“Who is that?”
Raymond about spits out the name. “Sophia.”
“Well, fuck.” My ex. Of all the things to have to deal with, this wasn’t what I wanted added to my day. A year since she’s been in Whiskey Run and now all of a sudden she’s back.
At that moment, Sophia comes to stand on the porch. The thought that she’s been inside, no doubt giving Emma problems and is only here to cause issues really pisses me off.
“Thanks, Raymond. You’re right. She’s probably better off outside. I’ll take it from here.”
Raymond pats Emma on the back reassuringly. “You got it, boss.”
He and Peter walk away, leaving Emma and me standing next to each other. I hate the look on her face. The insecurity is there, and it’s glaring at me.
Emma’s staring wide eyed at me, and I know I have a lot to tell her. “Look, I know I have a lot to explain, but I’m going to do it quick. Your father was arrested. It seems when he was on his way home yesterday he hit a person and killed them while he was drunk. The police searched for him and found him passed out on your living room floor. No one even knew about you and thought you left town when you were seventeen. The sheriff wants to meet with you...”
She freezes up, and I grip her by the shoulders. “Only to know you’re okay. I told him I’d bring you there in next week.”
When she’s still frozen in my arms, I force her to look at me. “I’ll be with you the whole time.”
She nods.
She looks up at the porch at Sophia and back at me. There’s so much sadness on her face, I would give anything to make her smile.
She lets her hand drop from my arm. “I guess since your fiancée is back, I should probably get going...”
I interrupt her. I haven’t thought about this or anything, but the thought of her leaving has me about to go off the rails. “I need you to do me a favor.’
She nods. “Sure, I owe you one. There’s no doubt about that.”
I don’t give her an explanation. I pull her to my side, backtracking toward the house, with her hand threaded through mine. We get a few feet from the house, and I mumble to her, “Just go with it, okay?”
She is no doubt wondering what is going on, but she doesn’t argue. She just puts her trust in me. She says okay, and I stop with her on the bottom step. “Sophia, what are you doing here?”
“I came home.” She smiles like she’s doing me some kind of favor or something. She left when things got hard. I’m definitely not letting her back now.
I shake my head. “This isn’t your home.”
She looks between Emma and me. “It was once.”
“Yeah, and then you decided you didn’t want to slum it anymore. Why did you come back?”
“Because I now realize what a good man you are. It may have taken me a year to figure it out, but I don’t care if we live on this run-down ranch....”
“It’s not run-down. It’s beautiful...” Emma says at my side.
My hand tightens on hers. “I’m sorry you came all the way here. But as you can see, I’ve moved on.”
“Moved on?” she asks.
“Well, yeah,” I say, looking at Emma. “Emma and I are getting married.”
Emma’s big green eyes get even bigger, but besides that small movement, she doesn’t give anything away.
“Married!?!” Sophia exclaims.
“Yeah.” I wrap my arms around Emma and pull her against my chest. “But I’m not going to let her leave me at the altar.”
Emma wraps her arms around my neck. She’s staring up at me. “I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. I love you, Brett Barrett.”