To Cherish

by Laura Scott

  The more he thought about it, the more he grew convinced that Jemma’s most recent guest, Dominic Williams, was the guy to watch. Good thing his room was right next door.

  If Williams made a move, Garth would be ready.

  Their dinner was delicious. Jazz and Jemma’s guests left to find their own dinner, and when the nice couple celebrating their thirty-third wedding anniversary came down, exclaiming that something smelled good, Jemma gave them Gino’s flyer.

  “We need to find a way to offer discounts.” Jemma returned to the kitchen table, her expression thoughtful.

  “That’s a wonderful idea,” Jazz chimed in. “I’ll make the rounds to the local restaurants tomorrow after breakfast, see if anyone is interested in co-marketing. We can offer a discount here, too, for their guests and vice-versa.”

  “I like it.” Jemma’s eyes lit up with excitement. “We’re all catering to the same tourist crowd, right?”

  “Absolutely,” Jazz agreed. “I should have thought of it before. Marketing was supposed to be my thing to do.”

  “I’m pretty sure you were distracted by a certain handsome architect,” Jemma teased, winking at Dalton.

  Garth smiled as the twin sisters continued to plan. He had no doubt that they would make this B&B a success. Especially with Jemma’s amazing cooking.

  He helped her clean up the kitchen after Dalton and Jazz left. The way Jemma avoided his direct gaze made him wonder if she regretted their kiss.

  “Trey?” She wiped her hands on a dishtowel and turned to look for her son. “It’s almost bath time.”

  “I’ll finish up here,” he told her.

  “Thanks.” Jemma took Trey’s hand and led him into the master suite.

  Five minutes later, Jemma’s cell phone rang. He looked at the screen, noting a guy by the name Jonas was calling. He hesitated, then quickly answered the call.

  “Hello?”

  There was a pause. “Who is this?” a male voice demanded.

  “Deputy Garth Lewis, I’m answering Jemma’s phone. Who are you?”

  “Her brother, Jonas.” The protectively terse tone didn’t change. “Where’s my sister?”

  “Bathing Trey. If you give me a minute, I’ll be happy to get her for you.”

  “Yeah. I’ll wait.”

  As he’d spoken, Garth made his way from the kitchen, through the dining area tables to the master suite. He rapped on the door, then opened it a crack. “Jemma? The phone is for you.”

  “You answered my phone?” The sharp edge of her tone indicated she was not happy.

  “Yeah, sorry, but I recognized your brother’s name on the screen.” He held it out to show her. “It’s Jonas.”

  “Jonas?” Her irksome expression faded, and her eyes lit up with excitement. “Come in, Garth. Watch Trey for me, would you?”

  He entered the suite and followed the splashing sounds to the bathroom. Trey was surrounded by bubbles, laughing. Garth handed her the phone, and she eagerly grabbed it.

  “Jonas? I’m so glad you called! Are you finally coming home?”

  Kneeling beside the tub to keep a close eye on Trey, he listed to Jemma’s side of the conversation. Her initial excitement morphed into concern.

  “The hospital? When? Are you okay?”

  He knew Jazz and Jemma had four older brothers, Jeremy, Jonas, Jacob, and Jesse. No clue what their birth order was, but it seemed as if Jonas and Jemma were close.

  “Okay, listen. I want you to come here to the B and B the moment you’re discharged from the hospital, you hear me? Jazz and I will take good care of you. And there’s a VA hospital in Battle Creek Michigan which isn’t far from here, so I’m sure we can make it work out.”

  That didn’t sound good. Trey began to shiver, so he decided bath time was over. He picked up a towel. “Time to get out, Trey.”

  “No,” the boy instantly protested. His chattering teeth told a different story, and it didn’t take long for the boy to try to stand.

  “I’ve got you.” Garth lifted him out and set him on the bath mat. He wrapped the towel around Trey and began rubbing him dry. “Better?”

  Trey nodded.

  “I’ll talk to you soon, Jonas,” Jemma said, bringing the conversation with her brother to a close. “Love you.”

