Emmerson's Heart Read online

  But…Um…..My dad was crying?

  Six-foot-three built with rancher’s muscles, the man everyone backed down to, had been crying. He had to have been. For as many times as Ben was in the house or even tried to come into the house, my dad never backed down from that. That was what got Emmer in trouble all the time. Ben.

  Now, Ben was in the house, the kitchen was a disaster, and he just stood there without an ounce of anger inside of him. Those glassy eyes shifted around the room at the bowls, papers, mail, and everything on the counter that was scattered across the floor, Mom backing into the corner, Rob and Will just standing there, and Marc rubbing his forehead while standing at the kitchen door. Nothing. Not a word, no anger, and no red face from trying to hold back because it was Emmer’s day.

  “Surprise!” Emmer’s voice blasted through the silent room and her hands were raised as high as she could. The tears rained down her face as she belted out the song Happy Birthday at the top of her lungs.

  My heart caught in my throat and the air in my lungs escaped, leaving me gaping at her and unable to say anything. Really? Oh, if Emmer was allowed to her own party tonight, I would be shocked. Having her screaming out surprise as if it was a secret party of his was a risk that none of us would have taken. But Emmer had to break the silence. It was how she was. She didn’t want anything to do with the eerie silence, and I didn’t blame her. An eerie silence meant bad things. And my dad’s eerie silence wasn’t something all of us experienced before.

  At the end of her little song, she shoved past me to launch herself straight into my dad’s arms and burying her face into his broad chest. The cries wailed from her so loud and so heartbreaking, there wasn’t an elephant….or a horse….standing in the room. Not when Emmer was crying like that. Those cries were very rare, but when they were there, no one tended to anything other than Emmer.

  Holding her tightly, the largest of the Huck men sobbed a little and mumbled something into her shoulder, causing her to nod. When she backed away from him, she turned to Ben and the smile came back to her face. Not a word was spoken as she walked the horse out of the house. Mom finally relaxed enough to take the boots back as Rob slipped his phone back into the pockets of his new dark blue jeans. Will bent down and started picking up the mess that Hurricane Ben left behind, with Marc’s help.

  Me. I just stood there unsure of what happened there. I was the one who Emmer came to when she needed comforting. I was. Always. Well, until Ben came in and stole her away from me. And when she went to my dad, that was something not one of us understood, nor did we question. When she needed him, she needed him for some reason. This was that reason.

  “Are you crying?” The words came from my mom’s mouth, breaking the silence. All eyes shot up, looking at my dad wearing his best crisp, white dress shirt tucked into his best black jeans, his usual best dress clothes. No doubt his black cowboy hat would come out of the closet and on top of his head when he walked out for Emmer’s graduation.

  Pressing his lips tight, his chin quivered a little as he tipped his head. Never in my life had I seen that man, my father, be the one to turn kitten over a girl. And he just stood there. Not a word. Nothing. The tears rolling down his cheeks. Silent. Finally, what seemed like hours later, he gave his nod, straightened his broad shoulders, and pulled everything back in as if nothing happened.

  “Woman, do not question me.” Those stern words poured over us, bringing Marc and Will to their feet.

  “Jackson, you’re crying.” She poked with that little twitch at the corner of her plump lips. At my graduation, Mom cried and Dad sat proud in the chair next to her. At Marc’s graduation, same thing. Rob’s graduation, Mom cried and Dad was quiet, but that was because Rob’s friends were also Emmer’s friends and he gave them each a glaring warning to stay away from his little girl. And I am sure it would be the same at Will’s graduation next spring. But this….Emmerson Cogwell’s graduation brought something out of the man I never imagined was possible. Who knew the bear would turn into a cub at the drop of a little girl?

  Well, I knew. I knew what that man was capable of because I seen it with my own eyes. I knew how far he would go because of Emmer. I was there to witness it. I was there to stop him before he brought death onto another man. Still, we never spoke about that night. Not one word, but I knew he thought about it. I knew wherever he went, he was searching for the one man he would like to bring to an early grave. But that man, Emmerson’s father, was nowhere to be found. You don’t come back after Jackson Huck makes that kind of promise. Jackson Huck was a man that fulfilled his promises.

