Emma had never felt so antsy in anticipation of the end of her shift. She kept looking over at Sarah, who was doing what she did best, chatting up a storm with whoever was around as she waited for Emma to finish waitressing. She still couldn’t believe it and had half a mind to believe that she was hallucinating. Sarah was here! Here? In Harbordale? The two sounded mutually exclusive. Sarah was one of her oldest (and kookiest) friends and had been there for through thick and thin. But what was she doing here? She was supposed to be traveling around the world, not in the north east of Canada.
As she wiped her last table of the night, she spotted Sarah from the corner of her eye, and her stomach immediately did a flip as she saw who she was chatting with. Oh, for Fuck’s sake.
Hunter was buying her a drink, and it seemed like she was already cozying up to the group of cops at the table. She was totally underdressed for the season, wearing a red fall coat and leather booties with a yellow scarf to match the feather earrings that hung from her ears. Her brown skin only glowed under the yellow light, her dark hair gleaming like spun silk.
She could only imagine what they were talking about. Not realising that she was staring, she blushed when Hunter caught her eye and gave her a quizzical glance.
Emma looked away immediately and carried on with wrapping up her end of shift. She only had to cash herself out, hang her apron, and then she and Sarah could be on their merry way. From the looks of things, she needed to get out of here pronto, well before Hunter could work whatever devilish magic he was planning with Sarah in his vicinity.
The moment couldn’t come soon enough. As soon as she finished with the till, she nearly ran over to Sarah to save her from the cops. “Hey, sorry about making you wait!”
She smiled that charming smile of hers, which had won over dozens of boys in her lifetime. “Oh, no worries. These guys were just getting me acquainted with town folklore.”
Interesting. They’d never bothered to help her with that. “Ok, well should we bounce?”
“Stay, we’re just getting started,” Hunter motioned to a chair beside him, “You deserve a drink after your shift, after all.”
“I’m sure Sarah’s exhausted.”
“I’m fine,” Sarah responded, sounding also a little tipsy as well, “Emma, have a seat. You’ve lost so much weight. Let me order you chicken wings.”
“Sarah…” Emma sighed, looking around despondently. Realising that no one was budging, she reluctantly sat down as her only friend patted the seat in between her and Hunter. She glanced around at the table of cops uncomfortably. Chief Jackson, Hunter, Robbie, Dania, and a few others that she didn’t recognize. She was certain that she was the talk of the town, and most of them, if not everyone, knew the details of her case by now. Only in a small town like Harbordale could you find yourself sitting down to have a drink with the very same people who were investigating her case.
“I guess I’m too broke to pass up on chicken wings,” she muttered to Sarah, giving her a smile as she clapped her hands in delight.
“Perfect!” She squealed, and leaned in closer to whisper to Emma, “Some hotties on this table, am I right?”
God, she was going to kill her later.
“Sarah says you two grew up together,” Chief Jackson started, giving her his wrinkly, warm smile. “In Toronto?”
“Yeah, we met in fifth grade,” Emma tried to squash down the nostalgia, hating the feeling of remembering when things were better; happier... easier. “How the hell did you get here, Sarah?”
“I got in touch with Jesse, who said he spoke to you on the phone a few weeks ago. We didn’t chat for long, but it sounds like a lot has been happening here.”
The table couldn’t have chimed in fast enough. A few beers in, Robbie and Dania were almost too happy to chime in.
“The town’s got a maniac on the loose.”
“Honestly, wouldn’t have expected it.” Dania nodded, taking another swig.
“Harbordale’s been quiet till now,” said Peter.
Robbie clicked his tongue “Until Emma -.”
“The winter’s stirred up something in the air, some sort of evil.” Dania cut him off, giving him a star glare.
Trying to recover from the slip, Robbie went on, “we don’t know if he’s gonna do it again.”
“Might be cool to have a serial killer though.”
