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“Well, sure. That would be nice,” Emma said, grateful for one less thing on her to-do list.
The waitress brought over their check and two to-go coffee cups.
“We could go right now if you wanted to,” Paul said, laying down a few bills on the table.
Emma shrugged her shoulders. “Sure. If you insist.”
They got up from the table and headed outside. Emma got in her car, while Paul got in his police cruiser. She could feel her phone vibrate again, but she ignored it. If it was Chad texting her, there was nothing he could say to change her mind.
After the short drive to her cottage, she let Paul inside. Riley immediately took to him, wagging his tail and trying to lick his face as he bent down to look at the doorbell cam.
“Riley, get down! Sorry, he has terrible manners,” Emma said, trying to grab Riley’s collar.
Paul chuckled, scratching behind Riley’s ears. “That’s okay. Riley’s a nice guy, aren’t ya?”
Riley let out a bark, then ran into the front yard, sniffing at the tall beach grass.
“Do you have the camera connected to an app on your phone?” Paul asked.
Emma pulled her phone out, ignoring the barrage of texts from Chad. “Yeah. It’s on here somewhere.”
“I’m just going to look at the settings,” he told her, swiping through her phone. “Ah, here’s the problem.”
Emma leaned over and looked down at her phone in confusion. “What is it?”
“You have two wireless networks here,” Paul explained. “The camera was on one network, while the app was on another. Now they’re synced up, and the video should work beautifully.”
He handed the phone back to Emma and showed her a crystal-clear view of Riley doing his business in the front yard.
“Wow! Thank you. I didn’t know it would be a simple fix.”
Paul chuckled and stepped out onto the porch. “Well, I’m glad I could help, Em. Let me get out of your hair. And now that you have my cell, I want you to call me if you have any trouble at all, okay?”
Emma smiled. “I will. Thanks. Riley, come on in!”
Riley raced through the door as Paul walked back over to the cruiser and took off down the road. Emma closed the door and locked it, then checked out her doorbell cam. Another text from Chad popped up, and she ignored it, hoping he’d take the hint soon.
By that night, she had received so many texts and calls from Chad she had to block him. She could hardly believe his behavior since he was the one who had served her divorce papers on their anniversary and left her for younger woman. Ashley must have dumped him, Emma thought, and now he was all alone. And she didn’t care one bit.
***
The next morning, Emma was packaging a case of dog treats to take to a store in Bridwell Bay, when there was a knock at the door. She opened her camera app and was shocked to see Jeremiah standing on the front steps. She walked to the door and opened it, keeping it half closed so Riley didn’t get out.
“Hi Jeremiah. I’m a little busy at the moment, so this really isn’t a good time—”
“Wait! Wait!” Jeremiah held up his hands. “Please, I need to talk to you.”
Emma opened the door a little more and leaned against it. “Okay. What is it? I’ve got some deliveries to make, so you need to be quick.”
Jeremiah swallowed. “Okay, I’ll try to be fast. I’m really sorry about what I called you...I just, I was scared my dad would leave me for you. Moving down here, things were actually getting better, and I thought I might lose him again. But I was wrong. And I was wrong to call you such awful names. I don’t think you are...what I said you were. And I know my dad wasn’t cheating on my mom with you. I’m really, really sorry, Emma.”
Emma appreciated his honest words and could see how difficult it was for Jeremiah to face her, as he had barely made eye contact. She reached over and put her hand on his arm. “Jeremiah, it was very sweet of you to come all the way here and apologize. I forgave you a long time ago. The last thing I want to do is take your dad from you, and that’s why I broke up with him. I don’t want to come between you two.”
“But that’s the thing,” Jeremiah said. “My dad needs you. He’s been hiding it, but I can tell he’s miserable without you. When you were dating him, he was the happiest I’ve seen him in, well, ever. And he’s about to take some job in New York City because he thinks that it’s over between you guys and there’s nothing left for him in Hadley Cove.”
Emma’s chest heaved with pain at the mention of Luke taking a job in New York City. That was an entire world away, but she couldn’t let Jeremiah know the news had bothered her.
“Thanks for the apology.” She grabbed the box of treats that she’d left by the door. “But I really have to get these deliveries out, so if you don’t mind—Riley!”
