Amy waited until Debbie was out of earshot before speaking. “Nicely done. I’m sure it chafes her to think of Jake spending his evenings with you. I wish I’d had your confidence when I first met her. She intimidated me for the longest time.”
“Goodness gracious. I can see why nobody likes her. And I can see why you were intimidated by her, but I bet she has much lower self-esteem than you think.”
Self-esteem aside, Emily was glad Jake wasn’t interested in the beautiful young widow. The tension between her and Jake was taut enough. Emily didn’t want to be jealous of another woman.
Chapter 15
Jake walked out of the stables, Zane at his side. “I don’t know. Hercules isn’t responding to my normal training methods. He’s as stubborn as his sire.”
“Then you be equally as stubborn. But don’t give up. He’ll come around.”
Zane didn’t talk much, but when he did, Jake listened. As usual, Zane was right. Jake couldn’t give up on the stallion no matter how stubborn he was. He needed to be patient.
Patience.
His gaze shifted toward the house as his thoughts turned to Emily. She was being incredibly patient, waiting for her memory to return and word from her brother.Not that she has a choice.
His pulse kicked up a notch when he spotted her on the back patio, relaxing on a lounge chair. “Hold off saddling Hercules, Zane. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
It wouldn’t do to have Emily occupying his thoughts while he worked with the stubborn colt.I’ll justsay hi,see if she needs anything, then get back to work.
Thirty minutes later, Jake stretched his legs out in front of him as he told Emily yet another story of Robert convincing him to do something stupid.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d sat on the patio in the middle of the afternoon drinking lemonade.I’ve got work to do, so why am I still here?
Except for their late-night hot cocoa and their drive two nights ago, Jake hadn’t talked to Emily much. She slept late most mornings, napped in the afternoons, and went to bed early.
Her body needed the rest to heal, and it was time for her nap now, but Jake didn’t want her to go in any more than he wanted to get back to work. He was grateful his mother hadn’t returned yet from her ride, or she would insist Emily go rest.
Emily must be one heck of a therapist.
She was so easy to talk to. When he was with her, he felt like he was the only person in the world that mattered and everything he said was important to her.
Jake set down his lemonade and studied her. The worry lines etched between her brows had become permanent features. From a distance, she looked at ease here on the back patio, but the way she twisted her hair around her fingers showed the tension she tried to hide. It had been a week since the accident with no word from her brother.
A bad feeling settled in Jake’s gut.Why was it taking so long to find him?
The unmistakable purr of Debbie’s Porsche reached his ears moments before it appeared near the stables.
Jake groaned.
“What’s the matter?” Concern laced Emily’s words.
“That car belongs to Wid-... uh... Debbie Wheeler. I keep a horse stabled for her.”
“Ah, Widow Wheeler. Amy told me about her. Oops, I forgot to tell you she stopped by yesterday looking for you.” Emily pressed her fingers to her smiling lips. “She didn’t stay long. When she couldn’t find you, she left a message with me to tell you to call her. Sorry, I forgot.” Emily didn’t look one bit sorry. In fact, she had a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
A flush warmed his neck. “I saw her coming, and I hid.”
“I thought you disappeared rather quickly. So, do you need some... widow repellent?”
Jake shot her a questioning look. Would it deter Debbie if she found him enjoying Emily’s company in the middle of the afternoon when he was usually too busy to pay Debbie any attention? Or would Debbie double her efforts to get his attention in the afternoons?
He had no desire for Debbie to find him, with or without Emily. Jake’s palms itched with the urge to hide or at least look too busy to spend time with Debbie. He picked up his hat and stood, contemplating hiding in the house.
“Jake.” Emily’s urgent voice snapped his attention back to her. “Come here, I need you.”
Jake tossed his hat back on the table and dropped to one knee by her lounge chair. “What’s wrong?” He searched her face for signs of pain or alarm. Had she remembered something?
