Trusting Her Heart, page 3
“Emily.” Autumn twisted the name to match the curve of her lips. “We weren’t doing anything.”
The emphasis she placed on “anything” challenged Emily to contradict her.
“You know. You’re younger than Dad. I thought you’d understand that things aren’t like they were when he was in high school.”
Emily’s mind flashed back to the two teens nestled together watching the movie. Her heart started pounding. This was only her first day here. “Go ahead and get ready. Your father will be here any minute now.”
“I am ready.”
Emily appraised Autumn’s outfit. Jeans and a long-sleeved striped T-shirt layered with a spring green short-sleeved T-shirt. “The party is casual?” she asked.
Autumn glared at her.
“I was going a little dressier.” She’d had her black silk-blend slacks and a turquoise cashmere sweater in mind.
Her niece shrugged. No help from that corner. Emily didn’t want to draw attention to herself. Her plan was to slip into the party and stay in the background.
“So is it okay if I go down and check to see if you scared Jack away?”
“Go ahead.”
Emily followed Autumn downstairs and left the teens in the living room with her best imitation of her mother’s “you’d better behave or else” expression. In her room, she laid the slacks and sweater on the bed. Maybe she should wear jeans. She didn’t want to feel out of place. Yeah, jeans would be better. Who did she have to impress? Her mind summoned a picture of Drew expressing his concern after the accident.
“Jinx. I’m back,” her brother called down the hall. “I’m going to hit the shower and then you and Autumn can have the bathroom if you need it.”
“Okay,” she shouted back, smiling to herself. It was just like before she’d left home, everyone jockeying for time in the main bathroom. Dad had never gotten around to connecting the plumbing for the shower in the second bath off the room over the garage until after she’d left home.
Emily checked her reflection in the full-length mirror on the back of the closet door. The jeans and sweater needed something else to dress them up. She dug out a batik scarf and knotted it loosely around her neck. Much better. She pulled out the clip that held up her hair and ran her fingers through the waves that cascaded down her back. Hair and makeup would have to wait for Neal to finish in the shower.
After another glance in the mirror, she headed back to the living room to join Autumn and Jack.
“Nice.”
The unexpected male voice brought her to an abrupt stop. Grabbing the frame of the arch between the kitchen and the dining room saved her from falling flat on her face. She breathed a deep breath to slow her pounding heart and jerked her head to the left. Drew stood just inside the door.
“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” His gaze passed over her face and down her hair. “I wondered how long it was.”
What was it with men and long hair? She pushed a strand back over her shoulder. “I didn’t see you.”
“Obviously.” He grinned as he sauntered over to the table in the breakfast nook and sat down as if he lived there.
He did live here and would be living here—for a while at least. So she’d better get used to it and, if her still-racing pulse was any sign, to not letting her hair down in front of him in any sense of the words.
“Join me?” he asked, pulling out the chair next to him.
“I’m going to check on Autumn and Jack.” She kept her tone soft so the teens wouldn’t hear her talking about them.
Neal walked up behind her and snapped her with the towel he’d been using to dry his hair. “All done.”
“Good.” She escaped to the bathroom to put herself together.
Emily gave her lips a final coat of gloss over her lip color and checked out the result. Hair restyled, securely pinned in a loose chignon, makeup flawless. She was armed and ready to face the good folk of Paradox Lake, Drew Stacey included.
“I’m all ready.” Emily returned to the kitchen expecting her brother’s usual crack about what took her so long. The room was empty.
“Neal went ahead with Autumn and Jack,” Drew said as he picked up a pile of clean clothes from the chair next to him, stood, and tucked them under his arm. “The hot water in the bath upstairs isn’t working. I’ll see if I can fix it tomorrow. Give me five minutes and we can go, too.”
He turned to leave the room.
Go? With Drew? The two of them? “Ah, sure,” she said to his back.
True to his word, he was back in about five minutes. Emily knew because she’d watched the hands of the clock over the sink tick off each minute as she’d paced the kitchen.
