Kitabı oku: «For Now and Forever», sayfa 8
Chapter Eleven
The next morning, Emily hadn’t even had time to change out of her pajamas when she heard the doorbell ring. As she hurried down the stairs she thought about last night. She’d slept terribly, having cried herself to sleep. Now she felt muggy-headed and more than a little embarrassed that she’d subjected Daniel to that outpouring of emotion, that she’d dragged him down with her. And then there was the kiss that never happened. She wasn’t even sure she’d be able to look him in the eye.
She got to the door and pulled it open.
“You’re early,” she said, smiling, trying to act normal.
“Yeah,” Daniel said, shifting from one foot to the other. His hands were deep in his pockets. “I thought maybe we could have breakfast?”
“Sure,” she said, gesturing for him to enter the house.
“No, I meant… out?” He started rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
Emily squinted as she tried to understand what he was saying. Then it dawned on her and a small smile started to spread across her lips. “You mean like on a date?”
“Well, yeah,” Daniel replied, squirming.
Emily smirked. She thought Daniel looked incredibly cute standing on her doorstep like that being all coy. “You’re not just asking me because you feel bad about the letter?” she asked.
Daniel’s expression turned horrified. “No! Not at all. I’m asking you because I like you and I – ” He sighed, his words disappearing in his throat.
“I’m just joking with you,” Emily replied. “I’d love to go on a date with you.”
Daniel smiled and nodded, but continued standing there looking awkward.
“Did you mean right now this second?” Emily said, surprised.
“Or later?” he said hurriedly. “We could do lunch instead if you’d prefer? Or Friday night? Would you prefer Friday night?” Daniel was looking deflated.
“Daniel,” Emily said, laughing, attempting to save the situation, “now is fine. I’ve never been on a breakfast date. It’s cute.”
“I went about this all the wrong way, didn’t I?” Daniel said.
Emily shook her head. “No,” she reassured him. “You’re doing fine. But you’ve got to give me time to get my makeup on. Brush my hair.”
“You look great as you are,” Daniel said, then immediately blushed.
“I may be a liberated woman,” Emily replied, “but I kind of don’t want to be wearing pajamas on a date.” She smiled shyly. “I won’t be long.”
Then she turned and trotted up the stairs with a renewed spring in her step.
*
The material of the plastic booth was sticking to the backs of Emily’s legs. She fidgeted in her seat, ran her hands down the fabric of her skirt, and was reminded of a moment several months earlier when she’d been sitting across from Ben in a fancy New York restaurant willing him to propose. Only now she was sitting across from Daniel in Sunset Harbor’s newest diner, a place called Joe’s, sitting silently and awkwardly while Joe set their breakfast on the table.
“So,” Emily said, smiling her thanks to Joe before returning her gaze to Daniel. “Here we are.”
“Yup,” Daniel replied, looking down into his mug. “What do you want to talk about?”
Emily laughed. “We need a subject?”
Daniel seemed instantly flummoxed. “I didn’t mean we should specify. I meant that we should just, you know, talk. Chat. About stuff.”
“You mean something other than the house?” Emily said with a small smile.
Daniel nodded. “Precisely.”
“Well,” Emily began, “how about you tell me about how long you’ve been playing guitar?”
“A long time,” Daniel replied. “Since I was a kid. I’d say eleven at a guess.”
Emily had become accustomed to Daniel’s communication style, the way he would say the least number of words to convey the most amount of information. It was usually fine when they were both staring at a wall while painting it or asking the other to pass more nails. But when they were sitting opposite each other in a diner, on the other hand, it made things a little more uncomfortable. It was clear to Emily now why Daniel had picked Sunset Harbor’s new, cheap diner for their date. It was the least formal place in the world. She couldn’t begin to imagine Daniel in a suit in a fancy restaurant like the ones Ben took her to.
Just then, Joe came over. “Is everything okay with your breakfasts?” he asked.
“They’re fine,” Emily replied, smiling courteously.
“Want a coffee top-up?” Joe added.
“Not for me, thank you,” she said.
“Me neither,” Daniel replied.
But instead of getting the hint and leaving them alone, Joe stayed exactly where he was, coffee pot in hand.
“You kids on a date?” he said.
Daniel looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him up. Emily couldn’t help but stifle a giggle.
“Business meeting, actually,” she said, sounding completely genuine.
“Oh, right, I’ll leave you to it,” Joe replied before wandering off with his coffee pot to pester another table of customers.
