trying to retain and share any warmth we could. After about
an hour of dragging ourselves around the small cave on our knees,
we heard a hinge squeak, and a little girl’s hand reached down. She
threw a banana and an apple toward us. We pleaded with her to let
us out, but it wasn’t until the third try that she finally spoke
through the thin slit. Her green eyes were so bright they didn’t
look real. We didn’t even get her name.” I lowered my head.
Emma squeezed
my hand, asking, “What happened to her?”
“She helped us
escape, but I don’t even want to think about what she must have
gone through when Huntz found out. It wasn’t long before the cops
were hunting him down. They’d found the little girl at her home,
hidden amongst some clothes underneath a bed, all by herself. Huntz
had left and never came back. There was no trace of a hole at the
house – which we knew there wouldn’t be.”
“How did you
know?”
“Because when
we got out it was night time, and we were in the middle of a
forest. We told the police and they searched the surrounding areas,
but no one has ever found his hideout.
“Why dig up
old wounds, Eric? Why not just let it go and move on with your
life?”
“Because it
seems that my parents haven’t been able to live in peace since that
day. There’s a dark cloud hanging over their heads, and I’d like to
find what that is. Call it a gut feeling, but I think Huntz may
still be after their land. I need to find out why. I need for my
parents to live in peace.”
“All right.
Well, there’s no better place to start than your hometown. Plus you
owe me those articles you didn’t bring with you. Even with today’s
technology, they’re not all scanned into the system. I’d like to
leave Friday. That will give me enough time to do some research at
the office before we head out.”
“My ranch is
ten miles south of Ogden. It’s a nine hour drive from here.”
Emma laughed.
“Not when you fly.”
“I don’t fly.”
I cringed.
“And I don’t
make nine-hour drives that will tire me out.”
I crossed my
arms, wondering how in the world I’d stumbled upon a woman who was
so bossy. “How do you expect to book a flight on such short
notice?”
“It’s not that
difficult when you own a jet.” She shrugged.
She owns a
frickin’ jet? I thought, before saying, “You’re not
joking.”
“Do you see me
laughing, Cowboy?”
“Is this a
city thing? Where you have to fly when the destination’s just
beyond city walls?”
“A nine-hour
drive is not ‘just beyond city walls.’ Don’t worry, I’m not the one
flying.”
“If you tell
me you have a pilot’s license, I will strip naked and jump into
Hudson River right now.”
“I don’t have
one, but you have no idea how much I wish I did.”
Was she
flirting? Fuck me, she was flirting. How in the world had I gotten
so lost in my own story, one I hadn’t told in years, that I lost
track of the fact that we were on a date, not a job interview? Emma
made it so easy to mix business with pleasure.
“I’m sorry,
Emma. Tonight wasn’t supposed to be about the job. A job that it
now feels weird hiring a woman for.”
“Why? This is
the twenty-first century, you know. Plus, I’m much better at the
job than any man could be.”
“You’re
confident. That’s good. But this is different. And please try to
understand – I come from a town where the women are meant to cook,
clean, and bear children.”
“Otherwise
known as the Neanderthal age.” She rolled her eyes.
“An age where
a woman is respected for her hard work and expected to act a
certain way.”
My phone
buzzed with an incoming message. I felt my mouth curve up reading
it. It appeared that tonight wasn’t the only night I’d spend with
Emma.
“I could never
be constrained that way. They must feel like there’s no way out.
How can they even experience life? Is everything okay?”
“Yes, I’m
sorry. Please continue. Hasn’t your family
an hour of dragging ourselves around the small cave on our knees,
we heard a hinge squeak, and a little girl’s hand reached down. She
threw a banana and an apple toward us. We pleaded with her to let
us out, but it wasn’t until the third try that she finally spoke
through the thin slit. Her green eyes were so bright they didn’t
look real. We didn’t even get her name.” I lowered my head.
Emma squeezed
my hand, asking, “What happened to her?”
“She helped us
escape, but I don’t even want to think about what she must have
gone through when Huntz found out. It wasn’t long before the cops
were hunting him down. They’d found the little girl at her home,
hidden amongst some clothes underneath a bed, all by herself. Huntz
had left and never came back. There was no trace of a hole at the
house – which we knew there wouldn’t be.”
“How did you
know?”
“Because when
we got out it was night time, and we were in the middle of a
forest. We told the police and they searched the surrounding areas,
but no one has ever found his hideout.
“Why dig up
old wounds, Eric? Why not just let it go and move on with your
life?”
“Because it
seems that my parents haven’t been able to live in peace since that
day. There’s a dark cloud hanging over their heads, and I’d like to
find what that is. Call it a gut feeling, but I think Huntz may
still be after their land. I need to find out why. I need for my
parents to live in peace.”
“All right.
Well, there’s no better place to start than your hometown. Plus you
owe me those articles you didn’t bring with you. Even with today’s
technology, they’re not all scanned into the system. I’d like to
leave Friday. That will give me enough time to do some research at
the office before we head out.”
“My ranch is
ten miles south of Ogden. It’s a nine hour drive from here.”
Emma laughed.
“Not when you fly.”
“I don’t fly.”
I cringed.
“And I don’t
make nine-hour drives that will tire me out.”
I crossed my
arms, wondering how in the world I’d stumbled upon a woman who was
so bossy. “How do you expect to book a flight on such short
notice?”
“It’s not that
difficult when you own a jet.” She shrugged.
She owns a
frickin’ jet? I thought, before saying, “You’re not
joking.”
“Do you see me
laughing, Cowboy?”
“Is this a
city thing? Where you have to fly when the destination’s just
beyond city walls?”
“A nine-hour
drive is not ‘just beyond city walls.’ Don’t worry, I’m not the one
flying.”
“If you tell
me you have a pilot’s license, I will strip naked and jump into
Hudson River right now.”
“I don’t have
one, but you have no idea how much I wish I did.”
Was she
flirting? Fuck me, she was flirting. How in the world had I gotten
so lost in my own story, one I hadn’t told in years, that I lost
track of the fact that we were on a date, not a job interview? Emma
made it so easy to mix business with pleasure.
“I’m sorry,
Emma. Tonight wasn’t supposed to be about the job. A job that it
now feels weird hiring a woman for.”
“Why? This is
the twenty-first century, you know. Plus, I’m much better at the
job than any man could be.”
“You’re
confident. That’s good. But this is different. And please try to
understand – I come from a town where the women are meant to cook,
clean, and bear children.”
“Otherwise
known as the Neanderthal age.” She rolled her eyes.
“An age where
a woman is respected for her hard work and expected to act a
certain way.”
My phone
buzzed with an incoming message. I felt my mouth curve up reading
it. It appeared that tonight wasn’t the only night I’d spend with
Emma.
“I could never
be constrained that way. They must feel like there’s no way out.
How can they even experience life? Is everything okay?”
“Yes, I’m
sorry. Please continue. Hasn’t your family
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