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earlier in the week from some of the local fishermen, who claimed their vehicles had been broken into while parked at the boat landing. Jake couldn’t prove it—yet—but he had a sneaking suspicion that whoever was responsible for breaking into the summer cabins had decided to broaden the playing field.
    Jake bypassed the trail and created his own route, one running parallel to the marked hiking path that curved around the lake. As he reached the shore, he saw a boy standing knee-deep in the water, tugging on a rope attached to a makeshift raft bobbing in the waves. He was in no immediate danger that Jake could see, but because the kid’s frame looked as thin as one of the reeds growing along the shoreline, Jake decided to lend a hand. “Hold on!”
    At the sound of Jake’s voice, the boy turned to look at him.
    Jake, who’d always prided himself on keeping his emotions in check, felt his jaw drop in disbelief.

    There was no mistaking that pair of serious blue eyes and unruly hank of sandy blond hair.
    Jeremy Barlow looked just as astonished to see him. “Chief S-Sutton.”

Chapter Five

    W ithout a second thought, Jake kicked off his shoes and waded into the water. Together, they began to pull the raft into the shallows.
    “Thanks,” Jeremy gasped.
    “Does this belong to you?”
    Jeremy shook his head, spraying Jake with droplets of lake water. “I saw it floating out there. I was afraid a boat might hit it.”
    That answered one of his questions. But Jake had another, more important, one. “What are you doing down here by yourself?”
    “I’m not by myself,” Jeremy said quickly. “I’m with my mom.”
    “Really?” Jake refused to give in to the sudden urge to look around and see if there was another familiar face close by. A familiar face dominated by smoke-blue eyes and hair the pale golden-brown of winter wheat. “Where is she?”
    “She’s, um, talking to Miss Porter. At the lodge.”
    So Emma and Jeremy hadn’t come to Mirror Lake Lodge for the picnic. That shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Emma was as protective as a mama bear witha cub. Jake couldn’t imagine she would trust her son’s care to someone else, even for a few hours.
    Especially someone like you, an inner voice mocked.
    Jake couldn’t argue with that. Emma had managed to express her opinion of him the day they’d met without saying a single word. And it wasn’t, he reminded himself, as if being Jeremy’s mentor was even an option.
    Prayer team, remember?
    But that didn’t mean he was going to leave Jeremy alone by the water. “Does she know you’re down here?”
    The guilty look on Jeremy’s face said it all. “I didn’t mean to go this far.”
    “I’ll tell you what—I’ll walk back there with you.”
    His officers might question his sanity, but the thought of seeing Emma again actually lightened Jake’s mood. Although given her response when he’d brought Jeremy back in the squad car, he doubted she would be anxious to see him again.
    “Thanks.” Jeremy bit his lip as he looked down at his shorts. “I don’t think I was supposed to get wet, either.”
    “The sun is shining. You’ll air-dry in no time,” Jake said lightly. “And though I appreciate the fact that you fished this thing out of the lake, the next time—”
    “Look!” Jeremy let go of the rope, his startled cry interrupting Jake’s lecture on water and the “buddy system.” He pointed to a black canvas bag riding along the bottom. As the raft had bumped along the rocks, the bag had ripped open, leaving a trail of tools in the water.
    Jeremy began to collect them while Jake hauled the bag onto shore to examine it more closely. He frownedwhen he saw the name FIELDING stamped on the side of the fabric. Rich Fielding had been one of the people whose cabins had been broken into.
    Jeremy knelt beside him, clutching a hammer and wrench against his damp T-shirt. His eyes widened when he read the name on the bag. “I know Mr. Fielding. He