[Meet Your Match 01.0] Prejudice Meets Pride

by Rachael Anderson

  “I’m really excited to see my girls.”

  “I know.” Emma sighed. Why did she have to be the only weak one in the family? Why couldn’t she learn to keep it together like Noah always seemed to do? He’d probably never cried ten times in his entire life, let alone in one day.

  “Have they decided on Halloween costumes yet?” he asked.

  “As if there was anything to decide,” said Emma. “Kajsa wants to be a cowgirl, and Adi a princess.”

  “Shocker.”

  Emma laughed, and the release it gave her felt good.

  A yawn sounded on the other end of the line, followed by Noah’s voice. “I better hit the sack. I’ll try to call a little earlier tomorrow.”

  “I’ll keep them awake until you do.”

  “Thanks, Emma,” Noah said. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “You’ve raised some pretty amazing little girls,” she said. “It’s made my job easy and wonderful. I can’t wait to see their faces when they see you walk off that plane.”

  “Yeah.” She could hear the smile in his voice. “That’ll be a good day.”

  “Talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Kay.”

  The line went dead, and a lonely silence careened through the room, weighing down Emma’s shoulders once again. She made her way to her room and tried to get some sleep, but that weight seemed to press her body into the mattress, making her feel every lump and lopsided spring. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she threw off the covers and sat up, glaring into the darkness as if it were to blame.

  Maybe if she got a drink and watched a movie, she could trick her mind into finally shutting off. So she filled a glass with water and hit “play” on whatever DVD the girls had last watched. It turned out to be Rainbow Bright—a story about a girl who was not only perpetually happy but self-sufficient as well.

  Awesome.

  Emma flipped off the TV and collapsed on the couch, staring at the ceiling. Light footsteps sounded from down the hall, and Kajsa soon appeared, clutching at her ear as tears seeped down her cheeks.

  “Oh no, is it hurting again?” Emma asked.

  She nodded. “It’s worser.”

  “Oh, sweetie, come here.” Emma lifted Kajsa on to her lap and held her close. She brushed her hair back and felt heat on her forehead—lots of heat. The poor girl was burning up.

  Emma settled her on the couch and ran to grab a thermometer out of the first aid kit. She slid it into Kajsa’s mouth, and when she pulled it out a moment later, the red line went all the way up to the neighborhood of 102. Yikes, that was high.

  What now? Adelynn was still asleep, and it was nearly midnight. Should she give her some more medicine and wait until morning, or should she go to the urgent care now? Was urgent care even open at this hour, or would they need to go to an ER? Emma tried not to worry about the expense.

  Kajsa groaned and shifted, as though she couldn’t get comfortable either, and Emma made a quick decision. Becky was out of town with Justin, but Sam was home. “Why don’t you rest here for a minute while I get you some more medicine? Then I’m going to call Sam and see if she can sit with Adelynn so I can take you to the doctor.”

  Kajsa settled down on the couch, still clutching her ear.

  Sam rushed over within minutes of Emma calling. She brought one of her old stuffed bunnies for Kajsa to help get her mind off the pain. Emma thanked her with a hug, then took Kajsa outside and buckled her into Sunshine. She turned the key in the ignition, and a click, click, click sounded.

  You’ve got to be kidding me! Emma wanted to scream. First her job, then Kajsa’s illness, and now this. Her mother had always said that accidents came in threes, so Emma should have expected it, but why couldn’t number three have waited to strike until morning?

  Kajsa’s whimpering brought Emma back to her senses. She glanced through her window at Becky’s completely dark house across the street. Now what? Almost involuntarily, Emma’s gaze drifted toward Kevin’s house, where his front room flickered in the darkness, signaling that the TV was on inside. Her stomach twisted into knots at the thought of asking for help after all that had happened, but he was awake, and if there was one thing Emma had learned over the past couple of months, it was that she could count on him.

  Another whimper from Kajsa had Emma jumping out of the car and carrying the little girl to Kevin’s house. Her hand hesitated only a moment before she knocked firmly on the door. It took a few minutes, but it finally opened, revealing Kevin in flannel pajama bottoms and a t-shirt.