  “Everything okay?”

  She gave a tiny shake of her head. “Not really. Jonas was injured in the line of duty but won’t tell me specifics about what has happened. Just claims he’ll be home within a week or two. Which seems odd, as the government loves to tie everything up in red tape. Makes me wonder if he’s been in the hospital for longer than he let on.”

  “Military?” When she nodded, he asked, “Where was he stationed?”

  “Afghanistan.” Jemma slid her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. “I’m sorry I snapped at you for answering my phone. It made me think about how Randal used to monitor my calls. But I would have been really upset to have missed Jonas’s call.”

  “No problem.” He could tell she was worried about her brother and wished there was something he could do to make it better.

  “I’ll take over from here.” She reached for Trey. “Time to get into your pajamas. Would you like Superman? Or Pokémon?”

  “Superman,” Trey answered.

  Garth retreated from the master suite, giving Jemma and Trey their privacy.

  He lingered in the kitchen, but she didn’t return. He heard several guests arriving back after being out and realized that even if they were innocent, the fact that Jemma had to leave the door open for them created problems. Randal could easily get in and out while guests were mingling about.

  Dominic Williams was the last one to return to the B&B, giving Garth a nod of acknowledgment before heading up the stairs to the rose room. Garth tried to take some satisfaction in the fact that Williams knew a cop was staying there.

  He went to his own room to finally change out of his uniform, donning comfy jeans and his police academy sweatshirt. He remained quiet, straining to listen, but couldn’t hear Williams moving around.

  Either the walls were unusually thick or the guy was tucked in for the night.

  He wanted to head back downstairs to be with Jemma but forced himself to stay where he was. Offering her comfort wasn’t nearly as important as keeping her safe. That was the lesson he’d learned the hard way with Kate and Sophie.

  Better to stay close to Williams, his main suspect. Garth stretched out on his bed and crossed his hands behind his head.

  If the guy was innocent, then fine. But he wasn’t going to make a mistake.

  He dozed on and off for several hours when the creak of a floorboard sent him bolt upright.

  Williams!

  Garth rushed across the room, pulling open his door, trying to peer through the darkness. Williams’s door was open a crack, confirming his suspicions.

  The guy was on the move.

  Garth grabbed his weapon from the bedside table and descended the stairs, stepping to the far right on the third step from the top, the one that he knew squeaked under a man’s weight. His heart thudded when he couldn’t see Williams.

  Had he lost him?

  The sound of a door opening caught his attention, and he quickly moved through the kitchen toward the French doors. There! A dark shadow moved outside toward the lake.

  Tightening his grip on the gun, he followed Williams outside. If the guy was up to something, he wouldn’t hesitate to stop him.

  Using force if necessary.

  12

  After tossing and turning for what seemed like several nights instead of hours, Jemma slid out of bed and went into the kitchen to make some herbal tea.

  Stressing over her upcoming breakfast wasn’t going to help. How could she cook a decent meal if she didn’t get a good night’s sleep?

  Seeing the French doors standing ajar brought her to an abrupt halt. Randal? She hurried over to close them in time to hear someone shouting, “Stop! Put your hands where I can see them!”r />
  What in the world? The voice sounded like it belonged to Garth, but she couldn’t see the two men outside clearly enough to say for sure. And who else was out there? Randal? She pulled the door open. “Garth? Is that you? Should I call nine one one?”

  “Hey, man, what’s your problem? Can’t a guy stand in the gazebo to make a phone call?”

  The second voice definitely didn’t sound like Randal’s, but still she hesitated. What if the guy out there was someone Randal had hired to harm her? Oh sure, he could say he was just standing in the gazebo to make a phone call, but he was still trespassing on private property.

  “I’m calling nine one one now,” she said loudly, even though she didn’t have her phone handy.

  “Go ahead,” the strange voice said, sounding exasperated. “Some B an B you’re running here, lady. A cop pulls a gun on a guest for no reason.”

  What? A guest? Jemma felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach. No. Garth wouldn’t have followed one of her guests out here, would he? The instant the question formed in her mind she knew the answer.

