Chapter 7 #2
the more her dream of Jake being more than a friend pulsated and morphed.
Get ahold of yourself! He’s not ever going to let go of Claire!
A knock sounded on the door, and she set the brush down beside her. “Who is it?”
“Take a wild guess,” Jake deadpanned, and she laughed.
“Come in.”
He pushed the door open and held up a shoebox. “You need to see this.” His eyes roved over her as if he were checking her
out. A wave of warmth washed through her.
Surely she was imagining it. He’d never noticed her in that way before.
She patted the spot beside her. “Sit.”
He sank down beside her, and the bed shifted under his weight. Then he held out the box. “Open it.”
Emily lifted the lid and gasped. It was full of the napkins she’d doodled on—hundreds of them! Shock rolled through her as
she combed through them, her brain traveling back in time on a wave of memories. She recognized some of the doodles, but others
weren’t familiar.
“Jake,” she whispered, her heart squeezing. “This—this is crazy.”
“I told you I kept them.”
She met his gaze. “Why on earth would you want to?”
His smile was adorable. “Why wouldn’t I? You drew them.” He gave her shoulder a gentle shove, and once again, Jake Hughes had managed to overwhelm her with his thoughtfulness.
No wonder this man had stolen her heart back when they were kids.
She flipped through the napkins and laughed as she picked up one featuring an illustrated food fight in their middle school
cafeteria. “I remember this day like it was yesterday! The jocks across the cafeteria started a food fight and were all sent
to the principal’s office.”
“Right!” He chuckled. “The cafeteria monitor was so angry that her face turned as red as one of our apples.”
They both laughed.
Emily folded her legs under herself and chose another napkin with a doodle of the lake and a little boat with two people sitting in it. She turned it over, hoping to find a date, but she didn’t see one. “I wonder why I drew this?” She gave the napkin to Jake.
“I don’t remember, but it’s good. All of your doodles are good.” He tossed the napkin into the box.
“Right,” she replied with sarcasm. She examined a few more. “I remember this one.” She handed him a napkin covered in a drawing
of Jake’s grandfather’s truck with people sitting in the bed. A banner with “Hughes Family Orchard” adorned the side of the
truck. “That’s when we were in the Splendid Lake Apple Festival parade.”
He grinned. “That was a fun day.”
“It was.” Emily had sat in the truck bed, along with Ally and a few friends. Claire had insisted on being in the cab with
Jake. She could still recall how her stomach roiled every time Claire stole a kiss from Jake.
“What about this one?” Jake held up a napkin with a doodle of the football field. “This was when Splendid Lake High School
was in the run for the state championship.”
“Which we lost.”
“But the games were still fun,” he countered.
“They were.” She’d always loved sitting in the stands with Jake and their friends during the football games. She assumed Jake
was there to watch his girlfriend cheer with the rest of the squad, but Emily cherished sitting beside him.
When she found one featuring a bouquet of flowers, her stomach constricted. She remembered that day vividly.
Senior year. Valentine’s Day. Claire had spent their entire lunchtime bragging about the bouquet of roses that Jake had given her.
Emily had poured her jealousy into drawing a bouquet as a way to cope with her feelings—and also avoid looking at Claire.
All these years later, Emily could still feel that envy boiling low in her stomach. It hadn’t faded one bit.
Yanking herself from that memory, Emily glanced up at Jake, and his intense expression sent a chill through her.
“What?” she managed to say, the air stuck in her lungs.
“Why did you give up on your dream of being an artist—a professional, full-time artist?”
She shook her head and began stacking the napkins neatly into the box. She didn’t want to have this conversation—not now,
not ever. Her failures were something she needed to overcome without his help. He wasn’t going to be here forever. He would
surely find his way to Nashville. With Claire. And without her.
“Hey.” Jake took her hands in his. “Look at me, Emily.”
Hearing his voice say her full name sent a jolt directly to her heart. She could count on one hand how many times Jake had
called her by her full name since they’d met nearly twenty-five years ago, and each time he’d said it, they were either having
a serious conversation or in some kind of peril.
She slowly lifted her eyes to meet his, and his blue orbs were full of concern and something she couldn’t quite identify that
made her feel all fluttery inside.
“Please tell me the truth.” His voice pleaded with her. “Why did you give up your dream?”
She sighed. “It just didn’t work out.” She did her best to sound casual, but she heard the thread of pain in her voice.
He looked unconvinced. “Did you really try?”
“Jake, I don’t want to talk about this.” She tried to stand up, but he hauled her back down onto the bed.
“We’ve always told each other the truth, right?”
She nodded.
“Then tell me. I remember you helping the other kids in art class when we were in school. You were so good at it. And you were a wonderful art teacher here at the community center, and I know you loved that job. You beamed every time you talked about it.”
She nodded. That was true. She had loved her job at the community center, teaching art to both kids and adults. But once her
parents died, everything changed—including her love for her job. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. Everything felt sort
of . . . pointless. Her parents’ death was a bomb that had exploded her life—every single aspect.
“You’ve floated from job to job since you moved to Charlotte. Why would you stop teaching art, something you love and excel
at, to work at a coffee shop?” His eyes searched hers. “It doesn’t make any sense to me. So please, help me understand.”
Her throat dried while she tried to form a response. How could she explain she’d lost her muse? Plus, if she told him that,
then he’d want her to completely open up to him.