William Jarvis - Sky Valley 04 - Murderous Coffee Crumble (2 page)

“That’s enough, Tripp.” Troy said. “I don’t know what your business around here is but you have no right to be around Time for Coffee.”

“Why? Because you’re scared of the secrets that I may find? Because you’re scared that I can tell everyone that you’re capable of killing others the way you killed my daughter? Because you do not want to deal with the fact that another unfortunate incident happened at the resort months ago? Isn’t that enough reason for you to back away from business, Troy?”

“I have no secrets, Tripp.” He said. “And we didn’t kill your daughter so go away now. Go and don’t ever come back.”

Tripp laughed. “I won’t bulldoze your beloved shop,” he said, “but be prepared. I have something far bigger coming up. And you’re going down, Troy. You’re certainly going to go down.”

“We’re not scared of you, Tripp.” Emmy spat. “You should be scared and ashamed of yourself.”

Tripp shook his head, called his bodyguards and went inside his car and sped away. Emmy then looked at the bunch of people around. “Go away!” She said. “Go away, all of you!”

People shook their heads and murmured as they all went their separate ways. It was close to midnight but it felt like the day was just starting.

“Oh well,” Audrina quipped as almost everyone left them, “that was quite a homecoming.”

CHAPTER
3
SEWING THE TIES

“Thanks, Anja.” Daniel said as Anja served them tea when they got home that night. He was sitting next to Emmy who was sitting next to Audrina. Troy was sitting down across them.

“She’s very pretty.” Audrina quipped and everyone looked at her. Some things have never changed.

“What?” She said with a playful smile on her face.

“You’re not her.” Troy said.

“Oh god.” Emmy said at the awkwardness of it all.

“Sorry.” Troy said. “I know you’re having a tough night, Em, I didn’t mean to—“

“No, dad, it’s okay.” Emmy said. “I mean, this is all crazy but it seemed like Audrina came home for you so…”

“Hey!” Audrina said, “it’s not just about that. I mean, I had a feeling that things are going crazy again and as you can see, I’m right. Plus…that Frank guy seemed sketchy. I wish I called you earlier, Em. I mean, I searched for him everywhere on the web and he has no single profile whatsoever. I found that to be really weird so I decided that maybe, it’s high time for me to get back. And looks like I’m right…what happened at the party?”

“It was a disaster.” Emmy said. She told them about how Frank acted like he didn’t know her and that he didn’t want her there, and how he lied to her about Serena. She also told them that Serena was Lena McMahon’s daughter.

“What?!” Audrina said. “Now that’s really weird!”

“I know.” Emmy said. “I just find it so hard to believe that this is all just a coincidence and that they never planned for this to happen.”

“Of course it’s not a coincidence.” Daniel said. “The question is, why? Why are they doing this? What’s their angle? Of course, they’re going to deny that there’s something behind this but we’re not stupid. Their angle is what we have to focus on.”

“Easy, kids.” Troy said. “That’s a strong accusation.”

“Oh come on, dad.” Emmy said. “They’re trying to bring us down and it’s so obvious!”

“Lena is a police officer. She probably won’t allow herself to deal with things like this.”

“You are so naïve!” Audrina said. “Sure, she may be a police officer but can’t you see the evil that’s seeping through her veins, huh? She’s obviously not in the right state of mind. If you’d ask me, I think she’s working with Tripp Meyer on this.”

“Tripp lost his daughter.” Troy said. “He’s being crazy right now, sure, but why would he work to kill his daughter?”

“What if that wasn’t necessarily the plan? What if that just happened? I mean, have you forgotten Tripp’s face when Jimmy admitted that he was behind this? Plus, it felt like he was so keen on pinning the blame on Audrina. There’s just something behind this, dad. I’m sure.” Emmy asked. “With how things have panned out in the past couple of months, I’d say I agree with Audrina’s idea. Tripp and Lena are behind this. And we have to find out the reason why.”

“See?” Audrina said.