  Of course he would.

  “Who’s out there?” she asked. “Is that you, Mr. Williams?”

  “Get inside, Williams. Now,” Garth said in a no-nonsense tone.

  “Garth, stop it. You’re overreacting.” She couldn’t believe this was happening. Talk about a public relations nightmare.

  The two men came inside. Her guest, Mr. Williams, crossed the threshold first, followed by Garth who still held his service weapon.

  What was wrong with Garth? This was insane. She did her best to make amends. “Mr. Williams, I’m so sorry. Please allow me to make it up to you. I’ll be happy to give you your money back . . .”

  “Not until you tell me what you were doing outside in the middle of the night,” Garth interrupted. “This is a B and B, not a hotel.”

  She wanted to grab Garth and shake some sense into him. This wasn’t how you treated a guest! “Stop it, Garth. As a guest he has every right to go outside to the gazebo or down to the lakefront.”

  “In the middle of the night?” Garth asked.

  “Yes.” She kept her tone firm.

  “Listen, I’m sorry,” Dominic Williams said, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I didn’t mean to cause an alarm, but I couldn’t sleep. I could see the gazebo from my window and thought listening to the waves would help me relax.”

  “Why didn’t you just open your window?” Garth countered.

  “Hey, I wish I had,” Dominic said, glaring at Garth, then at his gun. “I didn’t know a trigger-happy cop would follow me outside.”

  “Earlier you said you went outside to make a phone call,” Garth challenged. “Which is it? Phone call or couldn’t sleep?”

  “I, uh, couldn’t sleep so I was going to get some air, listen to the waves, and make a phone call.” Her guest looked genuinely confused. “Is there a law against that?”

  “No, of course not. Garth, I need you to stop, right now.” Jemma hoped her tone wasn’t loud enough to wake Trey. “Mr. Williams, please accept my sincere apology for what happened here tonight. I’ll be happy to refund your payment.”

  “Hold on, Jemma. You’re being stalked by your ex-husband. I think that trumps B and B rules.” Garth turned toward her guest. “Frankly, I don’t appreciate you sneaking around the house after midnight.”

  Jemma lifted her gaze to the ceiling, forcing herself to count to ten. She was close to losing her temper in a big way. She only made it to five before stabbing Garth with a steely glare.

  “Garth, Mr. Williams doesn’t need to know about my personal troubles,” she managed between clenched teeth. She turned to her guest. “Again, please accept my sincere apologies. And of course a full refund.”

  Mr. Williams glanced between her and Garth, then offered a shrug. “I’m sorry, too. I guess I didn’t think going outside would be a big deal. I’ve never stayed in a B and B before, just thought it would be a nice change.”

  After tonight, Jemma figured the poor guy would likely never try a B&B again. Garth didn’t say anything. Maybe he finally figured out just how angry she was at his ridiculous shenanigans.

  He’d pulled a gun on her guest! This madness had to stop.

  “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “Is there something I can get you? Tea? Water?”

  “No thanks. I’ll, um, just go on up to bed. Good night.” Dominic Williams gave Garth a wide berth as he left the kitchen to head back up to the rose room.

  The minute she heard the door shut behind him, she rounded on Garth. “What were you thinking?” she asked in a harsh whisper. “The poor man couldn’t sleep so you followed him and pointed a gun at him? Have you lost your mind?”

  Garth had the grace to look sheepish. “Jemma, listen, I understand you’re upset, but you have to admit his going outside after midnight was suspicious. I couldn’t let him try to hurt you or Trey.”

  She stared at him wondering if that bump on his head had caused permanent brain damage. That was the only rational explanation for his behavior. “He didn’t try to hurt us, he went outside to listen to the waves. The gazebo and the lakefront is considered public space, and he has every right to use them. Being on the lake is a perk for our business, remember? The view is a big part of why people will come here rather than someplace else.”

  “That’s his side of the story.” Garth shrugged. “First it’s a phone call, then it’s listening to the waves. I’m not so sure I believe either excuse. He could have made a call from his room or opened his window to hear the waves. Honestly? We really have no idea what he was up to.”

