Waiting for Wyatt (Red Dirt #1) (46 page)

A flash of sadness echoed in her eyes as she stated the terms. I’m sure this pained Diana. Not only did she put herself on the line for Wyatt, but she’d become his caretaker the last few years. She had tried to help him, save him, and keep him out of actual prison. And in one evening of complete stupidity, I’d brought down the whole house of cards.

She stared at Wyatt for a moment before turning her gaze to the prosecution. “I can give you a thirty-minute recess to discuss.”

Wyatt leaned over and whispered something to his lawyer. The man nodded his head before looking at the judge. “Your Honor, my client doesn’t need a recess. He would like to accept the offer.”

I heard the painful cry come from his mom. The room spun slightly as the words sunk into my heart. I couldn’t stop the wild thoughts of Wyatt locked away alone in a cell. What would prison do to him? What if the dark clouds inside his mind suffocated the life out of him? Or maybe something even worse. Maybe he wouldn’t be alone. Maybe he would be tossed inside with a man who had stabbed a whole family in a cabin in the woods.

My lips were numb, and I wanted to scream no, but I guess there really wasn’t another alternative. Actually, the alternative was for much longer if the prosecution didn’t agree to the proposal.

My eyes glossed over as I looked in the direction of Fred Tucker. Maybe the words of Judge Sweetwater had finally made a difference in him. The DA whispered frantically with the mayor. He glanced over his shoulder a few times, looking at his son.

I felt sorry for Marcus. This must be so incredibly hard for him, torn between his family and his friend. Marcus spoke to his father too low for me to hear, but I saw the way he pleaded with his eyes, begging him to let this go. And finally, his father nodded back in agreement.

The DA stood up and faced Judge Sweetwater. “Mayor Fred Tucker has been the voice of the people affected by the circumstances of this case. And we both agree to the new terms.”

Diana nodded her head, looking at Wyatt. She didn’t say anything for a moment as her lips pursed into an expression I couldn’t read. “Mr. Carter, do you understand what is about to happen?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Okay.” She nodded her head. “I will give you a few minutes to talk to your family. And for everyone else.” Her eyes drifted across the courtroom before settling on Fred Tucker. “When he gets out, this is over. It’s time for everyone to get back to living.”

Her gavel echoed in the courtroom. The stillness filled with the low chatter of the people behind us. It got louder, consuming my head as I tried to process what had just happened. The air seemed heavy as I pulled in breath after breath.

I stayed in my seat, watching Wyatt be escorted toward the little brown wall separating us from him. Wyatt’s father got up first. He went over to his son. They talked for a few moments. Wyatt nodded along to whatever words transpired between them—maybe words of promises or encouragement. I wasn’t sure, but it all came across civil as he listened intently to his father. And toward the end, the large man reached forward, engulfing his son in a huge embrace.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. The older man let go, making room for his mother. I looked at the floor. This exchange wasn’t something I wanted to witness. I heard Willa get up from her seat. Scooting over to the edge, I caught a glimpse of her long brown hair as she flung herself around his shoulders.

I closed my eyes, preparing myself for the moment. And for a brief second, I wished for this to be one of his nightmares. That maybe I had been pulled along into his vivid dream sequence. I wished to wake up in his bed. I wished for him to pull me into his arms, telling me it was only a dream—a nasty and terrible nightmare.

“It’s your turn,” Willa whispered next to me.

My eyes abruptly opened, seeing him just a few feet away with one very important brown wall separating us. I walked toward Wyatt as the sound of the courtroom faded away. I reached his side, seeing the smile on his face as he flashed those dimples. They usually made a spark sizzle in my chest, but this time they just made me want to cry.

“Are you okay?” I whispered.

He nodded, never taking his eyes off me. “I’m okay.”

“I tried to come see you, but they wouldn’t let me.”

Wyatt cupped the sides of my face. “You look beautiful, Emma.”

I tried to smile at his compliment. This morning, I had done my best to look nice just for him. I curled my hair and put on a long-sleeved flowery dress with leggings and my brown boots. I had worked hard on my eye makeup, which was currently smudged all around my face.

“Wyatt, I’m so sorry.” I tried so very hard to hold it together, but nothing worked. I sniffed, feeling the wetness run off my lashes. “I-I’m sorry. I caused all of this.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“But you are going to prison. Actual
real
prison. What if something happens to you? I just wanted to help you and now look what I’ve done.” I choked on the words, making the rest come out as mumbled. “I-I should have just l-left you alone.”

“Emmy baby, don’t cry.” He wiped the tears off with his thumb. “You saved me, from myself. I was rotting away out there. And you found me. You convinced me I was worth saving.” His lips got close to mine. “And you loved me. Remember? You loved the good and the bad. And because of that love, I’m going to be okay in there. So don’t worry.”

“How am I supposed to not worry about you?” I sniffled.

“Just try, okay? I don’t want you sitting around, waiting for me to get out. Keep living, and I will see you when it’s over.”

I nodded. “And I’ll come see you every week. It will be just like coming out to the kennel, just—”

“No, Emma.” His gruff voice cut on the words as the pain flashed in his eyes. “I don’t want to see you there.”

“You don’t want to see me?” My heart crunched like a wad of aluminum foil before it’s tossed in the trash.

