She stood up and sighed, her hair falling into her eyes. She pushed it back, tucking it behind her ear, but a second later, it fell forward again. She growled to herself as she reached into her purse, digging around in there now.
“What are you looking for?” I asked again.
“Right now? A hair tie to control this mess,” she muttered, pointing to her head. She pulled out a black hair tie and wrapped it around her hair, creating a messy bun on top of her head. Tendrils of her curls slipped free and fell around her face, but for the most part, her hair was up and out of the way. She continued digging through the rocks.
“And what are you looking for now?” I asked.
She didn’t answer me, just kept turning every stone over, digging around in the gravel a bit as if she was looking for gold.
“I guess they mean it when they say leave no stone unturned,” I joked.
She looked up at me with a scowl that would make weaker men tremble in their boots. Hell, even I knew to step back and give her some space, and I was by no means weak.
A phone went off, and Emmy stood up and dug around in her purse some more. She was muttering to herself, clearly agitated, but then found her phone. She stared at her phone, and I watched the color drain from her face.
“Fuck,” she yelled, closing her eyes. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” She tossed her phone back into her purse so hard, I thought it might break.
“Emmy, let me help you—”
“There’s nothing you can do for me,” she snarled. She threw the rock in her hand down hard against the walkway, and I took a step back.
“Can you at least tell me what you were looking for?”
“A key,” she said, staring at the ground around her. “Liv and her husband are still on their honeymoon, but they’ve always kept a key hidden in the rocks. They used to, anyway.”
“Maybe it’s still here,” I said, helpfully. “We just haven’t found it yet,”
“Nah, that was Liv. She finally answered my text. There is no key. Her mother-in-law is watching the place and feeding her cat, so she has it.”
“We can just get it from her mother-in-law then.”
“Her mother-in-law is currently out of town for the next two days,” she said, sounding defeated. “She took it with her, I guess.”
The look of defeat on Emmy’s face broke my heart. She pulled her phone back out and started tapping away at the screen as she paced the yard.
“My cousin lives in town,” Emmy told me. “I’m going to see if I can stay at her place.”
“Sounds like a plan, but you know if that doesn’t work out—” I was cut off by her phone ringing.
“Miranda? Yes, it’s me,” she said. “Hey, sorry to bother you, but I’m in town and need a place to stay. I was wondering if I could crash at your place for a few days?”
Emmy turned away from me, but I could hear her saying, “Mmm-hmm… Oh okay, I see. No, no worries. Talk soon.”
That didn’t sound like good news.
“Dammit,” she muttered, throwing her phone back in her bag.
“I’m guessing that didn’t work out either?”
“No. Miranda and her entire family are on vacation. They didn’t leave a key or anything, so there’s no way I can get into their house.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “It sounds like you’re in a rough place right now. You know, you could always crash at my place if you’d feel comfortable with that.”
Emmy turned to me with wide eyes. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“I just don’t. Do you think you could give me a ride to the hotel? I’m really sorry to be such a pain.”
“You’re not a pain, and you’re not staying in a hotel. It’s getting late and you’ve had a rough day.” I motioned for her to follow me to my truck, but she stayed put. I turned around just as it started to rain again. “You’re going to get soaked and catch a cold if you stay out here much longer.”
“I don’t want to trouble you,” she mumbled, uncomfortable.
“You’re not troubling me at all,” I assured her. “In fact, it would stress me the hell out leaving you alone tonight, so consider it as doing me a favor – it’ll ease my mind to have you at my place for the night.”
She sighed as the rain came down harder, nearly a downpour. Her hair was sticking to her face, her bun falling free from the weight of the wet hair. Her eyes were wide, and she looked so tired.
“Alright, but just one night,” she acquiesced, walking toward me at last. “I’ll be out of your hair tomorrow, I promise.”
“Sure, whatever you need to do.”
I held open the truck door and helped her climb inside. Her t-shirt was clinging to her body, almost sheer in its thinness. It caused a reaction low in my gut because damn, she had a fine body.
Stop it, Graham. Just because she’s coming back to your place doesn’t mean you’re going to hook up again. After everything she’s been through, you need to think with your head and not your cock.
It was hard not to react to her, especially when I vividly remembered how good it had felt to be inside her. So all I could do was try my best to hide it. I adjusted my jeans before walking over to the driver’s side and climbing in.
Emmy was quiet beside me as we drove out of town. She stared out the window as the rain pelted the truck.
“Where ya from, if you don’t mind me asking?”
She turned those dark eyes toward me. “Las Vegas.”
“So, what brings you to Liberty? Friends and family from here?”
“Yeah, I used to live here. As a child. Some of my family still lives here, and Liv is my childhood best friend.”
“Why on Earth would your family move to Vegas then? No offense, but I’ve been to Vegas and it’s a shithole compared to Liberty.”
Her jaw tightened, and for a second, I thought I might have offended her. But then she nodded. “You’re right, Vegas is a shithole. I would have preferred to stay in Liberty, but after my mom died, my dad moved there for work.”
“What’s your dad do for a living?”
Her eyes narrowed. I thought she might not answer, but she eventually sighed and muttered, “He works in the casino industry.”
“I suppose that makes sense. What’s he do?”
“What’s it matter?” she snapped back.
I was taken aback by her response and glanced at her. She adjusted in her seat as if trying to get comfortable but struggling to do so.
“It doesn’t. It was just a question. I’m trying to make conversation to ease the tension, that’s all.”
“I’m sorry,” she said with another sigh. She turned back to the window. “I just don’t like talking about my dad too much. We don’t have the best relationship.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said. “I’ll stop asking about him.”
I’d rather talk about you, I thought to myself. But I kept that to myself. Emmy was clearly not in the mood for flirtatious gestures.
“I appreciate it, Graham,” she said softly. “I’d really rather not talk about my past at all.”