“I hope not. They’re taking it pretty hard, losing their only daughter and all… it ain’t easy losing a kid.”
“Yeah, the whole town’s on edge. It happened while she was out on a run.”
Jackson cleared his throat, “It’s been hard for Emma,” he glanced around disparagingly, almost silencing the table, as if to remind them of their responsibilities despite being off duty. “It’s unusual for a small town like this, but these things happen everywhere. What’s important is that she has people like you around to make sure she feels safe and loved.”
“I would’ve come sooner, if I’d known,” Sarah squeezed her leg under the table. “What’s it with you and keeping everything to yourself?”
Well, what exactly would she have told her? She was having sex with the same guy sitting across from her on the table, who she was also working as a part-time maid for, and this man was also the town sheriff hunting down the person who was trying to murder her?
At the thought of Hunter, she shifted her seat on the chair, dimly aware of how painfully aware she was of how close he was to her. It had only been two days, but it had felt like forever since she’d touched him, and he’d touched her. He was sitting beside her silently, but it felt like his body was electrifying.
The conversation around the table continued, moving away from Emma’s case to the when the next grocery delivery was going to happen, the snow storm which was happening this Sunday, then to the robberies happening one town over in Port Hope, then to Mrs. Polly Anne’s incessant 911 calls to the police station, asking them to help her with her house chores. A beer, and a plate of chicken wings later, she finally began to relax and calm down, her shoulders dropping an inch or two, letting go of their defenses.
Eventually, she began to laugh at the stories, contributing here and there to a heated debate on whether Tinder was inherently sexist, and detrimental to society – or whether it was a saving grace for small town folk who were too shy to chat up a woman in their local bar. She didn’t know when it happened, maybe it was around beer two, but she felt herself leaning into Hunter slightly, welcoming the warmth of his body as her side pressed against his lightly.
He didn’t move away. If anything, she felt him relax into her, and over time, she felt his fingers graze her knee. A jolt ran up her thigh.
Okay, this was pretty dangerous, she thought a bit drunkenly. Everyone was here. Sarah was here. The only thing separating them from the rest of them was a table.
Hunter turned his head, as if to look at the time on the clock on the wall behind the bar counter, “You’re driving me crazy, you know that?” he muttered into her ear as he turned back, his voice barely above a whisper.
“I’m just going to dip in to the bathroom,” Emma excused herself, needing to reorient herself. She was already blushing, and she felt like it was getting too warm in the room. With Sarah so close to her, literally sitting beside her, and with all the cops around her, she felt like she couldn’t focus.
She was barely paying attention to anybody else in the bar, or what anyone else was doing. She nearly propelled herself into the bathroom, the cold air hitting her like a splash of fresh water.
They were getting too brave, out there – Hunter and her. It had been two days of no communication, after constant weeks of spontaneous fucking and sexual flirtation. She couldn’t let the rest of the table know what was going on between the two of them, if they weren’t already aware already. Taking a paper towel, she wet it under the tap and pressed it against the back of her neck to cool herself down and sober herself up. No more touching under the table. No more pressing herself against him. She had to get Sarah out of this bar, and back to her house.
When she made it back to the table, the conversation had changed topics again, and she felt an inkling of uneasiness when she heard someone say her name.
“What’re you all on about?” She asked, slipping back into her seat.
“Oh sorry,” Sarah looked flustered, as if not expecting her back so quickly. “I was just asking them about what’s happening again. I just wanted to understand why someone would have anything against you.”
“Oh?” Emma glanced at Hunter who looked a bit perturbed at the conversation, “Well. I’m all ears.”
“Well, it’s the lighthouse –.” Robbie started, but Jackson cut him off.
“We really shouldn’t be discussing this over drinks. Its an ongoing investigation.”
“The whole town knows ‘xcept for her,” he sounded irritated, “It’s better that she knows.”
“Robbie,” Hunter’s voice was gruff, and his shoulders had tightened, “I think that’s enough for now.”
