Claiming Emma (8 page)

Emma winced at the tone and the pointed way he asked, because from it she knew, he had already guessed.  Though he was only partially correct.

Nicki looked between them in surprise.  She had assumed Noah already had this information, which he did not.

"Emma raised money to cover most of it with the town," she said carefully, "And the clinic has agreed to take less than what it usually would, given Hannah's situation."

Emma finally couldn’t fight the pull and looked at Noah, then winced at the look in his eyes. 
Oh, boy.

"And you volunteered to work for the clinic gratis to cover some of it," Emma reminded her friend, using the excuse to look at her rather than at the angry man glaring.

Given the way Noah was skewering her with his eyes, Emma was not sure any words would reassure him.

"
Most of it
was raised by the town, you said. What about what was not?"  While Noah spoke he still he did not look away from Emma.

Nicki cleared her throat and spoke quietly.  "Lavender Farms pays for the rest."

It was like a bell had tolled.  A scary one.  But before Noah could lose his temper on her Marcella Hale finally spoke drawing his attention to another target.

Not too bright that woman,
she thought.  But good for Emma.  She did not fool herself into thinking she was off the hook but at least she had a short reprieve.

"None of this matters," Marcella Hale stated icily.  Her eyes went from Emma to Nicki.  "Nor should any of this be spouted about for everyone to hear."  She looked to her lawyer.  "Surely there is such a thing as doctor confidentiality?   I can sue this clinic and the doctor for slander, can't I?"

The lawyer looked at his client and after a brief flash of disgust Emma would have missed if she blinked, he buried his reaction, and almost too quickly to see he was back in lawyer mode.  It appeared that he didn't like this any better than the rest of them did.  But he did his job.  Albeit not in the way Marcella Hale might have liked.

"Slander could only be used, if what is being said is proved to be untrue, and I don’t think a judge would look favorably on you suing the doctor who volunteered the care for your daughter gratis."  His tone was no nonsense and devoid of inflection, but his disapproval was definitely inferred.  His voice did not change when he finished with.  "And doctor confidentiality only covers her medical condition, not how it was paid for, especially as this seems to be a matter of public knowledge if the money was raised with the town."

"But none of this matters," Marcella Hale snapped.  "She's my daughter, she's underage.  She comes with me."

The lawyer turned his professionally expressionless eyes to the rest of the room.  "What my client says is accurate.  Who paid for Hannah's care is irrelevant.  Legally it has no bearing on the case before us.  You have been charged by the legal guardian to release a minor into her care.  Unless there is some medical reason she cannot be moved you must allow the transfer."  He turned to Sheriff Ed.  "I'm sure the sheriff will back me up on this.

Ed looked like he would rather chew nails but he snorted his agreement just the same.

Medical reason? 
Emma thought and turned to look at Nicki ready to make big eyes at her, but she was way ahead of her. 

"I need to run some tests," she said concisely.  "Before I can be assured a move will not endanger my patient.  I cannot in good conscious sign off on Hannah without making sure it won't cause her lasting damage."

Everyone looked at Nicki.

"You can't do that," Marcella Hale spat into the room, stomping forward in her heals and skirt suit.  "You’re on their side."  Marcella pointed to Emma and Noah before she turned back to her lawyer.  "I demand another doctor."

Nicki raised a supercilious brow.  "I have no issue with bringing in a second opinion," she said before the lawyer could speak.  "If you have doubts about my intentions I can ask the other doctor in town to run the tests.  My main concern is that Hannah is safe.  I assume as her mother you feel the same caution."

Emma looked away, trying not to smile and give the game away, Ed she noticed was looking at his boots, his lips fighting a grin.

Marcella Hale looked furious but what could she say to that?
No, I don't care about my daughter’s safety.

Her lawyer spoke before she could say anything.  "Mrs. Hale?"

"Fine," she spat out.  "But I want the other doctor here, and she," she pointed at Nicki, "is not to come anywhere near my daughter."

