My Sweet Valentine

by Sanders, Jill

  “That's good to hear. We heard it was a bad fall.” Aaron shook his head. “I wasn't on duty at the hospital that night, since I'm still out on maternity leave.” Aaron smiled quickly. “But I heard they were overrun with immigrants with hypothermia.” He shook his head and frowned a little.

  “Yeah, it was a long night for everyone.” He turned to Luke. “So, getting hitched, huh?”

  Luke's smile doubled. “You're coming to the party this Friday?”

  “Yeah. I'm not sure about Tom Selleck, though.” He frowned. He really just wanted to wear something normal.

  “No,” Iian shook his head and stared at him. “We all have to do what our wives tell us, and since I have to go dressed as Ace Frehley, according to Allison, then you have to go dressed up as well.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  Allen shook his head. “One big difference…I'm still a bachelor.”

  Iian and Aaron shook their heads. “You're seeing Sara. You have no choice but to dress up.”

  “What does that mean?” He frowned a little.

  Todd laughed. “Sara is the queen of costumes. You wouldn't think it to look at her, but the girl has more costumes than a costume shop. Every year for Halloween, costume balls, or even school plays, she always outdid everyone else.”

  “She actually walked around one year in a big plastic bubble when she was dressed as the good witch from the Wizard of Oz.”

  “Glenda,” Aaron piped in. When everyone looked at him funny, he shrugged. “Lacey loves old movies. We watched it a few weeks ago.”

  “Well, whatever. She had a huge ball dress, white wig, and a wand, and she rolled around town in that thing. It was great.” Todd smiled.

  Before Allen could reply, a group of teens walked in and all through the game, as they were getting their butt's handed to them by kids half their age, Allen wondered what else there was to discover about Sara and why he was looking forward to finding out.

  Sara looked at the fake hair in her hands and smiled. It was going to be perfect. Her outfit was already in the shopping cart when she'd spotted the fake mustache from across the room. She hadn't planned on buying Allen's costume, but everything was there. The Hawaiian shirt, the big sunglasses and now the mustache. She stuck them all in her cart.

  If he decided not to wear them, she told herself, she wouldn't mind. Dressing up was one of her guilty pleasures. Most women had wine or chocolate. She didn't like the taste of wine and since she was around chocolate all the time, it just wasn't that desirable to her.

  By the time she made it back to Pride, full dark had settled in. The small town's lights welcomed her as she drove through the side streets. She'd met with the elderly woman who owned the house that she and Josie were going to rent. Since Josie was absent and couldn't sign the lease, Sara had put everything into her name and paid the deposit. She'd worked it out that Josie's deposit would come after she'd gotten her deposit back from her landlord in Seattle.

  Now all Sara needed to do was move in some furniture and wait for Josie to arrive, which would be after the new year.

  When she drove up to her house, she noticed a shadow cross the side of the house. Shutting off her car, she stepped out and yelled.

  “Nick, you'd better run home before I tell your mother you were sneaking around here.” When Nick's head popped out of the bushes, reminding Sara of a whack-em game, she almost laughed. “Why don't you just ring the bell next time.” She grabbed her bags and started towards the house.

  “Don't tell my mother.” Nick rushed over to her, helping her with her bags. “She doesn't know I'm seeing Becca tonight. I'm…” He looked around. “I'm kinda grounded.”

  She laughed. “Well, since you're helping me in with these”—she held up her bags—“I suppose I can let it slip this once.” Before they made it to the front door, Becca opened it and looked out wearing very short pink shorts and an almost see-through white tank top. Sara stepped in front of her. “No, you don't. Get back inside right now and put some clothes on. Nick can't stay, anyway.” Sara turned towards Nick, whose eyes had almost popped out of his head. “Goodnight, Nick.” Sara grabbed her bags and shut the door in his face, then turned on her sister. “Just what do you think you're doing?”

  “What was Nick doing here?” She looked innocent, but Sara knew better.

  “Listen, that probably works with Mom, but I've been in your position before. Having boys over here, dressed like that”—Sara waved her hands up and down her sister—“will only get you one thing. You don't want to go down that path at your age. Not yet.” Sara picked up her bags and walked into the kitchen.

  “Oh, hello, dear.” Her mother turned and smiled at her. “How was your shopping trip?”

  “Beneficial. Want to see what I bought?” Her mother stood and walked over to the table. She had always loved her eccentric taste in costumes.

  The next day, she gave Allen his costume when he stopped by for lunch. He'd actually laughed and looked pleased when she told him that he could wear comfortable jeans with the shirt.

  “The mustache might get a little itchy, but after a while I bet you forget it's there.” She smiled up at him.

  “If all I have to wear is a Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses, and a fake mustache, I guess I'll survive.” He pulled her closer, “So, what are you going as?”

  “Oh no,” she shook her head. “You'll just have to wait and see.” She went up on her toes and placed a kiss on his mouth. “But I can promise you, you are going to love it.”