“Ready?” His dark hair was still damp, and he’d changed into gray chinos and a loose-knit sky blue sweater that matched his eyes and emphasized his lean, rugged physique.
Her mouth went dry when he stepped closer and the scent of his aftershave assailed her. Understated but tangy. The aroma was so familiar. Certainly nothing her brother would wear. “Nuance,” she said.
“Pardon?”
“You’re wearing Nuance.”
His eyes narrowed. “Yes. How did you know?”
She laughed. “I’m sorry. I did an ad campaign for Simon Stahl. I probably can identify the scent of every one of their products.”
“The TV commercials with players from the U.S. National Soccer Team?”
“No. Weren’t they awful? I did the print campaign. GQ, Esquire. Web design.”
He shrugged. “I kind of liked the commercials. They’re why I picked up the cologne.”
“Oh.” The seconds ticked by in silence. “Let me get my coat. It’s in the front closet. Then we can go.” She ducked into the living room. So much for her being ready to face Drew. What was it about being in Paradox that turned her into an awkward adolescent?
Drew bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling until she’d turned the corner. He’d seen her print ads in Esquire. They were good, very good. But the temptation to get a rise out of her had been too great. And so easy. He was stymied how she held her own in the rat race of New York advertising. But apparently she did, according to her proud brother.
She returned wearing a long duster-like coat and a guarded expression that had him wanting to take back his tease about her ads. He’d better watch himself. The last thing he needed right now was to get mixed up with another woman. Especially one who appeared to be as changeable as his ex-fiancée had turned out to be.
Although finding out who the real Emily/Jinx Hazard was—cool, collected career-focused art director or warm, endearing klutz—could be interesting. But he’d leave that to someone else. He needed downtime from women to concentrate on his career—once he figured out what that was now. Wall Street wonder or “the camp guy from New York City,” as he’d heard some of the locals call him. And that was being generous. In reality, he was a glorified handyman who had to regularly dip into his savings to pay the bills. He doubted that was Emily Hazard’s type.
He shoved his fingers through his hair. How had his mind gotten off on this tangent? They’d just met, and he hadn’t picked up on any signs of interest on Emily’s part. Showed how messed up he was right now. Drew opened the door and followed Emily out.
“I’ll drive,” she said.
He half expected her to ask him what took him so long.
“Fine,” he agreed. “You know the way better than I do.”
Head up, chin forward, she marched to her rented SUV. Her cool expression and his unwanted attraction to her told him it would be a long half hour drive to Ticonderoga.
CHAPTER 3
The party was well under way when Emily and Drew walked into the VFW hall. A red, white, and blue banner proclaiming We Support Our Men and Women in Uniform spanned the room. A few couples danced to a local country western band. Most of the people stood talking in small groups or at the tables arranged around the perimeter of the room. Emily’s posture stiffened when a guy across the room smiled at her in recognition. The man approached them with a woman in tow.
“Jinx,” the man greeted her.
Drew took in the man’s carefully styled blond hair, the cut of his gray suit and the way he held himself. Financial services. He judged. High school, maybe college, sports hero.
“I heard you made your usual grand entry into Paradox.”
“Matt.”
Drew almost had to step away to avoid being hit with the tension radiating from Emily.
“Becca,” she said to the attractive, petite, dark-haired woman beside Matt. Her facial muscles strained visibly to paste a smile on her face.
“When Dad stopped by the insurance office this afternoon and said—”
Becca placed her hand on his forearm. “Behave yourself.”
Surprise flashed in Emily’s eyes, as if she wasn’t used to anyone sticking up for her. Interesting.
“But, Bec, it was classic Jinx. Dad said she stopped to let some ducks cross the road and that camp guy from New York City plowed into her. Who else would that happen to?”
Both women frowned at him.
“Aw.” He squirmed under their combined glare. “Jinx knows I’m only teasing her.”
