by Harper Sloan
“Shit, Emmy, not so loud,” my father scolds before pulling me back and looking down at me. “You’re okay?”
“I’m okay, Dad. Just … in shock, I think. Bam got me out of the house before the smoke had even hit my bedroom.”
He continues to look at me, his dark eyes probing as he makes sure my words are true. I can feel my mom fidget nervously as she watches them work to put the remaining flames out. He looks down, assessing me for injury, I’m sure, before pulling me back into his hold.
“Who the fuck are you?” he snaps, the sound grumbled against the ear he has pressed close to his chest.
“Levi Kyle, Ember’s boyfriend.”
“No, he isn’t! Ex! EX-boyfriend. We broke up almost a month ago!” I yell, my mouth muffled against my dad’s chest. I try to turn around, but my father just holds me tighter against him.
“You’re mistaken.”
I shiver, the malicious tone in my dad’s voice something that I don’t often hear, but it never fails to cause me to tremble in fear. I’ve never had that tone directed at me either, and it’s still scary as hell.
“Excuse me, I misspoke,” Levi tries again. “We recently had a separation that I had been hoping to rectify.”
“Oh boy,” I hear coming from my mom, and I see her head pop in my line of sight, giving me a wink. She’s loving this. Which shouldn’t be a shock since she’s married to my father and has taken great pleasure my whole life in ‘throwing her sass’ to get a reaction from him.
I finally push from my dad and turn to look at Levi. “At the risk of embarrassing you by doing this in front of an audience, I’m going to go ahead and say what I need to in the hopes that you’ll hear me. I think it’s nice that you came when you heard the call, but as you can see, I have most of my support here already. That being said, I think it was shitty for you to even say that during this,” I stress and point behind his shoulder to where my house had been burning just minutes before. “But even if you had waited to do it somewhere else, the answer would be the same. I have no plan to rectify anything when it comes to us. Not now and not ever.”
He makes a move to step toward me, but stops with a glance behind our little huddle, his eyes getting hard. I’m sure my dad is about to come out of his skin right now.
“You’ve had a rough night,” Levi says, still not looking at me right away. “How about we talk about this in a week or so? Take all the time you want, but just promise we can talk. I miss you.” He looks back at me with a smile.
“Are you stupid, boy?” my father snaps.
“Stop, it Maddox,” my mom worries.
“I don’t want a week, Levi. I don’t want a day. Hell, I don’t want even a minute. I really was trying to be nice, but I don’t want you!”
“Damn fucking right you don’t,” I hear harshly barked and feel the instant rush of safety and relief rush over me at those words.
I turn to see that my father is still standing behind me with his arms now crossed over his chest, and I almost stumble with emotion when I look next to him and see the man mirroring his pose. Right down to the thin lips and narrowed eyes.
“Nate,” I whisper on a sob, afraid to move without losing my shit and crumpling onto the sidewalk.
His eyes leave Levi’s direction immediately, and he looks right at me. The anger that had been radiating from him dissipates the second he locks his eyes on mine. He takes a step forward and bends to pull me into his embrace. His head going to my neck and his mouth against the tender flesh as he lifts me with his hands on my ass until my legs wrap around his hips.
He doesn’t move for a second, giving me all of him while my body shakes. Now that he’s here, I finally let the enormity of tonight sink in; the fire could have been so much worse had Bam not woken me from my deep sleep. I feel the frame that I had been holding digging into our abdomens, but I don’t dare ease up on my hold.
Soft kisses against my neck are the only warning that I get before he lifts his head and starts talking. “I know who you are, but you don’t know who I am. This girl in my arms is mine, and buddy, you’re one stupid motherfucker for letting her go. But you did and I promise you I’m not going to be that damn dumb. She said it nicely, but you didn’t listen, so now hear it from me.” I tighten my arms around his neck and press my nose into his neck, smelling his familiar cologne mixed with the scent of cigarette smoke from Dirty. A combination that I’ve become addicted to and it instantly makes me feel like all is right in the world. “You have no place in her life, and as nice as you think it was to come rushing over to make sure she was fine, as you can see … she is. You can leave now knowing that she’s right where she needs to be. And, one more time, since you seem to need it really dumbed down—Ember is mine now and for the rest of our days on this earth, so you can fuck right off knowing that in no way will there ever be a break in that for the likes of you.”
And at that, Nate turns with me in his arms and starts walking away from them.
He stops and turns his body until he’s sitting. I lift my head up and see the back of an open ambulance before looking at him in question.
“You’re going to stay right here in my arms and let them look at you. When we’re done here, we’ll see what else needs your attention before I pack up your and Bam’s shit and take you home. And baby, do not argue with me because I’ve been holding on by the thinnest of fucking threads since Lee called me.”
I just nod because really what else can I do?
I WATCHED EARLIER AS SHE was checked out while her dad was saying a few things to that sorry piece of shit before he stomped off, got into his SUV, and left in a rush.