"Agreed," Nicki said.  "If you will join me at the nurse’s station I can give you the number for the other doctor in town so you can start the process of getting her cleared for transfer.  I know you want to move quickly on this."

With one last fuming look at the whole room, and not a glance at her daughter in her hospital bed, Marcella Hale stormed out of the room.  Her lawyer followed in her wake.  Nicki paused at the door behind them when Ed called out stopping her. 

"How is old Doc Brown these days," he asked humor clear in his voice.

"You know dad," she said flashing Ed an evil smile.  "He never misses a chance to fish if he can help it.  I'm lucky if I can catch sight of him this time of year."  She winked and left the room.  Ed chuckled, and with a pat to Emma's shoulder and a chin lift at Noah he followed the rest of them.

Noah was pissed.  For a variety of different reasons. 

"You lied to me," he stated flatly and watched the smile she had shared with the sheriff fall away.  Emma met his eyes resigned.

"I did not.  I told you Hannah had worked for her keep, and she did.  What expenses were not covered by the town and the deal we got with the clinic is negligible."

"Bullshit," he growled.  "Why?"

"Noah," she started, but he cut her off.

"Why?"

Emma blew out a breath and looked away from those intense eyes.  "I wanted to do that for her.  It was the least I could do for her," she finally said quietly.

"Who?"

She met his eyes again, something moving in hers he did not get.  "Hannah."

"What are you talking about?  You helped Hannah, not the other way around.  Hell," he said, motioning around them.  "You still are."

She sighed out a deep breath and looked suddenly fragile, not a word he would have associated with Emma.  Then she spoke and he felt her words in his gut.  "I can't have children."  Before he could even form a thought through the hit he took from those words, she went on.  "Having, first Hannah, and then Lucy at Lavender Farms was like having the chance I never expected to have."  Emma raised shiny eyes to his, and he felt that in his gut too.  "I gave Hannah a job; she gave me a family, at least for a little while.  Add the time I have had with Lucy that she has missed out on, and there is no way to balance those scales."

Noah cursed in his head but felt his anger recede.  "You feel guilty because you enjoy having Lucy?"

"While her mother is in a coma," Emma added succinctly.  "Yes, I feel guilty for enjoying my time with Lucy, when her mother cannot."  Emma firmed her lips and he watched the emotions flash across her face.  Then she corrected.  "No, not
when
, I feel guilty for enjoying Lucy
because
her mother is in a coma.  Can you blame me for wanting to give something back?"

"Did you take Hannah in because you saw a chance at getting her baby?"

The shock of his cold words was like a slap to her face.  "What?" she whispered, her face going so pale it was a wonder she didn't fall over from blood loss to the brain.

"You heard me."

"Of course not," she sputtered out. 

He cut her off before she could say anything else.  Firing his words at her like bullets from a gun.  "Why did you help Hannah?"

"Because," he watched her face flush again, her blood returning with the anger his question finally kindled.

"That's not an answer.  Why did you help Hannah?"

"Because she needed help."  The words came out faster, the spark of anger amping up as she got her breath back.

"Why did you help Hannah?"

"Because she needed help," she said again.  This time with more force, her eyes firing sparks at him, her chin up and thrust out stubbornly.  "I helped her because when I looked out the window and saw a young girl miserable, hot, and in need, I couldn't do anything else."

His words lost their sting and his voice went low and soft.  "Then what the fuck do you have to feel guilty about?"

It was not a voice Emma had heard from Noah before and it stopped her angry rebuttal in its tracks. 

She blew out an angry breath and slumped down in the chair by Hannah's bed.  She glared at him, but her heart had gone out of it. 

"You're an aggravating man, you know that?"

"I'm paying for Hannah's treatment," was his only answer.

He watched her lips firm and then a spark of humor lit her eyes as she shook her head.  "Extremely aggravating."

"Emma," he said in warning and watched her roll her eyes and puff out a breath.

"Fine," she finally said with put upon resignation.  "You can pay for Hannah's care."

"All of it, from now on and I pay you back what you have already paid."

