“I think everyone from town came in this morning.” Becca smiled.
“Yes, and no one could get over how wonderful of a job you'd done.” Josie smiled.
“Lunch should be slower.” She nibbled on her lip. She knew that the Golden Oar would always be there, but her sandwiches and soup were great for people who had to have a quick lunch and didn't have time for a sit-down meal. They even offered paper bag lunches, ready for those in a real hurry. It was the closest thing to a drive-through that Pride had or would ever see.
They had almost two dozen special orders that would need to be filled. She had Rosalyn working on some of them already. Every item on her menu had been ordered, but by far the coffee and lattes had been the biggest hit. Almost everyone who entered her door had walked out with a decorative Sara's Nook thermal coffee mug, which could be refilled at a fraction of the cost, rather than purchasing a coffee in a paper cup.
A half an hour later, the lunch crowd started coming in and by the time Sara closed the front doors at two, her feet hurt. They still had a few hours of baking to do for special orders that would be picked up tomorrow, and some prep work that needed to be done, but she was looking forward to a quiet night at Allen's. When Josie asked if she wanted to come over to the apartment and celebrate the success of the day, she wavered. But seeing her friend’s face, she decided to enjoy the night with her friend and text Allen her plans to stay late.
Since she'd driven her own car today, which was already parked across the street, she could drive herself back to his place later.
When they closed up the store an hour later, they walked arm in arm across the street.
“I have a bottle of champagne I bought just for this occasion,” Josie said as she started skipping.
“Champagne? What would we have done had the day not been so successful?” Sara asked.
“Drank away our worries.” They both laughed.
When they walked up the stairs to the apartment above O'Neil’s store, Sara realized how tired she was, but she didn't want to let her friend down. One glass, she told herself.
One and a half glasses and a large piece of brownie later, she waved at Josie as she backed out of the parking lot. It was just past nine and she noticed Patty had already closed up shop. Patty's closed early on the weekends, but Sara's eyes were on the bakery. The windows were dark and the sign that hung over the windows shown with brightness. “Sara's Nook” sat in fancy print with “Bakery, Deli, Catering” below in simple fonts. She'd never been more proud of anything in her life.
Allen had called her and told her he had taken someone else's shift for the night and wouldn't be home until late. She had considered staying at Josie's, but then she thought of Beast. The poor dog probably needed to go out.
When she drove up to the house, she heard him scratching at the door. “I'm coming, boy.” She grabbed her bag and hurried towards the door. The rain was just starting and she almost slipped on the stone pathway that led to the mudroom door. She was digging in her purse, looking for the keys that Allen had given her when the world went dark.
Allen drove up his driveway and smiled when he saw Sara's car parked in front of the garage. He'd stopped by for breakfast and lunch today and knew the place had been packed both times. He hadn't gotten to see her for the breakfast rush because it had been too busy, but he'd pulled her aside at lunch and had kissed her until he'd felt her vibrating. He couldn't wait to do it again.
When he parked his truck, the lights reflected on something on the stone path. He rushed out of the truck, leaving it running.
“Sara!” he screamed over and over again as he pulled her into his arms. She was cold, very cold. He noticed the blood on the stone and the ground below her. His hands shook as he felt her neck for a pulse. When he felt a weak one, he quickly pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed 911.
Later, he stood in the emergency room at Edgeview hospital when Patricia Lander rushed, Becca on her heels. “Where is she?”
“They've got her in x-ray,” Allen said, pushing his hair away from his forehead. It was taking too long. It had been at least fifteen minutes since they'd rolled her to the back. He'd called her mother five minutes after they'd arrived at the hospital via ambulance. He'd followed them the entire time, silently praying that she'd be okay.
He hadn't even stopped to let Beast out, but had left that to Robert, who'd shown up before the ambulance.
“She must have slipped,” he'd told him. Robert had looked at the situation and frowned. Allen didn't like what he knew that meant. Robert had asked to look around after he'd covered Sara up with a thermal blanket and made sure Allen didn't try to move her. Allen had tossed him the house keys and told him to do whatever he wanted.
Just then the doctor came out. “Mrs. Lander.” He walked up to her and nodded his head. “Becca. Why don't we go in my office.” He started walking down the hall.
“Please, can Allen come along?” Becca turned and took his arm. The doctor frowned.
“Yes, he's with Sara. He was the one who found her.” Patricia took his other arm.
“I'll leave it up to you.” The doctor continued on his way, with the three of them following.
When everyone was crammed into the small office, the doctor behind his desk, he sat back and frowned.
