Love Finds a Home (18 page)

“Look! That one must be Kate’s.”

Jake smiled at the note of excitement in Emma’s voice. He spread the blanket out under the tree. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” Emma sat down on the edge of the blanket, her gaze riveted on the line of boats as they came into view. “I had no idea so much work went into this.”

“Neither did I.” Jake stretched out beside her. “Mayor Dodd stopped by the department so many times this week, checking on this and that, I considered deputizing him.”

“He came into the library a few times, too. I think he wanted to make sure I hadn’t taken down any of the posters.”

Two more floats brought a loud chorus of oohs and aahs from the spectators on the beach.

“Sounds like they’re having fun,” Jake commented.

“You don’t have to keep me company, you know,” Emma said quietly. “I’d understand if you’d rather join the party.”

“I am right where I want to be.” It was the truth but Jake wondered if he’d said too much.

There had been a few times when they were together that he imagined feeling a spark of attraction between them, but Jake had convinced himself that’s all it was. His imagination.

He reached for the thermos of coffee and his arm brushed against Emma’s. She shivered.

“Are you cold?”

“N-no.”

That didn’t sound very convincing. Jake stripped off his denim jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

The coat almost swallowed her whole.

“Well, at the moment you look more like Sheriff Ben than Chef Charlotte.” Laughing, Jake slid one hand underneath the frayed collar to free her hair. She had worn it loose today and it slid like satin between his fingers.

His laughter faded away. Without thinking, Jake cupped the back of her head in his hand and pulled her closer. Their lips met in a fleeting but gentle kiss that turned Jake’s heart inside out.

A split-second after he let her go, he saw the shocked look on Emma’s face.

“I’m sorry.” Jake released her. “I don’t know why…”
Yes, you do.
“Excuse me a minute. I think I’ll check on Jeremy.”

He surged to his feet.

There’d been times he’d had to face a difficult situation and calmly stand his ground.

This wasn’t one of them.

“What time is it?”

“Twelve-thirty.” Jake padded to the sliding glass door and stared outside. “Were you sleeping?”

“Yes. Now my question is, why aren’t you?” Andy yawned.

“I just got back from the water parade a little while ago.”

“Ah.” His brother sounded more awake now.

“What does that mean?
Ah?
”

“It means you were with Jeremy and Emma Barlow.”

“They’d never seen it before.” And he had sure made it a night to remember, Jake thought wryly.

“You’re spending a lot of time with them.”

“I’m Jeremy’s mentor. That’s kind of the point.”

“So where does Emma fit?”

Jake had a mental image of wrapping Emma in his jacket. Pulling her into his arms. And the look of shock on her face…

He groaned.

“Uh-oh.” Andy’s voice was laced with amusement. “What did you do this time?”

“Nothing. I’d rather not talk about it.”

“No talking about nothing. Got it.” Another yawn. “You have feelings for Emma, don’t you?”

“Andy.” Jake gave a warning growl.

“Oh, that’s the nothing you don’t want to talk about. Sorry. I’m a little slow at…twelve fifty-three in the morning.”

Jake rolled his eyes even as a smile worked at the corners of his lips. “Why did I call you?”

“Because you miss me,” Andy said promptly.

Jake shook his head. “I’ll let you go back to sleep.”

“Jake?” Andy’s voice became somber. “God is in control, and I don’t say that because it’s written in a pastor’s handbook somewhere. He brought you to Mirror Lake for a reason and it wasn’t an accident that you met Jeremy and Emma. Trust Him. And get some sleep. Isn’t that big raft race you’ve been telling me about tomorrow morning?”

“Eleven o’clock.”

“Let me know how it goes.”

“Thanks, Andy.”

“Anytime, Bro.”

Jake hung up the phone and got ready for bed. He lay
down, linking his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. As usual, his kid brother was right. He did need to trust that God was in control.

And he did have feelings for Emma.

Lord, I know You’re at work in my life and in Emma’s. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do trust You.

The next time Jake woke up, it was because his pager was going off.

Emma woke up and found two pairs of eyes staring at her.

One blue, one chocolate brown.

“Are you awake, Mom?” Jeremy whispered.