“I love you. But I can’t bring myself to see you there. You are so sweet and innocent and everything that is good about my life. You don’t belong in a place like that. But it’s going to be okay. I won’t stop loving you. And I hope you won’t stop loving me.” His voice cracked on the words. “But I would understand if you did.”

“How could you even say that?” I pleaded.

“I just wanted to give you an out.”

“There’s no
out
,
Wyatt. I love you so much.” My hand touched his chest. “I love who you are in
here
. Nothing will stop that. No matter what happens in there. Remember that.”

“You are everything to me.” The words whispered like a breath across my lips before he kissed me. It was hard and full of emotion as we both knew it would be our last kiss for a very long time. We struggled to get closer, but the wall kept us apart. And finally when I didn’t have a breath left in me, he lifted his mouth from mine.

“I have to go now.” His smile was heartbreaking. “But I will be thinking of you. Every day and every minute until I see you on the other side.”

We stared at each other for a moment, neither of us willing to mutter an actual goodbye. Those words had always seemed so final for us—whether it was for twenty-four hours, two days, or twelve months.

My heart struggled to beat. In the hazy fog, I turned around first. I couldn’t bear to see them put the cuffs on again. I couldn’t bear to see him walk away. So I turned around. I let him watch me walk away—one last time.

Several people flashed me curious glances, having witnessed our final moments together. Several others fought back the urge to fling a few insults at me for being involved with the boy who burned down that dang town. But I didn’t care. Not that I ever did when it came to Wyatt. I believed with all my heart that he deserved a second chance at life and I planned to give it to him.

I stepped outside the courthouse. The clouds were as dark as my mood. And then I saw my sister. She was waiting by my car with her arm in the sling. The doctor said she had to wear the contraption for a few weeks until the muscles healed. Her little blue wool hat was sitting crooked on her stringy blonde hair, making Blaire seem younger than twenty-one.

“You’re not supposed to be driving. How did you get here?”

“Mom dropped me off a few minutes ago. I thought maybe you could use some company.” Her sympathy was genuine, which seemed so strange. But I was too numb to question it.

“They are sending him to prison for a year.” A tear fell down my cheek as I said the words.

“I know. I heard people talking. These jerks
really
don’t like him.” She shook her head. “Too bad. They are really missing out. Wyatt would make one badass hunting guide.”

I smiled at her attempt to cheer me up. She walked over to the passenger’s side of my car. We both climbed inside the cab, but I didn’t even start the engine. I wasn’t sure how to continue or where to continue. Should I just drive home? Sit on my couch? Eat dinner? Try to have Thanksgiving tomorrow? Go back to classes next week? I didn’t know how to carry on, knowing Wyatt would be alone in a cell.

I felt a panic attack. I couldn’t breathe, feeling my muscles clench tight in my chest. My heart beat rapid as I pictured his face. His sad face. His sweet face. His lonely face. I tried to swallow, but the spit wouldn’t go down my throat.

Closing my eyes for a moment, I tried to block out the image but nothing worked. I looked over at Blaire. She was on her phone, trying to text one-handed. And a thought appeared out of nowhere. That very thought caused the panic to calm down just a bit.

“Is that Matt?” I whispered.

Her eyes cut over in my direction. “Yeah.”

“Is he in Norman right now?”

“Yeah. Why?” She paused, giving me a skeptical glare.

“Tell him to go to Bricktown. We will be at the Starbucks by the movie theater in about forty minutes.”

“Whoa! Just wait a minute,” she gasped.

“Just tell him that, Blaire. I want to take you to meet Matt. I
need
to do this,” I pleaded with my sister. “One of us should get a happy ending today.”

She stared at me, contemplating my words until finally nodding her head. Blaire typed across the little screen. Her terrified eyes looked back up at me. “He said yes.”

“Good.” I wiped another tear off my cheek before starting the engine. Everything still hurt, but helping my sister made the clouds not so gray.

We didn’t speak on the drive down the interstate. She periodically picked up her phone, glaring at it like she planned to type some apologetic message to back out of the meeting. But each time, my sister grumbled under her breath, slamming the phone back down in her lap.

Blaire’s eccentric antics kept my sanity in check. This was better than just driving home. This was better than sitting on the couch, trying not to picture him alone. This was better than thinking about Wyatt.

When we reached Starbucks, I had to practically drag my sister from the car. “I can’t, Emma. What about this thing on my arm?”

“It’s a good conversation topic.” I felt a brief grin on my lips. As we walked in the door, I recognized Matt immediately at the table next to the register. I pulled her along until we reached him. He got up and greeted us shyly. Matt didn’t look at me. He only looked at Blaire.

Excusing myself, I drifted away out of the picture and placed an order at the counter. I took a seat toward the back of the store, holding a latte with a dash of cinnamon. Inhaling a deep breath, the smell filled my nose with sweetness. I took a sip, letting the hot liquid run over my swollen throat.

My sister glanced over in my direction a few times. I smiled at her. They seemed to be hitting it off. After all her terror-filled moments of dread, she was doing just fine with Matt. They were in the beginning stages of their friendship or relationship or whatever my sister decided to call it.

In the midst of the broken pieces of my heart, I felt a surge of happiness. And something clicked. I would survive. We all would survive. Even Wyatt.