Page 18 of The Emma Special

James blinked away from the brief in front of him. Every warning in his head started flashing. “You’re making apple pie?”

“It already smells delicious,” his mother crooned over the phone.

Stretching his neck from one side to the other, James braced for impact. “What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” The soft innocence of her voice was another dead giveaway. Sharon Moore had an agenda, and it was something James was going to hate. There were some things apple pie couldn’t balance out.

“What’s happening at dinner that I’m not going to like?”

“Well, I hope you’re going to like it. Harrison and Garrett will be here, and Bree is coming too. We’ll have a house full.”

Yep. An invisible fist hit James right in the jaw. Not only was Garrett going to cause trouble, but his mom was trying to secure James a date. All in one evening.

“This won’t end well. You know that, right?”

“James Lincoln Moore, Jr., why do you think that? Please don’t be so negative. Bree is a sweet girl, and she just moved back home. She graduated from Auburn University with a degree in veterinary medicine.”

James tapped the end of his pen on the desk. “And Garrett is about to graduate from Auburn with a degree in alcohol consumption.”

His mom gasped. “James. Your brother does not drink, and he’s doing fine in his classes.”

“Is that what he told you?” James rubbed a hand over his brows. It was sweet that his mom wanted to see the good in all of her kids, but it was tough to turn a blind eye to Garrett’s constant antics. Their parents were paying good money for his younger brother to party his way through university.

A high-pitched giggle came from down the hallway. Was that a kid?

“Please be nice to your brothers. The workload has Harrison stressed like I’ve never seen before.”

The sound reached James’s office again, and he checked the clock on his computer screen. “I’ll see you later, and I promise to be on my best behavior.”

“Thank you. I love you, sweetie.”

“Love you too, Mom.”

The laughter grew louder as James rounded his desk. He’d heard plenty of things in the office. Fights, rumors, crying. Baby laughter was a new one.

He followed the sound to the lobby where Emma sat at the desk with an infant bouncing on her knees. She swooped toward the baby’s face, making an airplane sound just before backing away. The kid cackled as Emma stuck out her tongue and crossed her eyes.

“Sounds like you two are having fun,” James said, stepping to the side of Emma’s desk.

Emma chuckled. “You bet. Ginger and Caden are meeting with Mr. Anderson, and Maggie is entertaining me.” She turned back to little Maggie and whispered, “Did you know I’m a princess?”

“I thought you were a pixie,” James said.

Maggie flung the rattle in her tiny grip onto the desk with a bang. Emma picked it up without looking and held it out toward James. “I was two weeks ago. Today, I’m a princess. Keep up.”

His hand wrapped all the way around the slobbery rattle.

Maggie looked at him for the first time when the toy made noise. Her big blue eyes zeroed in on the rattle before lifting to his face. A second later, her chubby arms extended toward him.

“Here ya go,” Emma said as she held baby Maggie toward James.

A cold sweat immediately ran down his spine. “What do I do?”

“Oh, dear. You’re one of those,” Emma mumbled. “Just kind of hold her against your side. Hike her up on your hip. I know you’ve seen women do that before.”

James accepted the kid tentatively. Maggie was heavier than she looked. Holding her against his side, he shook the rattle in his hand.

“That’s good. You can change positions if you want. It’s like carrying a purse. Pretty versatile.”