Hope Flames

Chapter 29

“OH, EMMA, WHY didn’t you tell us this had happened?”

“That’s it. I’m moving into your house tonight,” her father said.

She’d resisted having this conversation for days. She knew telling her parents about Vaughn would worry her mother and kick her father’s protective instincts into overdrive.

“Dad. You’re not moving into my house. And I didn’t tell you right when it happened precisely for this reason. Because, Mom, your ulcer would start acting up and you’d stop sleeping, and, Dad, you’d want to camp outside my door.”

Her dad ran his fingers through his hair. “Well, dammit. What do you expect me to do? He threatened you before. Hell, he did worse than that. I told you what I’d do to that sonofabitch if he ever came near you again.”

She sighed and placed her hand on her father’s arm. “I know, Dad. And I appreciate it. But he’s been arrested for violating the restraining order. He’s going to have to go to court and answer for that.”

“And you think that’s going to stop him?” Her mother’s tone had gone high-pitched, and Emma knew hysteria wasn’t too far behind that.

“It’s going to deter him because if he comes anywhere near me again, they’re going to revoke his bail and he stays in jail.”

Her dad pursed his lips and glared at her, though she knew it wasn’t her he was mad at. “I don’t like this, Emma. Why don’t you come stay with us until this is over.”

“No. I’m not going to run from him again. I’m not going to let him drive me out of my house. I’m staying put. I’m going to get up every morning and go to work just like I always do, and I’m going to go home and sleep in my bed every night just like I always do.”

“What about Luke?” her mother asked.

Just the mention of his name caused her stomach to clench. “What about him?”

“Is he still staying at your place?”

Good Lord. Did everyone know about her personal life, including her parents? You simply could not have a private life in a small town. “No. I sent him home.”

“Why?” her dad asked, then frowned. “What did he do?”

“He didn’t do anything. I just . . . needed my space.”

“What does that mean? Did he hurt you as well, Emma?”

She rolled her eyes. “No, Mom. Luke didn’t hurt me. He’s damn near perfect, if you want to know the truth. I just need to be by myself right now.”

And be lonely. And miserable. And wish every night that Luke were still there with me.

Sometimes taking an independent stand sucked.

Her dad pushed back from the dinner table. “One guy’s a certifiable nutcase, and the other’s perfect so she throws him out. Sometimes my daughter makes no gosh darn sense.”

She wanted to go after her father, to explain about Luke, but her mother stopped her.

“He’s upset,” her mom said, her hand on Emma’s arm. “And worried about you. So am I.”

“I’m going to be fine. And Luke’s not with me right now because I have to be able to take care of myself.”

“He’s a cop, Emma. He could be there to help watch over you.”

“I had someone watching over me once, Mom. Vaughn watched over me a little too well.”

Her mother leaned back in the chair. “And because of what happened before, you’re afraid of putting your heart in Luke’s care.”

Emma didn’t say anything.

“You’re in love with Luke.”

“Yes. I think so. It’s not a very good time for me to be in love.”

Her mother laughed. “Honey, there’s no such thing as a perfect time to fall in love. Love is often messy and complicated. And now you have this horrible man reentering your life at a time when you just got your life back on track. I understand you want to be independent right now, but don’t fight so hard for that independence that you sacrifice your safety—or a chance at happiness with someone you love.”

Was that what she was doing?

“You have a stubborn streak like your father. And often you can’t see the forest for the trees.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means you’re blinded by your own goals and needs and what you think is right. You know I love you, Emma. You’re brilliant and well educated, and after that mess you went through, I’ve never known a stronger, more dedicated young woman. But you’re not always right. In this case, I think what you’re doing is wrong.”

Leave it to her mother to be bluntly honest.

“Luke is a fine young man, and he’d be a welcome addition to our family. Sometimes it’s okay to give in, just a little, and let someone take care of you. It doesn’t mean you aren’t capable of taking care of yourself.”

Emma didn’t know what to think anymore.

“Emma, you know me. I’ve always been goal-oriented and have gone after whatever I wanted. I have two degrees—one in marketing and one in business, and I’ve been a successful businesswoman my entire life.”

“I know, Mom. I’ve always admired you.”

“And I certainly have never ‘needed’ your father. But I couldn’t manage a day without him, because I love him. So in that way, yes, I desperately need him in my life. If you look at the love you feel for Luke in that way, maybe you can learn to give a little.”

“Okay, when you put it that way, it starts to make sense.”

Her mother’s lips curved in a smile. “You mean you might actually agree with me?”

Emma laughed. She leaned over and threw her arms around her mother. “Yes, it means I agree with you. Thanks, Mom.”

