“Make yourself at home. The bathroom is at the end of the hall, and there’s a linen closet in the hall if you need a towel. We’ll talk more tomorrow.” Dylan smiled and then turned around to leave. Emily watched as he made it about a quarter of the way down the hall. Then he wheeled around and came back to her room. “And by the way- I’m glad that you’re here. I think you’ll make a great wife.” He winked and then left.
Emily sat down on the edge of the bed, unsure of what to do. She wanted to get settled in and un-pack, but she was so tired that all she could think about was going to sleep. She unzipped her suitcase and pulled out a pair of black cotton pajamas. Then she took off her skirt and her sweater, folded them neatly, and set them both on the floor beside the bed. She turned off the lights and then pulled back the covers. She could hear a dog barking outside and wondered if it was Dylan’s. Then she laid her head on the pillow, closed her eyes for a moment, and drifted right to sleep.
Chapter 6
When Emily woke up it was almost 10:00 a.m. She could hear the girls laughing and yelling downstairs and she wondered if they were always so loud. Before she had a chance to get out of bed, Eisley came bounding into her room and jumped on top of her bed. “Come on! Uncle Dylan made us all pancakes. Come on!” She pulled at Emily’s arm and tried to drag her out of bed. Emily gave Eisley a sheepish smile and then slowly slid out from under the covers.
“Good morning.” She smiled at Dylan when she entered the kitchen and noticed that he was already dressed. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, and his hair was still wet from his shower. He beamed when he saw Emily, and told her to have seat.
“I made my specialty this morning, just for you.” He flipped a pancake on the griddle and then pushed a plate toward her. She smiled and watched as he placed three steaming hot blueberry pancakes on her plate, then flicked off the burner and handed her some butter. “The girls love these, right?” He looked at Anna and Eisley who were all smiles as they waited for their Uncle Dylan to serve them some of his mouth-watering pancakes, too.
“Miss Emily, we know you’re going to love them.” Anan smiled and took a sip of her orange juice. Emily dug in without much hesitation and then realized that she hadn’t eaten anything since her flight. She was famished and the pancakes tasted delicious. She devoured what Dylan set in front of her, and then protested when he offered her more.
“Thank you, but this is great. I’m full.” She smiled and then had a sip of the coffee that Dylan had set in front of her. Emily thought of Leila at that moment. The two used to drink their coffee together every morning before heading off to the Lancaster Textile Company. A pang of sadness coursed through her body, and she figured it must have shown on her face because Dylan immediately asked if she was okay.
“Yes, thanks. I’m fine. I just need to use the bathroom.” Emily excused herself and walked into the dining room. Pictures of Ann and Eisley hung on the wall, and they made Emily smile. The bathroom was just to the left, so she turned on the light and stepped inside. As soon as she had the door closed, she let out a sigh and then looked at her face in the mirror. She was still tired from all of the traveling, and it showed in her face. She thought about Leila, and about how she would tell Emily to just slice some cucumber for her swollen, puffy eyes.
“I miss you, Leila.” Emily looked up, as if Leila were watching over her from inside the bathroom. Then she unzipped her pants and sat down on the toilet. It was a relief to get away for a few minutes. She wasn’t used to all of the attention, and she certainly wasn’t used to being around two middle-school aged girls first thing in the morning. After she had gone to the bathroom, she splashed some water on her face and then walked back into the kitchen.
“I’ve still got some pancakes if you’ve got room.” Dylan was now sitting at the table sipping a coffee. Eisley and Anna had gotten up and were both running around outside in their pajamas. Emily sat down. She wasn’t one for beating around the bush, so she came out and asked the first question that popped into her head.
“So who was the woman that was here the other night? The one who was sitting in front of the television while the girls cut each other’s hair.” Emily couldn’t disguise the disapproval in her voice. Dylan shook his head and chuckled.
