Emma's Home (The Fairfield Series) (8 page)

Jake hung his head for a moment and chuckled, while Emma started squirming.

“Put me down if you’re going to laugh at me,” she exclaimed.

Jake’s eyes went back to her face that was blushing a deep red. He didn’t know how, but she looked more beautiful than ever, with her hair askew, her face flushed, her breasts heaving from indignity, and a dirt smudge on her cheek.

“Darlin’, there is nothing sisterly about how I feel for you, so you can get that idea right out of your head.”

Emma looked up, still blushing furiously. “Oh,” was the only thing she could think of to say. “Well, at least put me down.” she squirmed some more.

“Hell no, darlin’, you are right where I want you,” he replied. Jake looked into her beautiful face and continued. “Emma girl, I noticed you at the bar before we were introduced. Now I know Brandi made that night all kinds of awkward, and as a man I hated being put in the position of trying to be a gentleman and not cause a scene when what I really wanted to do was kiss you like I just did now. Looking back, I should’ve shoved her away and stepped right up to you. I also know that relationships and caring for my mom haven’t exactly been successful in the past, so I figured it didn’t matter. But I hated like hell that you thought I was a jerk.”

Emma had never heard him say so much at one time, and since she liked what he was saying, she just kept her mouth shut and her gaze on him.

“But as soon as I saw those men buzzin’ around you at the cookout, I knew I had to stake my claim.” At this Emma’s eyebrow rose up.

“Baby, I can see you’re about to get your panties in a bunch over what I just said, but I haven’t felt like this in a long time, and I wanna have time to explore it without constantly fightin’ men off of you.” At this Jake got quiet but held her gaze.

“I’ve been alone for years, but not really by choice,” Emma said. She gave a small smile as she looked at him, “But I’d like to see where this goes, too.”

Jake dropped his gaze for a moment, then looked back up, “Well, all right then.” His big speech over, he leaned back in and kissed her once more. This time is was tender, sweet and filled with promise. Emma realized that no matter which kind of kiss Jake gave her, she felt all of them right down to her core. It had been a long time since she had slept with anyone, but she found herself wondering if she was ready for Jake. She clung to him in desperation, as she kissed him, putting all the emotion she felt into the kiss.

Oh yeah, I’m ready for him.

Jake slowly lowered her to the ground, making sure her feet were securely under her before letting go. Emma gave a little moan at the loss of contact.

“Don’t worry, Emma girl. I’m going to have you soon, but when we fuck, it sure isn’t going to be next to the outside of a chimney in broad daylight.” Emma blushed again, and Jake laughed taking her by the hand.

“Come on girl. Let’s keep exploring this place.”

They went back inside, checking the house over carefully. The realtor had emailed the inspector’s report from a few months ago, so she knew the house was sound. She and Jake spent the afternoon talking about what she would need to fix first and what she would eventually like to do with the place. Jake liked the craftsmanship of the house. The windows and doors were straight and tight. The floors were solid.

He could see the look on her face as she measured the rooms, checked out the kitchen and bathroom, and walked around the yard. Her face showed delight, and he realized that it had been a long time since he had taken pleasure in watching someone else’s joy.

They walked out on the porch and sat down on the front steps. Emma had wanted to try out the porch swing with him, but he didn’t want to take a chance it would hold his weight.

Settling on the steps, they sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, allowing the afternoon sun to soak into them.

“Tell me about your mom,” she asked turning her body toward his.

“Well, it was soon after my dad died that she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.” He paused, looking at her. “I don’t want to bore you if you know about RA.”

“No, please continue,” Emma replied, placing her hand on his arm. “I don’t know anything about it.”

“Well, RA is a bitch of a disease that affects the joints. When she was first diagnosed, I read everything I could about it. The joints become swollen, inflamed, painful, and then eventually deformed.”

“Is there no cure?”

“No, although there are new drugs coming out all the time. She is on several of them and they will work for a while, and then eventually not seem to work anymore.”

“Jake, I admire you so much for taking care of her. I know what it is like to put everything on hold to help take care of family. I never saw it as a sacrifice, not even a duty. It was always just done out of love.”

Jake looked over at the beautiful woman sitting next to him, so closely he smelled the delicate scent of her shampoo. Their knees touched, and he found himself wanting to pull her into his lap, but the seriousness of their conversation held him back.

“She does not consider herself disabled, but she is not able to work anymore. She had been a secretary for years, but her fingers are now swollen and bent so that she cannot type or file. Sometimes if it is a bad day, she cannot grasp a phone. Some days she feels really good, but some days just getting out of bed is painful.”

Jake angled his body so that they were facing each other, knowing what he was about to say could possible end the beginning of their relationship, but he knew from past experience that it needed to be said now.

Emma looked expectantly into his face, knowing that what was on Jake’s mind was of utmost importance.

He looked down at Emma’s small hand, still on his arm, but noticed that she was gently smoothing her fingers over his skin, as though willing him to be at ease through her touch.

“Emma, you have to understand something. We said earlier that we both wanted to see where
this
could go,” pointing back and forth between each other. “But I do live at home with mom and don’t know when that will end. I had an apartment of my own for a while when I first came back to town, but spent more time at her place so I just gave it up. Most women consider that to be a deal breaker,” he admitted ruefully, but continued to hold her eyes.

Emma looked deeply into his baby blue eyes, knowing that in front of her was a man after her own heart. She leaned over and clasped his much larger hands in her tiny ones, holding them tightly.

