my mom’s favorite bandana and a running jersey. There was also a list of things my mom wanted to do while she was alive.”
“Oh?” Nina’s brows lifted. “That sounds interesting. Like a bucket list?”
“Kind of. The list wasn’t finished though. I think I want to finish it for my mom.” She looked at Nina. “Or at least check off one of the items.”
Nina nodded. “What item?”
Emma fidgeted with her hands as she talked. She was nervous and excited about the prospect. “My mom loved to run 5Ks, and she wanted to plan one of her own. I could do that for her. And it could maybe raise money for a good cause.”
“You mean like for cancer?” Nina asked.
Emma shrugged. “There’s already a group that does that in Sweetwater Springs. One of the unchecked items on the list was to save a life though. A fund-raiser with a good cause might do that.”
“I think this is a really cool idea, Em. Maybe you can have your event at Evergreen Park,” Nina suggested.
“I was thinking the same thing.” Excitement swelled in Emma’s chest. “I’ll call in a bit and see if that’s even a possibility. I want to get started right away.”
“Well, let me know if I can help in any way. I’ll donate my time and what little extra funds I have. Whatever you need.”
Emma smiled at her friend and employee. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
The bell at the front door jingled, and Emma sighed. The break was short-lived. She turned to greet Jack as he approached the counter with his nephew.
“Gotta quit meeting like this,” he teased, his voice dropping to a low note that resonated in her belly.
“Am I going to have to spend my whole summer watching my uncle Jack flirt with his new girlfriend?” Sam asked.
Emma straightened and looked at Sam, not missing the subtle collective gasp from Nina behind her and Brenna who’d stepped in line behind Jack and Sam.
“What?” Emma asked.
Jack gave her a subtle head shake, his eyes pleading with her not to correct Sam.
“It was bad enough watching him try to catch your eye over Christmas,” Sam went on, his bangs falling in his eyes.
Emma’s gaze bounced back to Jack. What in the world is happening this morning? Emma had fallen asleep in the truck last night. Had she missed suddenly becoming Jack’s girlfriend while she dozed?
“Uh, can I get my usual?” Jack asked Emma. “And Sam here wants a flavored coffee.”
“I remember that about him,” Emma said. Most teens she knew didn’t order coffee, but Jack’s nephew loved the taste. She always made his a decaf because fifteen-year-olds had enough energy to spare without adding caffeine to the mix.
“Of course you remember his order.” Jack winked at her, and Emma heard Nina gasp again.
Nina whispered as they made coffees. “You specifically denied going on a date.”
“I didn’t have a date,” Emma said.
Nina lifted a brow. “Well, maybe you didn’t, but Jack sure did.”
Emma carried Jack’s and Sam’s drinks to the checkout and rang them up. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” she asked Jack. “Alone?”
He gave her a sheepish look and then turned to Sam. “You mind staying out here a minute? A table just opened up over there.” He pointed to a table against the wall. “You can do whatever it is you always do on that phone of yours.”
“I need to text Mom back anyway,” Sam said. “She’s already nagging me about what I’m doing and who I’m with. I’ll tell her I’m here with you and your girlfriend.”
* * *
Jack felt like he was walking into the principal’s office, which he’d had a lot of experience with growing up. He hadn’t necessarily been a bad kid. It’d just taken a little extra persuasion to get him to follow the rules.
“What’s going on?” Emma turned to face him, her cheeks flush against her ivory skin.
“Well,” he said, feeling his lips stretch into a slight grimace. Guilt curled in his stomach because he’d brought her in the middle of this without her permission. And now he was going to make an inconvenient request. “My sister kind of got the impression that you and I are dating.”
Her eyes widened. “What? Why would she think that?”
“Well, you were in my truck with me. At night. I told her that we were eating dinner when she called, and she just assumed, I guess.” He scratched an invisible itch on the side of his jaw, looking for something to do with his