by Jill Sanders
“You look well rested now.”
“I am,” she said, raising her chin slightly.
“Up for dinner at my folks’ place?” he asked her.
She thought about it and nodded. “I’d want to change…”
“Good. I need to shower and change as well. Meet you at my car in”—he glanced down at his watch and hitched— “half an hour?”
She wanted to ask for more time, but something told her that he was already late for his parents’ dinner.
“Okay.” She skirted past him, but he reached out to touch her arm.
“Suzie, this doesn’t count as our date.” He smiled.
“Of course not. You won’t get off that easily.” She leaned up to place a soft kiss on his lips. “That is so you won’t have to worry if you can do that later.” She left him standing on the front porch of the cabin.
She rushed back into her parents’ house and almost bumped into her father.
“Did you have a good nap?” he asked with a smirk.
“How did…” She shook her head. “You found me at Aiden’s?”
He nodded. “When you didn’t come back from your walk, your mother sent me out looking. I bumped into Aiden, who told me you’d fallen asleep on his sofa while talking to him.”
She sighed. “I’m fine. I just overexerted myself.”
“Where are you off to now?” he asked as she raced up the stairs.
“Aiden’s parents for dinner,” she called out to him.
Changing quickly, she decided to pull her hair up into a messy bun since it would take too long to try and salvage it from the wind at the beach and the nap on Aiden’s sofa.
She was thankful her mother had brought over some of her clothes, enough that she could piece together something decent to wear.
She pulled on a pair of light blue capris and a soft cream blouse. She fixed her makeup and slipped on some sandals.
“Heading out,” she called into the house as she stepped out onto the porch.
Aiden was already leaning against his car waiting for her. His hair was still damp from his shower and when he moved around to open the car door for her, she enjoyed the scent of his cologne.
“That was fast,” he said to her as she slid in.
“I got the impression you were running late already,” she said with a shrug.
As he drove, she asked him if he had any more details about the man who had gotten away.
“No, not yet. We’re hoping Steve or Carl will give us the guy’s name or at least more details.” He glanced over at her. “I found out that someone sabotaged my dad’s patrol car so that he’d crash.”
“What?” She gasped. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, it’s why I asked to have dinner over there tonight.” He shook his head. “How am I going to tell him that someone tried to kill him?”
“Do you think this has something to do with today?” she asked.
He glanced over at her quickly. “What makes you say that?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe because for the first time in my life I found out there are men hurting and beating people in my town.”
She could tell he was thinking about it. “I’m not sure, but you can bet I’m going to look into it,” he finally said as he parked at his parents’ house.
Aiden stepped through the front door of his parents’ house without knocking. He called out that he was there and instantly had a reply from his mother.
“We’re back here,” she called out.
She had been to his house plenty of times over the years since she was friends with his sister, Carrie.
She followed him back to the kitchen area. His father was sitting at the kitchen table with his bad leg propped up on another chair while he read something on an iPad.
His mother was pulling a hot pan of lasagna from the oven.
“Oh, how wonderful,” his mother said when she spotted Suzie. “You brought Suzie along.” She waved them in and finished setting the platter down.
“Can I help you?” she asked, moving into the kitchen.
“Oh, no. You’re a guest,” Amelia said as she hugged her. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. How are you feeling?” she asked Robert.
“I’m good. Stiff, but doing better.”
Aiden sat next to his dad.
“We heard you had a little swim today,” his mother said to him.
Aiden groaned. “How?”
“Simon stopped by just before you got here,” Robert added.
“So, you know?” Aiden asked.
“Know what?” his mother questioned.
Suzie saw his father glance towards his mother then back at Aiden. Instantly, she realized that Robert had heard the news and was trying to keep it from Amelia.
Aiden stood up and walked over to wrap his arms around his mother. “Mom, someone rigged dad’s car so that he would crash.”
“What?” His mother tensed and then jerked free of her son’s hold. “And you kept this from me?” She narrowed her eyes at her husband.
“I’m working on it.” He motioned to his iPad, which he’d set down. “I was going to tell you when I found out something more.”
Amelia walked over to Robert and knelt beside him. “No more secrets. You know I can handle it.”
“I know.”
Suzie watched Aiden’s parents have a tender moment before his mother kissed his father and returned to the kitchen.
“They never fight.” Aiden rolled his eyes. “It’s kind of sickening really.”
“We fight,” his father said with a smile.
“Right.” Aiden looked over at her and shook his head as he mouthed, “No, they don’t.”
She laughed. “My parents are the same.” She turned to Amelia. “At least let me set the table.”
For the next few minutes, she helped Aiden’s mother get everything ready for the meal. When they were all sitting around the table enjoying the food, Aiden and his father started up the conversation about the accident.
Suzie listened and tried to come up with her own idea of who would want to hurt the sheriff.
Just listening to the two men talk, she realized that she really had no clue what went on in her little town.
