"Stop right there!" I growled. "If you think for a second that my dating Ember might encourage young men to victimize women even younger, then you are part of the problem." I was seething now, rage vibrating off me in waves as my hands trembled with pent-up adrenaline.
"I will not back down, and I will not step down. And I will fight with everything I have in me to make sure this town sees Ember for who she is.
"A brilliant, powerful, very capable woman who has been attacked and abused, and she's standing strong as a brilliant light in this community. That's who young women need as a role model." I swallowed hard to keep my emotion at bay, then said, "A woman who can face an entire town who hates her and still show up to be the light. Because that's what being the Hearthkeeper is about."
Without letting them speak again, I turned on my heel and stormed out, slamming the door behind me. I was done with this.
Their stodgy, old-fashioned ways would be the ruin of every tradition in this town until a new generation with forward-thinking minds rose up to see that people change and cultures change.
And women like Ember are the backbone of the community.
Climbing into my car every bit as angry as I was when I left home to come deal with this, I prayed Ember was still curled up in my bed hiding from the world.
A shock like this definitely wasn't good for the baby, and I knew from now until the festival and Christmas tree lighting, she'd be hard pressed to leave the house.
I hoped it didn't mean skipping my family Thanksgiving.
Mom was really looking forward to seeing her and getting to know her, but given what had just exploded in our purview, I would give her grace if she wanted to bow out.
And dealing with my father's reaction would be easier if Ember didn't want to go too, but I truly hoped she would.
I hoped she would see that nothing on this Earth would ever make me look at her differently and that there wasn't anything on Earth I wouldn’t do to support her and have her back.
And showing up at that Christmas tree lighting next week, announcing to this world that Ember and I were in love, was the first step in proving to this world that love can exist outside the confines of what previous generations considered "right", and that didn’t make it bad, either.
27
EMBER
Nate's mom bustled in from the kitchen carrying a platter of turkey with her face flushed from the heat of the oven.
She set it down at the head of the table where Nate's father sat with rigid posture and half of a scowl on his face.
He'd barely looked at me since we arrived and I felt the heat of his eyes on me no matter what I did. I knew it would be challenging, but I didn’t figure it would be outright hostile.
"Everything looks beautiful, Mom," Nate said, pulling out my chair before taking his own seat beside me.
It did look beautiful, the whole spread.
She'd made the traditional favorites—turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce—and a few quirky additions.
My mouth watered at the sight of the cauliflower casserole.
"Thank you, dear." She smiled at both of us before disappearing back into the kitchen for more dishes.
I smoothed my napkin across my lap and tried to steady my breathing.
The past week had been brutal with my face plastered across every news outlet in Boston.
Reporters camped outside Nate's home and I couldn't leave without a barrage of questions I didn't want to answer.
The revelation that Ember Harrison was actually Amber Hensley had turned me from a scandalous seductress into a full-blown spectacle.
Nate's father had called twice since the story broke, both times demanding that Nate end our relationship immediately.
I'd heard Nate's side of those conversations through the bedroom door, and I knew it was a point of strong contention between them.
But sitting across from his father now, I got the sense that Nate had sheltered me from most of it.
