Page 44 of All I Need (Hearts of the South)
“What exactly did you tell Frank?”
“That Mama was coming up for some shopping and dinner, and I was riding along. I told him Mama would be suspicious if I cried off.” She lifted her shoulders in a tight, unhappy shrug. “He bought it, and I figured it would give me some lead time until I could figure out what to do.”
A few more swallows of water, and he was almost cool enough to think straight. “So what we’re going to tell him is that you got sick after dinner. I took you home with me because it was closer than going home. Mama decided to drive up to Perry to see Aunt Grace, and I’m driving you home after work tomorrow. That should give us a little more time. You can talk to Autry Reed, who’s doing family law now, and maybe with her background in defense, she can keep me out of jail if he shows up and I kick his ass.”
The server arrived with their meals. He stared at his steak. No way he could stomach that. He’d take it to Chris Parker; maybe the department K9 would enjoy it.
His mother slanted a knowing glance at him. “Have you always been this devious?”
He tried humor to defuse the anger and stress holding his gut hostage. “I had to cover all the crap Clark led me into when we were in high school somehow.”
Landra picked at her pasta and pushed the plate away. The green tinge around her mouth said they wouldn’t be lying about her feeling sick. “Because Clark didallthe leading astray, right?”
“Of course he did. I was an angel.”
His mother’s snort was anything but reserved and ladylike.
In his pocket, his phone vibrated. He tugged it free to find a text from Savannah glowing on the screen.
Headed home. Text me when you get in.
Ah, hell. She was reaching out to him, and that was supposed to make him feel good. It would, too, if he didn’t have the freaking Beck Family Apocalypse landing in his lap at the same time. He loved her, but he couldn’t work hard at being what she needed, deal with her particular brand of emotional crazy, and juggle this crisis too—
Loved her?
Fuck his life, no. He was not in love with her because she was so far from that with him, and being in over his head was a long way from letting her have all of him, whether she wanted it or not.
And she didn’t want that from him. He knew it.
He stared at the screen, everything falling apart around him.
Chapter Nine
Savannah half-dozed on the couch, an adventure movie she’d seen a dozen times droning in the background. A car engine sounded outside, followed by a more recognizable pickup. Doors slammed, and low voices carried from the walkway outside. She blinked, her awareness fuzzy and disconnected. Emmett’s familiar murmur caught her attention, and she sat up, pushing tangled hair away from her face.
His door opened and closed with a quiet thud.
She lifted her phone and squinted at the time. A little before ten. No text messages from him. He was home, he hadn’t contacted her, and that was completely okay.
Because if it wasn’t, that made her crazy and selfish and more involved than she wanted to be.
Besides, she didn’t want to give Amy the satisfaction of being right.
She reached for the remote and powered off the television. She’d get some milk, go to bed, and see him tomorrow.
His door squeaked open and closed once more. Beyond her own door, his voice sounded, low and stressed. Something in that tone made her heart hurt for him. With a long glance at the door, she walked to the small kitchen. She’d just pulled a tumbler from the cabinet when a sharp rap sounded at the front door. Her pulse quickened with a spurt of anticipation. She didn’t even have to look to know it was him.
When she swung the door open, he rested his forearm along the jamb. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.” She frowned. Mouth tight and his normally neat uniform wrinkled, he looked completely wrung out—tired, stressed, and generally miserable.
“I’m sorry about dinner and tonight and not texting.” He scrubbed a hand over his already disheveled hair.
“Don’t worry about it.” Her earlier irritation and bruised feelings evaporated under his distress. “Are you okay?”
“No. My mama and sister are here. My sister’s pregnant, and her husband hit her. My dad has gone off the rails again, and Clark’s not answering his phone. And then I realized earlier that…you don’t want to hear all this.” He smacked his palm against the doorframe. “Shit.”
The stress vibrated off him. He had to decompress before he self-destructed. She reached for his arm and tugged him forward. “Come on in. I was about to get some milk. Do you want anything? Some warm milk might help you calm down.”
