Loves Second Chance

Chapter Four

A week came and went quickly and Emily was finally starting to think that maybe she and Wyatt were going to be okay. She had found a lawyer in town that she had graduated high school with and he had agreed to help her with her divorce and take payments from her to cover the charges.

She had sent divorce papers to John's law office in New York. She had not asked for any financial support for herself or for Wyatt but had requested full custody of their son and she had expected him to get in contact with her and be outraged but so far she had heard nothing.

Emily had not heard or seen from Parker in the last week either and she could not believe how badly that broke her heart. She had thought that he would at least want to talk to her after all this time. She knew he didn't love her anymore but they had been best friends for fourteen years and she was missing her friend.

Emily carried the coffee pot out of the kitchen to go refill Russell Hawke's coffee cup for the fifth time. She had been surprised that most people in town had remembered her. She had not expected them to after being gone for so long. And she was even more surprised that most of them had welcomed her with smiles and acceptance. She had been sad to learn that the two close girlfriends she'd had growing up had both moved away years ago.

"You're starting to look better." Russell said as she poured the coffee into his cup. Emily absently ran her hand over her lip which was still slightly swollen but getting better. She knew her eye still looked pretty bad. The black bruise had turned green and yellow.

"Thank you." she said quietly.

"Putting some meat back on them bones." Russell added. Emily nodded. John had wanted his wife to be stick thin and Emily had had to starve herself in order to stay that way for her husband. Now that she had left him she had been enjoying regular meals and could tell by how tight her jeans were getting that it was showing.

"Don't mean no offense of course." Russell added quickly as he took a drink of coffee. "You women today try to be too damn skinny.  A man likes meat." he said. Emily blushed and her eyes widened. Of course Russell had always been a very outspoken outrageous man so she should expect these statements from him.

"Do you need anything else?" she asked.

"No, ma'am. I'm just fine….." Russell's voice trailed off as he saw the panicked look on her face as she looked out the diner window. He followed her gaze and saw the black Mercedes driving slowly down main street. He jumped to his feet with a start as the coffee pot Emily had been holding fell to the ground and shattered, sending hot coffee and glass across the diner.

Russell grabbed her arm to try to calm her since she was shaking and clearly afraid but she jerked out of his grasp.

"Don't' hurt me!" she practically screamed. Russell took a step back and held his hands up.

"I ain't gonna hurt you girl. What's the matter?" he asked but she was already running out the door.

Emily had never been so afraid in her life. The Mercedes had sped up after passing the diner and was now gone from sight. John had bought himself a car just like that one a year ago. What if John had come for Wyatt? She had to get to her son! Make sure he was safe!

"Emily! What's the matter with you?" Russell asked following her out the door but Emily was deaf to his words. She pulled her keys from her pocket and jumped into her car. She started the engine and heard the tires squeal as she sped off toward Ed's house and her son.

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Parker had been sitting on the toolbox eating a sandwich when he had seen Emily run from the diner across the street clearly in a panic. He had been stubbornly avoiding looking the direction of that diner for a week because he had not wanted to see her.