My hands were shaking.

I realized this in the moments after Emmett walked away from me. I sat, immobilized in the driver’s seat of my truck. There were several things swirling through my mind at once. First, I had to remind my self he didn’t know about the pregnancy and he didn’t hate me.

Yet.

The second was the deep curiosity behind the effect Emmett had on me from the very moment that I met him. I hardly knew him. I closed my eyes, and images of that night on the beach filled my mind. On the blanket underneath the stars. 

I shook my head, relinquishing the memories from my mind…For now. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Madison walking out of the restaurant with a couple of bags in her hand. That was all the motivation I needed. 

Shifting into drive, I was out of there. 

“How’d the dinner go?”

Aunt Lauren asked me this the moment I stepped through the door a few minutes later. In just the time it had taken me to drive home, the clouds had begun grow darker and the wind had picked up. There was a storm coming, and a big one.

Kicking off my shoes, I contemplated my answer. How had the dinner gone. Not terrible, but not great.

“It was okay,” I said honestly, hanging my keys up as I shut the door behind me, taking one last look at the brewing storm. “It could have gone better, but it was alright.”

“So he knows?” Aunt Lauren asked, her eyes lighting up.

I laughed a little bit, shaking my head.

“No, he doesn’t know. I didn’t get a chance to tell him before Madison came in, and then his friend called him and he had to go help with some cow giving birth.”

“Madison?” My aunt asked, raising her eyebrows. “Madison Parker?”

I nodded.

“That girl is nothing but trouble, Charlotte. And I don’t mean the type of harmless trouble Emmett got in when he was younger. She’s got a nasty attitude. It’d do well to stay away from her.”

I sat down at the kitchen island, shaking my head.

“Don’t worry, she’s not my friend. She’s hated me since the moment I walked into this town. I don’t know why, but apparently I’ve got a target on my forehead. At least in her eyes.”

“Don’t pay any attention to her. She’s not good for anyone, not from the moment she stepped foot in this town.”

“You mean she’s not from here?” I asked.

“No, not even close. She was born and raised in New York City. She's only lived here about four years. She tried to act like a little down home country girl, but she’s the farthest thing from it. I know she got into trouble back home, too. Heavy into drugs.”

My eyes widened.

“But don’t say anything to anyone, do you understand? I’m not really supposed to blab.”

“Don’t worry, Aunt Lauren. Your - or her - secret is safe with me. I promise.”

I meant that, too. Madison was the kind of person to take something like that and use it against me. But just because she would sink down to that level, didn’t mean I had to. I could and would be better than her.

She might think she was winning, but I’d know who the real winner was.

“You’re a better person than her, Char. Beautiful on the inside.”

She kissed my forehead and walked upstairs.

I cleaned up the kitchen after I’d been in there a while, and headed upstairs myself. I plugged some movie in I knew I’d pay no attention to.

Pulling my laptop out, I decided to FaceTime Katie. She answered immediately.

“I’ve missed you,” She began.

I smiled.

We talked for a long time, and she genuinely helped me feel better.

It didn’t take me long to fall asleep. I felt emotionally exhausted for some reason, dealing with Emmett and worrying about Madison in one night.

Sometime after midnight, my phone rang.

Sleepily, I rolled over and pressed answer. I knew immediately it was Brooke.

“Charlotte, I’m sorry to call you so late but..b-but everyone else is sleeping and I don’t know what to do. I’m..I’m stuck…”

She was crying. Outside, I could here the storm raging. I could hear it from her end, too. My heart pounded, worry immediately filling my body.

1:05 A.M.

“What’s wrong? Where are you, Brooke?” I asked, sitting up and ripping the covers off of me. I was fully awake now.

“I got..I got into an argument with my ex. He brought me to our spot…I thought he wanted to patch things up, but he just wanted to sleep with me. I said no…and he left.”

“You’re alone…in the rain?” I asked, appalled.

“There’s this little cabin…It’s abandoned.”

“Brooke, where are you? I’m coming right now.”

