by Nicole Smith
He reached out for her and snuggled her back up against him. "No, I don't think that will ever happen. You're stuck with me, if you want me."
It was quiet while Anna thought about what he'd said. She felt like she didn't know how to react to his statements of love. She had no experience at this! About the time she noticed him tensing up next to her, he spoke again.
"That is...you do want me...right?"
"Yes, I do. Crazy as it seems to me that all this is happening, I do."
He let out a breath he'd been holding. "Okay that's good."
"We're pulling into town. We should direct them to Maelynne's."
Anna gave the men in the front seats directions. When she turned back to Sam she found he'd put on very expensive-looking sunglasses. "Ah, the movie producer look."
"You know, that's not really a lie."
"What?"
"I am a movie producer. I'm one of the producers on most of my films these days. Gives me more control."
Anna sat there feeling surprised once more. Finally, she said, "I have no comment to make to that statement. Absolutely none."
He laughed.
* * * *
Sam listened as Anna explained to Maelynne that her new customers were with a movie Sam would be producing. He tried to stand there looking suave and somehow understated but flashy in his jeans.
"Well now, aren't they all big strong men," Maelynne said as she looked at the half-circle of men standing around them. "You don't have to worry a bit, Mr. Carter, I have rooms for all of them and I'll take real good care of them." She turned to look at the men again. "You folks like a big breakfast in the morning? That's included, you know, in the price."
"That'll be fine, ma'am," said one of the men.
Maelynne stared at Sam again. "Who'd believe it? A real movie being planned in our town!"
Sam spoke up. "We aren't sure yet if it will take place here in Sully Point or not. We're scouting locations; nothing's been decided."
"Still, it's an honor just to be considered. Wait till everyone--"
"You aren't going to spread this around, are you Maelynne?" Anna asked.
"Oh no, never think of it."
Sam relaxed. The story would be all over town by tomorrow. "We'll leave some of the men here to settle in, while the rest of us get to work. Thanks again for your hospitality."
She fluttered around them as they got back into the SUV. "No problem at all, anything I can do to help, you just ask."
They waved at her from through the windows as they pulled away from the motel. Sam said to the two men in the front, "You sure your men can handle Maelynne?"
"They're trained for dangerous situations," the driver said with a straight face.
"Ah, the funny man of the bunch. What's your name again?"
The man in the passenger seat said, "I'm Leo and the joker is Kevin."
"Good to meet you both. We're mainly going to be at the loft or at the bakery each day."
"Bakery?" Kevin said. "Nobody said anything about a bakery. There goes my waistline."
"Remember no eating while on duty," Leo reminded him.
They continued to discuss what delights the bakery provided, while Anna turned on her cell phone to pick up any messages. Sam saw the color drain from her face as she listened and said abruptly, "Anna, what is it? What's wrong?"
She handed the phone to him and said, "Press one to replay the message."
Sam did so and heard Patrice's voice in a low, bitter tone come spewing out, filled with hate as she threatened Anna. He handed the phone to Leo who was looking at him with a hand held out.
"We expected this," he said. "It's Patrice, right?"
"Yes," Sam said as he rubbed his hand up and down Anna's arm. "It's going to be okay, love, it really is."
"You aren't getting it, Sam," she whispered. "She says 'paintings can burn as easily as cars.' How does she know about my paintings?"
The tension in the car ratcheted up a notch as they all thought about that. Leo was the one who said, "She has to have followed you there and broken in--they're in your loft, right?"
"Yes--but when? I saw nothing out of place there yesterday."
"There's really no telling when. Here we are. I want you guys to stay in the car with Kevin while I go up to check it out. Anna, can I have the keys?"
She handed them over, and Sam noticed her hand was shaking slightly. He saw that Kevin kept a close eye on the street, shifting his gaze around regularly.
Leo came back quickly. "Everything seems to be in order, no damage that I can see."
"Okay folks," Kevin said. "Let's get you inside."
They unloaded the car and went up the stairs at Sam's insistence. He didn't trust that elevator one bit. It seemed an eternity since this morning when they'd left in a hurry, the bed still folded out of the couch. Anna moved quickly to put it back to rights.
"You guys should know I'm having a bed and chair delivered this week," she said. "The bed will come tomorrow, from a local furniture store."
"I didn't realize you'd bought a chair too," Sam said with interest. "What kind?"
"A big comfortable one for reading or just sitting and thinking. Anyone want some coffee?" She headed to the kitchen and Sam could tell she was calmer now that they were in the loft.
Everyone agreed coffee sounded like a good idea. Sam followed her to the kitchen and sat on one of the barstools at the counter. "Should we order in some food? We missed lunch you know."
Anna laughed. "Hate to break it to you but there's only the one place in town to order in from before tourist season. We have pizza delivery from Delucci's as you know, but it's only from six to ten in the evening. And seeing as how it's five right now..."
"Ah, okay. Any food in the fridge?"
"I think I have some cheese and crackers. Do you think she'll attack us?"
Sam wanted to wipe the worry off Anna's face, but he didn't know how to reassure her when he felt certain Patrice wasn't done. "I think it's possible, yes."