“You look like you want to get out of here,” Emily said, turning her attention back to Daniel.
“Not because of you,” Daniel said, looking mortified.
“Relax,” Emily laughed. “I’m just teasing you. I’m feeling a bit claustrophobic in here as well.” She looked over her shoulder. Joe was lingering rather close by. “Shall we go for a walk?”
He smiled. “Sure. There’s a festival today down at the harbor. It’s kind of cheesy.”
“I like cheesy,” Emily replied, sensing his hesitation.
“Cool. Well, we lower boats into the water. Happens the same time every year. The people here have turned it into a sort of celebration. I don’t know, maybe you remember it from when you used to visit?”
“Actually I don’t,” Emily said. “I’d love to take a look.”
Daniel looked shy. “I have a boat down there,” he said. “Haven’t used it in a long time. It’s probably rusty now. I bet the motor doesn’t work either.”
“How come you don’t use it anymore?” Emily asked.
Daniel averted his eyes. “That’s another story for another day,” was all he said.
Emily sensed she’d touched some kind of nerve. Their awkward date had somehow become even more awkward.
“Let’s go to the festival,” she said.
“Really?” Daniel asked. “We don’t have to go just because of me.”
“I want to,” Emily replied. And she meant it. Despite the long silences and sideways glances, she enjoyed Daniel company and didn’t want the date to end.
“Come on,” she said brightly slapping some bills onto the table. “Hey, Joe, we’ve left the money for you, hope that’s okay,” she called out to the older man before grabbing her jacket off the back of her chair and standing.
“Emily, look, it’s fine,” Daniel said. “You don’t have to come to some lame festival with me.”
“I want to,” Emily reassured him. “Honestly I do.”
She began to walk toward the exit, giving Daniel no choice but to follow.
As soon as they were out on the street Emily could see the bunting and helium balloons by the harbor in the distance. The sun was out but there was a thin layer of clouds that made the air cool. Plenty of people were walking down the street heading toward the harbor and Emily realized that the lowering of the boats was indeed a big deal here. She and Daniel followed the crowds toward the harbor. A marching band was playing lively music as they walked. Lined along the sides of the streets were stalls selling cotton candy and sweets.
“Want me to get you something?” Daniel said, laughing. “That’s a datelike thing to do, right?”
“I’d love that,” Emily replied.
She giggled aloud as she watched Daniel weave through the crowd up to the cotton candy machine that was surrounded by children, purchase an enormous cone of blue, sparkly cotton candy for her, and carry it carefully back through the throng of people. He presented it to her with a flourish.
“What flavor is it?” Emily laughed, eyeing the fluorescent color. “I didn’t know you could get sparkly blue flavor.”
“I think it’s grape,” Daniel said.
“Sparkly grape,” Emily added.
She pulled a piece of the cotton candy off. It had been about thirty years since she’d eaten one of these things and when she put the fluff in her mouth she found that it was far sweeter than she could have imagined.
“Ah, instant toothache!” she exclaimed. “Your turn.”
Daniel took a handful of bright blue fluff and shoved it in his mouth. Immediately he looked disgusted.
“Oh god. People feed their children that stuff?” he said.
“Your mouth has turned blue!” Emily cried.
“So has yours,” Daniel countered.
Emily laughed and looped her arm through his as they sauntered slowly down to the water’s edge, their steps punctuated by the music of the marching band. As they watched the boats being lowered into the water one after the other, Emily rested her head on Daniel’s shoulder. She could feel the revelry of the townspeople, and it made her reflect on how much she had grown to love this place. Wherever she looked she could see smiling faces, children running around carefree and content. She had been just like them once, before the dark events of her life had changed her forever.
“I’m sorry, this is dumb,” Daniel said. “I shouldn’t have brought you here. We can go if you want.”
“What makes you think I want to go?” Emily replied.
“You look sad,” Daniel said, shoving his hands in his pocket.
“I’m not sad,” Emily replied wistfully. “I’m just thinking about life. My past.” Her voice grew quieter. “And my dad.”
Daniel nodded and turned his gaze back out toward the water. “Did you find what you were looking for here? Have your questions been answered?”
“I don’t even know what questions I wanted answered when I came here,” Emily replied without looking at him. “But I feel like in a way that letter answered them.”
There was a long silence before Daniel spoke again. “Does that mean you’ll be leaving then?”
He was wearing a serious expression. For the first time Emily thought she read something in his eyes. A longing. A longing for her? “I was never planning on staying,” she said quietly.
