Emma's Treasures (11 page)

All eyes turned to see Emma leaning against the doorjamb.

“Baby, you should be resting,” Travis said, reaching for her first, with Tucker tight behind him.

“I’m fine,” she whispered, walking around the brothers to sit at the table. “Hello, Braxton.”

“Emma,” Braxton replied, acknowledging her presence in the room. For the next hour, they all sat around the table trying to put together the big mystery.

Emma was exhausted. She had a lot on her mind and over the last hour, she had been mentally drained. The boys, along with Braxton, took the conversation outside to check the cattle, while Emma checked on Tabitha. After seeing to her daughter, Emma went into her room to relax and try to wrap her head around everything.

Lying in bed, she still had no clue who was after her or who this mystery person was, who wanted a will that did not exist. Nothing was making any sense. The only constant she had in her mind was the boys and Tabitha. If not for them, she figured she would be plumb stir-crazy. Her mind was still reeling from the letter from her mother. She took her death easily enough, since they really hadn’t had much of a relationship. But it was the news that Glenn McKenzie was not her biological father and that her mother had known who the mystery man was and didn’t say that irked her. Just who in the hell was her father and just where in the hell had he been for the last twenty-eight years?

Forgetting about taking a nap, Emma walked out onto the front porch and sat, trying to think everything through, but nothing made any sense.
First Mom gets knocked up by one of two guys she supposedly loves, and they supposedly love her. But for some unknown reason, Mom up and marries the biggest worthless piece of shit in five counties. Then five days after my twenty-first birthday, our house burns down, and dear ole stepdad supposedly dies in the fire. Then Mom up and moves us to Nebraska of all places, where I later find myself pregnant, which in turn pisses Mom off and she kicks me out, and I’m left to raise my daughter by myself. Oh, but let’s not forget the man who is trying to kill me, all because of some mysterious will and deed that apparently no one has ever seen
. “Yep…that settles it. I’m living a freakin’ soap opera.”

Emma was brought back to the present by a black BMW that pulled into the drive. She wasn’t expecting anyone, and neither were the boys or they would have told her. Rising from the swing, she walked down the front steps and waited.

Watching as the car came to a complete stop, she heard the engine cut off and the door open. Out walked a tall man, about six foot five with curly, sandy-blond hair and a golden tan. He was dressed in a finely made suit with shiny shoes. He was clean-shaven, and damn he looked gorgeous. She could tell he was older than her. Actually, a lot older. She watched as he reached for a brown leather briefcase and gingerly shut his door.

“Hi. What can I do for you?” Emma smiled as the man walked toward her. The closer he got, the better she could see him. There was just something about him that looked familiar, too familiar. “Do I know you, Mister?”

“My name is Matthew Jenkins. I am looking for an Emma McKenzie.”

“That’s me. What can I do for you?”

“Is there somewhere where we can talk in private?” he asked politely.

“Depends on what you have to say.”

“It’s of a personal nature.”

“Fine, come on in. I will put on a pot of coffee,” Emma suggested as she led the way into the house. She knew she was letting a complete stranger into the house, but something about the man seemed kind, and she knew she could trust him. So, going with her gut, she opened the door for him and let him precede her into her home.

Once inside he stepped aside to let her lead the way. She noticed he didn’t say much, if anything, so she figured she would start the conversation. “I’m sorry, Mr. Jenkins, I know this is going to sound cliché, but you look awfully familiar, like I have met you before.”

She offered him a seat at the table as she went to start a fresh pot of coffee.

“You probably know my brother, Andrew.”

“Andrew?” Emma turned, questioning him.

“The town doctor. I believe the town calls him Doc Jenkins.”

“Oh God, you’re Doc’s brother! Well, that explains why you look familiar.” She smiled and went to hit the start button on the coffeemaker. She found a seat at the table, making herself comfortable. “So, what can I do for you?”

“Please call me Matthew. I am an attorney from California. I have been looking for you for a very long time, Emma. You, young lady, are hard to keep tabs on.”

