AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Fine. I’ll speak with my financial advisor and we’ll work something out. Is there anything else? Do you think you can handle it from here on out?”
“Are you going to shut off your phone again?”
“Not if you don’t track me here,” Emma warned.
“I already have your location, sweetie. But I’ll keep my word. We’ll meet you in Denver in, let’s say, twenty-four hours?”
“Make it forty-eight. I don’t know how long it will take to wrap up everything I have going on.”
“What could you possibly have going on?”
Emma pinched the bridge of her nose. “It doesn’t really matter, now does it? You got what you wanted out of all of this. I might possibly be even more famous. You’ve had your fifteen minutes in the spotlight. We will be able to schedule another show. What do you have to complain about now?”
“I suppose there’s nothing left. See? I’ve trained you well.”
As much as Emma cared for Rachel and respected her, there were moments like this one where she couldn’t help but realize the biggest reasons she’d made her escape. Well, that escape was behind her now. There was a very important meeting that needed to take place, and she didn’t know if she was going to be strong enough for it.
Emma hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed. At least her phone call with Rachel hadn’t been as bad as she’d imagined. Rachel almost sounded like she knew it was coming. She’d planned on tracking Emma down even if she hadn’t wanted to be tracked.
Was Emma so predictable? She didn’t want to think about that—right now, she had to think about what she would tell Caleb. There were two options before her. She could tell him exactly who she was, or she could let him find out on his own. Either way, she needed to break things off with him because she was leaving.
Her hands shook and her legs had long since gone numb. She wasn’t sure if she could handle him yelling at her or telling her she was just as bad as he’d thought she was. She didn’t want to see the pain in his eyes. Those were some of the consequences he’d insisted she was going to free herself from.
In this situation, maybe he was right. She didn’t have the strength to suffer those consequences, and she might use her fame and fortune to be free from everything. It would be so much easier to tell him they couldn’t work because she was returning to LA and the distance simply wasn’t something she could overcome. To see his disappointment regarding that outcome seemed at least a bit more manageable, even if it did make the sickness growing in her gut turn more sour by the second.
The ride to Caleb’s home went by in a blur. She’d gotten the address from Sophia and borrowed her car, insisting that she didn’t want to put her out. In reality, she didn’t want Sophia to witness the end to what could quite possibly be her first true love.
Emma hated the irony that she’d fallen for someone while pretending she wasn’t who she was to the general public. Bad decisions brought on even worse outcomes. Now she’d sacrifice what she cared about and all because she’d been selfish.
She strode up the steps to the house and froze on the welcome mat. The home was modest for having housed such a large family. Emma couldn’t believe that it used to be as worn down as Caleb had mentioned. She let her gaze sweep over thebuilding, imagining a young Caleb and his siblings playing out in the yard or working with the animals they had on the property. She could almost hear their childlike laughter.
It wasn’t any wonder that she’d been drawn to this small town. If she had a family, this would be the first place she’d want to settle down. Too bad she’d gone and messed up any possibility of that.
She heaved a sigh. The clock was ticking. She only had so much time to say her goodbyes, and this one was going to be the hardest one of all. Lifting her hand, she poised it to knock. Before she could connect with the wood, it swung inward. A young woman stared at her with wide, bright blue eyes. The recognition in her gaze was unmistakable.
Emma bit back a curse. She had been so focused on telling Caleb that she had completely forgotten to grab her glasses and her hat. It would do her no good to duck her head and hide her face. There was no rewinding time. Charlie had seen her, and all she had to do was let out a squeal to get anyone’s attention.
Emma held up both hands in an attempt to prevent her from doing just that, but she did so a little too late.
“Emma Hart! At my door! I can’t believe it!”
Movement behind her caught Emma’s attention and she glanced up to see Caleb standing a few yards away. His confusion was short-lived as the realization hit him hard. His face reddened, and he scowled as he moved toward her with hurried steps.
“Caleb, I?—”
And just like that, he pushed past her and strode down the porch steps faster than she’d ever seen him move.
22
Caleb
Caleb could feel the contents of his stomach swirling and churning, threatening to make an appearance if he wasn’t careful. He stormed toward his truck, crumpling the scrap piece of paper in his hands as he did.
He didn’t want to believe what Charlie had said. In fact, he’d nearly corrected her, but then he went over everything in his head and it all suddenly made sense. Her name. Her disguise. Her appearance in Copper Creek coincided with the disappearance of the singer. Emily Hartford was none other than Emma Hart, and he was a complete idiot for not seeing it sooner.
Caleb shook his head. He couldn’t believe he’d been so distracted that he hadn’t even bothered to do a little digging. Charlie had talked nonstop about Emma since he’d returned home from Mateo’s. All it would have taken was for him to glance at the news articles that his sister had been reading.
And this Emma Hart—she was probably laughing at him the whole time.
