“How do you think we told everyone we were pregnant the first time? Megan and I talked about it while buying diapers for Sara.” They laughed.
“Is it true that you and Allen are an item?” Allison leaned closer over the table.
Sara rolled her eyes. “I knew Patty would spread that one around. I don't know what we are, but I can tell you I've never been kissed like that before.” Sara smiled, then gasped. “Oh, that reminds me. He's taking me to the Christmas party this week. I haven't even gotten a dress yet.”
Allison clapped her hands. “Goodie, dress shopping. I had a dress picked out, but I think I'm already too big for it.” She held her hands over her stomach and Sara could see the small bump now.
“What do you say we stop by Jasmine's boutique? I bet they'll have the prefect dresses for us.”
“Sounds great. I bought my prom dress there.”
“So did I.” Sara laughed.
By the time Allison dropped her off at home, she was exhausted. Her car had been picked up by Rusty first thing that morning with a promise he'd have it back to her by the next morning. She was dying to go into the shop, but decided to try a new cupcake recipe she'd been tossing around. Her menu was pretty much set already, but she wanted to do weekly specials. She carried her new black dress and heels up to her room then got to work in the kitchen. Her mother was sitting in her usual spot, eyes glued to the computer screen.
“Mom, what do you do all day on that thing?” she asked as she pulled out the pans.
“Internet porn.” Her mother chuckled when Sara gasped. “No, I'm just gambling your inheritance away, dear.”
Sara stopped and put her hands on her hips and glared at the back of her mother's head.
Her mother turned around and smiled at her. “If you must know…As you know, I've been running my own accounting firm for the past few years. Well, I've gotten a couple of high-paying clients and at this point, I've been contacted by a company in San Antonio. They'd like to buy me out and I'm giving it some serious thought. I'm tired of sitting in this corner, working ten hours a day.” Her mother leaned back and closed her eyes. “I want to be on a beach somewhere, with young studs handing me fruity drinks.” Sara smiled and could just picture her mother harassing the staff.
“You should do it.” She pulled out the butter and eggs from the refrigerator.
“Not yet. At least not until after Becca is taken care of.” Her mother's smile dropped a little and she turned back around and started clicking on her keyboard.
Sara had never really thought about the responsibilities her mother must have faced alone. She'd always thought of her mother as a flake. Never really cooking a good, healthy dinner for her or Becca. She'd never thought that the reason was she'd been too busy working to take the time out. She'd never once asked her mother what she wanted.
“I'm sorry, Mom.” Sara set everything down and walked over to kiss her mother's cheek. “We appreciate all that you've done for us.”
Her mother reached up and patted Sara's hand, which rested on her shoulder. “I love you girls. I'm so proud of you for starting this bakery. Just don't let it get in the way of life. You're still young. You should have some fun while you can.” Her mother's smile widened. “That Allen Masters looks like he could show you a good time.”
“Mother!” Sara pulled her hand away and turned her back on her mother. She didn't want her to see her flaming cheeks.
“What? Just because I'm old doesn’t mean I didn't see the sparks flying from his eyes when he looked at you.”
“Really, you make him sound like some sort of demon.” Sara laughed at the cartoon image of her and Allen, sparks and fire flying from his eye sockets when he looked at her.
Her mother sighed and turned back to her computer. “All I'm saying is take some time to stop and smell the roses. You'll regret not doing so when you’re my age.”
Her mother's statement played over and over in her mind a few days later as she balanced the large container of cupcakes, her laptop, her purse, and a steaming cup of coffee as she walked from her newly windshielded car to the front door of the bakery. Juggling everything, she unlocked the front door and knew immediately something was wrong.
The sound of water running caused her to set everything down and rush to the back room. Her mind raced to images of the roof leaking again. What she saw when she got there shocked her to her core: The room was destroyed and the back door was kicked in where someone had broken in.
Allen rubbed his eyes and took another sip of the terrible coffee. Three hours of sleep did not sit well with him. He was giving some serious thought to why he’d decided to have a dog in the first place. The drive into town was relaxing, but when he hit the outskirts of town, he noticed the police car and truck outside Sara's shop. Hitting the breaks, he pulled behind Robert's car and rushed into the building, leaving his truck running.
“Sara!” he called out at the door, running to where he heard voices coming from the back room. Stopping just inside the back door, he gaped at the mess.
There was an inch of water on the floor, most likely due to someone plugging the sink with paper towels and leaving it running. The faucet was turned off now, but the sink was still spilling over the sides. All the pans that had hung over the center workspace were tossed about, some were even dented. Her utensils were the same, some so badly, they no longer resembled what they had been. The shelves they had worked so hard putting together were tipped over and all the bins that held her flour and sugars were dumped out and causing a sticky mess in huge piles on the floor. The back door was shattered. The old wood had cracked under the weight of someone’s foot.
