Page 12 of Marrying Emma

Emma wasn’t going to have this conversation. Especially with Marty. She released her seat belt and got out of the car. When she reached the trunk, Marty was already waiting there. She opened it but before either of them could get the battery, Marty placed a hand on her arm. Sparks from the contact traveled the length of her arm and straight to her heart. Could he feel the connection, too?

He gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “It doesn’t mean you’re weak.”

She motioned to the battery. “I’m accepting help, aren’t I?” This wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have. Wyatt had helped with a lot of the house repairs, and she was thankful for that. But otherwise, Mom wasn’t about to accept charity from anyone else and Emma was inclined to agree.

The corner of Marty’s mouth quirked up. Without another word, he hefted the battery and led the way into the building.

Fifteen minutes later, it’d been confirmed that the battery was dead. They purchased a new one and were on their way back to the house. Even though the cost of the battery was far less than having the car towed, Emma knew Mom would still worry about it.

“How did you end up working at the gym?”

Marty’s random question caught Emma by surprise. “What do you mean?”

“You’re not interested in the obstacles or the gym in general. And it’s not the most exciting job in the world. Why did you end up working there?” His interest seemed genuine.

Emma shrugged. “I used to work at a veterinarian’s office here in town before I got really sick again. They were great and let me come back to work after the transplant.” Working with animals and making a difference in their lives had been amazing. She still missed that. “But I ended up having to quit. Once I was feeling better, I needed some money coming in. The gym had just opened up, and Caleb understood the situation. I’ve been working there ever since.”

“Caleb knows all about your health history?”

“He does.” Why did that matter? Did Marty think she was hiding something from her boss? The possibility annoyed her. “I’m up front about not feeling well and scheduling doctor’s appointments.” She hadn’t succeeded in keeping her voice even.

Marty held hands up in surrender. “I was only wondering. He’s never said a thing. Which is good. It means he keeps his employees’ histories confidential.” He paused. “I’ve known him for a while—we go to the same church.”

Emma tipped her head toward his feet. “Caleb never mentioned your leg, either.” Several questions ran through her mind, questions that she ought to keep to herself. Then again, he’d learned a lot about her today. Maybe turnabout was fair play. “Does it hurt?”

“My leg?” At her nod, Marty put a hand on his knee and massaged it. “Sometimes. It aches at the end of the day, and I get what they call phantom pains where my lower leg will hurt when there isn’t a lower leg there. I guess it’ll keep getting better over time. Or so they tell me.”

“How long were you in the hospital after the accident?”

“A little over two weeks. Then I was in a rehab facility for about a month. A lot of therapies since then.” His voice sounded so matter-of-fact. Like it was no different from the day he went jogging or that weekend last year when he might have gone camping.

Why couldn’t Emma approach her health issues—her major surgery—with that kind of attitude? Everything would be much better if she could act normal. Feel normal. That’s really all she wanted.

Except she’d be taking medications for the rest of her life. There’d always be the risk of rejection. Or a shortened life if her heart gave out. The possibility of needing a second heart transplant.

Not to mention the fact that she couldn’t, in good conscience, have children.

All of that made it difficult for her to look too far into the future when all she saw was medication, medical bills, and what-ifs. All things that were certain to limit what she could do. And that was precisely why she couldn’t imagine the risk of sharing that uncertain future with someone else. She’d tried it once, and it’d been a disaster. Her ex proved that, as soon as a guy realized how much he’d signed up for, he’d be running out of her life faster than a freight train.

“Where’d you go?”

Marty’s voice made Emma jump. She’d pulled into her own driveway and barely remembered the last two minutes of the drive. Her cheeks warmed. “Guess I got lost in thought.”

He watched her, concern shining in his eyes.

Why did he have to be so nice? Was he simply trying to be friends? Or was there something more to the teasing and flirting?

Her instinct to flee kicked in as soon as she considered that possibility. It’d been easy to confide in him earlier—too easy. She’d already revealed way more about herself than she’d intended. What was it about the guy, anyway? Unwilling to examine that too closely, she turned off the engine and got out of her car. It was time to finish this little outing and send Marty on his way before she got any more comfortable with him. “All right, let’s see if this battery can jump start the old gal.”

He shot her a curious look but, to his credit, said nothing else. Instead, he went to work installing the new battery and then starting the car.

Emma stood next to her mom when the car rumbled to life. Mom clapped happily, a brilliant smile on her face. To Emma’s surprise, Mom stepped forward and gave Marty a hug when he got to them. “Thank you so much. I can’t tell you what a relief this has been.”

“Anytime, ma’am.” The smile on his face held a tinge of embarrassment, an emotion Emma had never seen on him. It was cute. “I’m glad I could help.”

“I’d love for you to stay for dinner. We’re not having anything fancy, but you’re more than welcome.”

Too bad Mom didn’t run that idea past her first before offering. Emma didn’t want Marty staying at the house any longer than necessary.

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