“A mile off Old Mill road,” She paused to gasp when audible thunder cracked somewhere near her. “Take a right after the bridge and it will take you to me.”

“I’m on my way, okay? Stay there. I’m coming.”

I flew my way into some pants, tugged on a hoodie and grabbed some keys. I scribbled some note to Aunt Lauren, just in case, and was out the door.

The storm was really going now.

I shoved the keys in the ignition and tore out of the driveway, headlights on bright and wipers on full force. I knew where Old Mill was, but I hadn’t been down it yet. I spotted some deer on the side of the road, but they didn’t attempt to walk across it.

Mud flew into the air as I tore around the corner.

I knew how to drive in the rain, but had never dealt with mud before. I managed to make it down to the bridge just fine. It was difficult to get the rest of the way, but I handled it okay. With out turning the truck off, I ripped the door open and ran to the small, abandoned cabin.

If you could call it that.

Parts of the walls were long gone, as well as some of the flooring. Somehow, the roof stayed in tact. Brooke was sitting in a corner, looking a little bit drunk and obviously scared. Her eyes were bloodshot, and it looked like there were bruises on her arms.

“He hit you?” I gasped. 

“N-No,” She stammered. “We were just arguing, and he grabbed me…”

“That bastard,” I cussed, walking over to her and gently pulling her to her feet. She stumbled as I walked her out to the truck and helped her in. It felt strange, helping someone out like that I hardly knew. People just didn’t do that in California.

But I knew she’d do it for me in a heartbeat.

“Where can I take you? Maybe your parents house?” I asked.

“No, take me to Emmett’s. He lives across the street from my grandparents, about the mile down the road from my house.”

My heart stopped.

She wanted me to go to Emmett’s? Now?

“It’s okay, he’s probably sleeping or at the bar.”

I sure hoped so.

I followed her directions, and I was taken to a place only about five miles past where I lived. I hadn’t known he’d lived so close to me. On the left was Emmett’s and Brooke’s grandparents massive ranch. It really was beautiful.

On the right was Emmett’s house, a two story white house that was very welcoming looking.

Except he was inside. His truck was in the driveway, and there was a light on.

Great. I looked positively horrible. Something on my window had broken, and it wouldn’t roll up. So I was soaked. I probably looked like a wet dog. I shut the truck off, and helped her out. I walked tentatively up to the house,  knowing damn well Emmett was probably going to have a fit.

It took all of five seconds for Emmett to appear after I opened the door. He’d tore down the stairs faster than I thought possible.

“Charlotte?” He asked, taken aback by my presence first. His eyes darted to his sister, and he scrutinized her.

“What the hell happened to you, Brooke?” He growled.

Brooke looked between us.

“You two know each other?” She asked, a drunken giggle escaping her lips.

“Yeah, we..uh..” I began, stammering.

“I met her in Florida,” Emmett interrupted, his tone clipped. Not mad at the question, but wanting to know what was wrong with her. I’d let go of her now, and she looked at me, clearly astonished.

“You’re the girl?” She asked. She paused a beat and started laughing. “You’re the girl he told me about?”

“Enough, Brooke,” Emmett snapped. “Now tell me what happened.”

“Brandon wanted to see me,” She said meekly.

“And you agreed?” He started, clearly angry. They  must have had a bad break up. “I thought you were going to stay away from him.”

“I thought he wanted to patch things up,” She answered, sitting down on a nearby stool. “He..uh…He didn’t want to.”

“He tried to sleep with you?”

Brooke was usually feisty, I gathered that from the moment I met her. But I also saw that Emmett was very protective. And right now, Emmett protecting his sister was winning. If it wasn’t such a dark situation, it would have been heart warming.

“He didn’t succeed,” I started in quickly.

Emmett’s eyes flickered to me for a second, and then reached over and turned on the light. Before, we’d only had the light from the living room on.

“That son of a bitch put his hands on you?” Emmett growled. His hands were clenched into fists, and it was clear he was trying to control his anger.

