Love Finds a Home Read Online Free Page A

will.”
    “And remember not to go any farther than the café.”
    “I won’t.”

    He’ll be fine, Emma told herself as the heavy door swung shut behind him.
    Charlie Pendleton didn’t have a lot to say but below the dusty brim of the man’s faded cap were eyes as sharp and watchful as a school crossing guard. Not to mention that his first stop was located kitty-corner to the police station…
    Emma’s heart dipped as an image of Jake Sutton flashed in her mind. And she didn’t appreciate him intruding on her thoughts like this, any more than she had his unexpected appearance on her doorstep.
    Although he had left a few minutes after Jeremy had returned with the bucket of water for the apple tree, his departure hadn’t given Emma much relief. Because for some reason, Jake Sutton had become Jeremy’s favorite topic of conversation over the past few days.
    He hadn’t even been disappointed that there were no flowers to take to the cemetery. Jake’s unexpected but creative gesture had impacted Jeremy in a way that Emma hadn’t anticipated.
    It had impacted her, too, but not in the same way.
    From what she had seen, Jake didn’t seem to care about things like rules or expectations or even simple protocol, for that matter. He reminded her of the timber wolves that had been introduced into the heavily wooded northern counties, but gradually migrated into more populated areas, unmindful of any boundaries, natural or man-made. Not necessarily dangerous, but unpredictable.
    Only Emma didn’t want unpredictable. Not anymore.
     
    On his way back to the department, Jake spotted Charlie Pendleton’s truck parked in front of theGrapevine Café. Unlike his route, the man’s appearance in town never followed a set pattern or schedule.
    The ice-cream truck had rattled through town on several occasions, each time pulling Jake into a surreal Mayberry moment. A year ago, Jake wouldn’t have believed that a town like Mirror Lake actually existed.
    Or that he would be living there.
    He slowed down as he got closer and noticed a group of larger, middle-school-age boys push their way through the children patiently waiting to place their order. Jake recognized them immediately. Too young to get jobs and yet too old for babysitters, the boys’ favorite pastime seemed to be hanging out at the park or getting into mischief.
    By the time Jake pulled over and hopped out of the squad car, they had formed a tight circle around someone at the back of the line.
    One of them spotted Jake and sank his elbow into his friend’s side.
    “Hey…” The boy’s voice snapped off when he saw Jake walking purposefully toward them.
    The circle parted immediately, giving Jake a clear view of the unlucky kid who had been trapped inside. Jeremy Barlow.
    The boy looked more worried than hurt, but Jake’s protective instincts—instincts he hadn’t known that he possessed until now—kicked into high gear.
    “What’s going on?” He turned his attention to the largest boy in the group.
    “Nothing. We’re just goofing around.” As if to prove his point, he gave Jeremy a friendly cuff on the shoulder.
    Jeremy winced but remained silent. Jake steppedbetween them, forcing the others to fall back. “Doesn’t Charlie have a rule that the youngest kids get to go to the front of the line?”
    “Yeah, but it’s stupid,” one of the boys muttered. “It should be whoever gets here first.”
    “If that’s the case, then from what I saw Jeremy would still be ahead of you.” Jake folded his arms. “Right?”
    The oldest boy looked as if he were going to argue the point when Charlie’s voice, as crackly as the speakers, broke through the hum of chatter around them.
    “Okay, that’s it! There are kids waiting for me at the next stop.” The elderly man closed up the back of the truck and jumped inside, deaf to the chorus of protests that rose from the boys who had been harassing Jeremy.
    Jake’s eyes narrowed. “You can go. But at the next stop,