and I’ll call you back as soon as I get to your mom’s place, okay?”

  “Thank you.” The words were bare
ly audible. “Thank you, Eli, thank you. I don’t—”

  “Don’t say anything,” I interrupted. “There’ll be time for talk later. Look after yourself, and I’ll call soon.”

  I hung up before Emily could say any more. The horrific storm outside forced me to keep my full attention on the road in front of me. It took an agonizingly long time to reach Judy’s house, but when I did, my heart went cold.

  Judy’s car was in the driveway, but all her lights were off. The house was silent.

  I’d barely pulled to a stop before I flung myself out of the driver’s seat, slamming open Judy’s door once I twisted the handle and found it unlocked.

  In the darkness, I called her name. “Judy? Ms. Flanagan? Are you awake?”

  I walked through the living room first and found her lying on the floor in front of the sofa. Clearly, she’d rolled off of it to the hardwood floor. I knelt down by her side, checking her pulse. Her skin was cold to the touch. My hands trembled, but underneath my fingertips, I could feel her life beating against my skin.

  I shook Judy’s shoulders. “Judy, wake up. Judy?”

  But she didn’t wake up. She continued to lay there, unconscious and unresponsive.

  I grabbed the blanket off the sofa and bundled her in it, then carefully carried her out to my car. I cranked up the heat and raced to the hospital.

  “Hold on, Judy,” I murmured aloud, as much for me as for her. “Hold on. You can do this.”

  I didn’t want to think about what would happen if she couldn’t.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Emily

  It felt like a lifetime had passed waiting by my phone for Eli to call. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the damn thing. My legs twitched as I tapped my fingers on my knees over and over again, every muscle of my body poised and ready to spring into action the moment my phone rang.

  I was so intent on waiting for the call that I almost missed it. The phone buzzed on and on as I watched it, my eyes sightless and my brain so over-stimulated that it had crashed. It was only after blinking a few times that I noticed it was Eli.