“Anytime.”

After having dinner with her parents, and, more important, talking with them, Emma had a lot to think about.

She’d been awful to Luke, pushing him away when he’d been there for her.

Fear had made her do stupid things. She and Luke had settled in to what had become a perfect relationship. Until Vaughn had shown up and ruined everything.

No. That wasn’t right. She couldn’t even blame Vaughn for what had happened. She was the one who had ruined everything. She and her own stupid fears. Now she had to figure out how to fix it.

She opened her front door, and the dogs ran inside. Daisy started fiercely barking, followed by Annie. The hairs on the back of Emma’s neck stood on end. It wasn’t like the dogs to bark like that inside the house, which could mean only one thing.

Someone was in her house.

So here was her independence. Should she take out her gun and go check it out herself?

Hell, no. She was independent. Not stupid. She needed to get out of the house now.

“Oh, all right, enough with the crazy barking,” she said, trying to make it sound like that was normal for her dogs. “Come on, girls. Let’s go for a walk before bed.”

Fortunately, they both came running and she shut the front door. She tried to act natural and headed down the block. As soon as she was out of sight of the house, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and called Luke, hoping he wasn’t so angry with her that he wouldn’t pick up.

“Emma, what’s up?”

“I think someone’s inside my house.”

“Where are you?”

“I stepped outside with the dogs. We’re at the corner.”

“I’ll be right there. And I’ll have a cruiser head that way.”

“Thanks.”

“I’ll call you right back.”

He hung up and she waited, staring at the street, then at her phone. When it rang, she hit the button.

“I’m still here on the corner.”

“No movement?”

“No.”

“Don’t move from your location. Do you have your gun on you?”

“In my purse.”

She heard wind sounds, knew he was driving.

“I’m staying on the phone with you. If he comes out, take the damn gun out and point it at him and tell him you’ve already called the police.”

“You know it’s Vaughn,” she said, surprised by how calm she was.

“Yeah. I know it’s Vaughn.”

She looked down the street, toward the house. No one was coming toward her. “I knew he wouldn’t stay away.”

“I’m only a few minutes from there, Emma. Stay calm, breathe, and focus on your surroundings.”

She made sure to turn around and look down the other street, just in case he had sneaked out the back door and climbed the fence to head the other way.

When she saw Luke’s truck coming up her street, she exhaled and hurried down the block toward her house.

He climbed out of the truck, Boomer with him. At the same time, the police car pulled up.

“You and the dogs get in my truck. Lock the doors. We’ll check inside.”

She nodded and put the dogs inside the truck and locked the doors while Luke and the other officer went inside.

It didn’t take more than five minutes for them to come out with Vaughn, handcuffed. The officer put him in the police car, along with a black bag. Luke spoke to the officer for a few minutes, then came over to Emma, who unlocked the truck and slid out.

“He had a bag with him, Emma, with a gun and duct tape. I think his intent was clear.”

“Oh, God.” She started trembling and Luke pulled her into his arms, holding her tight. He stroked her hair.

“He’s done for. I’m sure his bail will be revoked, and he won’t get it again. He’s not getting out this time. You’re going to be safe.”

She clutched Luke’s shirt, not sure she’d ever feel safe again.

“Thank you,” she mumbled against his chest. “Thank you for coming.”

“I’ll always be here for you, Emma.”

She closed her eyes and held on to that.

“You need to come in with me and make a statement so we can do a report. Are you up for that?”

She nodded. “That’s fine. Let me put the dogs up.”

He took her hand and they walked inside. Nothing looked disturbed, but she still shuddered.

“I hate that he was in my house, touching my things, walking on my floors.” She looked at Luke. “Where did you find him?”

“In your bedroom closet.”

She shuddered again. “I should have just gone in and shot him. Then I’d be rid of him forever.”

“You are rid of him forever, Emma. Do you know how many laws he broke tonight? Not only violation of the terms of his bail plus the restraining order, but breaking and entering, attempted kidnapping. He’s going away for a long time, and he’s not getting bail this time.”

She still didn’t feel safe. But she went down to the police station and made her statement, as did Luke. She had a cup of coffee—decaf this time. Her nerves were already on edge, and she didn’t think she’d need any caffeine. Her parents came down and sat with her while she finished up. Luke said he’d be a while, so her parents drove her home and stayed with her until Luke showed up. When he did, they both hugged and kissed her and left because Luke promised them he wasn’t leaving her alone that night.

She took a shower and they sat on the sofa, her back to his chest. She stared at the wall in front of her, thoughts of the past coming forward to assault her.

