The Stolen Valentine

by K. J. Emrick

  “Well. I guess I’m getting soft. Or maybe I just want to spend time with him.”

  “Ah, young love,” Grace said in a teasing voice. Darcy stuck her tongue out at her.

  Grace pretended not to notice, but Darcy could tell. “Jon was just telling me all about his plans for Valentine’s Day,” Grace said to her, an eyebrow arched.

  Darcy sat down in the chair in front of Jon’s desk. “Ooh. Tell me.”

  He shook his head, though, with a glare at Grace for spilling that out. “I have some plans. It’s supposed to be a surprise, though.”

  “Well, I do like surprises. Hey, I was going to suggest we go to the Valentine’s Day dance in town here. You up for that?”

  He paused, and she could see him thinking about it. “That should fit in with my plans. You know I can’t dance to save my life, though.”

  “That’s okay. You’ve got your surprise to fall back on, don’t you?”

  He put a finger up against his lips, silently telling her that she’d have to wait to find out.

  Darcy felt warmer inside knowing he was planning something as a surprise. She wished she had thought of something for him by now. For all her talk to Sue about getting something from the heart for the one you loved, she knew it wasn’t always that easy.

  Darcy turned the question back around on Grace. “What are you and Aaron doing?”

  Grace rolled her eyes. “I’m not sure. I haven’t been feeling that great lately. I’ve just got no energy to do anything.”

  “You work too many hours,” Jon said to her.

  “Look who’s talking,” she shot back.

  “Wait, sis,” Darcy said to her. “If you aren’t feeling well then you should go see Doctor Sandal.”

  Grace waved her off. “I’ve already got an appointment for tomorrow morning. I swear, Darcy, between you and Aaron I can’t step sideways without somebody worrying I’m going to break a nail or something.”

  Darcy would never tell her tough cop sister this, but she did worry about Grace. Especially after she’d been attacked right here in town and almost ended up in the hospital. She knew it was Grace’s job, and police work was dangerous, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t worry.

  The phone at Jon’s desk rang at that moment and Darcy’s hopes for a ride home sank. “Misty Hollow Police Department, Detective Tinker speaking. Yes. No, I can do that now.” He smiled apologetically at Darcy. She nodded and leaned over the desk to kiss the top of his head. Oh well.

  Thankfully, Grace took pity on her. “I’ll drive you home, sis. Come on.” She stood up, grabbing her jacket from the back of the chair. “You and me can catch up on the way. Then I think I might go home. Get some of that rest I’ve obviously been missing out on.”

  Darcy noticed how pale her sister’s face looked. She hoped whatever was going on with Grace it wasn’t serious.

  Chapter Four

  Darcy drained the pasta and stirred in the sauce. She dumped the salad that she’d just made into a bowl and then the pasta went into another serving bowl with the creamy white sauce. It was a little after seven o’clock now. Later than she liked to eat dinner to be sure, but Jon’s shift was only just now getting over. He’d be home soon and she wanted to have dinner waiting for him. She wasn’t always able to do it for him.

  He did this for her every once in a while, too, only Jon wasn’t the greatest cook, outside of a few recipes he knew like his grandmother’s apple pie. When he made dinner it usually consisted of take-out pizza or fried chicken.

  She had been working on autopilot as she tried to think up the perfect Valentine’s gift for Jon. He had one already planned for her. Why had she waited so long to start thinking about this?

  She brought the plates and silverware over to arrange on the table and then sat down to think some more. She’d already thought of getting him some of her favorite books, but as much as she loved the man, reading just wasn’t one of his hobbies. Jon didn’t have a lot of time for reading. They watched movies, usually, when they were home together. She’d have to think of something else.

  Dinner plates set and food on the table, she blew an errant strand of hair out of her face and looked at the white plastic clock up on the wall. Hmm. Where was he?

  A knock on the front door surprised her. She looked over to her black and white cat, Smudge, laying peacefully in the middle of the kitchen floor. Smudge would have jumped up and hissed or ran away if he sensed anything wrong. The only person she was expecting, though, was Jon.

