“Brad, you’re not in trouble. I just want to talk. You seem… different… from the young man I met last summer working in my yard.” Brad gave a little smile, as though remembering those days made him less nervous. The smile quickly left though and Emma could have sworn she saw regret in his eyes.
“I’ve been talking to Suzy this morning,” she said. Brad glanced up at her, a look of embarrassment crossed his face. Emma spoke, not wanting him to misunderstand the reason for their needed conversation.
“No, Brad, I’m not here to try to talk you into getting back with her. That’s not my job. My job is to work with all the students individually – I want to see what you need and how I can help you.” Brad sat, wringing his hands in his lap. He opened his mouth several times to speak but could not seem to decide what to say.
“Brad, my concern is not that you broke up with Suzy. My concern is the reason why you told her you broke up. You have always had such self-confidence. Why would you tell her you are not good enough?” Emma paused, letting her words sink in. Brad raised his eyes up to hers and she noticed that they were bloodshot and teary.
“Brad, what is going on? You can talk to me. Right now, it is you, me and the four walls here. I don’t tell anyone about what we talk about unless you are planning to harm yourself or you’re involved in something illegal.”
At that, Brad sat up quickly, stone faced he looked defiantly at her. “All due respect, Ms. Dodd, I don’t have anything I need to tell you,” he said.
Smoke. Why am I getting a whiff of smoke?
Emma thoughts were now flying furiously around her mind. Not wanting to scare him off, she knew she needed to tread carefully.
“Brad,” she said softly. “I just want you to feel as though you can talk to me. You’re smart, good-looking, great personality, athletic. You have so much going for you, but your behaviors are changing right before my eyes. I care about you.”
Brad’s defiance slipped away, and once again she saw a small boy in front of her, struggling with some secret.
“Ms. Dodd, you’re right. I haven’t been myself, but I promise I’m taking care of it. I’ve just been under a lot of stress lately.” Emma sat quietly, letting the silence bring peace between them. As a counselor, she knew the value of silence – it can allow someone to organize their thoughts until they will continue to speak.
Sure enough, Brad began to speak, confessing, “I feel bad about Suzy, but I just have so much going on. I gotta get my grades up, keep up with sports, my part time job, and just stuff that is weighing me down.” Looking down, he took a deep breath. “I’m getting it together, Ms. Dodd. I promise.”
Raising his head, he stared directly into her eyes, and Emma felt that whatever he was dealing with and hiding, he was truthful about wanting to work it out. But she still felt some fear for him. If he had been near the fire last night then he was definitely out in the park area and probably doing something he shouldn’t be doing.
“All right, Brad. You can head back to class now. Just know that I care, and you can talk to me anytime.” Emma wrote a pass for him, and they stood up. Brad started to leave then turned suddenly and gave her a big hug.
“Thank you, Ms. Dodd. I…. well, just thank you.” Emma hugged back, wanting to smile at the show of confidence, but she couldn’t help but notice….. Brad’s jacket definitely smelled of smoke. Not cigarette smoke. No, this was the distinct smell of smoke from a wood fire.
Debating who to talk to first, Emma decided to go back to the coach with her concerns. Coach Ted was definitely the best choice, if she wanted someone who could influence Brad. Heading to the gym after school, she remembered her earlier trip there in the fall. She found Ted as he came out of the locker room.
“Litl’bit – what’s up?” he said in his familiar greeting. “Need to talk again over dinner?” he joked.
Emma laughed. “I think we’ll just talk here if you don’t mind – I’d hate for people to get the wrong idea,” she joked back.
They walked into the gym, sitting down on the bleachers. Not wanting to break Brad’s confidentiality, Emma was careful in divulging too many details. She told Ted her concerns over the breakup, which was common knowledge, and the reasons he gave. She also admitted her concerns about his change in appearance, grades, and anxiety. Knowing that Ted cares a great deal about “his boys” as he likes to call them, she was surprised that he seemed agitated.
“Emma, I just think you are making more of it than there is. He hasn’t done anything wrong. Yeah, his grades are slipping some, but it’s probably just senioritis. He’s a hard worker, doesn’t miss practice, and I really don’t want you hounding him.”
