“We’ll figure this out.” He reached across the table and wrapped his warm fingers around my cold hand. “Please, let some of the worry go. Trust us to keep you and your brothers safe.”
I gave a small nod.
* * * *
Saturday, the rain continued. Once again, the boys snuck out early. Emmitt surprised me in the kitchen, not with a cooked meal, but a simple bowl of cereal. Lucky Charms. It made me laugh.
He left me alone for a few hours, and I used the opportunity to page through the items Richard had stuffed into the envelope. Since Nana asked about our old address, I’d been wondering what had become of the house. So I dug for the lawyer’s number, and I looked it up online. There was actually a legitimate sounding business associated with it. The site listed a physical address, fax, and an email address.
Tapping my fingers on the dark counter, I debated what to send. Richard hadn’t explained the number or why I should contact the lawyer. Perhaps he’d wanted me to press charges against Blake. But on what grounds? Richard owned the house with all the locks and security installed. Maybe Richard had provided the number for custody rights to the boys. But who else would they live with if not me? We didn’t come from a big family.
After creating an email address with no personal information, I decided on a short message. I provided my name, Richard’s name, and Richard’s request that I contact the firm. I sent the message then turned off the tablet. No point in sitting and staring at it on a Saturday.
Tromping downstairs, I found everyone playing board games in Nana’s living room. We spent the rest of the morning, and most of the afternoon, cheating and having fun.
Jim’s stomach growled in the middle of a card game with Aden, and he asked if I would get him a snack from across the hall. Emmitt and I took a break from our own game to go look.
When we stood in his kitchen with me rummaging in the fridge, Emmitt surprised me with a serious mood. He pulled me back from the open door, turned me, and framed my face with his hands.
“Do you know you’ve been here a month?”
I hadn’t really thought about it. But apparently, he had; and it meant something to him.
“Let me take you to dinner tonight. Please.”
His midnight gaze pleaded with me, and I found myself nodding. Dinner with Emmitt. My heart fluttered with excitement as his thumb feathered ever so slightly over my skin.
“Wear the dress,” he said freeing me.
He opened a cupboard and pulled out a bag of chips.
Absently, I followed him out of the apartment. The dress? I panicked, not even remembering what it looked like. Black. It’d been black and knee length, maybe, on the hanger. Why hadn’t I tried it on? Then I remembered. Nerves about leaving the boys for so long then the video about Richard.
A few steps behind Emmitt, I heard Nana Wini offer to watch the boys. Darn her excellent hearing. The boys turned their puppy eyes toward me, already pleading without words. My gaze flicked between Nana and Jim. Was it safe? I trusted them with the boys, but what about...no. Nothing had changed. Emmitt was right. It had been a month since I left. If they were going to find us, they would have already. Again, I nodded. Trapped.
“Could we leave in an hour?” Emmitt asked me while handing Jim his chips. Jim grinned at my stunned expression and passed the bag to Aden. He’d ruin Aden’s dinner.
“Sure,” I mumbled, taking a step back toward the hallway. An hour to try on the dress and, if it didn’t fit, find something else to wear. The dress had better fit.
I didn’t waste any time but bolted up the stairs as soon as I cleared the door.
In the apartment, I pulled my hair from its ponytail and ran a brush through it. It fell straight and smooth after a few minutes of brushing. I stalked to the bedroom, reached into the closet, and tossed the garment bag on the bed. Then, I bent to search for the shoes that weren’t there. I straightened slowly, thinking back. After shopping, I’d carried them up to my room and put them in the bottom of my closet. I was sure of it.
I looked under the bed. Nothing. Hands on my hips, I stood in my room, scanning and thinking. They didn’t just walk away on their own. Tracing my way through the apartment, I looked under everything, behind the doors, and in the broom closet. I was ready to go ask Nana if she’d seen them but walked to the boys’ room just to double-check.
The shoes lay under the bunk bed while the box stood on its side with the lid propped at an angle to create a temporary shelter for Aden’s army men.
“Seriously?” I mumbled, snagging the shoes and leaving the box.
Dropping the shoes in the hall, I closed myself into my room and unzipped the bag. The clock on the dresser motivated me. I’d wasted too much time looking for the shoes and only had thirty minutes left.
The black material slid from the bag. There appeared to be less of it than I remembered. Black burnished clasps adorned each shoulder, gathering the material to show more skin. The silky fabric fell softly to the waist panel where shining, black thread glinted in ornate patterns. The plain skirt ended abruptly not far below that.
I picked this? I turned the dress around. No zipper. Shaking my head, I stripped from my shorts and tee then stepped into the dress, tugging and twisting it into place. It felt okay. Not too tight or loose.
I left my bedroom and closed myself into the bathroom to get a better look. I couldn’t see all of me at once, but what I did see had my stomach pitching wildly.
The dress was gorgeous but a bit more revealing than a simple date called for. The material draped loosely from the shoulders and gapped in the middle, showing the center of my bra. I turned around. Same with the back. The skirt ended mid-thigh, much longer than the cutoffs I wore, but short for a dress. Well, for my dress. A bit of anxiety crept in.
What else did I have? T-shirts and sweatshirts hung in the closet. No other options. I looked back at the mirror as I unclasped my bra and wiggled out of it. I tried tugging the material to hide the valley showing. Nope. Not going to happen. I’d just need to change quickly and run across the hall to see if we could go somewhere that wouldn’t require a dress.
I opened the bathroom door and froze. Emmitt and Jim both stood in the hallway. Emmitt’s gaze raked me, and Jim gave a wolf whistle.
“What are you doing here?” My voice sounded too high but I couldn’t help it. What if I’d stepped out in a towel? Well, maybe that would have been safer. The big towels Nana gave us would have covered more.
“You sounded upset,” Emmitt said absently as his eyes continued to travel my length. On the way back up, he closed his eyes briefly, swallowed hard, then returned to his slow appraisal. He didn’t bother to look at Jim when he spoke.
“Okay, you saw. Now go away.”
With a laugh, Jim left.
“Saw what?” I asked, looking Emmitt over as well. He wore dark grey slacks and a sport coat with a lighter grey V-neck sweater.
“He wanted to see how you looked in the dress. Nana Wini told him about it,” he said absently, still studying me.
Nana remembered the dress, and I hadn’t?
“Could we maybe go somewhere casual enough for jean shorts?” I fought the urge to cross my arms, knowing it would just make it worse. Then, I realized I still had my bra in my hand. Please don’t let him notice, I thought.
“I can smell your nervousness. You look lovely. Please wear it,” he said quietly, meeting my eyes again. “Do you need a jacket?”
A trench coat would work. Instead of speaking, I shook my head.