Robert looked up and held his hand up to him. “Better not step in. It's a mess in here.” He pointed to the wading boots he wore. “They clogged the drain in the floor with cardboard so it would flood. Sara, go on out front. I'll finish up here and come out in a few minutes.”
He stood back as Sara walked towards to him. She held herself rigid, her shoulders square, her arms crossed in front of her. Her tennis shoes were soaked as were the bottom few inches of her jeans.
“Are you okay?” He pulled her into the front room then engulfed her in a hug. Her face was blank, but when he held her, her shoulders slumped and he heard her sniffle. “Let it go. I'm here,” he murmured into her hair as she began to cry into his jacket.
He held her as she cried and when Robert walked out, Allen shook his head. He held back until Sara pulled away and wiped the remaining tears away.
“I think Robert wants to talk to you.”
“Why don't you have a seat.” He motioned towards her small makeshift desk and chair. She walked over and sat down, looking at her hands. Allen could tell she was embarrassed about crying in front of him and Robert, but she straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath.
“When was the last time you were here?” Robert pulled out his paper and pencil.
“Yesterday morning. I met Allison here. She drove us to Edgeview were we went shopping all day. I thought about stopping by last night, but Rusty didn't have my car back until this morning.”
“The back door was kicked in and the lock was still engaged, so short of having an alarm system, you couldn't have done much. Does it look like anything is missing?”
Sara shook her head. “There was nothing of value taken. The most expensive items are my stoves and refrigerators. I didn't even have my register out of the box yet.” She pointed to the box sitting on the countertop. “They just wanted to destroy everything.”
Allen walked over and stood behind her and placed his hands lightly on her shoulders. “Could this have anything to do with what happened in Seattle?” He felt her stiffen as she spun and glared at Robert.
“What?” He shrugged his shoulders when she just continued to glare at him. “Alright. I mentioned it the other night. I thought for sure you would have told him, after all you two are—” Robert cut his statement off when Allen glared at him.
“No, thi
s has nothing to do with what happened in Seattle.” She stood and crossed her arms over her chest. “Now, if you're done in there, I have a lot of cleaning up to do.”
Robert nodded, but put his hand out as she started to walk by him. “I'm sorry, Sara. I shouldn't have said anything.”
She relaxed a little. “It's okay. Oh, have a cupcake on your way out. They’re right there in that box on the end of the countertop. Take one for Larry down at the station and everyone else.” She walked into the next room. When the door shut, Robert looked at him.
“She's pretty shaken up. I'm sure she'll come around after she settles down.”
He nodded and watched his friend open the box of cupcakes. His eyes opened wide when he saw how beautiful they were.
Robert shook his head. “How am I supposed to eat a piece of art like this?” He carefully pulled out a yellow frosted one. The frosting was piled high and Allen realized it wasn't just yellow frosting, but a yellow daisy, complete with a white face and bright yellow petals. He watched Robert pull back the paper and bite into it.
“A taste of springtime in the dead of winter.” Robert shook his head. “I'm going to be fat three months after she opens up. Mark my words.” He shook his head and walked out the door eating the rest of the cupcake.
Allen stood there for a minute looking at the door that led to the kitchen, then pulled out his cell phone and made a quick call. By the time he walked into the back room wearing his rain boots, Sara had her sleeves and her pants rolled up and was using a push broom to sweep all the water into the now unplugged drain in the middle of the floor.
“Go away. I don't want to talk right now.” She continued to sweep and he could see she was working the anger out.
“Too bad. It'll go faster with the two of us.” He walked over and picked up a trash can and the dustpan. Doing the best he could, he scooped up the soggy flour and sugar and took them out back to the dumpster in the alley. When he walked back in, he bent to scoop up the next load.
“Iian and Todd are on their way here. They're going to stop by the hardware store and get a new door and alarm system.” Sara stopped sweeping and gaped at him. “I know you don't want any help, but did you really think you were in this alone?”
After a minute, she shook her head. He watched a tear slide down her cheek. He wanted to go gather her up, but knew she wouldn't want him to. Instead, he went back to his task of cleaning up.
Two hours later, he finished helping Todd install her alarm system as Iian and Luke finished installing her new steel back door. Over three dozen people had stopped by offering their help. A large group of older women took charge of the rest of the cleaning so Sara could focus on weeding through her utensils, deciding which could be salvaged and which were beyond help. Three of her large pans had dents in them, but for the most part, she'd been lucky. Her knives had been thrown at the wall, leaving large holes that the Timothy crew had patched, promising they'd be back in the morning to paint over the newly fixed spots.
