For some reason, the polite words rankled.
“Nice?” Jake repeated the word with a bite that caused her to flinch. “I’m not just saying it, Emma, I mean it.”
He could tell by the expression on her face that she didn’t believe him. “You said that you worked undercover,” she said stiffly. “I realize that making grilled cheese sandwiches and fixing screen doors don’t exactly provide the adrenaline rush that you must be used to.”
“You’re right about that,” he agreed. “I slept on a lot of couches in houses that weren’t exactly the picket-fence type. Saw things that I wish I could forget.”
Had done things he wished he could forget.
“I volunteered to work undercover because I wanted to change things,
but I got in so deep. I didn’t realize that I was the one who was changing, until I…until God got hold of me.
“Fishing with Jeremy. Listening to him laugh. Making grilled cheese sandwiches. Fixing the loose boards on your porch. Those aren’t ordinary things to me, Emma. They feel more like a a gift.”
Chapter Sixteen
“C
ome on, Mom! It’s almost time for church to start!”
“I’ll be down in a minute.” Emma felt a stab of guilt, knowing she wouldn’t mind walking into the service a few minutes late. Then she and Jeremy could sit in the back row and avoid the fellowship time that took place in the foyer before the service began.
And Jake.
The conversation they’d had the day before came rushing back. Somehow, in the space of a few minutes, he had managed to coax her into revealing details about her life that she had never told anyone else.
Emma flushed at the memory. Jake Sutton hadn’t charmed or forced his way through her defenses, either. Oh, no. One look into those mesmerizing amber eyes and she had practically invited him in!
Emma had reminded Jake about the mentoring guidelines in an effort to put some distance between them, but he had turned the tables on her.
“Those aren’t ordinary things to me, Emma. They feel more like a gift.”
She had been stunned by the sincerity in his voice.
And the tiny current of awareness that had sparked the air between them. One that should have made Emma retreat rather than coax her to move closer.
Fortunately, the connection was broken when Jeremy, needing help carrying the pitcher of lemonade, called for help. Jake had opened the door for him—and provided Emma with an escape hatch.
He hadn’t followed her that time. An hour later, from the safety of her workroom, she heard his car drive away. Emma had been able to breathe again.
At least for a little while.
The Sunday worship service would make another encounter with Jake inevitable, but a little distance, Emma reasoned, would give her a chance to put their relationship back into perspective. Not
their
relationship.
Emma caught herself. She and Jake didn’t have a relationship. They had an…an
agreement.
An agreement born from their commitment to Jeremy. He was the connecting point between them.
That’s all it was.
“And it’s enough.”
If she said the words out loud, Emma thought, maybe she could convince her heart to believe them.
She drove into the church parking lot and Jeremy stuck his head out the window, his gaze scanning the rows of vehicles.
“I see Jake’s car!” His entire body rose off the seat in his excitement. “Maybe he’s waiting for us.”
Emma hoped not. She could already feel a blush heating her cheeks at the
thought
of seeing him again.
As it turned out, they were a few minutes late. The worship team had taken their place at the front of the sanctuary and the young woman at the keyboard
had started to play the opening notes of a popular praise song.
Emma released the breath she’d been holding. They could find a seat in the back…
“I see a spot!”
Before she could blink, Jeremy was hiking down the center aisle, his destination the second pew from the front.
The pew where Jake was sitting.
The trouble was, unless Emma wanted to draw even more attention than they already were, she had no choice but to follow.
Jake had already risen to his feet by the time Jeremy reached his side. He must have heard Jeremy’s voice—Emma had no doubt
everyone
in the sanctuary had heard Jeremy’s voice—because everyone in the row was shifting to make room for them.
Emma kept her eyes focused straight ahead as she took her place next to her son. It was clear that she was going to have to have a talk with him—and apologize to Jake. He may have agreed to be her son’s mentor, but it didn’t mean he was obligated to give Jeremy all of his attention.
Pastor Wilde stepped behind the podium to open the service with a word of prayer, saving her from further embarrassment.
