Read Stealing Jake for Free Online Page A

least we have Ma and each other. “Have they mentioned any relatives?”
    “An uncle, but I don’t think they know him very well.”
    He should wish her a good day and leave, but something about the curve of her jaw and the soft pout of her lips kept him rooted to the spot. He wanted—no, needed—one more smile to tuck into his heart and carry away. And besides, he’d been the one to take the smile off her face with his question about the Hays children. He had to do something to bring it back again.
    In desperation, he gestured at the stacks of cloth, ribbons, and thread on the shelves. “Planning on doing some sewing?”
    Her lips moved. Just a tiny twitch upward. He’d succeeded. Barely.
    “I’m trying to figure out something I can make the children for Christmas. I’m at my wit’s end.”
    “How about dolls?” Had he really said that aloud? He’d wanted to take her mind off the tragedy of the day before, but where had dolls come from?
    She gave him an incredulous look. “I couldn’t afford one, let alone five.”
    Jake rested his forearms on a stack of cloth, heat creeping up his neck. “Not store-bought dolls. Corn-husk ones.”
    “Corn-husk?”
    He shrugged, aiming for a nonchalance he didn’t feel. He lowered his voice. The men up front would have a field day if they overheard him talking doll making. “They’re easy enough to make, and you don’t need anything but shucks and some string or yarn.”
    Her face fell. “I don’t have any corn husks.”
    “I’ve got plenty in the crib out at my place. I’ll bring you enough to make as many as you want.”
    “Really? And will you show me how to make them? Mary probably knows, but I want it to be a surprise. Every little girl deserves something special for Christmas.”
    Jake’s heart twisted at the wistfulness in her voice. What had her childhood been like? “I’ll bring the husks over tomorrow and show you how to do it. I’ve never made one, but I watched Ma make them lots of times for my sisters. See if you can find some yarn or something.”
    Her eyes widened. “But what about the boys? I’ll have to make something for them too.”
    Jake fingered the disfigured dog in his pocket. “How many boys are there?”
    “Only three, thank goodness.”
    Though he was unsure how he’d managed to rope himself into making dolls for a bunch of girls, carving a few horses and farm animals would be a piece of cake.
    “Leave the boys to me.”
     
* * *
     
    Luke hovered in the shadows of the building, melting into the darkness. According to Jessica, his little brother was in this building, working like a dog to make greedy men rich.
    And it was all his fault.
    He clenched his fists. He never should have let Mark pick that man’s pocket. Faster than he could say, “Crackerjack pickpocket,” they’d been collared, thrown in jail, and sold to the highest bidder. Luke had run at the first opportunity. But had he made the right decision? If he’d stayed, maybe he and Mark would be together by now.
    Or would they both be locked in the squat building that reminded him of the stone tombs in the cemeteries in Chicago? A sick feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.
    The barred windows were too high to see into and too small to shimmy through even if he could reach them. He made his way around the building, looking for an opening, an unlocked door, anything.
    His desperation grew heavier with each passing moment. He backed into the shadows and hunkered down, staring at the front of the building.
    As far as he could tell, there was no way in. And no way out.
    Except through that locked door.
     
* * *
     
    Noon came and went with no sign of Jake. Maybe he’d forgotten or decided that making dolls for orphaned girls wasn’t high on his list of priorities. Livy tamped down her disappointment. The idea of something affordable for the girls for Christmas had lifted her spirits, not to mention the anticipation of seeing Jake again.
    No matter. She’d