Page 10 of Cuffed (Everyday Heroes 1)
“How is she? Was she well?”
I take a long sip of beer and wipe my hands on my napkin before leaning back in my chair and shrugging. “No idea. I was working the crowd at the pub crawl when I saw her.”
“And?” she prompts.
“She saw me, and then she had to leave, so we didn’t really get a chance to talk.” Emmy’s shocked eyes flash through my mind. I’m not sure why I lie to them about it.
“Are you going to see her again?” Dad asks.
“It was so quick, I didn’t get her phone number. Besides, if I wanted to, I wouldn’t know the first place to look for her. She was probably here for the holiday or something and is gone now.”
“You are a cop, dipshit. In case you didn’t know.” The kick to the shin I gave Grady moments ago is returned to me under the table.
“And your point is?” I grunt, glaring at my brother.
“You have all the stalking capabilities you need at the station.”
“Nah, I couldn’t do that,” I reply, but that doesn’t mean the thought hasn’t crossed my mind a time or a hundred.
“Stick with that thought, Grant,” Dad warns. “The last thing you need is to misuse city resources while being considered for the promotion.”
“And the chief speaks,” Grayson adds to lighten the mood with a laugh.
“Do you have more of that cobbler?” Grady asks, effectively shifting the subject, but not before I see one last glance between Mom and Dad that leaves me lost in thought while the conversation moves on.
I was a kid when everything happened with Em, so it was hard for me to reconcile how nice her dad was with what she said happened to her. Now, I’m an adult and have seen things on the job that have taught me that even the nicest of people could do the cruelest of things.
When I apply that knowledge to the little I know of Emerson’s history, I can completely understand why seeing me may have caused some of the memories to rush back.
Chairs shift as the meal ends. The table is cleared. Dishes are washed. Luke helps, but he gets more water on the floor than in the sink. The night wears on.
My hands are on the railing, my body braced as I watch the sun begin to set in the distance.
My mom steps up beside me and slides an arm around my waist. “You’re awfully quiet.”
“Just thinking.”
“About a dispatch or about Emmy?”
I should have known she’d revisit the topic. “A little bit of everything.”
“It’s okay to be curious about her, Grant,” she says.
“Yeah, but for some reason, I don’t think she wants me to be.”
“What do you mean?”
“She bolted, Mom. She saw me, and I swear the look on her face went from happy to anxious. It was as if she was scared of me.”
“You’re a reminder of her past she’s probably chosen to forget.”
“Yeah. I guess.” But that still doesn’t explain why she’s here in Sunnyville or why I can’t stop thinking about her.
“Are you going to see her again?”
“Even if I wanted to, I told you I don’t have any way to—”
“And I raised self-sufficient, resourceful sons. Don’t give me your excuses,” she says, putting me in my place before patting my shoulder and walking back inside.