She smiled, reminded of the Christmas mornings when Jeremy would sneak into her bedroom before dawn and ask the same question. “I am now.” Emma covered a yawn. “What time is it?”

“Six.”

“Six?” She sat up and Shadow took that as an invitation to launch himself onto the bed. He turned a circle and flopped down, propping his chin on her feet.

“The pancake breakfast starts at seven, remember?” Jeremy plopped down next to the dog.

Emma groaned. She couldn’t believe a town the size of Mirror Lake could pack so many activities into one three-day weekend. “I remember. But we don’t have to be the first ones in line, do we?”

“How about the second?” Jeremy summoned the heart-melting smile that she had never been able to refuse. “Do you think Jake will be there?”

Emma’s heart flipped over. “I’m not sure, but he’ll be at the park in time for the raft race. Why don’t you
take Shadow for a walk while I get dressed and have a cup of coffee?”

At the word
walk,
Shadow’s ears lifted.

“Go on, now.” Under the blankets, Emma nudged the dog with her toe. Shadow jumped down and followed Jeremy out of the room.

She collapsed back against the pillow and closed her eyes.

Jake had kissed her.

And she’d
wanted
him to.

That was what had taken her by surprise when Jake had drawn her into his arms.

There was no denying the truth any longer.

She had reluctantly let Jake into her life…and over the past few weeks he had somehow worked his way into her heart.

The day promised to be a warm one, so Emma dressed in denim capris and a lightweight floral shirt. There was no sign of Jeremy and Shadow when she came downstairs but a cup of coffee sat on the counter, cooling.

Ordinarily, the thought of attending any kind of social event, being surrounded by people, would have put Emma on edge. Filled her with dread. But this felt different. She was looking forward to seeing Esther Redstone. Listening in on Kate and Abby’s lively banter. Watching Jeremy interact with some of the boys he’d met at church.

And seeing Jake again.

“Are you ready, Mom?” The screen door banged behind Jeremy and Shadow as they skidded into the kitchen.

“Ready to eat cold pancakes and sausage at a picnic table outside?” Emma grinned. “Can’t wait.”

Jeremy responded to her teasing with a grin of his own. “Don’t forget the camera so you can take pictures of me and Jake at the race.”

“I won’t.” Emma had already stashed it in her purse the night before. “If Shadow has food and water, I guess we’re ready to go.”

Shadow walked over to his dog bed in the corner and collapsed with a sigh, as if he knew he wasn’t invited along on this particular trip into town.

“Do you have your T-shirt, Mom?”

Her T-shirt.

Emma gulped. “I’m not sure where I put it.”

“I think it’s in the laundry room on top of the dryer,” Jeremy said helpfully.

So it was. Bravely, Emma pulled the shirt over her head and avoided the mirror in the front hall as she walked out the door.

The short drive to Mirror Lake seemed to take a lot longer than usual.

“I can’t believe people get up this early on a Saturday morning,” Emma muttered as she drove around the parking lot for the second time, trying to find an empty space.

“It’s the pancakes, Mom. And people want to be here early and get a good spot to watch the race.”

Emma finally found a narrow space between two pickup trucks and eased her car between the painted lines. Jeremy would have bailed out immediately, but she put her hand on his arm.

“Wait a second, Jeremy. I want to talk to you about something.”

In spite of his eagerness to be the first one in the breakfast line, Jeremy settled back against the seat. “What is it, Mom?”

“The race.” Emma wasn’t quite sure how to proceed. “I don’t want to discourage you, but you are competing against teams who do this every year. I just don’t want you to be too disappointed if you don’t win.”

“I know. Jake told me the same thing.”

Emma blinked. “He did?”

“Yup. Jake said it doesn’t matter if we win or lose, that we had a lot of fun building the raft and that’s the most important thing.”

Jake said.

The very words that Emma had once thought of as a threat now made her smile. “I guess that’s covered, then.”

“
Now
can we eat pancakes?”

“Now we can eat pancakes.”

They made their way over to the line of portable buffet tables, where Kate was doling out plates.

