by Jill Sanders
She had just dragged the last box down there when the door closed at the top of the stairs, causing her to jump and scream out.
“Hello?” she called out as her heart tripled its speed. She moved slowly towards the door and rolled her eyes when she realized the small wood block they used to hold it open sat at the base of the stairs. It must have fallen loose. She picked it up and jogged up the stairs, telling herself that she had too wild of an imagination.
When she tried the door handle, it didn’t twist in her hand. She frowned down at it and tried it several more times.
Reaching into her back pocket, she groaned when she remembered she’d set her phone down so she wouldn’t drop it while she moved the boxes.
Putting her hand into her front pocket, she closed her eyes on another groan when she realized that her keys were sitting beside her phone by the cash register.
“I did not just lock myself in the basement,” she said calmly. She tried the handle one more time and then kicked the door when it wouldn’t budge.
Glancing around, she wondered why the basement door would be locked from the inside anyway. She kicked it again for good measure and then went back downstairs to find something to help her open the door.
She had spent ten minutes looking around when she heard the bell chime upstairs, signaling that someone was in the store. She called out and banged on the door repeatedly until it opened slowly.
Julie Cummings stood on the other side, frowning at her. “Did you lock yourself in?”
Kayla sighed and hugged the older woman quickly. “Yes, the block fell out…” She waved her hand and moved further into the store. Her phone and keys were still sitting by the register. When she checked the drawer, she smiled and relaxed. She had been concerned that someone had snuck in and taken everything.
“Is everything there?” Julie asked.
“Yes, I was only down there for a few minutes. Thank you so much. What can I help you with tonight?”
“Oh, I ran out of my lotion. I’m thankful you were still open. We had parent-teacher conferences tonight and I got stuck behind. I didn’t think I was going to make it.”
“What a happy accident.” Kayla smiled over at the woman. “If I hadn’t locked myself in the basement, I wouldn’t have been here.”
She walked with her to the shelf and handed the woman the bottle. “Since you helped me out, I’ll give you a ten percent discount.”
“Oh, how wonderful.” Julie smiled back at her and handed her a credit card. “I’m just thankful I could help out. They should really look at fixing that lock so it doesn’t happen to you again.”
“Believe me, it won’t.” She handed the woman’s card back to her, then put the bottle of lotion into a bright blue Serenity’s Attic bag.
After she walked Julie out, she doubled-checked that everything still looked in place. Then she quickly closed out the cash drawer and deposited the cash bag into the safe that got emptied once a week by the armored company.
She was just walking out when her phone rang. Seeing Rowan’s face, she answered.
“Hi,”
“Are you okay? You’re running a little late and Crystal and I were getting worried.”
“Yes, I had a last-minute customer.” She had decided not to tell anyone about her escapade in the basement but gently suggest to Crystal that the lock on the basement door be changed out. “Sorry, I’m just walking out to my car now.” She turned to lock the front door.
She had tucked her phone between her ear and her shoulder and when she flipped the keys to lock the front door, it fell down. She jerked downward to catch it just as the glass from the front door exploded above her.
Shattered glass flew all around her, landing in her hair and spraying over the dark sidewalk.
She screamed and tucked her body into a ball. When she stopped hearing the sound of buzzing in her head, she heard Rowan screaming her name over and over.
“Rowan.” She fumbled for her cell phone on the pavement. The tempered glass looked like snow on the dark ground. She had to dig through the mess to finally pick up her phone.
“Kayla, I’m on the way.”
“The front door shattered.” She kept her body tucked and scooted over to lean against the wall. “Rowan,” she said when she heard a car start up and tires squeal, “someone shot at me.”
Hearing those words caused his foot to push down further on the gas pedal. It felt like his heart didn’t beat until he came to a screeching halt in front of his aunt’s store. He saw Kayla bunched up against the brick wall. When she heard his car, her eyes moved up and he could see the fear in them.
When he jumped out, he scanned the dark street for danger as he moved towards her and gathered her in his arms.
He swooped her up and rushed her to his car.
“Rowan, I think they’re gone.” Her voice sounded hollow.
“Better be safe. Crystal was calling the police.” He locked his doors and continued to glance around. Several people had gathered around outside so he relaxed a little.
“You okay?” He turned to her and grabbed her arms to see if she was cut.
“It was tempered glass,” she said when he didn’t find a scratch on her. “I’m okay.”
He noticed the shaking in her hands and pulled her into his arms.
“I had just locked up,” she said into his chest. “I didn’t hear anything but the glass shatter. I’d dropped… my phone. I bent down to pick it up… the glass just shattered. It was so quick.”
He let her ramble on as he held her. When he saw the red and blue lights, he leaned back. “The police are here.”
He felt her body relax against his.
They stood out in front of the store talking to Joseph, one of Silver Cove’s officers. Crystal and Connor showed up a few minutes later after he texted her that it was safe to come down with CJ.
Kayla had rushed to her son and hugged him, then held onto him as she explained once more what had happened. They stood around speculating who had done this. Most everyone in the crowd believed it was kids since there had been several instances in the past few months of other businesses being vandalized.
