AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We need to talk,” she says ominously.
“OK,” I reply, now feeling even more worried.
“I need you to stay away from Emma,” she says bluntly.
“What?” I frown, now utterly bewildered at her words.
“I mean it, Finn.”
I don’t know where this is coming from, but I now feel affronted that my younger sister feels the need to even have this conversation. “You do realize I’m going through a really crappy divorce, right?” I bite back. “I have absolutely no intentions toward Emma. Emma or any other woman walking the planet, as it happens.”
“I know you’re going through a tough time, Finn, and I do love you. You know that. But I’ve seen the two of you together. You’re getting on far too well.”
“What would you have me do? Ignore the woman?” I growl back. “She’s staying in our house.”
“Then figure it out. You’re a clever guy,” she says. “Emma is not like you, Finn. She’s not street-smart.” I have to swallow a laugh when I hear this coming from Sylvie. The little girl who’s lived in a tiny town her entire life. “You would be too much for her. Don’t you understand? She’s had such a sheltered life, whereas, you’ve seen the world. If she is ever going to settle down, and it’s a big if, given she’s hardly dated a guy, let alone had a long-term relationship, she needs a nice quiet boy. Not some big hot-shot from Washington.”
“Listen, Sylvie. I know Emma is your friend, and I know you’re only trying to protect her, but she’s a grown woman who needs to make her own decisions,” I say carefully.
Sylvie has clearly got herself worked up about speaking to me, and I don’t want to antagonize her any further. But at the end of the day, she can’t protect Emma from the world.
“But don’t you see? That’s precisely my point,” she presses. “Emma has not been given the chance to make her own decisions. She nearly had to beg her mother to let her go to university.”
“So I heard,” I reply.
“Then you know,” Sylvie continues. “She hasn’t had the chance or the experience to know what’s right for her yet.”
“I still don’t know what this has to do with me,” I reply.
“Let’s just say, I have eyes in my head. I’ve seen the way she looks at you. Please, Finn. Just keep your distance, for Emma’s sake.”
Sylvie slides out of the truck as swiftly as she slid into it. She hurries across the driveway and heads back to the house. A moment later, the front door closes, and she is once more out of sight. I’m left feeling more than a little bewildered. And, strangely enough, more than a little attacked.
While Sylvie may have gone, her words linger.
“I’ve seen the way she looks at you.”
A part of me wants to know what Sylvie means by that statement. The other part of me doesn’t.
Even though I don’t fully agree with what Sylvie is trying to do, I do my best to stay out of Emma’s way for the next day or two. It isn’t that difficult. While I’ve been spending so much time helping her decorate the Den, I’ve neglected my duties at work a little, and there are a few things I need to catch up on. I haven’t actually been hiding out in Dad’s study, though at times, it does feel like it. But it’s the quietest room in the house with the least traffic, and so, that’s where I’ve been spending most of my time.
Emma has been busy painting the skirting boards in the Den, so our paths have hardly met. When I have popped my head in on the way to or from the kitchen, she’s been crouched on the floor, intensely concentrating on her task, the rock music usually seeping out of the room and into the hallway.
On Saturday morning, the house is full. No one is at work, and there’s an excitement about the afternoon event. Sharon Springs is unique in the fact that there are so few people living in it. So, when something like the August Festival Meat Feast happens, all the shops close. If they stayed open, half the town, meaning those who run the stores, would be absent, and the festival would be a waste of time. This is a time-honored tradition that’s been going on for decades. Way before I was born. In fact, I actually think before my parents were born too.
It takes place on a huge field at the side of the town. It’s the same field we use for the Summer Fair, and the Christmas Market. Of course, it’s not just the town-folk who attend the BBQ. There are usually those from further out in the country and other people from different towns, all bringing their best meats, salads, vegetables, and beer.
While Mom and Dad take Sylvie and Emma in their car, I drive the truck. I have some kegs of dad’s homemade beer to take, which always goes down a treat at these gatherings. After delivering the beer to the huge tent where all the food and beverages are stored, I park up the truck and go in search of Jackson.
It doesn’t take me long to find him. He’s head-and-shoulders above most people in general, but compared to those in this town, he’s definitely the tallest guy here. On my way over to him, however, I’m stopped about twenty times by people I haven’t seen in at least three years. As a son of the town, I’m welcomed warmly, and it makes me appreciate the place I was raised.
I’m not seen as anyone special here. I’m no celebrity. They don’t know my name because of the size of my bank balance, or the progress of my business, or even, how many shares my company has sold. To be honest, most of these people here wouldn’t have the first clue what all of those things even mean. I’m welcomed because I’m Danny and Martha’s son, that spotty, geeky kid who used to pump their gas over a decade ago.
When I finally make it to Jackson, he’s stood by himself, a cold beer in one hand, the other tucked into the pocket of his trousers.
“Where’s Bree?” I ask.
Jackson nods a little way across the field. “I told you. She’s with the women. No doubt, they are excitedly babbling about the wedding.”