“That was Mary-Jo. She’s the babysitter, if you could call her that.” Dylan took a sip of his coffee and studied Emily’s face. “You know, you remind me of someone. I think she’s one of those Victoria’s Secret models.” He nodded his head and then smiled. “There’s one who has this real pretty face, kind of like yours, and long, slender legs.” Dylan raised his eyebrows and Emily realized that he was hitting on her in an odd sort of way. She blushed and then she sipped her coffee.
“You know, I gave you that room at the end of the hall so that you could acclimate for a few days, Emily. But, you do understand that you agreed to be my wife, right?” Dylan gave Emily a wry grin and then put his hands on his hips. Emily nodded her head in agreement.
“Of course. I responded to your ad with the honest intention of fulfilling that role.” Emily nodded her head but even as the words came out, her voice wavered with doubt. She and Leila had discussed at length some of the challenges that might result from agreeing to a marriage of “convenience,” as Dylan phrased it. Emily had balked at the idea of sleeping in the same bed with someone that she didn’t even know, with having sex with a man who she might not be attracted to, and who she might not ever fall in love with.
“Emily, you need to just do what he asks and look at it like a job, because that’s what it is. His ad didn’t ask you to fall in love with him. It asked you to move to Texas and raise his nieces. So, that’s what you do.” Leila had spoken matter-of-factly and Emily had walked away feeling confident in her decision to follow through with the role.
“Well, I just wanted you to know that I’m glad you’re here, and I look forward to getting to know you better. I mean, all I know about you right now is that you’re from a little town in England, and that you have a cousin who you’re close with. The girls go to school during the week, so I was thinking that maybe you and I could go to one of the local barbeque spots on Monday and have lunch together. How does that sound?” Dylan looked at Emily with a hopeful expression.
“That sounds great. I’d love to get to see what Texas looks like.” Emily smiled and then had a good look at Dylan’s face. He had a dimple in his left cheek and a slight bump in his nose. She definitely found him attractive, and it made her want to speak to Leila so that she could tell her. They had sat up together one night trying to guess what Mr. Dylan McBride looked like, and Emily had been pretty close in her estimation.
“I look forward to it.” Dylan smiled and then turned around to face the mound of dishes that loomed over the sink. Before he could even think about washing one, the back door flung open.
“Uncle Dylan. Robbie asked if we could go on a tractor ride. Can we?” Eisley, still in her pajamas, stood before Dylan, her big blue eyes wide as saucers, her hair trailing wildly down her back. Dylan looked at Emily for approval.
“I think that you and your sister need to get dressed before you do anything.” Emily stepped in and then looked outside. Anna was on her way in. She tromped up to the back door, threw it open, and then kicked off her boots which were covered in mud. “Okay, Anna. Right upstairs you go to get dressed. Leave those boots here.” Emily smiled and then took the boots as Anna scampered away with her sister. Dylan looked on with a smile.
“You know, for being here less than twenty-four hours, you seem to already have a knack for talking to the girls.” Dylan was impressed. He didn’t know what to expect, and he was somewhat relieved that Emily, so far, met his expectations. “We can talk more tomorrow about their schedules, and their behavior.” He raised his eyebrows and Emily chuckled.
She knew that with a little bit of effort, she could get the girls to comply with her requests and even enjoy themselves doing it. Emily was used to being around children, and
just like her letter had stated, she was prepared to make sure that they were respectful and hard-working, as opposed to rude and unsavory. She approached the sink and looked at the dishes, not quite sure where to begin.
“Emily. You just got here. Take today to just un-pack and settle in. We’ll get out tomorrow for a little bit and then we can get down to the nitty-gritty as the week begins, oaky?” Dylan didn’t want Emily to feel so overwhelmed that she second-guessed her role. He wanted to ease her into the McBride lifestyle, wanted to slowly incorporate her into the chaotic and unbalanced life that they currently led.
