Or maybe, Jake had a sudden epiphany, it was just him that she didn’t like. “Who’s that?”
Jake stepped back but not fast enough. The freckle-faced boy who’d spotted him pointed to the gap in the divider, giving away Jake’s exact location.
“It’s a stranger!” The little girl sitting closest to Emma let out a shriek with a decibel level high enough to break glass.
“Stranger, stranger!” The rest took up the chant.
Jake winced.
“No, it’s not.” One brave little soul had peered around the divider. “It’s a p’liceman. He gotsa badge, see?”
Before Jake could blink, a pint-size posse surrounded him. He was, to use official police jargon,
busted.
“Are you going to read us a story like Miss Emma?”
A petite girl with melting dark eyes and a cloud of black curls tugged on his pant leg.
Jake shot Emma a panicked look.
“That’s a good idea, Hannah.” Emma’s smile made Jake’s blood run cold. “And I think I know the perfect one for Chief Sutton, don’t you?”
“Sheriff Ben Rides Again!”
The children hopped up and down, making Jake feel as if he were caught in a blender. They captured him before he could protest, towing him over to the rag rug Emma had occupied moments ago. Jake felt a little like Gulliver amid the Lilliputians.
Emma managed to work her way to the front of the jubilant crowd. Relieved, Jake smiled. But instead of rescuing him, she handed him an oversize picture book. And a stick horse with a tangled mane of red yarn and button eyes.
Jake couldn’t believe she hadn’t put a stop to this yet. She should be upset that he’d interrupted her story time…
Their eyes met over the children’s heads and Jake suddenly understood.
This was a challenge.
And Jake never—
never
—walked away from a challenge. He unleashed a slow smile in Emma’s direction. “Don’t
I
get a hat?”
Hat.
Emma suddenly remembered the chef’s hat perched on her head. She swept it off and smoothed away some flyaway strands of hair from her face.
The bells over the door of the library usually alerted her if a patron entered the library, but the story she’d
been reading was interactive and this particular group of five- and six-year-olds tended to be a bit exuberant.
As Jake would soon discover.
Emma almost felt sorry for him. Almost. The man
should
be shaking in his boots for sneaking up on her like that.
How long had he been watching her? And why?
She had the uneasy feeling it wasn’t because he needed a library card. And if he did, Emma doubted that he would stop in while on duty. Did his visit have something to do with the stolen property that Jeremy had found on Saturday?
The thought should have made her relax, but it didn’t. If she was uncomfortable, Emma deemed it only fair that Jake Sutton be uncomfortable, as well.
Except that Jake didn’t appear uncomfortable at all.
Reggie, the boy who’d spotted Jake hiding behind the divider, retrieved a battered cowboy hat from the trunk of dress-up clothes and handed it to him. Jake tapped it against his thigh a few times, almost as if he were pretending to dislodge some invisible trail dust clinging to it.
“I can’t see, Ms. Emma!” Hannah tugged on the hem of her apron.
Emma scooted to the side. She didn’t even have to remind the children to take a seat. They dropped like stones onto the rug when Jake lightly cleared his throat. He opened the book and thumbed to the first page.
“Sheriff Ben was getting old. Too old to keep the peace in a town like Cutter Bend,” Jake read. “His bones were tired and creaky and he got sore when he rode his mule into town…” He paused and shot her a suspicious look. “Local law enforcement rides a
mule?
”
“Gracie!” one of the girls squealed.
“A mule,” Jake muttered. “Named Gracie.”
“Read it! Read it!” The words became a chant, coupled with a rhythmic pounding of little hands against the floor.
Emma nodded, pressing her lips together to seal in the smile she felt coming on. Any moment, Jake Sutton would find an excuse to flee like Snakebite Sam, Sheriff Ben’s archenemy…
Instead, he flicked the brim of the cowboy hat and it settled on his dark head at a jaunty angle.
The crushed black felt had never looked so attractive.
Emma swallowed hard, her fist clenching the wooden spoon she still held in her hand. The fluttery feeling that started in her knees and worked its way to her heart whenever Jake Sutton came into view was unexpected. Unnerving. And totally unacceptable.