Emily’s rigid stance contradicted him. Why was she putting up with this?
“And I would have liked to see the expression on the camp guy’s face when he came around the curve to see Jinx and her ducks.” Matt looked at Drew as if he’d just noticed him. “Matt Norton.” He extended his hand. “And my wife, Becca,” he added as an afterthought.
Drew nodded at Becca, who looked undecided whether to fade away gracefully or kick her lout of a husband in the shin to get him to shut up. He shook hands with Matt using more pressure than necessary. “Drew Stacey.” He paused. “The camp guy.”
Matt slapped his thigh. “Then, you totally get me. About Jinx and the ducks. Calamity follows her like a dark cloud. Always has, since we were kids.”
Drew forced a smile. “No, I don’t get you at all.”
Matt stood speechless. An unusual state for him, Drew guessed. He caught a glimmer of mirth in Emily’s eyes that dispelled any thought he might have about apologizing to Matt for his rude response.
“Hey, isn’t that Dan Kennedy?” Becca said louder than necessary. “I want to wish him well before we leave.” She faced Emily, her eyes fixed somewhere in the vicinity of her knees. “We’re not staying long. The baby. It’s the first time we’ve left him with a sitter other than our mothers.”
A genuine smile spread across Emily’s face. “Matt’s dad told me. Congratulations.”
Matt opened his mouth, but Becca squeezed his arm before he said anything. “I’m still on maternity leave from school. Why don’t we get together for lunch and catch up?”
“Sure.” The word hissed out as if pulled from Emily’s lips.
“Great!”
Emily’s face took on the hooded, guarded expression he’d seen earlier. Hmm. The woman sounded sincere to him. But what did he know? He was the new guy in town.
“Nice to meet you, Drew,” Becca said.
“Yeah,” Matt agreed. “See you around.”
The couple walked off with Becca leading the way.
“Friends of yours?”
She glanced at him out of the side her eye. “Hardly. We went to high school together,” she said as if that explained everything.
“Becca seems okay.”
“I suppose. We didn’t hang together. I don’t know why she suggested lunch.”
“To be friendly. Make up for her husband.” Might as well state the obvious.
“Whatever.” She looked around the room as if planning her escape, which seemed to be her M.O. whenever things got uncomfortable.
“Hey.” Autumn joined them. “You know Ms. Norton? Isn’t she cool?”
“She always was,” Emily said, ignoring Drew’s raised brow. The party was starting out as she’d feared.
“I wish she was back from maternity leave. The sub we have for Economics is so lame.”
“So Becca’s a teacher?”
Autumn pursed her lips. “You didn’t know that?” she said as if it were universal knowledge. Emily was sure it was if you lived in Paradox.
“I haven’t really seen Becca since high school.”
Autumn shrugged. “Daddy has a table for us back in the corner. Snacks are over there.” She pointed to the left. “And drinks. I was going to get a soda. There’s punch, too. Want something?” Her gaze passed from Emily to Drew and she smiled.
“I’ll go with you,” Drew said. “What can I get you?” he asked Emily.
“A Sprite would be good, if you don’t mind.”
“Got it.”
Emily watched Drew and Autumn cross the room, the teen talking away, gesturing with her hands. Drew nodding. Neal was right. Drew was a nice guy. Putting that obnoxious Matt Norton in his place. Fetching a drink for her. And good-looking, too. Emily didn’t miss the looks he was getting from some of the women. It wasn’t often Emily attracted that combination in a man. She squeezed her eyes shut to block out the thought. Like he’d shown any signs of being interested in her. Besides, she was here to take care of Autumn, not to revive her nonexistent love life, no matter how appealing that might be.
“Excuse me.” A shoulder bumped hers. Who had she run into now? And how had she managed to do so while standing still?
“I should have been watching where I was going,” the woman said.
Emily turned to see Mrs. Donnelly, her high school English teacher.
“Emily. I heard you were coming back.”
