Love Finds a Home (17 page)

“Mmm.” Abby tossed Emma a “so there” look over her shoulder. “I brought some flowerpots from the inn so we can display the stepping stones as if they’re in a garden. We can even have them leading up to the booth.”

“That’s a great idea.” Esther nodded approvingly. “Emma? What do you think?”

Emma glanced at Abby and any reservations she may have had were overcome by the infectious sparkle in the other woman’s eyes.

“It
is
a great idea,” she agreed.

“I’ll be right back. The flowers are in the back of my car.”

Abby dashed off and a white paper stick topped
with a gigantic puff of spun sugar was thrust under Emma’s nose.

“Cotton candy?”

Kate had returned.

“I can’t. Just looking at that makes my teeth hurt,” Emma confessed.

“But it will make your taste buds sing.” Kate grinned. “Where did Abby run off to so fast?”

“She went to get the flowers.” Esther poked her head out from behind the curtain of the booth.

“What can I do?”

“Someone made a last-minute donation,” Esther said. “The church van is filled with crocheted pot holders that we need to find a place for.”

“I’m on it.” Kate saluted her with the cotton candy before handing it to Emma.

“I wish I had half that girl’s energy,” Esther said as Kate bounded toward the parking lot.

Emma raised an eyebrow. “You do.”

“There are days these old bones wouldn’t agree with you.” Esther began to drape the afghans over the rungs of the antique wooden ladder Abby had set up in a corner of the booth.

Emma opened one of the boxes on the grass and pulled a brightly colored knitted blanket out. “Who made this one? I love the pattern.”

“I did,” Esther said. “And between you and me, I had more trouble with it. I must have started over a dozen times. Almost gave up that many, too. The only reason I stuck it out was because my grandmother designed the pattern. She’s the one who taught me how to knit.”

“I would like to buy this one,” Emma said impulsively. “If you don’t mind selling it to me, of course.”

“Sorry.” Esther was already shaking her head. “I can’t sell it to you.”

“Oh—”

“But I will give it to you. As a gift.”

“Esther, no. I would rather pay for it.”

Esther considered her for a moment. “I suppose you would,” she said at length. “But I don’t sell my afghans to friends, I give them away. That’s another thing my grandmother taught me.” Friends.

Emma offered a tentative smile as she hugged the blanket against her chest. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Esther looked pleased as she finished arranging the display of afghans. She turned her attention to the garden stones Emma had brought over to the park after work. “You do beautiful work, too. Did your mother teach you how to do this? Or did you take a class?”

“I taught myself. It’s just a hobby,” Emma said. “Something to fill the hours after Jeremy goes to bed.”

Esther acted as if she hadn’t heard her. One gnarled finger traced the uneven fragments of glass in the design. “Broken pieces of pottery—something that most people wouldn’t see any value in—is used to create something new and beautiful. I look at these and I’m reminded that God does the same thing in our lives when we trust Him.”

The words, soft as they were, cut Emma to the core. Maybe that was why she couldn’t prevent the words that spilled out.

“I’m afraid to trust Him.”

Emma couldn’t believe she had said the words out loud. She glanced at Esther, knowing she would see
disapproval. Or disgust. What kind of terrible person admitted that they were afraid to trust God? The creator of the entire universe?

But there was neither disapproval nor disgust on Esther’s face. All Emma saw was understanding. And maybe a glimmer of humor. “Then I suggest you tell Him that.”

Emma choked. “I can’t!”

“You think it would surprise Him? When we tell God how we feel, we aren’t telling Him anything that He doesn’t already know.” Esther smiled. “I love the story of the father who came to Jesus and asked Him to heal his son. The man tells Him that he believes—and in the very next breath, he asks Jesus to help him overcome his unbelief. He realized he didn’t have a lot of faith but he knew who to turn to for help. That prayer was heartfelt. Honest.

“You want Jeremy to be honest with you, don’t you? Not only do you want to laugh with him, you want him to come to you when he’s hurting or upset. To share his heart with you. That’s the kind of relationship God wants to have with
His
children.”

Emma’s throat swelled.

Her ten-year-old son had said the same thing the night they had prayed together. If only she could have that kind of faith. Simple. Uncomplicated.

