Page 29 of The Finder

Emma just nodded. He opened the bathroom door and she exited. She finished wiping all the tables down. When she saw Helen, she simply smiled. Emma noticed Garrett had planted himself by the front door.

“All righty. Go ahead and clock out, Emma. Thanks for coming in today. Now go home and get some rest,” Helen said with a smile.

Emma returned the smile. “I plan to,” she said.

Emma clocked out and took off her apron. She grabbed her coat and put it on and went towards the front door. Garrett put his hand on the small of her back and directed her to the waiting car. He opened the back door for her and closed it once she was in. He climbed in the passenger seat up front.

Levi started driving. It was quiet for a few moments. Emma noticed they weren’t driving towards Hope House. Emma hated to ask, but she needed to know. “Where are we going?” she asked softly.

“To one of my houses,” was all Garrett said. She could tell he wasn’t happy with her right now. So, she didn’t say anything more. She watched out the window. She had no idea what was going to happen next. Would she be staying at one of his houses? Who even hadhouses,plural, anyway? Emma had a feeling that this time, she wouldn’t be going back to the homeless shelter.

She thought about Amy and Olivia. Maybe—if Garrett had space—they could come with her too. She wouldn't ask yet until she could see what exactly was going to happen next. But as soon as she could, she would ask about helping them. They had been kind to her; she wasn’t going to leave them behind.

She glanced at the bear of a man in the front seat. Now she just had to get him on board with that plan.

Chapter 18

Emma grew tired the longer they drove; she struggled to keep her eyes open. Her body was incredibly sore, and the spot on the back of her head was aching. They drove further than she thought they would. She had no idea where they were. They finally slowed down and pulled into a long driveway. Emma looked out the window and saw a really cute house that was decent size. She opened the door once Levi stopped the car. She climbed out and looked around. There were trees all around the property, and it looked totally isolated.

The house itself was a cute stone house with a small front porch and two rocking chairs. She loved it immediately. Garrett climbed out of the car with his phone to his ear. He must have gotten a call right when he got here. He motioned for Emma to go towards the house. Emma started that way when she heard a car coming up the drive. She turned and looked. She saw Kyle and Madison; Madison waved to her. Emma waved back.

The backseat of the car opened and Liam stepped out. Emma was happy to see him. She was wondering where he had disappeared to. He smiled at her and walked towards her. “How are you doing?” he asked.

Emma smiled at him. “I’m good.”

“Sure, you are,” he said. He pulled her gently into a hug. Emma heard a sound that sounded like a growl coming from behind her. Liam released her, and she turned around. But nobody seemed to have noticed anything.

Madison led the way into the house, and everybody followed. When Emma got to the door, she glanced behind her. Garrett was still on the phone, but his eyes were on her. Their eyes met for a moment before Emma quickly turned away and went inside.

Emma looked around the house and loved it immediately. There was a large, bright kitchen to the left with a serving counter and a round kitchen table under a chandelier next to a window. To the right was a living room with comfy couches centered around a large tv. There were a few steps leading up to what she assumed were the bedrooms. Everything was clean and cozy looking.

Madison headed right to the kitchen and started pulling out pots and pans. Emma walked towards her. “Can I help?” Madison looked like she was going to say no at first but something in Emma’s expression must have stopped her. “Sure. I'm going to make a quick lasagna, Caesar salad, and garlic bread. Want to start browning the meat for me?” she asked.

Emma nodded, washed her hands, and got started. “Did you go buy all these groceries today?”

“I ordered them and got them delivered today. One of the guys put them away for me,” she said as she got to work boiling the water and cutting up romaine.

Emma noticed the guys had migrated to the living room and were now watching a sports game of some sorts from the sound of it. She was busy stirring the meat and seasoning it when the door opened and Garrett stepped in. His eyes met hers. “Emma, a word please,” he said.

Emma felt like she was being called out by the principal. She glanced quickly at Madison who smiled encouragingly at Emma. Emma moved towards him without meeting his eyes. He walked into the living room. Somebody turned the tv off, and everybody sat up at his approach.

Garrett stood in front of the tv, in the center of the room. Emma wasn’t sure where she was supposed to sit. She sat on the couch that Liam was sitting on. Garrett scowled at Liam and motioned him to move. With a grin, Liam stood to his feet and sauntered over to stand against the wall.

The front door opened just then and Emma turned to see Max walk in. It kind of startled her. She hadn’t seen him for a little while and didn’t know where he’d been. He walked into the room and stood against the back wall. Garrett didn’t look surprised to see him. Emma looked around the room. She wasn’t used to being around this many people in one house.

“All right, let’s get right to it. Emma,” Garrett said, turning his dark gaze on hers. “What happened today?”

Emma stared at him in surprise. “Um, what?” she asked, dumbly.

“What happened today?” he repeated the question, slower this time.

“I heard the question,” Emma snipped at him, frowning. “I just don’t know why you asked it.” It was Garrett’s turn to frown at her, but Emma didn’t care. She was getting used to that from him.

“I asked because somebody today was a threat to you, and if somebody is a threat to you, then we need to know about it,” Garrett said as he crossed his arms.

“But why?” Emma asked. She really didn’t understand what was going on here. “I don’t really know any of you. Why do you even care?” she asked. “I’m just a nobody.”

“No, you’re not,” Liam chimed in. “You’re a good person that we’ve gotten to know. You’re kind to people and help people. And now it’s time for somebody to be nice to you and help you. You’re one of us now, and if somebody is after you, then we’ll take care of it. We’ve got your back,” he said as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

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