Snowstorms = great writing weather! :) Especially when your fiancé is playing Madden on Playstation! All the more time to write.
The busiest part of town in the summer was right down by the marinas. Fishermen worked day and night, businesses were booming, the townspeople were prepping for a parade and getting floats ready...
Emmett pulled his car to the side of the road, finding a lucky parking space and Esme parked just a little farther down. She and Rosalie hurried to meet up with him in the dock just outside a large store that sold fresh seafood.
"You two stay here," he said, putting his hands up.
"What are you going to do?" Rosalie asked him.
"I know what I'm doing."
Emmett walked coolly toward the produce store that smelled of fresh fish and almost immediately spotted James loading up barrels of fish into ice.
James glanced up and a smirk covered his face. He shook his head and stood up tall, removing his gloves.
"You know," he said, "I was just thinking to myself whatever happened to that Emmett McCarty."
"Hey James." Emmett said in a friendly tone. "Hey, can we talk for a sec... in private?"
James looked around the nearly empty place, "What this isn't private enough for you?"
He laughed with a passive shrug and shoved his hands into the pockets of jeans as James looked at him skeptically and led the way into a back room with an open view of the docks.
"Yeah... what?" James asked finally as they rounded the corner.
Emmett didn't hesitate or waste any time. He grabbed James by the collar of his shirt and slammed him hard into a brick of ice.
"Look you little shit we got your little letter!"
"What the hell are you on?"
"Don't mess with me James!" he bellowed, "You saw us that night."
"Get the hell off! Get off me!"
Emmett kept a hand on his chest and reached for an oversized hook that sat on another block of ice to the side. He lifted it so the edge touched the side of James' face and he stared into his eyes. "Look you leave us alone. I'll kill your ass, I got no problem with that."
"Oh get your hands off me!" James yelled back.
"Understand?" Emmett yelled in his face and slide the back end of the hook against his face before slamming it deep into the top of the ice block.
He released James from his grasp, who slumped down to the ground and then glared angrily as Emmett turned his back and slowly walked out of the place.
"Don't you test me!" James called after him, "I'll call the cops on your college quarterback ass!"
Emmett ignored his threats and walked back to meet the girls where they stood eagerly waiting for him to return.
"Well?" Esme asked.
"He won't bother you anymore." Emmett began to walk past them past a row of boats.
"What did you do?" Rosalie asked.
He turned around and put his hands out to the sides as he faced them again. "I scared the shit out of him, okay?"
"How?" Esme asked.
Emmett looked over her shoulder and smirked. "Well I'll be damned."
"Hey." Carlisle gave a shy wave and looked at Emmett first, and then Rosalie and then Esme.
Esme felt a rush of emotion pass through her when she saw his face and heard his voice. She wasn't sure quite how to feel.
"So, Carlisle grew up to be a fisherman huh?" Emmett asked.
"Yeah," he confirmed. "Almost a year now." He pointed down the way, "I work on the boat on the end."
"That's nice." Emmett put on a pair of sunglasses. "I'm out of here. Have a good one." Without another word he turned and walked back down the street toward his car.
"I've got to get back to work," Rosalie said to Esme. She looked at Carlisle for a moment. "I'll catch a ride with Emmett. Call me, Esme. We should get together."
"Yeah, okay." Esme nodded and Rosalie smiled as she hurried after Emmett down the street.
Carlisle and Esme stood staring at each other before he finally spoke.
"Do you have a minute?" he asked.
She nodded. "We... we should talk."
On their walk down toward his boat, Esme explained everything about the letter and showed it to him.
"So, you think James sent it?" Carlisle asked.
"I don't know," Esme admitted, shoving her hands into her pockets. "Emmett seems to, but I don't know."
"Well... you know how James feels about you guys."
"Yeah."
Carlisle took off the pair of gloves he was wearing for work and leaned an arm on the railing of the dock. "So... how's school?" He half-smiled at her and Esme managed a grin.
"So..." she dodged the question. "You're a fisherman."
"Prophecy fulfilled right?" Carlisle sighed. "I've become my father."
"I thought you didn't know your dad."
"He worked the boats," he explained, "That I do know about him."
Esme nodded and saw the disappointment on his face. She knew it hurt him when he spoke of his father, and just the same that he wasn't pursuing his dream to go to medical school.
"Look, um..." Carlisle took in a deep breath and looked her in the eyes. "I'm sorry for everything. I know you probably hold me responsible... for what happened last summer."
"I don't hold you responsible." Esme said right away. "No... no I'm responsible for my own actions and I don't blame you." The next words killed her to say, as they were only half true. "But I don't think I can know you anymore either."
Carlisle felt like Esme had hit him the chest with a hammer. He felt his throat tighten and Esme went to reach out to touch his arm but pulled back and shook her head, quickly spinning around and rushing down the dock away from him.
Seeing Esme that day had caught him off-guard, but he watched her go and felt like his heart had been ripped out all over again.