A California Christmas (Silver Springs #7) - Brenda Novak Page 0,11

“At least I’m not the one to break something this time.”

Aiyana swatted his arm, but Emery could tell she wasn’t seriously angry. “What you did wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t been playing ball in the house.”

He pretended to throw a pass to some imaginary receiver. “Hey, I’m a football player. That’s what I do.”

“You’re a running back, not a quarterback, and you had no business throwing that ball in the house,” Aiyana insisted with a begrudging smile. “He’s hoping to get a football scholarship,” she explained as an aside. “We’re pretty darn proud of him. But he’s not going to let his studies suffer, right?” She winked at him. “You’re going to use your brain, too, so that you’ll have a fallback in case the worst happens and you don’t make it into the pros—or, heaven forbid—you get injured.”

“Aw, man, listen to you,” he said. “Don’t jinx me like that, Ma!”

They squeezed past him on the way out. “You need to be prepared for anything,” Aiyana advised.

As Bentley closed the door, Emery couldn’t help glancing down the stairs to see if Dallas was still up, but all seemed quiet.

“So are you okay?” Aiyana asked before they parted in the hallway.

Emery knew Aiyana had to get ready for work. She spent long days at the school. “I’m fine. Again, I’m sorry—”

Aiyana waved her words away. “Please, stop apologizing. It’s nothing. Really. But I do hope you’ll think about what Dallas had to say. Being nice is wonderful, but allowing someone to push you around isn’t. Sometimes when people step over the line, you have to let them know you won’t put up with it.”

Emery was slightly surprised to hear this coming from the nicest person she’d ever met. “I agree.”

Aiyana was walking away from her, but at this, she turned back. “You do?”

Emery drew a deep breath. She felt so fragile. But Dallas’s words had imbued her with the desire to stand up for herself, to fight back, regardless of what it might cost. “I’m going to call the attorney I’ve been talking to and tell him to go ahead and file suit.”

Aiyana smiled in apparent satisfaction. “Good. They’ll learn that they can’t treat people the way they treated you.”

Although Emery nodded decisively, she knew winning wasn’t automatic. She’d have a battle on her hands, one that came with no guarantees.

She paced in her room, trying to work up the nerve, until eight o’clock, when her attorney would be more likely to arrive at his office.

Then she made the call. She managed to reach him, but after it was over, she felt like throwing up.

4

Dallas woke up after ten. His mother would be at work and Bentley at school. Liam would be gone, too. Not only was Liam taking several online classes for college, he was working for Cal Buchanon, the man Aiyana was about to marry, as a cowhand on his cattle ranch not too far from town.

The only person Dallas expected to be home was Emery. Since her main goal in coming to stay with Aiyana was to escape the public eye, he couldn’t imagine she’d go anywhere. Although walking around in Silver Springs wouldn’t be as difficult as walking around in LA, Silver Springs wasn’t all that far away. There would be people who lived in the city for part of the year—people who’d heard about the scandal and may have even watched the video.

The house was silent. Had she left, regardless? Or had she fallen asleep after getting so upset earlier this morning?

He assumed the cuts she’d got weren’t any big deal. If they had been, Aiyana would’ve taken her to a doctor, and he would’ve heard about it.

He checked his phone. There were no missed calls or texts.

Trying to shake off the last vestiges of sleep, he scrubbed a hand over his face and shoved into a sitting position so he could send a message to his mother.

What happened with Emery after I went to bed? She okay?

He didn’t get an immediate response—Aiyana was always busy—so he got up and showered.

By the time he was dressed, Aiyana had a message waiting for him.

Should be. You haven’t seen her?

Not yet. Just woke up.

You’re not sick, are you?

He was usually well into his day by now, and she knew it. He’d almost always been an early riser. But maybe that was because he often had a hard time sleeping. The nightmares that plagued him had been much worse when he was younger, but he struggled with them