“For so long, he controlled everything about me. How I dressed, what I ate, how I was supposed to behave. In the beginning, I confused that with love. I was young and he was older, more worldly. I thought him paying that much attention to me was love. After a while, I was just too weak to fight it. Then, at the end, I plotted ways that I would escape from him. I’d lie awake at night and think of how I could get away from him. I guess I had never really escaped. I was never really free of him.”

Luke stroked her hair. “You were free the moment you walked out of his house and never looked back. Vaughn’s problem was that he couldn’t let you go. That was his problem, Emma, not yours. He’s the one that’s sick and twisted. There’s nothing wrong with you.”

What Luke said made sense. “I guess you’re right. Sometimes it’s just so hard to let go of the mistakes you’ve made, especially when they keep coming back to haunt you over and over again.”

“I think we’re all haunted by our pasts to some extent, until we let them go.”

She turned to face him. “Are you still holding on to your past?”

He picked up her legs and wrapped them around him. “I was. I was so dejected and humiliated when Becca walked out on me and divorced me, and I was determined to show the entire town that I didn’t give a shit. I convinced myself that I’d never fall in love again, that no woman would ever matter to me again. It was so easy to go through one woman after another, disregarding their feelings. In fact, it felt kind of good. Like payback, you know?”

“I’m sure it did.”

“Until I met you. You were the wrong kind of woman for me, a woman who I knew was the relationship type. I knew you weren’t a one-night-stand kind of girl, yet I was drawn to you anyway. It was like I couldn’t help myself.”

Her lips curved. “I know the feeling.”

“So I threw myself heart first into this fling with you, and this fling turned into a relationship, and this relationship turned into love.”

Emma’s heart squeezed. “It did?”

“Yeah, it did. So here I sit with you, Emma Burnett, on your sofa, in love with you, when I didn’t set out for this to happen. But it did. And I know you didn’t want it, either, especially now when you just had the worst night of your life. But love isn’t always convenient, and I felt it needed to be said.

“I’m laying my heart out for you, and you get to decide what happens next.”

Emma’s chest tightened. This was exactly what she hadn’t wanted to happen. And now it had. She had not expected that declaration of love from Luke. Not after the night she’d just had.

So what was she going to do now?

She looked up at him, at the honest expression of love on his face. He’d never hidden anything from her, had never been anything other than who he was. And he had never held any expectations of her, hadn’t tried to control her or tell her how she was supposed to feel. He’d laid his heart out to her, and put the ball in her court.

Night-and-day different from her past. There was no comparison.

It was time to leave the past where it belonged, and embrace her future.

She cupped the side of his face and dragged her palm over the rough stubble of beard that always intrigued her and turned her on. Her skin tingled as it always did when she touched him.

“The one thing I’ve learned throughout all this is that there’s a bad kind of love and a good kind of love. When someone loves you in a bad way, they take away everything that’s good in your life, strip you of your family and friends, and want you only to themselves. Because they’re afraid to share you, afraid to share the love they have for you with anyone else. That’s a love they don’t trust, a love that couldn’t possibly last because it’s tainted with darkness.

“The good kind of love—the kind of love I feel for you, and the kind of love you feel for me, is an open and trusting kind. I sent you away because I was afraid, and yet you were still there for me when I needed you. You shared me with your family, and allowed me to share my family with you. Our kind of love is an all-encompassing kind, filled with kindness and compassion, with friendship, laughter, warmth, passion, and forgiveness. It’s an endless kind of love, a kind of love I’ve never had before.”

Luke swept the tear away that had slid down her cheek.

“I love you, Luke. I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you.”

He pulled her onto his lap and threaded his fingers through her hair, then just looked at her.

“I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you, Emma.” Then he kissed her, oh so thoroughly kissed her, until everything that had happened earlier in the night was utterly forgotten, and all she could think about was the way it felt to be in this man’s arms, to know that he loved her and cherished her, and would protect her in the way a woman would want to be protected, and she in turn would protect him, too.

Clothes were shed in a hurry, and when he was inside her, the two of them locked together, staring at each other as he moved within her, Emma could only marvel that this hot, sexy, oh-so-honorable man was in love with her. And when he touched her and brought her right to the brink, then over, she clutched his shoulders and took him with her, both of them crying out as they climaxed together.

She laid her head on his shoulder, and he stroked her back.

“Do you think you and Boomer would like to move in here?”

He lifted his head, studied her, then smiled. “Yeah. Boomer and I would like that.”

Contented, she kissed him. “Good. Daisy, Annie, and I would like that, too.”

They were going to be a family. Or at least the beginning of one.

One step at a time. One day at a time. And this was a great start, with a man she loved, dogs she loved, in a home she loved.

In the town she’d always called home.