I could have fucking killed him earlier. The fear that I had for Ember morphed into a rage like I had never felt when I walked up to them talking around Liam’s patrol car. He saw me, that fucking fuck, but he didn’t let me being there stop him from running his mouth.
Not even the happiness I felt from Ember’s response to him was enough to dull the rage that I felt. When I moved to step in, Maddox had stopped me with a hand to my arm, warning me without words to stand fucking back and let Ember speak her mind. So I did the only thing that made sense; I copied his stance in hopes that I looked even half as scary as he did, and that slimy fuck got the hint.
She shifts, her head almost falling off my shoulder, but I adjust her before it can. Her movement jolts me into the present and my mind away from the dark thoughts swirling in my head. Not for the first time since we sat down on a chair Liam had moved over from her front porch did I feel something dig into my gut. I move my hand between us and pull out whatever I’ve felt for the last thirty minutes but hadn’t dared move to get it until I knew she was good and asleep in my arms.
I’m not sure what I expected her to have been clutching as if her life depended on it, but seeing a framed picture of us wasn’t it. I hadn’t ever seen this one, but to be honest, I hadn’t really paid much attention to the shit she had around her house when she was the only thing I cared about looking at.
I remember the day this was taken like it was yesterday. I had been tutoring her for a few weeks, hell, maybe a few months, I don’t know. The struggle to keep myself from her was getting to me, and when she showed up in that bikini, I almost forgot all the reasons to stay away. My eyes kept finding her throughout the day, and I kept finding reasons to be near her. I didn’t know this picture was even taken, though. How had her dad not killed me before now? Because I know damn well if he had seen this picture, he had seen something between us long before I did.
I study the picture some more, overwhelmed that this was one of the things she had left the house with. Keeping it in my hand, I wrap my arms back around her and look up. Maddox has his wife in his arms, standing next to where Lee is talking to him at his patrol car, but his focus is on me and the woman sleeping wrapped around me. He looks at her, and even in the darkness, I can see the struggle he’s having with himself not to come and take her from me, but when he looks up, I get the briefest
of nods before he looks away.
It’s one thing for me to have had his verbal blessing to pursue his daughter, but when she had picked me over him earlier, I had been a little worried. There is no doubt in my mind that he’s been struggling with that since, but I have a feeling that the nod I just got from him was his way of letting me know that I now had his acceptance and happiness when it came to our relationship.
“I just got the okay to go in,” Lee says, crouching down next to my seat.
“How bad is it?”
“Not as bad as it could be. There’s some smoke and water damage to her living room, but from what I heard, nothing touched her bedroom and the guest room. The kitchen and the sunroom are completely gone, though.”
“Studio,” I grunt, hating that I’m going to have to tell her that.
“Pardon?”
“Not a sunroom, Lee. That was her art studio. The one room in the house that she basically lived in and one that I know means a whole hell of a lot to her.”
“Shit, sorry, brother.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. My woman is safe and the rest can be replaced.”
He gives me a funny look. “Your woman, huh?”
I knew it was coming, so I just raise a brow, twisting my head to make sure she’s still sleeping before responding. “More than that, Lee, if you know what I mean. She’s my everything.”
He smiles and gives me a nod. He’s a happily married man who knows what it’s like to find your everything. “Happy to hear that, Nate. She’s good for you.”
“Yeah.” I sigh. “You took ten years off my life earlier with that call.”
“I imagine, but she’s okay and that’s the only thing that matters. I’m going to go with her mom to pack up some of her stuff. I’m going to just go on and guess that she’s going home with you? Or should I send her home with Maddox?”
At the middle finger he gets in response, he climbs to his feet with a laugh.
Her dad takes care of talking to the official looking people while I wait for her mom and Lee to get some shit packed. For that, I’m thankful. I don’t want to let her go, needing her against me to remind me that she’s fine.
“I’ll check in with them tomorrow,” he says, walking to stand in front of me and looking down at his daughter. “I suspect, had this not been the first time I had seen her in a few weeks, that I would have seen she had gotten her happiness back?”
“That would be right.”
“You going to fight me on where she goes tonight?”
“With everything I have.”
He smiles, a ghost of one that is almost not even noticeable. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. Remember what I said, Nate. Accidents happen.”
I nod, lifting the frame I still have in my hands and hold it out to him. He takes it as I wait for him to see what I’m hoping he does. His throat works as his eyes roam over every inch of the picture. I wait and hope that he sees it.
“Even back then.” Not a question because even a fool would know the answer to that.
“Even back then,” I parrot.
“I see. Take my advice then. Don’t wait to tell her that you love her.”
He continues to hold the frame when I see Emmy and Lee walking from the front door with three suitcases and two huge duffle bags between the two of them. I’m not sure which one of them I need to thank for making sure she was heavily packed because if I have things my way, she won’t be back here even when the repairs are done.
“He really didn’t say anything to you?”
I laugh at Ember’s question, something she’s been asking since we got out of our shared shower and climbed into my bed.
“He didn’t, baby. He’s a smart man, and he knew it was time to let you go.”
“Oh, wow.”
“You expected something different?”