Robert talked about a group of men that ran an illegal gambling ring in town. He’d been getting close to finding out who was running the ring just before his accident.
“Do you think that they had anything to do with the accident?” Amelia asked.
“It’s worth looking into,” Robert suggested and looked to Aiden.
“I’ll check it out. If you give me the names of the men that you were checking into…” Aiden asked.
“I didn’t have much. Just a name—Buddy.” Robert shrugged. “I’d heard that he sometimes comes into town during the summer season, when the tourist flock into the area. So, Simon and I were taking turns staking out the docks.”
“Did you see anything?” Aiden asked.
“No, nothing,” Robert admitted.
“Still, you must have pissed someone off,” Amelia said.
“What do you suggest our next move is?” Aiden asked his father.
“Why don’t we clean this up while the men talk shop?” Amelia asked her.
While she helped Amelia clean up after dinner, Aiden and Robert talked about possible ways to catch the group of men hell-bent on destroying their small town.
She stood by while Aiden helped his father move from the kitchen table to a chair in the living room. The conversation turned away from police work and moved towards town gossip.
After all, nothing went on in Pride that someone didn’t know about. Which is why it seemed odd to her that no one knew about the gambling ring.
“What are they gambling on?” she asked as the night wound down. She was once again feeling drained of energy.
“That’s the question,” Robert said, looking over at his son. “I could never figure it out. I mean, are they betting on sports or are t
here are secret card games hidden in Pride?”
“I doubt that. I mean, someone would talk, right?” Aiden said with a shrug. “So now that we know the ring has something to do with the docks, I’ll want to case it out,” Aiden finished.
“No.” Amelia stood up, shaking her head. “No, you won’t.” She turned to Robert. “Tell him.”
Robert sighed and ran his hands over his head. “Amy, we both know Aiden can handle himself.”
“It’s my job,” Aiden jumped in.
“No, it’s not,” Amelia said. “Your job is in Portland, filing reports.” Suzie glanced over at Aiden with a frown, but since Aiden didn’t respond, she continued. “You’re just filling in until your father gets back on his feet.”
“Amy.” Robert reached for his wife. “We talked about this.”
Amelia turned to Robert. “I don’t care. If they could do that to you, and you’re the smartest, strongest man I have ever met, then why on earth would I allow my baby to march in the direct line of danger?”
“Mom.” Aiden stood up and wrapped his arms around his mother. “Like Dad said, I can handle myself.”
“I know you can,” Amelia said after a long moment. “I just never thought… I had hoped…”
The moment was so much like the moment she’d had with her own family a few days ago when she’d been injured that she couldn’t look away.
On the drive back, he remained silent and she could tell he was still troubled.
“You didn’t tell me you were a file clerk?” She figured to tease him. It did the trick. He smiled and looked over at her.
“I’m not.” He chuckled.
“So? Then what?” She tilted her head. “Mail clerk?”
He laughed. “Okay, now that’s hitting low.”
She turned slightly towards him as he parked beside her car. “Your mother seems to think you file reports?”
He shut off the engine and turned towards her. “I do, that’s part of police work.”
He reached up and played with her hair bun. A moment later, her hair spilled free.
She reached up to fix it, but he stopped her.
“I like it down.” He ran his fingers through her tangled hair.
“It’s a mess.” She chuckled.
“You’re beautiful.” He pulled her close and kissed her, and her entire body responded to his touch. “Because I know we’re within eyesight of your parents’ house, I’ll pull back now before I won’t be able to.” He rested his forehead against her own.
“I’m going back to my apartment in the morning and heading to work after,” she told him with a smile. “Date night tomorrow?”
He frowned. “I can’t tomorrow. How about… Sunday?”
She shrugged. “Sunday it is then.”
He glanced towards the house and saw the porch light flip on.
“I’d better go in.” She nodded towards the house. “Will I see you before Sunday?”
He nodded. “Lunch? Tomorrow?”
“I eat lunch,” she answered with a smile.
“Your place? Your cousins finished installing your new security system at the store. I’d like a chance to look it over.”
“So, would I,” she answered with a chuckle. “You bring the pizza.”
“It’s a deal.” He got out and rushed around to open her door for her. “Since I like where I’m staying, I won’t kiss you out here in the open.” He nodded towards her house.
Smiling, she reached up on her toes and placed a kiss on his lips. “My parents like you, Aiden. They have all your life. If they don’t like me kissing you, then they shouldn’t watch.”
Chapter 16
Aiden spent the following three nights staking out the docks. The first night he’d sat in his car a block away. The leftover pizza he ate while he waited was nowhere near as nice as when he’d had it for lunch with Suzie.
He was impressed with the security system her cousins had installed and even more impressed watching her work for a few minutes when someone came in and wanted a special bouquet.
He’d never known so much work went into arranging flowers.
