A Family for Tyler

by Angel Smits

  “Come on.” Rose put a hand softly under Emily’s elbow. “Let’s give her some time to rest.”

  Only once they were out in the hallway did Emily remember to breathe. She sagged against the wall and closed her eyes. Rose stood beside her, keeping watch on the open door of Mom’s room.

  “I’m sorry.” Emily didn’t know why she wasn’t crying like a baby. She definitely felt the tears bottled up behind her eyes.

  “It’s not your fault. That’s what’s called a catastrophic reaction. It’s part of the disease. She doesn’t know how to deal with what she’s feeling and the dementia steals her rational thought. What did you give her?”

  “A picture of my dad.” How stupid. “The other day she talked about him. I thought...”

  “It was a good thought. Look.”

  Hesitantly, Emily peered around the corner. Mom was sitting on the bed, staring at the picture, smiling. She remembered that smile from when she was a girl. “Oh, Mom,” she whispered.

  “I don’t think it was the picture that upset her.” Rose glanced back to the janitor’s closet. “Maybe it was the frame.”

  The frame?

  She’d found it in that box that Mom had hidden in the wall. She’d thought Helen had hidden it from Earl. Suddenly, she wondered what else was in that box.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  EMILY DROVE SLOWLY to her townhouse. She tried to think of it as home, but who was she kidding? It wasn’t home. Never had been really, but the past few days combined with the time at the ranch made it all too clear. Yet she ignored her heart and body urging her to go to Wyatt’s house, to have him soothe away the confusion.

  Getting lost in his arms would solve nothing.

  Emily was exhausted, despite having slept through most of yesterday. Emotional turmoil, not physical labor, drained her now. Somehow she’d have to prepare for the busy workweek ahead.

  Once inside her bedroom, she opened the dresser drawer where she’d put the old box from Mom’s closet. Dad’s photo sat on top in the plastic sleeve she’d put it in for protection until she could get a new frame. Emily moved that aside and lifted the box out.

  She frowned. It felt almost empty. Why would Mom hide an empty box? She set it on top of the dresser and opened the latch.

  A thick stack of papers was held together by a stiff rubber band that fell apart as soon as she picked up the bundle. She unrolled the papers and stared.

  Divorce papers? Mom had divorced Earl? When? No, wait. The fact that there were no signatures told Emily that Mom hadn’t gone through with it. Emily looked at the date. The papers were dated two days before Earl died.

  Emily set the papers aside to reveal only a blue cloth bag and some curled photographs at the bottom. She uncurled the faded pictures. One showed Mom and Dad in a steamy kiss. Emily smiled, blushed and vaguely wondered who’d taken the picture. She could ask her mom, but after the reaction with the frame, that might not be a good idea. She set it next to Dad’s picture.

  The other two photos made Emily’s stomach churn. One was of Earl, just standing there in front of the trailer. The other was taken from a long way off, but she recognized Earl and another man shaking hands. Emily didn’t recognize the man and doubted she’d ever know who he was now.

  She wasn’t asking Mom. The only other person who might know was Drew, and she wasn’t asking him anything.

  Finally, she pulled open the blue drawstring bag. Three gold coins spilled into Emily’s palm. She could only stare. They were heavy and old. What were they? When were they minted? She didn’t know much about coins, but to her they looked like real gold.

  Emily thought of all the times they’d gone without. All the times they’d barely had enough to eat. And Mom had these? They had to be worth several hundred dollars.

  Emily’s head hurt. She put everything except the picture of her parents back in the box. She hadn’t found any answers, at least none that made sense. Had Mom associated the frame with the divorce papers? The coins?

  She wouldn’t get answers tonight. Maybe never. And then a thought struck her. What else was hidden in that trailer? Was this what Drew had been looking for? Or was there something else she didn’t know about?

  * * *

  NEARLY A WEEK had passed since Wyatt had seen Emily. It wasn’t as if she wasn’t on his mind. He’d be working and all of a sudden, an image or a sound would bring her full force into his thoughts. Half a dozen times he’d pulled out his phone to call her.

