When Sparks Fly (53 page)

Nice looking boys who had grown into handsome men. What was it his teenaged daughter, Suzy, called them?
A hot wall of testosterone.
He was certain he did not want to know what else she thought about men.

“So you ready for tonight?” Rob asked Jake.

“Yeah, it’s your big date night, isn’t it?” Tom chimed in.

Growling, Jake just answered with a, “Fuck off,” as he walked away.

“Don’t forget, Smokeys at about six,” Rob called after him.

Brock lifted an eyebrow in question at the two friends still with him.

“Laurie’s aunt Emma is moving to town today and we’re all meeting at Smokey’s tonight to welcome her. Laurie has kinda paired Jake up with her aunt.”

“Why’s that such a bad thing?” Brock asked, not understanding the joke.

“Jake’s got it in his mind that she’s an older lady and is dreading having to be her dinner date tonight. He’s too polite to turn Laurie down, but what he doesn’t realize is that Emma is actually the same age as Jake is.”

“Carol and I cannot fuckin’ wait to see the look on his face when he finds out the dinner date he’s dreading is a gorgeous woman.”

Brock threw his head back and laughed. “I’m sorry I’m going to miss it.”

“Why don’t you come too?” Rob asked. “There will be a bunch of us there. You and Jean can join us.”

“Thanks man, but I talked to Laurie about this. We both agree that I’ll meet Emma privately in a couple of days.”

Seeing the look on Rob and Tom’s faces, he explained, “She was Sarah’s sister. It just seems like a lot to spring on both of us to meet in public. I’d like to have a chance to see her and talk to her alone, or with just Laurie with us.”

“Sorry, man. That makes perfect sense. I should have thought about that myself,” Rob admitted.

“It’s all good. A lot has changed over last couple of months and we’re all feeling our way around things.”

As Brock headed to the showers, he thought about Emma and Sarah. His chest hurt when he thought about Sarah being pregnant and he never knew. Throwing up a prayer of thanks that she had a supportive family, including the woman who ended up raising his daughter, he just hoped that Emma would welcome his place in their lives.

*

That evening, Jean noticed Brock’s quietness and wondered if he would tell her where his mind was. Finally, by dessert when very few words had been spoken, she could not take the silence anymore.

“Honey, please tell me what’s on your mind. Is it on the fires you are having to battle?”

Brock looked up, a flash of guilt crossing his face. “I’m fine,” he said, thinking that would placate her.

Standing, she walked over and knelt by his chair taking his hand in hers. “I won’t pry and I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but this is part of a relationship. You letting me in when there are things on your mind.”

He rubbed his fingers across the back of her hand, loving the way her skin felt under his. He loved her so much and the idea of hurting her went against everything he felt.
So how the fuck can I tell her I’m sitting here at her table, eating her food and my mind is on another woman?

She stood and silently picked up their plates taking them into the kitchen. Rinsing them before putting them into the dishwasher gave her a mindless task to keep her mind from running away with all sorts of scenarios…none of them good.

She felt, rather than heard, him come up behind her.

“Sweetheart, I’m sorry,” he said, wrapping his arms around her.

Nodding, she was afraid to speak…afraid it would unleash tears she did not want to cry.

He turned her, seeing the unshed tears in her eyes and sighed. Stepping back, he laced his fingers though hers and led her into the living room where he gently pulled her down into his lap.

Cupping her face, he said, “I love you. You know that, right?”

Nodding once again, she said, “Yes, I do. And I love you too.”

“I was thinking about the past.”
There, he said it.

Her crinkled brow let him know that perhaps he had not said enough. Licking his lips, he began again. “Emma came into town today. She was meeting the others at Smokey’s tonight.”

“Did you want to go too? Is that why you’ve been off all night?” she asked. “Because you can. We can go together or if you’d rather, you can go alone.”

“No, no, baby, that’s not it. Laurie and I talked about it the other day and we both decided that it would be for the best if I meet Emma alone. Separately from a group of people.”

“I don’t understand, Brock. Do you think that it won’t be a good meeting?”

“I don’t know. She was Sarah’s sister. She saw Sarah when she found out she was pregnant. Watched her give birth and try to raise Laurie. She then had to stop her life and step in when Sarah and her mom were killed. She was with Laurie when my t-shirt was discovered. So I’ve got no fuckin’ clue how she’ll react. She may hate my guts for all I know.”

“Oh Brock, I doubt it. She and Laurie have been in constant contact over the past year. I’m sure if she had residual bad feelings Laurie would know about it.”

He nodded but remained quiet.

“There’s more, isn’t there?”

“Do you always have to see everything, woman?” he asked, only partially kidding.

“Occupational hazard,” she quipped.

“I can’t decide if I want her to look like Sarah or not. If she looks like Sarah, it’ll be weird, but then if she looks nothing like her then it won’t seem real, either. Plus, I’m hoping to have a chance to talk to her about Sarah and that scares the hell out of me telling you that.”

“Why?”

“Because I love you. Sarah was long in the past and you are my here and now. And my future. But I’d still like to find out a little about Sarah and how she was when I met her. Just to fill in some puzzle pieces in my mind.” Looking at Jean straddling him with love shining in her eyes humbled him. “And I don’t want you thinking I’m fantasizing over a woman long passed that I knew twenty-five years ago.”