  “What’s wrong?” he said, his eyes worried.

  “She’s got a fever,” Emma blurted. “And my car won’t start. Is there any way you could—”

  “Of course. Just let me get dressed real quick.” Kevin ushered them inside, took less than five minutes to change, grabbed his keys, and lifted Kajsa from Emma’s arms, carrying her to the car. In no time at all they were on the way to the nearest ER, which Kevin said was their only option at this hour.

  By the time they were sitting on some cold, vinyl chairs in a waiting room, with Kajsa cuddled up on Emma’s lap, her head felt a little cooler, and her ear didn’t hurt quite as much. The medicine must have finally kicked in. Which was good, because the receptionist said it would be at least an hour before the doctor would be able to see them.

  Emma’s hand moved slowly up and down Kajsa’s back, hoping she’d fall asleep and get a little rest before the nurse called them back.

  Kevin’s arm came around Emma, and his fingers caressed her upper arm. “It’s going to be okay,” he said. “Lots of kids get earaches.”

  “I know. I just don’t like seeing her in pain.” Kajsa’s breathing evened out, indicating she’d finally fallen asleep. Emma kissed the top of her head, hoping it was just an earache and that an antibiotic would take care of it and return Kajsa to her normal, happy and healthy self.

  As much as she hated to admit it, she was glad Kevin sat next to her. His arm offered comfort and strength—something Emma needed at the moment.

  “Thank you for bringing us,” she said quietly.

  “It’s never a problem, Emma. You know that.”

  “I do.”

  Kevin twisted in his seat, and Emma could feel his gaze burning into her profile. “You don’t have to be strong all of the time, and it doesn’t make you less of a person to need help once in a while. Give and take is what life is all about, and sometimes you have to be the one to take so the other person can give. I want to do things for you because I care about you and enjoy helping you, not because I pity you or think you’re incapable. I wish you could see that.”

  “And I wish you could understand what it feels like to always be on the taking side of that give and take relationship you talk about,” Emma said. “Because it doesn’t feel nearly as good.”

  He leaned in close, his shoulder pressing into her. “I think that give and take scale is pretty even when it comes to us.”

  She shot him an incredulous look. “How do you figure?”

  “It’s just simple mathematics,” he said. “I bought you groceries. You paid me back. Then I got you a sprinkler head, which you didn’t end up using.”

  “What about when you helped me turn on that sprinkler valve thing?”

  “You paid me back by giving me a free shower,” he countered, making Emma laugh. “Then there was the dinner—”

  “Let me guess,” she interrupted. “I paid you back for that by letting Kajsa and Adelynn hang out with you and your date, right?”

  “No.” His eyes caught and held hers. “By making that one of the most memorable nights I’ve ever had. And just to clarify, I’m talking about before Nicole showed up.”

  Emma opened her mouth to counter, but no words came out. His skewing of everything was making a jumble of her thoughts and feelings.

  “Then there’s the matter of the job,” Kevin continued. “Which you paid me back by doing the jobs that were given you—and putting up with Janice in
the process.”

  “You’re forgetting the lawn.” It was the only thing Emma could think to say.

  “And you’re forgetting the picnic.”

  “And the art gallery?”

  He leaned in even closer and whispered, “Again, one of the best nights of my life. So when it comes down to it, I’m really in your debt.” His minty breath sent a host of shivers down her back. She was finding it harder and harder to concentrate.

  “Kajsa Mackie?” a nurse called.

  Emma stood, holding Kajsa securely in her arms, and followed the nurse to an ugly white room that smelled of disinfectants and sickness. A long, padded table was positioned in the center, with a single chair in the corner. She carefully laid Kajsa down, hoping to keep her asleep. After taking her blood pressure and temperature, the nurse disappeared, saying the doctor would be with them shortly.

  Kevin kept the conversation light until the doctor arrived twenty minutes later.

  “What seems to be the problem?” His voice boomed through the room, making Kajsa jerk. “Oh, sorry,” he said more quietly. “I didn’t realize we had a sleeper.”

