“Not interested in either.” Josh smiled. “We just want to do what we love, sell it, and live simply out here in our corner of the world.”
“I understand,” Leo said. “I’ll see you next month.”
“You should come around in the evening sometime and have supper with all of us,” Josh offered.
“Can I bring a newspaper reporter?” Leo grinned.
“Only if you want to die,” Josh answered.
Leo laughed out loud, picked up the two canvases, and in two strides was at the door. Then he turned around. “Does Emma know how you feel about her?”
Josh’s cheeks burned. “What do you mean?”
“Anyone who can make that”—Leo nodded toward the picture—“has feelings for the subject. There’s pain and love both featured there.”
“I’m not sure that I know how I feel about her,” he said. Just the thought of a relationship with Emma made him nervous, and yet the idea of her leaving made him so sad that he wanted to cry.
“Well, when you figure it out, don’t be too shy to tell her,” Leo suggested.
When he was gone, Josh picked up the picture of Emma and carried it to his bedroom. He hung it on the only wall big enough to support it and then sat down on the end of his bed and stared at it. “Why would I tell her anything? It might just scare her away,” he whispered.
Emma was about to be all alone for the first time since she left her college apartment. She’d told Sophie that she would be fine, but now she had doubts. What if she had another nightmare? What if more than the rape had happened, and it all came to the surface? She wouldn’t feel right calling Sophie in the middle of the night or waking Filly up, either. She tore into a bag of chocolate doughnuts and ate a few straight out of the bag for breakfast. “Will you call me when you get to Del Rio and tell me what all this big talk is about?”
“Of course.” Sophie put another shirt into the open suitcase on the sofa. “To tell the truth, I’ll probably need you to help me sort out whatever is going on.”
“You don’t think he’s about to break up with you, do you?” Emma asked.
“It’s crossed my mind. He’s always said that he wants a family, and I’m not sure if I do,” Sophie answered.
“Well, I’d think that’s something that you should definitely agree on.” Emma wondered if she should even think about children. Getting pregnant involved sex, and she wasn’t sure she could ever do that after what had happened. Maybe she should talk to a therapist about that sometime.
“You’ll be okay, right?” Sophie stopped packing and joined Emma at the bar. “I don’t care what time of day or night it is, if you need me, you call.”
Emma shoved the bag of doughnuts over toward Sophie. “I will, and you do the same. I’ll work every day until you get back to pass the time. I still can’t believe that I’ve sold two paintings. Well, not sold, but they are out on commission. What if no one likes them or buys them?”
Sophie ate a third tiny doughnut. “Since you’re a newbie, I wouldn’t be surprised if Leo calls you when they sell. He’s a good man, and he runs a really neat little store and gallery over in Terlingua. Maybe someday we can drive down there and you can see for yourself.”
“How big is that town?” Emma asked.
“It’s almost a ghost town, but there’s a few little shops, and folks come from miles around to go to Big Bend park. Leo’s place has a reputation that’s known all over the world, and lots of buyers come from the big cities like New York City and Los Angeles. If he puts your stuff in his shop, it’s a big step up, believe me,” Sophie answered.
Emma took a sip of her coffee. “No pressure.”
“He’s also brutally honest. If he hadn’t liked your work, he would have said so.” Sophie slid off the barstool and took a pair of jeans from the dryer, folded them, and laid them in the suitcase. “I’m never sure what all to pack for a trip, and this is all the way to Europe.”
“What do you mean? Don’t you and Teddy take several little vacations a year?” Emma moved from her barstool over to the sofa.
“Yes, but . . .” Sophie went to the refrigerator and got out milk. She poured two glasses full and set one down in front of Emma. “Usually we go somewhere, and I paint all day. Then we go out in the evenings or else cook at home if we’ve rented a condo. But this time Teddy asked me to leave my work behind. We’re staying in a house in Del Rio for one night and then we’re flying to London, where the first showing is to be held, and he wants to talk about something serious. What if he proposes?”
“Do you love him?” Emma finished off the last of her coffee and took a sip of the milk. “Why are you afraid of marriage, anyway?”
“Yes, I love him,” Sophie answered, “but in my experience, married men can’t be trusted.”
“In mine, men can’t be trusted, married or not,” Emma said, “but it’s not fair to Teddy for you to judge him by other guys.”
Same goes for you. Don’t judge Josh by other guys, either. Rebel’s voice in her head was loud and clear.
“You’re right,” Sophie sighed. “Man, I hate surprises! I’d rather know what’s comin’.”
“Amen and amen,” Emma said. “But sometimes surprises are downright wonderful. Like when you walked into my room after all those years. Like Leo loving my work. Like me getting to come to this place.”
“Okay.” Sophie smiled. “You’ve made your point. Teddy has a surprise for me, and I’ll enjoy it every bit as much as you did all those things. Still no regrets?”
“Only that I didn’t have the courage to do it on my own. But if I had, I wouldn’t be where I am right now. With that in mind, I wouldn’t change a single thing in my past,” Emma said.
Sophie raised an eyebrow.
“Not even the rape. It devastated me and made me hit rock bottom for a long time, but I’m coming back with strength I didn’t even know I had,” Emma said. “And I want you to have a good time with Teddy. Call me when you have time, and especially when you find out what the surprise is, but please don’t worry about me. I feel like nothing can hurt me here in this place. I’m safe and at peace.”
Sophie sat down in the rocking chair. “I worry you’ll go backward and hit bottom again if I’m not here.”
“Only way I’m going is forward.” Emma held up her glass. “Like you said, it won’t happen overnight, and I might have more nightmares.” She shuddered at the thought of going through that experience again, even in dreams. “But if I do, I can call you and talk to you, or like you and Filly both have said, I can march across the yard and knock on Filly’s door. I have a support system here like I’ve never had before.”
Sophie swiped a tear from her cheek. “God, Em, I feel so bad that I wasn’t there for you, but none of what happened is your fault. Not then. Not ever, so don’t blame yourself.”
“If I’d been more street savvy, I would have known better than to go with Dallas to a strange guy’s apartment. I’m so glad you’re here to help me get through all that, Sophie. My road to recovery might take a while longer than I want, but I’m going to get over this horror,” Emma said with so much confidence that she honestly believed what she was saying. “Hey, I didn’t run and hide under the bed today when Leo came into the house. Lord, have mercy!” She fanned herself with the back of her hand. “I thought for a minute I might faint dead away, but then he spoke, and you were right. His voice didn’t sound like it should come out of a man as big as a refrigerator.”