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teaches science at my school.”
    “Well, I guarantee he’s going to be happy to have his property returned.”
    “You mean this stuff was stolen?”
    “That’s right.” Jake lifted one side of the raft and looked underneath it to see if they’d missed anything. “You have pretty good detective skills.”
    “Really?” Jeremy’s eyes shone with the same pride Jake had seen when he’d let him dig the hole for the apple tree.
    Jake didn’t have an opportunity to answer because Emma burst into view.
     
    “Jeremy Brian Barlow!”
    Emma’s gaze locked on the boy standing at the edge of the water. At the moment, she wasn’t sure whether to scold him or hug him. Or both.
    “What are you doing down here?” The panic that had fueled her frantic search drained away, leaving her weak with relief. As Emma took a step forward, the wet sand gave way beneath her feet. She would have stumbled if a hand hadn’t shot out to steady her. “Careful.”
    Emma’s head jerked up. Her relief at finding Jeremy safe and sound was so great, she had barely spared a glance at the man standing a few feet away from him.
    Not that Jake Sutton was easy to overlook. Both times Emma had seen the police chief, he’d been in uniform.Today he wore plainclothes suitable for a Saturday afternoon picnic, but the faded jeans and black T-shirt only accentuated the man’s rugged, almost untamed, good looks.
    For some inexplicable reason, the touch of his hand sowed goose bumps up her arm.
    What was he doing here, of all places?
    Emma pulled away and turned toward her son. “You know the rules, honey.” She wasn’t sure if the crackle in her voice was the aftershock of relief from finding Jeremy, or because the warm imprint of Jake’s fingers lingered on her skin. “You’re supposed to ask for permission if you want to go somewhere.”
    “I found Mr. Fielding’s tools, Mom,” Jeremy said. “Someone hid them under the raft. Chief Sutton said I have good detective skills.”
    “You went out on a raft? ” Emma directed the question at Jeremy but cut an accusing look at Jake.
    “Not in it, Mom,” Jeremy said. “I pulled it out.”
    “It was in the shallow water. Jeremy wasn’t in any danger,” Jake interjected quietly.
    Emma turned back to Jeremy, hoping Jake Sutton would take the hint that this matter was between her and her son. “You have to be careful by the water,” she reminded him, all too aware that Jake could hear every word.
    “I know.” Jeremy released a gusty sigh as he pulled on his socks and tennis shoes, a reminder that he’d heard this particular lecture before. “But if I knew how to swim, you wouldn’t have to worry so much.”
    Emma felt the weight of Jake’s gaze and her cheeks flamed. She wasn’t about to explain that it was impossible to teach her son something that she didn’t know how to do.

    That responsibility should have fallen to Brian. After all, her husband had loved to brag about how much time he and his friends spent in the lake every summer.
    One of the high-school athletic coaches offered lessons at the beach every summer, but Emma’s job prevented her from leaving to transport Jeremy there and back—and she was hesitant to trust someone she didn’t know with his safety.
    Discouragement settled over her, the weight of it all too familiar. “We should get back to the lodge.” And away from the censure Emma was afraid she would see in those amber eyes. “I’m sure everyone has started eating lunch already.”
    Emma hoped the thought of food would divert Jeremy’s attention. Over the summer, his appetite had increased to the point where she’d started to wonder where he was putting it all. But instead of charging toward the lodge, Jeremy turned a hopeful look toward the very man Emma wanted to get away from.
    “Aren’t you coming, Chief Sutton?”
    She stifled a groan. From what Jake had said, Emma assumed he and Jeremy had met by accident. She hadn’t considered he might be a guest