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going to answer. When she did, the word came out in a whisper. “Four.”
    Jake had suspected Jeremy must have been close to that age when he’d lost his father, but hearing Emma confirm it twisted his gut.
    What now, Lord?
    In his former line of work, Jake had extracted information from people with the precision of a surgeon but now things had changed. He had changed. Jake knew he couldn’t stir the well of Emma’s grief and find the answers he was seeking without God’s help.
    “Does Jeremy ask a lot of questions about him?” he asked, feeling his way through unfamiliar territory.
    “No.” Emma hesitated. “He used to.”
    Jake read between the lines. Jeremy had asked questions until he was old enough to realize that it hurt his mother to talk about it.
    “You’re doing a great job with him, Emma,” he said. “Jeremy is bright. Curious. To tell you the truth, I’m a little intimidated by a kid who put down the word research under his list of hobbies and interests.”
    A ghost of a smile lifted the corners of her lips. “I’ve always encouraged him to study. To seek out the answers to his questions.”
    “That’s what I mean.” Jake was stunned by a suddenlonging to see the rest of that smile. “I think Jeremy is at the age where he wants to test himself. Boys want to know what they’re made of. Push the limits a little. And you want him to do that.” He saw panic flare in Emma’s eyes and added swiftly, “In healthy ways. Ways that will help him make a smooth transition from boy to man.”
    Emma remained silent.
    “Emma?”
    She looked at him and Jake could see the battle being played out in those expressive blue eyes.
    “What are you afraid of?”
     
    What was she afraid of?
    There were so many things to choose from, Emma wasn’t sure she could pick out only one.
    She was afraid that letting Jeremy spend time with a mentor would prove that she wasn’t doing her job.
    She was afraid her son would need her less…or not at all.
    She was afraid of letting Jeremy out of her sight because he was the only family she had left.
    And she was afraid of the disturbing feelings that Jake Sutton stirred inside of her. Feelings Emma thought had been buried along with Brian.
    He was close. Too close. Whenever Emma drew in a breath, the clean scent of Jake’s soap, mingled with a hint of lime, came with it, muddling her senses.
    “I appreciate what Pastor Wilde is trying to do,” Emma said stiffly. “I’m sure there are boys who would benefit from the mentoring program. But to be perfectly honest, I can’t imagine allowing Jeremy to spend time with a stranger.”
    “What if the person wasn’t a stranger? Would that make a difference?”

    “I don’t know.” Emma tucked her lower lip between her teeth as she considered the question. “I suppose it might. But we haven’t been going to church very long. Jeremy doesn’t know many people.”
    And neither did she. Living in a small town, where it seemed as if everyone knew each other, had been intimidating to a young woman who had never settled in one place for very long. Emma had been more than content to remain in the background. After Brian’s death, she had retreated even further in an attempt to avoid the awkward silences and the pity she saw on people’s faces.
    “He knows me,” Jake said.
    “You?” Emma almost choked on the word.
    Jake didn’t look offended by her strong reaction. “He called Pastor Matt this morning and requested that I be his mentor.”
    Requested. Jake Sutton.
    Oh, Jeremy.
    “But…” Emma pressed one hand against her forehead, trying to sort through this latest complication. “I don’t understand.”
    But then again, maybe she did.
    On her way to bed the night before, Emma had noticed a sliver of light under Jeremy’s bedroom door. That hadn’t surprised her. More often than not, she would find her son sound asleep with a book still propped up in his lap.
    Only he hadn’t been asleep. He’d been sitting up in