“Still, you can’t go on and say those words out loud because it might make things more dangerous.”

Emmy sighed. “You are just so nice, dad.” She said. “This is why people work against you.”

“He lost his daughter.” He said. “I could lose mine, too.”

“Yeah, sure,” Emmy said, “especially because it feels like you’re no longer hell bent on knowing who’s behind this and why they’re trying to ruin our lives. You’ve given up.”

“What are you talking about, Emmy?” Troy asked. “I certainly haven’t given up.”

“That’s surely not what you’re showing right now.”

“Yeah?” Troy said. “But how would you know that, Emmy? You’ve been gone all those years and I’m here. I’ve been here all along and now I’m trying my best to protect this family and you can’t even see it? Maybe the problem lies in the fact that you can’t see who’s there for you, Emmy, so you fall into the trap of trusting people whom you really shouldn’t trust.”

“So, now you’re blaming me?” Emmy retorted. “Why can’t you understand that we’re trying to help you, dad?”

“Em,” Audrina said.

“No, let her speak.” Troy said. “She never speaks to me anyway.”

“You never speak to me, too.” Emmy said. “Maybe, if mom was here, she would understand why I think the way I think. She wouldn’t tell me that she’s trying to protect this family because she really would be in the business of doing so.”

“That’s enough.” Daniel said. “Everyone’s just tired and frustrated right now. We’ll just do what we can to find out why this is happening.”

“And we should do so as soon as possible or else we’re all going down.” Emmy said. “Sorry, dad, but I don’t think we need to wait until the next person dies or something.”

“I’m in.” Audrina said, “But I’m going to sleep for tonight. Is my room still available?”

For some reason, this made them laugh. Audrina can surely turn things around in just a couple of seconds.

“It sure is.” Emmy smiled. “I’m glad you’re back.” She held Audrina’s hand.

She smiled back. “I am, too.” She then stood up and tapped Troy on the shoulder as she held her luggage. “Get some sleep, too.” She said. “Hopefully, by the time you wake up, you’ll understand what we’re going through. And you’ll see that we’re just trying to help you redeem your name.”

Audrina then went upstairs and Troy told them that he will be sleeping in his office at the basement. Soon enough, it was just Daniel and Emmy in the living room. They were quiet for a couple of seconds until Daniel spoke.

“So…” He said.

Emmy took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.” She said. “I’m sorry for everything. I know I…I maybe should not have broken up with you and I don’t really know what we are right now, but…I was just confused. I felt like what we had was something wrong because things just kept on getting worse and I really didn’t know what to think anymore. I felt like maybe I shouldn’t have gone back from Paris and that I shouldn’t be in a relationship with you but I tried because I’ve always loved you and still, things got out of hand. It’s just…it’s just not fair.”

“Sssh,” Daniel said and held Emmy’s hand. “First of all,” he said, “I’d like to say sorry, too. Maybe, I just didn’t show and made you feel that I’m really here and that I do care. But I do, okay? I do. And I love you. And…we’re not in the past, Em. For me, we’ll always be in the present. I just want you to not keep denying that. Unless…” he paused and then, “unless, you really have fallen for Frank.”

“No, no, it’s not like that.” She said. “I mean…I mean, I thought he was genuine but I should’ve listened to you right away. I should’ve known that he was bad news when you told me about those flowers but I wanted to prove that I was right. I didn’t even interpret my dreams right, for heaven’s sake! I was very stupid, Dan.”

“We all have those moments.” He said. “And you know what?” He went on, “what matters is that you choose to stand up from those moments. I know it’s hard but I hope you know that I’m here.”

She smiled despite of herself. “I love you.” She said. She was scared to say it but she couldn’t help it anymore; not after tonight.

“I love you, too.” He said. “And don’t worry, Em.” He said, “We’re going to bring those enemies down.”

She laughed. “You sound like a hero from a movie!”

He laughed, too. “I am your hero.”

And then they laughed at the same time, realizing how cheesy they were being.