“Sara has a concussion and a nasty cut on the back of her head. Now, this could have happened by either a fall, as suggested by Mr. Masters here, or she could have been attacked. What makes me lean towards the latter is the large chunk of wood we found lodged in her skin. You told the officer on scene that she was found on your stone pathway and that there was nothing near her.”
“Yes,” Allen frowned. “There aren't any trees or bushes around that pathway. There weren’t any logs or branches near where I found her. It looked, at least to me, like she had slipped on the stones and fallen back. But…if she was hit over the head with something…” He stood and took two steps. “I need to call Robert.”
“I've already notified him. He told me he'll be here shortly. All we can do is wait. Sara hasn't woken up yet and we are watching her closely.”
“Thank you, Eugene.” Patricia smiled at the man. The doctor took her hand in his and smiled back at her.
“If there's anything more I can do, just let me know.” He patted her hand and then walked over and opened his door.
When they walked out, Josie came rushing towards them. “Where is she? Is she okay?” Deputy Larry was right behind her.
“She's resting.” The doctor looked at Josie, then he turned to Allen and said, “You can see her one at a time. Follow me, I'll show you to her room.”
When Larry followed along, Becca looked at Josie with questions in her eyes. She shrugged her shoulders.
“I’d had three glasses of champagne, so I called the station and Larry drove me up here.” Becca waved towards him. Larry followed them upstairs, where they took turns seeing Sara. Everyone agreed to allow Allen to stay with her the longest.
Robert showed up soon after and when Allen walked out of Sara's room to give Josie her turn, he pulled Robert aside and bombarded him with questions.
“Hang on, hang on. I've got a million of the same questions that you do. No, I didn't find anything that she could have hit her head on other than the stones and grass. I did find a huge tree branch a few yards away, but at this point, I can't be sure if it's what was used. I did find tire tracks in the mud down the road. It looks like a car pulled off just above your place, did a U-turn, and parked. No footprints, though. We've taken molds, but the chances…”
“Yeah.” Allen started pacing in front of Robert. He wanted action. He wanted to rip someone apart. But he had to know that Sara was okay first.
“I took care of your dog. He's at our place until you can make it back.”
“Thanks.”
“Hey, don't thank me. Now that my kids have a puppy to play with, my next stop for the day is to see if Marcus has any more. Even Amelia is behind it.”
He shook his head. “How's she doing?”
Allen relayed what the doctor had told them an hour earlier.
“Anything missing at the place?”
“No, it doesn't appear they entered your place. I drove by the bakery just to make sure. The alarm is still on and everything looked clear, but we'll be keeping an eye on it more closely.”
“Thanks.” Allen was focusing on the door to Sara's room. When Josie walked out, tears streaming down her face, he wanted to go over and comfort her, but instead she walked into Larry's waiting arms. Both Robert and Allen noticed the move. Larry looked away with a slight smile on his lips.
Sara's mother and sister took turns next, and by two in the morning, Allen settled down in the chair next to Sara's bed.
Chapter Fourteen
Around seven the next morning, Sara woke to find Allen stretched out on a small chair, his head rolled all the way back, resting on the wall. When she tried to move, pain shot from the back of her skull down her shoulders and arms.
Gripping her head, she moved slowly until finally she sat up. She must have made a lot of noise, because Allen was by her side when she opened her eyes again.
“How are you feeling?” He had dark circles under his eyes and his clothes were wrinkled.
“My head hurts. Did I slip on the rocks?” He shook his head.
“What do you remember?” He took her hand and held it in his.
She closed her eyes and thought about it. “I was walking towards the mudroom door. Beast was whining and scratching at the door to be let out. I remember the stones were slippery.” She tilted her head, the slight motion sending pain shooting through her neck. Closing her eyes on the pain, she said, “That's it.”
“The doctor and Robert think that you were attacked.”
Sara's eyes flew open. “My stalker?”
“They don't know. What time did you get home?”
She closed her eyes again. She was finding the darkness soothing. “I left Josie's around ten.”
“I drove up at a quarter to eleven. Does the light bother you?” She heard him stand up and walk away, not wanting to chance opening her eyes again until he said. “I've turned the lights off. See if that helps.” When she opened them again, he was standing beside her.
“It does. Thank you. Are my mother and sister here?”
“I'm not sure. Let me go check.” He walked to the door. Five minutes later, her mother and sister walked in. A few minutes later, the doctor and nurses walked in and pushed everyone out of the room.
A concussion hurt a lot more than she would have thought. When she moved too much, her stomach threatened to revolt so she lay as still as she could. Turning her head hurt her neck and back, so she didn't. They ended up keeping her for one more night. Josie showed up later that evening.
“Don't worry. Everything went smoothly today. Allen called and kept me up to date on your status. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made it through the day.” Josie held her hand. “I should have forced you to stay the night.”
