Emily thought about throwing the skillet but stopped herself.
"If you need to borrow a cup of sugar or anything, just come on down." Parker's smile was widening.
"Get out of my face!"
Parker continued to smile, then drove the RV to the clearing about one hundred feet from the house.
He brought out a lounge chair and sat it down so he was directly facing Emily. "Don't let me stop you from what you were doing!"
"Go to hell!" Emily had to cook the fish. She was starving and didn't want it to go bad. The fire started quickly and, soon enough, the fish fillets were in the pan. Emily made sure she kept her back to the arrogant creep as much as she could.
Parker didn't mind the view of Miss Carson bending over for so long. He even found it amusing when the little package of dynamite flipped him off. Thankfully she couldn't reach him this far away.
Parker began to loudly whistle old song melodies.
When her fish were done, Emily was more than ready to dig in. All she wanted was some peace. "I'm being quiet and minding my own business. Can you please stop your whistling? You sound horrible!" Emily saw him smile, then start to whistle even louder. She flung herself around and watched in horror as all her nicely cooked fillets slid off the platter and onto the dirt.
Parker thought it best to not laugh out loud, but it was very difficult. "I see you lost your meal. I have some steaks in here if you'd like to have one. I'm sure you eat yours raw. Would you like it on a stick?"
That did it. Emily marched over to him, frying pan in hand. Parker didn't want to seem like a sissy even though he felt like he should take cover.
"You're pathetic!" Emily threw the pan as hard as she could, causing it to bounce off the side of the RV, leaving a nice dent. "I'm grieving for the loss of my grandfather, my home, my land, and you have to add salt to the wound?" Emily's eyes began to tear up, and then she broke out in a hysterical laughter.
"I'm sorry, you're right. That was rude of me. Would you like a steak to cook? Or I can grill it if you'd care to have dinner with me. I don't want to fight with you. This is a peace offering, and if you need help carrying or moving boxes, I can do that as well. What's so funny? I was being serious..."
"You don't know much about how sharp the rocks can be out here." Emily pointed to the right front flat tire.
"Son of a..." Parker quickly returned to his calm composure. "It's not a problem. Unlike you, I don't have to go anyplace. I was almost feeling sorry for you until now. Being how you find this so funny, go pack your belongings. I want you out by morning." Parker made a phone call to arrange for his Mercedes to be delivered. He'd deal with the flat tire later.
Tears spilled over on her cheeks as she spun around and ran back to the house. The doom she felt was overtaking her.
Chapter 5
Parker went into the RV after Emily left. He lay awake for a couple of hours with all kinds of emotions soaring through him. The business side of him wanted to proceed with his plans, but his mind was bringing him back to his own childhood. He was beginning to feel sorry for her. Stop it Parker...Russ would smack him if he caved in. As the wind picked up, he went to the window to close it. Looking at the house, he felt bad about Emily being in a cold, dark environment all night. The least he could do was offer her a place to stay. That's what he would do. Parker noticed the headlights coming up the driveway.
She lay down on the couch and cried long and hard. She wanted to sleep so desperately but had a couple more boxes to pack. The cool wind was blowing down from the mountains and the house was chilly. She only had another hour before she wouldn't be able to see anything. Emily worked fast, and after the last box was filled from the upstairs bedrooms, she picked it up in her arms. This would be the last time she ever walked down these stairs. Her eyes watered again.
The house had definitely gotten darker, especially in the hallway. She misjudged the first step and, with the heavy box and blurred vision, Emily tumbled down the long, wooded staircase.
Parker walked outside and then saw a second set of headlights pulling into the driveway.
"Sorry about being so late. We had trouble finding this place," said the driver behind the wheel of the Mercedes.
"Not a problem. Thanks for bringing it all the way out here." Parker tipped the men nicely and watched them both climb into a pickup and drive off.
Taking a deep breath, he walked up the steps onto the porch and knocked on the front door. Noticing the hot embers in the fire pit, Parker walked over and kicked plenty of dirt on them. Emily still hadn't opened the door. Wow I must have really pissed her off. He knocked again even harder and put his ear to the door. No sounds were heard. Fine, be that way.
