Was she much better, Dee wondered, watching Jacob, starving for a glimpse of him? He hadn’t made a move on her all week. That should have been good, except it gave her too much time to get to know him, really know him across the dinner table.
She liked what she’d found—too much.
Even if she wasn’t a married woman, she couldn’t afford distractions, not now. And Jacob was a great big, hunkish distraction. “Do you have plans for tonight?”
“The three of us are gonna drive into Tacoma for a movie to celebrate Valentine’s Day—if I decide to forgive him.”
Valentine’s Day? She hadn’t even thought to make note of the date; now she couldn’t think of anything other than the holiday reserved for lovers.
Emily cast another baleful look at the window. Chase grabbed the shovel at his feet. Jacob launched snowballs baseball-style for the boy to smack.
Could Jacob really be as wonderful as he seemed? Okay, occasionally moody, but wonderful all the same.
Had the father of her child been this great? Did he drive her to distraction with just a look?
Valentine’s Day really stunk when a person’s love life sucked.
Emily’s fingers walked along the sofa back to pick at a crack in the upholstery. “You okay?”
“Huh?” Dee shook herself free of the self-pity. The kid didn’t need any more worries than she already had. “Of course. Just feeling lazy today, I guess.”
Emily picked at Dee’s cuff. “Nice sweater.”
“Thanks, it’s—” Dee acted on a hunch and continued, “My favorite color. You really did a great job matching up my size.”
“Thanks. I figured you were—Hey!”
Dee leaned back, her eyes narrowing. “He sent you shopping, didn’t he?”
“Oh, man.” Emily slouched into her clothes. “Jacob’s gonna kill me for spilling the secret. How did you guess?”
“I can’t envision him wandering through racks at the Gap.” A laugh slid past Dee’s lips, followed by Emily’s giggle. “Thank you. But no more charity for me, okay?”
“Hey, there’s nothing like shopping on someone else’s dime, and you really needed the clothes.” Her brows pulled together. “You like everything, don’t you?”
“Oh, honey, of course I do—How much more is there?”
A wicked grin crept up the girl’s face. “You’ll see. Besides, how could I turn him down? He watched Madison and sprung for a supper for Chase and me.”
Frustration chugged through Dee. “I don’t even want to think of what all of this cost.”
“Quit worrying. He’s got a steady job and savior complex. It’s best to just let him have his way.”
Dee could sense more coming and held her silence while the teen pulled her thoughts together. Her computer search could wait. The baby swing clicked away in the silence.
Emily finally sighed. “I guess I’ll have to take my own advice and just go live with Jacob.” She glanced at Madison. “It’s not like I have a lot of choices.”
“I’m sorry, sweetie. I wish I had an answer for you.” Dee tugged on the hem of her latest charity gift.
Jacob took care of everyone, shoveling driveways, pulling cars out of ditches, even helping finance teenage dates. Three days of cleaning with Grace had clued Dee in that Jacob wasn’t paying for much. The woman had cataracts for crying out loud. She couldn’t see dust until it flew up her nose.
Emily pegged it, all right. Jacob suffered from a major case of protector syndrome.
Which meant she wasn’t anyone special to him, just another stray wandering into his life. She couldn’t shrug free of the feeling she wanted to be more.
Problem was, Jacob deserved to have someone who could take care of him, as well. He deserved an equal, not another charity case.
Why did that Jacob Stone have to screw up everything? The man was too damn possessive of her, a female who wanted to haul butt with her child.