“Stop,” Emma snapped, wound close to breaking. Nathan gave her a startled look. She glared at Hadley, jaw clenched. “It’s our house and we’ve got a right to live in it. Just leave us alone.”
“Emma,” Nathan said, giving her a baffled and embarrassed look.
“That’s all right, Mr. Gates. Emma and I have some history. No hard feelings, Emma—and I’m happy to leave you and yours alone, as long as you don’t make your business my business. Oh, and Emma? Say hi to Gabriel for me.” He gave Nathan a nod—nothing for Emma—and ambled away casually.
Emma’s skin felt flushed. Her grip on the basket was so tight her fingers hurt and she wanted to shout after Hadley, but she had no idea what she would say—what words could possibly turn the fear and hurt inside her back on him as she wanted to.
“What the hell was that?” Nathan asked.
She looked up at him. “He … Back when my parents died, he…” Her throat tightened.
“I know you have history, but you were coming across a little Karen-y there,” Nathan said with infuriating cautiousness and an edge of humor she wanted to cut him with.
“You didn’t hear what he said,” she ground out.
“Look, you’re not exactly in a good frame of mind,” he said. He reached for the basket. “Why don’t I check out. You can wait in the car.”
“I’m fine, Nathan,” she said—and realized she sounded like she was about to cry. Which was ridiculous, since she hadn’t cried once—not finding out about the layoff, the offer, the baby, confessing her deep dark secrets to him. Except as soon as she’d thought it, it was like all of it hit her at once.
“Fuck,” she said loudly. A man at the other end of the aisle looked her way.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. That ever-present nausea was surging again, and the store felt unbearably hot. She wanted to get outside under the sky and take a breath that didn’t stink of paint fumes.
Nathan rubbed a soothing hand along her upper arm. “Hey, it’s okay. Go wait in the car, turn the air-conditioning on. I’ll go pay, and we can get out of here.”
She nodded mutely. She walked out into the sun, a hand over her stomach. Still flat enough she could forget she was pregnant at all—except for the sickness and the sore boobs and the fatigue that walloped her by seven every night.
She stalked over to the car and clambered in. They’d parked in the sun and the heat inside was like a solid thing. She got the AC going and leaned her head back.
If she were smart, she’d leave. It wasn’t like Hadley actually had anything on her. Let Arden Hills talk; she didn’t need to listen.
Except that she couldn’t put the genie back in the jar, could she? Nathan knew. And he knew that she’d lied about it, by omission if nothing else, which meant he had good reason to wonder why. Good reason to wonder what if.
Nathan arrived. He put the bags in the trunk and came around to the front. He opened the driver’s-side door, leaned down. “Want me to drive?” he asked.
They swapped places, and Nathan reached for the key to start up the engine, then paused. “That guy, Hadley. He said to say hello to Gabriel? You mentioned a Gabriel earlier,” Nathan said. Not making it a question—quite.
Emma looked over at him steadily. “He’s a friend. Or he was. He looks in on the house sometimes. Deals with the maintenance people, since he’s local.”
“What’s Hadley’s issue with him?” Nathan asked.
“Can we not do this right now?” she asked. Her voice cracked.
Nathan frowned. “Fine,” he said.
As they pulled away, Emma let her head drop back against the seat once again. She’d thought that they were well matched, she and Nathan. Her flaws balanced against his. But that was when she’d thought she would never have to come back to Arden Hills, or tell him about her parents. Or about Gabriel, for that matter.
Now the scales would tip, and tip, and tip, with each doubt-filled glance he cast her way.
Whether they stayed or left, it was only a matter of time.
* * *
“Crap,” Nathan said, just as they were turning onto Royal Avenue, toward the house. He smacked his palm against the steering wheel. “We forgot the bolt cutters.”
“It’s fine. We can leave the car on the road for another day,” Emma murmured. She just wanted to get inside the house. A strange sanctuary, but at least it was hers.
“What the hell? Someone’s parked in the driveway,” Nathan said, and now Emma straightened up. There was an unassuming silver car parked behind the trailer, but no driver. Nathan rolled to a stop with plenty of room to spare. Emma unbuckled and reached for the door handle. “Let me check it out,” Nathan said, motioning for her to stay.