  “Jon?” she asked out loud as she went to open the door. “Why are you knocking?”

  She opened it to find her sister Grace standing there. “Uh, hi sis,” she said. “What’s up? I was expecting Jon.”

  “Jon got stuck working late. There was a break in to someone’s house and he needed to go to the scene. He won’t be too late. I told him I’d let you know since I, uh, wanted to come over anyway. Can I come in? It’s freezing out here.”

  Darcy noticed the odd expression on Grace’s face almost immediately. At first she attributed it to how her sister had said she’d been feeling tired, but it was more than that. Grace had changed out of her work clothes into jeans and a black sweater under her puffy white winter coat. For all of that, Darcy could see how tense her sister was.

  She stepped back for Grace to move into the house. They went into the kitchen, Darcy waiting for her sister to explain what was going on. Shaking her head, Grace went to the table, sat down, and looked up at Darcy.

  “I’m pregnant,” she said.

  Darcy blinked at her. “Wait. What?”

  Grace laughed. “I know. I can’t believe it either.”

  “But…how do you…when did you…Grace!” Darcy couldn’t make herself finish a thought. Laughing, she went over to her sister and hugged her fiercely. “This is wonderful! Wait, I thought you weren’t going to the doctor’s until tomorrow?”

  Grace smile was a little hesitant. “Well, I wasn’t feeling good like I told you and after I got home Aaron pointed out to me that I hadn’t had my…you know, yet. So I put two and two together and went to the store for a pregnancy test.”

  Darcy couldn’t help herself from teasing a little as she brought a chair over closer to Grace and sat with her. “Way to go, detective.”

  Grace rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’ve been busy. Me and Aaron both. There’s just so much…and now a baby…oh, man!”

  Darcy laughed with her sister and they hugged again. She was very happy for Grace. She and Aaron had talked before about starting a family, Darcy knew, but like Grace had said something always seemed to get in the way. Grace’s job as a police detective, mostly. “Are you and Aaron okay with this?”

  “Well, we have to be, don’t we? But, yeah. We’re good with it. You should have seen him when I told him, Darcy. He was more excited than I was. I’ve never been so happy. I still want to go to the doctor tomorrow to confirm it and have everything checked out, but this is for real.”

  Jon came home not long after that. Darcy had convinced Grace to stay for dinner and talk longer, and he stopped still as he walked into the kitchen to find the two of them staring at him with big smiles on their faces.

  “What?” he asked.

  Darcy and Grace both spilled the news at once, and after a moment to let the information sink in, Jon hugged Grace and congratulated her.

  “Well,” he grumbled, “I guess I really better have something good to give Darcy for Valentine’s Day, if this is what you’re giving Aaron!”

  Chapter Five

  Darcy woke the next morning with Jon’s arms wrapped around her. She snuggled into his warmth for a while, just enjoying the feel of him. When she checked the clock on their bedside table it was five minutes before the alarm was due to go off. She decided to let Jon rest and slipped out from under the covers to tiptoe out of the bedroom and to the shower.

  Smudge trailed along behind her and jumped up onto the bathroom sink to curl his tail around his feet and blink at Darcy. />
  She shivered a little as she slipped out of her pajamas and turned the water on steaming hot. Then she reached over and scratched Smudge’s chin. He leaned into her and started purring.

  “What do you think, Smudge? Am I ready to be an aunty?” Remembering Grace’s news from last night she smiled. Smudge smiled at her, his expression almost human. Darcy could hear his thoughts, almost, telling her that she’d be a great aunt. After all, she always kept his food dish full and his water fresh, didn’t she?

  Looking at her reflection in the mirror, at her heart-shaped face and her green eyes still a little red with sleep, she ran a hand down the flat of her stomach. Maybe there’d be a baby in her future someday, too. It had been what she always wanted with Jeff, until it became obvious that she and her now deceased husband weren’t going to be able to stay together. Now with Jon, she wanted to try again. When they were ready.

