Shattered Dreams (27 page)

Raelynn and I drive the short distance to
Emma and James’ house. She skips beside me up the driveway and to
the front porch. Emma opens the door and smiles.  

“
Hi, Raelynn, you look
pretty.” 

“
Hi, Miss Emma, thank
you.”  

“
Please come
in.” 

She opens the door and Rae skips past her and
into the house. I look at her and smile. “Hi, I missed you,” I say
as I bend down to kiss her. 

“
I missed you,
too.” 

I kiss her again.  

She says, “Just give me a minute to get
James’ shoes on.”  

When we all get buckled in the car, I ask
where everyone would like to eat. The kids all yell, “Hungry
Howie’s,” and I look at Emma. 

She doesn’t express a
likeness or a dislike to the kids’ choice of eateries.
Grilled salmon at the country club one day,
all-you-can-eat-pizza at Hungry Howie’s another
day
.
She really
does have a good game face. Maybe being a mother makes her
flexible.
I pull out of the driveway and
Emma reaches over for my hand. We hold hands and she intertwines
our fingers. I look over at her, and she smiles at
me. 

We have dinner at the all-you-can-eat pizza
buffet before heading to Jump and Fun. The indoor unlimited jump
house is too busy for us to talk. We watch the kids and continue to
hold hands. We stand up to get a better view and she leans into me.
I wrap my arm around her and she hugs me back with one arm around
my waist.  

When I take her home later that night,
Raelynn and James play in the bedroom while Emma and I “talk” on
the couch. I lean in to kiss her and she wraps her arms around my
neck. She moans and I deepen our kiss. She leans forward even more
and I lift her up off the couch and set her on my lap. When she
pulls on my hair and pulls me closer to her, I know she can feel my
growing erection beneath her.  

“
Daddy, can we take James
and Miss Emma and get ice cream tomorrow?” Rae
asks. 

Emma startles and jumps off
my lap and falls to the ground. I can’t stand to help her because
of being compromised.
 
 

Raelynn covers her mouth and takes off
running down the hallway and into James’ room. “James, my daddy was
kissing your momma,” she yells, “and they have cooties.” 

I look down at Emma and she is laughing. I
laugh, too. I reach my hand out for hers and she readily takes it.
She stands and brushes off her dress and sits back down beside me.
“You do understand why I couldn’t stand to help you, don’t
you?”  

She smiles. “Yes, we don’t need to traumatize
our children with that!” she says, pointing at my
crotch.  

“
As soon as I get myself
under control, we’ll leave. It’ll go down a lot quicker if you
aren’t in the same room with me.” I wink.  

Emma leans in and kisses me.
“I’ll go and smooth things over with the kids and you take care
of
that
.” 

Emma leaves the room, and I can hear her
talking to the kids about germs and cooties. I try to focus my
thoughts on anything but Emma. After a few minutes, I am able to
walk down the hall and into James’ room.  

Emma, James, and Raelynn are
all sitting on James’ bed. I lean into the doorway and listen to
her as she tries to explain to the kids that when you really like
someone it’s all right to kiss them. I walk further into the room
and say, “And we do
not
have cooties.” 

The kids giggle and Emma looks back at me.
“Come on, Rae, it’s time for us to head home.” 

“
Ok, daddy, but is James
going to be my brother?” 

I think about that and I’m not sure how to
answer that question. Emma stands up and says, “Not today, he
isn’t.” 

Raelynn, James, and then Emma walk out of the
bedroom.  

“
Good save, Ms.
Greyson.”  

“
No thanks to you, Mr.
Collins.” 

We all walk to the door and I stand there and
look at Emma. “It’s getting harder and harder to leave
you.” 

She leans her small body into mine. “I know.
I hate when our time together comes to an end.” 

“
I have work tomorrow, but
I’ll see you Tuesday at taekwondo?” 

“
Yes, we’ll be
there.” 

