Emma knew that getting involved with a married man was dangerous, but in some ways it had also felt safe. She was twenty-five, didn't know what she was doing with her life, had a baby, gave that baby up, fell in love with a man who sent her to jail - not in that order. In other words, Emma needed to protect herself.
She had dated a little. Well, mostly she had a lot of one night stands, but the guys always called her the next day and when she explain, again, that she wasn't looking for a relationship they called a slew of names she'd rather forget. So when Frank, with his wedding ring and the not-so-subtle way he looked at her cleavage, came along and told her she had the makings of a great bail bonds-person she saw an opportunity to have some much needed fun, in the safest way possible.
It lasted eight months, before it got messy. He taught her a lot about catching bail-jumpers by day, and she modeled sexy underwear by night. He was careful never to give her a paycheck after they had sex, and she was careful to never meet his wife. Every six weeks or so there would be a "big case" and they'd go away for the weekend to his place in the mountains. If it wasn't so sleazy it would have been heaven. But maybe it was just enough heaven for Emma, she didn't have to open her heart to him and she didn't have to be alone.
That is, until Frank started saying things like "I love you" in his sleep or muttering to himself about how he was just waiting for the right moment to tell his wife he was leaving.
She started picturing what they're life would be like together. A house. Not leaving in the middle of the night, making breakfast in the morning.
The images made her heart ache.
She knew she would never have that. She knew he wasn't really going to leave her and she didn't want him to, but the muttering kept getting louder and louder until it was all he could talk about. He had two kids. She knew she had to get lost.
She went had started her own business and moved around a few more times before Henry found her and her life changed forever.