“What happened with the lighthouse?” Emma pushed, probably a little more than she would have if she were entirely sober.
“It’s nothing -.”
“Your dad ruined -.”
“that we need to talk about now -.
“- so many people’s lives.”
An uncomfortable silence fell over the table, and Emma felt blood rush to her face. Rather than pushing Robbie, or Jackson, or anybody else at the table, she turned to Hunter. She didn’t know what made her do that, or why she wanted to hear it from him, but she felt herself staring at him adamantly. “What happened at the lighthouse?”
“Emma -.”
“Tell me.” It was a command, not a question, and the force of it surprised even her. Hunter’s teeth were clenched, and a crease ran between his eyebrows.
And then it came out. Like a storm, crashing around her ears, deafening her eardrums.
Hunter sighed, and started slowly, uneasily. “There was a storm, and a boat had set sail earlier that evening to do a rescue, a bunch of people had been caught on the rocks while fixing a buoy. At some point, your father shut down the lighthouse that night.”
“He shut it down?”
“Shut it down. Turned off the lamp. For the first time since it had been opened.”
“What happened to the people? On the ocean?”
The silence around her was deafening. She could feel Sarah’s hand on her arm, pulling her to turn around but she ignored it.
“They died. Without the lighthouse beam, they couldn’t make out the shore. The clouds were too thick, the rain from the storm was too heavy, and the waves pulled them under.”
Everything around her went quiet then, as if someone had pressed a button and the world had gone on autopilot. It almost sounded like something was ringing faintly in the distance.
“Died?”
“Except for Hunter. He was on the rescue boat, we found him in the morning, washed up on the shore.”
She wasn’t sure who said that, but she felt a piercing stab of betrayal strike her chest, and course through her body. Emma felt like she was going to buckle over, like the air was whistling out of her chest.
“I gotta go home,” she heard herself say remotely, as she stumbled out of her chair, “thanks for the drinks.”
“Emma…” she heard Sarah shuffling behind her, getting her coat on, paying the tab.
“Poor girl,” someone said.
“About time.”
“I’ve got no sympathy for her, sorry.” Somebody else said, she wasn’t sure who.
She found herself exiting the bar, the cold piercing chill of the winter wind hitting her at once. She wasn’t wearing a jacket or a toque, and she wasn’t sure where she was stomping off to, but she just needed to get away. Get away from here. Get away from them. Get away from this sense of betrayal that kept pounding through her with every heartbeat.
“Emma!” A voice rang out.
“Leave me alone,” she said dryly.
“Where the fuck are you going?”
“Leave. Me. Alone.”
“Jesus,” a hand gripped her arm and turned her around. “You aren’t even wearing a jacket. It’s -10 out.”
It was Hunter. Stupid. Fucking. Hunter. “You lied to me!” She grunted as she ripped her arm away from his grasp.
Anger ripped across his face. “How the fuck did I lie to you?”
His fury lit a fire inside of her, “You were on that boat, and you didn’t tell me what my father did to you! To them! You’ve known this entire time why someone would want me dead!”
His blue eyes glinted with irritation, “I didn’t tell you for exactly this reason! You’re being hysterical.”
“Don’t tell me I’m being hysterical!”
“What good would it have done if you’d known?”
“You don’t think why I would want to know why everyone in this town looks at me like dirt?”
“Things are changing, you can see that for yourself.”
“People died!”
He glowered, “Yes, and I hated your father for a long time for that. A lot of people did. Many people still do. But -”
“Is that why you made me your maid? To get revenge on him? To humiliate me? Get back at him vicariously through his daughter?”
“You need to calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to fucking calm down!” That only made her angrier, and she stepped in closer to him, her spine straight. “Has this been some sort of ploy all along? Watch Emma suffer for the lives that Emma’s father ruined-.”
“I don’t want to watch you suffer -.”
