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She turned around to open her trunk, fighting back tears as Paul persisted. She truly thought she’d never see her father again, and now here he was, trying to weasel his way back into her life. Emma was torn, recognizing a man whose words seemed genuine. But she couldn’t subject herself to all the pain again. Not now. Not ever, after all the hurt he’d caused her.
“Alright Emma. I hope you change your mind, and I’ll give you all the time you need. When you’re ready, I’ll be here.”
She waited until she heard him walk away to turn around. Emma let out a frustrated sigh and leaned against her trunk as a rush of memories flooded her mind. At her mother’s funeral, she remembered her dad hugging her tightly and telling her he’d always be there for her. When the day drinking started, Paul pushed everyone away, refusing to get help. She thought she’d be a good enough reason for him to stop and come back. But that didn’t happen. After everything he’d put her through, she couldn’t forgive him; not easily anyway.
After she was sure he had gone back into the store, she opened her car door and got behind the wheel. As she put the key in the ignition and turned it, nothing happened. She tried again, and there was nothing. She took the key out and tried it once more. Still, nothing.
“Not again!” she shouted, smacking the steering wheel.
Emma leaned her head back on the headrest and closed her eyes, counting backwards from ten, and expelled a deep, drawn-out breath. As she gathered herself, she remembered Gary’s Garage had a new tow truck. She’d just call them and have them tow it to the shop, where hopefully they could find out what was wrong. She could still get home in no time to start baking for the upcoming event. Things were going to be okay.
She grabbed her purse and started rifling through it to find her phone. Where was her phone? Shaking it upside down, lint and cough drop wrappers fell out onto the passenger seat, but there was no phone. She double checked her pockets, then felt underneath her seat and looked in the back. She must have left her phone at home.
Today had been a nightmare for Emma. First, her estranged father showed up out of nowhere, swooping in and thinking by inviting her to a coffee date he could somehow fix the thirty years of pent-up trauma he had caused her. And now she was stranded at the grocery store with a broke down car and no phone, which put her even further behind on fulfilling the double order of dog treats for the event.
Emma closed her eyes again and screamed even louder this time.
Could today get any worse?
Chapter 38
Luke
As Luke started up the car and pulled out of the driveway, it surprised him how chilly it had gotten over the last few weeks. He wished he had grabbed his coat before leaving, but didn’t bother going back inside. It would only be a quick trip anyway, he reasoned. After arriving at Hadley Cove in the scorching heat of the summer, he didn’t expect Coastal Georgia to cool down as much as it had. But he was grateful it wasn’t as cold as it was back in Chicago, where the icy winds would cause his face to chap.
He reached down to the console, turning on the radio and cranked the volume up. Some oldies tune was just ending as he turned off of Muscadine Drive and onto the main road.
Luke’s heart shuddered like a record scratch, skipping a beat as the next song started playing. It was the song he and Emma had danced to at The Point, when they’d first realized they couldn’t deny their feelings for each other any longer. He reminisced about the memory, remembering a time when he had been truly happy. But now, that’s all it was—a memory. It was a kind of love he thought he’d never experience after Kate’s death. Luke knew the sting of losing Emma would fade over time, but it was still too raw. He reached down again and changed the station to the deep twang of a Jason Aldean song.
He needed to keep his mind off of Emma. It wasn’t doing him any good to dwell on her like this. Luke hadn’t seen or heard from her in a month. If she wanted to tell him that she had changed her mind, or that she’d made a mistake and still loved him, she would’ve reached out. But she hadn’t, and Luke accepted the fact she probably never would.
Since it was a small town, he knew the probability of running into her was relatively high. At least Jeremiah was going to attend a different school, so he wouldn’t run into her there. But whenever he did again, he wanted to have the right words to say and to smile at her without longing for what they once had.
Maybe he should start dating again, he wondered. At least then he wouldn’t feel so empty. But the thought of being with anyone other than Emma, kissing anyone other than her, just didn’t sit right with him. He wasn’t sure it ever would.
As he pulled into the supermarket and parked, his pulse began to pound like a drum. Straight ahead in the next row was Emma, leaning against her car. His breath caught in his throat as he unbuckled his seat belt and opened his door. So much for being over her when he saw her next.
She still hadn’t noticed him as he approached her. When he was about five feet away from where she was standing, he stopped and waved awkwardly.
“Hey Emma.”
Emma looked up at him. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, and her nose was red. It was obvious she had been crying a great deal. Out of instinct, Luke hurried over to her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked in a gentle tone. “What happened? Are you hurt?”
She shook her head and looked up at him. “It’s been a really hard day.”
Before he could say anything else, Emma fell against him and started crying fresh tears, dampening the front of his shirt. But he didn’t care. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly as a wave of emotions came over him. He held her for a few moments, trying not to think about how wonderful her hair smelled, or how perfect it was to feel her in his arms again. It’s not the circumstance he would’ve wanted, but was grateful for whatever force had brought them together at the supermarket.
Luke still loved her. He knew that for a fact. Even after a thousand times of telling himself it was over, he couldn’t let go of the feelings he had for Emma.
A cascade of memories flowed through him as he soothed her, rubbing her back up and down with the softest touch. With vivid clarity, he relived how he’d held her as they danced at The Point. Once again, he could feel the ocean breeze against his skin as the waves gently lapped against the shoreline. The sound of her beautiful laugh was like music that filled the air and warmed his heart. The nostalgia of her perfume’s fragrance and the way she had gazed at him with those kind brown eyes was a reminder of just how much he really missed her.
Luke didn’t have the slightest idea what had happened, but all he knew in that moment was he would do whatever it took to help the woman he loved.
Chapter 39
Emma
