“That’s a great idea.” Sophie was so proud of Emma that she couldn’t wipe the grin off her face.
Chapter Twenty-Two
When it was time to leave Big Bend, Emma lingered behind for a few minutes to say goodbye to the RV after Sophie had taken the last load out to the vehicle and was already behind the steering wheel. Emma really wanted to go back to the trailer park, but she still hated to leave her little vacation home.
“Goodbye, little house,” she whispered as she closed the door behind her and left the key under the porch step. “I hope the next people enjoy staying with you as much as I have.” She sighed as she crossed the short distance to the vehicle and slid into the passenger seat.
“Thank you for everything, Em,” Sophie said as she started the engine and backed away from their parking area.
“Right back at you.” Speaking past the lump in her throat wasn’t easy for Emma. Until Sophie rescued her, she hadn’t felt emotions in years—now everything either made her giggle or cry. Either emotion meant she was alive again—not just existing, but able to feel and to love again. Even the sadness was wonderful after living in a state of numbness for so long.
“How long until we are home?” Emma watched out the side window until the RV was completely out of sight. “I’ve got a FaceTime session with Nancy this evening at six. We’re connecting so much better, even just in the two sessions so far, now that I have my memories back.”
“An hour to Terlingua and then half an hour past that to the trailer park,” Sophie answered. “Are you in a hurry to see Josh?”
“Of course I am, and speaking of the men in our lives, have you talked to Teddy?” Emma asked.
Sophie shook her head and stared out the side window. “A couple of times, but it’s a little awkward, and I hate that.”
They stopped at the Terlingua convenience store for a bathroom break and a cold drink, then did the last leg of the journey. Emma caught herself wringing her hands when Sophie turned off the highway onto the dirt road leading back to the trailer park. She tried to stop but she couldn’t, so finally she tucked them under her legs.
“Nervous, are you?” Sophie asked.
“Little bit,” Emma admitted.
“You’ve talked to Josh every night. Why are you edgy?” Sophie asked.
Emma raised an eyebrow. “How many boyfriends have you had?”
“Boyfriends as in a date or two, a kiss at the door, and then either he or I wasn’t interested? Maybe a dozen. Relationships as in several dates that lead to sex, about four. But Teddy is the only one for many years,” Sophie answered.
“Well, this is my first as in kiss at the door, and my first time to hope that it develops into something more,” Emma said. “And I’m terrified that I’ll mess it up. Nancy has told me to just let nature take its course, but that’s tough to do when I feel the need to control everything. She says that’s because I think if I’m in control, then no one can hurt me. She said I’m feeling this because I wasn’t in control of my own life for so long.”
Sophie patted her on the shoulder. “I’m glad you got in touch with her, and I don’t mean to pry, but how are you paying for the sessions?”
“She said she would do them pro bono, but I told her that when I sold some paintings, I would pay her. Tell me that I’m strong,” Emma said. “I need to hear you say those words.”
“You are very strong. Look what you did for me. Just be yourself, and you’ll be f—” She braked so hard that if Emma hadn’t been wearing a seat belt, she would have hit the windshield.
Emma shifted her focus from Sophie to the trailers right ahead of them. “Josh, Teddy, and—oh my God!”
“Is that your father?” Sophie gasped. “When I saw three guys, I just figured the other one was Arty, but I see now that it’s Wyatt. What’s he doing here? He doesn’t look much different than he did when we were kids. And what in the hell is Teddy doing here already?”
“I guess Mother sent Daddy as a last-ditch effort to make me leave this place. I hope he doesn’t ruin my homecoming with Josh.” Emma sighed.
Sophie took her foot off the brake and inched the SUV the rest of the way to the spot where she parked. “Teddy’s walking toward us,” she whispered.
“I guess he wants to talk. I’m getting out. He can sit right here and y’all can figure things out without all the rest of us hearing.” Emma unfastened her seat belt. Suddenly, the door swung open on her side, and Josh held out a hand.
He helped her out of the vehicle and kissed her on the cheek. “I really, really missed you. Your dad is here, Em. He wants to talk to you.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. “Did he say about what? He came quite a ways.”
Josh looped his arm into hers and walked with her across the yard. “No, he didn’t. He’s just been sitting on the porch waiting all this time.”
“Daddy?” Emma pulled her arm free and held her hands tightly to keep from twisting them. “Did Mother send you?”
“Hello, Emma, and no, Victoria didn’t send me,” Wyatt answered.
“Why don’t y’all go around to your back porch, Em, so you can talk in private,” Josh said and then turned around and headed toward the picnic table.
Emma wanted to call out to him not to leave her, that she needed him to help her, but then she sucked it up and nodded toward Wyatt. “Follow me.”
I am strong. I can stand up for myself. Nancy said I’ve made great strides, she thought.
Wyatt was one of those men who could easily get lost in a crowd. Nothing about him stood out except his light brown eyes that were so much like Emma’s.
Awkward.
That’s the only way that Emma could explain the situation. A morning breeze sent the aroma of fresh-brewed coffee right to her nose, and she wondered how her father took his coffee. Most of the time he was either off to work or about to leave by the time she made it to the kitchen.
She walked up onto the porch and found a pot of coffee, two mugs, and a plate full of cookies on the table between the two red chairs. Whoever did that had had the right idea, but she couldn’t even think about eating cookies or sipping coffee right then.
“Help yourself,” she said.
“Don’t mind if I do.” He poured a mugful and raised a dark eyebrow at her. “Want one?”
“No, thank you.” She slumped down into the other chair.
“I wanted to see you before I leave the country,” he said.
“Mother said you were getting a divorce.” Emma’s voice sounded strangely hollow even in her own ears. “Where are you going?”
“I know that she sent Jeffrey and that she was plenty mad when you called her that day.” Wyatt smiled again. “She hates confrontation, even as mean as she is.”
“I’m tired of the way she’s made me feel, Daddy.” The last word seemed a little strange in her ears when she said it this time, but he was her father, after all. “I’m not mentally ill. So, you are really getting a divorce?”
“Don’t you think it’s about time? Our marriage was a mistake from the beginning. We got married for the wrong reasons,” Wyatt said.