“No, it's not your fault. Like you've told me a million times, there was nothing we could have done.”
“You're right. I know it.” Her friend pulled out a box. “I brought you some of my rice crispy treats. I know how you love them.”
Sara smiled. “The ones with the chocolate chips and caramel in them?”
Josie smiled. “Of course.”
The next day Sara sat up on Allen's couch, surrounded by a dozen people. It was a tradition in Pride, something she'd always grown up with, that when someone was in need, the whole town gathered behind them.
There was more food than people and the noise level was almost causing her head to explode, but she smiled and talked to everyone, enjoying the support.
Allen, for the most part, stood in the corner frowning. His buddies were right there with him. She was sure they were all trying to come up with a plan of attack. But how did you attack someone when you had no clue who it was?”
“They are probably working out a schedule,” Allison said beside her.
“Schedule?” Beast was snuggled on her lap, causing her to be warm.
“Sure. Remember what they did for me when Kevin was stalking me? They never left me alone for a moment. It was quite annoying, and also very thoughtful.” Allison smiled.
“Oh, yeah.” Sara looked off towards the men and realized her friend was right. They were all looking down at their phones, most likely scheduling their shifts.
After everyone left, Sara lay down on the couch while Allen finished cleaning up. She must have fallen asleep, because she woke to him carrying her upstairs.
“I guess I'm a little tired.”
“Yeah, it's been a busy day. Do you want anything?”
“No.” She snuggled into his chest and sighed. “Just you.”
When he reached the room, he laid her down on the bed and removed her shoes, then he pulled off his shirt and crawled in next to her. She tried to pull him closer for a kiss, but he looked down at her. “You need your rest. There will be time for us later, after you feel better.”
“Hmm,” She snuggled into his arms and fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.
Over the course of the next few days, she wasn't left alone. Allen finally let her go back into the bakery on Tuesday. He dropped her off and picked her up. When he worked late, Josie or Allison stayed with her at the house. When they were unavailable, Todd, Iian, or Robert were there.
She didn't mind it, really. But a week later, she was starting to wonder how much longer everyone could continue living like this.
Allen was on his hundredth lap when he looked up through the water and saw Robert standing at the edge of the pool. Pulling himself out, he took his towel and started drying off.
“We might have a break.” Robert handed him a folder.
Opening the file, Allen read the report as Robert talked to him.
“It appears that Stephan and Bethany Mathis, Sara's old bosses at Seattle's West Bakery, are getting a divorce. Mrs. Mathis has accused her husband of being unfaithful with one of their employees. No names were listed, but when I started checking into things, I called and asked Mr. Mathis his whereabouts at the time of Sara's attack. He gave me an alibi that didn't check out. Looking into it further, I found a car he’d rented with his credit card. The mileage and return date check out with a trip down here. I told the detectives in Seattle, and they brought him in for further questioning.”
“Do you think Sara and…” He couldn't say it.
Robert shook his head. “No, in her file she stated she hadn't been in any relationships with him.”
He felt his breath leave his chest in relief. He should have never thought that she would get involved with a married man, let alone her boss.
“In questioning, he claims he was home alone that night. Said it was the day his wife served him with divorce papers. Apparently the business is in her name and he stands to lose quite a bit if she can prove he's been cheating on her.”
“If Sara and he…” He couldn't bring himself to say it. “If Sara had nothing to do with him, why would he be after her?”
“Why does any man stalk a women? Sick in the head, if you ask me.” Robert shook his head. “Anyway, I thought I ought to let you know before I go to Sara with this information.”
“Let me,” Allen piped in. “She might take it better.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I'm picking her up”—he looked at his watch—“in half an hour anyway.”
“Okay. If there's anything else you need.”
“Do they have enough to keep him?”
Robert shook his head. “Not at this time. I'll let you know if they find anything else.”
“Thanks.” Allen shook his hand and went to get dressed so he could pick Sara up at the bakery.
When he got to the bakery, he was shocked at the transformation. Red and pink hearts were everywhere. Most of the cookies in the front refrigerators were now covered in pink,
red, and white frosting. Even the cakes and cupcakes were decorated as such.
At first his mind refused to connect, then he saw a sign with Valentine Specials written on it. Valentine's? It was only…He looked at his watch for the date. February first.
He supposed people started thinking that far ahead for events like this, but he wasn't one of them.
The bakery was packed with people. Checking his watch again, he noticed he was five minutes early. When he walked into the back room, she was rushing around.
“Hey,” he called out and sat on a stool and nibbled on the cookie Becca had given him as he walked by the front.
My Sweet Valentine Page 13