  “Does it involve fish net? I don't know why it ever went out of style.” He shook his head and she laughed.

  “I'll give you that much. It does involve some fish net.” When his eyebrows shot up and a large smile crossed his face, she laughed.

  “Amber stopped by earlier and ordered almost everything on my menu.” She laughed. “My second gig and I haven't even opened. I'll spend all day today and tomorrow baking.” She smiled.

  “Just wait until you open. Birthday parties, graduations, weddings…I'll bet you'll be very busy.”

  “Hmm, hence the need for more employees.” She frowned.

  “Well, I'll let you get back to work.” He pulled her up for one more kiss that left her thinking of him while she finished her work. By the end of the day, she had two employee prospects. To be safe though, she posted a “help wanted” sign on the front door. By the next evening, she had three more names to add to her list.

  Since she had to arrive at the party early to deliver all the goodies she'd baked, she'd told Allen she'd meet him there. Becca had agreed to help out and before leaving the bakery, they had taken their time changing into their outfits. Getting all the boxes into the back of her car was a pain and she gave serious thought to buying a small van for deliveries.

  When they arrived at Luke's house, Nick was standing in the driveway and he helped them carry everything in, after which, he and Becca had quickly disappeared.

  She set up everything with Amber's help and ran her car back home, just a few houses down. She walked back and was just sitting down to a drink when the first guests started arriving. She stood back and enjoyed seeing all her friends and the other townspeople dressed up, enjoying themselves.

  Half an hour later when Allen walked in the door, she held her breath at the sight of him standing in the doorway. How had she ever gotten the attention of someone so kind, so generous, and so good looking? He was every bit the part that he looked tonight. Strong, handsome, the protector. What had she been thinking? How had she let things escalate this quickly? More importantly, what was she going to do now that she knew she had really fallen for him?

  Chapter Ten

  Allen walked into the room to a bunch of cheers. People slapped him on his back, laughed, or just shook their heads at him. He didn't like all the attention, but smiled and kept walking farther into Luke's house.

  He'd looked around the crowded place for Sara, but so far he hadn't seen her. He saw all of his other friends, and had even spotted Becca,
but no Sara.

  “Hi,” someone said behind him. He turned thinking it was Sara, but instead stood a woman dressed as Cyndi Lauper. If he hadn’t known better, he would have sworn it was Cyndi Lauper standing there. Her half-yellow, half-red hair stood in spikes. Bright colored makeup covered one eye and half her cheek, and her lips were a dark shade of purple. Beads of every color hung around her neck and wrists. Her tank top was net and her skirt flared out. When he looked down at her legs and saw bright pink fishnets, his eyes flashed back to her face.

  “Sara?” She smiled and he could see it was her. How could he have not known it was her with that smile? “Wow.” He smiled back at her and slowly started walking around her. His eyes traveled every inch of her outrageous outfit. “Best costume ever.” He crossed his arms over his chest and smiled down at her. “You even look shorter.”

  She smiled. “I'm wearing flats. Usually I wear something with a heel. I don't know. You're rocking the Tom Selleck look. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were his twin.”

  He grunted and took the beer someone offered him. “Yeah, well.”

  “Don't you like dressing up?”

  “Love it.” The sarcasm rolled off his smile. “I hear you're really into it, though.”

  She nodded and smiled again. “I guess I've always had a thing for dressing up. It started right after my father left. He took off with Mom's best friend a week before Halloween.”

  “Ouch.” He shook his head. “I'm sorry.”

  “For?” Her eyebrows rose.

  “The stupidity of some in my gender.” He smiled and took a swig of his beer. He hadn't heard about her dad.

  “Well, anyway, that Halloween, walking around in my strawberry shortcake costume, all my worries, all my sadness disappeared. I guess you can say every time I dress up, I get that feeling back.”

  “Well, then, let's not waste it.” He set his beer down and took her hands. “I hear music in the next room. What do you say we go enjoy the night?”

  She laughed as he pulled them into the next room. He'd only been to two other costume parties in his life, and neither of those could touch this one. By the time midnight rolled around, everyone was crowded into the two largest rooms in the house. Everyone cheered at the end of the countdown. He pulled Sara into his arms and welcomed the new year with one of the hottest kisses he could remember.

  By the time he walked her to her house, just a block over, most of the other guests had already left. The streets were empty as a light snow fell, making the world seem cut off and silent.

  “It's so beautiful here.” Sara stepped back and wrapped her arms around her chest as flakes landed in her hair. She started turning slowly, enjoying the rush of air. “I'm so happy that I came home.” When she stopped spinning, he gathered her into his arms and gently pulled the wig from her head. He wanted to see the snow fall on her dark hair, to feel it in his hands.

  “I'm so happy you came home, too.” He leaned down and kissed her lips. Her purple lipstick had worn off halfway through the night and he'd ripped the damn fake mustache off his lip after his first beer. Now, her lips tasted like heaven and felt like silk. His fingers moved into her soft hair. When she wrapped her arms tighter around him, she moaned and he felt her shiver.

