by Jill Sanders
“Honey, you don’t remember?” Her mother sat next to her.
“What?” She frowned.
Instead of answering, her mother pulled out her phone and handed it to her. “Georgia Misty Jordan was born last night at eleven past four. She weighed seven pounds, four ounces and was twenty inches long.”
Suzie looked down at the little pale baby with big greenish-blue eyes and sighed.
“Oh, she’s perfect.”
“You said that last night when we showed you her picture for the first time,” her mother said with a frown.
“Aaron did say she could have some memory loss,” her father reminder her. “I’ll go see if he’s around.” He stood up and disappeared.
She was too busy flipping through her mother’s pictures to care. When she came across a picture of her holding the baby, her hands shook. She looked pale and confused. Her eyes were huge, and she was looking at the baby as if she’d just delivered it herself. “I… got to hold her?” She glanced up at her mother, confused as to why she didn’t remember anything.
“Just before they rolled in your dinner.” Her mom touched her arm. “Honey, Aaron said the head injury would mess things up for you. It’s why we want you to come and stay with us until you feel better.”
She shook her head. “Mom, I have my shop…”
“Which is being taken care of by your very competent employee Kate.” Her mother smiled. “Just for a few nights,” her mother said with a slight plea in her tone.
Suzie could never deny her mom anything when she asked like that. “Fine.” She glanced around. “Was Aiden here when you arrived?”
“No, but we passed him on the highway. He had a few cars pulled over for speeding.” His mom smiled.
“Of course.” She relaxed back. She knew he probably had to work early. How long had he spent by her bedside last night?
Her dad came back a few minutes later with Aaron and Matthew in tow. She was happy to see that her brother was carrying little Georgia in his arms.
“They let me bring her down, since I was being escorted by the doc here,” her brother joked as he moved closer. “Dad says you can’t remember holding her, so I thought I’d give you another first at it.”
“Let me check you out first before you hold that gorgeous new baby.” Aaron stepped forward. For the next few minutes, he listened to her heart, checked her pupils, and took her temperature.
“Looking good, kiddo.” He smiled at her. “I heard you have some missing time?”
She shrugged. “Things are fuzzy,” she admitted.
He nodded. “They will be, especially with what we gave you last night,” he said with a slight frown as he looked down at her charts.
“Can I hold my niece now?” she asked.
Aaron stood up and moved aside, motioning to her brother.
She held her arms up and slightly winced when her ribs stung, but then the baby was in her arms. She was totally enamored and took in everything about her new niece that she could.
“She’s so perfect,” she told her brother. “How is Blake doing?”
“Worried about you. She’s ready to go home too.” He smiled down at her. “How are you?”
“Tired and sore, but good. I’m also very hungry.” She glanced over at her uncle.
Aaron smiled at her. “That’s a good sign. I’ll have them bring you something.” He turned to go.
“Lots of somethings. I’m starving,” she urged him before he left. Then she returned her attention to Georgia.
“You named her after great-grandpa George?” she asked.
Her brother smiled. “I know Aunt Lacey and Aaron named George after him, but I thought the name ought to stick around for a few more generations.”
“I love it.” She smiled up at him as he leaned down and took the small bundle from her. “I’d better return her to her mother.”
She watched her brother and new niece leave and couldn’t help wiping the tears from her eyes.
“Hey.” Her mom moved over and sat next to her. “What’s all this about?”
“I should have been there. I should’ve remembered holding her,” she said as her mother gathered her into her arms gently.
“What’s all this?” her dad asked, walking back into the room.
“Girl things,” her mother said quickly. She chuckled and squeezed her good hand.
“Aaron says we can take you home after you eat something.” Her dad stepped aside as another nurse rolled in her breakfast tray.
As she ate, she wondered when she would be able to see Aiden again. And even more important, when she would have an opportunity to go out on that date with him.
Chapter 14
For the rest of that weekend, Aiden focused on work. It wasn’t hard because early spring vacationers had flooded into the area to enjoy the state parks and the countryside. Even more people came out when the weather warmed up and the sun came out.
There was so much traffic on Sunday morning that he didn’t even get time to grab a cup of coffee. It put him on edge until he was able to grab a sandwich to go sometime around two that afternoon.
He sat in the patrol car and wondered why the hell he’d ever thought that his dad’s job was easy. Just as he bit into his sandwich, an old beat-up blue truck sped past him doing about twenty over the limit.
Groaning, he set his sandwich down and flipped on the lights.
“What the hell are you doing going that fast into town?” he asked Brad Rupert, reaching to open the door.
“My cousin… he called me and told me he was in a fight at the docks,” Brad answered, trying to hold the door shut. “Said that two men were going to kill him.”
Aiden was impressed the old man had such a great story going, until the guy’s phone rang again and instead of answering it, he handed it over to Aiden.
“Brad…” Carl didn’t get out anything further as loud grunting and cursing filled the line, proving that Brad was telling the truth.
“Shit.” Aiden pointed to Brad. “Stay put. I mean it. If you so much as move a hair…” He tucked the phone in his pocket, then reached in the truck and took the man’s keys before rushing back to his car.
