Relentless Pursuit: A Novel (Secrets of Roux River Bayou) by Kathy Herman Page B

myself. My friend’s parents were both cyanide victims. I’ve been trying to hold him together.”
    “I’m sorry, Emily. That must be difficult.”
    “It is. I’m just glad I can be there for him. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Henry.”
    “Call me Sax. Or I’m going to feel really, really old.”
    Emily smiled. “I’ll try. Easier said than done when you’ve been raised in the South. I need to go inside. I told my sister I’d be home at eleven.”
    “Good night,” Sax said. “Maybe I’ll run into you at breakfast. I may be here a few days.”
    “Okay, good night.” She put her key in the lock and opened the back door, neither surprised nor pleased to see Vanessa sitting at the kitchen table.
    “You can’t be worried,” Emily said. “It’s just now eleven. I’m right on time.”
    Vanessa took a sip of what appeared to be iced tea. “I wanted to talk to you. Why don’t you grab a cookie and sit.”
    Emily opened the cookie jar and took out two chocolate chip cookies, poured herself a glass of milk, and sat at the table. “What’s up?”
    Vanessa seemed lost in thought. Finally she lifted her gaze and looked into Emily’s eyes. “I know you care for Chance and want to help him. But you promised to take Carter miniature golfing. He was so disappointed.”
    Emily blew her bangs off her forehead. “I can’t believe I forgot. Why didn’t you call and remind me?”
    “I don’t know. Maybe I should have. I guess I wanted you to do it because you really wanted to spend time with him and not because you made a promise you were stuck with.”
    “I adore Carter,” Emily said, feeling sick all over. “I never do things with him because I feel obligated. I just got caught up in helping Chance with the obits, picking out clothes to take to the mortician, and listening to him finally open up. Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to Carter.”
    Vanessa nodded. “I know you will. There’s something else …” Her eyebrows came together and stayed. “Listen, Shortcake. I’m your big sister, and I love you. So I’m just going to tell you straight out what’s on my mind.”
    Shortcake? Emily thought . Here comes the lecture .
    “You can’t fall in love right now,” Vanessa said. “You’ve got three more years at LSU, then MCATs, medical school, internship, and residency. Romance is a distraction you can’t afford.”
    “I’m not falling in love. Can’t I comfort a friend who’s been through a tragedy without you making a federal case out of it?” Emily took a bite of cookie, more to look nonchalant as she endured the lecture than to actually taste it.
    “Emily …” Vanessa sighed. “Have you even stopped to consider that you and Chance are unequally yoked? From what you told me, he has no religious beliefs at all. You’ve walked with God since you were a little girl. Why knowingly encourage a relationship that will surely lead to conflict—and might even cause you to compromise your values?”
    “That will never happen.”
    Vanessa shook her head and stared at her hands. “That’s what I said. Trust me, Emily, it’s much easier to get pulled into darkness than to stand firm in the light. It can happen slowly, even if you have the best of intentions.”
    Emily rolled her eyes. “I’m not you, and you aren’t my mother.”
    Vanessa reached across the table and took Emily’s wrist before she could take another bite of cookie. “But I’ve loved you since the day you were born, even if I was only ten. I’ve nurtured you. Calmed your fears. Listened to you. Even taken your advice a time or two. I can’t let your relationship with Chance go any further without expressing caution. Whether you’ll admit it or not, you know I’m right. If Mom and Dad were here, they’d say the same thing.”
    “I’m nineteen,” Emily said. “I’m free to make my own choices, no matter where Mom and Dad are.”
    Vanessa nodded. “You are. But as long as you’re here for the summer, under my and