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Grabbing the stuff I bought from the drugstore, I climb from the truck and make my way up the walkway to the front door. I haven’t seen Emberleigh in three days. The last two nights she spent here at her parents’. We were supposed to go to Blackie’s tonight then back to her place, but she called me earlier, saying Avery has strep throat and she didn’t want to leave her. As much as I want to see her, I can’t fault her for not wanting to leave her sick child.
I rap my knuckles against the front door and wonder how this is going to go. I didn’t tell Emberleigh of my plans to stop by. I didn’t make the decision to do so until a couple hours ago, so the surprise is on both of us. The need to see her is too great, so since she can’t come to me, I’ll go to her. Even if that means I’ll be meeting the parents for the first time. After Emberleigh told me what happened to her as a teenager, I’m still unsure how I feel about them. How in the hell can parents be so deep into their grief over one child they neglect to see how far their other child has fallen?
The door opening pulls me from my thoughts. An older man stands on the other side, gripping the door as he blocks my view of the rest of the house. His eyes are the same blue as Emberleigh’s and Avery’s. He also has the same chin. This must be her father.
“Can I help you?” His voice is deep and scratchy.
“I’m looking for Emberleigh.”
His eyes narrow with suspicion as he looks me up and down. I can’t say I blame the guy. If some strange person knocked on my door looking for my daughter, I’d do more than just glare at him. Of course, the purple stuffed elephant, flowers, and the bag of other items in my arms probably makes him wary as well.
“And who might you be?” he asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
I almost smirk at the defensive look. He’s tall, but slender. He has to know that with my hard-muscled body and my younger age, I could easily crush him if I wanted, but still, he stands in front of me like he’d take me out in a second if he felt his family was threatened. Just that act alone lessens some of my animosity toward him. This man obviously takes the protection of his family seriously, and I respect the hell out of that.
I hold out a hand and offer a smile, trying to show him I’m no danger to his family. “Nathan. I’m a friend of Emberleigh’s.”
Instead of taking my hand, he just looks at it. I drop it back to my side, unoffended. I’m just about to explain my reason for being here when a petite woman pushes herself between Emberleigh’s father and the door. She’s of average height, maybe five foot six or so, has blonde hair, and brown eyes. She also looks a lot like Emberleigh and Avery. The female genes must run heavy in her family.
“Damn it, Martha. I told you I’d get the door,” he grumbles. “How did you know this man didn’t have a gun on me or something?”
She slaps him in the stomach with the back of her hand, her expression annoyed. “Oh, stop it. I heard him say Em’s name, so obviously he knows her.” She turns to me and her face softens as she smiles. She looks much too young to be Emberleigh’s mom, but I remember her from the video chat a while back.
“Hi. I’m Martha,” she says, extending her hand. “And this rude lump is Jeffrey.”
I shake her incredibly soft hand. “Nathan. It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“No ‘ma’am’ is required. Just Martha.”
I accept with a nod.
Her eyes flick over my face for a moment, then move to the items in my hands. Her smile, which was simply polite before, now reaches her eyes. She takes a step back and bumps into her husband, then starts pushing him back with her body. He gets the idea and steps back as well, grumbling something under his breath.
“Please, come in.” She gestures with her hand.
I step inside and am immediately met with a delicious sweet smell. I take a quick look around, noticing the warm and friendly feeling of the place. To the right, there’s a decent-sized living room with an L-shaped couch, tables at both ends, coffee table, a TV mounted on the wall across from them, and a fire place in the corner. To the left, a staircase leading to the second floor. Straight across is another door that looks like it might lead to a kitchen.
“Would you like a cup of coffee?” Martha asks, interrupting my perusal of her home.
“Nathan?” I look up and find Emberleigh at the top of the stairs, her brows furrowing as she starts walking down them. “What are you doing here?”
I lift my arm, showing her the bag, stuffed animal, and flowers. “Remedies to help Avery feel better.” I jiggle the bag. “Soup and popsicles for a sore throat.”
She looks briefly at her parents as she passes by them before coming to stop in front of me. Her eyes move from the bag, to the stuffed animal, to the flowers.
“You bought me flowers too?”
I smirk. “Sorry, th
ose are for Avery as well.”
Her laugh is light as she bends to smell the white daisies, then runs her hand down the trunk of the elephant.
“I wasn’t sure what kind of flowers she liked or if she liked stuffed animals.”
Martha laughs behind Emberleigh, and she looks over at her. When she brings her eyes back to me, there’s a twinkle there. “She definitely likes stuffed animals.” Pausing, she lays a hand on my arm. “This was so thoughtful of you, Nathan. You didn’t have to do this.”
I smile crookedly at her. “No, but I wanted to. Every girl should get flowers when she’s sick.” Leaning forward, I lower my voice. “Besides, I really wanted to see you.”
