Trusting Her Heart, page 2
“It’s not that bad,” he cajoled. “Most everyone knows he’s been staying at the house and that you’re coming to stay for Autumn.”
“That doesn’t make things better.”
“We can’t sit out here all afternoon.”
He opened the door and got out. “You’re too sensitive. Don’t you think it’s about time you got past high school? Everyone in Paradox is not out to get you.”
“I have gotten past high school.” Her family had never seen how bad it had been for her.
He closed the SUV door with a force that said “end of conversation” and walked to the back of the vehicle to unload her things.
Emily climbed out and joined him. She knew she should give him a break. He had a lot on his mind. His deployment. Not seeing Autumn for who knew how long. Emily staying with Autumn. Emily didn’t flatter herself that she was Neal’s first choice to take care of his daughter. A far third was more like it, after her parents and Autumn’s maternal grandparents. But Emily had been Autumn’s choice, and Neal had always had a hard time saying no to his daughter.
Of course, Emily was Autumn’s choice because she was the only one who could stay with the teen in Paradox Lake. Autumn was adamant about finishing her senior year at Schroon Lake Central High with her friends, even though she’d been accepted in the early enrollment program for January at Trinity College in Chicago where her other grandfather taught. Emily couldn’t understand how Autumn could give up an opportunity like that. Was she the only one who felt stifled by small town life? One more way she didn’t fit in.
She joined Neal, who stood with the cargo door open staring inside the SUV.
“You know the house is furnished,” he said.
She slugged his shoulder playfully. “That’s my computer and workstation.”
He grabbed the molded plastic desktop and pulled. “How did you get this in here?”
“I have friends, male friends.”
He straightened. “Em. I didn’t think about that. Is being here interfering with anything, um, special?”
She wished. “No, why? Are you filling in for Mom?”
“You, too? She’s none too subtle about wanting more grandchildren. Frankly, for me Autumn is more than enough.”
“Hey, I heard that.” Autumn sprinted toward Emily, arms open. Emily hugged her close, surprised as she always was at how tiny she was. Autumn took after her mother, not the Hazards.
“Hi, squirt.”
The teen released her and stepped back. “Aunt Jinx. I’m so glad you came. You don’t know what it’s been like here with nothing but men.”
The big grin Autumn had for her dad and Drew, who had followed her out of the house, belied her complaint. She’d always had her dad wrapped around her little finger. Emily could only imagine she’d done the same with Drew.
“Need some help unloading?” Drew asked.
“Drew.” Autumn’s voice bubbled with enthusiasm. “This is my Aunt J—Emily,” she corrected herself.
“We’ve met.”
“Well, duh, you must have since Dad left with Drew and came back with you.” Autumn grabbed Emily’s hand. “Come on. Let’s go in. We’ve got to talk.”
“My stuff.”
Autumn waved toward Drew and Neal. “The guys can get it.”
“It’ll go faster if we help.” Emily reached for one of the boxes.
“No, you go ahead in,” her brother said.
Emily took the box anyway and followed her niece to the house and into her past. The kitchen was exactly as it had been when she’d left for college eight years ago. Even the dish towels looped through the ringed door pulls on the cabinets under the sink seemed to be the same. She walked down the hall to her old room. Her stomach churned as she opened the door. She breathed deeply. I’m only visiting. This is temporary, she chanted silently. She placed the box at the end of the bed where it would be out of the way until she unpacked it.
“So, what do you think?” Autumn asked.
“About what?”
“Drew, of course. Isn’t he hot?”
“He’s a little old for you.” Emily deflected the question.
Autumn rolled her eyes. “I know that. Besides, I have Jack. Although a girl can look.”
Yeah, Jack, the car mechanic Autumn had been dating far too long in Emily’s opinion, an opinion she’d shared with Neal. She suspected Jack was a large part of Autumn’s choosing to stay here rather than go to Trinity College this past January.
“I meant for you,” Autumn said emphasizing her words as if Emily might not get her meaning. “And you didn’t answer me.”
“He seems nice enough.”
“Nice enough?”
“Okay, he’s good-looking if you like that rugged, outdoor look.”
Autumn favored her with that look of disgust all teen girls seemed to have in common. “Not city enough for you? You know he’s from Manhattan.”
Yeah, Emily had caught that when Deputy Norton was questioning him.
“He used to work on Wall Street or something. So does that make a difference?” Autumn asked.
“No.” Emily smiled with her. “It doesn’t make a difference.” It didn’t matter, not really. Manhattan or not, Drew wasn’t her type. If she had a type. She’d been uniformly unlucky with all types of men. That was one aspect of her “jinx” she hadn’t been able to shake in college or New York.
“Hey.” Neal poked his head in the room. “Where do you want us to set up your desk and stuff?”
“I thought I’d work in the spare bedroom over the garage.”
Drew appeared behind Neal.
“Oh, that’s right. It’s being used.” She glanced around her room. “I guess we could put one of the twin beds in the attic and I could work in here.” She’d really hoped she’d be able to separate her work and private space.
“Can work wait a couple days?” Neal asked.