“Mrs. Donnelly.” She waited for a more refined rendition of Emily and the ducks. The older woman smiled and squeezed her hands. Maybe Mrs. Donnelly hadn’t heard about her afternoon escapade. Or maybe she should get over it and not let Matt’s comments ruin her evening.
“It’s so good to see you. I’m glad so many of my former students are returning to the area.”
“I’m only back temporarily, to stay with Autumn while Neal’s out of the country.”
Mrs. Donnelly continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “There’s you and Becca Norton. She taught in Syracuse for a while, you know, before she moved back to teach at Schroon Lake.”
Emily didn’t know. She’d assumed Becca and Matt had gone off to be star quarterback and head cheerleader at one of the state colleges and come right back to Paradox.
“And I’m certain there are others. But my memory escapes me. It’s not what it once was. I blame it on retirement. Being with young people keeps you young, I say.”
Emily bit the side of her mouth to keep herself from laughing. Mrs. Donnelly’s memory had gotten away from her often enough before she’d retired, when Emily was in her class.
Mrs. Donnelly dropped her hands. “I’ll let you go. I’m sure there are a lot of people you want to see. Be sure and say hi to my grandson, Josh. He’s headed off with your brother. We’re so proud of him.” The woman’s eyes glistened.
“We’re proud of them all,” Emily said, tapping down the apprehension that blossomed inside of her every time she thought about her brother leaving.
“All right, then,” Mrs. Donnelly said. “Let’s par-tay.”
Emily laughed as the woman trotted off more or less in time to the music. She crossed the remainder of the room without being accosted by anyone else and found Neal deep in conversation with Jack. Reading him the riot act? She could only hope. But probably not from the grin on the younger man’s face. Emily weighed whether she should tell Neal about Autumn having Jack in her room this afternoon.
“You found us,” Neal said as she approached the table.
Jack concentrated on demolishing the chicken wings on the plate in front of him.
“I did. And it wasn’t easy. Mrs. Donnelly caught me midroom.”
“She’s already passed this way.” Neal looked behind her. “Where’s Drew? You haven’t ditched him already, have you?”
“No, he and Autumn are getting drinks and snacks. And what do you mean ditched him? That would imply I was with him.”
Jack’s head shot up. “I could use a drink.” He flew off in the direction of the refreshments.
It looked like she had things in hand with Jack. Her brother and Autumn, not so much. She didn’t need him setting her up with Drew. She’d have all she could handle refereeing Autumn’s love life.
Neal pulled out the chair next to him and she sat down.
“Mrs. Donnelly said her grandson is shipping out with you. He’s so young.”
“A couple years younger than you. Not everyone in the unit is an old man like me.”
Her chest tightened. At thirty-four, he was far from old. Too young to have a daughter as old as Autumn and too young, in her opinion, to be facing the dangers ahead.
He reached over and chucked her chin. “Hey, what’s with that long face? This is a party.”
Her throat clogged. She caught a tear that threatened to ruin her mascara and her carefully architected image.
“We’re back. With food.” Autumn’s voice rang singsong above the music. She set the plate of appetizers down and scanned the table. “Where’s Jack?” Her gaze drilled into Emily’s.
“He went to get a drink,” Neal said.
“He didn’t say anything to me about wanting a drink. I would have gotten it for him.” Her eyes narrowed and refocused on Emily. “Didn’t you tell him we were getting food?”
“She sure did.” Neal came to her rescue. “That’s what gave him the idea to go get a drink.”
Autumn slid into the chair next to Emily, leaving Drew to take the seat across from her between Neal and Autumn.
“Did you tell Daddy?” Autumn kept her voice low so that only Emily could hear.
“No,” Emily mouthed, glancing up to see Drew watching them. She pressed her lips together. No need for him to know their family business.
He pushed the drink he’d gotten her across the table.
“Thanks.” She took a sip. His gaze held hers for a moment. She broke the hold and shifted in her seat, glad when the band started up a new song and Autumn began tapping the beat on the table.