He drove to Adler’s to get a large piece of plywood to cover the door while Crystal and Kayla cleaned the glass up. Joseph helped him cover the door with the board and screws he’d purchased.
When everything was clean and secure, he could tell that Kayla and Connor had run out of steam.
He piled them in his car, but instead of parking in front of his aunt’s place, he stopped in his driveway.
“What do you say to a sleep over?” he asked Connor, who looked half-asleep.
“At your house?” he asked, his eyes going wide as he looked out the window at the place.
“Yup, it’s just across from where you’re staying.” He showed the kid the brightly lit house that sat directly across the street. “If you want, I can run and get you some stuff.”
Connor looked to Kayla. “Mom?”
Kayla smiled and shrugged. “It’s up to you, baby.”
“Kay,” CJ said as Rowan pulled him out of the car seat his aunt had transferred to his car at the store.
He carried the kid into his house and wasn’t surprised that he was fast asleep by the time he set him down on his guest bed.
“We’ll leave the light on,” he suggested.
“Thank you,” she said from the doorway.
He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. Then he moved across the hall into his doorway and kissed her. “You scared me.”
“I was so scared.” Her arms were wrapped around his waist.
“Do you need anything from across the street?” he asked, moving towards the bed.
“No, I’m fine.” She sat on the edge of his bed and glanced towards the open doors.
He knelt and pulled off her shoes, then ran his fingers up her insteps and watched her close her eyes with pleasure.
“I’d forgotten what being on your feet all day d
oes to you,” she sighed.
“Lay back and let me show you how much it means to me that you’re both here, under my roof tonight.”
Chapter 16
Kayla leaned back and let Rowan use his hands on her feet. When they moved up her legs, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the slow massage.
She woke to sunlight, alone in Rowan’s bed.
Glancing down, she saw that he’d removed her dress, but had left her bra and panties in place.
Leaning back, she groaned when she realized she’d fallen asleep on him. She heard Connor’s laughter coming from downstairs and pulled herself out of the bed.
The sundress that she’d worn yesterday was hanging over the back of the chair. Pulling it over her head, she walked into the bathroom and freshened up before going to find her son.
She laughed when she found him sitting on a stool with two bear claw oven mitts on his hands, waiting for the toast to pop up.
When Rowan spotted her, he glanced up from scrambling eggs and smiled.
“Young cub, look who’s finally awake. Mama bear.” He winked at her.
Her son turned slightly and gave a loud growl.
“Cub here is waiting for the toast. Why don’t you pour some juice?” Rowan nodded to the already-set table.
She walked over and planted a kiss on her son’s head. He was no longer dressed in his pj’s from last night, which meant Rowan had taken him across the street before she’d woken up.
Then she placed a kiss on Rowan’s lips. “Morning.” She smiled up at him.
“Hmm.” He set the spatula down and wrapped his arms around her. “Morning.”
She poured everyone some juice and then sat down and watched the pair work in the kitchen.
Connor only dropped one piece of toast, and she thought about what a wonderful helper he had always been. He loved doing big boy things and always asked if he could help out.
Her heart was so full, it felt on the verge of bursting.
“So, I talked to my aunt and have called in and moved all my appointments around so I can stay home with the bear cub today while she deals with insurance and getting the door replaced.”
“Oh.” She bit her bottom lip. “I could have—”
“Kayla,” Rowan said, setting a large bowl of eggs on the table. “I only had two appointments that were easily covered by Bruce.”
She nodded. “I could stick around…” She started to say, but then realized she’d promised her mother that they were going to get everything ready for a garage sale next weekend.
“No, we’ve got this. We were talking about doing manly stuff.” He walked over and helped Connor down from the stool and set him on the ground.
Her son came running around the countertop, the mitts still on his hands, one of them covering his cast almost completely.
“Well, if you’re sure?”
“Mommy, look, I’m a bear.” Her son got on all fours and gave another loud growl.
“Bears like honey,” she added, seeing the container sitting on the table. She poured some on his toast. “Come on over here and sit down to eat your bear breakfast.”
She smiled as he crawled towards her.
“I’m going to have to wash your oven mitts,” she joked when Rowan sat down next to her.
“They needed it anyway.” He took her hand in his and then quickly reached over and took the mitts off Connor before he picked up his toast with them. “Sorry, cub, we have to use our imagination while we eat.”
Her son’s eyes moved to hers and she nodded in agreement. She was slightly surprised when her son shrugged his shoulders and started eating the honey toast.
“I fell asleep last night,” she said after a sip of coffee.
Rowan smiled over at her. “You were tired.”
“Thank you, for… everything.”
“I’m just thankful you appear to be a klutz.” When she gave him a look, he shook his head. “If you hadn’t dropped the phone…”
She took a deep breath. Hadn’t she been thinking of a million what-ifs all night and morning long?
“I don’t know how close it was, but…” She shivered and looked over at Connor, who was already done with one piece of toast and was digging into the eggs.
