Page 82 of Since the Day We Wished

Emma: Chad, I am not interested in getting back together with you. Do not contact me ever again.

Closing her phone, she dropped it in her purse and let out a long, satisfying exhale.

“Emma, this might be something you don’t want to share with me, but has Chad ever threatened you before, or hurt you?” Paul asked hesitantly.

Emma stirred her coffee. “Not exactly. He’s never laid a hand on me, but he slammed his fist through the wall after an argument once. Made him sleep on the sofa that night.”

Paul frowned and reached out to take Emma’s hand. “Do you have a security system installed in your house? I’ve seen situations like this before, and they haven’t played out well.”

“I got one of those doorbell video cameras if that’s what you mean. There’s one for the front door, but nothing for the back. I got them after Riley, my dog, got out. But it hasn’t worked in weeks, and I’ve been meaning to get it looked at, but haven’t gotten around to it yet.”

“I could come and check it out for you, if that would help,” Paul offered.

“Well, sure. That would be nice,” Emma said, grateful for one less thing on her to-do list.

The waitress brought over their check and two to-go coffee cups.

“We can go right now if you wanted to,” Paul said, laying down a few bills on the table.

Emma shrugged her shoulders. “Sure. If you insist.”

They got up from the table and headed outside. Emma got in her car, while Paul got in his police cruiser. Her phone vibrated again, but she ignored it. If it was Chad texting her, there was nothing he could say to change her mind.

After the short drive to her cottage, she let Paul inside. Riley immediately took to him, wagging his tail and trying to lick his face as he bent down to look at the doorbell cam.

“Riley, get down! Sorry, he has terrible manners,” Emma said, trying to grab Riley’s collar.

Paul chuckled, scratching behind Riley’s ears. “That’s okay. Riley’s a nice guy, aren’t ya?”

Riley let out a bark, then ran into the front yard, sniffing at the tall beach grass.

“Do you have the camera connected to an app on your phone?” Paul asked.

Emma pulled her phone out, ignoring the barrage of texts from Chad. “Yeah. It’s on here somewhere.”

“I’m going to look at the settings,” he told her, swiping through her phone. “Ah, here’s the problem.”

Emma leaned over and looked down at her phone in confusion. “What is it?”

“You have two wireless networks here,” Paul explained. “The camera was on one network, while the app was on another. Now they’re synced up, and the video should work beautifully.”

He handed the phone back to Emma and showed her a crystal-clear view of Riley doing his business in the front yard.

“Wow! Thank you. I didn’t know it would be a simple fix.”

Paul chuckled and stepped out onto the porch. “Well, I’m glad to help, Em. Let me get out of your hair. And now that you have my cell, I want you to call me if you have any trouble at all, okay?”

Emma smiled. “I will. Thanks. Riley, come on in!”

Riley raced through the door as Paul walked back over to the cruiser and took off down the road. Emma closed the door and locked it, then checked out her doorbell cam. Another text from Chad popped up, and she ignored it, hoping he’d take the hint soon.

By that night, she had received so many texts and calls from Chad that shehadto block him. His behavior bewildered her since he was the one who had served her with divorce papers on their anniversary and had left her for a younger woman. Ashley must have dumped him, Emma thought, and now he was all alone. And she didn’t care one bit.

***

The next morning, Emma was packaging a case of dog treats to take to a store in Bridwell Bay, when there was a knock at the door. She opened her camera app and was shocked to see Jeremiah standing on the front steps. She walked to the door and opened it, keeping it half closed so Riley didn’t get out.

“Hi Jeremiah. I’m a little busy at the moment, so this really isn’t a good time—”

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