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The door opened, and my mind emptied of everything but the beautiful woman in front of me. Emmy wore formfitting dark jeans and a dark-red top that revealed a hint of cleavage, and her nearly black hair danced around her face and shoulders. Then she smiled at me, and it took every bit of restraint I had not to push her inside, kiss her, and say screw the date and take her to bed.
Emmy’s gaze turned heated as she gave me a once-over. “I can’t decide if I like it better when you’re all cleaned up or slightly dirty after a day’s work.”
“I can show up dirty next time, if you want.” Something flickered in her eyes, but I decided it was just me being paranoid. So I leaned in, kissed her gently, and offered my hand. “Come on. I can’t wait to see how you like my surprise.”
After she locked up her house, I took her to my truck and opened the door for her. She slid inside, and I raced around. Once I was on the road, she asked, “So, do I get any hints? Maybe we could play something like twenty questions, and you’ll let me know if I’m right?”
I smiled and glanced at her briefly before focusing back on the road. “You were the kid at Christmas who’d wake up early, and then at exactly the time your parents said you could bother them, you’d jump into action, weren’t you?”
As soon as I said the words, I regretted them. I didn’t want to make her think of her parents.
However, she laughed, and I relaxed a little as she answered, “Yes. Before I could tell time, my parents drew 7:00 on a piece of paper and said when it matched the clock in my room, I could wake them up. But not before.” She hesitated and then added, “I had to wake my brother too. Since he’s ten years older than me, he never got as excited for Christmas. Although…”
Her voice trailed off. A quick look assured me she wasn’t about to break down and that maybe she wanted to talk about her brother and parents. So I asked carefully, “Although what?”
She cleared her throat. “They said I helped everyone feel young at heart again with my enthusiasm. I don’t know if you’re aware of it or not, but I was a surprise baby for my parents. They had a hard time conceiving Rafe and had accepted they wouldn’t have any more kids. But I came along when they least expected it and always said I was their little miracle, one to make them see life through the eyes of a child again.”
Since I wouldn’t need to shift gears any time soon on the empty stretch of road, I reached out and took one of her hands.
She squeezed and held on tight to me. “I miss my parents, but I know they won’t be coming back. But when it comes to Rafe…he’s still alive, and I miss him so much. And yet, I completely understand why he doesn’t want to talk to me.”
I tried my best to keep my voice calm and not let my anger show. Because if Rafe Mendoza blamed his little sister for the car crash, he was a fucking idiot. “Have you reached out to him?”
Her voice was so low I barely heard it. “No.”
“Maybe you should.”
Her head whipped around. “What?”
“Look, I don’t know everything that’s gone on between you and your brother. And you can tell me to fuck off and mind my own business, if you want to. But take it from someone who ran away and didn’t talk to his family for more than a decade, all because he was too stubborn and thought he knew best.” I paused, glancing at her. “I was wrong, Emmy, about my family, and what we all needed. And I wish I’d reached out to them sooner. Maybe you should try with Rafe and at least get some closure with him.”
She sat silent for a long while, and I had to let go of her hand to change gears.
Eventually, she spoke again. “He set up a trust fund for me, not long after my parents died.”
We were nearly to town, but I still pulled over to the side of the road, shut off the car, and turned toward her. “What?”
She looked out the window, although I could see her reflection in the glass. Her eyes were sad, so fucking sad. And yet, I sensed she didn’t want me to pull her close and hold her right now.
Shrugging one shoulder, she said, “I haven’t touched it. I don’t know if he felt like he had to give me money, since he didn’t want custody of me, or if it was a way to ensure I never talked to him again. An allowance had been offered to your parents—which is how I learned about it in the first place—but they turned it down. My mom had been your mom’s best friend, and she said she’d never take money for helping her friend’s daughter.” She smiled sadly. “It was very like your mom.”
It was. My mother had always possessed the tendency to help anyone who needed it, be it animal or human.
Not for the first time, I missed her and wished I could’ve been there when she died.
But right here, right now, it was about Emmy and not me. So I dared to take her hand. When she held it tightly and turned toward me, I inwardly sighed with relief. “Do youwantto talk to your brother? It’s all well and good for me to suggest it. But what do you want, Emmy? Tell me.”
“Honestly? I miss my brother so much. And yet, it’s been so long, and we’ve both changed. Plus, he thinks the accident was my fault, and I don’t know if he’d ever want to talk to me again.”
“You keep saying that, but why? Did he tell you he blamed you specifically?”
“Yes and no.”
When I was younger, I hadn’t been very patient. But after being a father for nearly eleven years, I’d learned the trait, for the most part. And I could tell Emmy needed a moment to gather her thoughts.
I was eventually rewarded.
“Rafe avoided me at the funeral. All I wanted was for my big brother to hug me and cry with me and reassure me everything would be all right. But all I really remember was him telling me that I would live with the Wolfe family, and that he’d be too busy to visit me.”