Gravel shot out from under his tires as he drove the less than four blocks to the docks. Sure enough, the moment he jumped out of the patrol car, he could hear the fight.
He called it in on the radio as he rushed towards the end of the docks.
Two large men were kicking the now-unconscious Carl Rupert. Aiden reached over and pulled the first man off only to have the second man swing out blindly and connect his fist to Aiden’s jaw.
“Son of a—” Aiden growled out as he held the first man firmly. “You’re both under arrest,” he growled out.
“Now, sheriff…” The younger of the two men held up his hands. Aiden had seen the guy around town a few times. He thought the guy was one of the seasonal fishermen who helped out at the docks. He thought his name was Steve but couldn’t be sure. “Carl was trying to…”
“I don’t give a damn. Beating a man unconscious is an ass thing to do.” He quickly cuffed the first man and looked towards the second.
“I ain’t going to jail for this shit,” the heavier-set man yelled out. The guy’s face was already bright red, as if he’d used up all his energy to beat Carl unconscious.
Aiden was caught off guard for only a second when the man rushed at him. Then he easily dodged the man’s next blow. The guy changed tactics after his second try missed its mark and shoved his entire body into both Aiden and the other guy. Aiden hadn’t realized how close to the edge of the dock he was until he felt himself falling backwards.
“Shit,” he groaned as he and Steve hit the water.
When he surfaced, he caught the backside of the heavier man disappearing down the dock.
He was left wading in the water and for a moment didn’t realize that Steve hadn’t surfaced yet.
“Shit.” He glanced around and then quickly ducked under the water. The
water was so murky he couldn’t make out anything and ended up feeling around for the handcuffed man instead.
He had to come back up for air once before he finally found the unconscious man.
When he pulled Steve’s limp body up onto the docks, he started CPR instantly as he called for help.
Less than ten minutes later, he watched both Carl and Steve being loaded into the back of the ambulance. He’d gotten Steve to breathe and spit up water shortly before the EMTs had arrived, but they wanted to take him in to Edgeview to be checked out.
Carl had regained consciousness but was acting incoherent. Aiden was fairly sure the two men had knocked out a few of Carl’s teeth as well as busted up a few of the man’s fingers.
“So,” Simon said looking down at him, “busy day?”
Aiden rolled his eyes. “What the hell.” He shook his head. “Have any idea what all that was about?” he asked as the ambulance drove off.
“Everyone in town knows that Carl owes a lot of money to the wrong people.” Simon shrugged.
“Pride has wrong people?” he asked, taking off his shoe and pouring out the water that had pooled in it.
Simon sat beside him and sighed. “Yeah. They don’t live here full time, but every season, the docks seem to fill with them. Your dad and David were working on a plan to clear them out before your dad’s accident.”
Something caused Aiden’s back to straighten. “Do you think they had anything to do with dad’s accident?”
Simon glanced at him. “N-no,” he stuttered. “Hell, I’m not even sure myself. We never really looked into it, since… well, your dad usually handles those kinds of cases.”
Aiden stood up. “I’m heading over to change into dry clothes, then I’m going down to the junkyard and have a look at my dad’s patrol car.”
Simon nodded and stood up next to him. “I’ll cover for you. Take your time.”
“Don’t mention this to anyone,” he warned Simon. “If someone got to my dad’s patrol car, I don’t want to paint a target on any other cops’ backs.”
Simon ran his hands through his hair. “Shit.”
“Yeah.” He started walking away and then stopped and snapped his fingers. “Oh, and Brad should be parked on the corner of Third and Spruce. Take away that damn truck this time. He could’ve killed someone.” He tossed the man’s keys to him.
“I’ll have it impounded,” Simon answered as Aiden walked away, still holding his ruined shoes in his hands.
When he parked at the B&B, he was in a foul mood. He’d gone all morning without coffee or food, and now he would be spending the rest of his day trying to determine if someone had tried to kill his father.
“Don’t you know you’re supposed to take your clothes off if you’re going for a swim?” a sexy voice purred as he got out of the car.
He glanced over and spotted Suzie leaning against a tree trunk a few feet away.
“Aren’t you supposed to be resting?” he asked as his eyes ran over her. She looked sexy in a pair of faded blue jean shorts and a soft blue tank top that hugged her perfectly.
“I needed some fresh air. My parents can… hover.” She shrugged with a smile. “What happened to you?” She walked closer to him and then frowned. “Who hit you?” She rushed to his side and touched his jaw gently.
He reached up and wiggled it as he enjoyed the feeling of her fingers on his face.
“The bad guy who pushed me in the ocean after kicking a man unconscious and almost killing his partner while he was at it.” He shrugged and reached in to grab his shoes.
“Did you catch him?”
He frowned and shut the car door. “No, he pushed me into the water. I had to rescue his partner from drowning.”
“How terrible.” She fell into step with him as he headed towards the cabin. “Is everyone okay?”
He nodded. “I did CPR on his partner. And Carl has a few fingers and teeth broken. They took him in to make sure there’s nothing else.”