She didn’t know what would happen to Connor without her. She hadn’t really planned for his future since she was so focused on just surviving the next day.
Images of her son living with her mother and her mother falling back into her old ways surfaced and caused her to push the half-eaten plate aside.
“Hey.” Rowan took her hand. “It’s okay. I’m sure it was just some kids messing around.”
She nodded and tried to put the what-ifs out of her head.
“I… need to go change clothes and get over to my mother’s.” She stood up and looked down at her son.
“I’ve got this.” Rowan smiled up at her. “We’ll pack a lunch and meet you over at your mom’s place.”
“That would be wonderful.” She kissed both of them, then headed across the street.
Her mother and she spent almost three hours separating everything and getting it ready for the garage sale. They found several large folding tables and organized all the small items on them. She’d found two boxes of stickers and had used them as price tags, taking her time to label everything.
“I was thinking,” her mother said, shortly before lunchtime. “We should have the rest of the rooms upstairs cleared and cleaned by next weekend.”
Kayla had figured the same. “We can move in, anytime you’re ready,” she said, setting a large glass bowl down.
“I’d like that. I was hoping that I could start watching Connor in the evenings.”
She thought about it. Her mother still had three cats in the house, but she’d assured her they were up to date on all their shots. Besides, Kayla had been around them and knew they tended to stay to themselves.
“I see no reason why he couldn’t stay with you. As long as he sticks to downstairs.”
“Yes.” Her mother smiled. “How wonderful.”
For the rest of the day, her mother moved around like she was walking on air.
When Rowan and Connor came over for lunch, her mother asked Connor if he’d like to come spend the evenings with her.
Her son had surprised her by jumping up in her mother’s lap and hugging her.
“It’s the most bestiest thing I want ever.”
Her heart had melted. Then she’d glanced over at Rowan and saw the sadness behind his blue eyes.
When she drove into town for her shift at the store, she was happily surprised to see Crystal still there.
The front glass door had been replaced. It didn’t just look new, it looked like nothing had gone wrong in the first place. She wouldn’t have even known that it had been replaced.
“I thought I’d stick around and get a few things done around here,” Crystal filled her in. “Besides, Rowan really sounded like he wanted to spend the rest of the day with Connor. I heard your mother is going to start watching him in the evenings.”
“I hope it’s okay with you.” She locked her purse in the bottom drawer and clocked into the system.
“Of course, it is, sweetie. I’ve enjoyed my time with him and will continue to enjoy him during the days. My grandbaby is due soon.” She sighed and leaned against the counter. “It gives me goosebumps every time I say that.”
Kayla smiled. “How’s she doing?”
“Fine. Serenity complains about being stuck on the mainland until after Aurora is born.”
“What if they don’t name her Aurora?” She shifted and watched the woman’s smile grow.
“They will.” She leaned closer. “I’ll tell you a secret.” She glanced around the empty store. “I overheard them discussing names and know for a fact that they love it.” She leaned back. “Besides, it’s in the cards.” Her eyebrows shot up. “Speaking of which.” She pulled open a drawer and pulled out a stack of dark cards. “Since we have the place al
l to ourselves, I might as well do your reading now.”
She pulled up a stool and sat down and motioned for her to take the stool next to hers.
Rowan was having the time of his life. He’d taken Connor to the local Boys and Girls Club so they could use the swimming pool. There was a large slide in the middle of the pool and they spent most of their time going up the stairs and enjoying the ride down.
Then, on the way back, they stopped at Ed’s Pizzeria and had a large cheese pizza and spent ten dollars playing video games in the back.
The kid was a natural with Pac Man and easily beat Rowan’s high score. Okay, so maybe he helped him out a little.
They had run into a few people he knew and he’d introduced Connor to everyone. He could tell that everyone was wondering just what the relationship was between them, so he made a silent promise to take Kayla and Connor out locally to show everyone in town that they were an item.
They were a few blocks away when he got the call from Sarah.
“Hello?”
“Rowan, it’s happening, now.” Ben’s voice sounded muffled. “We’re leaving the house now.”
Rowan glanced over at Connor. “Meet you there.”
After hanging up with Ben, he dialed Kayla’s number.
“What’s wrong?” Kayla asked.
Rowan smiled. “Nothing. If all goes well, I’ll win the bet tonight,” he said as he turned down the road leading to his clinic. “I’ll have to drop the kid off at your mom’s place until I’m done.”
“Okay, thanks for letting me know,” He could hear her talking to someone and remembered that Crystal was at the store with Kayla. “Crystal says she’ll meet you at the hospital.”
“Thanks.” He felt bad for calling Kayla before Crystal, but figured Ben would have called her anyway.
“Rowan, good luck.”
“Thanks.” He hung up, then glanced back at Connor.
“Sorry, kiddo, you’ve got to hang out with your mema for a few hours.”
“Yay!” Connor clapped.
When he parked at Kayla’s mother’s house, she was in the drive waiting for him already.