Navy Blue - A Second Chance Romance (Complete)

Navy Blue: Chapter 12

They had just started on the hike when Emily's cell phone began coughing out a cacophony of dings like it was on cocaine. Finn paused and all three men turned back to her.

"Lots of angels are getting their wings today,' Max paraphrased the famous line from It's A Wonderful Life.

Lance laughed at the bad joke. "Reception out here is spotty. It's one of the reasons I like it. The trail is normally quiet. Emily must have hit a hot spot."

Emily pulled out her phone out of her back pocket and grimaced at the screen. "It's my father." Her gaze sought Lance. "Three messages. Might be important. You guys go ahead and I'll catch up." He shrugged and started walking again.

"I'll keep her company," Finn announced to the group.

Max opened his mouth to say something, probably about to offer to stay as well. All day Max had been monopolizing Emily's time and attention. The normally shy and reserved man was a chatterbox around her. Finn couldn't get a word in edgewise. Nothing new as words usually failed him but witnessing the ease with which she conversed with Max ate away at the good mood he'd started the day with.

Campbell came to Finn's rescue, putting his arm around the other man and tugged Max down the path murmuring something in his ear. Finn released balled hands he hadn't realized he'd been clenching. At last, he would have time with Emily. Just Emily.

She had her phone pressed to her ear and Finn studied the rocky terrain as he tried to settle the snakes swimming in his stomach. One of her white running shoes was tapping away impatiently on a patch of hard-packed earth.

"Seriously?" Finn glanced at her, surprised by the irritation in her voice. She jabbed at the buttons on the phone. "He's concerned I didn't secure some theatre tickets for him."

Finn suppressed a grin. Seems dear old dad had not changed much over the years. Any other day, Finn would have lamented Philip Montgomery's ego, but not today. Because of his selfishness, Finn had her to himself.

She raised the phone again and listened to the next message. Her expression melted into deeper annoyance. This time Finn could hear her father as he loudly demanded to know where she was, whining about needing her now.

With a shake of her head, the sun bringing out the red in her hair, Emily deleted the message and started listening to the last one. A few more moments and she would be free. Finn practiced his first line. To avoid any hiccups he'd written his whole speech out and memorized it over the last few days.

Words were not his friend. Strictly speaking, talking was the problem. Finn knew what he wanted to say. If he had time, to compose his thoughts, particularly on paper, he could make a convincing argument. But in the moment, things got jumbled up in his mind. He learned early on it was better not to say anything than open his mouth and make a fool of himself.

In this respect, the military was a relief to him. There were days he could go without having to utter a syllable. Lots of reports to write, but on the battlefield, action spoke louder than words. Most of the time. Somehow in the heat of the moment, when people's lives were on the line, he could get the job done.

Right now, Finn felt like it was his life that was on the line. Anxious to talk to Emily, this was not the time for words to fail him.

The woman in question was listening to the last of her father's message. Finn watched as her mouth went from the firm line of annoyance to a small o of worry.

He took a step closer to her, concern spiking at the base of his spine. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's my Aunt. She...She's been taken to the emergency room." Emily tapped madly on the phone.

"Your Aunt E?"

Emily nodded as the phone rang. Finn recalled the family referred to her as Aunt E because Emily was named after her. Said aunt was actually a great aunt, on her mother's side. The sister of Emily's grandmother. Both Emily's grandmother and mother had died far too young, and the elder aunt had stepped in to try to fill the role of lead female in the family.

With three young daughters, Philip Montgomery had been grateful for the assistance according to Emily. He also liked her money if Finn remembered correctly. Emily's mother was the source of the family wealth. Aunt E held the purse strings. At least she had the summer Finn was with Emily.

"Hi Dad." Even pressed to her ear, Finn heard her father cry her name. "What's going on?"

Finn watched Emily intently as she got the details. His fingers burned to smooth the deep line etched into her forehead as she listened, offer comfort her in some way. He shuffled his feet, unsure what to do.

"Okay, Okay. I'll be there soon." Emily hung up and started dialling another number. The call went straight to voicemail. She tried again, her hand slightly shaking. It also went to voicemail. She swore under her breath.

"Emily," Finn ventured. "What can I do?"

"I can't get hold of Lance." Her eyes swept down the path Lance had disappeared. "He has the car keys. I need to get to the hospital."

"I'll take you." Finn offered.

Emily looked at him directly, as if trying to gauge his authenticity. "What about Campbell? And Max?"

"Lance can give them a ride." Finn started moving in the opposite direction, back towards where the cars were parked. "Please Emily. Let's go."

Emily glanced momentarily back in the direction Lance and the others had gone, then followed.

On the drive, Emily gave Finn directions, left a message for Lance explaining the situation and texted with her sisters who were picking up their father on the way to the hospital. Then she sat quietly in the passenger's seat, staring out the window. If not for sight of her hands gripping the phone in her lap, she seemed perfectly calm. But Finn knew a storm was brewing under that façade. He searched for something to say. Pursing his lips in frustration, he came up blank, as usual.

Now was not the time for the planned conversation he'd rehearsed all week. That would have to wait. Still, her silence irked him. Finn needed to know what was running through her mind.

"Take a left here." Emily murmured as she pointed to the road ahead.

Finn followed her instructions, easing the car onto a two-lane highway. The sound of the car revving filled the air. "What happened to your aunt?"

"Her maid found her at the bottom of the stairs." Her voice was small but steady. "She must have slipped on them. We've been trying to get her to move for years."

"Did they say if she was—" Finn didn't get a chance to finish the sentence as Emily anticipated his question.

"No. The hospital wouldn't give any information over the phone." Her fingers curled around the device on her lap. "They'll only speak to someone in person."

Finn pushed down the gas pedal. She needed to get to that hospital. Emily and her Aunt had been very close and he assumed nothing had changed in the last eight years. Aunt E had called Emily when Beth was acting out, needing her to fly to Japan immediately. The request had ripped Emily from his life without so much as a goodbye. Just a letter.

The image of perfectly pink manicured nails pushing the single piece of paper across the bar pressed against his brain. He swallowed hard and forced himself to leave the past, focus on the present. Be in the moment.

Emily was here now and needed him.