Emma's Home (The Fairfield Series) (21 page)

“Fuck!” Jake cursed.

“Jake,” Tom spoke again, this time softly. “She needs you to be calm, man. Pull your shit together.”

Jake, knowing Tom was right, took a deep breath. “Babe, I need you to tell me what this goddamn fucking note means. I need you to trust me.”

Emma’s eyes shot up to Jake’s face. The face that kisses her so sweetly and whispers to her in the night. The face that calls her name when he comes inside of her. Now that face is so angry and his rage is focused on her. She could feel her chin begin to wobble, knowing tears were soon to follow.

Jake was aware of the change in her, felt her breathing hitch, and some of his ire release. Knowing that she needed reassurance he took her face gently in his powerful hands. “Emma girl, I’m not mad at you. I’m mad that someone is fucking with the woman I love. Someone has threatened you, scared you, and I didn’t know that was happening. And a man like me, does not like to find out that his woman is being fucked over. So baby, we need to know what’s goin’ on.”

Emma looked around at the room full of people, people that she knew cared about her. She had wanted to figure things out on her own and as much as she considered herself to be a strong woman, she was afraid. And now…. with someone trying to get inside her house, she was even more afraid. Looking down, she realized she was wringing her hands, trying to stop the shaking.

“Emma,” Jake said again softly, knowing that she was still in shock. “Tell us about the notes.”

Emma looked up into the baby blues that contained so much emotion; anger, fear, love. She knew she needed to trust that he would forgive her secretiveness and allow him to take care of her.

Taking a shaky breath, she plunged forward. “I’ve just…been…trying to pull the…puzzle pieces together,” she started.

Jake looked at her in confusion. “Emma, I don’t–” he started.

Tom interrupted, “Jake, let her finish.”

Knowing that witnesses often need time to get all of their thoughts out in the open, Jake looked at Tom sharply knowing his partner was right.

Emma continued looking up at Jake, imploring him to understand. “Jake, I didn’t mean to keep anything from you. I just wanted to find out what I could about the students and possible drugs in the county, and then I started getting warnings to stop.”

“Warnings?” Jake growled.

Emma took a deep breath and then plunged into her explanation. “One day I came home and there was a cut up carcass on my front mat with a note, telling me to stop checking into things.” She glanced at Jake and saw that he was about to explode. She quickly continued. “I then got another note left on my car the night that we had our girl’s night out. At Smokey’s, in the parking lot.”

“Fuck!” Jake shouted as he jumped up. He paced the room, and Emma’s eyes followed him around.

“Jake,” Emma started.

“No Emma,” he shouted. “There is no excuse for hiding this from me. Do you realize you could have been hurt? Do you realize that we may have been able to use these notes to further our investigation? Do you realize how stupid it was to keep this hidden?” His voice rose with each accusation.

Tears began to fall as Emma listened to Jake’s rant.

“I had no choice,” she said softly, barely being heard. Laurie started to walk over to Emma, but Rob held her back, knowing his friends needed answers.

Tom knew that Jake was in no position to be impartial. “Emma, what do you mean, ‘you had no choice’?”

Emma looked down at her hands again. They were no longer shaking. In fact, she realized she no longer felt fear. What was coursing through her was anger. Anger that someone tried to take control over her. Anger that someone threatened another person. Anger that she was being blamed for the machinations of someone else.

Emma wiped her tears away and spoke clearly. “The other notes threatened a student if I told anyone.”

Jake’s head snapped around. “What?” he said with deadly calm.

Walking over to the bookshelf, she reached between two books and pulled out the notes. She handed them to Jake and stepped back as he, Tom, and Mike perused them.

Jake cursed once again and stormed out of the front door. Emma looked out of the window and watched him pace in the front yard.

Tom came over and pulled Emma into a hug. “He’s not mad at you, Emma,” Tom said. “He is just angry that someone was threatenin’ you and he wasn’t able to do anything about it.”