“How am I supposed to believe that after learning that you were on that boat. He hurt you directly. Almost killed you,” She caught her breath, trying to push down the overwhelming urge to cry. “Have you been playing me from the start? Get me to sleep with you, so you can mess with me, and fuck with my head, and then get the town to laugh at me with you!?”
“Get a grip,” he took a step forward but she stepped back.
“Don’t touch me.”
“You’re not thinking clearly.”
“Ugh, Hunter!” She pressed her palms against his chest, pushing him back forcefully. “How stupid do you think I am?”
“You’re hurting inside, I know.”
“I am not hurting inside,” she pushed him again, hard enough to back him step back. “Don’t tell me that I’m hurting inside.”
“Your mom died, and your father made a mistake. You’ve been through a lot.”
“Shut up!” She hit him again, punching him in the chest. “I told you to stop talking.”
“You aren’t alone anymore. Things aren’t going to change just because you know what happened back then.”
“Why do you have such a problem with listening? I told you to shut up.”
“Stop being so afraid of your own god damn emotions!”
She punched him again in the chest with a tight fist, “Stop psycho-analysing me!”
“It’s not my fault it’s hard for you to hear.”
She groaned out loud, turning around to stop away, only to have Hunter stop her again. He pulled her back with his arm, wrapping his other arm around her waist. “Let me go.”
“You’re going to freeze to fucking death if you walk out there.”
“I don’t care!”
“Stop. Struggling.”
“Let. Me. Go.”
The two struggled against each other, Hunter refusing to let her go and Emma squirming to get out of his grasp. His body felt like slabs of iron around her, unmoving, and unforgiving. How could someone be so hard everywhere? Didn’t he have any fat on him? She was probably bruising from struggling against him.
Only when she finally relaxed against him, her body giving up to his warmth, did his body soften around her. He pulled her head into his chest, wrapping her tightly within his arms, embracing her within his heat. She let her face burrow into the depth of his arm, her legs feeling weak and arms feeling like jello. Something hot ran down her face, and it took her a moment to realise they were tears.
“I’m sorry,” she heard herself say, not even fully knowing why. She felt like she had to apologise. For her. For her dad.
“You don’t have to be.” Was all that he said back.
A moment of silence passed before she realised it was oddly quiet around her, given that they were only a few feet away from the bar. Pulling back, still sniffling, she looked back at the bar to realise dozens of faces were pressed up against the window and Sarah was standing, mouth open, gaping, at the door.
Ah, fuck.
“Oh god, everyone just watched me have a meltdown,” she muttered, pulling away from Hunter quickly.
The silence broke, and an forty-something blonde woman called out from the open window, “Is she abusing you, Sheriff?”
Someone else added, “Don’t let no woman throw you some punches, Sheriff!”
“Keep fighting!”
“Yeah why’d you stop?”
“This is the best entertainment we’ve seen since Shelley divorced Ray.”
“Hey!” Ray called out from somewhere.
“What the fuck are you guys looking at?” Hunter bellowed, moving away, clearing the crowd immediately. “Don’t you have your own lives to attend to?!”
Sarah, wrapped in a wool coat, traipsed out from behind him, tip-toeing on the snow. “You okay, Em?”
“No, I guess.”
“Let’s go home?”
“Yeah,” she sniffled.
“I’ll drive you guys,” Hunter said, turning back to the two. “Everyone’s drunk. They’ll forget it happened,” he threw Emma his coat, and she caught it gratefully. The cold was finally settling in.
“Wow, I have a lot to catch up on,” Sarah kept looking at Hunter in awe, as if dazed by him. Emma could see Sarah’s brain doing a million calculations a minute. “Is this the guy you told me about on the phone?”
“Yup,” Emma wiped her wet cheeks as the two followed Hunter into the car. She felt emotionally exhausted, as if she’d gone to hell and back. And judging by the tenseness in Hunter’s shoulders, she had a feeling that it wasn’t over yet.
A/N: Thank you for all your support! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!