"Damn. I don't like this one bit."
"I'm so sorry,Anna. I never expected--"
"How could you? This is not your fault. It's all about her. Don't you feel guilty about it. Help me with this coffee."
They distributed cups to Leo and Kevin, then the security guys proceeded to tell them how things would be until Patrice was caught. Basically they would be on duty all the time outside the loft at night, one at the top of the stairs and one below on the street. During the day, one would be inside the bakery, one outside, and if Sam was working in the loft they'd have two people there as well. Sam was just glad they wouldn't be inside the loft at night. That was something. Both men drank down their coffee and then headed out to their posts.
Anna sat, or rather slumped, in the big old beat-up green chair.
"You okay?" Sam asked as he finished eating a cracker with cheese. "We're safe now."
"It's not just Patrice. The other message on my phone was from your friend Stanley. He wants to set up a time. Should I wait until the thing with Patrice is settled?"
Sam came to stand in front of the chair. "Here, get up a minute."
She stood up and he moved behind her, sat down in the chair, and then pulled her into his lap. She gave a little laugh, then a sigh, and curled up against him. His arms rested around her body.
"Now I'll tell you what I think--I think you should go for it. Stanley's interested and you were ready before. Don't let her stop you from doing what you want. Every time we let her disrupt our lives, she wins. Call him and set up a time."
"You're right, and I'll call in a bit. Right now I want to sit here being close to you. You're very comfortable to be with."
He chuckled, and rubbed her back. "You feel pretty good to me too sitting here." He thought for a moment. "So--a bed tomorrow?"
"Yes," she said in a drowsy voice.
"That will be a good thing. Because I plan to spend plenty of time in it with you, and that will be so much better than the fold-
out couch."
"Sam!" She gave him a weak punch on the chest. "I'm so tired all of a sudden."
He kissed the top of her head. "Go on to sleep for a bit, love. I'll be right here."
She relaxed against him and was asleep in minutes. The feeling that went through him in that moment started in his heart and expanded to fill him up. He felt protective, and turned on, but also as if he could sit there forever, holding her in his arms. The sensation of her so relaxed and trusting changed something inside him. He knew he'd do anything to make her life fulfilling and content. He couldn't picture a future without her.
* * * *
Anna woke up to hear a rumbling vibrating under her ear. Confused, she lifted her head and realized she was still sitting in Sam's lap. "Did I fall asleep here?"
He gave her a hug. "Yes you did. Get some good sleep?"
She ran a hand through her hair. "Yes, I feel better. And I'm starving. Was that your stomach I heard rumbling just now?"
He patted his abdomen as she got up. "I called the pizza place. The guy should be here any minute."
"I'll just go freshen up then," Anna said and headed into the bathroom. She couldn't believe she'd fallen asleep in his lap! What if she'd drooled or something embarrassing like that? She looked into the mirror--a nice big one since the bathroom renovation. Her hair definitely needed brushing. Once she'd done that she stared intently at her reflection. Nope, she didn't see what he saw in her, but she was grateful for whatever it was, because she wanted to be near him. She'd felt so safe in his arms. I've never felt that way with anyone before. What does it mean? Am I truly in love with him? She wasn't sure, but she knew that she trusted him like no other man she'd ever met.
She came out into the living area and discovered Sam opening up a pizza box on the kitchen counter. She smelled pepperoni.
"What toppings did you get since I wasn't awake to ask?"
He grinned at her. "The pizza place told me what you usually ordered."
"Oh, okay." Then she thought about what he'd said. "Hold on--you told the pizza place you were staying here?"
"I told them I was visiting you and that you were unavailable but had asked me to order pizza. And they said you like everything on it except no anchovies or black olives. Man, this looks delicious. I'm digging in."
Anna didn't know why she bothered to even think twice about someone knowing Sam was here with her. Everything would be all over town soon enough. They ate pizza and drank beer from the fridge, talking and laughing between bites.
"You can't be serious! I won't believe you considered calling Maurice 'Bob' at one point. That character needed a name like Maurice. Different sounding. Bob would have been too plain. Did you study police or detective work when you first started writing the books?"
"You could say that. My father was a homicide detective in New York City when I was growing up. I've picked his brain more times than I can count through the years. Of course, the setting for Maury is entirely different than the city, but Dad and his friends have been a big help to me with the nitty-gritty that occurs no matter how big your town."
"That's very cool. What about your mother?"
"She was a clothing designer. She designed a line for a large department store."
"A designer? I'll never feel confident enough to meet her," Anna said with a laugh that only partially disguised her trepidation at the idea. She plucked a piece of pepperoni off the remains of the pizza in the box. They'd pretty well demolished a large-sized one.
"Maybe you could come to our family get-together once this novel is finished. That's still some months away."
Anna thought it was time to change the subject from that scary idea. "Will you be able to work here, do you think?"
"Probably. Won't know until I try. Will you be able to paint with me here?"
She shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. I've always been alone when I painted. But I remember my mother painting here, and being with her. I had to have been about seven when she started to bring me here, about two years before she died."
"Cody told me she left this loft to you--so she owned it?"
"She left me the whole building actually. I've never known what to do with the bottom floor."
