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Just as he broke free, Jake pinned his hands against his chest and stepped between him and Joel. “Calm down, I’m taking him home.”
Then he grabbed Gordo by the shirt, pulling him close.
“And don’tevertalk about Hannah like that again,” he warned, loud enough for his friends to hear.
“Let me go!” Gordo seethed.
The man stumbled when Jake dropped him, and he grabbed Joel, who had already made his way to the bar.
“Let’s get you home.” He propelled him toward the door.
“Don’t you touch me!” Joel squirmed out of his grasp.
Billy came around from behind the counter. “It’s time for you to leave, Destin.”
“You can’t kick me out!”
“He lives over on the hill, on Second,” Billy said, grabbing Joel under the armpits and hauling him up. “First house on the left. The blue one.”
“I don’t need your help!” Joel slipped out of their grasp, tripped, and fell hard onto the floor… unconscious. Blood began to pool on the dirty floor from a nasty cut on his head.
“Call 911!” Jake yelled out. He turned to Billy, his medic training kicking in. “Go grab me some towels. Don’t move him! Back up.”
He took the man’s pulse. “Joel, can you hear me?”
The crowd backed away, people quieting down as Billy ran up with towels.
Jake put one behind Joel’s head and applied pressure to the laceration. It felt like forever before the paramedics arrived, but it probably was only a few minutes.
“How do you know Mr. Destin?” the police officer asked.
He looked at the man being lifted onto the stretcher and said, “He’s my girlfriend’s father.”
* * *
Emma took a shower and came out of the bathroom with rosy cheeks and slicked-back hair.
“You smell delicious,” Hannah said.
Emma rolled her eyes. “I shower regularly now, Mom.”
Hannah couldn’t believe how much her little girl had grown up. The saying that children grew up in the blink of an eye couldn’t be truer. It felt like just yesterday she’d held Emma in her arms, and now she was almost the same height as Hannah. She sat alone in her room more often than she hung out with her mother on the couch, these days. And her attitude. Ouff. She was definitely growing into a teenager.
She sat on the couch next to Hannah now, though, and said, “Tonight was really fun.”
Hannah had been waiting for this conversation. She had been torn about sharing her feelings. How much should she include Emma in all of this? The consequences for both of them were serious.
“Emma, Jake is just a very good friend,” she said tentatively.
“Jake is in love with you, Mama,” Emma said. “He couldn’t stop looking at you all night.”
Hannah couldn’t help but smile at the thought. “Don’t get too excited. Not yet.” But she could see hope building in Emma, like she could feel it building inside her. “Want to do our nails?”
Emma’s eyes shot open. “Yes!”
Hannah got up to fetch her small collection of polishes. “We could even make some popcorn and watch a movie.”
“It’s already nine-thirty.” Emma looked confused at this sudden change in their routine.
