Layers Crossed (17 page)

“Nonsense,
Eric. This will always be your home, no matter how far away you
move. And you must promise to bring Emma over for dinner as well. A
family dinner.” She sighed, looking younger by at least a decade
since Emma had walked into the house.

“I’d love
that, Joanne. Because I really want to meet the pigs and see the
lake. Will you take me to the lake, Eric?” She hung onto my arm,
full of expectation. How could I say no to her? She could have
asked me to sleep with the pigs and I’d have agreed.

“Of course I
will.” I leaned over and planted a quick one on her lips. The kiss
was so unexpected but appropriate. It felt good not to pretend that
we were an actual couple, because the kiss had truly come from the
bottom of my heart, and those were the only kind of kisses I wanted
to give her.

I strolled
over to my mother and kissed her on top of her head before wrapping
my arm around Emma’s waist and pulling her closer to me. This felt
too fucking good. Her soft curves pressed into mine, immediately
infusing my veins with lust. I could already picture her body
writing underneath mine as I kissed her silky skin. The smell of
her and me blending, our limbs entangling, bodies rocking, and the
sweet sound of her whimpers as I soothed every need she ever had.
If I didn’t have her soon, I was sure my balls would explode.

“For what it’s
worth, I’m glad you got your kids back safely.” Emma’s gaze lifted
and she looked right at me, her long lashes flapping provocatively.
“Otherwise I wouldn’t have met this wonderful man.”

My mom drew
her hand to her chest. She regarded us both before saying, “You
know, Emma, maybe we will join you at the fest after all. It’s time
this family regained the strength and camaraderie it once had.”

Emma jumped up
and squealed with happiness before running around the table to hug
her. “Thank you so much. This is going to be so much fun. I’d never
been to a summer fest. Is there anything I should know? Should I
bake a pie or something?”

“Oh, don’t
worry about the food. The ladies from the town’s women’s circle
will take care of it all. Just bring yourself and a good pair of
cowboy boots to dance in.”

Cowboy boots
she definitely had, and remembering her moves from the strip club,
I had no doubt that Emma could hold her own on the dance floor.

C
HAPTER
16

Emma

I couldn’t
find the strength to leave Eric’s parents’ home. They’d made me
feel so welcome; playing out the role of their potential future
daughter-in-law was the easiest task in the world, and I guess it
was easier now that I’d agreed to give Eric and me a chance. I
gathered the dishes off the table while Eric helped his dad with
some burnt-out lights in the family room. Standing by the sink,
Joanne washed while I rinsed. Although we’d had a dishwasher at
home, oftentimes my mom liked to wash the dishes by hand as well. I
always helped out with the rinsing, and now that I thought about
it, I wondered whether she’d done that on purpose, just so we could
have a chat without being bothered by the boys. And doing the same
now with Eric’s mom felt so comfortable that I couldn’t help but
ask her some questions.

“How did you
meet Mr. Waters?”

She smiled at
a fond memory first before her shoulders sagged a little.

“I wish I
could tell you my story was a happy one, but I’d be lying.” She
shook her head. “Yet I wouldn’t have changed a thing. Ethan saved
me in more ways than one. It was an end-of-the-year dance, and I
was dating another boy at the time. Well, I don’t know if I’d call
it dating now. I didn’t have much choice. His family was new in
town. I didn’t even know when our parents pre-arranged our
relationship, and I’d stayed with him at their wish.”

“Like an
arranged marriage?”

“That’s what
they were hoping for,” she replied, sadness and devastation washing
over her face. “Little did they know, the boy they’d introduced me
to was abusive.”

“Oh, no! So
you left him, right?”

“Not
immediately. He wasn’t like that in the beginning. He was sweet and
charming, and I didn’t understand how he managed to distance me
from my family and friends so quickly. Ashamed and embarrassed, I
couldn’t talk to my mom about these things. And once Jonathan
succeeded in alienating me, I didn’t have many people to turn to
when our relationship became one-sided and I had no way out. Ethan
was a friend of mine too, and Jonathan was jealous of him. One
evening, when I was home on my own, Jonathan came over. He kissed
me gently at first, but his need was growing too fast for what I
was comfortable with.”