Daniel looked away. “I know. But I thought you might have changed your mind.”
“It’s not about that,” Emily replied. “It’s about whether I can afford it. I’m three months into my savings already. And if Trevor Mann has his way I’ll be spending the rest on legal fees and back taxes.”
“I won’t let that happen,” Daniel said.
She paused, studied his face. “Why does it matter to you so much?”
“Because I have absolutely no legal right to be there either,” Daniel said, looking at her with an expression of surprise, as if he couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it. “If you go, I go.”
“Oh,” Emily replied, deflated. It hadn’t occurred to her that losing the plot would mean upheaval for more than just herself, that Daniel would have to go too. She’d hoped he cared about the house because of her, but maybe she’d read the situation wrong. She wondered if Daniel had anywhere else to go.
Suddenly, Emily spotted the mayor amongst the crowds. Her eyes widened mischievously. She turned from Daniel and ducked into the crowds.
“Emily, where are you going?” he said, exasperated, as he watched her go.
“Come on!” she cried, beckoning him to follow.
Emily weaved her way through groups of people as the mayor went into the general store. The bell above the door tinkled as Emily burst in after him, then again as Daniel followed behind her. The mayor turned and regarded them both.
“Hi!” she said brightly as the mayor turned to look behind him. “Do you remember me? Emily Mitchell. Emily Jane.”
“Oh yes, yes,” the mayor replied. “Are you enjoying the festival?”
“I am,” Emily replied. “I’m glad I got to be here to see it.”
The mayor smiled at her in a way that seemed to suggest he was in a hurry and wanted to get on with his day. But Emily wasn’t about to budge.
“I wanted to speak to you,” she said. “I wondered if you could help me.”
“With what, my dear?” the mayor replied, not looking at her, reaching past her to pick up a bag of flour from the shelf.
She maneuvered herself in front of him. “Trevor Mann.”
The mayor paused. “Oh?” he said, his gaze sliding over to Karen behind the counter then back to Emily. “What’s he up to now?”
“He wants my land. Said there was some legal loophole with the property and that I needed a certificate of occupation.”
“Well,” the mayor said, looking somewhat flustered. “You know it’s all about the people here. That’s what matters. They’re the ones that vote on these matters and you aren’t exactly going out of your way to make friends.”
Emily’s first instinct was to refute his claim, but she realized that he was right. Other than Daniel, the only person in Sunset Harbor who was friendly with her was Rico, and he couldn’t remember her name from one weekend to the next. Trevor, Karen, the mayor, none of them had reason to feel warmth toward her.
“I can’t just coast off of being Roy Mitchell’s daughter?” she said with a sheepish smile.
The mayor laughed. “I think you’ve already burned that bridge, don’t you? Now, if you don’t mind, I have some shopping to be getting on with.”
“Of course,” Emily said, moving out of the mayor’s way. “Karen,” she added, nodding cordially to the woman behind the till. Then she grabbed Daniel’s arm and steered him out of the store.
“What was all that about?” he hissed in her ear as they exited the shop, its tinkling bell bidding them farewell.
She let go of his arm. “Daniel, I don’t want to leave. I’ve fallen in love. With the town,” she added hurriedly when she saw the flicker of panic in his eyes. “You know when you asked me if I’d found the answers I was looking for? Well, you know what, I haven’t. My dad’s letter didn’t really answer anything. There’s still so much more in that house I have to discover.”
“Okay…” Daniel said, drawing the word out as though he didn’t fully understand where this was going. “But what about the money situation? And Trevor Mann? I thought you said it wasn’t up to you whether you stayed or not.”
Emily grinned and raised her eyebrows. “I think I have an idea.”
Chapter Twelve
The next day Emily woke early and went straight into town with a plan to make the people of Sunset Harbor like her. The impetus, of course, had been her desire to get them to vote for her permit; yet as she embarked, she realized she wanted to befriend them regardless. The permit was important, but whether she got it or not, what was more important to her was setting wrongs right. She finally realized how cold and standoffish she had been to everyone here, and she felt terrible. That wasn’t her. Whether they voted for her or not, or became friends with her or not, she felt she had to make amends. It was time to leave the New York City Emily behind and become the friendly, small-town person she had been in her youth..
It all had to start, she realized, with Karen at the general store. She made a beeline for it and arrived just as Karen was unlocking it to begin the day.
