Page 122 of The Emma Special

Her arms fell to her sides, and the fire died out of her own words. “What? Why would you say that?”

“Forget it. I need…” He wiped a hand up the back of his neck and around his face, knocking his glasses askew. “I need to get out of here. I’ll be back before dark.” He took one step then spun back to her. “Here are the keys.” The fob for his BMW clicked on the counter, and with that, he stalked out of the house. Again.

Chapter 35

James Is Kidnapped

Her scent filled his room. James rolled toward the door, and his hand slid over the empty side of the bed that was still warm.

He squeezed his eyes shut. Go back to sleep. It had been almost a week since the first time she’d wandered into his room.

Last night was the third time. He remembered waking up when she came in. He’d scooted over and she’d lain down without a word. Like the second time, she was gone before he woke.

Maybe she thought he wouldn’t notice. The warmth was already fading from the pillow, but the blanket was askew on her side of the bed.

Getting to his feet, he resigned himself to another day. “God, help,” he whispered. He knelt by his bed and rested his head on the edge. He prayed until he ran out of words. Petitioning for help with a case at work, the pressure from Harrison to get Kenna into that school, and always, always the strength to be patient as Emma navigated how to be loved.

He didn’t understand why she put up walls between them.

Who would have thought being loved was something you had to learn how to do? It was a form of self-sabotage that didn’t make sense. Well, did self-sabotage ever make sense? He told her that he wouldn’t pressure her for more than friendship. But this past week, everything was strained. Friends shouldn’t be keeping score either. He mourned the loss of the joyful friendship they’d once had. He missed her. How could he get them back on the same track again?

When he exited the bathroom, dressed for another day in court, Emma was sitting at the island glueing the sole back on her daily tennis shoes.

“Morning,” he called, schooling his voice to hide his troubles. “What are you doing?”

She didn’t look at him. Her face was inches from the rubber sole she worked on. “What’s it look like? Never seen someone fix a shoe?”

And here they went again… He loosened his tie that already threatened to choke him. “Why are you doing that? You have my card. You can buy yourself new shoes.”

“Why would I do that? These are fine.”

He came up behind her and rested a hand on her back. The physical touch calmed him. Hopefully she could feel he wasn’t upset with her. He longed for the connection of last month. “You can have new shoes, Emma. I want you to have them.”

She spared him a glance but seemed confused. “These will still work, so there’s no sense buying new ones.”

Could he just buy her new shoes without asking? That would probably hurt her feelings. If she insisted on glueing her shoes back together, it didn’t affect him… but why was she stubborn about it? He was happy to get her anything she needed.

His phone buzzed, and he pulled it from his pocket. He kept one hand on her back while he read the text.

Harrison: Our daycare cancelled last minute. Lottie won’t take off for whatever reason. Can’t get a hold of mom. Can Emma babysit?

“Hey, Em, are you interested in hanging out with Kenna?”

She looked up, holding her shoe tightly with two hands. “What?”

“Harrison’s asking if you’d like to babysit today. Her daycare is closed.”

“That would be fun.” Her expression lifted as if she meant it and wasn’t just trying to earn points. Ugh, he hated that he saw that about her. Did she do anything just because she wanted to?

“I’ll tell him to call you. Dad’s picking me up in a few minutes so you can have the car.” He started to move away and hesitated.

Emma stuffed a ball of wadded up newspaper into her shoe, quietly humming a song from church. She glanced at him still watching her and paused. “Thank you. Sorry. Was there something else?”

It was a cheap excuse, but he’d try it. “I have a trial this afternoon…”

She curved her lips into a sweet smile. “Play good, honey.”

“Thanks, can I have one of those sciency confidence boosts?”