“Ted, I’m not hounding him. I just want to see if I can help in some way. I thought you could help as well,” Emma replied.
“It seems that you’re more upset with him breaking up with his girlfriend and making a mountain out of a molehill,” Ted continued. “You need to realize that my boys don’t need to be babied. He’ll be fine. He’ll graduate, go on to college with a football or wrestling scholarship, and it won’t hurt lil’ Suzy to move on.”
Incensed, Emma was confused at Ted’s attitude. What is going on? Is Ted knowingly ignoring a problem with one of “his boys”?
As much as she hated to give in, Emma knew that Ted was not only not going to help, he definitely wanted her to back off. Plastering on a fake smile, she looked up at Ted. “Coach, I’m sure you’re right. Thanks for letting me know I have nothing to worry about,” she said sweetly.
Standing up from the bleachers, Ted gave her a big grin. “That’s a girl,” he said encouragingly. “My boys’ll be fine.”
*
Emma walked back to her office, grabbed her purse, and decided to pay Jake a visit at the police station. Something was up, and she had a suspicious feeling that Ted may be in on it. Walking into the station, she greeted Sally, the police receptionist.
“Hey Emma, here to see Jake?” the older woman called. Emma looked over at the woman who kept track of everything going on with the Fairfield Police Station. She couldn’t help but grin – Sally had been in place since before computers and Emma was sure that Sally was just as knowledgeable as a computer anyway.
“Yes. Is he here?” Emma asked.
“Sorry dear, he’s out with Tom right now. I don’t know when he will be back,” Sally replied.
Just then, Mike walked through the main doors behind Emma. “Emma” he greeted. “What brings you here? Well, besides checking up on one of our finest?” he joked.
“I had something that I was suspicious of and wanted to talk to Jake, but I guess it will have to wait.”
Mike’s professionalism kicked in immediately as he went into detective mode. “Well, Emma, we work on most of the same cases. Perhaps I can help or at least hear you out.” Emma thought for a second, then realized that she really wanted to get her suspicions out in case it was time sensitive.
“Sure, that would be great,” she answered.
Mike led Emma down the hall to an office, offered her a seat and pulled out a pad of paper.
“Have you found any evidence from my fire last night?” Emma started.
Mike looked up. “Well, it’s an open investigation, so I can’t officially report on it, but you were there so you saw that the hut was completely burned. I will tell you that the fire marshal hasn’t given a report yet, but I didn’t see anything unusual from the wreckage. Why do you ask?”
Emma thought carefully how to answer. “Tom called last night to tell Jake that a park ranger had seen some kids on the back of the property near the hut earlier. Then today, one of my students smelled like smoke.”
Mike’s sharp eyes glanced from the pad of paper back up to her face. “Is that it? Just that they smelled like smoke?”
“Well, no. This student has been changing. Grades are poor, appearance unkempt, broke up with his girlfriend, looks like he hasn’t slept. And then today, he smelled like smoke.”
Mike jot
ted down notes, then looked back up at her. “You gonna tell me who the student is?”
Emma hesitated. “Mike, I don’t want to make things worse for this student. I’m just concerned.”
“Look Emma. What you are doing is helping in an active investigation. I’m not going to run out and arrest anyone.” Emma smiled at that. Mike continued, “What I will do is take the information you give me, do some checking on my own without sharing with anyone else at this time. If it appears it has nothing to do with this investigation, I’ll keep it between you and me. If I find that there is some evidence of being part of this investigation, I will share that with the other detectives and we will act on it. Emma, that is the same thing that Jake would be doing if he were here right now.”
At that, Emma nodded in understanding. “Okay,” she answered. “So right now, this just stays between us until you have a chance to check it out. And if nothing comes from that, you won’t let everyone know the student’s name.”
“I promise,” Mike answered.
Emma took a deep breath. “The student I am concerned about is Brad Evans, Wendy and Bill’s son,” she confessed.
“The football player?” Mike asked incredulously. “I can’t see him wanting to risk a college scholarship doing something stupid like setting a hut on fire.”
