She didn’t make eye contact, didn’t slow her pace. The fuck-off signals were in full effect. But she still wished she had a backup plan in case he didn’t leave her alone. It worried her that he’d already brought fate into the mix. Why hadn’t she asked Will to buy her pepper spray? She increased her pace, swung her arms in time with her strides to make it look like she was in the middle of a workout instead of wandering aimlessly. Breathing slow and deep, she tried to calm her thoughts. Just because the man wanted to flirt didn’t mean she should jump straight to self-defense protocol. Not that she had any methods of self-defense. All she had was the ability to be bitchy and dismissive. It would have to do.
“You sure?” Paul asked patiently. “You gotta know by now I’m not a murderer.”
“That’s too bad. I only accept rides from murderers.”
He laughed at that. She still didn’t look at him, but she could feel him watching her. Her skin prickled, her chest began to burn more from nerves than exertion.
“You sure aren’t like other girls. I like that about you.”
“My goal in life,” Emmy muttered, trying not to snap at him for pulling the “not like other girls” line.
“What was that?”
“I said…” Emmy tried to come up with a decent brush-off on the fly. Then she gave up. Looking at him directly for the first time since he drove up, she stated, “I’m still withWill. And I’m trying to exercise. Thank you for the offer of a ride, but I’m good.”
“Alright then.” His smile didn’t dim as he settled back inside the truck. “But I still say you should give fate some thought.” Emmy held the shudder in check, but just barely. She caught Paul’s quick wave out of the corner of her eye. “Until the next time we run into each other, Emmy.”
She tried and failed not to hear those words as a threat. Then the gravel crunched under his tires as he increased his speed and passed her by. She let out a long, relieved breath, but she didn’t allow herself to consider it a done deal until she caught sight of the town ahead of her. Paul’s truck was nowhere in sight. A trickle of relief loosened her muscles and lifted some of the tension she’d held trapped somewhere between her lungs and her heart. Emmy found herself yearning for the safety and comfort of Will’s presence as she entered the town proper. The next meet-cute could be waiting around any corner, and she had never before realized how much energy it took to ward off even the kindest of advances. It was time to start considering throat punches as an option.
Now she just had to find the damn cemetery.
Jared was clearly visiting Bright at her place of business during a day off or a break. When Emmy walked into Bright Ideas, he had his tongue in Bright’s mouth. They were involved enough in the kiss that they did not stir at the sound of the bell tinkling over the door. Emmy took a moment, then opened the door again as violently as she could. The little bells sent up an insistent chorus of chimes, and the entwined couple separated abruptly.
“Oh! Emmy, hi,” Bright said, her cheeks flushed with either embarrassment or arousal. Maybe both. “Did you come to do some shopping?”
“Not today, no. I’m sorry to interrupt. I know this is weird, but I was wondering if one of you could give me a lift to the cemetery? I won’t need a ride back. I’m… meeting Will there.” She didn’t entertain the possibility that he wouldn’t be there. Her gut knew that she’d find him. The only hitch would be if he was okay enough to drive her home, but by now she felt comfortable taking the wheel anyway.
“You’re meeting Will at the cemetery?” Bright asked, concern shadowing her features. “Is he… did someone…”
“No, nothing like that,” Emmy said quickly. “He’s just… visiting. I told him I’d meet him there, but I forgot that I didn’t have a ride.”
They were too polite to question her further, and she was grateful for that because she was struggling to come up with a believable lie.
“I’ll give you a ride on my way to the hospital,” Jared told her. Fictional being or not, the look in his eyes showed genuine concern for his friend. “Is he alright? I thought he seemed off last night, but you had a long day. Figured he was tired.”
“He’s alright,” Emmy said, fervently hoping she wasn’t lying. “Just doing some deep thinking.”
“Okay, you let me know if you need me.”
He gave Bright a quick kiss goodbye and led Emmy out to his car.
*
The cemetery was a splash of bright green dotted with gleaming marble. While it was a sizable plot of land, it was small relative to cemeteries she’d seen in bigger cities. That was good because it meant she wouldn’t have to spend a long time looking for Will or risk getting lost in the process. After thanking Jared for the ride, she stepped out and looked around. A graveside service was taking place nearby, but she didn’t see anyone else until she had walked down the central pathway for a while. Then he was there, a single figure sitting on the grass, hunched over bent knees. She couldn’t tell if he was staring at the gravestone in front of him, or if his mind had wandered off to the point where he no longer noticed or cared what he was looking at. The image broke her heart because he appeared… small. Wordlessly, she went up and sat beside him. The name on the marble stone in front of him read Trudy Elaine Novak. Some quick mental math had a jolt of pain spearing into Emmy’s chest. She’d been sixteen when she died. Aching inside, she mirrored Will’s position, resting her arms on her bent knees, and waited.
“Leukemia,” Will said quietly, a minute or two later. “It came out of nowhere. I had to watch my aunt suffer as her daughter went through chemo, as she wasted away, as she died. I had to watch my mom suffer with her sister, try to comfort her—and me—try to hold it together when she probably wanted to break down. Sometimes I went to the hospital with them. I remember getting restless, wandering the halls. It was too hard to stay in the room with them. My cousin…” He broke off, swallowed hard.
“How old were you?”
“Twelve when she was diagnosed. Thirteen by the time she let go.”
“I’m so sorry.” There was nothing else she could say.
“She was the reason I became a nurse. Or part of it. Even at that age, I knew I wanted to do something with healthcare. Maybe be an X-ray tech. I thought bones were cool, but… nurse felt right.” He turned to her then, his eyes red-rimmed and lost… so lost. “I meant what I said last night, how you’re not responsible for my emotional wellbeing. But the things Bright said… I couldn’t stop thinking about them. I think that’s how I convinced myself to leave you this morning without telling you where I was going. Didn’t want you to think I was a hypocrite, telling you it’s not your job to care for me, then falling apart on you.”
“It’s okay to lean on me when you’re hurting, Will. That’s what friends are for. I won’t think you’re a hypocrite.”
He stared at her for a moment, his throat working with the effort of keeping tears at bay. “I keep thinking of questions that split off into more questions. Was my cousin real? Was my aunt’s grief real? Am I really a nurse? Did my cousin—” He broke off, choking on words and emotion. “Did my cousin die so I could be a well-rounded character? Is that what it all comes down to? A tragic backstory?” He gave in then, rested his forehead on her shoulder as he broke into sobs.
