“Nothing is going on between Jake and me. Do I need to take out a billboard on the edge of town to announce it?” Emily swallows hard as if she’s about to lose her shit and grabs Ora’s shoulder. “Ensure that everyone knows Jake and I aren’t together. We haven’t ever been and never will be together. Besides, Amanda wants him back, and she has first claim on him because they used to date.”
“That’s not….” Fuck. I can’t say that’s not true because I’ve been getting those same vibes from Amanda. She does want me back, but that’s never going to happen. “Em….”
I take a step toward her when she shoves her hand out, palm facing me. “I’ve got to go. It’s going to be a long day.”
She disappears out the door with Dale following behind her as Kaleb clasps my shoulder. “Dude, don’t string my sister along. Everyone knows you left that night to...,” he glances around us to ensure Ora isn’t listening, but she’s already on her cell phone chatting with someone, “screw Amanda. And lastnight, Amanda was all over you. I knew the rumors about you and my sister were lies. At least on your end.”
The ambulance pulls out of the parking space as I close my eyes. This is a fucked-up mess. No wonder she’s avoided me since I came back. And that’s why she took off last night.
“Besides, my sister is a forever kind of girl, and you don’t want saddled with a wife and kid in your twenties.”
He’s right. I might not be ready for a wife and kids, but, in the future, with Emily, I can see that happening. We date for a couple of years, move in together, then maybe get married and start a family in our thirties.
Right after I explain to her that there was nothing going on with Amanda that weekend. Or last night.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Emily
After a quick shower, I slip on my extra uniform and fix my hair. The pallor of my cheeks and the bags under my eyes belie how far I am from that teenage girl who pinched her cheeks and jogged down the stairs to see Jake that Christmas. I don’t even look like the same girl.
I close my eyes. I may not look like her, but I keep doing the same foolish things. Jake has only been back a few weeks, and I’m following him around like an eleven-year-old girl with a crush.
My cell phone rings, dragging me out of my doldrums. “Hey, Ruby.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, but it’s been a long day already, and there are still hours left of my shift.” I click the speaker button and lay my cell phone on the sink. As I twist my hair back on top of my head, I maneuver the black hair tie to hold everything together.
“So, it’s true that Jake found a baby this morning?”
“Yes.” I retrieve the phone and cut off the speaker, so Dale doesn’t hear the other end of my conversation. He’s butted into my personal life enough as it is.
“Is it his?”
“He claims it’s not.”
“Good. Do the police know who the mother is?” His denial seems to be enough for her.
“No, not yet. Jake is looking into it.” I push the door open and step out of the bathroom. I don’t have to search for Dale to know he’s asleep in one of the recliners. His snoring is a dead giveaway.
With two teenagers at home, the second he sits down, he’s asleep. They keep him busy with school and sports activities.
The crazy thing is, the second we get a call, he’s wide awake. I wish I could shut the world off and re-engage that quickly.
“I can’t believe it. It’s crazy to think someone in Brookhaven had a baby and left it outside the police station.”
“Yeah, it is.” I’m not going to pretend to understand it. I’ve wanted to be a mother since I was a kid.
“Let me know if you need anything. I know it couldn’t have been easy to be the one called in to check the baby out. At least, she’s safe.”
“Thank you. I’m good.”
“Em….”
“Fine, I’ll let you know if I need anything.” Meddling people around here.
“Is that all that’s bothering you?”