He watched her puff out another breath and then meet his eyes with a little laugh.  "Fine, you stubborn man.  All of it."

"And I pay rent while I stay at the farm."

Her mouth that had just opened to say something probably teasing from the slant of her smile, snapped shut and she glared at him, suddenly implacable.  "Don't push your luck."

Now he was the one tempted to smile. 
Fuck, she was cute. 
Trained as he was to recognized a no win scenario, he let that go.  He would take what she had already grudgingly surrendered to him and call it a win.  For now.

Emma must have recognized it on his face because she moved the conversation to the next hurdle.  "Why is Marcella Hale suddenly worried about her daughter?"

"No fucking clue,” Noah said grimly, all humor leaching from the room.  "But I'm going to find out."

Emma sucked in a breath and gave him worried eyes.  "I don't trust her with Hannah," she said stating the obvious.  "And what happens if she decides she wants Lucy?"

"Not a fucking chance," Noah said steel coating every word.

"Hannah asked me to care for her, but the hospital paper she signed naming me guardian may not mean anything since she's a minor."

Noah walked fast to Emma and pulled her out of the chair she was clutching with white knuckled hands.   One hand at her neck, the other at her waist he held her steady so that she had no choice but to look him in the eye.

"Not a fucking chance Emma," he stated, meeting those eyes and willing her to understand what he was saying.

She sagged in his grip, her hand that had gone to his big wrist when he grabbed her neck loosened, and she licked her lips.  He saw the worry in her eyes ease, not completely, but enough that he knew she got him. 

"Okay, Noah," she answered softly.

Before either of them could say anything else, there was a harrumph from the doorway and the sheriff spoke, drawing their attention.  "Mrs.  Hale has asked the clinic to disallow visitors that she has not pre-approved until they can get Hannah moved to a different facility."  The old man looked none too pleased to be imparting this information.  "Afraid you two are on her shit list."

"Right," Noah said grimly, his hands still on Hannah, still standing close enough to give the old man ideas. Ideas that Noah had no problem with him having.  Ideas he hoped spread far and wide that Emma was taken.  Though with his hand where it was he could feel the heat hit Emma's cheeks even before he looked down to see the color there.  She was looking at the old sheriff as if she just got caught necking by her daddy, so he had to assume she was not thrilled with the message he was sending.  He just didn't give a fuck.

***

After being summarily ejected from Briar Rose, all Emma wanted to do was pick up Lucy from Paige and barricade them both in her house.  Probably not the healthiest response, so she kept it to herself.  Originally however, the plan was to go to the grocery store and then head to the diner for dinner.  But when he stopped at the grocery store and turned the ignition off, Noah turned in his seat to study her.  Emma had been deep in her own head so when the truck stopped it took her a moment to turn and face him.

"What?"

"I'm going to run in and grab some coffee.  They have a pizza place in this town?"

Emma pointed down the street, without looking around.  It was the sole business street in the small town.  There was the diner, the tiny library, the police station and the post office, besides the grocery store. No pizza place was evident.

"Right," Noah said taking it all in, which admittedly did not take long.

"Can you call in an order to go at the Diner?"

"I can," she said, tilting her head for a better look at him.  Trying to figure out what he was thinking behind that face he put on for the world was not an easy thing.  But sometimes his eyes gave him away enough for her to figure it out.  They were giving her diddly squat at the moment, however.  "I thought you wanted to eat out?"

"I wanted to take you out on a date, but with what happened, you will spend the whole night worrying until you get Lucy home where you feel safe.  After we eat I'll put a call into a buddy of mine, who can find out anything about anyone, and I'll get him working on Marcella, and what the hell she hopes to get out of this."

There was a lot in that to take in, but Emma was stuck back on the first part.  "You wanted to take me out on a date?" she asked, her voice going high with her surprise.

Now Noah's eyes on her zeroed in as he studied her face even closer than he had been a moment before.  "I asked you to dinner, that's a date," he finally said sounding surprised himself.