“Who would do such a thing in Pride?” she asked, rubbing her hands on her bare arms.
“He wasn’t from Pride. I didn’t recognize the guy, but I’m betting his partner knew who he was. Simon’s checking it out.” He let himself into the cabin and tossed his shoes down. He removed his belt and gun and then started pulling off his wet clothes. He glanced over his shoulder when she made a soft sound.
“Sorry.” He’d removed his uniform shirt and was standing in the little living room in only his soaked pants.
“No.” She smiled and waved at him. “Don’t stop on my account.”
He chuckled. “As much as I’d like to stay and… finish this, I have to change and go take a look at my dad’s patrol car.”
Her smile slipped. “Why?”
He tossed the wet shirt down on the counter and motioned for her to sit on the sofa. She looked tired and wonderful at the same time.
“Because no one did. In my father’s whole life, he’s never just run off the road.”
“I thought it was strange,” she said. “I mean, accidents happen but…”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “So, it’s worth looking into.” He started walking towards the back room.
“Want me to tag along with you?”
“No,” he called out as he pulled off his pants and changed into dry clothes. He wanted a shower, but with Suzie sitting on his sofa, he’d pass at the moment.
When he stepped back into the small living area, she was leaning back on the sofa with her eyes closed.
Walking over to her, he ran his gaze over her face. She was beautiful, even when she slept. He didn’t want to wake her and quietly picked up his shoes and slipped on his gun belt. Writing her a quick note, he let himself out and drove down to the local junkyard.
Dennis, the man who had owned D&D’s Junkyard for as long as Aiden could remember, met him at the gate.
“Hey, Aiden,” The man smiled, and Aiden noticed a few more gaps in the guy’s smile. “I heard you were filling in for your old man while he’s on the sidelines.” He chuckled. “What can I do for you today?”
“Hey, Dennis, I’m hoping to take a look at my dad’s patrol car.”
“Sure thing.” The man glanced towards the gate. “Come on in. It’s in the back. I was going to scrap it but hadn’t gotten around to it yet.”
“Thanks.” He waited until the man opened the chain link fence and drove in and parked next to the old trailer the man used as an office. He knew that in the past few years, Dennis had moved out of his other trailer on the outskirts of town and was staying here instead.
“It’s just back that way.” Dennis motioned off to his left. “Yell if you need help finding it.”
“Thanks.” Aiden set off, not sure what to look for. He knew enough about cars to fix most basic issues, but spotting sabotage was a completely different matter.
When he spotted the ruined patrol car, he winced. How had his father walked away from that? He’d seen pictures of it in the local paper, but seeing the damage firsthand was shocking.
He spent the first half hour checking the basics—brake lines, battery cables, spark plugs, and other things he might easily spot trouble with.
He was about to give up when he decided to check in the cab.
It didn’t take long to spot the small black wire that hooked behind the car’s accelerator pedal.
“Son of a…” He knelt closer and snapped a couple pictures of the wire. Moving closer, he realized that the loop had been connected just above so when anyone pushed the accelerator pedal down far enough, the wire would slip over and keep the accelerator pedal forced down, causing the car to speed uncontrollably.
He punched in his father’s number and stood up when his mom answered the call.
“Hey, sweetie.” Just hearing his mother’s sweet tone had him cringing. He shouldn’t be doing this over the phone.
“Hey, Mom, just wondering if I can swing by later and have a chat with Dad.”
“Sure, why don’t you
come around for dinner?”
“Sounds great.” He quickly finished the call so he could call Simon.
“Hey, did you find something?” Simon asked.
“Yeah, I did. Why don’t you head on down here so we can figure out our next steps?”
Chapter 15
Suzie hadn’t mean to fall asleep. But before Aiden had arrived, she’d walked all the way to the beach and had enjoyed a full hour sitting in the sun. The truth was, she’d been leaning against the tree trunk when she’d seen his patrol car drive up because she’d overextended herself.
When she woke, she had no idea what time it was or, to begin with, where she was. Then she remembered and instantly felt embarrassed.
“Aiden?” she called out, thankful when it became apparent that she was alone. At least she wouldn’t have to explain why she’d practically passed out on his sofa.
Then she’d seen the note and smiled.
“Hey, sleeping beauty,
I hope you’re feeling better. Say the word and we’ll head out on that date. I’m looking forward to it.
-Aiden”
She read the note several times and then folded it and tucked it in the pocket of her shorts.
Glancing at her watch, she winced. She had slept for more than three hours at his place.
She was almost back to her old self, except for getting tired easily. But she figured the more she pushed herself, the sooner she would get back to normal.
She stepped out of the cabin and made sure to lock the door behind her.
“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” a deep voice said behind her. She jumped slightly and squealed as she turned around to face Aiden.
“You scared me.” She put her hands on her hips and glared at him.
He chuckled and moved closer to her. “Did you just wake up?” he asked as his eyes ran over her.
“No.” She shook her head, but then sighed when he tilted his head and raised his dark eyebrows at her. “Yes.” She threw up her hands. “Okay, I had taken a long walk before you arrived and…”
He smiled and moved closer, causing her breath to catch.