Free Sensual Games (Novak Springs #3) by Dawn Brower Page B

holiday.
    “Hello, is anyone here?” she called out.
    No one answered. She walked into the kitchen and found Mrs. Henly bustling around the kitchen. It smelled heavenly. The turkey was in the oven. Mrs. Henly was basting some homemade bread with butter. Apple pies, pumpkin pies, and various other desserts dotted the counter. Emma’s mouth watered as she looked at it all.
    “Hey, where is everybody?”
    Mrs. Henly turned. Her rosy cheeks accented her salt and pepper hair. She’d been the housekeeper for the family for several years now.
    “Oh, dear I didn’t hear you come in.”
    “I’m sorry if I startled you,” Emma apologized.
    “No, you didn’t. I’m lost in my own world.”
    Emma smiled. She adored the woman before her. In a lot of ways, she’d become a second mother to her. “Where are my brothers?”
    “Oh, I expect they are around here somewhere.”
    “What time’s dinner?”
    “We’ll eat in about an hour,” Mrs. Henly replied.
    Emma nodded her head at her. “Sounds good. I’ll go locate Ginnifer or Dallas. Haven’t seen them in a while.”
    “That reminds me. Wes said to tell you he’s wanting to talk to you when you arrive.”
    Damn it. How’d she forget about Wes? She’d been avoiding him for weeks. Now she’d have to pay up and listen to his lecture. Too bad, he’d have to shove it someplace other than in her face. She didn’t have the patience for it today. Emma was thankful for her family and the opportunity to do work she loved. They’d all have to accept it and leave her be.
    “Thanks for the heads up.”
    Emma pushed the door to the kitchen open and hopped the stairs two at a time leading to her bedroom. She dropped her duffle bag on the floor and fell face first onto her bed. Maybe she could take a tiny nap before dinner. No, she’d never wake up in time if she gave into her exhaustion now.
    “Well look who finally decided to show up.”
    Emma groaned at the sound of Wes’s voice. Of course he’d come looking for her. Where the hell had he come from? Since when did he become all stealth-like and able to sneak up on her?
    “I’m not in the mood to listen to your harassments today.”
    “Too bad,” he paused. “Who said anything about harassing you?”
    Emma rolled over and looked at him through tiny slits in her eyes. She didn’t want to open them fully. “Isn’t that the whole point of you trying to track me down?”
    “No, not really. I miss my sister and wanted to spend some time with her.”
    She raised one of her eyebrows in disbelief. “I’m expected to believe that line of bullshit?”
    “You don’t think I’d miss you?”
    “Oh no, of that I have no doubt. It’s the rest of it I am having a hard time believing.”
    Wes leaned up against the door frame and laughed. “Maybe in the beginning I might have considered lecturing you—” He held up a hand, stopping her from speaking when she’d opened her mouth to interrupt him. “No, don’t cut me short. I’ve had a lot of time to think about it, and Tori made a good point.”
    “Tori got you to leave me alone?”
    “Not exactly. She said I needed to let you make your own decisions. It wasn’t my job to run your life. If you need me, you’ll let me know.”
    “True,” Emma agreed.
    “You will let me know, right?”
    Emma laughed. “Yes, I will. I’m fine really.”
    “That was some game the other day. How is Paxton Kerry doing?”
    Emma sighed. “He’s holding his own…time will tell if he’s going to play again.”
    “How’s dirtbag taking to being the number one quarterback now?”
    Emma never did get used to the names her brothers called Colt. It was hard for her to think of him as anything other than the man she’d loved once upon a time. She couldn’t fault her family though. They were only looking out for her.
    “Wes, I don’t want to talk about Colt.”
    “Why not?” He stood in the doorway and clenched his fists. “Did he do something to hurt you again?”
    Emma shook