Emma accepted the hug, then looked back out of the window as Jake continued to pace outside. “Should I go to him?”

“Give him a few minutes, darlin’. I promise it’ll be okay.” Tom stepped away from her, walked to the other side of the room and talked to Mike.

Laurie rushed over, enveloping Emma in a hug as they sat down together on the sofa. Emma felt drained. She leaned her head back on the sofa and wondered how her simple life had become so complicated. Mister coming back into the room now that it was calmer, jumped up on the sofa next to Emma, purring as he lay next to her.

Tom, Mike, and Rob walked out into the yard to talk to Jake. Laurie continually glanced over her shoulder to keep an eye on them as she comforted Emma. Looking at her niece, Emma thought how strange it felt to have Laurie caring for her.

As though she knew what Emma was thinking, Laurie grinned at her aunt, remarking, “You’ve certainly held me enough times over the years. It’s high time I did the same for you.”

Emma smiled and then took a deep breath. Straightening herself, she stood up saying, “Okay, enough feeling sorry for myself. I’ve got to start making this right.”

The men had just re-entered the room when Emma made that announcement. Jake stalked over to her, grasping her by the shoulders and bending down to look directly into her dark brown eyes.

“Oh no, Emma girl. You are not doing anything else. Mike shared with us what you had talked to him about and while I’m not happy you didn’t share with me, I get it. I also know you well enough to know that you’re too stubborn to let this go and too caring to want to risk anyone else. So grab a bag and pack. You’re coming home with me,” Jake declared. Turning to Laurie, he asked her to help Emma pack.

Emma jerked out of Jake’s hands, backing away. “Jake, I’m not going to be chased out of my house,” she said emphatically, shaking her head.

The room erupted as everyone began voicing an opinion, the loudest being Jake as he reached back over to pull Emma into his arms. Her living room suddenly filled with testosterone pouring off of the four men, all wanting to protect her, seem to be devoid of oxygen. Claustrophobic, she felt lightheaded. Emma sat on the sofa putting her head down between her knees.

“Guys. Stop,” Laurie ordered as she plopped down next to Emma.

Jake squatted next to Emma. “Baby, what do you need?” Keeping his hand pressed to the back of her head, he gently rubbed circles on her neck. “Breathe, deep and slow. In and out, baby. Nice and slow.”

Rob came from the kitchen with a glass of water, handing it to Jake. He helped her raise her head and held the water for her to sip. Color was slowing coming back to her face.

Emma gazed around the room, filled once again with the realization that these were people who cared deeply about her.

Finally, Mike’s voice cut through the silence. “Emma,” he said sharply to get her attention. All eyes went to him. “Jake is right. Right now, we are still investigating, and there is nothing you can do at the moment to help. You staying here in your home, could just hinder things – Jake won’t be able to concentrate and whoever is behind all of this will probably come back.”

Emma looked at the faces of the people in the room. Slowly Mike’s words sunk in, and she realized he was right. She stood slowly with Jake’s assistance.

Jake felt her shoulders sag in defeat. He pulled her in closer, willing his powerful arms surrounding her to be the shield that kept her safe. He rubbed his hands up and down her back, soothing her.
Please feel it baby. Please feel how I just want you safe. Please let me do this for you.
Shuddering, he tightened his grip.
I can’t do this without you Emma. I need you. I love you. Please feel this.

He felt Emma’s arms tighten around his waist, and he dropped a kiss on the top of her head in relief. Emma pushed back just enough to look up into Jake’s beautiful face. He was so tall, she had to look straight up to see into his eyes. Jake looked down into the eyes of the woman that had come to mean the world to him.
I will protect you darlin’. With my life.

Emma held his eyes as she smiled a small smile that reached into his soul and wrapped around his heart. Breathing a sigh of relief, he leaned down and gently kissed her lips. Laurie walked over and took Emma’s hand.

“I’ll help you pack, Emma.” The two women once again walked out the room, arm in arm towards the bedroom.

