Emma's Home (The Fairfield Series) (5 page)

At the bakery, the pastries were freshly baked each day, and the coffee was so much better than the franchise shops. Bernie’s Bakery was owned by Bernadette, Rob’s mom.

One day, sitting in the hotel office with Roger and Helen enjoying the coffee and pastries, Emma saw a picture of a teenager on their desk. She asked who the handsome young man was.

“That’s our grandson, Brad,” Roger answered proudly. “You’ll see him once you start working – he goes to the high school where you will be.”

“He is just as handsome as his grandfather,” Emma noted. “How old is he?”

Roger, smiling at the compliment, had to think for a second. “Sweet pea, how old is Brad now? Is he fifteen or sixteen?” he yelled towards the back of the office where Helen was working on the books.

“He’s almost eighteen,” Emma heard Helen reply from the back.

Roger just shook his head. “I don’t know where the years go! It seems just yesterday his mom, Wendy, was that age.” Emma leaned over the counter and patted his hand.

She smiled and said, “I feel the same about Laurie.”

“How do you feel about me?” Laurie asked as she walking into the office, looking amazing as always. Laurie was dressed in white capris with a pale yellow peasant blouse, just low enough to show off a hint of cleavage. Always conscious of being short, she paired her outfit with matching yellow wedge sandals with a four inch heel. Laurie had her hair pulled up in a high pony tail, knowing it was going to be a scorcher of a day.

Emma hugged her. “We were just noticing how quickly the years are passing.”

“Oh God, surely you don’t feel old yet?” Laurie asked. Laurie always felt a little guilty that Emma had given up so many years to raise her, even though she knew Emma dearly loved her.

“No, I don’t feel old! Well, at least not as old as some people think I am!” she laughed.

“Emma, you are never going to let Jake live that down!” Laurie giggled. “Anyway, I am here to take to you Bernie’s Bakery to pick up stuff to take to the firehouse. I told Rob we would visit this morning.”

Emma and Laurie hopped into Laurie’s yellow VW bug and headed down the street. The shops were starting to open, and Emma liked the friendly small town feel of downtown Fairfield. There were lots of strip malls on the outskirts of Fairfield, but Emma appreciated the quaintness of the downtown area. They parked and walked towards the bakery.

Emma and Laurie made quite a pair walking down the street, turning the eyes of several men passing them. Emma was dressed in robin’s-egg blue shorts paired with a white eyelet tank top, both hugging her curves. Her dark brown hair swung around her shoulders, complimented the subtle makeup she wore. She had never gained the confidence that Laurie had wearing high heels, so Emma’s three-inch white wedges did not give her much height, but her toned legs looked amazing nonetheless.

The happy pair entered the bakery. Emma met Bernie, Rob’s mom and had the chance to chat with her for a little bit before they headed over to the firehouse. Bernie was a force to be reckoned with. She was a middle-age dynamo, bagging pastries and yelling out coffee orders to her barista for all the customers in line. Bernie had the same black hair that her son Rob had, with only a few sprinkles of gray. Her eyes were bright and friendly, and she looked like the type of person who never met a stranger. Her shop was welcoming, and Emma had a chance to look around before they picked up the food.

Images of a cup of hot coffee surrounded by cupcakes decorated the bright pink awning. The pink theme continued inside the shop. The chairs were all painted white and while the table legs were also white, the table tops were painted pastel pink. The soft pink walls were filled with pictures of pastries that immediately made customers want to indulge. The counter ran along one side of the shop; the glass cases filled to the brim with cookies, cupcakes, muffins, and other assorted goodies. The smell of homemade pastries baking in the back made Emma’s mouth water.

“Are you sure we have to take goodies to the firehouse?” she joked to Laurie. “Can’t we sit here and eat them all ourselves?”

Laughing, Laurie answered back. “I know! When I come in here, I know I am going to gain weight just by breathing!”

