Page 33 of The Emma Special

Once they were on the road, conversation never lagged. In fact they had to make two different U-turns because she forgot she was navigating.

She pointed to the next road. “Turn right here.”

The headlights illuminated a small, brown puppy on the side of the road. “Do you have any pets?”

Emma gasped and grabbed James’s arm in a tight grip. “I forgot about Daisy!”

“Who’s Daisy?” James slammed the brakes. “Is that your dog?”

“Daisy is my mom’s dog. Sorry. I hate to ask you to do this, but can we turn around? Again?”

James pulled into the next drive and changed direction. “No problem. Where does your mom live?”

Great. James was going to see the part of her life she’d hoped to hide. “Um. She lives on Bent Creek Road. It’s not far, but we’ll have to back-track a bit.”

James relaxed as he settled into the new course. “So, your mom has a dog. You never answered my question about your pets.”

She could delay the inevitable, at least for a few moments. “I don’t have any. Katie and I rent a house together, and there’s a no pets policy in the lease agreement. But, I take care of other people’s pets. That’s one of my many adventurous careers.”

James nodded. “Princess, dog walker, pixie, legal assistant. What else?”

“You’re serious? Not just making fun?”

“Why would I make fun of you being awesome?”

Emma tucked her hands beneath her thighs. “I crochet cute little animals to sell at craft fairs. I’ve painted murals for nurseries. I’ve been known to decorate a birthday cake or two. November is busy because I put out Christmas decorations for people who don’t want to do it themselves. I make jewelry. Clean houses. Mow lawns.”

“Wow. You do a little bit of everything,” James said.

Emma’s shoulders rounded forward. Was he impressed or repulsed? None of her many side quests were glamorous, but they paid the bills.

“Sounds like you’re pretty good at adapting. I’ve seen that at the office. You’re a quick learner.”

She turned to him in the dark car, and the lights on the dash illuminated the outline of his face. He wasn’t making fun of her. “Thanks. I… I don’t think anyone has ever said that about me.”

He glanced over, then looked back at the winding road ahead. “I find that hard to believe. I’m sure your parents see it. And Katie. You always had that girl group around you at school. There’s a reason people have always liked you.”

He was right about her friends. Katie was always encouraging, and so were the rest of the girls. Her mom, however, never believed in her. Not for a second.

They passed Bent Creek Baptist Church on one corner and Bent Creek Church of Christ on the other, and Emma pointed to the drive on the left—the one that led to where she’d grown up. “That’s it.”

If poor Daisy wasn’t involved, Emma would have grabbed the wheel and turned the car before letting James walk into her old life.

Chapter 11

James Is A Dog’s Best Friend

James slowed the car and turned where Emma pointed. The headlights shone on two broken-down cars in the side yard. Grass reached to the middle of the tires, and kudzu vines snaked over the front and back bumpers. The gravel of the drive had long since been pushed into the soggy ground, leaving only muddy trenches.

He must have turned on the wrong driveway. This place was abandoned. It had to be. Except, the headlights illuminated the beady, red eyes of a raccoon peeking its head out of an overflowing metal trash bin.

James parked in front of a sagging carport. “Is this your mom’s house?”

Please say no. Plenty of people lived in substandard conditions. Yet, thinking Emma was one of them sent his stomach hurling.

“Yep. Dear old Mom lives here. She and my current stepdad are out of town.” She opened the door and jumped out like the seat might bite her.

He stepped out and followed her to the trailer door. One of the windows was criss-crossed with duct tape. A neon No Trespassing sign faced out of another window.