“Okay. Thanks.” Emily rocked back and forth on her heels and then turned around to go upstairs. She passed Eisley and Anna as they came bounding down the steps, dressed in their clothes to go outside. For a second, she thought back to her own childhood and recalled the many afternoons she’d spent outside on her parents’ farm. She liked the fact that Dylan lived on what appeared to be a vast expanse of property, and she liked the fact that there was enough space for her to wander alone and in private if the household environment became too demanding.
Once upstairs, she closed the door and sat down on her bed. Then she pulled out a note pad from her suitcase and reached in her purse for a pen. She wanted to write to Leila and let her know that she had arrived safely and that she was just beginning to get settled in her new home. She had just written “Dear Leila,” when she heard a car pull up in the driveway. She slid off the bed and walked to the window to take a peek at who had arrived.
Two men in black suits climbed out of the car and approached the front porch. As soon as they knocked Emily heard the dogs bark and the girls call out to Dylan. She wondered who the men could be, and then figured that she’d find out soon enough. She sat back down on the bed and had just finished writing “I arrived safely,” when she heard a knock at her door.
“Hi, Eisley.” Emily smiled when she saw the little girl standing before her. Eisley tugged at Emily’s shirt.
“Miss Emily, can you please make me and my sister some lunch? Uncle Dylan is in a meeting.” Emily realized that Dylan probably hadn’t told the girls that he was giving Emily the day off, but she didn’t mind going down to make them a quick lunch.
“Sure, sweetie. I’ll be down in a minute.” Emily walked back toward the bed and folded up her letter. She tucked it neatly into her suitcase and then walked toward the mirror that was attached to her dresser. She thought back to what Dylan had said about her resembling a model. It brought a smile to her face as she realized that this would be the first man she had been involved with in over five years. It gave her pause when she realized the depth of the commitment she had just gotten herself into.
Dylan was seated at the head of the dining room table when she got downstairs. The two men in black were on either side of him, and both had a series of papers and folders in front of them. She wondered what this meeting was all about, but knew that it wasn’t the right time to ask. She gave Dylan a weak smile and she tried to gracefully slide into the kitchen to make the girls lunch.
“Emily, thank you for getting their lunch. This was a little bit…” He paused and then looked at one of the men with a frown. “…unexpected.” Dylan drew in a deep breath and then looked down at the papers before him. Emily nodded and then continued walking. When she got into the kitchen, all of the dishes from the previous day, along with the dishes from breakfast, were piled in the same intimidating mound. Eisley and Anna looked at Emily with expectant faces.
“Well, girls. Before I make you lunch, I’m going to need to tackle these dishes. Why don’t you both go outside for a few minutes and let me get this taken care of first?” Emily didn’t know how long it was going to take, but she hoped it wouldn’t be more than a half hour. She rolled up her sleeves, took a deep breath, and then dove in.
Although she couldn’t be sure, Emily was willing to bet that the majority of the dishes had been sitting there for well over two-weeks. She had to scrub with two different sponges to get the encrusted remains off several plates, and the coffee mugs had what appeared to be moldy cream at the bottom of them. She shook her head in disgust and wondered how anyone could just let his kitchen get to such a state.
When she had finally finished washing, she looked for a clean towel to let them dry, but here was nothing except dirty laundry at the back door. She found a single paper towel at the end of a roll and used that, then opened up the trash can to throw out the cardboard roll only to find that the trash was overflowing. Eisley and Anna had both disappeared outside so she didn’t have either to tell her where the trash bags were kept.
Emily opened up three drawers but only found some dirty silverware and a few paper napkins that looked like they had come from convenience stores. She felt a wave of anxiety seep into her bones as she looked around. This place needed more help than she could have imagined and she started to wonder if she would actually be capable of handling it all by herself. Just as she was about to give up hope on finding a clean trash bag, she saw another set of cabinets near the dirty laundry. She stepped across the kitchen and opened the first one, and a pile of bills fell on her head.