“I know it seems crazy, but I see so many changes in him, and he smelled like smoke this morning,” she reiterated. “But there is more.” At this she hesitated. “But Mike before I continue, I have to know that this information isn’t going to get out everywhere. I do not want to be responsible for the police possibly ruining innocent lives.”
Mike nodded. “Emma, I have promised – what you tell me today stays between us. I will check things out quietly just to see if there is any basis in your concerns.”
Again, Emma took a deep breath. “Okay. I also took my concerns to Coach Ted. He not only dismissed them, he told me that I needed to forget them and drop the whole thing.” Mike nodded slowly this time, keeping his eyes on her. “I mean, why wouldn’t he be concerned about one of ‘his boys’ as he likes to call them? He actually seem to be chastising me for caring!”
Mike jotted a few more notes down, then reached over and patted her hands. “Look Emma, I can tell this whole thing is upsetting you. Have you talked to anyone else about your concerns?”
“No,” she replied. “No one.”
“Here’s what I am going to do. I’m not going to mention this to anyone – not even Jake or Tom at the moment. Let me do a little checking up on things myself, just to see if I can find any evidence linking Ted or Brad to your fire. If not, we will let this drop. But Emma, if I do find some link, your testimony will be needed in this case.” Mike looked at her sharply to see if she understood.
Emma nodded in agreement. “I understand. And Mike – thank you so much. I feel so much better knowing someone else can check into them for me!”
They stood up from the table, and Mike escorted her outside.
At that moment Jake was coming up the station’s front stairs. His eyes narrowed as he saw Mike’s hand on Emma’s back.
Emma turned around, saw Jake and her smile lit up her face. “Jake, I came looking for you!”
Reaching down, Jake drew Emma into his embrace, and away from Mike.
Mike laughed at his friend’s response. “Don’t worry pal. She sure as hell didn’t smile like that for me.”
Jake looked over at Mike, gave him a head jerk and pulled Emma around to his side. “You okay, babe?” he asked Emma kissing her on the top of her head.
“Yeah, just a rough day at work,” she replied, hugging him close. “I thought I would stop in and see you. Mike kept me company though since you weren’t available,” she joked.
Jake scowled and swatted her ass, noting the tight pencil skirt cupping that gorgeous bottom. Damn, I never had a teacher that looked like her when I was in high school. Suddenly, Jake found himself jealous of the teens that got to view her beauty every day.
Emma squealed and hopped into her car. Rolling the car window down, she smiled just for him, as Jake leaned onto her car.
“I was going to call you in a bit,” Jake said. “Mom wanted to know if you would like to come to dinner.”
Emma’s smile grew wider. “I would love to. You know I love your mom. What time?”
“I can pick you up about six o’clock,” Jake answered.
Emma looked confused. “Honey, you don’t have to pick me up. I can just come over.”
“I don’t want you going back into your house by yourself that late at night. I’ll come pick you up,” Jake said definitively.
Emma just smiled and nodded. Jake was protective and there was no arguing with him when he was in that mode. He will be great with children. Emma knew it was early to be thinking about children, but for her, Jake was it. Everything she wanted. Everything she needed. Continuing to smile, she drove away, waving to Jake and Mike standing on the steps of the police station.
Chapter 11
“Mrs. Campbell, dinner was delicious,” Emma said, as she rose to start clearing the table. Emma enjoyed having dinner with Jake and his mother. It reminded her of dinners when she was much younger and the family would sit around the table, talking about their day. Emma often found that it was the simple things that made her think of home and miss her family.
“My dear, I have told you to call me, Mary,” Jake’s mom said. Emma smiled at her, as Jake leaned down and kissed his mother’s cheek.
“We’ll take care of the cleanup since you cooked,” he said. “You head on into the living room, and I’ll have Emma get the coffee.”
Mary nodded appreciatively and prepared to rise from the table. Emma noticed how Jake discreetly assisted his mother to a standing position, making sure she was steady before moving away. After making quick work of the cleaning, they settled in with their coffees in the living room. Mary was seated in a comfortable chair that Emma noticed had sturdy arms on it that could be used to help Mary sit or rise by herself. She also noticed that the warm, inviting house had no clutter.