“Oh,” Karen said when she saw that it was Emily approaching. “Can you give me five minutes to get the till up and running?” Her tone wasn’t hostile, but Karen was the sort of person who was overly friendly with everyone, so the lukewarm greeting was a clear sign of her dislike for Emily.
“Actually, I’m not here to buy anything,” Emily said. “I wanted to speak to you.”
Karen paused, her hand with the key still in the lock. “About what?”
She pushed the door open and Emily followed her inside. Karen began opening up the blinds straightaway, and buzzing around turning on lights, signs, and the till.
“Well,” Emily said, following her around, feeling like she was being made to work for forgiveness, “I wanted to apologize to you. I think we got off on the wrong foot.”
“We’ve been on the wrong foot for three months,” Karen replied, quickly fastening one of the store’s dark green aprons around her rotund midriff.
“I know,” Emily replied. “I was a bit standoffish when I first got here because I’d just gone through a breakup and had quit my job and was kind of in a dark place. But now things are going great and I know you’re an important part of this community so can we wipe the slate clean?”
Karen walked around the counter and gave Emily a look. Then finally she said, “I can but try.”
“Great,” Emily said brightly. “In that case, this is for you.”
Karen narrowed her eyes as she looked at the small envelope Emily was holding out. She took it suspiciously. “What is it?”
“An invitation. I’m holding a dinner party at the house. I thought the townsfolk might be interested in seeing how I’ve renovated it. I’m going to cook, make cocktails. It will be fun.”
Karen looked bemused but took the invitation nonetheless.
“Don’t feel like you have to RSVP right away,” Emily said. “Bye!”
She rushed out of the general store and headed along the streets toward her next location. As she walked, she realized how much she’d grown to love the town. It truly was beautiful, with its cute architecture, flower baskets, and tree-lined streets. The bunting was still up from the festival, making it look like a continuous celebration was taking place.
Emily’s next stop was the gas station. She’d avoided it thus far, pretending to herself it was just because she hadn’t needed to do much driving since arriving here, but in reality it was because she had not wanted to run into the man who’d given her a lift when she first arrived at Sunset Harbor. She’d been the rudest to him out of everyone but if she was trying to make good with the people of Sunset Harbor, he had to be on her guest list. Since he owned the only gas station in town, he was known by absolutely everyone. If she could get a good word in with him, maybe the rest of them would follow suit.
“Hi,” she said tentatively as she opened the door to the shop and peeked her head around. “It’s Birk, isn’t it?”
“Ah,” the man said. “If it isn’t the mysterious stranger who appeared in the snowstorm never to be seen again.”
“That’s me,” Emily said, noting that he seemed to be wearing exactly the same pair of greasy jeans as he had been the first time they’d met. “I’ve been here the whole time, actually.”
“You have?” Birk said. “I figured you’d moved on months ago. You spent the whole winter in that drafty old house?”
“Yes,” Emily said. “Only it’s not drafty anymore. I’ve been fixing the place up.” There was an air of pride in her tone.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” the man said. “Only,” he added, “you might’ve waited before doing any big repairs. You know there’s a storm coming tonight? Worst one to hit Maine in a hundred years.”
“Oh no,” Emily said. She hadn’t thought anything could harm her buoyant mood, but fate always seemed to throw things her way that would bring her crashing back down to reality. “I wanted to apologize for being rude when we first met. I don’t think I ever properly thanked you for getting me out of such a dire situation. I was still in my New York mode, although that’s no excuse. I hope you can forgive me.”
“Don’t mention it,” Birk said. “I didn’t do it for your thanks, I did it ’cause you needed help.”
“I know,” Emily replied. “But please accept my thanks all the same.”
Birk nodded. He seemed like a prideful kind of man, one who didn’t accept gratitude easily. “So are you planning on staying much longer?”
“Another three months if I can afford it,” Emily said. “Although Trevor Mann on the zoning board is doing his hardest to get me evicted so he can take over the grounds.”
At the mention of his name, Birk rolled his eyes. “Ugh, don’t worry about Trevor Mann. He’s run for mayor every year for the last thirty and no one’s ever voted for him. Between you and me, I think he has a Napoleon complex.”
Emily laughed. “Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better.” She rummaged in her satchel and pulled out one of her party invitations. “Birk, I’m going to hold a dinner party up at the house for people in the town to come to. I don’t suppose you and your wife would want to come?” She held the envelope out to him.
Birk looked at it, a little bemused. Emily wondered when the last time was that the man had been invited to a dinner party, or whether he ever had.