"Hmm. Another floor. Can we go look at it? I'm curious."
"I guess so. I have the key right here." She got the key and they opened the front door to the loft and were startled by Kevin standing there.
"Wow, I forgot you guys were there," Anna said to him.
"That's how it should be. I was going to tell you that we'll be changing shifts here at nine. We'll knock and make sure you recognize who will be on duty. Where are you all going now?"
Sam answered. "Just downstairs to see the first floor. Will you come with us?"
"Yep, lead the way. Let me go in first. I didn't realize you owned the bottom floor as well as the top."
Anna unlocked the door, which stuck for a moment until Kevin shoved it with his shoulder. She and Sam waited outside in the foyer until Kevin called them in.
"Folks, we have a problem." Kevin pointed to footsteps in the dust, too small to be his. They were in a large open room, studded here and there with columns. "There's a back door here someone has broken into, and look--" He pointed to a narrow staircase that went up to the second floor. "Did you know this was here?"
Anna was stunned. "What on earth? How did that get there? I mean, where does it come out upstairs?"
"Let's find out, shall we?"
Sam and Anna followed Kevin up the stairs. At the top he pulled out a small flashlight to give them light. There was a fixture in the ceiling that clearly had no light bulb. They were faced with a door that opened after some work from Kevin. They could see that it had been forced open before now. The lock on the door was broken. Kevin went forward into a dark space, the flashlight glowing.
"There's a large...crate I think, a packing crate."
"That's mine! My paintings are in there. Oh my God, did she damage any of them?"
"Come on up here," he called back to them.
They all three gathered outside the small room with the packing crate inside it. They barely fit past the crate to go through the doorway. The packing crate was so large that it had blocked the door that led to the stairs.
"I've never noticed that door," Anna said, bemused. "The crate was left here by my mother. I just started using it there and never moved it."
"This looks like how she got in," Kevin said, pulling out his radio and asking Leo to watch the downstairs. "You want to check the paintings?"
"Yes. Sam let's get them out, just put them along the walls." They worked on moving paintings while the two security men conferred. In some ways Anna felt better to find out how Patrice knew about the paintings. On the other hand, it made her shudder to think of Patrice actually in her place, among her paintings.
They finished and she examined each painting. "They look okay. I don't think she hurt them," Anna said slowly, almost done searching.
"Not so fast, love. Here, this one."
She reached out for the painting as Sam turned it to face her. There was a slash that ran through the center of the painting. When they were getting the paintings out of the crate she hadn't even noticed it.
"Oh--oh, no," she said breathlessly then realized she hadn't take a breath. She gulped in air and bent over putting her head down. It was like being hit in the stomach.
"Anna, are you all right?" Sam was beside her lifting her hair out of her face.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be okay." She stood up and Sam put an arm around her for comfort. But she didn't want to be comforted, she wanted to hit something.
She walked away from Sam, her hands in fists. "That--that--bitch! Cut up my paintings, will she? I hope she does attack just so I can knock her block off. What a piece of--"
"Whoa, calm down--"
"I will not calm down. We should be angry, both of us, at what she has done. You lost your whole house that you worked so hard on, fixing it up so nice. I
liked that beach house. And your beautiful little car. Burned up because that vile, cold, black-hearted woman wanted to get back at you. Really? What kind of person does that? I'll tell you, an evil bitch from hell, that's who."
Sam opened his mouth and then shut it again.
"Say something!" she demanded.
"I think I haven't really let myself be mad about the house. Not till you said that. I was very angry about the car last night. But the house--damn, I liked it and I loved the view. You're right, she is a bitch from hell."
Anna nodded vigorously. She glanced around the room. "I might as well leave the paintings all out so that your friend Stanley can see them. Probably too late to call him now about an appointment."
"Are you kidding? He'll be up. Did he leave his gallery number or his personal number?"
"Both."
"Call him. He'll answer. It's only eight o'clock, he probably hasn't even had dinner yet."
Anna felt that was doubtful, but did make the call. She and Stanley agreed that he would arrive tomorrow around one in the afternoon. Evidently he did nothing in the morning hours but sleep.
When she was done, Sam held out a hand to her. "Come on. Let's go check out the downstairs like we planned. I have an idea."
Anna looked around the large open first floor room. It was much like the upstairs, with a decrepit small bathroom and only a sink and small counter toward the back. "When do you think this was last used? The fifties?"
Sam said, "I'm not sure, but what about fixing it up?"
"Why?"
"Because I think we might both need to have some space when it comes to our creative work."
"Ah, yes, I can see that." She thought about trying to paint with someone else in the room. Could be a disaster. Besides she liked to play the music loud. "Okay, you have a point. It would take more than just my Dad and Cody and you to fix up this space though. It needs new floors, bathroom, lighting--I guess now that I say it, you guys could do it."
"No, I think we'll want to get this done very quickly. We don't have the time to go slowly like we did on your loft. Let me do it. I'll hire the help I need and get it done."
"If you're sure." It felt weird to have him fixing up the place.
"I'm sure. What kind of floor would you like down here? Hardwood? Tile? Concrete? Carpeting?"