Cattail Ridge (18 page)

Chapter Twenty-Three

T
hat following Saturday, Emma was planning to work late. “Mom and Dad are going to keep Sydney tonight. If I don’t get some of this paperwork done, we’re hosed.”

“How late do you plan to stay?” Amelia asked. It was just past three o’clock, and they were in the office upstairs. Emma’s desk was crowded with stacks of papers.

“Probably until nine or so, anyhow. I don’t know how it piled up so fast. I need to give Zanny a raise.”

Amelia laughed. “You can give me a raise too, while you’re at it. What are you going to do about supper?”

“I’ll find something. I think I’ve got some leftovers in the fridge downstairs.”

“Okay. I might kidnap Syd from the farm, take her to my place if she wants to go. Call if you need anything.”

Emma locked the doors behind her and went back upstairs. She hated doing the paperwork associated with the running of the business, and that made her appreciate the job Zanny did even more. “I seriously need to give her a raise. Make her a partner. Something.”

By eight thirty, she felt like she’d made enough of a dent that she could head home. She gathered her purse and sweater wrap, and headed to the parking lot beside the building. But when she got in her car, the vehicle wouldn’t start. The only sound was a click when she turned the key, the engine not even offering to turn over.

Emma rested her head on the steering wheel. “Of course you’re dead. What else would happen to tie up this week? Damn it.”

She’d put a lot of miles on the SUV in the last five years. It had served her well. But she’d had to have several repairs done in the last few months, and Jack had warned her she’d probably end up replacing it by the end of the year.

“Even a good mechanic knows when to put a car out of its misery. I think it might be getting close to time, Em.”

For a few minutes she sat in the dark, letting the quiet wash over her. The weather had turned distinctly cooler, and she was quite chilled by the time she opened the door and got out. She cursed her luck the entire way back to the building.

Who to call presented something of a conundrum. Normally, she’d call John since he was the closest. But with Zanny still recovering he had his hands full. She might even call Archer, but she hadn’t seen or heard from him since the kiss and she was a little reluctant to ask him for a favor now.

She called Rick first, but there was no answer. Michelle lived close to town, but she also didn’t answer. “Out with Burke, I wonder?” Emma groaned. “I guess that leaves Uncle Jack.” She made the call, embarrassed to have to ask for help. It occurred to her about the time Gilly answered the phone that she could have called a cab, instead.

“Hey, it’s me,” she told her aunt. “I’m sorry to bother you.”

“You aren’t bothering me. What’s up?”

“My car won’t start. But I’ll call a cab. It’s no big deal.” She started to say good-bye but Gilly cut her off.

“Emma Jean, you hold on a second.” She passed the phone to Jack. Emma heard her say, “Her car won’t start.”

“Em? You okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m sorry–I’ll call a cab. I didn’t mean to bother you.”

Jack laughed. “Don’t be silly. Where are you?”

“At the shop. It just clicks, doesn’t turn over. We may have to pull the trigger on it.”

“Maybe. I can have it towed to the garage Monday. Meanwhile, you sit tight. I’ll head that way.”

“Jack, I really can call a cab. You shouldn’t have to come all this way to take me home. Shoot, I could just about walk it before you got here.”

“We don’t live
that
far out. Besides, Gilly was saying she wanted some ice cream. I can swing by the store while I’m down there. Okay?”

Emma gave in. “I’ll see you soon. Thank you.”

She puttered around the shop for a few minutes, then locked up again and went back to her car. Inside, she pulled the wrap closer around her and laid her head against the headrest. Thinking that Jack would be at least ten more minutes, she closed her eyes.

A scant minute later, headlights flashed across her closed eyes. When she opened them, she was shocked to see Archer’s truck. She rolled the window down, silently cursing her matchmaking family as he parked beside her.

“What are you doing here?”

He placed his hands on the roof and leaned down a bit. “Heard you had some car trouble. Why didn’t you call me?”

Emma picked at the fringe on the wrap. “I didn’t want to bother you.”

Archer didn’t say anything for a minute. He just stared at her. Finally, he shook his head. “Stubborn woman. Let me in.”