“Well, that’s very kind of you,” Birk said, taking the letter and slipping it into the big pocket of his jeans. “I think I might just come along. We love a celebration here. You might have noticed the bunting.”
“I did,” Emily replied. “I was at the harbor for the boat show. It was great.”
“You came?” Birk said, looking even more bemused than he had before.
“Yup,” Emily said with a smile. “Hey, I wonder if you’d be able to do me a favor? I need to hurry home if I want to stormproof the house before the evening but I’ve still got tons of invites to deliver. I don’t suppose you’d be able to pass them on to the recipients when they come in for gas?”
She felt bad asking such a huge favor of Birk, but the impending storm was going to derail her plan for handing out the invitations. There definitely wasn’t time to hand them out individually to each person she wanted to attend the party. But if she didn’t get home and prepare the house for the storm, there wouldn’t be anywhere for her to host a party for the townsfolk anyway!
Birk let out a big belly laugh. If he hadn’t been invited to a dinner party for years, he certainly hadn’t been integral to one’s organization before! “Well, let me see?” Who’s on your list?” Emily handed him the envelopes and he thumbed through. “Dr. Patel, yes she’ll be in after her shift. Cynthia from the bookstore, Charles and Barbara Bradshaw, yes, yes, all these people will be in sooner or later.” He looked up and smiled. “I can hand these out for you.”
“Thank you so much, Birk,” Emily said. “I owe you one. See you around?”
Birk waved as she turned to leave then let out one of his small chuckles as he looked through the delicate party invitations she’d entrusted to him. “Oh, Emily. Why don’t you put one of these up on the town bulletin board? Most folks look it over on a daily basis. You’ll get more guests that way as well, since there’s only a select few here. Assuming you want more guests.”
“I do!” Emily exclaimed. “I want to make good with as many people as possible. I feel like I haven’t integrated with you guys at all, and I really want to get to know you all. Make some friends here.”
Birk looked touched, although he was doing his best to hide his emotion. “Well, doing up that old house is certainly one way of going about it. Anybody around here would want to see the fixed up house.”
“Okay. I’ll put up a flyer on the bulletin board then if you think it will help. Thanks, Birk.” Emily was grateful that he was helping her out. Just like when he’d picked her up that night in the snowstorm all those months ago, he was willing to go out of his way to help someone else. She smiled to herself, looking forward to getting to know him better.
“Don’t be a stranger, you hear me?” Birk added as she slipped through the door.
“I won’t!” Emily called back inside before shutting the door.
She rushed up to the town bulletin board and grabbed a pen and piece of paper, then along with the other notices on the board, she wrote up a flyer for her party and pinned it up on the board. She just prayed that whoever came had the courtesy to RSVP to the invite so at the very least she’d know how many people she needed to cook for.
Once the invite was up, she jumped in her car and headed home to warn Daniel of the impending storm and to prepare the house for its arrival.
She found him in the ballroom. It was starting to look amazing in there. The Tiffany windows made colors streak across the walls, which were made even more beautiful, if such a thing was possible, by the crystal chandelier they had cleaned and hung up. Walking into the ballroom felt like stepping into the deep blue sea, into a dreamland.
“I just heard from town that there’s a bad storm coming,” Emily told Daniel.
He stopped what he was doing. “How bad?”
“What do you mean how bad?” Emily said, exasperated.
“I mean is it going to be ‘batten down the hatches’ bad?”
“I think so,” she said.
“Okay. We should board up the windows.”
It felt strange to Emily, putting the plywood back up over the windows when three months earlier they’d worked together to remove them. So much had changed since then between them. Working on the house together had bonded them. Their shared love of the place had pulled them together. That, and the pain they both shared over the disappearance of Emily’s father.
Once the house was ready, and the first fat raindrops began to splotch on the ground, Emily noticed that Daniel kept peering out of a gap in the plywood.
“You’re not thinking of going back to the carriage house, are you?” she asked. “Because this house is way sturdier. It must have already survived a bad storm or two in its time. Not like your flimsy little carriage house.”
“My carriage house is not flimsy,” Daniel contested with a smirk.
Just then, the heavens opened and a sheet of rain began to thunder down on the house. The sound was phenomenal, like pounding drums.
“Wow,” Emily said, raising her eyebrows. “I’ve never heard anything like that before.”
The percussion of rain was accompanied by a sudden gust of screaming wind. Daniel peered out the gap again and Emily suddenly realized that he was looking over at the barn.