  “She’s got a high fever and is complaining that her left ear hurts.”

  Two blue eyes opened then closed, blinking sleepily against the bright lights. “We’re at the hospital,” Emma murmured, rubbing her arm. “The doctor’s going to look in your ear, okay?”

  Kajsa sat up and wrapped her arms around Emma, pressing her right cheek against Emma’s stomach. “Can he look in your ear?” Emma asked again.

  Kajsa nodded, looking only half awake.

  The doctor wasted no time lifting his otoscope to her ear. His frown made Emma’s heart pound as she waited anxiously for the verdict.

  “I’m not seeing anything wrong,” he finally said. “Her ear looks as healthy as they come. Could it be her right ear?”

  “I don’t think so, but maybe I’m wrong,” Emma said. “She tried to move Kajsa’s head around, but the minute her left cheek rested against Emma’s stomach, Kajsa moaned and tried to move her head back. The doctor quickly checked her right ear and found the same thing. “Completely clear,” he said.

  “I don’t understand,” said Emma. “What’s the problem?”

  “Are you sure it’s her ear?” Kevin asked.

  “That’s what she said.” Emma felt so helpless.

  “Has she complained about her throat hurting at all?” the doctor said.

  “No. Only her ear.” This wasn’t going the way it was supposed to go. The doctor was supposed to look in Kajsa’s ear, tell them the reason she hurt, and prescribe some medicine to fix it. He wasn’t supposed to look as confused as Emma felt. He was the professional.

  “I wonder…” Kevin murmured as he bent to Kajsa’s eye level. He touched her left cheekbone lightly, right next to her ear. She moaned and tried to turn her face from him, but Emma held her steady.

  “Hey, Kajsa,” Kevin said quietly. “Can I look in your mouth for a second?”

  She nodded, but made no move to open it.

  Carefully, he lifted her upper lip and looked around. “Aha.”

  Emma craned her neck to see a large white spot above one of Kajsa’s molars—the same white spot Kajsa had shown her the other day. “Isn’t that a canker sore?”

  Kevin lowered her lip and stood. “Nope. An abscess. The infection has probably spread into her cheekbone, which is why it feels like an earache. I’ve seen this before with a couple of my other patients. It’s not as common as ear infections, which is why I didn’t think to check before, but it does happen.”

  Emma felt like the worse guardian ever. How did she not know the difference between a canker and an abscess, and why hadn’t she taken Kajsa in sooner?

  “Are you a dentist?” the ER doctor asked Kevin.

  “Yeah.” Kevin held out his hand for the man to shake. “Thanks for your time, doctor, but I can take it from here. My office isn’t too far away. We can drain and treat it there.”

  The doctor nodded and gestured toward the door. “You’re the expert. I’ll leave you to it then.”

  Kevin scooped Kajsa into his arms and strode out of the office. Emma had to practically jog to keep up with his long strides. “Is she going to be okay?” she asked.

  “She’ll be fine,” said Kevin. “But it’s going to take some time to get it cleaned out. I could kick myself for not catching it sooner. We could have had her back home and in bed by now.”

  In the car, Emma asked, “Isn’t this something they can treat at the ER?”

  “Partly,” said Kevin. “If I hadn’t been with you, they would have given her something for the pain and put her on an antibiotic to start fighting the infection, but then they would have told you to follow up with a dentist or endodontist tomorrow to get it drained properly. It’s likely we’ll have to do a root canal as well.”

  “Oh,” said Emma quietly. “So I’m really lucky you were with me tonight.”

  “There’s no place I’d rather be.” He glanced her way, offering her a wry smile. “And if you’re thinking that we’re no longer even, think again. I’m doing this for Kajsa—not you.”

  Warmth penetrated Emma’s heart, and she realized that for the first time since meeting Kevin, it didn’t bother her that she needed his help. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was because this was about Kajsa and not her. But if Emma was honest with herself, there was more to it than that. Kevin had gone from being a benefactor to a friend. A good friend. The kind she could turn to when there was no other place to turn, the kind who didn’t keep score and didn’t expect anything in return.

