“Maybe I do.” He gave her a look that dared her to respond.
“Right before I ended up in the hospital. His name was Jeremy Smith, and we met at the vet clinic. He brought his border collie in.” She stared off in the distance. “We went out for three months, but when I started to get sick again, he told me it was too much. That he didn’t know how to help me and didn’t know how to deal with that.”
“I’m sorry.” Marty had a difficult time imagining walking away from Emma no matter what the circumstances. He wasn’t sure what bothered him more: that the guy had done that to Emma in the first place, or that she hadn’t been on a date since. Was it because no guy really saw how amazing she was? Or did she turn them all down? He wanted to know more but didn’t want her to pull away if he pushed her for information. “Well, Jeremy was a first-class idiot. If it makes you feel better, I haven’t been out with anyone since I lost my leg.”
“Why not?”
The question was unusually direct coming from Emma. It surprised Marty enough that it took him a moment to answer. “I guess I don’t want to invest in someone and have her feel sorry for me once she finds out about my leg.” He shrugged. It was more than that, though. What he feared even more was that the person he dated would see his leg and not only feel pity but possibly disgust. Or see him as less than a man. But he wasn’t about to go into that.
“I’d like to think that, if she knew you at all, that would never happen.” She swung her legs a little as she continued to sit on the end of the picnic table. “As a teen and in my early twenties, I used to think I was missing out on so much by not having boyfriends. But I don’t think casual dating is all it’s cracked up to be.”
“I don’t think it is, either,” Marty agreed. “Too hard to get to know the other person.” He took a step closer to Emma and she stopped swinging her legs.
“Too easy to be disappointed or hurt.” Another breeze came through and blew some of Emma’s hair against her cheek. She didn’t react, her eyes on him.
“I guess what they say is true.” Marty reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear, his finger grazing her cheek. “There’s a lot to be said for being friends with a girl first.” Did she have any idea how beautiful she was? How much he wanted to kiss her? The breeze brought a hint of her shampoo, drawing him closer. “Emma…”
She shook her head as apprehension and attraction clashed for top billing in her green eyes. The first kept him from leaning in and tasting her lips, while the latter filled him with hope.
“It’s okay. And I’m not going anywhere.” As much as he’d prefer to stay at the park with her all day, he knew she had obligations. But first, he wanted a way to communicate with her when they weren’t at work. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “In the spirit of friendship, would I be out of line if I suggested we exchange phone numbers?”
“In the spirit of friendship, hmmm?” Her eyes sparkled.
“Absolutely. What if you need a ride to work? Or you won’t make it and can’t get a hold of Caleb? Plus, you know, if you’re waiting around for your mom to get back and worried about curfew, you can text me, and I’ll keep you company.” He unlocked his phone, went to contacts to start a new one, and held it out to her.
Emma laughed as she took it from him. “All of that actually sounds pretty logical.” She put her name and number in and hit save before she handed it back to him.
Marty sent her a text to make sure she had his number as well.
Emma smiled when her phone pinged. “The same goes to you. You know, if you need to text for a ride to work, can’t reach Caleb, or if you start questioning your choice of backup vehicle.”
There was no keeping the grin off his face. He had Emma’s permission to text her. Knowing he might not have to wait until Monday to talk to her again made taking her home less horrible than it had earlier. “I might do that, although I’m still going to get you to ride my motorcycle one day. I think you might like it.”
“Don’t hold your breath.” She chuckled.
He pointed to the truck. “I hate to, but we’d better get back so you’ll have plenty of time for some of that awkward mother-daughter bonding time you’ll never forget.”
Emma hopped down from the table and brought a hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh. “I can’t wait.” They walked beside each other towards the truck. She leaned over and gently bumped his arm with hers “Thank you.”
He looked at her in surprise. “For what?”
“For understanding where I’m coming from.”
“You’re welcome.” He bumped her arm this time and grinned at her. “Right back at you.”
12
The evening wasn’t as awkward as it could have been. It turned out to be rather fun to help Mom pick an outfit for her date with Dale. In fact, they’d gotten silly as they giggled about clothes and food, and Emma teased Mom about making sure she’d applied deodorant. Emma hadn’t laughed that hard in a long time.
It wasn’t until Dale knocked on the front door and Emma opened it for him that it all became real. Since she hadn’t met Dale before, she’d pictured some stuffy guy in a suit. The gentleman standing there wore a pair of slacks, button up shirt, and an almost nervous smile. As they conversed for several minutes, Emma found him polite, engaging, and clearly taken with Mom.
The moment Mom entered the room, Dale only had eyes for her. And when Mom smiled up at him? Even Emma’s heart melted.
Just before they left the house, Emma gave Mom a hug and whispered, “I like him.”
Mom grinned. “I do, too.” With a wink, they were gone.
Emma watched them pull away in Dale’s black Cadillac until they disappeared from view. She turned away from the window and took in the empty house. It’d always seemed small. Cramped. Until now. Even her footsteps seemed to echo as she crossed the floor and collapsed on the couch.
