“I want you to start carrying them with you at all times. A moment will come when you both won’t be able to stop. When that time comes, you protect her and yourself. Do you understand me, Garrett?”
I swallowed and nodded my head.
“I’m not giving you permission. Understand that right now. I’d like for you both to wait until you are married, but what I rode up on today…” He shook his head and let out a chuckle. “Hell, boy, it was like looking in a mirror and seeing me and my Dorothy all over again.”
I gave him a weak smile.
“I promised your mama I’d watch over you. I don’t want you thinking that having sex with Emma will take away any of your other pain. You just need to know that, son. You can’t hide from it.”
“I’m not hiding from it,” I whispered.
David stood up and pushed one hand through his wavy blond hair. “Good. Just be careful. Her daddy would snap you like a twig if he found out you were touching his little girl the wrong way.”
I instantly felt sick to my stomach.
He laughed. “Go on. Get on out of here, and do your chores.”
I jumped up and headed out of the office.
I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening replaying every single sound and movement Emma had made. I closed my eyes and pictured her lying there, looking so beautiful.
I’ll be yours till the end of time.
Yes, I was going to make Emma Rose Birk mine, and I was going to make her mine soon.
I walked into my kitchen and came to an abrupt halt. My mother and father were sitting at the table, and they both looked at me with serious faces.
“What’s wrong?” I asked nervously.
My father cleared his throat. “Emma Rose, please sit down.”
My heart started pounding. Do they know what happened between Garrett and me yesterday? Did Mr. Bauer see us and tell my parents?
“Yes, sir,” I said as I slowly sank down into the chair. “What’s wrong? You’re both scaring me. Did I do something wrong?”
My mother and father both smiled at me, and my mother reached for my hand. “No, darling. You didn’t do anything wrong, but I’m afraid we have a bit of bad news.”
My eyes began to sting from trying to hold back the tears. Garrett…something happened to Garrett. “Garrett?” I barely said.
My mother shook her head but looked away. “Garrett is fine, darling. This has to do with us—as a family.”
I nodded my head. “Okay.”
My father took in a deep breath. “We’re moving to Austin. I’ve been offered a position with Brackenridge Hospital. This is a wonderful opportunity for us.”
“No,” I whispered. I began shaking my head. “You promised me. When we left Fredericksburg, you promised we wouldn’t move again. I have friends here. I have…I have Garrett.”
My mother turned back to face me and said, “I know you think you have feelings for Garrett, darling—”
“Think? No, Mother, I know I have feelings for Garrett. I love him. I want to marry him someday.”
My father shook his head and pushed his chair back. “Emma Rose, please, you barely even know him. You’ve spent one afternoon with him, and you think you love him. That’s impossible.”
I felt the tears sliding down my face. “Why is that impossible, Daddy? I knew the moment I first saw him back in August. I tried to deny it because I was so scared.”
“Why were you scared?” my mother asked.
I smiled at her and wiped away my tears. “I’ve never felt that way before. Just the way he looks at me does weird things to my heart, Mother. When he smiles at me, I have to catch my breath.”