She knelt down and started to pick them up, noting that many of them were stamped with large red letters “Final Notice.” She rifled through a couple, out of curiosity, and saw a variety of obligors. Some were from the electric company, a few were from the heating company, and a few were from someone named Felix Rose. She tried to shove them all back in the cabinet, but they wouldn’t stay put. She didn’t want Dylan to think that she had invaded his privacy, but it was hard to think of what to do, other than tell him that they had accidentally fallen out.
“Miss Emily, is our lunch ready yet?” Anna came bounding into the kitchen with a big smile on her face and Emily shook her head.
“I’m sorry, honey, but I’m still trying to get cleaned up in here. I have an idea. Can you help me?” Emily figured that these girls were young, but not so little as to be excused from chores. Emily decided on the spot that they would each get their own kitchen chores form now one. She appointed Eisley as the sweeper, and Anna as the wiper. She gave Eisley a broom and Anna a rag, then filled up a bucket with some warm, soapy water.
Meanwhile, Dylan and his mysterious guests kept posted at the table. The girls’ blips of laughter filled the kitchen so Emily was unable to hear a word of what the men were saying. She knew that it was wrong to eavesdrop, but her curiosity got the best of her, so she excused herself from kitchen duty and walked quietly out in the dining room on her way to use the bathroom.
“You already knew this, Mr. McBride. We told you that without this month’s mortgage payment, we’re going to have to put it into foreclosure.” The man on the right was shaking his head and tapping a pen on the table. Dylan’s face was flushed and he said nothing when Emily drifted by. An uncomfortable silence fell over the room, and Emily was relived to finally get inside the bathroom.
“Foreclosure?” She whispered to herself and then wrung her hands together. What was this all about? She thought back to the day Leila had discovered the ad inside Griffin Café. Clearly, Dylan McBride was not the successful business man that he had claimed to be. Emily felt her face redden. He was a liar.
She bit her lip and then tried to decide what to do. Then she shook her head with bewilderment. What were her options? She was alone, in another country, away from her dear cousin, with a strange man who had deceived her about his status. She wanted to cry, and almost did, until she heard a soft rapping at the door.
“Miss Emily? We finished with all the sweeping and wiping. Could you come out and make out lunch now?” The sweet voice sent a wave of warmth through her body and she sighed.
“Sure thing. Just give me a second.” Emily pulled her hair up into a pony tail, splashed some cold water on her face, then opened the door and headed out of the bathroom.
Chapter 7
Emily wasn’t surprised with what she saw when she opened up the refrigerator door. Inside wer
e half-eaten dishes of food with mold on the tops of them, and a variety of empty condiment jars. She pulled out everything from the shelves and then wiped down the insides with her soapy water. She threw out the moldy food and then rearranged the condiments. Amazingly, she found a couple slices of cheese that were still good, and she used them to make the girls grilled cheese sandwiches.
She had just finished wiping down the kitchen table and was about to place their sandwiches down when Dylan popped his head inside. “Hey, Emily. I know this was supposed to be your day to relax. I apologize, but I had some unexpected business to deal with.” He whispered and then looked around the kitchen. “I can’t believe it. Look what you did in here.” He covered his mouth with his hand and then shook his head. “I’m truly amazed.” He looked at Emily and then, in a gesture that took her completely off-guard, gave her a huge hug.
Emily blushed and then served Eisley and Anna their lunch. “This is great! I love grilled cheese!” Anna piped up as soon as Emily set down her plate. Eisley had a similar reaction. The girls ate with enthusiasm and Dylan disappeared back into the dining room. After Emily had cleaned the lunch dishes and mopped the kitchen floor, she heard the men get up and she watched Dylan lead them to the door.
“I think I should talk to you tonight, Emily.” Dylan appeared in the doorway after he had bid the men goodbye. He had a troubled look on his face and Emily tried to act as if she didn’t know what could be troubling him. “And, I am sorry to tell you this, but I’m not so sure we’ll be able to go to the barbeque place tomorrow.” Dylan hung down his head and Emily felt a pang of pity for him.
Romance: My Stepbrother's Plaything Page 19