  She could hear the alarm going off in the bedroom and quickly stepped into the shower, drawing the curtain closed behind her. She let the water slough down her shoulders, then lathered her poof and got to washing up. She knew she’d have to be ready when Jon left if she wanted to ride into town with him.

  Hmm, she thought to herself with a wicked smile. Maybe it would be quicker if he joined her…

  ***

  Jon let her out at the intersection where he had to turn right to get to the station and she had to turn left to get to the bookstore. He offered to drive her all the way but she told him it was okay and she could walk. She was glad she had when she saw Grace walking into the Bean There Bakery and Café. She hurried over in the direction of the café to catch up with her sister.

  She found Grace just giving her order at the head of the short line of customers. Elizabeth Archer was working the counter today, her auburn hair pulled back into a net to reveal the scars on the left side of her face. Elizabeth was still short tempered whenever anyone talked to her, but she’d been in town long enough now to be comfortable with letting those scars show. It hadn’t always been that way.

  Darcy waved to her sister as Grace took her purchase from Elizabeth in a small brown paper bag and turned to leave. They went over to one of the small tables near the front windows instead, and leaned in close to whisper.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be at the doctor’s?” Darcy asked.

  Grace laughed, genuinely more happy than Darcy had seen her in a while. “Stop pushing me, sis. My appointment isn’t until ten. I’ve got time.”

  Darcy kept her voice down, fully aware how much some people in town liked to gossip. She didn’t know how many people Grace had told her secret to or if she even wanted anyone else to know about it yet. “So, this puts a whole new spin on Valentine’s Day, doesn’t it?”

  “I’ll say. Aaron immediately started making all these plans to go out and celebrate and I had to rein him in and tell him just to keep it quiet for now. At least until the doctor tells me everything is okay.”

  “Well, now you know why you’ve felt so tired.”

  “Yup. Hey, how about you and Jon coming over for dinner tonight? The four of us can at least celebrate for now, and then Aaron can take me out to dinner on Valentine’s Day or whatever it is he’s going to plan.”

  “What a great idea, sis. Want us to bring anything?”

  “How about something to drink? Just nothing alcoholic.”

  “Of course. I know how this works.” She checked her watch and found she was late to help Sue open the bookstore. She promised Grace again that she and Jon would be over tonight, and hurried back out into the cold.

  ***

  As Darcy busied herself with dusting the shelves and books in the store she let her mind drift again towards what Valentine’s gift she could get for Jon. She was still completely stumped.

  Some of the books in the store had sat in place for months. She’d have to clear out her stock soon, maybe even put out a discount display to try and clear some of these out. She pursed her lips. Not long ago, Jon had suggested to her that she start selling electronic reading devices, maybe even offer a selection of electronic books to borrow like libraries did. It wasn’t a bad idea, but she’d resisted the suggestion. She wanted to keep the store going just the way her great aunt had done. Books were special to her. She had to wonder sometimes, though, if the rest of the world still felt the same way. Maybe Jon was on to something.

  Thinking of her Great Aunt gave her an idea. She decided to have a look through her Great Aunt Millie’s journals. They had helped her with so much in the past whenever she’d been stuck. Maybe she would get some inspiration from them now.

  Stepping into the back office, she took down the old leather-bound books and sat down to peruse them. She slowly flipped through the pages of old photographs and precise, flowing penmanship. She smiled at the way she could hear faint echoes of Millie’s voice as she read. It was all interesting, but there wasn’t anything that was jumping out at her yet. Nothing to suggest what a young woman in love could do for her boyfriend on Valentine’s Day.

  The bell over the door jingled as someone entered. Sighing, closing the journal she’d been reading through, she stepped out of the office to find her friend Helen walking towards her with a smile. Her graying hair was done up just so and she wore a smart blue pantsuit today, obviously attending to her mayoral duties instead of the bakery.

  “Hi Darcy,” Helen greeted her, pulling off purple knitted gloves. “Are you busy? I was hoping that we could have a chat about the Valentine’s night dance.”