  “Oh my God, you are crying.” Mom clutched the boots to her chest as she made her way through the mess to him. “No shame. We all watched the woman she became….”

  “Connie….Enough.” His eyes tightened as he scanned over each of us, stopping at me with the heat in those dark eyes. “You make sure that horse stays here.”

  “I have a lock for the….” My heart skipped a beat. I knew how Ben was and Ben was an animal that was hard to lock up. If Emmer went to the school, that damn horse would follow. I should know. I had to pick him up a lot from there.

  “You’re staying back and keeping him here.” Puffing out his chest, he gave one last look at Marc and motioned to the door. “Get her back in here to go.”

  My heart sank hard. How could I not go to Emmer’s graduation? This was Emmer. Missing this day would devastate her. Hell, it would devastate me. I wanted to see her walk across that stage. I wanted to see her take this step in life. Not because she was done with school where I can step up and finally have my chance with the one woman who held my heart, but to watch the freedom fill into her even more, her getting the step out into the world. To see her graduate was not just a special day to her, but to me, too. It was what I had been waiting for this past year. In the fall, she would have to go to college, but we would make it work. We would and could.

  A year at college in Billings, staying in the dorms, was something my parents started with Marc, not me. Marc was the one who brought this whole college thing about. He wanted to go and the parents wanted him to see there was a life outside of the ranch. Marc was just the one who decided the world was where he wanted to be. Rob spent his year at college and came home right after to take the rest of his classes online. I could see my parents’ whole issue with the college and making sure we knew we weren’t tied down to the ranch, but forcing Emmer to go, that was hard. He didn’t want her to go. She definitely didn’t want to go. And I really didn’t want her to go. But a year was something we could get through. Easy enough.

  And no matter what, I wasn’t going to miss this day. Not today. I wanted this time with her to let her know this wasn’t ending here. I would be here, there when she needed me to be there, and we would stay together. She would be mine and I would always be hers. Emmerson’s heart was mine and would always be mine. I missed being her first date, but that was all I was going to miss of her firsts. Graduation included, even if I had to chain Ben to the corral. I wasn’t missing this.

  With twenty minutes to spare, the kitchen was cleaned and back in order, Emmer reeked of Ben, and my dad was still having water issues with his eyes. It was time. Taking Emmer out to the porch, my stomach sank hard. My dad told me I was to stay back to keep Ben on the ranch, but how could I tell her? She was upset earlier when I gave her the boots and I knew she was upset about today. Now, I would have to let her know I wasn’t going to be there. But when those tear filled aqua eyes shifted up to me, whatever part of me she didn’t have, she owned now. Everything inside of me was hers, melting, swirling, and completely lost into that one girl I brought home after finding her bloody and damn near frozen to death.

  “Are you ready?” She wasn’t, though. Emmer was the ranch. This was where she wanted to be, no matter what. Making her go was hard. Very hard, seeing as, even though she has been with us for a while, this was something that was hard for her to do. Having this day be about her was something that she absolut
ely hated. But she had to go and I had to make sure she followed through.

  “You’re not going to be there, are you?” The tear trickled down her cheek, kicking me square in the stomach; a drop kick unannounced taking my heart from my chest. She already knew. “Paul?”

  What could I say to her? I might sneak over to watch, but for the most part, I had to keep her crazy horse here for her sake. “I will be there a little later.”

  “I’m scared.” As she drew that bottom lip through her teeth, I almost choked. If that wasn’t the sexiest sight I ever saw. The heat pooled through my body even more, enough to melt the chocolate in my eyes.

  “About what?” Cupping her cheek, I swallowed hard hoping I would be able to contain myself until tonight. I had to wait until tonight to kiss her. Tonight, it would come no matter what. I wasn’t her first date, but I would be damned if I wasn’t her first kiss.