  But he hadn’t a clue what to say to her. The case was closed. They’d had one hell of a night together, and he wanted a lot more. Wyatt also wanted answers that Emily couldn’t, or wouldn’t, give.

  Now Wyatt sat in the saddle and stared across the landscape. He’d lived here for years, and even as a kid, he’d come out here and dreamed of living this life. But everything looked different today. Drastically.

  Sitting there, letting Prism nibble at the grass around his hooves, Wyatt realized it wasn’t the land that had changed. He’d changed.

  Emily had changed everything. She’d shaken up his world in so many ways. But what ate away at his gut was what she’d shared with him. Her past. A past she’d seemingly overcome, yet it still haunted her. He had difficulty grasping the reality of that.

  He remembered his own past. That same summer, he’d been out here visiting with Granddad, working this ranch as a hand. Much like Chet was doing with Tyler, Granddad had befriended Wyatt, and they’d spent hours together in the stalls and barn.

  He’d pretended he actually lived here. Not that his home life was bad. It was just city life. He smiled at the memory of some of the trouble he’d gotten into. His first beer. His first girl. His first lots of things.

  While he’d been discovering who he was, Emily had been living just down the road. He’d never met her. Never even known she’d existed. If he had, he’d have probably torn that SOB stepfather of hers limb from limb. How had she not gone insane from the abuse? Wyatt’s admiration of her soared.

  He reached down and rubbed the beautiful horse’s shiny coat. She’d loved her horse so much as a girl, the one she’d thought of when she’d first seen Prism. It wasn’t her fault that jerk had destroyed the animal. And yet she carried, and suffered from, the burden.

  Something about her story nagged at the back of Wyatt’s brain as if maybe he’d heard about it. This was a small community. Surely that type of abuse hadn’t gone unnoticed. He’d been a kid, but what about the adults around?

  “How could he do that?” Wyatt asked Prism, who looked up, and with a mouth full of sweet grass, seemed to shake his head in equal bemusement. “Come on. Guess we’d better get back. Tyler will be home from school soon.”

  * * *

  EMILY HID IN her work. The mountain of files on the conference table was visibly smaller. Almost. Dianne was probably adding files at nearly the same rate as Emily finished.

  Good. Job security and distraction. Just what she was hoping for, and it was working...mostly. She forced herself to look at the next file as she rubbed her stiff neck. She should take a break, but stopping gave her time to think of Wyatt, and she wasn’t quite ready to go there.

  The phone rang, giving her a perfect excuse to stretch and move. She hadn’t been taking any calls, but she recognized the internal ring. She’d let Dianne know she could hold off on the files for a while.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey.” Wyatt’s voice shivered through the phone line and down her spine to tingle all over her body.

  “How did you get through on this line?”

  “Promised Dianne chocolate as a bribe.” He sounded so pleased with himself, she had to laugh.

  “You’d better make it Godiva or Ghirardelli or the price will skyrocket next time.”

  His laughter sounded good, and Emily took a deep breath to
try to still the rapid beat of her heart.

  The line was silent for a long minute. Then he spoke softly. “Have dinner with me.”

  “Now?” She looked up at the clock and, as if on cue, her stomach growled. It was after five and she couldn’t recall eating lunch.

  “Of course, now.” He laughed again, though it wasn’t quite as warm as before. “This way you don’t have time to think of an excuse to get out of it.”

  “I don’t do that.”

  “Oh, no. Never.” His sarcasm was mild but still there.

  “Okay. Give me—” She looked at the file in her hand and then her reflection in the window. She looked like she’d been buried in work all day. And she seriously needed a haircut. “Half an hour?” She couldn’t let him see her like this.

  “Half an hour, that’s it. After that, I’m coming in and getting you.” He hung up, his laughter echoing in her ear. It took half a second before panic set in. What was she thinking?

  “Put that file down and get moving,” Dianne said from the doorway. “You’ve got a date to get ready for.”