But acknowledging that didn’t make it go away.
“Sheriff Ben had achy bones and his eyesight wasn’t as good as it used to be, but he wasn’t afraid of anyone. Not even—” Jake paused dramatically and all the children leaned forward in a hushed silence, eyes wide as they waited for him to continue even though they’d heard the story a dozen times “—Snakebite Sam.”
Chapter Seven
A
s the last of the children danced out the door, Emma took refuge behind the desk, putting something solid between her and Jake.
She thought he would leave when he realized how busy she was. But no. Jake had joined the story-time group for snack time. He’d lowered his lean frame onto one of the tiny wooden chairs and accepted a pink frosted cupcake in honor of Hannah Cohen’s fifth birthday. He had sipped pretend tea from a pink teacup and politely declined the use of the lavender feather boa one of the girls offered to drape around his neck.
Emma would have thought the
sight
of a feather boa would have sent Jake running for the door.
But here he was. Prowling around her desk. Forcing Emma to turn a complete circle while she kept a wary eye on him.
“This is a nice library.”
“Thank you.”
“How long have you worked here?”
Emma moistened her lips. “Six years.”
The answer hung in the air between them.
“I see,” Jake said after a moment.
Did he, Emma wondered with a trace of bitterness. She glanced at the door, hoping someone—anyone—would come into the library and give her an excuse to escape. But now that the children had gone home, the noon hour tended to be slow. School would be starting in a few weeks and the last days of balmy temperatures would soon be a memory. People wanted to soak up the last bit of sunshine rather than check out a book to read.
Emma decided she had no option but to face his unexpected presence head-on.
“What can I do for you, Chief Sutton?”
“You can start by calling me Jake, remember?”
Emma wanted to say that wasn’t a good idea, only she wasn’t sure why. In a town the size of Mirror Lake, no one stood on ceremony. She’d even heard several people call Pastor Wilde by his first name at the picnic. But how could she explain to Jake that dropping his title felt as if she were removing a barrier?
A barrier Emma didn’t
want
removed.
“Is this about the tools that Jeremy found? Does he have to make some kind of statement?” She hoped not. If Jeremy had to give a formal statement, it would mean a trip to the police department, and Emma had no desire to go there ever again. Just the thought tied her stomach into knots.
“No, this isn’t about the tools—”
“Then if you’d like a library card, you can fill out this form.” Emma gestured toward the applications stacked neatly in a plastic tray. “And I will need to see proof of residence.”
“I stopped by to talk to you about the mentoring ministry that Church of the Pines started.”
Emma’s mouth turned as dry as the chalk she’d
dusted on her cheeks before reading
Charlotte the Chef.
“I didn’t realize you were involved.”
“I’m on the prayer team.” Jake’s lips twisted in a wry smile. “But I also told the pastor I’d be willing to do whatever God wants me to.”
Did he think that meant trying to change her mind?
“I planned to call Pastor Wilde today and let him know that Jeremy won’t be able to participate.” Although, knowing how disappointed he would be, Emma hadn’t broken the news to her son.
“He wants to be involved, Emma.”
Emma’s heart gave a little kick when Jake said her name.
“He also wants to eat hot dogs for breakfast.” She managed to lift her chin and meet that unsettling amber gaze straight on. “That doesn’t mean it’s good for him.”
This was going to be more difficult than he thought.
Emma had scrambled for cover behind the desk the moment they were alone. Jake didn’t know why she’d bothered. The rigid set of her shoulders and the wary look in her eyes proved effective enough barriers.
To anyone but him.
He might have been tempted to give up and walk out the door if the conversation he’d had with Matt wasn’t still lodged in his head.
“Jeremy Barlow called the church an hour ago,” Matt had told him. “That kid is something else. He said he’s been praying about it and he is convinced that
you
are supposed to be his mentor.”
“Did he say why?”
“No.” Matt’s smile had faded. “But it could have
something to do with his dad being a police officer. It would make sense, wouldn’t it? A boy that age might be curious about a man who pursued the same career as his father.”
A career that had taken that father’s life.
Jake had released a slow breath. There was a strong possibility that the reason Jeremy had chosen him as a mentor would be the same reason Emma would reject him.