  “This. Everything. I’m graduating high school and this is going to change everything.” In Emmer’s world, this everything that was something so small to others was a huge time for her life. If I didn’t know about her past, I would have just shoved it off, but this was my girl, my Emmerson. I could see she was scared, but she was a part of our family. That would never change and someday, I will make her a Huck through marriage. “I will have to go to that damn college and-”

  “Don’t you even worry about that. We have the summer to work on my Dad about that. We will show him that your place is right here….with me.” Taking the chance, I leaned in closer. As I did, I caught the horsey scent of my Emmer as it began intoxicating me completely. I just wanted to kiss her, but I knew if I took that chance, I would never stop. As I brushed my lips against her cheek, she let out a breath to take it in. Oh, yes. She lingered there, her eyes closed, capturing it all in her heart. “Today is yours, Emmer….but tonight is ours.”

  Her eyes opened wide, and then a smile spread across her face, lighting it up like a wildfire on the prairie in the driest of summers during the darkest of nights. Yes! She would be mine. She would be all mine. But tonight. It was going to be tonight when I tell her how much I truly loved her and wanted to be with her. Nothing would take us apart. Not a damn thing.

  “Alight, let’s get to the school before we are late.” Mom’s voice came through the kitchen, giving me the cue to back off. When she opened the screen door, the camera was up in her hands clicking photos of my beautiful golden goddess. “You look absolutely beautiful, little girl.”

  “Thanks for doing my boots, Connie.” The crimson filled her cheeks, but the pain of her past was swelling in those vibrant eyes of Emmer’s. As much as we all tried showing her days like these weren’t about seeing how much pain we can inflict on each other, that was still there deep inside of her. At least she wasn’t waiting for it to come to that anymore. She wasn’t hiding, expecting those kinds of gifts from us like the first year she spent living under the Huck roof.

  One by one, my three younger brothers walked out, passing her with a quick hug. Marc lingered a little too long, but that wasn’t something I had to worry about. Emmer’s heart was all mine.

  Watching the boys and Mom taking Emmer down to the truck, my heart filled with so much happiness, I was afraid it would burst. Tonight. Tonight I would have her in my arms and nothing could change that.

  As I stood next to my father, my creator, I never respected a man so much in my life. Just for as proud of us as he was, to be so caring for Emmer as he was, and a great man, it was like standing next to the king of kings. How could I not respect a man who had taken in another’s daughter after enduring the past as she had just like if she were his own?

  His heavy bear claw came down on my shoulder, giving me a squeeze. None like he has ever given me one before, but I was the one to bring Emmer into his life, to give him the daughter he always wanted. I gave him that. I saved her life that one night. And if it weren’t for me, if I hadn’t left my friends at that time, she wouldn’t be alive.

  “She’s simply amazing, isn’t she?” The smile spread through me, from my toes to the top of my head, just looking at Emmerson. How could I not be simply amazed at what she had become? Each day was more to her, more than the normal person. And I swear, that girl got even smarter as the sun fell into the dusky sky.

  Tipping his head, he released his hold on my shoulder and stepped off the porch. Strong and powerful, he graced himself into the driver’s seat of his truck letting the vehicle roar to life. And of course, Emmer right between the king of kings and his queen.

  And that would be Emmer and me one day. One day, I will become the king of kings just like my father and Emmerson Cogwell will be my queen right beside me. Tonight will be the first night of the rest of our lives.

  I stood on the porch watching that truck head down the dirt road and leaving a cloud of dust. I would be there today for her. If she wanted me there, I wasn’t going to miss it. I just had to think of a way to keep Ben at the ranch. Locking him in the stall wouldn’t work because he knew how to unhook the latch. And if I put a lock on that, that fool would break the damn door again. Securing him in the training corral was the best option. The fencing was high enough that he couldn’t jump and I could chain the gate close. But if he tried jumping the fence, he would surely break his leg and I couldn’t let that happen.

  As I walked down to the barn, his head came up from the pail of grain and he let out a soft nicker. Shaking my head, I patted his rump and went inside. There wasn’t any other way. I just hoped he would let me ride him. And why shouldn’t he be there for Emmer today also? He was a part of her soul, cut from the same cookie cutter. As long as I stayed by him, he wouldn’t be a problem. We would just stay in the back and watch.

