Page 74 of Ramsey & Emerson

So, twenty-five years later, RMM was a global powerhouse, and our family was tighter than ever. Liam, Deke, and I were still equal partners in RMM, and Ace was still our top counsel. Roselyn was still killing it as an ad executive, Delaney was still taking charge in the court room, Ava was still helping to raiseallthe kids, and Emerson was still changing lives as a social worker. Our older kids were already starting their own lives, and the younger ones were still kicking ass in college. Honestly, all our lives were fairly perfect, not just mine.

Yet, the nightmares wouldn’t go away, and I was staring out the window as if the sunrise held all the answers that I needed to make this feeling of dread go away. Granted, I was pretty sure that nothing would ever make it go away, but there was no harm in hoping for a miracle. After all, having experienced one back in high school, Iknewthat miracles happened.

Slipping my hands inside my pockets, I was fairly certain that even a diagnosis of dementia wouldn’t be able to make me forget the first time that I’d ever seen my wife, much less every day after that. It also didn’t matter that I saw her face every morning and every night. My moments with Emerson didn’t blend together like most of my other memories in life. My moments with Emerson were each their own, and I remembered them all. Unfortunately, the bad memories were just as vivid as the good ones, and so that could account for the nightmares.

“So, what’s got you snapping at the marketing department?” I turned to see Deke and Liam walking into my office, two of the very few people that were allowed to do so. “Wallace Gillroy looks like he’s about to throw himself out the window at any moment.”

“And considering that the marketing department falls under my jurisdiction, it’s got us wondering what the hell is going on with you,” Liam added. “I mean, I’m all for you kicking their ass if they need it, but…”

“I overheard Marcy Jacobs asking Trent Yancy why they couldn’t just use AI to develop new ideas,” I told them both as I turned to face them. “I called Wallace and told him that he better handle that shit if he doesn’t want his entire department to be replaced with computers.”

Liam grinned as he took a seat in front of my desk. “Well, that would account for why the man looks sick to his stomach. I know for a fact that unemployment isn’t enough to cover his mortgage.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you didn’t call Liam to handle that shit,” Deke remarked. “What’s got you on edge?”

Liam snorted. “There’s only one thing on this planet that is able to put him on edge.”

“My point exactly,” Deke added.

“Emerson and I are fine,” I assured them as Deke walked over to lean against my desk.

“Then what’s up?” Liam asked.

Since these two men knew all of my secrets, it wasn’t a hardship to tell them the truth. “The nightmares are back.”

Liam grimaced and Deke just let out a heavy sigh. Having been there since the beginning, both men knew exactly what my wife did to me, and both understood the weight of my guilt. After all, while they might not have fuckedup as badly as I’d had in high school, they still had their own regrets that they dealt with on a daily basis.

“You and Emerson been fighting?” Deke asked.

I shook my head. “Not at all.”

“Which makes the nightmares more problematic, am I right?” Liam asked, knowing me well.

“You know, a part of me was arrogant enough to think that they’d go away,” I admitted. “While it’s not a hardship to prove myself to Emerson on a daily basis, I really thought that if she was happy, then the fucking nightmares would eventually go away. I mean, fuck, I’ve been using every breath in my body to make sure that she’s been happy for the past twenty-five fucking years.”

“Could it be because Ram and Maddox are out of the picture now?” Deke suggested. “I mean, kids are the ultimate distraction in a marriage, so when they finally grow up and move out, then there’s no longer anything distracting a person from the truth of their marriage.”

I pulled my hands out of my pockets, then slid them through my hair. “I’d agree if me and Emerson weren’t good,” I said. “If Emerson were unhappy, she’d have no problem letting me know it”

“Maybe the nightmares are just God’s way of making sure that you never take Em for granted,” Liam remarked. “They don’t necessarily have to mean anything, Ramsey.”

I looked at him, wishing that he could be right. “I’d believe that if there was ever a chance of me taking Emerson for granted, but there isn’t.” I looked between both men. “Just like there’s no danger of you two ever taking Roselyn or Delaney for granted.”

“In my defense, I didn’t fuck up as badly as you two,” Liam retorted, a grin on his face.

“I dealt with my shit by keeping Delaney pregnant most of the time,” Deke replied honestly as he shrugged a shoulder. “Had she not put her foot down after Lennon, then we’d have at least three more kids tying her to me for life.”

Though it was true, I still chuckled. “Well, I’m pretty sure that impregnating Emerson at the age of forty-three won’t help my cause.”

“You’d have children and grandchildren the same age, and if that’s not fucked, then I don’t know what is,” Liam joked.

Eyeing Liam, I said, “Despite the source of my fucked-up mood, that AI remark is bothersome, Liam. While I’m all about adapting to change, those kinds of comments breed laziness.”

“I agree,” Liam replied seriously. “No matter how far technology advances, it’ll still never compare to the human mind. AI will never be a Leonardo Davinci or Michaelangelo.”

I gave him a terse nod. “Too bad Gideon wants to open his own tattoo shop. He would have been perfect for the marketing department.”

“It’s possible that he might change his mind later on,” Liam replied. “The future is never set in stone, something we all know very well.”

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