Joanne’s voice
shook. Part of me wanted to offer words of encouragement and ask
another question, but I was afraid if I did, she’d stop telling me
this story. She turned the water off and gazed toward the family
room before lowering her voice.

“He took me by
my throat and held me like that on the couch while…” She stopped,
unable to get the words out of her mouth.

My hand flew
up to my mouth.

“There was no
one home. I knew that if I screamed or didn’t comply, he would hurt
me even more. And so I lay there as he took what I didn’t want to
offer. That was our first time and first of many where I felt my
soul leave my body just so that he could satisfy himself.”

“I’m so
sorry.” I threw my arms around her. “No woman should ever have to
go through that.”

“I’m fine now,
sweetheart.” She patted me on my back before pulling away enough so
that she could look into my eyes. “I had years of therapy with my
wonderful husband who gave me everything I could have ever hoped
for.”

“So how did
you escape?”

“I didn’t. We
went to a dance. It was hosted at a barn, like most were. A fire
broke out and I was trapped. Jonathan left me there, with no way
out. But he didn’t go unscathed. He burned his arm while escaping.
Ethan saved me from that burning building. Along with a bunch of
other boys, they used a log to break through the side. When Ethan
pulled me out of that burning building and held me against him, I
knew he was the man I wanted to be with. His caring arms and
bravery gave me the strength to leave Jonathan. Little did I know,
I was already pregnant. Raising a child with Jonathan was the last
thing I wanted. Ethan agreed to claim the baby as his if I only
stayed with him and didn’t go back to my abusive boyfriend. We were
married a month later.”

“Wait… so Eric
has a half-sibling?”

“No
sweetheart. Sky wanted to come out early. She died at birth.”

“I’m so
sorry.”

“I would have
loved her as if she was Ethan’s.”

“And I would
have loved her as my own daughter.” Eric’s dad’s voice came into
the living room.

“We buried
her, but she’ll always be in our hearts,” Joanne added. “We may
have lost one daughter, but I won’t lose another one. I’ll do
anything to have Annabelle back in Ogden.”

Tears
collected in the corners of my eyes and threatened to spill. When
Eric came to my side and wrapped me into him, it was all I needed.
Just him, holding me. Thoughts of my own family and how happy we’d
always been despite many battles against the corrupt fused in my
brain. My parents had always been strong, but they hadn’t been
harassed the way this family had. While Joanne told me her story, I
could still see the fear in her eyes. And I understood fear. I knew
what it was to be scared because I’d seen it in Julian’s wife when
I was growing up. Fear came in all sizes and depths, and so I knew
that Joanne still being afraid all these years later had to have
been triggered by something else. Something more current. I had the
feeling that Eric’s parents had seen Huntz after the kidnapping but
were afraid to say anything.

“We better get
going. I need to feed the horses,” Eric whispered against the top
of my head.

“I’d like to
finish cleaning.” I looked up into his eyes, still holding my arms
around his lower back as he wrapped me into him. He smoothed the
stray hair off my forehead, and something odd passed between us.
His eyes were deep with so much emotion waiting to be expressed
that it was difficult to pull away from him. It felt so good to be
together like this. I hadn’t felt that sort of connection in a long
time. The intensity of a real relationship and how easy it was to
be with Eric took me aback.

“No need,
dear. You two go on. I’ve got this,” his mom insisted, wiping her
hands dry on her apron and embracing me with her entire body. “I’m
so happy you’re here, Emma.” She smoothed my falling bangs to the
side, the same way my mom would have.

“Thank you,
Mom.” Eric kissed his mother on her cheek. “We’ll see you soon. I
promise.”

I took Eric’s
hand as he led me outside. He opened my car door and walked around
to the driver’s side.

“That was a
pretty tough crowd in there. I’m sorry I pushed so hard.”

“You did
great, Emma. I should have told you more about the family’s
history. You couldn’t have known.”