“Thank you,” She told him.

“No,” he said, “Thank you.”

CHAPTER
4
SURPRISE

“That’s it,” Emmy said, “add those chips gradually so that they stick to the rest of the mixture. Then let’s add more buttermilk.”

“I can actually just eat it this way, you know?” Daniel said and Emmy laughed. The following afternoon, they found themselves in Emmy’s kitchen, whipping up some coffee cupcakes.

“That won’t be magical!” Emmy said. She was surprised at how easy it was for her to cook again even after what transpired last night. Maybe, she just wanted to bask in the happiness of being with Daniel again because she knew that things might take a sour turn again. They still have to figure out whether or not they were right about Lena and Tripp, and if they were, they wanted to know what their reason for doing so is.

“Speaking of magical,” Daniel said. “Well...can you come out for a second with me?”

“Come where?”

“Just at the garden.”

“Oh…okay,” Emmy didn’t know what Daniel was planning but she gave her hand to him and allowed him to lead her to the garden. She was surprised to find out that he set up a long table and some chairs, complete with flowers in mason jars and white drapes in arcs. These were some of the things that she loved most.

Her father was also on one end of the room, together with Anja. Troy was holding a bottle of wine in one hand. There were also pink and silver balloons tied to the chairs and the arcs, and some rose petals on the ground. A boom box was also playing their favorite songs from the 90’s, which made the mood all the cheesier and romantic.

“Surprise!” Daniel smiled.

“Dan,” Emmy said as she looked at him. “This is beautiful! What? Is this some dinner thing that you planned? And where’s Audrina—“

“Audrina said that she’ll get your favorite Texan Fried Chicken and obviously she’s not here yet but I just can’t wait anymore. I feel like I have been waiting for so long and…” Tears were rushing out of his eyes, much to Emmy’s surprise. “Emmy, I’ve known you for a long time. We’ve spent days playing, drinking tea, and listening to nana’s stories when we were wee little kids. We’ve spent nights not going to sleep just to study for our exams. We’ve had our fair share of ups and downs.

Do you remember when you broke up with me for the first time? It was when you were about to leave for Paris all those years back. I wanted to tell you then that you didn’t have to break up with me because I’d be here for you no matter what. But I let you go. I was stupid for doing so but I guess, I also wanted you to see the world because you deserve so much more than what I could give you. And, I knew that you’d be great out there. I knew that you deserve to make your dreams come true and so even though it broke my heart, I let you go.

So, yeah, we had relationships with other people. For a while, I thought that maybe, that was it for us. Maybe, we really had to move on with our lives because it’s useless to get stuck in the past. I would hear news about you and would be happy for everything you get to achieve then, you know, my relationship with Ruby faltered and for a time, I thought that maybe, love just won’t be for me. Because realistically speaking, I kept looking for what we had, which of course, wasn’t really fair for others so I just decided to be alone.

And then you came back and we made amends and tried to make things work. And then we broke up once more. It hurt me. I didn’t know what to feel but I realized, maybe, you just need time. But nothing would change how I feel about you. I also realized that actions, not words, are what I should show you. I guess, I’ve often made the mistake of not letting you feel how much I love you and how much I care for you, and now, I would like you to know how I feel.

Emmy, I love you. I always have and I know I always will. I know there will be hard days. There will be days when we probably won’t feel like ourselves and when we’d think that it’s better to be apart. On days like that, I would like you to remember that you have me, and that I love you and I’d always be here. I just want you to realize that and not forget it. I want you to know and understand that I won’t let you down and it will be stupid for us to forget about our love for each other and to think that it’s wrong to be together.

I love you, Emmy. Will you marry me?” He took out a box from his pocket and took a beautiful white gold ring with three pink diamonds on top.

Emmy couldn’t believe this, but her heart was bursting with pride and happiness because she felt like this was the moment that she has been waiting for so long. “Yes.” She answered almost breathlessly and Daniel put the ring on her finger and gave her a long hug.

“I love you.” He said.