Free Being Emma by Jeanne Harrell

them.
    “Just about Mom and Dad… And how hard six
kids must have been.”
    “I can say amen to that. Three’s a lot of
work. Lily must have had some help occasionally.”
    “She did,” Colt remembered. “By the time
Janie was born, I think Mom had a cook for a while. There was
definitely a girl in to babysit when needed.”
    Mandy glanced at Craig when Janie’s name came
up.
    “Have you seen her since you’ve been
back?”
    “Not much. We ran into each other at Naples
Bar my first night back and she was with what’s-his-name. Quite a
Welcome Home…”
    “… None of us really knows what’s going on,
Craig. She’s going through some changes apparently.”
    Colt set his beer down. “Have you been
practicing together at the archery range?”
    “No, I haven’t even been there myself, so I’m
not sure about what she’s doing.”
    Craig looked over at Mandy.
    “Do you think she’s serious about this
guy?”
    “I think you two need to talk. It’s high
time…”
    “High time to talk about what?” Mandy glanced
at Colt. He leaned forward and spoke sincerely.
    “For you to tell her how you feel,
Craig.”
    “And how’s that?” Craig put his bottle down
and looked at him.
    “Oh, come on… Even the twins know you’re in
love with her. Why can’t you admit it to yourself?” Craig leaned
back in his chair and ran his hand through his hair.
    “I have, but why should I torture myself? She
only thinks of me as her friend and archery pal. She’s never
thought of me in any other way.”
    “That doesn’t mean she won’t… Have a little
faith.”
    Craig smiled at them both. “You probably just
don’t realize what a special thing you two have. To love somebody
and have them love you back, well… it’s an incredible thing… and
rare. I don’t know if I’m going to have that in my life.”
    Mandy was getting teary and Colt cleared his
throat. Craig stood up.
    “Thanks for dinner, but I need to take off.
My computer froze up today in the midst of trying to get all the
Johnson Family Trust accounts in order for Sandy and Bill to take
to Vegas. I have an early day tomorrow…”
    He walked to the door and picked up his
cowboy hat. Mandy gave him a hug, while Colt shook his hand.
    “Jeez, folks… No one has died here. Lighten
the atmosphere a bit, would you? Love those babies…” And then he
was gone. Mandy burst into tears, while Colt searched for a tissue.
Handing her one, she blotted her face before speaking.
    “And we all used to be ssso happy. What
happened?” Colt took her in his arms and smoothed her hair.
    “We’ll be happy again. Janie’s changing and
Craig will need to change with her.”
    “What does she want, Colt? Mike?”
    “Only Janie knows that answer, sweetheart.
Maybe it’s time to talk to Grandma.” She pulled out of his arms and
smiled slyly.
    “Of course… Jeanne. She always knows what to
do. I’m calling her tomorrow.”
    “In the meantime, do you think you could come
to bed with your husband? He really would like to get you naked.”
She kissed him long and slow…
    “What a sweet talker you are, Mr. Johnson.”
She teasingly raised her eyebrows and took his hand to lead him
into their bedroom. Colt followed and closed the door behind
them…

 
     
     
    CHAPTER NINE
     
     
    Dispatch was fairly busy the next day. All
the deputies at the Sheriff’s Office had been out on several calls,
wracking up many new entries in the logbooks. Janie had even been
out on a call with Ethan once. He was finally speaking to her –
professionally. Which was just fine with her… She was in the
station, checking some inventory when another call came in. The
dispatcher yelled back that a 10-56 was reported – a suicide
attempt. Janie blew out a breath. Better an attempt than an actual
suicide… Those were tough calls to put behind you.
    “I got it, James. You just came back.” Janie
grabbed her jacket and strode out of the station.
    “Thanks,” James called out to her