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“I’m going home, Ember.”
“Scott. No.”
John stopped at the bottom of the steps. “Please don’t go Scott. Aaron loves it here. I’ll go bunk at Everett’s. He’s got those cabins he used to rent out. I’ll stay there until the end of the week.”
Scott looked at him, then at Ember. “Fine. I’ll stay. But only because Aaron would be crushed to leave so soon.”
John nodded. “I’ll go get a couple of things.” He stepped onto the porch and passed Scott, then touched Ember’s hand briefly as he passed by her.
While he was in Aaron’s bedroom, Ember came in and hugged him. “You don’t need to do this. Scott is being—”
“Protective. And I get it.” He kissed her. “It’s okay. It’s only for a few days. Just think how much better this will be after you miss me for acouple of days.”
She smiled. “It was bad enough when you were working.”
“It’ll be Friday before you know it.” He hugged and kissed her again, then left the room. Aaron saw he had a bag and looked up at him.
“Where’re you going?”
“I have to go to work.”
“Oh man.”
“I know. But you’re going to have lots of fun with your dad and Aunt Ember.”
Aaron sighed. “Okay. You’re going to be back, though. Right?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve got quite a bit of work to do at the horse ranch.”
“Horse ranch? You ride horses?”
“Yes. But I also feed them, brush them, and clean out their stalls, which is kind of gross. It’s not all fun.”
“Yuck.”
John patted Aaron’s head. “I’ll see you around, kid.”
John nodded at Scott, then gave Ember a wink, before going out the front door.
Ember stared at the door for a moment, then glared at Scott and headed for the bedroom. She closed the door and went to sit on the bed. Then she started crying. She wasn’t sure why. John did the right and honorable thing. Because that’s hisnature. And she knew she could go see him at the horse ranch whenever she wanted to. She wiped at her tears. They were tears of anger. Anger at Scott for being so hard-headed about things. It was really none of his business and he had no right to interfere.
She went to the bathroom, splashed water on her face, then looked at her reflection in the mirror. “Everything is going to be okay.”
She picked a book from the shelf and settled down on the bed with it. She needed some time away from her brother.
Four hours later, there was a knock on the door. “Sis.”
“Go away, Scott.”
“Can I come in please?”
She closed her book and set it on the bed beside her. “Now you’re asking permission?”
“Em. Come on.”
She took a moment. “Fine. Come in.”
Scott opened the door and peered in, then opened it wider and came into the room with a sandwich and a can of Coke. “I thought you might be hungry. You never had breakfast.”
