Page 76 of One Night Years Ago

“Well, I’d say I hope to see you soon again, but people don’t like it when I say that.” He guffawed loudly at his own joke. “Maybe see you around town!”

Emma nodded, but Natalie noticed the exhaustion in her friend’s slumped shoulders and knew just how much effort it was taking to keep the small talk going.

“I’d better get you home, Emma,” she said.

Dr. Ford nodded quickly, smoothing his blond hair.

“Of course, of course, you need to get home and rest. I need to get back and see how they’re doing down there.”

In the car, Emma had recovered her composure a little bit, but she was still pale and subdued, nothing like her usual extroverted self.

“Is Hunter really okay? He was in a lot of pain yesterday when we were waiting at the Buccaneer’s Den.”

“He’s fine. He dislocated his shoulder and broke a bone on his foot, but it’s nothing compared to what could have happened to you both.”

“He saved my life.”

“I know.” Natalie paused for a moment then went on, “He spent the night at my place.”

“I’m glad you found each other.”

“Me too. Are you sure you want me to drop you off, Em? Maybe you should stay with me tonight?”

“And hold the candle for the two of you? Ugh, no thank you.”

“No, I meant—”

Emma laughed. “I know what you meant. I was just kidding. But no, I want to go home, I want to get back to my life. I’m not going to let him take anything else from me.”

Ten minutes later they pulled up at Emma’s apartment. It was a first-floor walk-up right off of Main Street, in one of the busiest streets in town. Natalie helped Emma up the stairs slowly. She’d stopped by the supermarket to stock her friend’s fridge and put some fresh flowers on the kitchen table.

Emma’s eyes shone with unshed tears.

“Thanks so much, Natalie. I’m lucky to have you as a friend.”

“It’s not just me, you know. Helen wanted to come see you as well, and so many people have been calling.”

“Maybe tomorrow. Tonight, I’d like to take a bath and watch a movie.” She opened and shut the door of the freezer before the cold could escape. “The only decision I expect to have to make is whether to have Cookie Dough or Chocolate Brownie for dessert.”

Natalie laughed. “Okay, but if you need anything, you know I can be here in ten minutes. Day or night.”

“I know that. But I’ll be fine. Now go spend some time with Hunter, alright?”

#

Natalie

Natalie breathed a sigh of relief when she saw there were no cars parked in her driveway. She’d half expected her father to be there and was too tired to have to defend her relationship with Hunter again.

As she walked into her house and took off her gun belt, she kept a running to-do list in her head. She placed her gun in the drawer by the entrance, closing it carefully. She needed to speak to Felicia’s aunt and Lanie’s parents again to update them personally on how the investigation was going. She also wanted to speak to the lab to see how quickly they could get the results back.

She took a quick shower and changed into comfy jeans and one of her favorite T-shirts. She should have felt better, but her stress levels were still running high. Unsurprisingly, she found herself back in the kitchen, which was her favorite room in the house. Her fridge was as depressing as usual. She hadn’t thought of buying anything for herself when she’d stopped by the grocery store to get things from Emma. She’d almost resigned herself to another evening of microwaved food, when she suddenly saw three relatively unspoiled-looking lemons at the back of the fridge.

And just like that, she decided to bake a lemon cake. It was something her mother had done once a week at least for the first fifteen years of Natalie’s life. And even though her mother had been gone for longer than that, as she set out all the ingredients Natalie realized the muscle memory was still strong. Luckily, lemons were the only actual fresh ingredient in the cake. Everything else, she found in her pantry.

Twenty minutes later the cake was in the oven. Natalie’s arm throbbed from the mixing, but she felt more relaxed than she had in a long time.

She wondered if Hunter would be dropping by tonight. She was still new at this relationship thing, didn’t know how much space they should be giving each other, but determined to call him as soon as the cake was baked.