“Yes, it was. We’re friends, but this is Sarah’s business, and I work for her. I won’t forget that again. I’m really, really sorry, Sarah.”
* * *
SARAH COULD SEE the trepidation in Rosemary’s eyes and gave her a reassuring smile. Glimmer Creek was a small town, and her dad would have heard about the inspection sooner rather than later. Yet Sarah understood how Rosemary felt—for the first time she was navigating life as an employee, and it couldn’t be easy. It was something most people learned much younger.
“Thank you, Rosemary. Would you take this into the office while I talk to Dad?”
“Of course.”
Rosemary took the certificate and hurried back through the door.
“Sarah, please call the police station and tell them what’s happening,” Kurt urged when they were alone. “I, er, thought about doing it myself, but Rosemary didn’t think I should.”
“She was right. I want time to evaluate before taking action.”
“How about talking to Zach unofficially?” Kurt suggested. “He won’t mind. We could go over to the police station together and have a private meeting.”
Sarah tried not to get annoyed, but her father obviously wasn’t paying attention. “I’m not talking to anyone until I’m good and ready.”
“But—”
“No buts. You need to trust me.”
Kurt’s eyes widened. “This has nothing to do with trust.”
Sarah wasn’t sure, though it could be miscommunication. Her father still had a strong urge to protect her, and she wanted to know she could handle the bumps without his support. It wasn’t a secret—she’d told him in a hundred ways—but she needed to make him understand.
“Dad, leave it to me,” she said finally.
His expression told her he wasn’t happy, but he finally nodded. “All right, sweetheart. I don’t like it, though.”
“I’m not enjoying this much, either. But I’m going to take care of it in my own way.”
* * *
BY MIDAFTERNOON ON TUESDAY, Tyler was ready to climb the walls. He’d hoped Nathan’s friendly behavior at the baked potato feed would mark a turning point, but he’d been rude and churlish ever since. He’d snapped at Tyler a dozen times, and worse, had snarled at their mother for simply offering to wash his clothes.
The physical therapist in Stockton hadn’t bothered with diplomacy at Nathan’s appointment that morning, telling him to get his ass together or have it handed to him. The rebuke had worked during the therapy session, but Nathan quickly reverted once they were back in Glimmer Creek.
“How about that girl you met on Sunday?” Tyler asked in desperation. “Did you get her number?”
Nathan glared. “Yeah, but she works in Davis during the week, and her classes will be starting in a few weeks.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t go out when she’s free.”
“You don’t get it. Vickie is an athlete,” Nathan growled. “Swimming, hiking, bicycling. For God’s sake, she was going on a twenty-mile bike ride after the baked potato feed. Like she’d have any real interest in me. I can barely drag myself around the pool or get to Kurt’s greenhouses.”
Tyler felt as if a light had suddenly come on; his brother had seen himself through the eyes of a beautiful woman and gotten angry and discouraged.
“I doubt you could have done that a month ago,” he retorted. “And Dr. Romano is going to start working with you tomorrow on a therapy for your nightmares.”
Nathan glowered. “It sounds like hocus-pocus. How can someone change a nightmare by ‘rehearsing’ a different ending to it when they’re awake?”
“It’s worth a shot,” Tyler insisted.
Nathan just hunched his shoulders and stared out the side window.
Tyler was out of ideas to lift his brother’s foul mood by the time their mother got home from work.
“Hello,” Rosemary called as she came in through the kitchen.
Yet she seemed subdued and he frowned. “What’s up?”
“Somebody is making trouble for Sarah again. They called the health department, and there was a surprise inspection this afternoon. We passed, of course, but someone also disconnected the electric catering vehicles last night. Sarah is trying to downplay everything, but I’m worried. Who could possibly have a grudge against her?”
“Has she called the police?”
“She wants to sleep on it. Kurt pushed, but that just made her more stubborn.”
“Even I know pushing Sarah is a bad idea,” Tyler said wryly. He checked his watch. “I’ve been planning to go over and do more evaluation on her building. Did she go home early?”
“She was still there when I left.”
Tyler headed over to the shop and sat at one of the café tables while he waited for Sarah. She came out shortly before closing time, looking pale.
“I understand you had a bad day,” he said.
“It could have gone better. Do you want to see the staircase now?”
“Unless you have something else to do.”
She shrugged. “There’s always something to do, but the swing shift can take over.”
Tyler followed her to the staircase. She was right—it was far too steep to meet code—but Tyler still wanted to see the second floor. He had an idea knocking around in his head and wouldn’t know if it would work unless he took a better look.
“Good lord,” he said after they’d gone up. “It must have been a nightmare getting furniture up those steps.”
“Luckily there’s a built-in sideboard and bookshelves. Other than that, I mostly used an air mattress and folding chairs when I lived up here.”
He looked around, assessing the space, including the flat expanse of roof over the front of the shop. Finally he turned to Sarah. “I’m starting to see options for the remodel, but they’ll be expensive. You said your family might help. It would be a big savings.”