She lifts her head from my shoulder and studies my face for a while, not giving anything away with her expression.
“Well, yeah. I mean it was one of the reasons that you said we could never be together. I just assumed that you could see something in him that I couldn’t. I’ve been worried about how he would handle us now because of that.”
Well, shit. I feel like she just kicked me in the balls.
“Damn, baby.”
“Don’t say you’re sorry, Nate. I didn’t bring it up to make you feel bad, just pointing out that is what I had worried about when it came to us coming out, so to speak, and what his reaction might be. I understand why you said it back then, and I even agree.”
“You do?” I ask, shocked.
“Yeah, and it doesn’t matter now. We came out on top in the end.”
“Yeah, I reckon we did.”
She settles back down and starts to rub her hand on my torso. “Do you think my flowers will make it?”
I smile into the darkness around us. “Not sure, Em. Doesn’t matter, though. I need to call in the morning and get your last couple of deliveries moved here.”
She jerks in my arms. “There’s more?” She gasps.
“Two more.”
“Two more,” she breathily repeats.
“Yeah, baby. One thousand five hundred and twelve in total. That’s roughly one rose for every day I’ve missed since the night you graduated.”
Her silence stretches out so long I wonder if she fell asleep, but when her breath hitches violently in her throat, I adjust our bodies so I can see her tear-streaked face.
“Ember?”
“That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,” she sobs.
Without a clue as to how to calm her down, I frame her face and just kiss her deeply.
I HANG UP MY PHONE feeling like, if he were in the same room as I was, I would physically hurt my father. When I showed up at my house two days after the fire—one that had been ruled an accident by faulty wiring—to find him directing a cleaning crew and movers, I snapped. Well, actually, I just gave him a hard look and got into my car to head back to Nate’s without a word. With my show only a few days away, I need to focus on making sure everything is in order with Annabelle and the gallery.
But now, hearing that he’s already hired contractors and the likes, without talking to me, I’m about to blow a fuse.
“You okay?” Nate asks, coming behind me and wrapping his arms around my chest. The scent of his deliciousness distracts me from why I was in a mood to begin with.
“Fine,” I breathe, trying to take more of his scent in.
“You know, I learned really fast with a sister that when a woman says that word, she means the opposite, but at the risk of making you more upset, I’m just going to leave it at that.”
I sigh. “It’s my dad. He’s taken over the rebuild at my house and even went as far as to move everything I own into storage.”
He hums but doesn’t respond. Instead, I feel his hand start to push up my shirt.
“Nate,” I groan, pushing his hand when I realize something. “Nate!” I try again when he doesn’t stop.
“What?” he says against my neck, biting the flesh between his teeth.
“Stop trying to distract me,” I attempt but only end up moaning shamelessly when he cups my sex through my leggings and starts to move his fingers around through the fabric.
“You like it.”
“Stop,” I pant, shoving out of his wicked hands and turning.
His eyes are burning and his chest is rapidly moving when I look up at him. My eyes move from his chest to the sweatpants that are riding low on his hips, the erection tenting the fabric jerks when my eyes hit it, and I feel a noise deep in my throat in response.
“You’re trying to distract me with your talented fingers and huge penis, aren’t you?”
His face doesn’t lose its intensity, but his lips twitch at my words.
“Do you know why my father moved everything I own into storage?”
He sighs. “I don’t know for sure, but I can only assume.”
“And your assumption would be wh
at?”
“That he’s doing what he would have done in my shoes, taking a guess at what I want, and doing it correctly.”
“You’re talking in riddles,” I whine, tossing my hands up with a huff.
“Actually, I’m not. But I’ll expand on that. He hasn’t asked me how I feel about that fire or how I felt knowing that you could have been taken from me had you not got out. He does, however, know how serious I am about you, and with that being said, he decided to act as if he knew what I wanted to happen and make sure it’s done.”
“Seriously, Nate! How is that any clearer?”
He laughs, low and not with much humor. More like a sound that one would make if they knew something that the other person didn’t. Which, duh, he does.
“In his shoes, if it had been your mother, he would have packed up her shit, repaired the house, sold it, and never let her out of his sight again. Her shit would stay in storage until she decided what to keep or donate, but her ass would stay in his house … forever.”
I gasp, his meaning starting to become clear.
“Are you saying my father is preparing me to move in with you?”
“Like I said, he’s acting as if he knows what I want.”
My heart in my throat, I ask, “And what do you want?”
“Exactly what he would in my shoes, baby. The exact thing.”
“It’s been a month!”
He steps closer. “One month or one day, I would still feel the same about us.”
And then his mouth is on mine, and I lose all ability to even form a thought, let alone another word.
“Come on,” he says against my lips, taking my hand and pulling me from his living room and up the stairs to his bedroom. “I have you for another two hours before you need to head over to the gallery. How about we make good use of that time?”
And good use he does.
Over and over again.
“I think I like this one in here,” Annabelle says, looking away from the series of landscape paintings to the few still-life ones that I have.
“Are you sure? I thought you wanted to mix them up some?”