Was this really about providing her parents with a secure future, or did she just want to go back to the city without the guilt following her around?
Emma didn’t even know if she was ready to leave Rockport behind.
Not again.
Not yet.
Not without so much she still hadn’t done.
And not when her kiss with Jack still made her lips tingle and her stomach flutter.
Frowning, Emma made her way down the stairs and peered through the living room window for Marley’s familiar outline. She materialized on her parents’ front lawn like she used to do when they were kids, and the thought brought a smile to Emma’s face. She swung the door open and pulled Marley in for a hug before she could talk herself out of it.
For a while, the two friends lingered in the doorway, hanging on for dear life.
Eventually, the sound of Marley’s teeth chattering prompted them to go inside. Emma made them both hot apple cider, and they sat down to review the map by the fireplace. Marley’s voice was hushed but full of excitement, and it took Emma back to simpler times.
When her entire world began and ended with Rockport.
Could she really leave her life in the city behind?
It’s not like there’s much left for you in the city anyway. At this point, they’ll probably never make you a partner, and Jules will be done with college soon.
As the red-and-orange flames of the fire wound down for the night, Marley adjusted herself on the couch, her eyelids growing heavy. Emma draped a blanket over her, curled her fingers around the lukewarm drink, and stared at the fireplace as if it had all the answers in the world.
She hoped her luck was finally changing so she could decide which way the pendulum swung, one way or another.
Chapter Sixteen
Emma stirred and pried one eye open. When she saw her mother standing in the doorway to the living room, she jolted awake and rubbed her face. “What is it? What’s happened?”
Marie pressed a finger to her lips and used a free hand to gesture to a sleeping Marley, who was sprawled on the other couch, one hand dangling over the edge and the other thrown across her face. Slowly, Emma threw her blanket off and tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes. In the kitchen, the scent of freshly brewed coffee and blueberry muffins lingered.
“Your dad is fine. He was sleeping when I left. I came home to shower, change, and check on you.” Marie made a vague hand gesture before letting her hands fall to her sides. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said.”
Emma scrubbed a hand over her face and walked over to the nearest cupboard. She pulled out a mug, poured herself a generous amount of coffee, and then took the carton of milk out of her mother’s hands. Wordlessly, she reached for another cup, added a dollop of cream, and handed it to her mother, who flashed her a surprised smile.
Emma waited until she took a long sip of her coffee before responding. “You want to talk about this now?”
“It’s never a good time to have conversations like this.” Marie curled her fingers around the mug and blew on the steam rising. “But I don’t want to keep putting it off any longer. You don’t deserve that.”
She eyed her mother over the rim of the cup. “Okay.”
What had happened in the hospital after she left?
Was her father’s scare really responsible for the turnaround, or was it something else?
Something darker?
“I don’t want to hide secrets from you, sweetheart. Neither does your dad. The last time you came to visit, things got out of hand,” Marie began in a soft voice. “I know we weren’t welcoming of Andrew, and it wasn’t fair to him. He was a good man.”
Emma’s mouth was dry. “He was, and he didn’t deserve the way you treated him.”
“He didn’t. Your father and I were just having a hard time believing that you chose him. We always thought you and Jack would find a way back to each other.”
Emma blew on her coffee and took another sip, wincing when it burned her tongue. “I know that, but you never gave Andrew a chance.”
“I’m sorry we didn’t,” Marie replied, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. “We should’ve. We’ve tried to make up for it with Jules, but we know it can’t change what we did.”