“He only grabbed me.”

“That mother fucker is mine, Brooke. I told you last time-“

“Emmett, no!” Brooke cried.

“No, Brooke. Fuck that. He tried this shit before and I listened to you when you told me not to stomp his punk ass. He’s done for now.”

I was taken aback by Emmett’s aggressiveness, but I couldn’t say he was wrong for it. If I was a brother, I’d probably do the same thing. Brooke was crying all over again.

“Why don’t we get you up to bed?” I asked, helping her out of the jean jacket she was wearing. She nodded, sniffling. I looked at Emmett fleetingly, but he wasn’t paying attention to me. His eyes were on his baby sister, and they’d softened considerably.

He really loved her.

My heart swelled as I helped her upstairs, and I heard him mutter something about getting a glass of water. I helped her into some pajamas, and she brushed her teeth and put her hair up and crawled into bed.

Emmett set the water and some Advil on the bedside table. I wished I had a sibling as close as they clearly were. I stayed with her until she was sound asleep, only leaving when I heard her softly snoring. I tiptoed out, shutting the door behind her.

“How did you know she was in trouble?” Emmett asked immediately.

I jumped a little bit, not knowing he was behind me. We were alone. In his house. My heart thumped in my chest.

“She called me,” I answered.

“Thank you,” He replied.

“I’ll be going now, then.”

Emmett laughed.

“You are crazy if you think you’re driving home in this rain, darlin,” He replied, his eyebrows raised. I waited to see if he was kidding - he wasn’t. Outside, the storm was raging even harder. Proof he was serious.

“I..I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I muttered, looking at the floor.

“It’s not happening, Charlotte,” He said. His tone was polite, but gave clear indication that his decision was final. I sighed, my shoulders dropping in defeat.

“But my truck…The window won’t close. It’ll be soaked by morning,” I frowned.

“We can move it to the barn in the back. I’ll fix it in the morning.”

With out saying another word, he walked past me. I followed him down the hallway and down the stairs. Somehow, I could tell that this was his personality from the start. Protective.

“Drive it out back, and I’ll meet you out there and open the door. The thing’s empty, so don’t worry about hitting nothing.”

Butterflies exploded in my stomach. God, his accent was appealing.

I grabbed my keys off the stool where I’d left them and followed his instructions. The barn was as big as about two garages, with nothing in it but random pieces of hay here and there on the floor.

Stepping out, I shut the door behind him and started towards the barn door, which he’d closed behind me. The idea with being alone was nerve wracking.

However, I was stopped when he gently grabbed my arm. I looked at him, confused. Was he going to kiss me? Was he going to make a move? My breathing hitched.

“We need to wait. I don’t want to get struck by lightning,” He said quietly, releasing my arm. My skin tingled.

“Oh.”

There were a long few minutes of silence. I wasn’t sure what to say. Emmett was leaning against the wall, looking out at the storm with his hands in his pockets and his legs crossed at the ankles.

God, even from behind he looked glorious.

“Why’d you come here?” He asked.

I was surprised by his question, and as he spun around I stood up from my spot on the tailgate. Why had I come here?

“To Paris, not to my house. You told me in Panama you and your mother got along great. It was your step father that was the problem.”

His face was serious. He stopped a few feet in front of me, but even from this far he towered over me. I wasn’t scared of him, though. Not in the least.

“You remember that?” I squeaked.

“Of course…I remember ev-” He paused, shaking his head. “And at the diner you said you had to tell me something. You lied about what brought you here, didn’t you?”

I gulped. I wasn't getting out of this barn with out telling him the truth. Tears pooled in my eyes, and he couldn’t see that because of the darkness of the barn. The only light came from a lone bulb above our heads.

“I didn’t know you lived here, I swear,” I said, shaking my head. My voice was shaky at best. “They made me come here when they found out…It wasn’t on purpose.”

His eyes narrowed.

“When they found out what, Charlotte?” He asked.

"Emmett, I'm pregnant."