Why had he let his mom and Ben convince him it would be okay to fall in love with Emily?
Like I could have stopped it.
As soon as Jake arrived home, he found Joe’s number on his phone. Pressing the talk button, he waited for the call to connect.
“Hello?”
“Joe? Jake Winters. I felt you should know...” Jake swallowed hard to clear the lump in his throat. “Emily insisted I take her back to her condo after the funeral today.”
Joe let out a heavy sigh. “I had feeling she was going to do that. I had hoped she would take a little longer to recuperate at your ranch. Give herself some time, you know? But I should have known. She can be stubborn.”
“She told me about Trent,” Jake blurted. He wanted Joe to know he hadn’t abandoned Emily. That he understood what she was going through.
“Did she tell you everything?”
“I assume so. She told me how he helped her after her father’s death, and about their... engagement.” The word felt like barbed wire coming out of his mouth. “She told me about the difficulty she had breaking it off when she realized she didn’t love him and for not being able to help him with his gambling problem.”
“So you understand why she needs to distance herself from you?”
“Yes,” Jake sighed.
“She needs some time. Emily needs to work through everything without getting her feelings for you all mixed up in it.”
“She said she cared for me, but...”
“She does. But she’s afraid to let herself care too much because she can’t separate her feelings for you from her grief. She’s not sure her attraction to you is genuine or if she’s trying to replace all she’s lost.”
Jake pictured how small Emily looked standing on her front porch. “I don’t want her to be alone.”
“She won’t be. Beth and I will insist she come stay with us for a while. If she refuses, then Beth will stay at her place with her. Thank you for taking such good care of her.”
“I feel better knowing someone is looking after her.”
“Your concern tells me you care about her too. Would you like to talk about your feelings, Jake?”
Jake almost laughed out loud. He didn’t need to talk through his feelings. He was well aware he was in love with Emily. That’s why her decision to shut him out hurt so bad. He didn’t need a shrink to tell him how painful this would be.
“No thanks. I do care a great deal about Emily, but I understand why she is doing this. I don’t like it, but I’ll respect her wishes.”
“If you ever feel the need to talk about any of this, call me. Sometimes, talking about things can help put them into perspective.”
If Jake wanted to talk, he’d talk to his mom. Although, he didn’t think his mom’s listening ear or all the hot cocoa in the world could take away the darkness pressing in on him right now. The thought of never seeing Emily again sucked the air from his lungs.
Jake ended the call. He’d work through this on his own. Over the years, he’d learned the best way to work through something was by doing just that. Work.
But with the extra hands they’d hired this summer and Zane’s efficiency, everything was running smoothly. He’d appreciated that while Emily was here, but now he longed for something to demand his undivided attention. He glanced at the clock. Daniel would be doing his evening workout soon. Perfect. After that, Jake would go for a long ride.
He’d find something on this ranch to do.
Chapter 32
“Do you trust God?”
“What?” Emily looked up at Joe.
Why had he brought up her faith, or lack thereof, again? Emily talked with Joe almost daily, but she was at an impasse. She was coming to grips with her loss, but she couldn’t understand why God had taken away her entire family. And she couldn’t move forward in her life when she felt so unsettled.
They sat in Joe’s office in matching armchairs, facing each other. Joe leaned forward, holding her gaze. “I know we don’t often discuss God and religion in these offices, but you’ve suffered great loss, leaving you with deep spiritual wounds. Unfortunately, those wounds don’t heal as easily as broken bones.” He tipped his head toward her arm.