“I guess.” It was Friday. She didn’t have any pressing deadlines, and she could check her email on her iPhone to stay connected.
“Good. Drew can move into my room when I leave.”
Lovely. The room next to hers.
“He can help you set up your stuff in the room over the garage. There’s plenty of space with the sofa bed folded up. And we won’t have to move any furniture.”
“I don’t want to put anyone out. I can move to one of the motels. It’s off-season. There are lots of rooms available,” Drew offered.
Emily shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Drew’s thoughtfulness was nice. She would feel more comfortable with a little distance between them.
“No, man,” Neal said. “We talked about this. The campground is too secluded this time of the year. I’d rather Autumn and Emily not be out here by themselves.”
She bit her tongue. She lived in New York, by herself. But Neal was just being protective of his daughter.
“Yeah, we want you to stay,” Autumn said. “Don’t we, Aunt Jinx?”
The smile that tugged at the corner of Drew’s mouth stabbed Emily like a blade.
She drew on the counseling she’d gotten at college. He’s laughing at the situation Autumn’s put you in. He’s not laughing at you, she repeated until she’d gotten things back in perspective. “Sure, it’s always good to have a man around the house.”
“Good. That’s settled,” Neal said. “I’ll bring the rest of your stuff in from the car and let Drew go back to work. Thanks for the lift from the garage.”
“Anytime.”
“And thanks for helping Neal haul my things in,” Emily said.
Drew nodded. “See you later.”
Emily watched him stride down the hall with her brother. It wouldn’t be bad. Drew would be working at the lodge and she’d be working in her office upstairs. They’d probably hardly even see each other. And she’d disabuse Autumn of any matchmaking ideas she might have in her head—no matter how hot he was.
CHAPTER 2
“That’s the last of it,” Neal said, placing a large suitcase on the bed next to the smaller one she’d just finished unpacking.
Emily smiled. Neal wasn’t bad as brothers went. Not bad at all. The kind of man who could make some woman very happy. Too bad Autumn’s mother had done such a job on his head that he hadn’t pursued any serious relationships since. She closed the bureau drawer and flipped open the top of the suitcase.
“You didn’t have to haul all my stuff in yourself. I could have—we could have helped.” She tossed Autumn in, too. It wouldn’t have hurt her to lend a hand.
“It’s all right. Where is she?” He looked around the room as if he’d just noticed his daughter wasn’t there.
“The phone rang.”
His features tightened into a look she recognized all too well from their dad. “She’d better not be making plans for tonight.” His expression softened. “You remember. The guys from the VFW in Ticonderoga are giving the unit a send-off party.”
She remembered and would have preferred to skip it, not that she’d share that thought with Neal. “Sure thing.” Emily bent over the suitcase so he wouldn’t see the tears gathering in her eyes.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“It’s kind of scary.”
“True. Being responsible for a teenage girl is very scary.”
She punched him playfully in the shoulder. “No, you big lug. Your going to the Mid-East is scary.” She dropped the pair of pants she’d lifted from the suitcase and hugged him.
“Come on.” He stepped back out of her grip and lounged against the door frame. “You’re as bad as Mom.”
“No one is as bad as Mom. How did Easter go anyway?” She’d avoided asking Neal about his and Autumn’s trip to Florida to spend the holiday with their folks and grandmother. That way, she’d felt less guilty about not joining them.
“Not bad. The weather was warm. Mom got to show us off at Easter church.”
“Was she very disappointed that I didn’t come?”
“Of course, but she got over it.”
“I was swamped at work.”
“Nobody said you weren’t. Besides, I always was the good child,” he teased.
“Right,” she said, remembering some high school escapades she was sure Neal would rather she not mention. Still, there was some truth in his tease. Helping their parents at the campground, sticking around Paradox Lake for them was just easier for Neal. Besides, he got help with Autumn in return.
“And how is Grandma?”
“As good as can be expected. You really should try to get down to see her.”
Emily’s mind flooded with all of the good times she’d spent at her grandmother’s house in Paradox Lake before she’d moved to Florida. “I know,” she choked out. “In the fall.” Provided she could get time off work after getting the agency to reluctantly let her telecommute for the summer.
Neal pushed away from the door frame. “I need to run up to the lodge and finish some electrical updates.”
“Nothing like putting it off to the last minute.” She got in her own shot.
“You know, paid work, unpaid work.” He gestured with his right hand, then his left as if weighing the two. “I had to finish up my outstanding electrical contracting jobs first. You might not know it by looking at her, but Autumn likes to eat.”
“Go on.” She shooed him off.
“I’ll be back in plenty of time for the party. Grab whatever you want from the refrigerator if you’re hungry. And if you need anything else, just ask Autumn, if you can lure her out of her room.”
“I should be okay. I got something to eat on the way up. I’ll just unpack and check in at work.”
“You haven’t even been away a day.”
“My email, that’s all. I did a big client presentation yesterday.”
“No getting wrapped up in something I can’t drag you away from this evening.” His voice held a hint of warning.
“I promise. I won’t miss your send-off party.” Even though she could come up with about 106 other places she’d rather be tonight.