“There.” Todd dusted off his hands. “Let me show you how this works.” He walked over to the panel and Sara followed him. “It's the same system we have at the restaurant. You put in your code like this.” Todd punched in the code and there were three sharp beeps. “Now the system is armed. If anyone opens the front door or back door…” He walked over and opened the back door. Loud screeching noises came from the speakers they'd installed. Todd shut the door and hit the buttons to disarm the system. “It also calls the local PD.” He smiled. “So, as long as you don't forget your code, you're set.”
Sara smiled. “I can't thank you enough. Everyone. For all your help.”
“These cupcakes are all the thanks I need,” Todd said as he took another one from the box.
Chapter Seven
After everyone left, Sara stood in her kitchen and looked around. Insurance was going to replace all the pans and utensils, but her heart hurt a little knowing someone had come in and purposely destroyed what she'd made. She knew who it was, well not his name or what he looked like, but she knew who had done this. The question was how had he found her? She'd thought that if she picked up and moved back home that the threats would stop, but it only seemed to speed them up.
“What are you thinking?” She almost jumped at the sound of Allen's voice behind her. She should have known he wouldn't have left with the others. Turning, she looked at him. He still wore his work uniform and large green rain boots. The sleeves on his shirt were pushed up and there was a drop of icing from her cupcakes on his shirt.
Shaking her head, she looked back into the kitchen. “I'm trying to not think of it as spoiled. Last time,”—she took a breath and decided to open up to him—“when he did this to my apartment in Seattle, he went through and touched my things. He didn't destroy them, just touched them, moved them around. I donated everything to Goodwill and bought all new clothes.” She crossed her arms over her chest and remembered the feeling of being violated for months after the intrusion.
He walked up behind her and gently turned her around. “I'm sorry. I'd like to know more, but I can see you're tired.”
She shook her head. “Weary, but not tired. I've gone so long without telling someone. If you want, maybe we can grab some dinner and I'll tell you about it.”
“That sounds great. I'll drive.” He smiled and pulled her into a light hug.
Sara locked up and walked out the front door, knowing her alarm was armed by the flashing green light. “Thank you.” She turned to Allen as they stood outside the storefront.
“For what?” He pulled her close as they started walking towards his truck.
“For calling in the troops. I would have done it sooner or later, after I'd worked off some of the steam. Thank you for taking the day off to help me clean up the mess, for being there and being a friend.”
He stopped in the middle of the street, just in view of Patty's large windows and kissed her. When he finally pulled back, after hearing a honk and laughter, he smiled down at her and pulled her the rest of the way out of the road. “You're welcome.”
Sitting in his truck with the heater on full blast, she relaxed into the warmth and watched the lights go by the window. She didn't know where he was taking her, but at this point her head was too dull to care.
Feeling the truck stop, she opened her eyes and realized they had stopped in front of a house. “Is this yours?” She sat up and looked out the front window. His headlights only hit halfway up the garage. It was too dark to see anything else.
“Mine and Beast’s.” He smiled then got out and walked around just in time to help her out of the truck. “I thought you might like someone else to cook for you tonight.”
“You can cook?” She stopped and looked up at him. His smile spread and she felt her heart skip.
“I guess you'll find out.” Instead of walking to the front door, he walked around the side and opened the door. A black spot rushed out between his legs. “Beast doesn't like his room.” He shook his head and flipped on the outside porch light. They both turned and watched the small dog do his business in the grass. Then he plodded back towards them and started jumping at her feet. She bent and picked him up and was rewarded with kisses all over her face. She followed Allen into a good-sized laundry room. She saw the dog bed, food, and water were set up. There were toys scattered all over the floor.
“Sorry, I should have taken you through the front.” He shut the door behind her, then walked over to scoop up a small pile of puppy poo.
“Did you poo in the house?” She giggled and snuggled with the dog.
“I'm glad you find it all so funny,” he said when he came back from cleaning up.
“He'll get potty trained soon enough.”
“I'm working on the rest of the house first. This is kinda his room. Tile is a lot easier to clean than carpet.”
“I bet.” She smiled and set the dog down and followed Allen into the living room. She liked the space and the colors he'd used. Light and clean. The f
ireplace was impressive, as was the sheer size of the rooms. He walked into the kitchen and rolled up his sleeves again.
“This will be a while. If you want, I have some old sweats you can change into. Your feet must be freezing.”
She looked down at her wet shoes. The numbness had been there so long, she'd almost forgotten the discomfort. The thought of peeling off her wet jeans and shoes sounded like heaven.
“Sounds great. Actually, if it's not too much to ask, can I use your shower?” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms.
“Sure.” He walked over to her. “I should have thought. You probably wanted to go home and—” She stopped him by putting her finger over his mouth.
“If I wanted to go home, I would be home.” Smiling, she reached up on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his mouth. “Now, point me in the direction of hot water and those sweats.”
My Sweet Valentine Page 7