Tom came over and clapped Jake on the back. “We’ll get him, Jake,” he assured his friend and partner. Jake looked at Tom shaking his head in frustration.

“What are we missing, Tom? What is the missing link that ties this shit together?”

Rob’s radio sounded as he was being called back to the fire station. Rob walked over to say goodbye to his friends.

“Let me know if you need anything, bro,” he said. “Emma is Laurie’s world and I love her too. I’ll do anything I can to help.” He shook Jake’s hand and then headed back to the station after stopping in the bedroom to kiss Laurie goodbye.

Laurie left after eliciting a promise from Emma to call her if anything else happened. Tom caught a ride back to town with Mike after checking with the patrolmen who had finished searching in the woods. Jake, knowing that Emma would be worried about the cat, fed Mister and made sure he had plenty of water and a clean litter box. Taking a moment to stroke the now friendly cat, Jake assured him they would come back every day to feed him. “Don’t worry, Mister. I’ll take good care of your mistress.” Mister looked up at the sound of Jake’s voice as though to accept his promise.

Jake locked up the house, set the alarm, and settled Emma in his truck. The ride over to his mom’s house was quiet.

Emma looked out of the truck window at what was left of the fall foliage. Most of the trees were bare except for the tall fir and pine trees. The woods were looking as desolate as she felt. Empty. Cold. Exposed.

Emma felt drained from the evening’s events. She knew that she and Jake needed to talk but was grateful for the silence. She didn’t have the energy to discuss the situation anymore.

*

Mary was not surprised to see them; Jake had called her to say that Emma had an attempted burglary and needed a place to stay. Mary welcomed Emma with open arms and began fussing over her.

As independent as Emma was, she had to admit it felt wonderful to have Mary’s arms around her. It had been so long since she had felt the comfort of a mother’s touch.
What makes this different? What is it about a mother’s hug that soothes? Feels different than other hugs? I miss you mom…

Once again, Emma felt tears stinging her eyes. She allowed Mary to comfort her and show her to her room. Emma started to thank her, but Mary shushed her.

“Emma, sweetheart, it feels so good to be able to do something for someone,” she said with a sad smile. “Sometimes I get so tired of others having to take care of me, it feels marvelous to do this simple thing.” Mary hugged her and left the guest room. “Rest up, my dear.”

Emma sat on the edge of the bed in the guest room looking around. The room was warm and welcoming. The distressed white antique dresser with a large mirror stood on the wall opposite of the window. Emma walked over to look into the mirror, shocked by what she saw. She had not bothered to put on any makeup nor styled her hair since she had planned on Laurie and Carol to fix her up. Red, puffy eyes in a pale face stared back at her from the mirror.

Turning away from the mirror, Emma walked back to the bed, sitting down on the soft lilac comforter. She listened to the sounds of Jake and his mother down the hall talking. She knew she should change out of her clothes, but suddenly felt as though every ounce of energy left her body. The shock had worn off, leaving in its wake an exhaustion whose pull she could not resist. All Emma could manage was to slide out of her yoga pants, leaving her t-shirt on. Pulling the covers down, she crawled into the comfort of the soft sheets and pulled the covers back up. Sleep overtook her and a few minutes later when Jake came into the room, she was sound asleep.

Jake slipped out of his jeans and crawled into the bed with her. He would never disrespect his mother’s house, but it was Mary who insisted that he sleep with Emma.

His mom kissed him, saying that she was not so old fashioned that she would want to keep them apart, especially when they needed each other so much right now. Pushing him down the hall toward the room Emma was in, she surprised him. “Your father and I used to slip off together every so often before we were married, you know?” she said with a smile as he headed down the hall. Jake looked over his shoulder in surprise at his mom, but she had already turned to go into her room.

Leaning over Emma’s sleeping form, he pulled her closer, willing her to be safe just by being in his arms. He thought of what this woman meant to him. He knew she was
it
for him. No other. She completed him, filled his lonely soul, and made him feel as though there could actually be a
‘happily ever after’.