  “You feel so good.” She pulled back and smiled at him. “I don't know what I did to deserve you.”

  He pulled her close and started walking towards her house again. She was a little drunk, and he was sure it was close to freezing out. Her long, dark coat kept out a lot of the cold, but still he didn't want her to catch a cold.

  “Why Pride?” She stopped and looked at him.

  “Pardon?”

  “Why did you move to Pride? There are Coastguard stations everywhere. What made you stop here?” She looked up at him, her dark hair getting matted with the wetness of the snow.

  “To be honest, I'm not really sure. When I was stationed in Afghanistan, and our chopper went down, I had a dream of a beach. The first time I stopped along the Oregon coast, I knew I wanted to stay.” He smiled and put his hand in hers, gently getting her to walk again.

  “It is beautiful. Have you been to Haystack beach?” She tugged on his arm.

  “No. I've heard about it, but haven't made the trip yet.”

  “Oh, maybe we can go someday.” She sighed and started swinging their arms as they walked. When they finally stopped in front of her front door, underneath the protection of the front porch, he pulled her into his arms again and this time enjoyed a slow kiss that he was sure had steam rolling off his skin.

  He pulled back when he felt her shiver again and watched her disappear into her house. He walked back to his truck in the snow and finally cooled down by the time he drove up to his house. He parked and knew immediately that something was wrong. The mudroom door stood at an odd angle.

  Jumping from the truck, he rushed into his house and was rewarded with a low growl from Beast.

  “It's okay, buddy.” He flipped on the light and saw the small dog cowardly shivering in the corner. Allen punched in Robert's number as he went around the house flipping on the lights. He could instantly tell the place was empty. When Robert showed up, he was standing by the back door, waiting.

  “Nothing's missing,” he said and opened the door further. “I think they busted in the back door and when Beast greeted them with a growl, they must have taken off.”

  Robert filled out a report and walked through the house, just in case.

  “Well, I'll help you fix the door. They busted the lock, but if you want, I have a spare one in my trunk. Always carry a new one just for cases like this.”

  “Thanks. I'll go grab my tools.”

  By the time he finally got to bed, there were fewer than three hours before he needed to get back up and head in for his morning shift. His mind refused to shut down. Images of Sara kept popping into his mind. Her taste was still on his lips. She had seeped into every pore and he had become addicted to her, and he didn't know what he was going to do now.

  The day arrived when Josie was coming into town. Sara stood in the doorway of their new rental house and waited. Finally, Josie's car turned the corner, followed closely by a small moving van. When her Neon stopped, Josie jumped out and Sara rushed forward to hug her.

  “I can't believe you're here.” She jumped up and down. Josie followed her movement and said, “I can't believe I'm here.” They both did circles, laughing.

  It took the moving company less than an hour to have the truck emptied and, three hours after Josie had arrived in Pride, their house was complete.

  “I don't have a lot of furniture yet, but I'm sure we can get things as we go.” Sara stood back and looked at the small space. Josie had a couch and chair, and a small flat-screen TV that fit just right in the living room. They didn't have a kitchen table or chairs yet.

  Sara had her bed from her mother's house and most of her bedroom set. Josie had a larger bed, so she took the main bedroom.

  “Here.” Josie handed her an envelope. “I got my deposit back. Rickie tried to argue with me about a stain on the carpet, but when I pointed out that in my lease it said they'd carpet clean after I moved out, he gave it all back to me.” Sara smiled. Her friend was almost six inches shorter than she was and weighed probably half of what Sara did, but Sara knew better than to try and cross her.

  “He had no chance going up against you, trying to rip you off. Silly mortal.” She smiled when her friend struck her favorite Mortal Kombat character pose.

  “Liu Kang fears no one.” She bowed.

  “Is Liu Kang hungry?”

  “Starved.” Josie smiled. “But first, I want to see your bakery. I'm dying here!”

  “Okay, okay. First, Sara's Nook. Second, the Golden Oar.”

  Five minutes later, Sara unlocked the front door and punched in her alarm code.

  “Wow.” Josie stood in the doorway and gaped. “This is perfect.” Her friend spun around, taking in the entire room. “Now, I must see the kit
chen.” She held her arms up, like someone who was sleep walking and started walking towards the backroom.

  Sara laughed and followed her.

  “O-M-G!” Josie rushed around, looking at everything. “You got Vulcan's! Oh, look at this.” Josie rushed to her refrigerators next. She spent the next five minutes opening every drawer, looking in every appliance. When her friend pulled out a spoon that was bent, Sara walked over and took it.

  “Oh, sorry. I must have missed this one. I forgot to tell you about the break in. Well, it wasn't really a break in, more like kids making a mess. At least I've come to think of them as kids.”

  “What happened?” Josie asked, just as Sara's stomach let out a loud growl.