Page 9 of Winning Her

“Um, that’s right,” she murmured, fidgeting. “You’re here. But you’re not supposed to be here until tomorrow, you said!”

I watched as she looked anywhere but at me, her eyes moving in my general direction, but skittering away when they got anywhere near looking right into mine. She tucked her hair behind her ear on one side, then smoothed down her hair on the other. Her other hand was wrapped around her phone tightly enough her knuckles were white.

I frowned at her when I realized that she looked, nervous. Or, more like she looked afraid. Of me.

Fuck.

For a moment, I felt bad. Why was she acting as if some monster had come home? She was the one to call me back in the first place! Was there any need to look like I was going to eat her?

But the moment passed, and I just felt annoyed.

What the hell?

Did she have any reason to be acting that way around me? I’d been distant from Emily most, second only to her mother. I’d been nearly a teenager by the time she was born, and around that time I didn’t even spend all that much time at home. I had no interest in playing with the new baby in the family. She’d still been young when I left, and I’d only seen her on a few occasions since then when dad would sometimes bring her on one of his visits.

The last time I saw her, she was just going through puberty. There was some resemblance, but the young woman standing in front of me looked almost nothing like the gangly girl I’d met last. After that, Dad had stopped dragging her along and I hadn't spoken to her face-to-face since then.

Was it because of that? Because we were meeting for the first time in a long while that she was acting so strangely? I was pretty sure I’d never been cruel to her, though I couldn’t say I’d ever been welcoming. Most of the time I was just dismissive of her presence. That didn’t exactly instill fear in anybody. Of everyone, she should probably be the one to feel nothing at my sudden arrival back home.

But then a thought occurred to me.

“Did something happen?” I asked, my voice tight.

She did that thing again where her eyes would rise to meet mine, only to stop halfway, and she’d end up looking over my shoulder instead. Why couldn’t she meet my eyes?

“What do you mean?” she asked.

I wondered if I was mistaking the slight tremble in her voice.

“I mean, did something happen to do with Dad?” I asked, voice growing impatient. “He had a heart attack, did his condition get worse? Can you tell me where he is, so I can see him? I forgot to get the details from you before, so I just came all the way here.”

She fidgeted some more, chewing down on her lower lip.

“You want to know about Dad, huh?” she muttered, finally meeting my eyes.

I frowned. “Yes. Where is he?”

She looked away, her hand rising once more to play with her hair nervously. My frown only deepened the longer she made me wait, and I wondered why she was so unwilling to answer me.

Why, after calling me back, was she suddenly getting possessive over Dad? Maybe she didn’t want me to see him, even in the state he must have been in? Or… was Dad’s state so bad that she was deliberately trying to keep me away from it?

It could be either one, and it didn’t look like this girl was going to tell me! I felt like if I had to wait much longer I’d go mad or get angry enough to start shouting, and then she’d have something to look all frightened about.

“Can you please just tell me?” I asked one more time.

“Um,” she floundered, waving a hand in the air between us. “You just got back, though! Aren’t you tired, or anything? Did you bring any luggage with you? You could have it sent upstairs, maybe freshen up and have a meal… You must have been on the road for a while to get here this early in the day…”

I’d been on the road for hours, though I’d taken a stop at a cafe on the way to rest because I didn’t want to end up with a broken back from those roads. Still, I’d only caught four hours of sleep the night before and it was tough getting back on the road again. I’d been worried the entire time too that I wasn’t going fast enough. That by the time I arrived at the hospital it would be too late. It was only as I drove into Charlotte and saw the sign for the first hospital that I realized I had no idea where to go. Charlotte had no shortage of hospitals and Dad could be in any of them. I’d driven to the house hoping Emily could give me an answer when she didn’t answer her phone.

And here I was, and this girl was refusing to answer my questions.

“You know what? I’m a busy man, Emily. I would like to see my father before anything else. Then I’m going to work on what needs to be done while he rests. So if you won’t tell me, I’ll find out on my own.”

I went to turn away, but her voice stopped me.

“Wait, Trent!”

I paused, slowly turned back to her to wait for what she had to say. I wasn’t there to play some waiting game with her when there were more important things to do, but I would indulge her this once. Frankly, the girl could probably do with a little less indulgence in her life.