Page 14 of Dark Truth

Which was what had really made my stomach twist into a knot. I wouldn’t be able to let her go, not now that she was so important to me. And at some point, she’d need support from someone who wasn’t me, because she’d be taking care of me. She needed her family, and it didn’t matter how much I might hate Trent for the way he’d treated us both; he was her brother.

That meant I had to hide my animosity behind a smile and fake it for her. I could do that, I decided. I could do whatever it took to make sure Emily would be taken care of, if there would come a day when I couldn’t do it.

It wasn’t quite what I’d expected to happen when I came to Myrtle Beach to look for a place to set up here. I’d planned to go back to Kansas and then maybe to wander around the west coast until it was time to focus on this place. All of that had changed when I met Emily. She’d changed a lot of things for me.

“Hey, you want to come down and see me for a bit, before you wander off for the day?” I texted to her. As expected, it took only seconds to get a response.

“On my way.” She’d even put in a smiley face emoji.

A few minutes later she was opening my door, a big smile on her face. She had on a pair of faded jeans that fit her snugly, a dark blue tank top that fanned out around her hips, and a pair of sandals. She was ready for a casual lunch and not a day at work. Which was fine, she could do as she pleased and wear whatever she liked, whether at work or not.

“You look lovely,” I said as she came to sit in my lap. I brushed an ash blonde streak of hair out of her eyes and kissed her chin. “How are you?”

“I’m not too bad. Why did you want to see me?” Her lips were tracing up to my ear from my chin, and her hot breath on my neck was doing things I didn’t have time to act on.

I could make time.

“I just wanted to see you; do I have to have a reason?” I looked up into her eyes, gray like mine, but so different. Hers sparkled with silver and were a lighter color than mine.

“No, I suppose not.” She wrapped her arms around my neck and snuggled in, my hands on her waist to keep her in place.

“Are you going to meet your sister-in-law?” I prodded, as she didn’t volunteer the information.

“No, I have reservations made at one of my favorite places with Roxie in a couple of hours. I was about to cancel but changed my mind. I’ll ask Jessi to meet me there in a couple of days. At least if the lunch doesn’t go well, I can have some good food.”

“Why wouldn’t it go well?”

“I don’t know. Jessi might try to brush it all away and not see my side of things. She might take Trent’s side…”

“Is it fair to make her take sides?” It was only a question, not an indictment, and she pondered it quietly before she responded.

“Maybe not, but I refuse to go into this without knowing where I stand. If it’s going to end up the same way in a few months, or if they expect me to just become their nanny again, what’s the point? I want them all to know that.”

“You have a job now, and a relationship; you can’t be at their beck and call anyway.”

“No, that privilege is reserved for you now.” She kissed the tip of my nose and grinned at me. “You’re right. I have things to do, and they have to respect that. Which is my point; they have to respect me this time, or I’ll walk away for good. Only this time, I won’t think twice about throwing away any letters that might come my way.”

“Good girl, stand your ground.” I kissed her forehead and pulled her face up to kiss her. “I hope it all works out for you, darling. You deserve to have as much love as you can get, you know?”

I heard her breath hitch in her throat, and she looked away. Was that hurt in her eyes, or just confusion?

“Emily? What’s wrong? What did I say?” I pulled her face back to mine and looked at her closely.

“Nothing.” She swiped at a tear and smiled a wobbly smile. “Sometimes, you are the sweetest man in the world, do you know that?”

“No, I’m not.” I chuckled but meant it. “I don’t think I’m sweet at all, but you’d know more about that than me.”

“You are. You deserve some love too, you know?” She wouldn’t look at me at first, but then she did.

Her eyes were clear, without any sadness. “Do I?”

I wasn't sure why I asked the question, but I was curious to know her answer.

“Of course, you do, Dylan. We all do. You’re not a monster. You might need a dozen people to kiss your ass and tell you how wonderful you are, but you do deserve to be loved. By at least one person.”

“I see.” I didn’t want to ask her, but I could see it in her eyes.

Was it possible she loved me as much as I loved her?