Authors: J.J. Ellis
Emily turned her mother around and
pulled her away from the scene. “I think they probably don’t want to be stared
at anymore Ma.”
The women walked arm in arm about ten
feet before they stopped again, and with the crisis seeming to be over and
everyone going back to what they were doing, Margaret kissed her daughter’s
cheek and headed toward her car. “Call me and let me know how your first day
went,” she called over her shoulder.
“Okay Ma, I’ll see you later.”
Then Emily remembered where she’d parked her car. With a deep breath, she
turned and walked back across the black top toward the screeching girl and her
father who were standing right next to her small blue car.
Emily headed straight to the driver side
door and climbed in. She really didn’t want to interrupt them but she really
didn’t want to wait until they were done to leave either. She tossed her
purse on the passenger seat and fastened her seat belt. The ancient car
started on the first try for once and Emily looked over her shoulder to make
sure her path was clear. It appeared to be so she hit the gas, but just
as suddenly, she hit her brakes when she heard a loud series of expletives. The
man had opened his tailgate and his belongings had tumbled out of the dark blue
SUV right onto his feet.
Emily didn’t know whether it was more her
professional curiosity about the girl’s tantrums or the fact that her past
dictated that she help people whenever she could, but she just had to stop to
see if they needed help. Something tugged at her mind about how the little girl
was acting and it would be nice to be able to observe her a bit and see if she
could figure out what it was.
Re-parking her car she jumped out. “Are
you okay…” she asked quickly. And when his deep brown eyes met her soft green
ones, she found it hard to look away. He was a big man, probably over six feet
and well-muscled. And he had the most wonderful, perpetually messy dark brown
hair that just begged to have fingers run through it. Emily thought she’d seen
him before, but she couldn’t quite place his handsome face.
“Umm…yeah, I think we just re-packed the
back too quickly at the hotel last night,” he said, smiling sheepishly.
Again, she found it hard to look away, this time because of the mesmerizing
smile that lit up his whole gorgeous face. He wasn’t classically handsome,
but somehow his features all worked together to make him very pleasant to look
at. And again, she couldn’t help but think he looked familiar.
Emily’s mind went blank and it took her
a few shaky seconds to remember what she was doing. “Can umm… can I help you
pick this stuff up?”
“No, no that’s okay. We’ve got it, right
Miranda?” he asked the little girl who seemed to have calmed down quite a bit.
There might not be much to observe after all.
“It’s no big deal, really. I’m
Emily Zane by the way.” She held her hand out first to Miranda, who just bowed
her head and looked at her shoes, and then to her father.
“Hi, I’m Russell Harper… Wait a
minute. Emily Zane - aren’t you the wild redhead with headgear that used
to follow my best friend Chuck around like a love sick puppy?” As soon as the
words were out of his mouth, he realized that he should have kept the thought
to himself and he clamped his free hand over his mouth. He’d just been
exceptionally rude and he could feel himself turning as red as her hair. He
quickly let go of her hand. “I’m so, so sorry, that was uncalled
for. I just…” Just like his daughter, as a young kid, he’d always
had a habit of blurting stuff out like that. But he’d learned to control it
better as he got older, or so he thought. Then he realized that this absolutely
beautiful redhead had his brain scattered so badly he could barely think
straight. And his heart kept doing this weird skipping thing.
Emily laughed. “That’s okay. It
was actually quite an accurate description. My hair is still crazy and
red, but as you can see the headgear is gone and Chuck is nowhere in sight.”
Thank goodness, Chuck Peters had brought out the worst in her. He’d made
her think she was going insane with her feelings for him. And now she remembered
exactly who this man was, the annoying yet kind-hearted best friend of the boy
she had crushed on for five years. Everyone always said she should have gone
after Russell. But Chuck had just been so damn sexy. Deep down Emily always
knew Russell would have been so much better for her.
She blushed and hid her head so this
very attractive man standing in front of her wouldn’t be able to see. She would
have been so embarrassed if he knew what she was thinking about. Oh yes,
Russell Harper sure had grown up well. He was now sexier than Chuck had ever
been. Amazing how twelve years could make such a difference in a person’s
perspective.