  Getting him saddled wasn’t the issue. The ride was. I had no idea how in the world Emmer could handle him. I had a hard time fighting just to keep him from going full speed to town and I rode my whole life. This horse had one thing on his mind and he wasn’t going to be happy until he was reunited with her. And I would make sure they were never apart again.

  By the time I managed to get to the school grounds, my hands and legs were sore, but I was there to see her get called up on the stage to receive her diploma. Her eyes glistened as she looked out into the crowd, catching my dad, mom, brothers, and Rob’s friends in the chairs behind her classmates. But when they drifted up, finding me in the back with Ben, the smile brightened my world. Her arm flew as she waved, knocking her dark blue cap off, sending her diploma sailing out into the lawn, and her body damn near shoving the principal off the stage. Her arm came down on his as she went to the edge to jump off, but he stopped her, guiding her to the stairs instead. Running down the aisle, she shoved, weaved, and bobbed her way through the spectators until she came up to me. Throwing her arms around my neck, she pressed her body tight to mine. The ache hit me hard. The heat from wanting her blistered my skin. I needed her. I wanted this. I wanted her in the most extreme ways, but I had to get her back to the ceremony.

  As she impatiently sat in her chair, her attention on Ben and me, I knew she was done, ready to go back to the ranch. When the graduation ended, she was right back to me along with the rest of the Hucks. Mom was dabbing her eyes, Rob and his friends were congratulating her, Will was checking out a few of Emmer’s female classmates, and my dad was silent.

  “I can just ride him home.” Unzipping her gown, Emmer shed that cloth so fast, I was amazed. If she had gotten out of that gown that quick, what would it be like the first time we would ever…No, I couldn’t think like that. Not right now. When we arrived at that position in our lives, it would happen on Emmer’s terms. Not mine. And not because I just had to have her. I will in time. She would be the last woman I ever had and the one I will love until I die. No one will ever be in Emmer’s place in my heart. No one would ever have my heart like she did. That belonged only to her.

  With my dad’s approval, I handed over the reins. He knew Ben wouldn’t stay home. Not on this day. Ben was, in a weird sort of wa
y, part of the family. He was the family dog, just in a horse’s body. Why shouldn’t he be here?

  “You can ride home with me.” Emmer pressed her forehead to Ben’s with her hands spread on his thick cheeks.

  “As long as you can keep him calm.” Take a chance and ride double on that beast? Hell yeah! Anyway I could get my arms around Emmer, I was going to take it now that she was graduated. And it was going to be a slow ride home, too. I would make sure of that.

  Clearing his throat, Dad straightened his shoulders and looked at Emmer with the tears building back up in his eyes. “Go straight home. There is still plenty to do before the bonfire.”

  “Will do, Jackson.” Of course that would get Emmer home. Chores were what Emmer loved, even if it meant getting dirty. Her freedom, she called it, and knowing there was more to do back at the ranch, she would be there.

  Gathering the family, my dad headed them back to the truck. Stopping, he looked at me, his eyes tightening to the strong dark chocolates he pulled out in his fits of anger or temperament issues. “I will talk to you later.”

  Nodding, I turned my fullest of attention back to my golden ray of sunshine. Tonight was just a few hours away and then I would make her mine for sure, the right way, properly. I would talk to her about it and see what she thought before I did anything. With Emmer, I had to take my time because I knew what she came from, what she endured in the past. And she was one I would rather take my time with, cherish her the way she needed to be, and love her with all my heart. No rush, we had the rest of our lives.

  Helping her up on Ben’s back, she settled into the saddle and smiled down at me. My hand rested on her thigh as I just stood there taking in the sight, admiring it. That sight of her against the afternoon sun would be a picture that would never leave my mind. When her hand came down on mine, her thumb caressing the top of my hand, I almost lost it. The talk I planned on tonight just turned from seeing what and if she felt the same about me into how and what we were going to do when she went to college. There was no question in my mind now as to whether or not she felt the same. She did. She really did.