“You two are up bright and early this morning.” She smiled as Jeremy almost danced through the line. “
Jeremy
was up bright and early this morning,” Emma corrected. “He’s excited about the race but I’m surprised he didn’t sleep longer, considering how late he was up last night.”

“Last night,” Kate mused. “The water parade was beautiful. Did you see it?”

“Of course I did. You were there…” Emma’s voice trailed off when she caught Kate’s not-so-subtle meaning.

“All I’m saying is that from my vantage point, it looked to me like you were watching someone—I mean
something
—else.”

Emma almost smiled. “I’m leaving now.”

“You can run, but you can’t hide.” Kate’s lilting voice followed Emma’s retreat. “Nice shirt, by the way!”

As Emma searched for a place to sit, she spotted Esther Redstone and Abby sitting together under the pavilion. Abby immediately waved and patted an empty spot on the bench beside her.

“Over here, Emma! We saved a spot for you and Jeremy.”

The sweetness of the gesture stripped away any apprehension that Emma had been feeling. They lingered over breakfast and cups of hot coffee. More people began to arrive and Emma glanced at her watch, surprised to see that over an hour had passed.

There was still no sign of Jake, but she wasn’t worried. A few of the teams had begun to assemble down by the lake, but he and Jeremy would have plenty of time to set up before the start of the race.

After they finished eating, Abby left to track down Quinn, who’d volunteered to help with security. Emma decided to check on Jeremy, who had gone to the playground with Cody Lang.

Jeremy broke away from the group. “Is Jake here yet?”

Emma scanned the people setting up lawn chairs along the beach. A flutter of uneasiness skated down her spine. “Not yet.”

Chapter Twenty

“H
e’ll be here.” Jeremy didn’t look the least bit concerned that the start of the race was drawing closer.

“Let me check my cell phone. Maybe he tried to call.” Emma opened up her purse and fished around inside but all that turned up was her checkbook, sunglasses and a tube of lip gloss.

In her haste to leave, Emma realized she must have left her phone on the nightstand.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

“We can unload the trunk now, I guess.” Jeremy looked around. “The other teams are starting to get ready.”

Daniel joined up with them on the second trip to the car and helped them carry the rest of the supplies down to the beach.

“Well, folks, the annual raft race will be starting shortly.” Mayor Dodd, armed with a microphone on the makeshift stage, boomed out the announcement. “You may want to grab a lawn chair and make your way down to the lake. This event is a Reflection Days tradition and we’ve got two more teams signed up this year…”

Abby drew Emma to the side. “What’s the matter?” she whispered.

For Jeremy’s sake, Emma had tried to hide her concern over Jake’s continuing absence. But the race would be starting in less than half an hour and it was getting more difficult not to panic. If Jake didn’t show up, Jeremy would have to forfeit.

“Jake should be here by now.” Emma kept her voice low so Jeremy wouldn’t overhear. “I left my phone at home, so I don’t know if he tried to call.”

“Here. You can borrow mine.” Abby retrieved her cell phone from the tapestry bag looped over her shoulder.

“Thank you.” Emma took a few steps away and dialed the number. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Abby whispering something to Quinn. Her fiancé glanced at Emma and nodded before he strode away.

Emma closed the phone and handed it back to her. The question in Abby’s eyes had Emma shaking her head. “There’s no answer.”

By quarter to eleven, the mayor bellowed a first call to the teams signed up for the race.

Jeremy wilted against her side, eyes bright with unshed tears even as he struggled to keep a brave face. “I don’t think Jake is coming, Mom.”

Emma tamped down her rising panic. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. We have a few minutes yet. He’ll show up.” He
had
to show up.

Five minutes later, however, she was beginning to doubt her own words.

“All teams should begin to line up behind the yellow tape.” The announcer’s cheerful voice came over the loudspeaker.

“I’m sorry, Emma.” Abby’s soft voice barely cut through her panic.

Anger rose up inside of Emma, weaving through the anxiety that had already tied her stomach into knots. Jeremy had been counting on Jake. So had she. What was she supposed to tell her son? That all the time and effort he had put into planning for the race had been for nothing?

Abby squeezed her arm. “What should we do?” Her expression mirrored the helplessness that Emma was feeling.