  It occurred to Emma that before moving to Colorado, she’d never really had friends like that. But now she had three. She also had the love of two adorable little girls, and her brother would be coming for Thanksgiving.

  Maybe today hadn’t been such a terrible day after all.

  It was well past two when Kevin hefted Kajsa’s little body from the backseat of his car and carried her inside, past a sleeping Samantha on the couch, and down the hall to the girls’ room. He waited for Emma to open the door then walked into a different world—a fairy world.

  Little white lights wrapped around the once ugly headboard that had since been painted to look like old wood, giving the room an ethereal and magical light. A large, knotty tree appeared to grow on the wall in the far corner, with branches and leaves extending across half of the ceiling and the upper part of the walls. Kevin couldn’t count all the fairies that were flying, sitting, or smelling the flowers. There was even a wooden swing hanging from the ceiling with vines wrapped around the ropes.

  It all felt so… alive.

  “You did this,” he whispered in awe.

  “Yes.”

  Wow. Emma did this. Emma—the girl who continued to surprise him over and over again. Kevin was completely blown away. Growing up, he’d always had the room straight from the cover of Pottery Barn Kids or the equivalent. He’d had a custom, built-in desk with bookshelves that were loaded with books and baskets containing his favorite toys and Legos. He’d had the matching rug, bedding and curtains, with beautifully framed pictures and knickknacks.

  But he’d never had anything even remotely close to this.

  It took Emma’s hand on his arm to make him realize that he still held Kajsa. He pried his gaze away from the wall and gently laid her down next to her sister. Emma covered her up and kissed her on the forehead before taking Kevin’s hand and practically dragging him from the room.

  The white-walled hallway now felt stale and boring—the same way his house and office would now feel. He had the insane urge to pull free of Emma’s grip and return to a room where little girls’ dreams could easily come true. Where magic and fun surely happened every day.

  He grabbed Emma by the waist and pulled her around to face him. “You’re amazing,” he said, staring into the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen.

  “I’m into art, remember?”

  “Yes, but I never thought th
at you could…”

  Her lips tugged into a smile. “Yeah, I wouldn’t finish that sentence either if I were you.”

  With his hands still on her waist, Kevin searched her face, not knowing how to put his feelings into words or how to convey how much she’d come to mean to him. In only a matter of months, she’d gone from being his destitute, incompetent, embarrassment of a neighbor to the polar opposite. “Emma, I… didn’t realize…” he whispered.

  Her brows drew together in confusion, but she said nothing. The air around them seemed to buzz with a charge as he tentatively pulled her closer. She came willingly, and Kevin ran his fingers across her jaw line before cupping the back of her neck and slowly lowering his mouth to hers, giving her a chance to pull back if she wanted. She didn’t.

  Over the years, Kevin had kissed his fair share of women, but kissing Emma was like nothing he’d ever experienced. Her lips were sweeter and softer, and her body molded against his perfectly. She leaned into him and kissed him back. He loved how passionate she was, and how she wasn’t afraid to show it. His heartbeat became frantic as he deepened the kiss and explored her mouth, tasting, touching, and feeling—it felt like overload. From her beauty and kindness to her quirks and talents, no one had ever felt more real and wonderful to him.

  He wanted to hold on tight and never let go.

  This time, it was Emma who began to pull away. “I don’t want to wake up Sam,” she whispered against his lips, breathing hard. “That would be a little awkward.”

  She was right. That would be awkward. Besides, he should get home. He had an early morning meeting that was only a few hours away.

  But his arms and hands stayed where they were, not wanting to give up Emma just yet. Tomorrow, everything would change. She wouldn’t be at the office, brightening it up. He wouldn’t see her gnawing on her fingernail or tapping her foot against the floor when she couldn’t figure something out and didn’t want to ask for help. He wouldn’t see the alluring way her hips swayed when she walked or the tentative smile that touched her lips whenever she caught his eye. She wouldn’t be there to calm a frantic mother down with her fluent Spanish or to draw a princess on a unicorn for a scared little girl. She wouldn’t be there to pick up Legos and suggest things like a Thomas the Train table—