Parker walked back down to the RV and went inside. He fell asleep quickly but at five-thirty he was wide awake. He went to the window and looked at the dark house. Guilt was getting the best of him. Grabbing a flashlight, he headed back up to the porch. The worst thing that could happen would be his cheek stinging for the day from another quick slap from Emily. He knocked again and there was no answer. Frustrated, Parker walked around to the back of the house and knocked. Still, there wasn't an answer. Maybe she already left? The windows and back door were locked. A horrible feeling was overtaking him. Something's not right. He decided to kick the door open. The hinges were very weak and he was tearing the house down anyway. But his senses rarely failed him.
"Emily!" The house was silent.
"Emily!!" he called even louder. Shining the flashlight in the front room, he saw just how busy Emily had been. The boxes are still here. She wouldn't have left without her grandfather's things. "Emily!" he yelled firmly. When he turned the corner, he found her...lying in a crumpled mess.
Parker moved the heavy box off her and saw that she was still breathing. "Emily, come on. Talk to me..." Reaching for his phone, he called for an ambulance. "Emily, come on, hun." He didn't dare move her. "Emily, talk to me..." He brushed the hair off of her bruised, swollen face. Her arm was lying at a weird angle. Nausea threatened to overtake Parker. He ran to the couch, pulled an afghan off the back, and covered her. The house was cold.
He heard a soft groan. "Emily, can you open your eyes for me? Don't move anything, just open up your eyes."
She slowly opened her eyes just a little bit, then cried out in pain.
"Don't move. You fell down the stairs."
Emily moved her uninjured arm up and rubbed the back of her head, then looked over at her badly broken arm.
"Oh my God," she said in a soft, weak voice.
"An ambulance should be here soon. We have to get you to the hospital."
Parker heard the siren and ran to the front door. He left it open, then hurried back to Emily. "They're here now, okay? We're going to make sure you get all the care you need. Don't worry about anything."
Emily furrowed her brow. "That's easy for you to say." She whispered the words, but Parker heard them loud and clear.
"I said anything, Emily, and I meant it." There was a brief moment of silent communication between them before the stretcher arrived. She moaned loudly with each movement.
"Be careful with her!" Parker quickly got protective.
"Sir, she's going to feel some pain but we're going to give her medicine in the ambulance. We'll take care of her. Are you riding with us?"
"No, I'll follow you in my car."
Parker gave the paramedics as much information as he could and then followed behind the ambulance closely.
He paced the floor in the waiting room. Parker continued to beat himself up over the next two hours. Finally the surgeon stepped in the doorway.
"Is the family of Emily Carson here?"
"Yes," replied Parker. He hurriedly approached the physician. "How is she?"
"Her arm has been cleaned up and set. I put some pins in place to hold the bones together. The surgery went well. We'll know if there's been any permanent nerve damage when she wakes up and the swelling subsides some."
"To her hand?" Parker was mortified. "She has to have full use of her hands. She's a veterinarian."
"All we can do is wait and see. We saw some evidence of the healing process. Do you know how long she waited before getting medical attention?"
"I really don't know. I couldn't get her to answer the door. When I finally went inside, I found her lying at the bottom of the stairs. She was unconscious." She couldn't see because I had the electricity shut off...
"She'll be in recovery for a bit, but hopefully we can have her in a room soon. She has a heck of a concussion. She'll be neurologically evaluated further. Do you know her medical history?"
"No, I'm afraid I don't."
"Do you know how to contact another family member?"
"To my knowledge she doesn't have anyone else." Parker rubbed his hands through his hair and sighed.
After the doctor left, he went outside and called Russell.
"How's Colorado and the crazy woman?"
"I need you to send me the original property deed, the signed papers, anything you have on the fifty thousand acres."
"It's all legal, Parker, I already told you." Russ began to feel offended.
"I'm not doubting the legalities. I'm going to give the property back to her. I'll explain later. Have Rhonda notify the investors that the deal's off."