“Awesome, Dee! And Beck! I would say have fun, but we all know that would be a pointless thing to say. I’ve heard stories about you, John Beckett!”

He actually blushes at my jest. I laugh, throwing my head back and almost taking Asher’s nose out in the process.

“I don’t tell her everything,” Dee defends.

“HA! Like he’s going to believe you… Wildcat!”

She smacks me in the arm before giving me a big hug. Beck gives me a one-armed squeeze. I never really understood the point of those.

“Who is missing?” I call through the house, turning away from the door.

“Me,” I hear rumbled behind me.

I turn around so quickly that I almost fall on my ass. Maddox reaches out quickly and steadies me.

“Hey, Mad.” I give him a big hug and kiss his rough cheek. “Where is Em?”

“I’m right here,” she grinds out, her eyes never leaving Maddox’s. Well, alrighty then.

“I swear, you two—both of you need to wear bells. It’s just not natural how quiet y’all prowl.”

Emmy looks over and flashes me a smile. We’ve grown real close since she saved my life. I feel like I owe her tremendously.

“How are you?” she inquires.

“A lot better. I haven’t had a nightmare since the bad one I had three days after it went down. I think I’m getting a lot better. Asher helps a lot though. If I need to talk, he helps me get it all out and sort my head. I still have my moments, but for the first time in a long time, I don’t feel alone. I’m really happy. It doesn’t hurt knowing that crazy bitch is going to be locked up in that mental hospital for probably the rest of her life.”

“They finally sentenced her?” Maddox asks.

“As far as I know. I don’t want to talk about the details with Asher. He let me know that she would be spending the rest of her life at a treatment center, and that’s all I need to know. Apparently, she went batshit crazy, and no, that isn’t the technical term they used. It’s just a fact. I did ask him one thing, and really, it’s the only thing I care about. I wanted to know why. Why she went so far off the rocker she fell of the porch and down a hill where she landed in a pile of shit.”

They all laugh. I join in because, really, now that it’s over and done with, the only thing I can do is laugh. I don’t want to remember the fear she had me drowning in. I see it every time I look at my wrists and see the scars that will probably always be there.

“Anyway, she got hooked on some hardcore drugs after Asher dumped her ass. Her father cut her off both physically and financially. She’s been living off her seriously thick trust fund for the last eight years.”

The specifics on just how she was able to get to me still make my skin crawl.
“She had it planned for months. Or as soon as she noticed how serious Asher was with me. Then, when my stomach started growing, apparently that’s when she snapped. They called it a psychotic break—or something like that. To her, I was the other woman who had moved in on her man.” I could laugh at Emmy’s shocked expression. We all knew that it was bad—we just didn’t realize it was this bad. “She rented the apartment just a door down from ours. She would sit and watch our every move. The day that she knocked Joe unconscious and attacked me in our home was of the most terrifying experiences of my life, but I’ve vowed to put it behind me. It’s time for Asher and me to start moving forward and focusing on all the positive things in our lives. I just wanted to know what her motivation was. Now that I do, I can move on.”

“You’re one crazy-strong woman, Chelcie,” Emmy says, and I see so much respect in her eyes.

“I couldn’t have done it without you, Em. You saved my life that day. Mine and Zac’s.”

She blushes an adorable blush that covers her face and neck.

“I’m just glad I had decided to stop by. I had been sitting on your baby gift for a few days—ever since I had gotten back in town—and with everything going on, I had forgotten to bring it to you.” She shakes her head, and I reach out, hugging her tight.

When I think about just how much her showing up was a huge tip of fate, how close I came to death that day, I still get sick.

Just another reason for me to put it to rest and move on.

“Go on in and get comfortable. Asher has the food out on the grill now, so it shouldn’t be long.”

She moves past me, and I don’t miss the look of pure fire she shoots at Maddox when she slips through to the kitchen, where I hear Asher greet her with a loud yell. He’s decided that Emmy is his honorary sister. I think it’s adorable. He gets almost fatherly with his protection over Emmy.