During previous services, Emma had been able to retreat into herself—planning the next week’s menu or silently sifting through the books in the research section of the library. But she hadn’t had Kate offering to share her hymnal. And the words of the songs about God’s love hadn’t touched a bittersweet chord inside of her before, filling the empty spaces that had been there
as long as Emma could remember. Even before Brian’s death.
By the time Pastor Wilde finished his sermon and the congregation rose to their feet for the closing song, it was all Emma could do not to bolt from the sanctuary.
She did manage to sidestep Kate in her haste to get to the door, but found her path blocked by Esther Redstone. The elderly woman belonged to a knitting group that held their monthly meetings in the conference room at the library. Whenever they burst through the door, toting bags of yarn and enough food to feed a small army, Emma thought they looked more like a troop of Girl Scouts on a camping trip rather than a knitting group.
“There you are, Emma!” The woman’s friendly smile made her a tiny but formidable obstacle. “Do you have a minute to chat?”
Over the woman’s chic little straw hat, Emma saw Jeremy trudging toward the car.
“Of course.” Emma couldn’t say no. Esther exuded a warmth and beauty that rivaled the blankets she and the Knit-Our-Hearts-Together ministry created.
“Would you be interested in donating several of your mosaic garden stones for our booth at the craft show during Reflection Days next weekend? The proceeds go into a special Christmas fund for the missionaries the church supports.”
Emma hesitated a moment before telling the truth. “I don’t usually sell my work.”
Esther wasn’t deterred. “I know that, dear, but when the committee met last night, Abby thought you might make an exception this time.”
Abby. Emma should have known.
“When is the craft show?”
Esther’s eyes began to sparkle like sapphires.
“Reflection Days starts on Friday afternoon and the craft show is one of the highlights of the kickoff. We set up tents near the pavilion at the park.”
“How many do you need?” Emma asked, even as she silently calculated how much free time she would have that week and how long it would take to design and create an order of stepping stones.
“I don’t know. One, two, three…” Esther peeked at her under the brim of her hat, sudden mischief dancing in her eyes. “A hundred.”
In spite of her initial hesitation, Emma couldn’t help but chuckle. “I don’t think I could make a hundred in less than a week.”
“Then we’ll take as many as you are willing to donate,” Esther said promptly. “I’m glad Abby thought of you. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome,” Emma said automatically, even as she wondered at what point she had actually agreed to make the donation!
Esther patted her hand. “We could really use your help setting up that day, too. Kate mentioned that the library closes early on Friday afternoons.”
So Kate was part of the conspiracy, too.
“Mrs. Redstone—” Emma gasped, the argument she was about to make cut off by the older woman’s brief but exuberant hug.
“Wonderful! And please call me Esther, dear. No need to stand on ceremony when we’ll be working together, is there? I’ll see you at the pavilion at one o’clock on Friday afternoon.” Esther released her and sailed down the hall.
Emma gave up. If necessary, she could let Kate or Abby know that she wouldn’t be available to help. Since
they’d been the ones who’d drafted her, they could find a replacement for her!
Making her way across the parking lot, Emma braced herself to face Jake again. They hadn’t spoken after the service. Pastor Wilde had motioned to him after the closing prayer and Emma had immediately been caught up in the wave of people moving up the aisle.
But when she saw Jeremy, he was alone.
Emma resisted the urge to look around. “Are you ready to go home?”
“Uh-huh.” Jeremy slid into the passenger seat.
On the drive back home, Emma could no longer resist asking, “Did you talk to Jake?”
“A little bit.” Jeremy was staring out the window, so Emma couldn’t tell if the conversation had been a disappointment.
“He has plans for this afternoon?”
“Uh-huh.” Now Jeremy turned to look at her, eyes shining. “He’s coming over for pizza.”
Maybe, Jake thought, he shouldn’t have accepted Jeremy’s invitation to join him and Emma for lunch.