“How’s my girl?” Bernie greeted Laurie with a big hug. Turning to Emma, she enveloped her in a hug as well. “Oh, you must be Emma. I have to tell you that Mac and I are so happy that this girl came into our Rob’s life!”

Emma could not help but embrace the older woman back, feeling proud of her role in Laurie’s upbringing. The women talked for a little while in the back of the shop. Bernie greeted most customers who came in, introducing Emma to many of them. Emma could see the look of surprise in quite a few eyes as she was introduced as Laurie’s aunt.

“Did the whole town think I was older?” She smirked at Laurie. Laurie just rolled her eyes and laughed back. Bernie, Emma, and Laurie packed up pastries and coffee thermoses to take to the firehouse.

“Give my son and husband a kiss for me!” Bernie ordered in a happy voice.

“Husband?” Emma asked.

“Mac, Bernie’s husband, is the fire chief in Fairfield,” Laurie explained. Loaded down with goodies and goodbye hugs all around, Laurie and Emma left the shop.

They showed up with a basket of Bernie’s goodies and were immediately surrounded by hungry firemen. Emma liked being swarmed by a group of very handsome men of all ages. Suddenly there were lots of helping hands, taking the pastry baskets out of Emma’s hands and the coffee containers out of Laurie’s hands. Rob took the coffee from Laurie and passed it to another fireman.

“Here Pete, take this. I’ve got to hug my woman!”

The men led Emma into the firehouse kitchen that was upstairs and she helped set up the table. She saw a well-stocked kitchen, with a large industrial stove and refrigerator. In the center of the room was a huge table that could seat the whole company.

Right then, a large, barrel-chested older man, wearing navy pants and a navy shirt with the FFD logo stenciled over the pocket, walked in from the back office and bellowed, “Where’s my wife’s coffee?”

Emma jumped at the loud voice behind her and whirled around. His sparkling blue eyes settled on hers, and she once again found herself enveloped in a huge hug.

“Ah darlin’, you must be our Laurie’s Aunt Emma.” Mac was a big man, in very good shape with the good looks that made it easy to see why Rob was so handsome.

Emma loved hearing how Rob’s parents referred to Laurie as theirs. She had wanted Laurie to find love and acceptance in the world, and it seemed that Fairfield held it all for her. She couldn’t help but wonder if it would offer the same for her. A vision of a large, quiet, handsome police detective came into her mind. She had not spoken to him since the night at the bar and the swimming pool, but she had seen him occasionally in town. He always smiled and nodded his head at her, but she could not tell if he was interested or not.

“Earth to Emma,” Laurie giggled, waving her hand in front of Emma’s face. Emma blushed and looked around to see who may have seen her daydreaming. Everyone else seemed to be busy eating the last crumbs of the pastries and heading back out into the area of the firehouse that housed the fire trucks. Mac came up to her and thanked her again for bringing the treats for his men.

“Don’t be a stranger!” he boomed to her as he headed back into his office. Rob walked Laurie and Emma back to their car. Emma hopped in to give them a moment of privacy, which they immediately took advantage of. Laurie hopped in, smiling.

“You look like the cat that ate a canary,” Emma accused.

“Oh, it’s just that Rob and I decided to throw a cookout this weekend and invite all our friends and family. That way you can meet more people.”

“Is that all?” Emma asked. She knew when Laurie was up to something.

“Well, Rob mentioned how it would have made Jake crazy to see all the firemen surrounding you today. So I suggested that we see exactly how Jake will act when we have everyone over.”

“Laurie Rose Dodd,” Emma said in her best authoritative voice. Laurie knew that voice well. She assured Emma that they were going to have a cookout anyway, but that they just wanted to see confident Jake squirm. Emma shook her head – she knew when Laurie had her mind set on something, there was no changing it. And secretly, she would like to see how Jake would react as well.

