was recuperating from the sting of her reminder. “I have an idea that just might work,” he finally continued, his blue eyes lighting up. “Last we talked, you hadn’t figured out where the proceeds from your event would go.”
Emma let her arms drop down by her side. “To a charity that my mom would approve of. I’m looking at a few cancer-related ones and narrowing down my decision.” She’d just decided yesterday to even have an event. Everything was moving so fast.
Jack grinned. “Well, I have a suggestion. The Women’s Wellness Center is doing a full-day event in Evergreen Park in August, raising money and awareness for women’s health issues, cancer included. I spoke to Dr. Rivers when she booked it.”
Emma’s throat grew tight as she listened. There was a slight ringing in her ears, and she could feel the blood rushing through her heart. She’d been avoiding the Women’s Wellness Center. Fear had kept her from going to her yearly checkup, and it was also keeping her from rescheduling. What if the checkup showed the same results her mom had gotten at this age? What if this was it? What if…
“Emma?” Jack’s brow creased as he looked at her across the kitchen island. “You okay?”
She nodded quickly. Then she forced herself to take a breath and smile to reassure him. “So what exactly are you suggesting?”
“Well, I haven’t spoken to Dr. Rivers yet, but I thought your 5K event would fit in nicely with that one. They’re raising money and awareness for women’s health issues, one of which took your mom’s life. What if your event supported those screenings and consultations that could help other women avoid what happened to your mom?”
Emma shook her head. “I’m not sure, Jack.”
He drew back. “Why not? It’s perfect.”
Emma felt weak and shaky. Perfect maybe, but it was hitting too close to home right now. How could she support and encourage women to do something that she couldn’t even bring herself to do? Here she was trying to honor her mom’s memory and the best way to do that was to take care of her own health—but she couldn’t.
* * *
Jack had expected that Emma would be ecstatic over his suggestion, but instead she appeared to be on the verge of a panic attack. “Am I missing something here?” His gaze lowered to her fidgeting hands.
“I’m just not sure, that’s all.”
“This would be perfect for your event. A symbiotic relationship,” he said, copying his nephew. Emma didn’t look impressed.
“Didn’t your mom go to the Women’s Wellness Center?” he asked.
Emma nodded. “That was where they discovered that something was wrong. It was just a routine checkup.” She looked down at Barnaby at her feet, and Jack could feel the emotion pulsing off her. Maybe he was wrong to think this was a good setup for her event. So many years had passed that he didn’t realize this would be a painful suggestion, but obviously it was.
He got off the stool and stepped toward her. His motion seemed to startle her because she straightened from the counter that she was leaning against. Barnaby rose as well.
“What are you doing?” she asked, a note of suspicion playing in her words.
“Just trying to comfort you.”
“By doing what?”
He stood only a couple feet away now. He took another step, closing that gap. “Any way I can. I thought this would be a good solution to our problem, but if it’s not, I’ll figure something else out.”
The muscles of her throat tightened as she seemed to swallow. “Are there any other events I can join with this summer?”
His knee-jerk reaction was a grimace. “You can join with the Save the Bears Organization.”
As he’d hoped, this made Emma smile. “I’m not sure that’s a good fit for honoring my mom.” She sighed and leaned over the counter again. “Maybe this whole idea is stupid anyway. I mean, she’s been gone for eighteen years. If I hadn’t seen that Life List of hers, I wouldn’t even be doing this.”
Unable to help himself, Jack reached out and put a hand on her arm, the touch of her silky soft skin firing up every cell in his body. She responded with that startled look of hers again, but she didn’t pull away. “I think this is a great idea. I think she’d be happy that you’re doing it.”
Emma’s throat seemed to constrict as she visibly swallowed.
“Most of the events happen during the day,” he continued, “and we rarely book nighttime events because of