“
Would you like to take the
kids to dinner afterwards? Raelynn doesn’t usually have time to eat
dinner before her class,” I add, because I don’t want her to think
I’m moving too fast or something. 

“
Ok, taekwondo and dinner it
is. I’ll ride with Brooke and you can bring us home afterwards if
that’s ok.” 

“
Sounds perfect. I’ll see
you both on Tuesday.” 

The next couple months go by quickly. I see
Emma and James at taekwondo two nights a week and I also see them
every day that we don’t have taekwondo. Today I am picking them up
so Emma and I can go to dinner alone. Rae is at Molly’s parents’
house for the night. I am taking James to Max’s parents’ home, also
for the night. Emma told me they are still very much a part of her
life and that will never change. I am man enough to respect that. I
know Max isn’t a threat to my relationship with Emma. I just hope
Max’s parents don’t see me as a threat.  

Emma, James, and I are in the car outside of
Max’s parents’ house.  

“
Just give me a minute,” she
says, as she lets go of my hand that she was
holding.  

I look over and smile at her beautiful
flawless face. “I’ll get your door for you.” I get out of my car
and stand tall. I feel like I am being watched, although I don’t
see anyone. I button up my jacket and walk to the other side of the
car. I open James’ door for him first and help him out of his
booster seat. “James, wait here for your momma.”  

“
All right,
Alec.” 

I open Emma’s door and offer her my hand. She
smiles and takes it. She stands and straightens her dress. “Would
you like to come in and meet them?” she asks, and I can’t read the
expression on her face. I have no idea if she is saying that to be
nice or if I should really meet them.  

“
Yes, I think I would. If I
were them, I would want to meet the guy dating my son’s wife.” She
looks at me with a smile, and I say, “Wait, that didn’t come out
like I wanted it to.”  

“
No, it didn’t, but I know
what you meant.” She holds James’ hand and she also holds my hand
like she always does. “Come on, they will love
you.” 

“
I doubt that,” I whisper
and walk to the front door with her. The door opens before we get
off the cobblestone sidewalk. An attractive older couple is
standing in the doorway. James runs up to them and hugs them
immediately before turning back to hug his mother
goodbye.  

“
Be a good boy for grandma
and granddad, and I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch,” Emma
says. 

“
James, grandma made you
some cookies; they’re in there on the table waiting for you,”
Cheryl says.  

“
Yay, cookies; thanks,
grandma. Bye, momma; bye, Alec.” 

“
I’ll see you tomorrow,
James.” 

Once James is gone, Emma introduces me to her
former in-laws. We shake hands and make pleasantries. Cheryl seems
pretty nice, but I feel like Danny is sizing me up. I would do the
same, if I were him. I feel sorry for any boy who dates
Raelynn.  

Cheryl says, “Emma, come in and look at the
clothes I bought James for his birthday.” Emma looks over at me
before walking into the house with Cheryl.  

“
Alec, please, have a seat,”
Danny says, pointing to the two rocking chairs on the front
porch.  

“
All right, thank you.” I
already know what’s coming. If he is the kind of man I think he is,
he would definitely have a talk with me. I sit down and try to look
as casual as I can. I sit up straight and square my
shoulders.  

“
I just want you to know
that these last few months, Emma has had a glow to her that we
haven’t seen since before my son’s death. I think we have you to
thank for that.” 

I don’t say anything, because I know he has
more to say. 

“
We love Emma like our
daughter. I want you to understand, she is a single woman not by
choice. My son did not leave her or abandon her by choice. He was
killed trying to protect her and every other American in this
country.” 

“
I understand” is all I
say. 

“
Good. I also want you to
know that if you hurt her, I will find you and when I do, it won’t
be pretty. Do not play with her or her emotions. If you are looking
to play the field or are testing the waters, you need to keep on
walking. Emma is special, she isn’t like every other girl out
there. She was our daughter-in-law and she will always be a part of
our family. Do you understand me?” 