After that first uncomfortable night in the car, he used his father’s boat instead and enjoyed sitting on the deck under the stars. He’d even made sure to stop by the Golden Oar to grab takeout before heading down there so he had a better dinner.
By the end of the third night, he was beginning to think that the ring was onto them and had moved on.
As he parked in front of the bakery the next morning, he spotted Suzie having breakfast with a couple of her cousins when he walked in.
“Hi, Aiden,” one of them called out to him.
“Morning.” He nodded and got in line to order his coffee.
Suddenly, Suzie was beside him. “Hey,” she said to him.
“Hey.” He smiled and wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to his side. “Did you already eat?”
“I have,” she said easily, then she lowered her voice. “How’s it going?”
He shrugged and glanced around. “So far, nothing.” He’d told her how important it was to keep everything quiet. They both knew that rumors spread like wildflowers in the small town.
“I could always join you tonight?” she asked as they moved closer to the counter.
“No.” He frowned when he thought of her getting hurt again. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
She shrugged and then motioned that it was his turn to order.
“Come sit with me,” she said as he gathered up his coffee and muffin. “My cousins were just leaving.” She said the last a little louder, and her cousins practically scattered. “See, we have the booth all to ourselves,” she said with a laugh.
Each of her cousins said hi and bye to him as they passed him.
He sat across from her and drank his coffee and ate his muffin while she filled him in on what her cousins were up to. He’d run into them a few times and had even had a wonderful chat with Lilly the other morning.
It was strange the way her family treated him like part of their family. Him and his family. He knew that Todd Jordan and his father had been best friends for their entire lives.
He found the easy talk soothing and asked her about how her shop was doing. She filled him in on all the wedding orders she had lined up. She was excited that she was going to be able to expand her hours thanks to Kate working out so well.
“That’s good. Maybe you can help my dad hire a few more people after I leave. The way I see it, he’s short at least four bodies,” he said as he finished up his coffee.
“You could always…” She started then sighed. “Never mind.”
“If I wanted to stick around, I would take the job in a heartbeat,” he admitted and just saying those words had him looking towards the door. He’d thought about it on and off, but his gut feeling was still leading him away from the small town.
“But you don’t want to stick around,” she finished for him.
“Maybe someday I will want to return home. For now, I’d like to see what else I can do out there.” He motioned towards the windows, but in his mind, he was thinking about Portland or some other city where he could make a difference.
“I get it. I was the same way a few years back. I wanted to experience things for myself.” She frowned slightly.
“And did you?” he asked, intrigued.
“Yes.” She nodded her head.
“Something tells me you got more than you bargained for.”
She glanced at her watch and then asked. “Don’t you have to be somewhere?”
“No, I still have half an hour.” He waved for some more coffee. After they each had a fresh cup, he motioned for her to start talking.
“I was coming home one night from work. My apartment was in a gated area, so I didn’t think anything about parking a little further away from my door if all the spots up front were taken.” She gripped her mug with both hands, as if trying to warm herself as she remembered the ordeal. “Ther
e were a couple kids skateboarding. I’d seen them hanging around the apartments before. I didn’t see the man waiting in the stairwell.”
He tensed and felt his temper grow as he thought of her walking into a bad situation. She stopped talking and was now gripping her hands together tightly.
Setting his own mug down, he reached across the table and took her hand in his. “Go on,” he encouraged her.
Her eyes met his. “He was waiting for his ex-girlfriend. Apparently, she had lived in the apartment next to mine before I moved in. She’d locked the guy away for abusing her and his time was up. He still had the code to the gate but didn’t know she’d moved away. He mistook me for her because we were both the same build and hair color and it was dark. If it hadn’t been for those kids, I probably wouldn’t be here right now.”
“How bad were you hurt?”
“I had a black eye for a few days. And the privilege of watching the bastard hauled away for good,” she said with a smile.
“Is that why you came home?”
“No. That was the first year I was at school. I came home because I wanted to be here. I wanted to open All in Bloom.”
During work later, he thought about Suzie’s words. He knew that people often had a deep desire to go places and only wished that he had that drive. Sure, he had the drive to be in the city. The drive to make a difference. But so far, he didn’t care where that was. Just wherever the opportunity was the best.
His workdays were filled with basic cop duties. Helping out was rewarding and tiring.
He was beginning to think that he was never going catch a break and find out anything more about the gambling ring in his hometown. But then he pulled over an out-of-towner who claimed that he was going on a charter fishing trip.
The man was dressed in leather and chains and was built like Arnold Schwarzenegger. He looked like he’d swallowed the Terminator himself. There was no way the guy was going on a chartered fishing trip. Even though he was driving a sports car that cost as much as Aiden made in a year.
He took down the man’s information, making a note that his name was Joe Coffman and he was from LA, then he gave him a ticket for speeding. The man didn’t even blink an eye at the charge, and Aiden wondered if he should have doubled it as he watched the guy drive into town.