Jokingly, Emma responded, “Why? Am I wanted for something, Matthew?”

He smiled, and that funny little nagging began in the pit of her stomach again. That smile looked familiar.

“No. I was given some documents a while back, for your safekeeping. When you came of age, I was to hand them over to you and explain. But you kept moving around, and eventually I lost track of you. If it wasn’t for the sheriff running your name through the database, I probably would never have found you.”

“Well, you found me. What documents?”

“Yeah…What documents, and who the fuck are you?” a stern voice said behind them, making both Emma and Matthew turn to see Travis, Tucker, and Tate standing there with guns drawn.

Holy shit! This isn’t happening! Seriously!
I am going to kill them!

“Boys, put your damn guns away. This is Matthew Jenkins, Doc’s brother. He came all the way from California to see me. Now sit! And don’t embarrass me,” Emma said angrily at the boys. “Sorry about that, Matthew. They have been a little jumpy lately.”

“Jumpy! Woman, someone is trying to kill you, and you go and let a complete stranger into this house. I ought to take you over my knee and spank your ass till it’s bright red!” Travis shouted, moving closer to her.

“Now, Travis, that’s not for company’s ears.” Emma blushed.

“Excuse me a minute…Emma, who’s trying to kill you?” Matthew asked, concerned.

“We don’t know. I can’t remember much about him,” she whispered, looking for Tate.

He was there instantly, wrapping his arms around her, soothing her nerves. “It’s all right, baby. You will remember, it’s just gonna take some time,” he said, kissing her forehead.

“Is my brother aware of the situation?” Matthew asked, getting to feet and pulling his phone out of his breast pocket.

“Yeah, those who need to know are aware. Why?” Tucker asked skeptically, not completely trusting the man. Emma frowned at him, and would have said something but Tate hugged her tighter, silencing her.

They all watched as Matthew Jenkins quickly dialed a number he knew apparently by heart and listened.

“You son of a bitch! When were you going to tell me what the hell was going on around here…Don’t give me that shit… It was your job to watch her…I don’t give a damn about what you have been through…What! When…And when were you going to tell me that, on my death bed? You are such a fuckup! I wonder how you ever made it through medical school…Yes, I am in town. You think I would be this fucking pissed if I was back in California? Well, I am going to! So if you want to be here, I suggest you get off your ass and get here quick!”

The room was quiet as they all listened. They watched as he closed his phone, and placed it back in his pocket. The calm, cool man that once sat before her was now a ball of rage. Emma watched as he ran is hands through his hair and sighed, biting his bottom lip. That funny little nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach went from barely there to full-blown panic in seconds. Emma had seen that gesture to many times. She knew what her gut was telling her, but her mind was screaming, no…not possible!

Standing slowly, she took a deep breath and walked closer to the tall man. “Would you like some coffee? I am sure it is done.” Emma watched the distraught man turn to look at her. She was shocked at the spray of emotional torture played out in his eyes, from sorrow to anger, but mostly she witnessed regret. She gently smiled as she looked into his sea-blue-green eyes. “Have a seat, Matthew, and I’ll get you something stronger,” she whispered as she went to go get his coffee.

Emma couldn’t believe it. He mother had lied to her, her whole life. What shocked her even more was the stranger, the handsome stranger sitting at her kitchen table. Who was he really? So many questions filtered through her mind and she wanted answers to all of them.

Growing up the daughter of Glenn McKenzie had been no picnic. From early on, she had watched Glenn drink himself into oblivion almost every night, and when he wasn’t drinking, he was whoring around or fighting with her mother. Yes, her mother had tried to give her a nice childhood, but early on Emma realized to get out of dodge when Glenn was drunk.

She just didn’t understand why, after all this time. Looking at Matthew, she imagined he lived a very nice life in California. He was well manicured, nicely dressed, and by the looks of that gold watch on his wrist, and the car he drove up in, she could only assume he was worth a pretty penny. So why now, after all this time, did he feel the need to seek her out?