Not at all like life.

She had always felt so…alone. Her father had treated her as if she were excess baggage he was obligated to haul from place to place. Other than those brief years with Brian, as long as she could remember, she had been alone.

“I just don’t understand
why,
” she whispered.

Esther’s eyes filled with tears. “You can tell Him that, too.”

Jake spotted Emma talking with Esther Redstone in one of the craft booths set up near the pavilion.

Caught up in the whirlwind of pre–Reflection Days preparations, he hadn’t seen much of Emma over the course of the week. The few times he had stopped by the house to spend time with Jeremy, Emma had been in her workroom, making stepping stones for the craft show.

Or had she been avoiding him?

Jake hadn’t meant to share so many details about his past. If his goal was to get Emma to see beyond his badge, he’d made a mess of it. All he had done was give her more reasons to keep him at arm’s length.

Keep working in Emma’s heart, Lord. I’ll try to stay out of the way.

“Are you avoiding her?” Kate had managed to sneak up on him.

Jake didn’t bother to feign ignorance. Not with Kate. “No.”

“Is that the whole truth and nothing but the truth?” Abby appeared beside her friend.

He’d been ambushed.

“I can arrest you both for disturbing the peace.” Jake scowled. “My peace.”

Abby’s smile remained serene. “You are welcome to bring Emma and Jeremy over to the lodge tonight to watch the water parade. We’ve got the best view from the beach.”

“Did I say I was going to the water parade?”

“Everyone goes to the water parade,” Kate informed him.

“Everyone but Emma,” Jake pointed out.

“Maybe no one’s ever asked her.”

Jake’s eyes narrowed. “Emma doesn’t like social events. I doubt I could convince her.” Especially now.

Kate grinned. “Mmm. If I remember correctly, that’s what you said about the dog.”

“Jake invited us to go to the water parade with him tonight. It’s going to be awesome, Mom.” Jeremy flopped down on the grass beside Emma. “Miss Porter is going to let us watch it from her dock and she’s going to make s’mores and everything.”

“Is she?” Emma shot “Miss Porter” a look.

“That’s because Miss Porter’s bed-and-breakfast happens to have the best view of the parade.” Abby, busy arranging pots of autumn mums in front of the booth, didn’t appear the least repentant.

“Can we go?”

“I don’t know,” Emma hedged. “I’ll have to think about it. The parade doesn’t start until ten. That’s a late night.”

“Think of it as a last hurrah before school starts,” Kate interjected. “There’s a bonfire at the park before the parade. A lot of people pack a picnic supper and make an entire evening of it.”

“The water parade is beautiful.” Esther joined the chorus. “Some of the business owners get quite creative.”

“Thank you.” Kate dropped a curtsy and grinned. “The Grapevine did win first place in the most original
category last year. The girls from my book club have been helping me decorate the float this year. And I need all my friends to cheer us on.”

“See, Mom?” Jeremy’s expression became earnest. “Kate needs us.”

“That’s right. Kate needs you.” The café owner aimed a saucy wink at Emma.

“Jake’s never seen the parade before, either,” Jeremy added for good measure.

Everyone waited expectantly for her decision.

“It looks like I’m outnumbered.” Emma sighed. “You can go.”

Jeremy’s smile dimmed. “But he wants both of us to watch the parade with him. He said so.”

Emma wasn’t so sure about that.

Several times during the week Jake had stopped over after work to help Jeremy with the raft, but he hadn’t exchanged more than a few polite words with her.

Not for the first time, Emma wondered if Jake regretted telling her about his friend, Sean.

After he had left that night, Emma had stayed in the barn for another hour, thinking about what he had said. He had a reason to be angry. Bitter. Instead, he had turned to God. Gave Him credit for being able to release those feelings and move forward.

Emma moved over to one of the tables, her hands unsteady as she began to rearrange a display of stained-glass suncatchers.

If she were honest with herself, she knew that she had been holding on to those same kind of feelings. Six years had gone by since Brian’s death but she was afraid to look ahead. Afraid that if she did, she would forget him. Afraid that if she let go of her grief, she wouldn’t have anything else to hold on to.