“You’re worried about the darkroom, aren’t you?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Daniel replied with a sigh. “It’s funny. I haven’t been in there for years but the thought of it being destroyed by the storm makes me sad.”
Suddenly, Emily remembered the stray dog she’d met when she’d been in there. “Oh my God!” she cried.
Daniel looked at her, concerned. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s a dog, a stray who lives in the barn. We can’t leave it out in the storm! What if the barn comes down and crushes him?” Emily began to panic at the thought.
“It’s okay,” Daniel said. “I’ll go get him. You stay here.”
“No,” Emily said, tugging on his arm. “You shouldn’t go out there.”
“Then you want to leave the dog?”
Emily was torn. She didn’t want Daniel to put himself in any danger, but at the same time she couldn’t leave the helpless dog out there in the storm.
“Let’s get the dog,” Emily replied. “But I’m coming with you.”
Emily found some raincoats and boots and the two of them suited up. As Emily opened the back door a bolt of lightning cracked through the sky. She gasped at the magnitude of it, then heard the enormous rumble of thunder in the air.
“I think it’s right over us,” she called back to Daniel, her voice eaten up by the roar of the storm.
“Then we’ve picked a great time to head out into it!” came his sarcastic response.
The two of them trudged across the lawn, churning the neatly manicured grass into mud. Emily knew how much Daniel cared about his yard and knew it must be killing him to know he was damaging it with every one of his heavy footsteps.
As the rain lashed against Emily’s face, making it sting, a flash of a memory hit her with a force much stronger than the winds that whipped around her. She remembered being a very young girl, out with Charlotte in a storm. Their dad had warned them not to go too far from home, but Emily had persuaded her younger sister to go just a bit further. Then the storm had come and they’d gotten lost. They’d both been terrified, crying, wailing as the winds battered their little bodies. They’d been clinging to each other, their hands locked, but the rain had made them slippery and at some point she’d lost hold of Charlotte.
Emily froze on the spot as the memory flashed through her mind’s eye. She felt like she was back there, reliving that moment when she’d been a terrified seven-year-old girl, remembering that awful expression on her dad’s face when she’d told him Charlotte was gone, that she’d lost her out in the storm.
“Emily!” Daniel shouted, his voice almost entirely swallowed up by the wind. “Come on!”
She turned her attention back to the moment and followed Daniel.
Finally they made it to the barn, feeling like they’d trudged across a vast swampy wilderness to get there. The roof had already been blown off by the force of the wind and Emily didn’t have much hope for the rest of it.
She showed Daniel the hole and together they squeezed inside. Rain continued to lash on them through the gaping exposed roof and Emily looked around to see that the barn was filling with water.
“Where did you find the dog?” Daniel called to Emily. Despite the raincoat he looked like he was soaked to the bone, and his hair stuck to his face in tendrils.
“It was over here,” she said, beckoning to the dark corner of the barn where she’d seen the dog’s head when she left it.
But when they got to the place Emily thought the dog would be, they were met with a surprise.
“Oh my god,” Emily squealed. “Puppies!”
Daniel’s eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at the pink, naked, writhing pups. They were newborn, possibly even less than a day old.
“What are we going to do with them all?” Daniel said, his eyes as round as moons.
“Put them in our pockets?” Emily replied.
There were five puppies in all. They popped one in each pocket and then Emily cradled the runt in her hands. Daniel saw to the mama dog, who was snapping at them both for having disturbed her puppies.
The walls of the barn were shaking as they walked back to the hole with the squirming puppies in their pockets.
As they walked back through the barn, Emily could see the damage the rain was doing to everything inside, and she realized that it would surely be destroyed – the boxes of her father’s photo albums, Daniel’s teenage photography, the aged equipment that might be worth something to a collector. The thought broke her heart. Though she’d already taken one box into the main house, there were still three more filled with her dad’s photo albums inside the barn. She couldn’t bear to lose all those precious memories.
Against better sense, Emily rushed over to where she’d found the stack of boxes. She knew that there was a mixture of Daniel’s pictures and her dad’s in the boxes, and the top one she found was one filled with her dad’s photo albums. She popped the runt on the top of the box and heaved it into her arms.
“Emily,” Daniel called. “What are you doing? We need to get out before this whole place falls down!”
“I’m coming,” she called back. “I just don’t want to leave them.”
She tried to find a way to take another box, stacking it below the first and wedging them both between her chin, but it was too heavy and cumbersome. There was no way she would be able to rescue all the boxes of photographs.
