Page 70 of The Emma Special

James Takes a Survey

James lay in his bed, wrapped in sheets he’d been rolling around in all night. The ceiling was absolutely not giving him answers, and his own brain wasn’t either.

“Lord, I need help here. I’m struggling, and I could use some guidance. How can I help Emma?”

The thought tumbling in his head for the last two days was ridiculous. He would do anything to help Emma, but would she allow it?

He’d signed his name as the guarantor for her ER visit and knew those bills would come straight to him, but now she had confirmation that surgery was in her immediate future. She’d allow him to pay for a single visit but what about intensive surgery?

An ACL tear.

He knew she was struggling. He knew she was in pain. Knowing only made his stupid plan seem like more of a viable solution.

Kicking the sheets off his legs, he rose from the bed and stalked to the kitchen with enough purpose to rally an army.

Coffee. He’d fix coffee, then he’d fight the bear.

He filled the bottom of the french press with grounds just like he’d watched Emma do at the office and bent over the small pot on the stove. Wow. He’d resorted to watching water boil.

When the water bubbled, he poured it into the carafe and paced the kitchen. “God, will she go for it?” He could do this. He could propose the solution to Emma’s problem, then he would keep praying about it.

Was he sure he was doing the right thing? No.

Was he sure he would do anything for her? Absolutely.

It had been two nights since the trip to the ER, and he’d thought of nothing except the crazy idea he couldn’t get out of his head. He had a few hours before he had to get ready for church, and he couldn’t wallow in doubts until then. “God, can I help her this way?”

James slowly pressed the grounds from the coffee and poured a cup. Warm mug in hand, he picked up his Bible and walked to the back patio. He’d barely sat his mug on the small outdoor table when the phone rang.

Great. Daniel was the last person he needed to talk to right now, but he answered the call anyway. “Hello.”

“Good morning, sunshine. It’s a great day to have a great day.”

James pulled the phone away from his face to check the screen. Yep. Daniel Holiday’s name stared back at him. “Are you okay? Clear your throat if you’re being held at gunpoint.”

“What’s got you so cynical?” Daniel asked.

“I need answers. Daniel Holiday doesn’t know what cynical means.”

“I do! It’s when you don’t trust people or their motives.”

James opened his Bible and flipped to the book of Proverbs. “I sit corrected. Did you get a new word-of-the-day app?”

“Leave me alone, or I’m hanging up on you,” Daniel said.

“Okay. Okay. What are you doing this morning?”

“Just heading back from Mrs. Jenkins’ house. I’m gathering eggs and watering her garden while she’s out of town. Katie said Emma’s in bad shape. Any luck?”

Well, that didn’t take long. All of James’s conversations turned to Emma eventually. Might as well get it over with. “Not exactly.”

“What’s the plan? I know you’ve got one. Spit it out.”

This was the moment of truth. He had to stand before the jury and plead his case. “I’ve actually been tossing around the idea of asking her to marry me.”

Daniel whooped on the other end of the line. “Hot dog, son! That’s what I’m talkin’bout!”

“Not for the reason you think. She doesn’t have health insurance, and she needs an expensive surgery, then PT and follow-up appointments. So if we married, she could be a dependent on my insurance and⁠—”