“You mean the
part where your mother had a psychopath for an ex?”

“Yes, that
part. Thank God that guy’s out of the picture.”

“He left
town?”

“My parents
never mentioned him other than to tell us the story of how Sky
would have been our sister when we visited her grave.”

“I’m sorry,
Eric. I’m sorry she was taken away from you.”

“It took a lot
to convince my mother that it wasn’t her fault. I guess Annabelle
and I always tried to fill that gap inside her heart for a lost
baby.”

“I’m sure you
did.”

Did Eric even
know how much he’d sacrificed for his family? Would he ever be able
to see the selflessness within?

C
HAPTER
17

Eric

We left my
parents’ house just after four. It had been well over a week since
I’d seen Emma for the very first time dancing on that stage, and my
memories of her silky skin were as fresh as if she’d moved her hips
for me just an hour ago. Each time I thought about her from that
night, my pulse raced. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep my hands
off her for long, and the only reason I hadn’t pushed further yet
was because of the promise I’d made to her brothers. But now that I
knew Emma wanted me as much as I needed her, I was willing to break
that promise.

“You said the
photo at the camp was taken at one of your happiest times. What
happened at camp later?” Emma asked, bringing my attention back to
the road ahead. She was so perceptive; nothing escaped her
attention.

“You sure you
want to know?”

“I want to
know everything about you. Including the details of how you got
that sexy scar on your brow.”

“Sexy?” My
brow lifted at the remark.

“Yes, it makes
you look bad ass.”

“Bad ass?”

“Stop
repeating everything I say, and tell me what happened.” The sound
of her laugh revived a happiness inside my chest. Actually, I was
certain that no woman in my life had had such an intense effect on
me.

I took a deep
breath in before going into the second most dreadful day of my life
– one which had not only scarred me physically as well as
emotionally, but also bonded me with two friends for life. We
developed the kind of camaraderie no one could ever break and ended
up going into the military together. “It was our second week at
camp, and we were supposed to leave in a few days. I’d been
assigned a cabin with five other boys and had no clue only half of
us would still be alive before the end of the day. Derek and Reeve
were two of my mates. Derek I’d known from Ogden because, well,
everyone knows everyone around here, and my parents are best
friends with the Fields. Reeve we’d already met the summer before
when we’d attended camp for the first time. We all got along very
well, and soon the six in our pack were inseparable. With the
memory of our kidnapping always present in their mind, my parents
weren’t pleased to let me go, but the Fields encouraged them to
finally give in, so they did.

“While I
taught the guys how to fly fish, Derek showed me how to make tools
from wood. He was really good with his hands. And Reeve showed us
his kickboxing moves. He’s been training since he was a kid. He
came from a big city, and his parents wanted him to be more
independent and to learn how to stand up for himself. So it was
really cool to learn the blocks and cross punches.

“When we first
heard the gunshots, we thought someone was setting off the
fireworks that were to be used that night. But when the screams and
cries came, we knew something was wrong. Reeve took charge, as he
always did. He peeked out the door where a fucking maniac was
shooting everyone in his sight.”

I shook my
head sideways at the memory, pulling over to the side of the
road.

“The Rambo
wanna-be held two automatic guns under his arms. When the bullets
hit our cabin, shredding it like a spaghetti strainer, we all
dropped to the floor. Only three of us escaped without being hit.
When the round stopped, we knew we couldn’t stay in the cabin, as
he would eventually start looking. He already had done so with the
others, going from one door to another, shooting those who
survived. I trusted Reeve when he made a plan to escape out the
back window. He talked smart and was one of the bravest boys at the
camp, so both Derek and I followed him – snuck out and ran into the
woods. The hike to a nearby road or town would take days, so under
a mature pine we hid for two hours before deciding we had to do
something to help the remaining kids. For whatever reason, he’d
kept some alive.

“From a cliff
overlooking the camp, we saw the tied-up scouts and the madman who
held an automatic rifle in each of his hands, firing one then the
other up into the air if he didn’t like as much as the leaves
ruffling in the wind. Those who made any kind of noise were
shot.