Emily's Choice Read Online Free Page B

“He’ll be lucky to be alive when I’m done with him,” before
the line clicked, indicating her father had hung up his phone. Her heart
stopped for a second, before she realized she was angry and what did she care
what punishment her father meted out to Jason on her behalf. 
    “Oh, darling
girl, I’m so sorry this happened to you,” Mama G soothed after Clint had hung
up the phone.
    Emily nodded
and leaned her forehead on the cool glass. “Me, too. We had our whole lives
ahead of us, Mama G. What am I going to do now?”
    “You’re gonna go to Boston, get your emotions straightened out, your
head on right, and make a plan. You call me whenever you need me. We’re all
here for you, darling.”
    “I love you,
Mama G. So much. I’m so sorry I didn’t listen to you,” Emily said sadly.
    “What do you
mean?”
    “When you
said it was bad luck for Jason and me to see each other before the wedding.
That wasn’t just an old wives’ tale.” Emily paused to wipe her nose. “I’d
better get going. I need to use the restroom, and we’ll be boarding again soon.
I’ll call or text when we land in Boston.”
    “All right,
darling girl. Be safe. We love you both.”
    “I will.
Love you.”

Chapter Three
    The plane
ride seemed to take forever, which gave Emily plenty of time to think. Not that
she wanted to, though. Her thoughts weren’t of the happy variety. No happy
childhood memories, no hopes for her new life in Boston, no exciting dreams for
the tiny miracle in her womb. Memories of Lila’s initial arrival in Mosquero and all her dirty tricks raced through her mind
like an old-time newsreel. She needed a distraction, anything, from the memories
swirling in her mind. Unfortunately, Hope being a frequent flyer meant she had
no trouble sleeping on the plane. As soon as they’d boarded in Denver, she’d
passed out. Emily wished she could be so lucky, but sleep wouldn’t come to her,
even though she was desperately exhausted.
    No, it
seemed she was destined to relive one of the most awful moments in her life.
The first time her trust in Jason had been tested.
    Lila had
come to live with them the summer before Emily and Hope entered eleventh grade.
Lila’s life had been turned upside down by a stalker. He was her ex-boyfriend
and apparently hadn’t taken the breakup well. His name was Edward, and he was
from a family as well-off as Lila’s own. He called her, texted her, stopped by,
and followed her around school. It got to the point where Lila was afraid to
leave her house. The police’s hands were tied though because he never
made any threats to Lila and had never harmed her. Lila begged her family to
leave town for a while, to let Edward forget about her and so Lila could feel
safe again. Her mother had been all for the idea, having wanting to spend some
time at their home in France and getting tired of life in Boston. Winter was
coming and she did not want to spend another cold, snowy, bleak winter there.
She wanted sun, warmth, and the Mediterranean. 
    Lila’s
father, on the other hand, had many business dealings in the works and couldn’t
get away. Besides, he’d said, Edward knows about the house in France, surely he’d
be able to find you there. So a plan had been hatched for Lila to go spend some
time with her aunt in Mosquero . The original plan had
been for Lila to stay for six months and then go with her parents to France.
The second part of the plan never happened. Instead, Lila had conned,
manipulated, and cajoled her way into being able to stay for the entire school
year.
    Emily
sighed, leaned her head back against the seat, closed her eyes, and let her
mind take over. You couldn’t stop a freight train and she was done
trying.
    Initially,
Emily had been excited for Lila’s arrival. She was curious about Mama G’s
family and wanted to meet Hope’s cousin. She thought they’d be similar people,
their fathers being brothers and all, but she couldn’t have been more