  Shaking her head helplessly, she knew there was no getting through to him. Garth was a cop, he saw the worst in people all the time. And she understood to a point.

  But living in fear, suspecting everyone of wrongdoing wasn’t the type of life she wanted.

  Not for her. Not for Trey.

  “I can’t do this anymore,” she said, overcome with weariness. “You need to leave after breakfast tomorrow.”

  “Jemma, wait,” he said, taking a step toward her.

  “No.” She backed away from him, wishing his woodsy scent wasn’t so compelling. “Enough is enough. That guy might press charges against you! And even if he doesn’t, I won’t have any guests if you keep pulling stunts like this. I’m going to refund Mr. Williams’s money. Hopefully that will make it less likely that he’ll slam me with a scathing review or worse.”

  “Jemma, please . . .”

  She shook her head. There was nothing he could say that would make this right. Giving up on the notion of tea, she turned and crossed through the breakfast tables toward the master suite. On the way she detoured long enough to make sure the French doors were locked, before disappearing into her room.

  Thankfully, Garth didn’t try to stop her.

  Despite her anger, she managed to get a few hours of sleep before she crawled out of bed at five thirty in the morning. Letting Trey sleep in, she quickly showered and changed before going into the kitchen.

  After filling the teakettle, setting it to boil and making a large pot of coffee, she did a mental inventory of what she needed to do. She had fresh Irish brown bread for her planned French toast all ready to go. The cranberry muffins still needed to be baked as did the lemon-poppy seed bread. She set about getting those items ready and safely put into the oven before she turned her attention to the full Irish she needed to prepare. Sipping her tea, she opened the fridge to pull out a carton of fresh eggs.

  A sound behind her had her whirling around, her heart thumping with adrenalin. She didn’t relax when she saw Garth standing there.

  “Coffee will be ready soon.” She purposefully turned back to what she was doing. She estimated how many eggs she needed for the French Toast batter and began breaking them into a large mixing bowl.

  “Thank you.” She felt Garth come up beside her. He opened a cupboard and helped himself to a mug, at ease in her kitchen after spending so muc
h time here.

  Ignoring him wasn’t easy. She whisked her eggs, thinking about the spices she wanted to add. Vanilla and cinnamon for starters. Maybe a pinch of nutmeg.

  “I’m sorry,” Garth said, breaking into her thoughts. “I’m packed up and will leave after breakfast.”

  She was upset at what had happened, but her anger had faded to the point she considered backing down on her insistence that he leave the B&B. Only the thought of Mr. Williams giving her an awful review kept her from succumbing to temptation. “That’s fine. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to concentrate on my menu.”

  “Okay, I understand.” He filled his mug and moved away from the counter.

  Risking a quick glance over her shoulder, she noticed he went into the dining area to take a seat, rather than sitting at the kitchen table, the way he normally did. Relieved he was acting as if he was just another guest, she focused on her meal.

  Jazz arrived shortly thereafter, pitching in to help serve their guests. An hour later, the first of her guests arrived. It was the couple celebrating their thirty-third wedding anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Waylon Perry. “Look, honey, isn’t the gazebo lovely?” Mrs. Perry said. “What do you think? Would Noelle and her fiancé, Marvin, consider having their wedding here?”

  Jemma’s ears perked up at the word wedding. Oh, if only she and Jazz could book a few of the wedding packages! She kept busy in the kitchen while listening as Jazz greeted their guests.

  “Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Perry. What would you like to drink? Coffee? Tea? Juice?”

  “Coffee,” the husband and wife said at the same time. They laughed.

  “Coming right up.” Jazz entered the kitchen to get their coffee. Jemma wondered how the Perry’s managed to stay together for thirty-three years. Her marriage to Randal hadn’t lasted more than four.

  And that had been three too many.

  “Two French toast breakfasts,” Jazz said, returning to the kitchen a short time later. “And they’re discussing the gazebo as a potential wedding site for their daughter.”