“Brock, I would never think that. Honey, I have my very real memories of Rick. I have thoughts, pictures, occasional phone calls from his parents, and…well, just memories. You don’t have that although you have a beautiful daughter to cherish. So I don’t mind you seeking some answers and if Emma is the one to give them to you then that’s wonderful.”

Pulling her in for a kiss, he angled his head for a deeper sensation. Licking her lips, he then sucked her tongue into his mouth eliciting a delicious moan that he felt straight to his dick. Separating for a moment, he looking into her deep brown eyes. “You are absolutely wonderful and I’m so fuckin’ lucky to have met you, lady.”

“You wanna show me how wonderful I am or you wanna help with the dishes?” she teased.

With a growl deep in his chest, he stood up tossing her over his shoulder, fireman’s style, and proceeded up the stairs.
The dishes can wait.
And he went about showing her just how wonderful he thought she was.

*

Two days later, Brock and Jean went to Laurie’s and met Emma. He had decided that he wanted her there with him. As they made their way up the walk, he could not help his nervousness. They had heard nothing but good things from Rob, Carol, and Tom. And much to the delight of the others, Jake had flipped over the petite brunette, although their blind date was not a success. They’d heard that Jake was going to remedy that immediately and could not wait to see them together at the barbeque coming this week.

But for now, it was time for Brock and Emma to meet. Walking up the front walk, Brock reached out and linked his fingers with Jean’s. She gave his a reassuring squeeze as they knocked on the front door.

Laurie opened the door, beaming, and threw her arms around both of them. “Dad, Jean. I am so glad you are here. Emma’s been wanting to meet you for the longest time.”

Taking a deep breath, Brock chastised himself.
Jesus, I’ve gone into battle leading men, why the hell am I shaking just meeting Sarah’s sister?
Before he had time to blink again, he was enveloped in a strong hug from a petite form with long, chestnut brown hair hanging in waves down her back. His arms wrapped around her automatically then loosened as he felt her pull away.

Looking down, he saw a beautiful woman with dark eyes and the similarity between her and Sarah was remarkable. He would have known they were sisters anywhere. But she was not identical to Sarah and he felt his apprehension lesson slightly.

The woman stepped back, still smiling and said, “I’m Emma. You must think me ridiculous…I’ve just wanted to meet you for so long.” She turned to Jean and hugged her as well. “You must be Laurie’s friend, Jean.”

Brock and Jean found themselves ushered into Laurie’s living room. She and Rob had just begun living together and the little house was still in a state of moving. Everyone found seats and Laurie served coffee, as the eyes of Brock and Emma focused on each other while trying to appear like they weren’t looking at each other.

Emma finally chuckled, saying, “Brock, I’m so sorry I keep staring at you. I’ve always looked at Laurie and just saw the resemblance between her and her mother. Now I am seeing you in her as well. It’s…well, it’s kind of neat.”

He nodded, appreciating her candor. “When I first saw her, I thought she looked just like Sarah. Then I later looked at her and saw some of my sister in her as well.”

The ice now broken, the four talked for a couple of hours, finding the past had bonded them but the present gave them new memories. Brock hesitated asking about Sarah, but Emma began talking about her anyway. She shared the good times and the ones that were not so good. Brock developed a deep appreciation for Emma and Sarah’s parents for keeping the family intact even through Sarah’s pregnancy and then helping to raise Laurie.

“I wish I could have known them,” Brock said honestly, rubbing his hands together.

“They were wonderful and would have loved you too.” Emma sat for a moment as the group was silent, and then added, “But life works out in ways that we don’t always expect.”

The conversation turned lighter then and he found out Emma was staying at the hotel until she could find a house. She was meeting with a realtor later in the week. Brock had her promise to call him if she needed anything since he lived over the laundry at the hotel.

Finishing their coffees and with promises to see each other at the barbeque in a few days, Brock and Jean walked back to his truck. His step was lighter and his heart seemed to have lifted. Looking over at Jean, he saw her smiling at him.

“What’re you smiling at?” he said, pulling her close as he assisted her into his truck.

“I haven’t seen you this…lighthearted since I met you,” she replied. “It’s nice.”

Giving her a quick touch on the lips, he walked around to his side and climbed in. He glanced over as they were driving and saw a faraway look in her eyes. Reaching across the console, he asked, “You okay, sweetheart?”

She smiled but he noticed it did not quite reach her eyes. Concerned, he pulled the truck into the parking space nearest his apartment. Hopping out, he assisted her down and then led her quickly up to his apartment. Once in, he pulled her down on his lap and asked, “What’s on your mind? You were very quiet earlier.”

“I was just thinking about what Emma said. How life doesn’t always work out the way we expect. If you had woken up earlier that morning, Sarah would have never left. You and she would have raised Laurie together and we wouldn’t be sitting here having this conversation. Or if Rick had taken his lunch break at his regular time instead of doing one last job, he wouldn’t have been killed and again, you and I wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“That’s a lot of ‘ifs’ sweetheart.”

She laughed ruefully. “Yeah, that is kind of heavy isn’t it?”

“Well, it was a heavy kind of morning,” he replied, his fingers moving through her silky hair.

She found the masssaging feeling of his fingers doing their magic and she began to relax. “I tell students and parents all of the time that we have to take life as it comes. Yes, there are things we can change, but we can’t go back and change the past. We have to take what happens and move forward. I suppose I need to listen to my own advice.”