  “Sure Helen.” Darcy took Helen’s coat and hung it on the rack behind the checkout counter. “I’m not busy right now at all. Sue’s off running an errand for me so it’s just us. What’s up?”

  “Well, it’s hard to have a dance without a band,” Helen told her as they sat down at one of the reading tables. “The one we had lined up quit at the last minute. Something about the lead singer having medical issues. I offered to pay them to just do instrumentals, but they insist they won’t perform without the whole group.”

  “Oh, no!” Darcy exclaimed. “Oh, jeez. And we’re only five days away from it, too.”

  “Exactly. It’s short notice, and I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

  “I actually might be able to help,” Darcy said. “I have a cousin over in Meadowood who’s in a band. They mostly do high school dances or weddings, but I can see if they’re available for this, if you want?”

  Helen looked a little skeptical. “Do you think they could handle something this big? A townwide dance like this?”

  Darcy smiled at her friend. “I’m sure it will be fine, Helen. Let me make a call.” Darcy went straight to the phone and racked her mind for the number. It had been a long while since she’d said more than hello to Kim. Helen listened in, and slowly her frown was replaced with a smile.

  ***

  Darcy called Jon after Helen left. He answered his work phone in a clipped professional voice. “This is Detective Tinker, can I help you?”

  “It’s me, Jon,” Darcy told him. “How’s it going?”

  “Oh, hey Darcy. You need my help, do you?”

  “Well, I haven’t been kissed in, like, four hours.”

  He laughed. “That I’d definitely like to help you with but I couldn’t even get away from work for lunch. We think we have a lead in this burglary case and we need to check it out.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad. I guess I’ll just have to wait.” She smiled, always in a good mood when they talked to each other like this. This was definitely what love was. “So, do you think you could get off work by five o’clock?”

  “Uh, probably. You want a ride home again? Should we maybe look at getting you your own car?”

  “No, no. It’s not that. Besides, I’ll be able to ride the bicycle again soon. You and I have a dinner date.”

  “We do?”

  “Uh-huh. With Grace and Aaron. At their apartment. She wants us to help her celebrate.”

  “Oh, well in that case I definitel
y can,” he promised. “I’ll have the uniformed guys do some of this. No problem. Unless, you know, the world comes to an end or something.”

  She tried to laugh at that but couldn’t. The way things had gone in their little town of Misty Hollow, the end of the world wasn’t that far-fetched.

  ***

  Darcy could tell there was something wrong as soon as they arrived at Grace and Aaron’s apartment. She felt it first, a shiver running up her spine as Jon knocked on the door, bottle of carbonated grape juice in one hand. Grace’s face as she answered the door was pinched and her eyes were tight. She invited them in, and Jon looked over his shoulder at Darcy. Obviously, he sensed it too.

  “What’s wrong?” Darcy asked, without waiting for Grace to say anything.

  Jon closed the door behind them. Grace shrugged and went straight back into the kitchen. Darcy smelled the risotto on the stove. “I’m sure it’s nothing, sis,” Grace said. “Nerves. That’s all. Pregnant women get emotional, don’t we?”

  Jon shook his head when Darcy turned to him. He didn’t know what to say. Darcy took her coat off and dropped it on the couch as she followed Grace into the kitchen. She put a comforting hand on her sister’s shoulder. “You know you can tell us, Grace. What is it?”

  Grace sighed and set aside the white plastic spoon she’d been using to stir the contents of the pot. “Aaron was supposed to be home an hour ago and I can’t reach him. Not at work or on his cell phone. It’s so unlike him. I’m just being silly, right?”

  She looked to Darcy for an answer. Darcy didn’t know what to say. She knew she should comfort Grace and tell her it was nothing, that Aaron would be walking through the door at any minute, but she couldn’t. She knew her sister was right. Aaron wouldn’t be this late without calling her. Especially now that he knew she was pregnant.

  Grace suddenly flung herself into Darcy’s arms. Darcy wasn’t prepared for this level of emotion from her sister. Grace was usually so calm and stable. It had always been Darcy who was the emotional one. Now she held on to Grace as her sister tried not to cry.