Jaci Burton - Hope Flames

“I just hate being a victim.” Again.

“You’re not a victim. You did everything right.” He came over and crouched down in front of her, his warm eyes sincere. “You took care of your own life. Some people are stupid. You aren’t. You were very brave tonight.”

He was trying to make her feel better. And he was taking care of her. In her past, someone would have called her stupid, would have blamed her for the break-in and the loss of inventory. Illogical, but that’s the way it would have been. Luke didn’t think she was stupid.

“Thank you.”

“Let me go check on the crew, see how things are going.”

“Okay.”

She should call her parents. And Rachel and Leanne.

Not right now. She’d do that tomorrow, after she passed out and slept off this nightmare. If she called her mother right now, she’d rush right over and want to baby or pamper her, and she wouldn’t be able to handle that smothering kind of love. She felt inept enough as it was.

“We’re clear here. And I fixed your back door,” Luke said when he came back into her office.

Her brows lifted. “You did?”

“Yeah. One of the guys ran to the all-night hardware store and bought a replacement lock.” He handed her the keys.

“Here are your keys.”

“Thank you for doing that. I need to clean up in here.”

He swept his thumb over her cheekbone. “You look about ready to fall on your face.”

“Okay, you’re right about that.”

“Besides, your insurance company will want to come in and assess the damage before you clean up.”

“You’re right about that, too. I called them and they’re coming out in the morning.”

“Then you can clean up after they finish taking photos. Right now you need to go home and get some sleep.”

She squinted at him. “Did my mother call you?”

He laughed. “Definitely not. Come on, I’ll walk you out.”

Everyone had cleared out, so it was just her and Luke. She grabbed her dogs, set the alarm, herded Daisy out the door, and grabbed Annie’s carrier, making sure the door was set to lock when she closed it. Part of her wanted to stay there all night and guard her dream.

“It’s going to be all right, Emma. He won’t be back.”

“The logical part of me knows this. But everything I have is tied up in this business.”

“We’ll make sure to drive by several times tonight.”

She turned to him. “I’d appreciate that a lot. Thank you.”

“Put your menagerie in the backseat of the cruiser and I’ll drive you across the street to your car.”

“Okay.”

She climbed in the front. “I’ve never been in a police car before.”

“Good to know,” he said with a wry grin.

She laughed, and it felt good to let out a little of the tension she’d held inside. He pulled across the street, bypassing the cones that had been set there by the road crews. When he stopped next to her car, she turned to him.

“Thank you, Luke. I feel like I’ve said it a hundred times already tonight. But thank you for getting here so fast.”

He smiled at her, that quirky, off-kilter grin that made her stomach do flip-flops. “It’s my job.”

“You’re very good at it.”

“I’ll follow you home.”

“Oh, no, don’t do that. I’m fine, really.”

“When I got to the clinic, you were terrified. So don’t tell me you’re fine.”

“I might have been a little freaked out to think someone had broken in. But I’m better now.”

“Okay. Have a good rest of the night, Emma.”

She got out and transferred the dogs to her car, started toward the driver’s door, then realized Luke was still there. She walked over to the police car. He rolled down the window and she leaned over.

“You’re following me home anyway, aren’t you?”

“Yup.”

She smiled and pushed off his car. For some reason, she didn’t mind that as much as she thought she would.

JUST AS EMMA suspected, the topic of the break-in was a popular subject at Sunday dinner.

Her mother had been frantic when Emma had called her and told her about it, even though Emma had assured her it had been a random break-in, and the guy had likely been looking for a quick drug score. But her mother worried. A lot.

Understandable, given what Emma had been through in the past and how powerless her parents had felt.

“Emma, are you sure this isn’t related to . . . you know?” her mother asked as they sat at the dinner table.

“Georgia,” her father admonished. “How about we not talk about the past? I’m sure that’s not something Em wants to revisit.”

“Thanks, Dad. And no, Mom. It’s not related.”

“I worry, that’s all. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. Again.”

The last word, spoken as a whisper, made Emma’s heart clench. She reached over and squeezed her mother’s hand. “It won’t. I won’t let it. I wasn’t smart before. I’m a lot smarter now.”

“You were always smart,” her dad said. “It’s just . . .” He trailed off. “Well, no sense rehashing the past when I said we wouldn’t.”

“Good,” Emma said, happy to never go down that road again. Instead, she turned to her mother and smiled. “The lasagna is awesome, as usual.”

Her mother turned off her worry face and offered a bright smile. “Thank you. I know it’s one of your favorites. I made extra so you can take some home and freeze it. I know you don’t have a lot of time to cook.”

Emma laughed. “How about no time to cook?”

“Work’s going well, then?” her dad asked.

“It’s going better than I expected. We’ve been busy every day.”

“I figured you would be. I’m not all that fond of the doctors who run the Barkley clinic. No bedside manner. They’re too brusque and businesslike. I think you’ll bring a warmth and love of animals that’s been lacking in this town since Bruce gave up his practice.”

She offered up a wide grin to her father. “Thanks, Dad. I hope so. And speaking of animals, Pokey’s getting fat.”

“He is not,” her mother said.

“He is, too. You need to bring him in and let me look at him. He’s due for his annual exam and shots anyway.”

As her father slipped the long-haired dachshund a piece of his bread, she rolled her eyes. “And that’s why he’s getting so fat, Dad. You know better.”