“Better not. And I invited Drew.”
Great. Now he could see her out in local society at her worst. It didn’t matter, anyway. Why was she even concerned about making a good impression on Drew?
“I hope the accident didn’t put you off him. He really is a good guy.” Neal’s eyes sparkled.
So, her brother was matchmaking, too. “Don’t go there.”
He feigned innocence.
“Your daughter has already started the campaign, and with even less subtlety. I can handle my own love life, thank you.”
He snorted.
“You should talk. When was the last time you had a date?”
“I’m too busy raising Autumn.”
“That excuse may have worked when she was small, but she’s 17 and going away to college in a couple months.”
“Um, she’s going to North Country Community College for her first two years.”
“What? She’s staying here?” She stared at him.
He shrugged. “It’s what she wants, and it’ll save me a lot of money. Some of her friends go there.”
Yeah, one friend in particular that Emily knew about—Jack. He was taking auto mechanics. “You really—”
Neal cut her off. “We’ve been over this before. I’m not telling her where to go to college.”
“You could encourage her. The State University at Albany or Plattsburgh aren’t that far.”
“Not everyone is you. Some of us like small town life.” His voice was tight. “I’ll be back in a few hours. The party is at seven.” He turned and left.
Tears pricked her eyes. Why was she always like this when she came home? It wasn’t like she hated Paradox. She just felt like she didn’t fit in. The last thing she wanted to do today was argue with Neal. He was leaving tomorrow. Emily bowed her head and blinked the tears away.
She straightened and steeled her backbone. She’d need all the fortitude she could muster to manage living in Paradox Lake for the next four months.”
The cell phone ring broke Emily’s concentration. She put down her sketch pad and pulled out her earbuds. Neal’s number flashed as she picked up the phone. “Hi.”
“Hey. Things are taking a little longer than I expected. I should be home in about twenty minutes.”
Emily checked the clock. She had no idea it was so late. “Good thing you called. My client wants some changes to the proposal I presented yesterday. I was working on some ideas and lost track of time.”
“Why am I not surprised? Can you check on Autumn and make sure she’s getting ready? She takes forever.”
“Sure.” Emily had been so engrossed in her project she hadn’t given Autumn a thought all afternoon. She swallowed hard.
“All right. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”
Emily put the phone down and made one more adjustment to the concept she’d been sketching before she went looking for her niece. As far as she knew, Autumn was still in her room. When she reached the top of the stairs, she heard the murmur of voices. Either Autumn was still on the phone or streaming on her laptop. She smiled. Autumn had been begging Neal for her own computer for the past couple years. Neal had wisely waited until her parents had gone down to Florida to take care of Grandma before getting her one this past Christmas. Their mother was definitely of the school that kids shouldn’t be able to hole up in their rooms to watch TV or use the internet.
Emily knocked on Autumn’s door.
“Come in.”
She opened the door. Autumn and Jack were sitting on the bed watching a movie.
“Hi, Ms. Hazard,” Jack said.
She hadn’t even heard him come in the house, and she was sure this coziness was not something her brother allowed, despite the nonchalant way the teens continued to sit there with Jack’s arm draped around Autumn’s shoulders. Emily let their attitude fuel her temper. It was better than giving in to the sinking feeling in her stomach that taking care of a 17-year-old girl might be beyond her ability. She clenched her teeth. If Autumn thought she was going to allow stuff like this to go on, she’d better think again. They might be almost as close in age as Emily and Neal, and they were good friends, but Emily was the adult. The adult who had charge of Autumn while Neal was deployed.
“Jack.” She dismissed him with a curt greeting and focused her gaze on her niece. “I just finished talking with your father.”
The young couple exchanged a glance, and Jack removed his arm from her shoulder.
“He’s going to be here in about 15 minutes and wants us to be ready to go.”
Jack inched away from Autumn and swung his feet off the bed and onto the floor.
“Jack needs to leave—now.” Her voice took on a quality of her mother’s that she knew only too well. A steely quality that would come in handy when she had a little talk with Autumn as soon as Jack left.
Autumn slid off the other side of the bed. “Jack’s coming with us. Daddy said he could.”
She studied Autumn’s face. The teen’s defiant response didn’t jibe with Neal’s concern earlier that she’d better not be making plans to ditch the party. It bolstered her confidence that Neal was also a little clueless when it came to Autumn. “You can wait downstairs,” Emily said to Jack, who was already one step from the doorway.
Emily walked to the computer and pushed the shut-off button.
“Aunt Emily. You’re not supposed to shut it off like that.”
She turned back to face her niece. “And I’m sure you’re not supposed to be in your bedroom with Jack with the door shut.”
Autumn dropped her gaze to the floor. Emily waited for her to apologize.
“You’re not going to tell Daddy, are you?”
Emily clenched her hands and got a grip on her anger. “No, I’m not, as a favor to him, not you. The last thing he needs is to head off with his unit, worried about you.”
Autumn lifted her head. “Sorry, Aunt Jinx.”
“Emily.” The correction popped out. She usually let Autumn get away with calling her Jinx.
