Page 26 of Taming His Honeydoll
“Emma, does Henry know who Levi’s father is?” Nat asked gently.
Emma shook her head. “No, I never told anyone, not even Henry.”
“Then Marlene won’t have any idea where you are if you stay with Sawyer. It won’t take her long to find Oliver’s place and Henry knows who Ty and Chessy are as well. I suggest you don’t take Levi back to your sitters for a while and do as much work from home as you can. And don’t give your address to anyone at your job for now,” he added.
“Won’t she have me followed from work?” Emma asked, worried. “Henry does know where I work, and so does she.”
Oliver spoke up. “Do you think you could take a little vacation time? Emergency leave or something like that? It would buy Nat and April some time to look further into Marlene and her resources over here.”
“You’ve been hurt and your house is burned down,” Ty added. “Surely your job can give you some leeway? You won’t even need to prove all that, it’s going to be all over the news before the day’s over. And you can send them paperwork from the hospital to prove your injury.”
Emma looked up at Sawyer and he smiled warily at her. “It’s a really good solution and all your family are ready to help. What do you say?”
Emma wanted to say yes, but her heart was hesitating. Could she stay under the same roof as Sawyer and not make a fool of herself? She’d already done that once—begged him to love her. It had been the most wonderful night of her life. And then he’d left her. Doubtfully she bit her lip. She wasn’t sure her pride could take another rejection if she laid her heart out on her sleeve again.
“Mama.”
Levi was holding a toy out for her to look at and she took it with a smile. “It’s beautiful, Levi.”
He grinned and ran back to the toys, happy to know his mama loved him and was still there. She took a deep breath and blew it out. For Levi’s sake, she could do it. Keeping her baby safe was the most important thing in the world. She nodded at Sawyer. “Okay, it does sound reasonable.”
Then she looked over at Nat. “What do I do if Marlene calls back? It’s not like I can bitch slap her through the phone.”
Sawyer made a choking noise beside her but she ignored him. He might as well know that she wasn’t the shy retiring high school girl he’d left behind. Life has a way of slapping you down and when you get back up—if you get back up—you’re ready to fight. And determined not to make the same mistakes again.
Nat chuckled and shook his head. “Just set your phone to record before you answer. Try to keep the bitch slapping mode under control. If you’re going to make a dig at her, rehearse some lines you can use that could get her to lose her cool and admit anything we could construe as a threat.”
Chessy jumped up in excitement. “Oh! Oh! Marsha and I can help with that. And April too. We’re good at that sort of stuff.”
Ty grabbed the back of her jeans and pulled her back down beside him with an amused grin. “Sit down, Spitfire, before you get yourself into trouble.”
The girls all looked at each other with satisfied glances.
“I checked the plates Ty sent from his phone and the vehicle was reported stolen in Bevier today, not far from where Emma lived,” Nat told them.
“If I had to guess, I’d say these two set the fire,” April added with a frown. “And since Levi’s babysitter is only a few blocks away, I’m surprised they didn’t attempt the grab him while he was there.”
Emma nearly fainted again. “They could have, couldn’t they?”
“Maybe Marlene was waiting to see if Emma would call her once she knew about the fire,” Marsha chimed in. “And then they were surprised when Emma and Chessy picked him up several hours before he was due to be picked up. Maybe they were watching and they told Marlene about the pickup and she decided a grab on the side of the road was even better. Fewer witnesses.”
They all nodded soberly.
Emma shot a glance at Chessy, grateful it hadn’t worked out like that. Her head still reverberated with a dull ache and she felt incredibly exhausted.
“I think you need to lay down and rest,” Sawyer said to Emma. “You’re looking pale and tired again.”
“But there’s so much to do,” she protested. “I have no clothes for Levi or me either one. I need to go shopping, get baby snacks, and a ton of other things.”
Oliver stood up. “Sawyer’s right,” he said firmly. “One of us can get your prescription filled, the girls can help with clothes for you and my nephew, and food can be picked up while you rest. You need to get your strength back by taking it easy, at least for the weekend.”
“Have you eaten any lunch?” Sawyer asked.
Emma shook her head. “I haven’t had time.”
“I haven’t either. Let’s eat some of this food April has graciously offered and then we’ll sort out everything else while you sleep,” he suggested.
They all nodded their heads and agreed with Sawyer so Emma finally gave up. It did feel good to be cared about and taken care of. With the help of the pain tabs, when her head hit the pillow in one of April’s guestrooms, she was out like a light.