She got out, and he slid in behind the driver’s seat. He got the same results she had. He popped the hood, then got out and went back to his truck. Returning with a flashlight, he handed it to her.

“Hold that for me.”

Emma stood by quietly as he checked the engine, the connections, the battery.

“I could try to jump it but I’ll bet you a hundred dollars it’s the fuel pump. It’s about the age and mileage for that to go out.”

“Great. I told Jack when the alternator died that if one more thing happened this year, she’s gone.” She sighed and patted the car. “I hate to get rid of her, but she’s been so unreliable I don’t trust her anymore. Jack said he’d have her towed Monday.”

“Go ahead and lock up. I’ll take you home. Where’s Sydney?”

“Pip has her.” She followed him to the truck, waiting while he unlocked the door. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” His tone and manner was distant. “Jack said Zanny’s improving?”

“She is. She’s threatened us with bodily harm if we try to come in this weekend and do much. Mom said she actually got a little aggravated yesterday, and that’s how she knew we were all clear to stop hovering so much.”

“Good. That’s good.”

A tense silence spread in the cab as he drove up Main Street. When they stopped at the end of the street for the stop sign, the loud rumbling growl of Emma’s stomach echoed through the quiet.

“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry!” She cringed with embarrassment. The astonished look on Archer’s face would have been amusing under different circumstances.

“When did you eat last?”

She cleared her throat. “Um, I had a donut and some yogurt for lunch. I’ll get something at home.” When she remembered that she hadn’t gotten to the grocery store, and had been planning to go first thing in the morning, she cursed and thumped her head against the seat. They were passing a fast-food restaurant and she gestured. “Do you mind swinging through the drive-through here? I’ll get something and take it home.”

Archer pulled in the parking lot but swung the truck to the left, out of the drive-through lane. “Do you really want to eat here? I know kids love it but seriously, that’s not real food.”

“It’s fine. It’s the fastest thing in town. I don’t want to hold you up.”

He shook his head and put the truck in reverse, backing out from where he’d parked. Without a word he pulled back out on the street.

A minute later he gave his turn signal and turned in to the parking lot at a popular pizza place. “Not a word or I’ll turn you over my knee,” he threatened as he got out.

Emma felt a sliver of anger run through her at the words and the bossy attitude. She thought about smarting off to him when he opened her door, but her stomach growled again and she held her tongue.

The restaurant was fairly crowded what with it being a Friday night, and the waitress led them to a small, intimate booth in the far back corner of the room. “Is this okay?”

With the dim lighting, lit candle in a glass jar on the table, and the booth itself being so small, Emma knew they’d be sitting uncomfortably close. But it was as good as they were going to get so she kept her mouth shut and slid in.

“What can I get you to drink?” the waitress asked as she handed them menus.

Archer ordered a beer, and Emma echoed him. They both dived behind their menus, but Emma’s heart was pounding. Her legs were touching Archer’s, no matter how she shifted. She finally gave up and let them rest against his. As soon as she stopped moving, he started. He was no more successful at untangling them, and Emma was glad. Despite the emotional distance that had developed between them she was enjoying the feel of him.

He was wearing a blue patterned sweater that set off the blue-green of his eyes and made his shoulders look a mile wide. The soft knit hugged his muscles and Emma was having a hard time not staring at him.

“What looks good?” he asked.

She answered candidly. “Everything. I didn’t know I was so hungry until we walked in and I smelled the food.”

He smiled faintly. “Want to split a pie?”

“Sure.”

When the waitress came back with their beers, she took their order. “How about I get you some breadsticks? We had a fresh order just come out of the oven.”

“Please?” Emma asked. “With extra sauce for dipping.”

Archer waited until she had downed two breadsticks and was starting on her third before breaking the silence. “Why didn’t you call me?”

Emma paused, breadstick hovering over the marinara. “I didn’t want to bother you.” Her nerves rose and she put the bread on her plate. She busied herself by picking up her beer and taking a sip.

“I don’t just mean tonight.”

Her eyes flew to his. “I’m not the only one with a phone.”

He conceded that point with a nod. “You aren’t.”