Russell couldn’t help but laugh along
with Emily. There was something about her that relaxed him. “If it helps,
the headgear had perfect results. And I like the hair even more now that the
red has darkened up a bit.”
Her hand brushed absently through her
light auburn curls. “Why thank you,” she said showing the now perfect white
teeth that punctuated an absolutely devastating set of luscious lips.
They stood around seemingly mesmerized
by each other, until Russell remembered he’d forgotten to introduce his
daughter. “This, by the way,” he said taking the girl’s hand, “is my daughter
Miranda. We just moved back to town today.”
“Well, it’s nice to see you both.” Emily
turned to Miranda. “So, are you going to Harper’s Rock Elementary School this
year Miranda?” Emily thought she saw a slight nod in the affirmative so
she took it as a yes. “Well, from what I hear, you’ll love it. It’s supposed to
be the best school in the county.” Miranda didn’t respond, she just ran to the
side of her dad’s vehicle and climbed into the back seat.
Russell looked mortified at his
daughter’s behavior. “I’m so sorry…”
Emily held up her hand. “No, don’t apologize,
it’s okay. She just seems really shy and she’s probably scared with
moving and all. She’ll come around.” The girl’s behavior was still
nagging at something in the back of Emily’s mind but it just wouldn’t come to
the forefront. She would probably curl up with her laptop when she got home and
do some research.
“I wouldn’t count on her ever coming
around,” Russell said sadly as he stooped to start picking up his belongings
from the ground. Emily joined him.
“It really is okay you know. I’m a
licensed counselor. I see a lot of different behaviors and very few shock or
offend me anymore.” Russell just nodded and gave a small smile that didn’t
light up his face like the other one had. He quickly changed the subject.
“I don’t remember you being here the last
time I visited, but then again, it was eight years ago and I may not remember,”
Russell reminisced.
“I just moved back myself a few weeks
ago. I went to college in Seattle and stayed there, but I got tired of
the… the big city, so here I am.” Emily hoped the sadness that speaking
of Seattle brought didn’t show in her eyes. She knew she had an outwardly very
happy, content appearance, but she also knew that somehow beneath it all, she
looked very sad and it sometimes showed in her eyes. She’d been told that so
many times in the last six months that it was starting to get annoying. Moving
away from Seattle had almost been a necessity but she was finally thinking she
might truly be able to be happy again. And she was happy most of the time. She
wondered if Russell noticed any sadness. She couldn’t imagine it being
that obvious to a near stranger.
“It looks like you’re happy to be back,”
he commented switching the wrapped gift he was holding back and forth from hand
to hand. “At least for the most part.”
“Oh I am.” Darn it, she
was
that
obvious. “I hated it here as a kid, but now I love everything about it. It’s so
calm, quiet and safe.” She looked away, embarrassed that she had been so
forthcoming with someone she hadn’t spoken to in more than twelve years.
“That’s good.” But he’d sounded almost
sarcastic, and he dropped the gift he’d been holding.
Emily bent to pick it up and handed it
back to him. She searched his eyes for some meaning behind his sarcastic
statement. “I take it you aren’t as excited to be back here as I am,” she
guessed.
“Yeah, you’re right about that!” he
laughed harshly. “I only came back because I needed help with Miranda.
Ever since my wife left…well, it’s been hard to…” He paused and looked toward
the horizon. “Sorry I didn’t mean to go on and on like that. You must think I’m
some kind of babbling idiot.” Russell’s gaze returned to Emily.
She smiled at him. “That’s okay, people
say I’m easy to talk to. I guess that’s why I’m a counselor.”
“They’re right,” he said quietly.
Emily looked away, slightly embarrassed.
“Single dad, huh? I sure as heck don’t envy you. And I’m sorry about your
wife.”
A small nod was his only response.
Neither of them felt like holding up their end of a conversation after that so
they continued working side by side in silence until the job was done.