Emma made big eyes at him.  "You said,” she pitched her voice low to imitate his gruff manner of speaking. “dinner, we'll go early so we can see Hannah, hit the grocery store, and pick up Lucy after.”

"And?"

Emma rolled her eyes and went on to explain dating 101.  "And that is not asking me out on a date.  One because you didn't actually ask, and two because at no time did you mention anything close to the word date, in that list of things you wanted to do in town before heading back to the farm.  I would have noticed, and here is a tip for you for future reference, I would have showered, brushed my hair and probably worn something besides my work jeans and stained tennis shoes on a date."

Noah looked her over and proved he did not get what she was saying when he shrugged those massive shoulders of his and stated.  "You look fine."

Which had Emma gritting her teeth and glaring at him.  "Just to continue your lesson on dating here, never, ever,
ever
tell a woman she
looks fine
." 

Noah studied her and she could swear he was finding her amusing when she saw a small upturn at the corner of his mouth.  She rolled her eyes again and moved the conversation on.   She would think later about what it meant that Noah wanted to date her, for now he was right, she wanted to get back to Lucy and home. 

"To answer your question, I can order a pick up from the diner, but I don't have a menu with me, so unless you want a surprise which would be whatever the special is tonight, or just something like a burger, you might want to wait and after you get your coffee we can head over and order something to go."

"Do you know what you want?"

"I always get a cheeseburger and fries."

"Then get me two of those with fries, and I'll get coffee and beer here." He indicated the store they were parked at, which for a town this size was big.  It was not the size of say a Safeway, but it was bigger than a corner grocer usually was, and Emma knew from experience that they carried a good selection of beer, both American and other.  So she figured he would be pleasantly surprised and switched the topic to the next most important of his statements.

"You have a buddy who can find out things?"

Noah nodded his head.  "He's good, and he's fast.  I'll get him on this and we'll know long before Marcella can get Hannah released exactly what she’s up to." 

Since his eyes on her were firm and unyielding, at these words Emma had no choice but to believe him.  So she took a deep breath and released it slowly.  "Get me a coke zero," she said, pulling out her cell phone to make the call to the diner while he shopped.  "And if you could pick up a gallon of milk and some eggs.  Tell Cooter you want Dee's eggs when you get to the checkout, and tell them they're for me."

Noah gave her a long look, then like her, let it go for now.  "Someone in this town is actually named Cooter?"

That made her laugh.   "That would be the old guy at the front of the store.  If it's a pretty woman with red hair, then it's his granddaughter Clementine working, but that would be unusual on Thursday as she usually helps out at the auxiliary for the weekly bingo game.  If it's a teenage girl then it's his great granddaughter Dee, short for Delilah, and she raises chickens and sells the eggs to raise money to buy a car when she turns sixteen.  She's ten."

"Industrious," he muttered.

Emma laughed and dialed the number for the diner as she spoke.  "She is that.  Clem swears she is 10 going on 35."  When it started to ring in her ear, she shooed him out.  Then called hurriedly as he gave her one last look that suggested he found her amusing, and opened the door and folded himself out of the big vehicle. "And see if there are any of Clementine's pies available," she called after him.  "Doesn't matter what kind."

Noah stopped before he closed his door and gave her a look, which she read as an amused "anything else?" but a voice on the phone answered and she waved him off again, shaking her head no.

He closed the truck door, beeped the locks and walked into the Little Town Market.  Emma watched him go, and the sight of him walking away in those jeans had her distracted just long enough for the teenage boy on the phone to say "hello?" a few more times.

"Bobby?" she said hurriedly before he hung up.  "Sorry this is Emma.  Can I give you an order for a fast pick up?"

After she placed the order and hung up, Emma sat in Noah's big truck and thought about everything that had happened in a short period of time.  Then she was distracted from her worry for Hannah and Lucy by the knowledge that for this second they had staved off whatever Marcella Hale had planned, and she could worry about it later.  Which left her open to thinking about what was making her heart beat faster and her palms sweat.  A date with Noah Hale.