“I didn’t–I don’t–maybe I didn’t know what to say,” she admitted. Her hands tightened around the frosty beer mug and she looked down.

“Maybe I didn’t, either.” He sighed. “Things got a little out of hand. I didn’t mean them to. Not like that. Certainly not in John and Zanny’s kitchen. We could have been in the middle of the damned street and I would barely have noticed. If Amelia hadn’t come in when she did…” From the flush on his cheeks, Emma saw that he was embarrassed.

“I know. It was the same for me.”

He clearly wasn’t expecting that admission if the way he stared at her was any indication. The waitress came with their pizza then and the moment was interrupted. Some of the tension between them faded as they ate and eventually, conversation took on a more natural tone.

There was only one piece of pizza left in the pan by the time they finished. With a full stomach Emma felt better, more human. Archer grabbed the check before she could, and he kept it away from her as they made their way to the register to pay.

“Let me get the meal. It’s the least I can do, what with you coming out so late to take me home,” she insisted.

“Hush. I have it.” He smiled at the young girl operating the register, handing her enough cash to cover the food and a generous tip.

“And you call me stubborn,” she muttered as they went out to his truck. “Pot, kettle.”

Archer laughed. “Takes one to know one.”

She looked up as a low-flying plane went overhead. “You know, I still miss seeing the stars at night. I like my house but I miss being outside the city, where the lights aren’t so bright.”

He let her in the truck and when he got in, he didn’t start it right away. “So what are your plans for the rest of the evening?”

“Go home and change out of these clothes. And then… maybe I’ll go to the backyard with a thick blanket and do some stargazing. Or what passes for it here.”

“I know a place.”

Emma tilted her head. “What kind of place?”

“A place where you can see for miles. No city lights to interfere. We could go there.” His voice had a tense undertone as he spoke. He started the truck and pulled out on the street. “You could still change into comfortable clothes and we could grab that blanket.”

Considering what had happened the last time they’d had a moment’s privacy, Emma was torn. “Where is this place?”

“It’s a little piece of property I bought about a year ago. Not far from your parents’ place. It’s only about ten acres, but it’s nice.”

Emma half-turned in her seat. “Why haven’t you said anything? Does Pip know?”

“No. I bought it on a whim. I didn’t want to have to explain it to her, to anyone, so I kept my mouth shut. I don’t know what I’ll end up doing with it. It’s nothing like the farm.” He pulled in to her driveway.

“Archer, not much is like the farm.”

He laughed. “That’s true.”

Owen and Sarah owned hundreds of acres, spanning several ridges and valleys. As the family had grown her father had added on to his holdings, wanting to be able to give his children enough room to roam and be safe.

“I don’t want to drag you out in the middle of the night,” she hedged.

“Emma. It’s not even ten o’clock. I’ll probably head up there even if you don’t go, now that you’ve mentioned stargazing. It’d be nice to get out, get some fresh air, even if it is nippy.”

“Then I’d like to tag along. Come on in and we’ll pull some things together. Is there a house on the property?” she asked as she unlocked the front door and turned the hall light on.

“No. There’s a house seat graded off, but the former owner never did anything with it.”

Thoroughly intrigued, she hurried and changed out of the dress clothes that had been cutting her in half. Though most of her wardrobe was both comfortable and professional, the clothes weren’t meant to be worn as many hours as she’d put in today.

She selected soft fleece pants and a tank top. Just the thought of putting a bra back on had her whimpering, and she checked her reflection in the mirror to see how provocative her breasts looked. “I should be okay if I put a sweater on over it. No way he’ll find that seductive.” She was torn between wanting to seduce Archer and knowing she shouldn’t. The outfit she’d chosen definitely erred on the side of caution. Her hair was coming down, and her makeup had all but disappeared. “Definitely not seduction material.”

After a quick stop by the bathroom, she grabbed the promised quilts from the hall closet. Archer was waiting in the living room, and he turned as she came in.

“I took the liberty of getting the two lounge cushions from the back porch. They’re in the truck. We can put them in the bed and make a nice, comfy seat.”

“Okay. That’s probably wise.”