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The next day, Luke arrived early at the stable and began hitching up the horses. He’d done it so often that he was able to let his thoughts wander, and they wandered to Emma. What would she say, he wondered. What would he tell her about himself? He’d been distracted ever since he’d proposed they talk, and hadn’t slept well. Writing had been an exercise in futility. None of it had been helped by the phone call he’d made. As he did every month or so, he’d called home. His mother had answered, but as soon as she’d heard someone else come in the room, she’d hung up. Nothing to be done about it, he reminded himself. Concentrate on Emma. He’d just gotten the horses hitched when he saw Emma walking down the sidewalk towards him. “Hi.” She met his eyes, looked away, and then looked up again. “Hey.” His voice was soft. “You’re early.” “Am I?” She looked at her watch. “I guess I am. I live just down the street, so it doesn’t take long.” “Really? Where do you live?” She gestured behind her. “About four blocks that way.” “No kidding.” Luke shook his head and chuckled. “I must pass your place every day.” “You do.” She gave him a shy smile. “I watch the horses go by, it’s my favorite part of the day.” “Well, come on.” Luke held out a hand and forced a grin. “Now you can watch from the carriage. It’s a completely different perspective.” Emma took his hand and climbed up in the carriage. She huddled into her coat, cold despite a hat, gloves, and scarf. “Here.” Luke reached back and got a blanket. “I keep a few of these around.” He winked. “Never know what people bursa escort might need.” Emma laughed and arranged the blanket over her legs. “You seem very prepared.” He shrugged and snapped the reins to start the horses. “Never hurts.” Emma bit her lip; something was bothering him. The smile and the wink—they were genuine, but there was something underneath. She knew how that felt. Pretending to smile when you wanted to cry; forcing down the anger; acting as though you had the Christmas spirit when you didn’t. “Can I ask what’s wrong?” She laid a tentative hand on his arm. “Nothing much.” Luke shrugged, then smiled at her. “I’m a terrible host. I should be telling you about all the landmarks and historical buildings.” “It’s okay. I’d rather talk about you.” She took a deep breath. “Or to you. That was the whole point of coming out, right?” “Yes, it was.” Luke put one arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, then dropped a kiss on her forehead. “So. What was that all about yesterday?” Emma sighed. “You really want to know?” “Yes, I do.” “Okay.” She closed her eyes. “My sister, Lila, and I came here about three years ago. We sang together . . . I did the music, and wrote the lyrics, and we thought we had had something.” “I bet you did.” Luke squeezed her. “Then we met Sam. Sam Hollings. We were playing in this little club and he just . . . .” Emma felt herself blush and wiped at her eyes. “I guess I was just too stupid. He was handsome and slick and I believed everything he said. He told me . . . oh, God, he told me I didn’t bursa escort bayan need Lila, that I did all the work and she was just dead weight. He said she was holding me back. I believed him. He was wrong, but I believed him.” Luke was silent for a while. “Then what?” Grateful that he withheld comment, Emma made herself continue. “I made an effort at first to say no, Lila and I were a team. But he kept at it and at it. He told me I didn’t need her, that he had all these . . . contacts or something from people who were interested in me, if I would dump Lila. Then, I swear I couldn’t tell you the first time it happened, but he got me on drugs. “I can’t believe that. I mean, I never wanted anything to do with drugs. At all. Lila and I, we were like, the cleanest kids ever in school. Then somehow . . . .” She ran a hand through her hair. “I don’t know. It happened. I remember some things but not others.” “When you want something, really want it, it’s hard not to do everything to get it.” Luke kept his arm around her and his voice was low. “Pressure is hard to resist, especially when the pressure is made to seem like it’s good for you.” “Yeah.” Emma rested her head on his shoulder. “And I was so easy to pressure. He must have been laughing at me the whole time.” “Did he ever hurt you?” “No. I know it seems like he would have, and he did get me drugs, but he never hit me or anything like that.” Luke nodded but said nothing. Protective instincts reared up with the desire to bash Sam’s head in, but he took a deep breath. Can’t escort bursa do anything now, he thought. “Anyway, I guess the rest is short, and you probably know what’s coming.” Emma pulled out a tissue and dabbed at her eyes and nose. “I told Lila I agreed with Sam, that he found someone who was interested, but only in me. I told her I’d try to bring her in later, but . . . .” She shrugged. “Lila knew I didn’t mean it. I was too strung out and too hung up on Sam. We were at this party, a Christmas party, when I told her. She left and I haven’t seen her since. “I stayed with Sam for a while, because I did believe him. I kept writing and singing and he kept saying, oh, sorry, it didn’t work out but I have another guy I want to talk to. I was such an idiot.” “No,” said Luke, “he used you. It’s no sin to believe in someone.” “Except he didn’t believe in me.” Emma let out a half-laugh. “I was just someone to, I don’t know . . . keep his bed warm, amuse himself. Then one day I was supposed to meet him and I got there early and I saw him talking to this girl. I walked up and just knew, you know? He told me how it just wasn’t working, he had to focus on whatever-her-name-was, and could I have my stuff out by the next morning. I kind of . . . fell apart after that.” Emma was drained, and they were quiet as the horse clapped along the street. There was more to the story: how she’d been on the streets for a couple of weeks, then found a girl she’d met through Sam, and who knew his MO. She helped Emma get back on her feet, get into rehab, and then later, she’d met Millie and gotten her job and apartment. After a few blocks, Emma said, “You know what one of the worst things is?” “No, what?” “Every sort of milestone, every bad thing, happened around Christmas.” She shook her head and brushed away some straggling tears.