  “Were you eavesdropping? And it’s not a date.”

  Dianne rolled her eyes and walked into the room. “Of course I was eavesdropping. How do you think I know what’s going on around here? And yes, it is a date.”

  “No, it’s not. It can’t be. He’s part of a case,” she reminded her clerk.

  “You closed that file.”

  “But I’m technically still the judge of record.” The distinction was small, but real.

  Dianne sighed. “You’re hopeless. Get moving.” Dianne hustled Emily to the small ladies’ room down the hall. “You have lipstick in your purse?”

  “Yes—”

  “Be right back.”

  Emily stared at the rumpled, wan woman in the mirror and sighed. It would take more than a little lipstick to fix her up. Still, the flutter in her stomach at the idea of seeing Wyatt sent a thrill through her.

  “Where’s he taking you?” Dianne seemed more excited than Emily.

  “I didn’t ask.”

  Dianne gave her a look that said, “Really?” and, “You’re an idiot,” all in one glance. “Then we need to think middle of the road. Nice, but not too nice.”

  Thankfully, today had been a no-hearing day, so Emily had dressed down—a little. The business suit was still too formal for a dinner date, though.

  “The jacket’s got to go,” Dianne proclaimed and threw the jacket out the door. “And open at least one more button...if not two.”

  “Dianne!”

  Dianne just laughed and pulled toiletries out of her bag. Ten minutes and a lot of patience later, Dianne stepped back to admire her handiwork. “There. You look lovely.”

  They both stared into the mirror. There were curls where Emily had never had curls before. Her hair framed her face, softened the edges and set off her eyes.

  Self-conscious, Emily grabbed the lipstick and finished outlining her lips. “So chocolate’s the going rate these days, huh?” she teased.

  “Yep.” Dianne repacked her suitcase of a purse. “I’ve got grandkids to feed. Speaking of grandkids, I have to pick up Rachel at day care. It’s her parents’ anniversary and I agreed to babysit. It’s Disney and popcorn for me.”

  “Go.” Emily pushed Dianne toward the front door and anticipation made them both laugh.

  “Promise you won’t chicken out.” Dianne was serious and refused to leave until Emily swore she’d go to dinner—with Wyatt. The woman knew her too well.

  Once Dianne was gone, the office fell quiet. Emily went back to her desk to straighten up and pace. The clock seemed to have stopped.

  Finally, she heard footsteps. She turned off her office light and went to meet Wyatt in the reception area.

  “I was just—” She froze in the doorway. It wasn’t Wyatt standing there. It was Drew.

  Even from where she stood, Emily could smell the alcohol. Her stomach turned, and she fought back the panic and bile that rose in her throat. “I’m just on my way out, Drew.”

  “You can take a minute to talk.” He leaned against the door frame, blocking her exit.

  “I don’t—” Where was Wyatt? She glanced at the clock. He should be here any minute.... She shouldn’t rely on him. What if it was a normal night and she wasn’t going to dinner? She’d be on her own. She needed to handle this.

  “What do you want to talk about?” If she just stayed calm, everything would be fine. She didn’t put her purse or jacket down, however, sending the signal that this would be a short discussion.

  “My—stuff.” He slurred the last word.

  “I’ll gladly help you, but what stuff are you talking about? You’re welcome to anything out there. Maybe if you tell me what it is,” she said, trying to push him to explain, “I can let you know if I’ve seen it.”

  He moved closer, still blocking her way. She took a step back before realizing what she was doing and forced herself to stop and stand her ground.

  “You and that gold-diggin’ mother of yours know exactly what you took.” His voice was a low growl.

  “Honestly, Drew, I don’t.” Arguing with him only seemed to increase his anger. She needed to get around him and out the door.

  “Don’t you?” He moved fast, his hand clamping like a vise on her wrist. “That old bastard assumed I took those coins and he beat the shit out of me when they went missing.”

  “Coins?” The image of the bag at home in her dresser flashed through her mind and must have shown in her eyes.