She looked tempted to show him the door now. Fortunately, the library was open to the public so she had to endure his presence for the moment.
Okay, Lord, if this is Your idea, You are going to have to give me some wisdom here. I have no idea how to change Emma’s mind.
Although it suddenly became clear to Jake that he wanted to.
What had started out as curiosity had undergone a subtle shift over the past hour. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he’d seen Emma with her defenses down, waving a rolling pin as she recited a story for a mesmerized group of kindergartners.
To be honest, Jake had been a little mesmerized himself by the undercurrent of laughter he’d heard in her voice. The dusting of flour on the tip of Emma’s nose that elevated her already pretty features to a winsome beauty.
She met his gaze, shields once again in place, but this time Jake looked past the stubborn tilt of her chin and saw the vulnerable curve of her lips, and the fear crouched behind the defiant look in her eyes.
With a flash of insight that Jake assumed was an answer to his prayer, he heard himself ask, “How old was Jeremy when Brian died?”
The color drained from Emma’s face and she flinched, leaving Jake to wonder how long it had been since she’d heard anyone say her husband’s name.
Forget the barrier she’d put between them. In two strides, Jake was standing next to her. Not close enough to crowd, but close enough to catch her if she passed out on him.
Emma folded her arms across her chest. For a second, Jake didn’t think she was going to answer. When she did, the word came out in a whisper. “Four.”
Jake had suspected Jeremy must have been close to that age when he’d lost his father, but hearing Emma confirm it twisted his gut.
What now, Lord?
In his former line of work, Jake had extracted information from people with the precision of a surgeon but now things had changed.
He
had changed. Jake knew he couldn’t stir the well of Emma’s grief and find the answers he was seeking without God’s help.
“Does Jeremy ask a lot of questions about him?” he asked, feeling his way through unfamiliar territory.
“No.” Emma hesitated. “He used to.”
Jake read between the lines. Jeremy had asked questions until he was old enough to realize that it hurt his mother to talk about it.
“You’re doing a great job with him, Emma,” he said. “Jeremy is bright. Curious. To tell you the truth, I’m a little intimidated by a kid who put down the word
research
under his list of hobbies and interests.”
A ghost of a smile lifted the corners of her lips. “I’ve always encouraged him to study. To seek out the answers to his questions.”
“That’s what I mean.” Jake was stunned by a sudden
longing to see the rest of that smile. “I think Jeremy is at the age where he wants to test himself. Boys want to know what they’re made of. Push the limits a little. And you want him to do that.” He saw panic flare in Emma’s eyes and added swiftly, “In healthy ways. Ways that will help him make a smooth transition from boy to man.”
Emma remained silent.
“Emma?”
She looked at him and Jake could see the battle being played out in those expressive blue eyes.
“What are you afraid of?”
What was she afraid of?
There were so many things to choose from, Emma wasn’t sure she could pick out only one.
She was afraid that letting Jeremy spend time with a mentor would prove that she wasn’t doing her job.
She was afraid her son would need her less…or not at all.
She was afraid of letting Jeremy out of her sight because he was the only family she had left.
And she was afraid of the disturbing feelings that Jake Sutton stirred inside of her. Feelings Emma thought had been buried along with Brian.
He was close. Too close. Whenever Emma drew in a breath, the clean scent of Jake’s soap, mingled with a hint of lime, came with it, muddling her senses.
“I appreciate what Pastor Wilde is trying to do,” Emma said stiffly. “I’m sure there are boys who would benefit from the mentoring program. But to be perfectly honest, I can’t imagine allowing Jeremy to spend time with a stranger.”
“What if the person wasn’t a stranger? Would that make a difference?”
“I don’t know.” Emma tucked her lower lip between her teeth as she considered the question. “I suppose it might. But we haven’t been going to church very long. Jeremy doesn’t know many people.”
And neither did she. Living in a small town, where it seemed as if everyone knew each other, had been intimidating to a young woman who had never settled in one place for very long. Emma had been more than content to remain in the background. After Brian’s death, she had retreated even further in an attempt to avoid the awkward silences and the pity she saw on people’s faces.