But then again, he
had
made a deal with Emma. Home-repair supplies for homemade pizza. And the truth was, even if Jeremy hadn’t approached him after the service, asking when they were going to work on the raft again, Jake would have been hard-pressed to stay away and give Emma the space she wanted. Especially now that he was beginning to question whether “space” was what she
needed.
The brief glimpse into Emma’s past had left him shaken.
No wonder it was difficult for her to reach out to people and ask for help. Her family had never reached
out to her. No wonder she was so protective of Jeremy. No one had protected her.
Her husband’s family, locked in the grip of their own grief, hadn’t been there for Emma after Brian’s death. And from what Jake had learned about her father, his obvious indifference to her when she was a child had continued after she was an adult.
But it wasn’t just the fact that no one had walked beside Emma through the pain of her loss, but the matter-of-fact tone in which she’d talked about it that stirred up Jake’s anger. As if she hadn’t expected it to be any other way…
“Jake?”
He felt a tug on his arm and found himself looking into a pair of wide, gray-blue eyes.
“Sorry, bud.” Jake mentally shook himself. “What did you say?”
“I think I should ask Mom to time us again.”
“You know what I think?” Jake looked down at the raft. “I think it’s time we put this thing in the lake and take it for a test run.”
Jeremy’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“We have to make sure it floats, don’t we?” Jake winked at the boy.
“Yes!” Jeremy pumped the air with his fist.
Jake smiled at his enthusiasm. “I’ll check it out with your Mom first, before we start loading up the car.” He had learned that particular lesson the hard way.
Jeremy had already dropped to his knees and began to dismantle the raft again, not concerned that they might not be granted permission to carry out the mission.
Jake, however, had his doubts.
Emma hadn’t said much when he had shown up for lunch after church, but she had mentioned Esther’s
request that she donate some of her garden stones to the craft show.
He sensed a conspiracy. And if his suspicions were on target, Jake could have hugged Esther. The women were finding ways to gently coax Emma out of her shell.
Jazz music drifted through the open window of the outbuilding as Jake approached.
“Emma?” He called out a warning before entering her work zone this time. He’d learned that lesson, too. “Come in.”
“Are you sure it’s safe?” Jake paused in the doorway and looked around for flying dishes.
“I’ll tell you when to duck. Maybe.”
Jake felt the air empty from his lungs.
Emma was teasing him? Because Jake could have sworn he saw a smile lift the corners of her lips before she looked down at the mosaic she was working on.
His gaze skimmed over her slender frame. Jake had thought Emma stunning in the dainty little sundress she’d worn to church that morning—he had barely been able to take his eyes off her. But she looked equally as fetching in tennis shoes, baggy overalls and a faded gray T-shirt.
Focus, Sutton. You interrupted her for a reason, remember?
“Do you mind if I take Jeremy down to the boat landing for an hour or so? We’re satisfied that we’ve got a good time making the raft, now we need to make sure it’s going to hold us.”
“All right.”
“All right?” he blurted, a little shocked that she’d agreed so quickly. After all, he was asking her to trust him. Again.
“I realize you have to make sure it’s…seaworthy.”
Emma pushed a piece of glass into the wet cement, adding to the row she had been working on.
But Jake didn’t miss the little frown that settled between her brows.
It occurred to him that Emma was used to spending her free time with Jeremy. Jake didn’t want to be the guy who took her son away from her.
“We could use a spotter,” he said casually. “It’s a beautiful afternoon. Hot and sunny. I’ve heard a nasty rumor there might not be many of those left.”
The frown deepened. “I have to finish this before the cement dries.”
“We can wait.”
Emma looked out the window at the cloudless sky. “I’ll meet you by the car in fifteen minutes.”
“I knew it.” Jake flashed an approving smile. “The woman is beautiful
and
sensible.”
Emma stared at Jake’s retreating back as he sauntered out the door. It closed quietly behind him and she sagged against the table.
Beautiful.
In stained bib overalls and battered tennis shoes? Her ponytail trailing between her shoulder blades like a damp rope?
And sensible.
Emma turned the words over in her mind.