Her father shrugged. “He doesn’t feel like a part of the family if he doesn’t get to eat when we eat.”

“Then bring his food bowl in here and give him dog food. How many times do I have to lecture you about how damaging it is to give human food to dogs? And how bad will it be for my reputation when my parents parade their over-weight dachshund through town?” She wiped her lips on the napkin and pushed her chair back, then picked up Pokey.

“Ugh. He needs a restricted diet and a lot more exercise.” She turned to her mother. “Bring him in next week?”

“Yes, Doctor,” her mother said with a smile.

“And you,” Emma said to her dad. “Stop feeding him food scraps immediately.”

“She’s mean,” her dad said to her mother.

“She’s right and you know it.”

After dinner she found Pokey’s harness and they all went for a walk. The night was crisp and cool, so she grabbed a sweater from her truck.

Her father had put on a little weight as well, so it wouldn’t hurt him to take Pokey on a walk a couple times a day, though she told him it was for Pokey’s benefit only.

“How’s work?” she asked her mom as they walked behind her dad and Pokey.

“Busy. We have a couple of new clients and some great marketing campaigns coming up, so it’s pretty exciting stuff. But, you know, I’m never too busy that I can’t take you on as a client.”

“Thanks, Mom, but I think I’m okay for now.”

“All right. But if you change your mind, you let me know. I already have several ideas that I think would boost your clientele. What if you did an adoption day at the clinic, in conjunction with the local shelter? They could bring their animals over, and you could provide reduced-fee services for like six months or a year for every animal someone adopts? That way animals get adopted, and you pick up new clients.”

Emma was about to open her mouth to object, but then thought about it for a second. “You know what? That’s a really good idea.”

Her mother shot her a knowing smile. “Of course it is. I’m brilliant that way.”

There was no doubt her mom was a genius with marketing and promotion, but Emma just couldn’t afford it right now. And the last thing she wanted was her mom’s fingers in her business. But that idea was a good one.

“I’ll consider it and get in touch with the local shelter. Thanks, Mom.”

“I can help you with the advertising. I already have some things in mind.”

She laughed and looped her arm through her mother’s. “I said I’d think about it. Don’t go hog wild with a marketing plan just yet.”

She loved her mother, but if she did go forward with this plan, she’d have to put a leash on her mom’s marketing genius. The whole idea of going into business for herself was just that—to do it herself. Independence was key.

So far she was doing all right on her own, minus that night of the break-in when she’d needed Luke’s help.

She’d been grateful for that, and despite being irritated with him for offering to take her out on a mercy date, she’d never been happier to see him than when he’d shown up at her clinic that night.

He’d been so sweet to follow her home, too, which she knew wasn’t at all a requirement of his job. It had been him being nice to her.

And she’d been a giant bitch after he’d offered to take her out.

Maybe she should do something about that. She just didn’t know how she would go about it. That, too, was going to require some thought.

After dinner, she went home and loaded Daisy and Annie into her truck, then drove to the park. Daisy would stay right next to her, but she’d been working on leash-training Annie, somewhat unsuccessfully. The pup parked her butt on the trail and refused to move.

“Come on, Annie. You’ll enjoy the walk. It’s nice outside.”

Annie looked up at her, offended by the leash and none too happy about the collar, either. But Emma was determined, and she’d leash-trained plenty of dogs. She gave the leash some lax, and walked a few feet away. Annie followed, and Emma continued to move at a snail’s pace, much to Daisy’s chagrin, who was used to the two of them taking the trails at a run.

Daisy whimpered.

“I know, sweetie,” Emma murmured. “But we have to do this for Annie.”

Annie, who no one had claimed yet or shown interest in adopting.

Emma sighed and patiently worked with Annie for a good half hour, until the pup realized it wasn’t going to win this battle. Annie finally started walking alongside Emma, who gave the pup tons of praise as she clumsily lumbered next to her.

It wasn’t the run Daisy wanted, but next time she’d leave Annie at home and they could jog.

When the sun disappeared behind the houses on the other side of the lake, the temperature dropped. Emma zipped up her jacket, not wanting to head back to her car just yet, even though the trails were mostly deserted.

A few years ago, she wouldn’t have allowed herself to be alone like this.

But this was the new Emma. The Emma who refused to let fear rule her life.

When she heard a car pull up slowly behind her, though, she whipped around, ready to grab Annie and make a mad dash back to her truck.

It was a police car. She leaned forward to see Luke behind the wheel. He stopped and got out, looking sexy in his uniform.

She gave up trying to be immune to the sexy. The man was hot.

“Oh. Hi, Luke,” she said, trying to relax her frantically beating heart.

“Hi yourself. You do know the park closes at eight, right?”

She grabbed her phone out of her pocket to check the time. It was eight thirty. “I’m sorry. I’ve been leash-training Annie and just lost track of time.”

She started back to her truck.

“Hang on,” he said.

He let Boomer out of his car. The three dogs smelled and greeted each other with a wild wag of tails.

He started walking with her.

“You do realize your car is up there,” she said after about five minutes.

He gave her a smile. “Just doing my official duty and making sure you hooligans leave the park.”

She couldn’t help the smirk. “Oh, now we’re hooligans?”

“Well, you look suspect. Never know what kind of nefarious activities you and your cohorts could get up to without me keeping an eye on you.”