“Jake, not only is that not a deal breaker with me, it makes me want to know you more than ever,” she said with a smile.

Jake looked at the smile that radiated throughout him and found himself wanting that smile to greet him every day. Leaning over, he placed a gentle kiss once again upon her lips. Emma felt the strength of his emotion wrapped up in that kiss and found herself wanting it to last and last. She moved closer, and he pulled her up on his lap. Deepening the kiss, Emma knew that she was feeling more for Jake than she had ever felt for any man before.

Finally breaking off the kiss, Jake leaned back against the railing and tucked Emma into him. They sat there in the afternoon sun and continued to talk about the house.

“There are almost ten acres to the property,” Emma said, looking over the reports from the realtor. “There is supposed to be a small hunting shack somewhere near the back of the property line, but I don’t want to walk that far today,” she added.

Jake made her promise that she would not wander around her woods without him. He glared at her, knowing how independent she was.

“No, no. Don’t worry, I have no desire to get lost in the woods.” she laughed.

“So what do you think?” he asked.

“I really like it. I can afford it and I feel like it is something that I can fix up, make it mine, finally have something that is all my own. It is only ten minutes away from Laurie’s place and only fifteen minutes away from the high school where I will be working in the fall,” Emma stated. She looked up at him questioningly. “So what do you think? I would really value your opinion.”

Jake reached out and pulled her in close. As independent and self-reliant as Emma was, Jake was honored that his opinion was important to her. “It’s a good place, Emma. And babe, if it puts a smile on that gorgeous face then I’m good.” He leaned down for another kiss, taking her mouth in a slow, gentle kiss that affected Emma more than she wanted to admit. She knew she could fall hard for Jake and wondered if she hadn’t already.

T
he foreclosure sale went through with no hassles and Emma found herself a first time homeowner. She was so busy with the new house that the next couple of weeks seem to fly by. She and Laurie spent almost every day at the new house, cleaning, painting, and refinishing. Emma had lived in rented apartments for so many years that the idea of painting thrilled her. Choosing a soft taupe for the living and dining room, she painted one accent wall in the dining area a deep hunter green. She carried the green color scheme into the kitchen, mixing it with yellow accents. She bought new appliances and arranged to have her furniture from storage delivered. Carol came over on her days off and helped as well.

Tom, Rob, and Jake, plus several of their firefighting and police friends came on the weekends to paint the outside. Emma chose pale yellow for the house with green for the shutters. It wasn’t unusual for her to look outside and see a few of the men with yellow in their hair and green all over their hands. One hot Saturday afternoon, she looked out of the kitchen window seeing Jake, Tom, and Rob all shirtless. All three were gorgeous men, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of Jake’s naked chest. Bulky muscles covered his arms and pecs, with just a spattering of sandy colored chest hair tapering down towards his…

“Emma, what are you staring at with your mouth hanging open?” Laurie interrupted as she and Carol walked into the room. Emma, embarrassed at having been caught gawking, snapped her jaw shut and turned around, trying to look innocent.

Carol peeking out of the window at the three Greek gods in the yards, leaned in and said, “Yummy!” All three women laughed and were unashamed to continue enjoying the view as they finished painting the rooms.

Emma desperately wanted flowers in her yard having lived for years in the city where the only flowers were at the park. Knowing that Helen loved planting, she turned to her for advice.

“What are your favorite flowers?” Helen asked. Emma, feeling silly, had to answer that she didn’t know. Helen patted her hand and said, “Well then, dearie, what is your favorite color?”

At this, Emma smiled answered, “I love every color of flower!”

Helen laughed and said, “Leave everything to me – I will take care of your garden!”

Helen brought over plants in vivacious colors and began to fill up the old flower gardens around the yard and in front of the porch. This riot of color brought new life to the discarded property, creating the vision that Emma had for her home.

Helen and Roger’s grandson Brad came over several afternoons to help his grandmother in the yard and to mow the grass. Emma enjoyed getting to know him and found out about the high school where she would be working. Rob’s sister, Suzy, was a year younger than Brad, and she would show up on occasion as well. She was a cute, likeable girl and it didn’t take Emma long to realize that Suzy had eyes for Brad. Brad tried to be nonchalant about Suzy, but his eyes would follow her whenever she was over visiting.

Emma never had such a support system before. When she thought back to all those years where she was alone raising Laurie, and then when they were struggling to finish college, it brought her to tears. Now she looked around and realized a community of friends were all helping out.

When Jake was there, he would walk by just to check up on her. He was a very touch feely boyfr… well, Emma did not know what to call him. He came to see her every day when he was not on duty and spent most of the weekends with her helping with the house.

Jake did not want her moving in until she had a security system in place. The closest neighbor was half a mile from her house. The decision about a security system quickly devolved into an argument.

Emma tried to be upfront about her finances. She had saved enough for the down payment and budgeted for appliances, but a security system was out of the question. Jake’s solution was to pay for it himself, which made her uncomfortable.

“Babe, I just want you safe. You live out here, in your dream house in the woods, but you
are
a woman living alone.”

In the end, Jake got his way and Emma wondered aloud if he was going to win all their arguments.

“Only the ones about your safety, Emma girl,” Jake assured her, as he pulled her in for a hug, kissing the top of her head.

*

One week later, it was move-in day. Jake wanted to be there when the movers came with her furniture, but he was called out on a case. Emma did not mind; she was so used to dealing with everything on her own, and Laurie was coming over to keep her company.