I lean up from the chair and
rest my elbows on my knees. I intertwine my fingers and clear my
throat. “Danny, I understand your concerns and I want you to know,
I have no intentions of hurting her
or
James. I haven’t known them long,
but it’s been long enough that I know there is something special
about both of them. When I am with them, I want to protect them, to
nurture them, and to care for them. I give you my word, as a man, I
will never hurt either of them.” 

Danny leans forward in his seat and matches
my posture. “Alec, it sounds like you are in love with Emma. Are
you in love with Emma?” 

His words take me
back.
Am I in love with her?
The door opens, and Emma and Cheryl walk out onto
the porch. I stand immediately and try to smile. I also silently
say a prayer of thanks that I don’t have to answer Danny’s
question. I rub my hands down my thighs and crack my knuckles. I
stare at Emma so I don’t have to look at
Danny.  

“
Emma, I’m sorry, we need to
go if we are going to keep our dinner
reservations.”  

“
Of course, I’m
sorry.” 

She hugs Danny and Cheryl, and I shake their
hands. “It was very nice meeting you both,” I say before Emma
reaches for my hand.  

She holds my hand with both of hers. As we
walk off the porch, she leans in and whispers, “Are you all
right?” 

I look over at her and smile, “I’m great, and
they seem very nice.” 

“
They are. I am very blessed
to have them in my life.”  

I open her door for her, and she reluctantly
lets go of my hand. I watch her sit down and close the door when
she fastens her seatbelt. She looks up at me and I wink at
her.  

On the drive to the restaurant, my mind
drifts back to Danny’s words.  

“
Alec?” 

“
Yes,
Emma?” 

“
What is the matter with
you? You are in another world.” 

“
I’m sorry, Emma, but would
you mind if we change our plans for tonight?” 

“
No, are you not feeling
well?” 

“
I was thinking we could
have a picnic on the beach and watch the sunset
instead.” 

“
That sounds nice, but I
think you’re a little overdressed for that.”  

“
I’ll be fine; I’ll lose the
jacket and tie and roll up my pant legs. I’ll need to cancel the
reservations first.”  

We drive the short distance to The Whole
Foods Market and grab sandwiches, fruits, vegetables, cheese,
crackers, and drinks. Emma holds my hand, and I try to push the
cart around one-handed. We pass by the bakery, and I get a
half-dozen chocolate-covered strawberries and then a bottle of
champagne before cashing out.  

“
What’s the special
occasion? It looks like you’re going all out.” 

“
Can’t I celebrate just
being alone with my girlfriend?” 

She smiles and leans into me. “I like the way
that sounds.” 

I kiss the top of her head. “Me,
too.” 

We drive to Siesta Key Beach. I remove my
shoes, socks, and jacket. I also roll my pant legs up, so I don’t
ruin them in the sand. Emma also removes her heels before we walk
on the beach. We spread out a blanket on the baby powder sand. I
watch Emma as she shivers. As she removes the food from the bags, I
run to the car and get my suit jacket for her.  

After we eat, she sits in between my legs and
we have chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne. I rest my
chin on her shoulder and she rests her head against mine. Her hair
smells like lilacs. I close my eyes and think back to the
conversation I had with Danny. She looks back at me and asks,
“You’re so quiet tonight, are you sure you’re all
right?”  

“
Emma?” 

She leans up and turns around to face me.
“What is it?” 

I take her face in my hands and I search her
eyes. “God, you are so beautiful.” I kiss one eyelid and then the
other. She just watches me and doesn’t say anything. “I love being
with you, and I hate leaving you at the end of the day.” 

“
Alec, I feel the same way.
I wake up every morning and I can’t wait to see
you.” 

“
Emma, I can’t get enough of
you. I want to be with you every minute of every day.” I look her
from one eye to the other. I can see the concern in her clear blue
eyes. “I love you, I love everything about you. I don’t think I
realized it until tonight, but I do. I’m sorry if it’s too soon or
if that scares you.”