Page 69 of The Emma Special

James let his hand slide down her arm. “Please. I’m begging you. Just let me give you this one thing. I want to.”

“But I don’t want you to.”

Breathe in. Breathe out. What could he say to get through to her?

“How about I take you to the hospital, you fight me the entire way, and I pay for the visit anyway? Then, you can get the care you need, and I’m the bad guy who wouldn’t listen to you.”

Her head slowly shook from side to side as she stared at him. The words were broken as she whispered, “You can’t.”

“I can.”

He left off the understood “if you’ll let me,” and he held his breath as he waited for her to hopefully agree to his stupid loophole to her independent stand.

After twelve painful seconds of waiting, she hung her head and scooted back in the seat.

Yes. It was a reluctant win, but a win indeed. He helped her ease her injured knee into the car before jogging around the front to the driver’s side.

Emma was silent the entire ride to the hospital, but James filled the quietness with prayer. He gripped the steering wheel and let it all out before the Lord. It was humbling, watching her writhe in pain, knowing he couldn’t take it from her.

He pulled up outside the emergency room entrance and rounded the car to help her. When he opened the door, she stopped him with an outstretched hand.

“I know you have all the muscles, and it’s embarrassing either way, but could you get me a wheelchair?”

His shoulders sank. She didn’t want him to carry her, and that was understandable. Why did it hurt so much when she put distance between them?

“Sure. I’ll be right back.”

Ten minutes later, she’d been checked in and they sat in the quiet waiting room. A man with an ice pack resting on the back of his head sat to their right, and a mother and child with a rasping cough sat facing them.

They watched an episode of Seinfeld on the small TV hanging from the ceiling before Emma hung her head and whispered, “I’m a failure at everything.”

James turned to her and brushed his pinky against hers. “Hey, look at me.”

She blinked at him, and the pink ring around her eyes almost broke him. How had the joyful pixie he’d picked up off the side of the road fallen so far?

He leaned slightly closer to make sure his words were clearly heard. “You are not a failure. If you ever think that way again, come to me, and I’ll set the record straight.”

Emma groaned and let her head rest against his shoulder. “The only thing I’m really good at is making kids laugh, and nobody wants to pay me for that. In a town this small there aren’t enough birthday parties and even then, what’s a hundred bucks for hours of work? It’s hardly enough to pay a phone bill and certainly not enough to keep a car running.”

James sat breathing her in until he could gather his composure. Finally, he cleared his throat. “Do you trust me?”

After a second, she whispered, “Yeah.”

“Then trust me when I say we’ll figure this out. I won’t leave you.”

Her breath hitched again and a tear drop fell on his arm. “You’re too good to me.”

“I’m not. Try to relax for now. How are you doing?”

“It… doesn’t hurt so bad if I don’t move it. I’m just really mad to be here again.”

“I’m here with you. You’re not going through any of this alone.”

She slowly nodded her head but remained resting on his shoulder until her breaths evened out.

He’d figure out how to help her. He’d make everything right and keep her on her feet. He’d failed her once, but he wouldn’t let it happen again.

Chapter 20