Page 5 of Stay With Me

“You gonna be okay there, or do you need a little time?” Trina’s working at the station today, so I know Emily will be alone at the condo.

“Um. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

I take my eyes off the road briefly to look at her and I find her head drooped and her hands clasped tightly in her lap. This isnotthe Emily I’ve come to know over the past year.

“Hmm. Okay. But I’m pretty hungry. Any chance you’re interested in getting something to eat at Pat’s Diner?” I hope she can’t hear that I’m lying through my teeth, trying to give her a way to save face and not admit she doesn’t want to be alone.

“D-don’t you have to work in the morning?” Her voice is meek.

When I glance at her, hope fills her huge blue eyes.

“I do. But I’ll never fall asleep with this gnawing hunger in my stomach.”

She’s quiet for several long seconds, then finally says, “I think I could eat.”

“Perfect,” I say. Then I steer the truck in the direction of the restaurant.

Two hours later, I’m dropping a now smiling Emily off at Trina’s condo. She rolls her eyes when I insist on walking her to the front door. Clearly, she’s gained some of her spark back over the last few hours. I’m pleased that the tension gradually eased off of her over our late-night meal and she’s back to her usual self.

Standing on Trina’s doorstep, Emily’s face suddenly turns serious again.

“Thanks for coming to get me tonight. And… and for making me feel safe, again,” she whispers.

I swallow the lump in my throat before I can speak.

“Anytime, sunshine. I mean it. You call me if you ever need anything, and I’ll come. Okay?”

She gives me the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen and scrunches her nose. “Sunshine? I’m not sure that’s an accurate description of me, but I’ll take it.”

She stands on her tiptoes, grasping my forearms in her delicate hands, and kisses me on the cheek.

“Goodnight, Charlie.”

And she turns and disappears into the condo without another word.

“Goodnight,” I mutter to myself.

CHAPTER3

THREE YEARS LATER

EMILY

The rhythmic creaking of the swing on Mr. and Mrs. Donley’s front porch is soothing, both to me, and apparently to Shayna’s one-month-old son, Tommy, as he dozes peacefully in my arms while Shayna and I sit on the swing. I caress his velvety baby cheek as I hold him in my arms, unable to take my eyes off of him.

“Gosh, Shay. He’s the absolute most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe you’re a mom.” I keep my voice low and don’t look away from the baby as I speak.

“He is, isn’t he? I love him so much already. And having him, a part of Tom, helps me get through the harder days.”

Shayna lost her fiancé to lymphoma when she was only twenty-one years old. She was about four and a half months pregnant when he died and she had baby Tommy on her twenty second birthday.

Glancing up at her, I give her a sad smile. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be home more for you these last few months. I know losing Tom was the worst thing to happen to you, and I hate I was away at school when you needed me.”

“You came home almost every weekend. I know you would have been here if you could have. Plus, I had my parents and my siblings, especially Shyley and Jack.”

“I still can’t believe that you went and took your last final the morning you had Tommy. You’re a freakin’ rock star. You went through so much this year, then took your final nursing exams while in the early stages of labor and graduated on time. I barely got everything done this last semester, and I’ve had nothing extra on my plate.” I look back up at her. “I’m seriously so proud of you.”

Shayna’s eyes glisten with moisture, and she wears a sad smile on her face. Baby Tommy is waking, so I reposition him with his head on my shoulder and rub his back to help keep him relaxed. He smells so good—like baby powder and the lavender scented baby lotion Shayna uses on him.

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