E
mma was thrilled to meet with a realtor to help her find a house in Fairfield. She had talked to Laurie about wanting to buy a home, and with Laurie’s emphatic blessing, she was ready to settle down. And she couldn’t think of a better place to settle than near Laurie. Emma had been pinching pennies since she became Laurie’s guardian at the age of eighteen. She shopped sales, bought from warehouse grocery stores, kept expenditures to a minimum, saving most of her tips from her waitressing job and most of her salary from her counseling job last year. Having to work to cover the costs of housing, living expenses, her education, and the necessities for Laurie taught Emma the value of hard work and saving.

The realtor, Linda, assuming that Emma with a job in the Fairfield school system, would want to find a house in a nice community, and was surprised to learn that Emma dreamed of buying a small, fixer-upper with some land around it. Linda was determined to find just what Emma wanted, and with help from Laurie, they poured over possibilities. They looked at several properties, but Emma had rejected them all – too expensive, too much land, too much of a fixer-upper. Finally on Saturday morning, the realtor called with another property for Emma to look at. Linda was going to be gone over the weekend, but told Emma that since the property was abandoned, she could check it out herself. Emma took down the address and told Linda that she would go look at it on Sunday since Saturday was Laurie and Rob’s cookout.

She was looking forward to the cookout – Jake would be there. Each night at about ten when she went out to the hotel pool to swim, she saw his truck parked across the street. She would swim, then get out of the pool and give him a little wave as she walked back to her room. Once in her room, she peered out of the hotel window to see his truck pull away. Smiling to herself, she knew this was his way of trying to keep her safe.

Saturday afternoon Emma headed out of town to Laurie and Rob’s house. They lived outside of Fairfield, off a country road with a long driveway leading to a restored two story farm house. The house was painted white with green shutters and a wraparound porch. Laurie and Rob had fallen in love with the place and had spent the last several months working on the house and landscaping. Mature trees surrounded it. New flower gardens were planted along the front walk and around the porch. Emma made her way up the front steps, carrying her contribution to the cookout – her homemade cherry pie. Helen allowed her to use their oven that morning to bake it. To show her appreciation, she had baked two pies. One to take with her and one she left in their office with a little note, knowing Roger would love her gift.

“Come on through.” She heard Laurie’s voice yell from the back of the house. Emma made her way to the kitchen and set her pie down on the counter. “Emma’s here,” Laurie yelled out into the back yard.

“Laurie,” Emma admonished, “You don’t have to scream my arrival out to everyone.”

“Well,” Laurie grinned, “I happen to know one man out there that is very interested in your arrival.”

“And who would that be?” Emma questioned, while secretly wondering if it were a gorgeous mountain of a man who just happened to be a protective policeman.

“Oh, I think you know that Jake is interested in you!” Laurie insisted.

“Gee, and I didn’t think he liked
older
women,” Emma shot back.

Laurie rolled her eyes, still stirring potato salad. “Yeah, well, I have just started to forgive him for that blunder!” Laurie paused in her stirring and looked at Emma, concern on her face. “I know he really feels bad about how that evening went. What
do
you think of him, Emma?”

Emma thought for a moment, then sighed. “Laurie, I’ve been independent for the past thirteen years. I have never had time for a relationship, and the few times I tried, they failed miserably!”

“Emma, you were always trying to be with a man who needed you to take care of him like you always take care of everyone else. You need to find someone who is strong enough to take care of you.”

“Like Jake?” Emma asked. She felt conflicted about being with a man who liked to take control. On one hand it felt so nice to have someone want to look after her, but all she knew was how to do things herself.

Looking through the sliding glass door, she recognized Jake’s masculine profile outside with Rob. Khaki cargo shorts slung low on his hips and a tight navy t-shirt stretched tight over his chest and arms made him easy to see and easy on the eyes. Emma yearned to run her fingers through his sandy blonde hair….especially if those arms were wrapped around her as well. The sunglasses he was wearing kept her from seeing his expression. Sighing, Emma shook her head.

“Maybe I just don’t know how to be in a relationship without giving up my independence,” she whispered.

Laurie enveloped her in a big hug and said, “Well for today, let’s just enjoy friends!” The two women hugged and then broke apart laughing and started carrying food out to the deck.

*