One More Taste (One and Only Texas #2)(96)

“I know, but I’ve been where you are. I don’t know what Carina’s told you, but I left home at sixteen and never looked back. I changed my name and started a whole new life.”

That pulled Haylie up short. “You did?”

“Which is why I know you can do this because you’re a survivor like me. It’s why I also know what you need to make this work.” Emily held out her car keys. “So, here. Take it. It’s paid for. He’d have a harder time tracing it than your own car. And under the driver’s seat, you’ll find an envelope with everything from my old identity. Rebecca. My ID, a birth certificate, and more. I don’t need the name anymore. I’m not that person. But you could be, if you wanted. If that would help.”

Nothing had ever felt so right in her life as passing Rebecca to another woman in need, paying it forward.

“Rebecca,” Haylie murmured as they walked to Emily’s car, as though rolling the idea around in her head.

Emily grabbed her purse off the passenger seat, then took out her wallet. She handed over all the cash she had, her credit card, and her ATM card. “The code is Carina’s birthday, six digits. In a month or so, I’ll tell the credit card company and bank that I lost them somewhere in my house. That’ll give you time.”

“You don’t have to give me your money, too.”

“I really do.” She pulled Haylie into a hug. “You have to go now.”

In Emily’s arms, Haylie trembled. “Tell my sister I love her. Tell her I’m sorry I can’t be there for Samuel.”

Emily held her at arm’s length and smiled her best supportive smile. “I’ll let her know. She’ll understand. So will Samuel someday.”

Haylie tossed her bag into the back seat of Emily’s car, then took the driver’s seat. “I know I can’t stay gone forever because my family’s here, but right now I just need to get out of town.”

She was right. No one could stay gone forever. The past would only stay buried for so long before it demanded its day in the sun. “I know. Go breathe. Figure out who you are and who you want to be. You’re going to fly, Haylie. I just know it. You’re going to soar.”

Haylie’s attention drifted to the empty street. “It’s Rebecca now.”

A knot formed in Emily’s throat. She pressed her lips together, staving off an onslaught of tears. Rebecca Youngston—that daring, big-hearted, wounded girl she’d been—had truly come full circle. Hearing the name on Haylie’s lips was the final piece of the puzzle in Emily’s journey to make peace with her past. “Drive safe, Rebecca. We’ll meet again someday. I know it in my heart.”

After a last look at her second-floor apartment, Haylie closed the car door and started the ignition. Emily managed to hold back her tears until the Pontiac’s taillights disappeared around a curve in the road down past Main Street.

Then she let out the breath she’d been holding in a half-laugh, half-cry. She scrubbed her hands over her face, letting the tears fall freely. What a day it had been. And there was one thing left to do. A date with destiny.

On her phone, she opened the Cab’d app. The nearest driver was only ten minutes away. Must be her lucky night. She summoned it to meet her in front of the firehouse around the corner. No sense in lingering near Haylie’s apartment on the off-chance that Wendell came to.

Ten minutes later, a red compact car rolled to a stop at the curb in front of the firehouse. Paco rolled down the passenger window and beamed at Emily. “Hey, it’s June’s young friend! I’d do anything for June. How is my favorite lady?”

Emily opened the passenger door and climbed in. “She just became a great-grandmother tonight.”

Paco threw up his hands. “How is that possible? She’s in the prime of her youth! A beautiful lady like that can’t be a great-grandmother yet.”

Guess Granny June hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d said Paco was sweet on her. “You be sure to tell her that next time you see her. I’m sure that’ll win you some points.”

“Count on it. Where are we headed on this fine evening?”

Thank you, Paco, for not caring why I’m out on Main Street so late at night. “To June’s grandson’s house, near the resort. You dropped Granny June off there once, if memory serves.”

He started down the street. “With a smile like hers, I would take that beautiful lady anywhere she asked.”

Paco never stopped extolling Granny June’s virtues for the entirety of the trip. Which was kind of a relief, as it left Emily free to let her thoughts drift through the events of the day.

Emily saw Knox before she’d even left Paco’s car. She walked to the dock and watched him drift on the lake in his rowboat, his back hunched, his head bowed, and sitting ever so still. She ached for him. Of all the people hurt today, Knox had sustained the biggest blow. Carina and her baby were safe and healthy, and now Haylie would be safe, too. But the damage done to Knox by the lie of his parentage and Ty’s rejection of him as a son couldn’t ever be undone.

“Knox,” she called gently.

He raised his head and looked at her for a long time. She half expected him to tell her to leave so he could be alone, but he didn’t. After a while, his hands reached out and took the oars, and then he brought the boat to shore.