For the Longest Time (29 page)

“He's taking me home.”

Her voice was so clear, it took Seth a moment to register the fact that it had come from Emma. He looked sharply at her, seeing Aaron's startled look out of the corner of his eye as he turned his head.

“Miss Henry—”

“
Emma
,” she interrupted him, just as clear. Her head lifted ever so slightly, though her hair covered most of her face. “An' you said you would.”

“I didn't say that! I just told you not to go anywhere!” He knew he sounded defensive, but the last thing he needed was for his neighbor to think he'd been hitting on his drunken friend on his way to telling him to shut down his party. He looked beseechingly at Aaron. “I didn't say that.”

Aaron simply waved him off. “I'm sure you didn't. She's just channeling Jose Cuervo right now. It's kind of like speaking in tongues, but with a lot more sexual innuendo.”

Relieved, Seth laughed and shook his head. “Been there. Do you have a way to get her home? She seems stubborn enough to try and walk there if she manages to get up again.”

“Oh, she'll be fine here.”

“No, I won't,” she insisted. “I don't feel good. He said he'd take me home. He's a—a policeman.” She gave a woeful-sounding hiccup. “I have beer on me. I want my bed. I hate the ground.”

Seth arched a brow when he returned his attention to his neighbor. “You sure about that?”

Aaron frowned and sighed. “No. If she really wants to go, I'm sure there's somebody who can . . . well . . .” His brow furrowed, and Seth knew he was mentally going through the list of people trustworthy enough to deliver
Emma home. Finally, Aaron sighed. “Shit. I'm not putting her in some random person's car and hoping for the best. And not to sound like an ass, but she doesn't have a lot of friends anyway. Emma's kind of . . .” He trailed off, seeming to consider his options, and finally chose a word. “Independent.”

The simple statement struck an unexpected chord with Seth. “Independent” could mean a lot of things, but he was pretty sure that Aaron didn't mean it as an insult. He understood not being close to a lot of people, whether by choice or simply by temperament. Maybe he and Emma had some things in common after all. Didn't seem likely, but neither did finding her drunk as a skunk and hanging on to the earth to keep from falling off of it. Anything was possible. And the solution to this particular problem was inevitable.

“I'll take
her.”