Page 29 of Marrying Emma

Emma’s pretty green eyes widened. “Yes.”

“If it helps, I was thinking about how nice it would’ve been to have a sibling growing up.”

She snorted. “I guess the grass is always greener for both of us, right?”

“I guess so.” Marty paused. “I saw a meme once that said, ‘The grass is greener where you water it.’ I suppose that’s true since no one’s life is perfect.”

“I’ve never heard that before. I like it.” Emma crumpled the paper from her sandwich and tossed it into the bag. “Chrissy would say I need to invest in a sprinkler system.”

He laughed at that. “I’m thinking we could all use one.” Now that they’d finished eating, they’d be on the road again soon. Which meant his time with Emma was coming to an end. The realization made him gloomier than it ought to. “You have any fun plans for the weekend?” The second the words were out, he cringed. It sounded like he was fishing for a reason to ask her out. He reminded himself that they were supposed to be friends now, and it was a perfectly acceptable question.

If Emma thought the question was anything more than casual, she didn’t indicate it. Instead, she wrinkled her nose, a quirk Marty was quickly coming to like. “I get to reverse roles with my mom tonight. She’s going on a date, which means I’ll be home waiting for her to get back and freaking out if it’s too late.” She gave a dry laugh. “I’m happy for her, but it seems like all kinds of wrong.”

Because it ought to be her out on the town? Or because her mom never dated? Marty decided to address the latter, although he wanted to know when it was that Emma went out with someone. “I take it this is a fairly new development?”

A breeze came through, blowing some of her hair into her face. She brushed it out of the way as she nodded. “This is the first time since she was getting to know my dad.”

“Wow.” He tried to imagine how he might feel if he were in Emma’s place and wasn’t sure he could. “You okay with it?”

“Overall? Yeah, I am. My mom deserves to be happy. I wish she could’ve found someone years ago. But still living at home and feeling like the third wheel? Not so much.” She shrugged. “So, I’ll probably be watching a lot of reruns and trying not to stalk the clock tonight.”

“I can only imagine how weird it must be for you.” Marty scratched the back of his neck. “I moved out of my house the day after I turned eighteen. Partly because I was ready to be independent, and mostly because my parents had told me that’s what they expected.”

“Wow, that seems kind of harsh.” She shook her cup, the ice inside shifting, then took a drink. “You said they live in Florida? How often do you talk to them?”

“Once a week at the most. Sometimes less.” He drank the rest of his own soda and set the cup down on the table with a thunk. “It sounds weird, I know. But it works for us.”

“That’s the important part.” She hesitated. “I’d like to move out. If things go well between Mom and the guy she’s dating, I can see her getting remarried. I refuse to live with them at that point.”

“What’s stopping you now?”

“Finances.” Emma swung her leg over the picnic bench and stood. “I’m going to start looking for a weekend job or maybe work some evenings. See if I can save up money for deposits and all.”

He pictured her working every spare moment she had and didn’t care for it. Marty watched as she threw her trash away and tried to school his features. “I’m not sure how much that’s going to help with the high blood pressure.”

She shot him a warning look. “Yeah, but I may not have much of a choice.”

Not for the first time in his life, Marty felt more frustrated than blessed by the money he’d been born into. Give him five minutes and a checkbook, and he had the ability to erase Emma’s medical bills. Not that she’d let him. Instead, she was going to be working her fingers to the bone just to stay ahead. After all she’d been through, how was that even fair?

Marty covered his conflicting thoughts by throwing his own trash away. When he’d finished, he found Emma sitting on the end of the picnic table watching him with an expression on her face he couldn’t quite read. “What is it?”

“Is it difficult to be on your own?” She pulled her hair around and let a curl wrap around one finger.

“Because my parents moved away?”

Emma shrugged. “Chrissy has Wyatt and the baby. If my mom gets married again someday, she’ll be okay. I’ve never lived alone before.”

“I have sole control over the TV, I can leave my dirty socks lying anywhere I want, and no one gets on me for not doing the dishes.” She laughed but didn’t look convinced. “Seriously, it can get lonely, but it’s not as bad as it sounds.” He tried to look into her eyes, but she kept her chin down and her gaze on the hair in her hand. Marty finally hooked a finger beneath her chin and gently lifted it. Unshed tears swam in her green eyes and made his heart clench in response. “Okay, we need to do something to cheer you up.” He searched for something to bring a smile to her face. “We could chase the pigeons. Climb to the top of the play equipment—I’m sure the kids wouldn’t mind.”

Emma laughed out loud then. “Their parents might.”

“Maybe.” He laughed with her. “But it would be fun.” He paused. “You ready to head back?”

“Yeah.” There was a hint of hesitation in her voice. “I should probably offer to help Mom pick out an outfit or something. Whatever it is that people do these days.”

Her wording snagged his attention. “And when was the last time you went out on a date, Emma Laughlin?”

“Trust me, you don’t want to know.”

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