“That’s right, they’re eager to rush in and rescue me, whether I need it or not,” she replied in a dry tone.
“I can’t imagine what it would be like having such a close family. It doesn’t sound like a bad thing.”
“I’m not complaining. I’ve always wanted to have the bakery here, but I’m still trying to find a balance with my relatives. Especially Dad. Didn’t you want to succeed on your own? To feel you’re responsible for your accomplishments?”
“Yes, though I didn’t have much choice,” Tyler admitted. “When my father learned I was studying engineering and architecture, he told me to switch to law or pay for the rest of my education on my own.”
“That was unfair,” Sarah said indignantly. “School is expensive, and I bet your dad’s income kept you from getting grants and scholarships.”
Tyler almost smiled. He was proud of having worked his way through school, but it was nice to hear Sarah’s indignation on his behalf. He was becoming accustomed to the way she voiced her frank opinions...and he rather enjoyed it, to his surprise.
“Are you always this passionate about the injustices of the world?” he asked curiously.
“Injustices matter. Big ones and little ones. I guess it’s because my dad was a soldier. My mother walked out when I was really young, so my grandparents raised me, but they made sure I knew he was out there to make the world safer.”
“You two seem close.”
“It took a while after he retired. I mean, he visited Glimmer Creek when he was on leave, and I would go see him, but it wasn’t enough to know each other that well. Then I went away to college, not that long after he retired from the army. But we got there.”
She fanned herself, and Tyler realized it was warm and stuffy in the small apartment.
Or it could be the effect Sarah was having on him.
There was
no denying that was the real reason he kept coming around. His attraction to her was hard to resist, though he couldn’t imagine two people who were less suited to each other. It was more than them wanting different things out of life. Despite a bad marriage and being abandoned by her mother, Sarah was still fresh and open, while he was a man who rarely shared anything with anyone.
Not a good mix.
Nevertheless, he was worried about her.
“Sarah, my mom told me what happened, about the catering vehicles and the second anonymous complaint.”
“It was a peachy day, all right.”
Tyler hesitated. Generally he didn’t get mixed up with a client’s life, but Sarah wasn’t just a client. “You know, it isn’t losing your independence to accept help if you’re being harassed. I told you about that student who was stalked when I was in graduate school. After a while, she was failing classes and could barely function because she was so stressed out and sleep-deprived. It kept getting worse until she got the police involved, and the guy was arrested.”
Oddly, the story seemed to make Sarah more uptight. Her cheeks went pale, and she crossed her arms over her stomach. “The police don’t always believe you. Sometimes they just say it’s your imagination. Especially when your husband tells them that you’re just menstrual or prone to seeing shadows.”
A cold anger went through Tyler. “That’s what happened to you,” he said flatly.
“I...yes. Turns out, the ‘stalker’ was my husband, trying to control me. Douglas wanted me to be afraid and isolated, to have no one but him. He even did his best to keep me away from my family or friends. There I was, in a city with millions of people, and I felt completely alone.”
Tyler’s outrage escalated, though he tried not to show it. “Could your ex be responsible for the trouble here in Glimmer Creek?”
She frowned. “I don’t think so. He’s remarried, and I haven’t heard from him since our last court date anyway. A couple of friends showed up and explained in graphic detail what they’d do if he ever bothered me again. Douglas was so scared, I’m pretty sure he wet himself.”
“Then he didn’t succeed in ending all your friendships.”
The color came back into Sarah’s face, and she smiled. “I managed to hang on to a few. Look, Tyler, one part of my brain says somebody is trying to make trouble for me. Another part thinks the idea is ridiculous. I don’t have any enemies or rivals that I know of. If anyone else wants to start a catering business, I’d be happy to let them have the contract with Poppy Gold. With Tessa’s approval, of course.”
“Isn’t the contract with Poppy Gold lucrative?”
“Yes, but without it I’d have more time to develop recipes and just bake. I also wouldn’t need to remodel the building and most of my employees could transfer to the new caterer.”
Tyler tried to clear his head.
They were discussing a hypothetical situation, which was ridiculous. For one, the breakfasts that Sarah provided to Poppy Gold were excellent, and it was unlikely her cousin would want to rock the boat. It was equally unlikely someone else was interested in going through the expense and hassle of setting up another restaurant and catering business in such a small town.
“I doubt this is connected to your contract with Poppy Gold,” he said quickly. “There doesn’t have to be a logical reason for someone harassing you.”
“Assuming it isn’t just a series of bizarre coincidences.”
“Do you honestly believe that?”
“No. I’ll probably call Zach tomorrow, unofficially, but can we not talk about it now?”
“Sure. How about a walk?” Tyler suggested, hoping to distract himself from the way Sarah was creeping around his senses. She didn’t wear makeup, not that she needed any. She was wrapped in a chef’s apron, and her gorgeous hair was in a snug French braid...yet he was acutely aware of her.
* * *
SARAH WAVERED, BUT only for a second.
“A walk sounds great.”
Downstairs she checked with Millie and was told nothing critical was going on, so she dropped her apron in the laundry bin.