Enough had happened over the last couple of months that Emma really didn’t want or need to know the answer, but somehow she knew she was going to get the answers anyway. Mr. Matthew Jenkins looked to be a very determined man.

Emma could hardly wait to see what he had to say, and when he was finished she was going to show the man the door. All this drama was starting to grate on her nerves, and she sure as hell didn’t need some long-lost relative showing up complicating her life any more than it already was. Just then, everyone turned when the screeching of breaks and crunching of gravel alerted them to another visitor.

Nobody stood to welcome the newcomer, for Doc Jenkins just walked on in and began shouting, “You piece of cow crap! How dare you come home and tell her. She has been through enough and she doesn’t need this right now. So just pack your Louis Vuitton crap and head out.”

“Not happenin’, Andy. I am here to fix what you fucked up,” Matthew replied.

“Watch your mouth. Tabitha is home from school!”

“Who in the hell is Tabitha?” Matthew shouted, and right on cue, the little ball of energy barreled down the hallway into the kitchen, right into Doc Jenkins.

“Doc! I gonna be a turkey in the shanksgiving play!”

Doc leaned over and picked up the small six-year-old and hugged her. “That’s real good, Tabby, but it’s the
Thanks
-giving play.”

“Momma said you’d be there. Are you’d gonna be there, Doc?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Tabby,” he said, kissing her cheek before setting her back on her own two feet.

Emma watched as Tabitha turned to see a stranger in the house. “You look like Doc. Did you come to see him?” Tabitha asked, smiling at the new man.

They all watched as Matthew squatted down to look the little girl in the eye. “Yes. My name is Matthew Jenkins. I am Doc’s older brother. I came all the way from California to see your mother.”

“Wow! That’s where the specific ocean is!” Everyone laughed as Tabitha turned back to the doc and asked, “Is he tellin’ the truth?”

Emma couldn’t hide her smile and apparently the boys had trouble hiding their laughter. Emma watched as Tucker stood and grabbed their daughter around the waist. “All right, Alex Trebek, enough questions. Go find Rusty and have him take you for a ride. Adults are talkin’,” he said, shooing her out the front door.

Emma watched as her daughter skipped and jumped for joy. She knew one of her favorite times of the day was to ride her pony with Rusty. The old foreman had lived and worked on this ranch since the boys were small. Having no children himself, he doted on Tabitha, lavishing large amounts of attention on her.

“Someone wanna start explaining?” Travis said, getting to the point as soon as Tabitha started shouting for Rusty.

Emma stood and looked at the Jenkins brothers and calmly said, “Yes, please, enlighten all of us…Dads.”

* * * *

The room got eerily quiet as Travis, Tucker and Tate watched as Emma moved around the kitchen. Like a cat circling its prey, with grace and agility, stalking them, waiting to pounce.

Neither of the Jenkins brothers answered Emma.

The Quinn brothers knew if those men were her biological fathers, according to town history, they both would claim her it was just the town’s way. Looking at each other then back at her, Travis had had enough. He could tell from the tension on Emma’s face. This news was emotionally hurting her and he wasn’t going to allow these two men to hurt her any more than she already was. “Someone better speak because she’s had it with lies, deceptions, and deceit. She needs the truth. She deserves it.”

Matthew moved first. “You are our daughter, Emma, both mine and Andrew’s.”

Andrew quickly stood next to his brother, agreeing, “We loved your mother and wanted to marry her, but circumstances beyond our control and hers didn’t allow that to happen. We are so sorry for what you have had to deal with.”

“You’re sorry?” Emma seethed. “You’re sorry that you walked away from my mother. You’re sorry that you didn’t stop Glenn McKenzie from marrying my mother. You’re sorry that you allowed your biological daughter to live in a home with a drunk who scared the living shit out of her. You’re sorry that you abandoned your daughter and the woman you say you loved to live life in fear?” Emma whispered vehemently, turning and heading to the screen door. The boys stood, getting ready to say something when Emma stopped and turned to look at the men who had just claimed her. “Go fuck yourselves…Dads,” she said and walked out the back door into the clean bright sunshine.