Chapter Twenty-five

Brant was hardly surprised to see the crew from Danvers along with Mark and Ava at the airport. Of course Mark would have offered them a ride back to Myrtle Beach on his plane. He was hardly in the mood to socialize after leaving Emma behind, but maybe it was for the best. Less time to brood could only be a good thing.

Everyone kept the conversation light as they were cleared for takeoff. When the plane reached its cruising altitude, the flight attendant Mark had hired for the return trip took drink orders. Mark ordered a scotch and soda and Brant requested the same. It was still early, but damn, he needed a drink. Suzy looked at him sympathetically before dropping her hand briefly over his. “She’ll be home soon.” He stared at her for a moment, seeing not the beautiful and intimidating woman before him but, surprisingly, an ally.

He looked around, thankful that no one seemed to be paying any attention to their conversation. “Do you think so?” he asked, needing some reassurance.

Suzy studied him for a moment. “Yeah, I do. Whatever else is happening or has happened between you two, you were meant to be together from the moment you met.” In typical Suzy fashion, she added, “You two generated enough sparks together to singe my damn eyebrows off.”

He chuckled, surprising both himself and Suzy. “Thank you.” He smiled. “You have no idea how much I needed that.”

“Oh, I think I do,” she replied, “and you’re welcome.” Brant looked away as Gray claimed his wife’s attention. Jason and Claire sat beside them. Jason idly twirled a lock of his wife’s hair as if he needed to stay connected while he discussed business with Declan. Ella was curled against her husband, who kept a protective arm around her while she slept against his shoulder.

Brant was glad to see his brother so at peace after years of searching for something that never seemed to be there. Looking at Ella, Brant thought he finally understood what Declan had been so desperate to find . . . it was her. When at last Brant’s gaze landed on Mark and Ava, he was more puzzled than angry. Hell no, he didn’t want Mark involved with his sister, but that wasn’t the vibe he was getting from them. In a weird way, it looked more like some kind of friendship than anything romantic or, God forbid, sexual. It was a strange concept to think of Mark having a straight friendship with someone as attractive as Ava.

Brant was relieved when Jason drew him into a discussion of a new customer and forced his mind away from Emma and onto business. Maybe it was obvious to the other man that he needed a break from all the thoughts racing through his head.

Emma fixed herself a cup of coffee, taking a much-needed sip before walking through the open double doors and onto the deck. The day so far was unusually mild for Florida. Her mother was already sitting on a patio chair and Emma took the one next to her. They sat in companionable silence for a few moments, sipping their coffee and watching the waves break in the ocean. Emma suspected that they were both imagining Robyn riding the waves and throwing up a hand in greeting when she spotted them watching her. Sadly, the memory of it was all they had now. Her mother was the first to break the silence. “I heard Brant leave this morning. Did he have to get back home?”

“Yeah. He was catching a flight with the others from Danvers.”

“I see.” Her mother took another drink of coffee. “Why didn’t you go back with him?”

Surprised, Emma said, “Why would I do that? I couldn’t just leave you guys to handle everything. Jason told me to take all the time I needed.” Emma almost cringed, knowing she sounded defensive.

Showing some of her former spark, her mother turned to her with a knowing expression on her face. “Honey, I’m not blind. You looked like someone had kicked your cat when Brant showed up here. Now, I’m thinking that someone in a relationship wouldn’t be surprised if the other person came in those circumstances. Are you and Brant having problems?”

Emma sighed. She was just too damn tired to continue the charade. If nothing else, she was sure that she could distract her mother for a while with her straight-out-of-a-book tale of blackmail, lust, mixed signals and finally love, so she confessed everything . . . well, some things in less detail than others, but she gave her the gist of what had been going on.

Sometime later, her mother flopped back against her chair, saying, “Wow, you could have just answered with ‘It’s complicated.’”

Emma started laughing. “Are you kidding, it was worth the embarrassment just to see your mouth hanging open. Admit it, Mom, you didn’t think I had it in me.”

“Honey, I knew you had it in you; after all, you have my blood in your veins. I just wondered when you would realize it. One thing you didn’t say, though, during your story. Do you love Brant?”

Without hesitation, Emma said, “Yes. No matter how much he drives me crazy at times, I absolutely love him. I think I have from the moment he gave me his first disapproving frown. He had no idea that those frowns turned into the highlight of my day.”

“Well then, I repeat, why are you still here?”

Emma took her mother’s hand. “He hurt me and I need some time to come to terms with that. And more important, I would never leave you here to go through Robyn’s apartment and her things alone. I love Brant, but my family comes first right now. He’ll wait for me, Mom. If I know nothing else, I know that.”

Chapter Twenty-six

In the end, it was eighteen days later when Emma returned home to Myrtle Beach. Suzy had agreed to pick her up at the airport. She hadn’t told Brant that she was coming home; she wanted to surprise him. True to his word, he had stepped back and given her the time she needed. If it hadn’t been for her friends letting her know that, other than working twelve-hour days, he was fine, she probably would have broken down and called him much sooner. She knew it was silly, but she just couldn’t risk having long telephone conversations with him again and then coming home to find a completely different Brant. She was still traumatized from the pain of receiving the cold shoulder from him before Robyn’s accident.

She spotted Suzy immediately in the airport arrivals area. There was no way to miss the striking redhead with the impossibly high heels. Emma was thrilled to see her friend looking so happy and healthy. Suzy had told her on the phone that they were planning to adopt and that they had taken their first step in the process this week: a home study. Emma was confident that the agency would see that Suzy and Gray would be wonderful parents. She had little doubt that her tough-talking friend would melt when she held her child in her arms for the first time. They threw their arms around each other, hugging like it had been months instead of a couple of weeks. Suzy pulled back, looking at her. “Babe, it’s so good to have you back. We’ve all missed you.”