In a curious way, Tyler was becoming a friend. But unlike her other friends and family, he didn’t seem to have an agenda, at least not since she’d made it clear she wouldn’t encourage Rosemary to take Nathan back to the East Coast.
Sarah’s feelings about Tyler were mixed. He remained hard to read, yet the tiny glimpses of emotion in his eyes and the way he was sticking around Glimmer Creek to help his brother were deeply appealing.
Bad idea, warned her instincts. She already knew she had a weakness for enigmatic men. Maybe because they were so different than the outgoing family she’d grown up with. But Tyler was a visitor to Glimmer Creek, forced into a short detour on his quest for professional greatness. He would quickly get back on track.
Still, going for a walk with Tyler wasn’t the same as jumping into bed with him or handing over her heart.
Outside, the late afternoon rays from the sun were less intense and bathed Glimmer Creek in golden light. They wandered into the residential area, debating their preferences on historical architecture.
“What kind of house have you designed for yourself?” she asked curiously.
“Me? I never thought about it.”
She blinked. She wasn’t an architect, but she’d know exactly what she’d want if she could build her own home.
“Think about it now,” she challenged. “Start with where you’d put it. Don’t be realistic, just pick a spot where you think it would be great to live.”
* * *
TYLER WAS FLUMMOXED. Sarah asked the darnedest questions. “The city.”
“You have to be more specific,” she urged. “Which city?”
“Er, Paris. My French is better than my Italian.”
“Okay. If you could have any location in Paris, what kind of house would you build? I’m not talking about practicality, what does the kid inside of you want?”
He gave her a dampening look. “I’m not a kid any longer.”
“According to your mother, you never were.” Sarah’s cheeks promptly turned pink, and she scrunched her nose. “Sorry, Rosemary wasn’t criticizing—she just mentioned you were a serious child. Didn’t you ever have a silly, fun side?”
“I’m afraid not.”
Yet Tyler wasn’t being entirely honest. He hadn’t thought about it in years, but now he remembered drawing castles as a boy, fantastical, labyrinthine castles populated with dragons and trolls and princesses in danger. He’d been a knight, but instead of slaying the dragon, they’d formed an alliance and worked together to save the princess.
He had a sneaking suspicion that if Sarah had been the princess, she would have knocked the troll over the head and rescued herself.
“Okay, forget being silly,” Sarah said, looking disappointed. “Tell me about your perfect place in Paris.”
“A loft,” Tyler replied, saying the first thing that came into his head. “On the top floor of a tall building. The outside walls should be all windows. Not too large, open concept, with a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree vista of the city. I’d want spectacular views, especially at night with the lights. That way I could clear my mind and simply work.”
“Oh.” She blinked. “Then you’d live there alone.”
“You know how I feel about marriage.”
“Yeah. When you think about having this ideal Paris loft, does it feel like home?”
Tyler understood what she meant. Warmth. Welcome. Belonging. A sort of mystical place where you were loved and felt safe.
“What’s home to you?” he countered, knowing “home” had to be a much more important concept to Sarah than to him.
“A big, comfortable place with fireplaces and cozy corners to read, with happy, active c
hildren and an easygoing guy who loves me,” she said promptly. “It needs tons of outdoor space for the kids to romp and have picnics and explore with their cousins and friends. I also want a spot in the garden where water trickles over rocks and around ferns into a pool...a place where the wood faeries can come and wash their hair when everyone has gone to bed.”
It seemed typical that Sarah knew exactly what she wanted without having to stop and think. And she hadn’t needed to say her ideal house was located in Glimmer Creek. That part was obvious.
As for the wood faeries?
She’d probably said that to get a rise out of him. Or maybe not. Sarah could pass for a wood faerie herself in the right clothes, and he didn’t question she had a playful side. Stress might even be bringing it out more prominently.
“You didn’t mention a great kitchen,” Tyler said.
“Okay, add a great kitchen,” she agreed. “By the way, a few blocks over we have a house that Julia Morgan designed. It’s unusual to see her work outside of the Bay Area, and it’s the closest thing I’ve seen to my dream house.”
“I’d love to take a look,” he said. “I’ve always admired Morgan’s work. She was a gifted architect. Lead the way.”
Tyler was grateful for the change of subject. He’d almost expected Sarah to ask how he planned to design something great and memorable if he didn’t have more imagination. Maybe he should have told her that he wanted to live in a crystal bird’s nest over a cloud city.
They walked down several streets lined with large houses, predominantly built in the Craftsman style.
“Here it is,” she announced.
Tyler gazed at the structure. It sat on a huge lot and took advantage of the rolling terrain. The other houses on the street were nice, but this one had a radical distinctiveness. More than anything, it looked natural, as if it had grown up out of the land.
“Nice,” he said, impressed.
“It belongs to my uncle Daniel and his wife—you met Uncle Daniel at the baked potato feed. Anyway, they bought the property when Aunt Emma was doing her medical residency with Dr. Romano. That’s when everybody knew they’d stay in Glimmer Creek, instead of going somewhere else.”
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