Emma walked around admiring the pictures on the walls. Mary also decorated her house in family pictures. Emma viewed pictures showing a much younger Jake, along with his mother and father. She stared at the picture of Jake as a small boy, tousled blond hair blowing in the wind, as he held up a fishing pole complete with a dangling fish on the end. Jake looked to be a carbon copy of his father, a large man with a ready smile and bright blue eyes. In one photo, Jake’s father was looking at his wife and Emma could see the love that poured off of that giant of a man.
I want that. I want a picture of Jake looking at me just the way his father is looking at his mother.
Emma also saw a few pictures of three little boys, at the same fishing hole, holding up a string of fish between them. Upon closer inspection, she realized that she was looking at Jake, Rob, and Tom – all about the age of ten.
“Oh my goodness, is this who I think it is?” she exclaimed. “You guys were so cute back then!”
Mary laughed and Jake wondered aloud, “Don’t you think we’re still cute?”
Emma turned from perusing the pictures and walked over to him. As she walked closer she had to keep tilting her head back farther to see into his smiling eyes. She rose up on her tiptoes and Jake obliged by leaning down a little. She gave him the softest kiss and placed her hand on his chest over his heart.
“I’m not sure cute is the word I would use to describe you, Mr. Campbell,” she whispered with a saucy grin.
“And just what word would you use, Ms. Dodd?” Jake asked with one eyebrow raised in question, clasping tightly to her hand pressed between them.
“Hmmm, perhaps that is a question best answered when we are alone.” Emma couldn’t repress her smile at the look of pure lust that flashed across Jake’s face. Squeezing his hand, she turned and walked over to the sofa.
The three of them continued to chat amiably for a while, Mary regaling Emma w
ith stories of Jake’s childhood adventures and misadventures. Emma laughed until her sides hurt and Jake actually blushed at a few of his mom’s tales.
“Well my dears, it’s getting late and I think I’ll head to bed now. Thank you so much for coming, Emma. It was delightful, and I want to see a lot more of you,” she said with a wink. As she hugged Emma goodbye, she whispered in her ear. Smiling, Emma nodded as she embraced Mary. Jake raised his eyebrow in silent question, but Emma shook her head and stepped back.
Grinning, he leaned over to kiss the top of her head. “I’ll be right back, babe. I just want to make sure mom is settled for the night.” Emma nodded and took the coffee cups into the kitchen to wash them out. A few minutes later, Jake came back into the kitchen wrapping his arms around her from behind.
Emma leaned back and felt his arms tighten. “Ummmm, I love you wrapped around me.”
“Emma girl, when we get back to your house, you’re gonna feel all of me wrapped around you.”
Emma turned in his arms and locked her arms around his neck. “Promise?” she asked.
“Guarantee,” he said, leaning down to kiss her. The kiss deepened and as Emma moaned appreciatively, Jake took the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth. She tasted of chocolate and coffee he thought delightfully. Tongues tangoed in an erotic dance. Slipping one hand down to cup Emma’s ass, he kneaded it before lifting her up on the counter. Continuing the kiss, he grasped her face, angling it so that he could deepen the kiss even more. Emma began to moan, rubbing her pussy on his jeans. Feeling his erection pressing against her, all she could think was how much she wanted him in her.
Jake slid his hands from her face down to her breasts. He unbuttoned the top several buttons to allow her blouse to be pushed off of her shoulders. Exposing her black lacy bra, he looked down at her luscious breasts spilling out of the top of her bra. Sliding his lips down, he nuzzled the bra cups down and grasped her nipple in his mouth. Laving and tugging on her nipple, Jake continued his ministrations on the other breast. Emma felt a jolt of electricity straight from her nipple to her core. She continued to squirm and wiggle, trying to get her aching pussy closer to the bulge in Jake’s jeans. Jake kissed his way back up from her breast to her mouth, exploring her mouth thoroughly. Slowly he pulled himself away and Emma moaned in agony. She felt the cool air hit her exposed breasts and her swollen lips tingled with the loss of contact. He leaned over and gently pulled her bra cups back into place and slid her blouse back over her shoulders. Emma slowly looked up into his baby blue eyes and noticed the twinkle.
Emma's Home (The Fairfield Series) Page 11