He reached out His hand and He hasn’t let go…

Jake’s faith stirred up that familiar longing again. Was it that simple? Reaching out to God and trusting that He would be there?

“Mom?” Emma felt a tug on her arm and realized that Jeremy was still waiting for an answer. “I don’t want to go to the parade without you.”

“I’ll go along. If you’re sure that Jake invited both of us.”

“He said he’d find the perfect spot for the three of us to watch the parade. And you’re one of the three of us,” Jeremy said.

“You can’t argue that logic,” Kate murmured.

Abby clapped her hands together. “And I can help you find that perfect spot to watch the parade!”

Chapter Nineteen

“J
ake’s here!”

After two weeks, Emma should have been getting used to hearing the familiar refrain but her heart reacted the same way every time.

“Don’t forget your sweatshirt,” she called as her son streaked past.

“I won’t.”

Emma forced herself to take a deep breath. It was silly to become rattled over the thought of spending the evening with Jake.

“Look what Jake got for us!” Jeremy had returned, only this time he was waving a T-shirt over his head. He thrust it into her hands. “Isn’t it cool?”

Emma examined the garment. It boasted wide red, white and blue stripes. But mostly red. Emblazoned on the front in bold block letters were the words
TEAM VICTORY.
“Wow.”

“I know. It’s for the race tomorrow.” Jeremy could barely contain his excitement.

“It looks a little big,” Emma murmured.

“That one is yours.” Jake sauntered into the kitchen.

“Mine?” The word came out in a squeak.

“I had one made for each of us.”

“Wow.” Emma said it again.

“I’ll bet none of the other teams are going to have shirts like this,” Jeremy said.

“Probably not,” Emma agreed.

Jake winked at her. “You can thank me later.”

“I…” Emma forgot what she’d been about to say, her thoughts dissolving in the warmth of his smile.

“What’s the matter, Mom?”

“Nothing.” Nothing that she could explain, anyway. Emma grabbed her purse. “We better get going.”

Jake took one look at the line of cars lining the driveway at the lodge and figured Abby had invited the entire town, not just a few friends, to watch the parade from her property!

“Abby is amazing,” Emma said, her gaze sweeping the landscaped grounds in disbelief. “She should have entered a float in the parade.”

“She didn’t have to,” Jake said as he followed Emma across the yard. “Look at how many lights she used.”

Luminaries hung from the branches of the trees around the lodge and white lights had been strung on the boathouse. The smell of a campfire permeated the air, dispersed by the warm breeze blowing across the lake.

As if on cue, their hostess breezed up to them.

“There’s lemonade and cookies on the picnic tables,” Abby said. “You can sit anywhere you want to but I promised that I would share an inside tip. The best view of the parade is from that little rise over by the cabins.”

“Really?” Emma flicked a glance in that direction. “I don’t see anyone else over there.”

“That’s strange,” Abby said, the picture of innocence. “I guess you’ll be the first ones.”

Why did Jake have the feeling they would be the
only
ones?

“Thanks,” he said drily.

She flashed a sunny smile. “Anytime, Jake. Now, I have to help Quinn make the s’mores. If you need anything, let me know.”

Abby disappeared in the direction of the campfire, leaving the three of them alone again.

“There’s Cody.” Jeremy pointed to a shadowy figure waving to them from the end of the dock. “Can I go and talk to him for a few minutes?”

Emma didn’t hesitate. “All right.”

Jake wanted to hug her. He had noticed a tentative friendship spring up between Jeremy and Cody Lang and he wanted to encourage it. It looked as though Emma did, too, and was willing to put aside some of her reservations to let the boys get to know each other better.

“I’ll be over there,” she added, pointing to the spot Abby had suggested.

“Okay.” Jeremy headed down to the lake and Jake fell in step with Emma as she moved toward the secluded spot under a circle of towering white pine.

He hadn’t expected her to accept his invitation to the parade, but suspected Jeremy had had something to do with her decision.

Which was why Jake had asked him first.

There was a burst of applause as the first float in the parade chugged around the curve of the shoreline. Strings of multicolored lights fastened to a frame
transformed the ordinary fishing boat into a coffee cup, complete with a curl of “smoke” fashioned from strips of filmy white cloth that fluttered gently in the breeze.