“It’s a guy named William Leavitt,” he said, the words low and slow coming out of his mouth.
Emma pinched everything tight and held it, though she continued to fiddle with the crinkly plastic her ice cream bar had come in.
“Do you know that name?”
Emma really didn’t want to lie, but her voice had disappeared behind a giant, flaming ball of anxiety.
“I think you do,” Ted said. “And I think you’re terrified. In fact, I can feel it. You don’t have to tell me, but I really can help you.”
She looked at him then, feeling her eyes and how wide and round they were. Ted looked at her steadily, not a trace of judgement or scrutiny in his expression. Maybe she could trust him….
You don’t have to tell him about Missy, she told herself.
She cleared her throat, and it physically hurt. “Will was one of Rob’s guys.”
“Yeah, I figured,” Ted said, looking back at his phone. “Well, he’s looking for you, is my guess.”
“Why would he do that?” Emma asked, though she knew why. She knew exactly why.
“Do you have anything that belongs to Rob?” Ted asked. “A car, owe him some money? Heck, even his old sweatshirt. Maybe he wants it back.”
Emma couldn’t even shake her head. “I don’t have his sweatshirt,” she said. “Or his car.”
She’d had his child though. How would he even know? How could he have possibly found out?
Emma couldn’t swallow, and when she blinked and looked away from Ted, absolute terror tore through her. She wanted to say excuse me and fly from the house, but she didn’t get the words out before she leapt from the barstool, grabbed her car keys, and fled the West Wing.
Sometime later, Emma didn’t know how long, she pulled to the side of the road. Her vision had cleared enough that she could see she’d driven north. Her heart hadn’t stopped sprinting in her chest, and she’d ignored three calls from Ginger. One from an unknown number, but the message Ted had left had identified it as his.
He’d said he’d had to tell Ginger, and he was sorry, but he was worried about her.
Emma was worried about herself. She had no recollection of getting to where she was, but she recognized this stretch of road as the one leading to San Antonio. Of course she’d come this way. At the same time, her mind had slowed enough for her to realize that perhaps William would be following her.
She couldn’t go to Fran and Matt’s. She couldn’t go make sure Missy was okay. Her daughter had a cell phone, and so did Fran and Matt. They had safe words set up. Emma had left no stone unturned, and she forced herself to calm down again.
Her phone rang, and she looked numbly at the screen. Ginger.
Emma couldn’t ignore her best friend and boss. Ginger would be so worried, and Emma didn’t want to be the cause of that. She wondered what Ted had told her, and Emma supposed there was only one way to find out.
“Hey,” she answered.
“Emma, praise the Lord,” Ginger said. “She answered.”
“Who’s with you?” Emma asked.
“All the girls,” Ginger said. “We’ve been pooling our intelligence to figure out where you would go, but you weren’t at the ice cream shop, and you left no clues on your desk, and we’re all really worried.”
Emma exhaled and leaned her head back against the rest behind her. She needed someone and something to hold her up.
Ginger’s there, she thought. Jess and Michelle and Hannah and Jill.
Ted’s face flashed through her mind too, and she had no idea why. He’d been in her life for two or three days.
But he’d looked at her with kindness, and he’d seen her years ago when no one else had. When Emma had been hiding from everyone, her picture had been in a folder, and he’d seen it. He’d seen it and remembered her, all of these years later.
“Emma?” Ginger asked.
“What did Ted tell you?” she asked.
“He told me about a blue truck,” Ginger said. “And some guy who’s been hanging around the homestead, and that you guys looked up who the truck belonged to.”
Emma nodded, but she didn’t volunteer anything.
“He said he thought you probably knew the guy, and that you’re afraid of him,” Ginger said. “And we want to help you.” A beep came over the line, and Ginger’s voice was less echoy when she said, “It’s just me, Em. No one else is listening, and I just want you to know that no matter what it is, we’re here for you.”
“I know that,” Emma said, her tears welling up again. She had not let them fall in all the time she’d been driving.
“Ted is ultra-concerned about you. He said he can’t help it, and Nate explained that he was a lawyer, and very used to working with victims, being their advocate, and getting justice for them.”
Emma nodded, though Ginger couldn’t see her. She had the very real feeling that Ted wouldn’t fight for her if he knew what she’d done.
In this case, she’d stolen something from Robert Knight. He was the victim, not her.
“I need a couple of days,” Emma finally said, her voice high-pitched and filled with emotion. “I’m sorry, Ginger. I know you’re already behind on so many things. Could you take care of my foals for me? Just for a couple of days.” She was supposed to be off this weekend anyway, and maybe she could take the next five days and find her center.
Recommit to what she needed to do.
Something.
“Ted said he’d do it,” Ginger said. “It’s no problem. Please stay in touch, though. I’m really worried about you.”
“I know,” Emma said. “Love you, Ginger.”
“I love you, Emma.”
“We love you,” everyone chorused, and Emma hung up and finally let her tears fall
Chapter Nine
Ted held the bottle for Second Best, his thoughts as far from baby horses as they could