“Thanks for the help, Emily. I really
appreciate it.” His mood was somber now and she wondered if there was
more going on with Miranda than met the eye.
“You’re very welcome. It was my pleasure,”
she smiled at him. “Well, I should be heading home now.” His return gaze made
her feel like jelly inside. Emily walked unsteadily to her car and
stopped as she reached the driver side. “I’ll probably see you tomorrow.”
Before opening her door, she hollered a goodbye to Miranda and gave her a
little wave. She slid into her seat, started the car, and backed out. When she
was parallel to Russell she rolled down her window. “By the way,
it’s nice to see you aren’t that tall, super skinny kid with bad skin anymore.”
She winked at him, rolled up her window and left him standing there laughing
and wondering why she’d said she would probably see them tomorrow. And
wondering why he was so damn excited at the prospect.
************
“Grandma! Grandma, we’re here.” Miranda
Harper burst through the door of the back offices of
Movie and a Pizza Place
, after her father had pointed her in the
right direction. She wasn’t exactly the quietest child in the
world. In fact she could be outright obnoxiously loud, but Russell didn’t
try to reprimand her this time. It was the most happiness and excitement
she’d shown in two days and he wanted to enjoy every minute of it.
Because as he well knew, it could be fleeting.
“Yay my girl is here!” Evelyn Harper
squealed as she moved from behind her big oak desk to take the little girl into
her arms. Okay, so Russell knew where Miranda got
some
of her
loudness from.
“And it’s good to see my boy too,” she
said looking over Miranda’s shoulder at her son. Her look was asking how the
little girl was coping with the move, and he just shook his head.
“It’s good to see you too, Ma. You
sure do look great.” Russell was so relieved. His father Cole’s death had been
hard on her and he hadn’t been able to come back for the funeral to see her, a
circumstance he still regretted. “Are you sure you want to retire? You look
like you could go on for another twenty years.” Russell wasn’t exaggerating
either. His mother’s red hair had barely any grey in it and she looked
much younger than her sixty-three years. She looked like she was still raring
to go. And he knew she hated not being busy.
“You, my son, are a flatterer,” she
replied. “And yes I want to retire, it’s time I had some fun
and
help
you take care of my granddaughter. And don’t give me that look, son. I
know what you’re thinking.” She shook her head at Russell. “Don’t you worry, I
promise I’ll keep plenty busy.”
Miranda shook her head furiously and
Russell and Evelyn looked at her with curiosity and amusement. “Daddy’s not a
flatterer, Grandma. He told a lady in the parking lot that she was a wild
redhead that followed Mr. Chuck around like a lovesick puppy.”
Evelyn stifled a laugh. “You ran into
little Emily Zane in the parking lot I take it.”
“Uh yeah, yeah we did. She’s not
so little anymore though Ma.”
“You noticed hmm.” She raised her
eyebrows to convey a secret meaning only to her son. “She sure has grown up to
be a beauty. She’s still little though. Not over five-two I’d guess.
And she seems a bit sad underneath her happy-go-lucky demeanor. I think
something bad may have happened to her in Seattle.”
Russell smiled but didn’t say anything.
His mom was right on in her assessment of Emily Zane, from her beauty to her
deep-rooted sadness. “Well Miranda my dear, I sure hope your daddy apologized
to Miss Zane for being so rude.” Evelyn looked pointedly at Russell.
“Oh, he did Grandma. And then she
reminded him that he was skinny and had bad skin when he was a kid.”
Evelyn laughed so hard she had to sit
down on the edge of her big oak desk. And when she finally composed herself,
she looked up at Russell. He didn’t like what he saw one bit. His mom had
romantic ideas running through her head and he wanted no part of it. He
had his hands full with a flaky ex-wife and a challenging child. He would have
to make sure to have a talk with his mother about any matchmaking ideas she
might have. Just because he was going to live in her house didn’t mean he had
to put up with it. He didn’t want to fall in love, and he especially didn’t
want to be put into a relationship with the enchanting Emily Zane.