  Emily remembered the horrible beating Earl had given Drew just before he’d gone back to live with his mom. Was that what he referred to? No intervention by Helen had helped. Part of Emily had felt sorry for Drew, but she’d been glad when he’d left since he usually doled out some measure of abuse himself when Earl abused him.

  “I want the coins.” He leaned in close and the odor and menace made her gag.

  “I know I didn’t take them.” He shoved her against the door frame. “So if I didn’t take them, you two must have.”

  “Drew,” she said through clenched teeth. “Let me go.”

  “Or what?” He sounded like a little kid. “Your mom’s not coming to your rescue. Your watchdog secretary isn’t around. I saw her leave. So who’s going to help you now, huh?”

  “I’m thinking that would be me.” Wyatt’s voice came from the doorway. Emily sagged in relief.

  “Back off, man. We got unfinished business,” Drew whispered as he reluctantly released her.

  “No, you have unfinished business.” Emily hastily stepped away.

  “You don’t have to air our family business to the world,” he snapped, tilting his head toward Wyatt.

  “We are not family.”

  A slow grin spread over Drew’s face. “Well, darlin’, we can fix that.” He had the audacity to wink at her.

  Wyatt lunged but Emily stepped between them.

  “Shut up, Drew,” she bit out.

  “Stay out of this.” Drew faced Wyatt. “It’s none of your business. She’s trying to steal what’s mine.” His voice rose and Wyatt took another step forward, his hands fisted. Before any of them could blink, Emily moved just inches away from Drew. Something inside her snapped. “Here’s the deal, Drew.” She poked the big man in the chest. “Your father abused all of us—you, me, my mother. He stole from everyone he knew. So I understand your animosity...what with him being your father.” She poked him again. “But I’m nothing like my mother. I am not a pushover. And if you think that hellhole of a house was anything to covet, you’re dumber than you look.” She stepped back. “You will not intimidate me, or hurt my mother. Do you understand?”

  “He owed me,” Drew ground out, his voice low. His eyes darted to Wyatt, but he opened his m
outh, anyway. “I want what’s mine. You won’t get in my way.”

  “Don’t push me, Drew.”

  “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, darlin’.” Drew turned and swayed his way to the door.

  Wyatt wanted to stop him. Emily could see it in his eyes, but he held back. Barely. He’d clenched his jaw tight and something hard filled his eyes. As Drew passed Wyatt, Wyatt’s shoulder bump was far from accidental and pure masculine posturing.

  Finally, Drew’s footsteps faded into the growing darkness. Emily closed her eyes and knew Wyatt was still standing there, watching her. He was probably in his favorite pose, leaning on the door frame, hands wedged into his jean pockets. A nonchalant lean that she’d bet everyone else believed. She knew better.

  Confronting Drew had not been the smartest thing she’d done. Wyatt’s presence had given her courage. Though she was shaking, she didn’t want Wyatt to know. She moved back into her office, pretending to look for something.

  “You hiding from me or him?” Wyatt was just inches behind her.

  Emily barely had time to wonder how he’d moved so quietly in those danged cowboy boots before her anger flared. She spun around, her hair flying across her face. Frustrated, she shoved the curls out of her eyes. “Don’t you dare pass judgment on me,” she snapped.

  “So which is it?”

  She didn’t take the time to realize there was anger in his eyes until it was too late. It flared bright and blue.

  “You can’t fix everything.” She wanted to shove him out the door, do something to burn off all this energy flying through her, but feared touching him would be a mistake. “I can take care of myself.”

  “So you wanted to sit down and have a nice little chat with Drew?” Wyatt’s sarcasm was thick.

  “No, of course not.” She grabbed the back of the nearest chair. “But it’s my choice how I handle my life.”

  Wyatt stood so close she could hear his breath moving in and out. He didn’t touch her, but for an instant, a brief instant that was too strong, too painful to ignore, she feared he would. That fear was what was wrong with her and she hated it.