Childhood Dream

by Theresa Paolo

  Reid called into the station as he whipped out of the parking lot. Tony drummed his fingers against his knees, trying to keep himself from jumping out of the car and running. There was no way he could outrun Reid’s car, but knowing Krissy was locked in a building being tormented while he just sat there…

  “I hope we catch the bastard,” Tony spat.

  “When we get there, I need you to stay in the car until I clear the area.”

  “When we get there, I am going right to Krissy. She’s probably scared out of her mind.”

  “And if something happens to you, you’ll be no good to her, so please just let me do my job.” Reid glanced at him, his blue eyes showing his calm authority.

  “Fine,” Tony agreed, but only because Krissy had been through enough tonight. He didn’t need her to suffer any more if something were to happen to him.

  “I never should have left her there by herself.”

  “You were with her?”

  “I finished painting the place today, and she wasn’t ready to leave, so I did and met up with you guys. I should’ve stayed, knowing everything that had already happened.” He pushed his palm into his eyes, and Reid’s big hand patted his back.

  “Don’t blame yourself. No good ever comes out of that,” he said as if he was speaking from experience. Tony had known Reid for years, but he knew nothing about his time before he came to Willow Cove. He didn’t talk about it, and Tony never brought it up. Maybe Marco or Enzo knew, but really it was none of his business.

  Reid pulled into the parking lot, threw the car in park, and jumped out of the car in a blur.

  “Police! Stop!” Reid’s voice echoed through the night.

  Tony couldn’t just sit there, so he got out of the car and watched Reid race into the bushes, legs high, as he jumped over the brush and propelled himself farther into the trees that lined the property.

  Tony hurried to the door of Scoops and turned the knob. It was locked. He knocked gently, not to scare Krissy any more than she already was. “Kris, it’s me. Open up.”

  The lock clicked, and the door flew open. Her hazel eyes were wide, red, and puffy. Fear etched into the lines of her face, and she launched herself into his arms. He braced himself, catching her and hauling her close.

  “I got you. You’re okay,” he said, holding her tight and stroking her back. “I’m here.” Shivers wracked her body, and he continued tracing smoothing circles along her back. “You’re safe.”

  She inhaled a ragged breath. “I was so scared.” Her fingers curled into his flannel shirt.

  The door creaked, and Krissy jumped.

  “Just me,” Reid said, holding up his hand. He sucked in a few breaths and nodded toward the back lot. “Got away from me.”

  “Did you get a look at them?”

  Reid shook his head. “Wearing a ski mask. He’s taller than both of us, black pants and a black hoodie, fast as hell, but that’s all I got.”

  “Damn it!” Tony exclaimed. He should’ve gone after the culprit with Reid. The two of them would have had a better chance of catching the bastard. Now whoever it was, was still out there, putting Krissy and her business at risk. “Let me take you home.”

  “I hate to do this,” Reid said. “But I have to ask you some questions.”

  “Can’t you ask her tomorrow? She’s already been through hell tonight.”

  Reid’s lips parted when his eyebrow raised, and he peered around them to the front window. “Son of a bitch.”

  Allison Winters pulled into the parking lot and stepped out of her car. Her high heels clicked on the pavement, and Reid let out a frustrated sigh.

  “Stop by the station tomorrow so I can get a statement. I’ll deal with that one.”

  “Come on.” Tony tucked Krissy into his side, holding her close as they hurried outside.

  “Miss Turner did something else happen tonight?” Allison tripped on her heels but kept coming.

  “Allison, don’t you have a life?” Reid asked as he stepped outside to face the reporter.

  “Yes, my job, which is why I’m here and you put a call into the station about a disturbance, so I thought I’d check it out.”

  “How the hell did you know that?”

  “How many times do I have to tell you I have a police scanner?”

  Reid inhaled deeply, and Tony could see the veins in his neck expand. He ignored the black-haired woman and focused on the only woman that mattered at this moment.

  “Anything you’d like to tell me,” Allison said to Krissy.

  “Don’t answer her,” Reid said.

  “I’m just going to find out, anyway.”

  “Come on,” Tony said, letting Reid handle the nosey reporter as he took Krissy’s keys and drove her home.

  Ten minutes later, he put the car in park in her driveway. He turned to her. “Are you okay?”

  “I think so. I’m just freaked out a little still.”

  “Totally understandable.”

  She fidgeted with her hands then threw them down in her lap. “I just don’t get it. Why is this person doing this to me? What did I do to deserve this? What did I do that would cause a person to vandalize my business, harass me to the point that I was pushed up against a corner shaking uncontrollably unable to fight back or do anything?”

  The anger Tony had forced down resurfaced at the thought of Krissy terrified to the point of shaking in a corner.

  “I shouldn’t have left you alone,” he said, the fury inside him tinging his words.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Krissy said. “How were we supposed to know that this was going to happen?”

  “Not the point. There were already too many things that had happened. I should have known better.”

  “I refuse to be scared to go to my own shop. A place that is filled with nothing but happy memories. I won’t let this person break me or the love I have for that shop. If whoever it was thinks I’m going to run away with my tail in between my legs, they have another thing coming. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Do you think that’s what it’s about? They’re trying to scare you off the property?”

  “What else would it be? I have no enemies that I know of. I’ve never done anyone wrong. Scoops though… the property alone is worth a fortune. Willow Cove is becoming more and more of a summer hotspot. I’ve received so many offers on the building and the lot surrounding it that I also own, but I refuse to sell. I’ve had a few pushy developers over the years.”

  “What about the last guy that stopped by? Has he been by before?”

  “That was the first time I ever met him, but I’m sure it won’t be the last. They’re relentless when they want something, but most of them don’t expect me to be just as relentless in my refusal to sell.”

  “That’s why you’re trying to get it declared a historic landmark.”

  She nodded. “If I can get the building declared a landmark, then no one can tear it down, and the land becomes useless to developers who want to knock it down and throw up overpriced condos or some luxury resort.”

  For as long as Tony knew Krissy, which was pretty much his whole life, Scoops had been a big part of her life. She would never let developers have the land. She’d tie herself to the building before anyone would take a wrecking ball to her aunt’s legacy and her childhood memories.

  “How long until you can get approval?” he asked.

  “I submitted the paperwork and now I have to wait for a formal review in front of a judge. The public has the right to testify on the significance of the landmark so I was going to ask Ella and Cami if they would. Maybe even your grandpa, since he and his business are so well known in the community.”

  “I’ll testify. Just tell me the time and place, and I’ll be there.”

  She smiled, and though the weight of the day still weighed on her features, it was still genuine. “Thank you.”

  He cupped her jaw and brushed a thumb over the apple of her cheek. “For you, I’d do anything.”

>   Her teeth slid over her lip, and her hazel eyes met his. She leaned toward him, and the air sparked with electric current that ran between them.

  A car door slammed shut, and she jolted away from him. He closed his eyes, letting the disappointment consume him for a moment. She was so close to kissing him.

  “Krissy!” Ella’s voice floated across the driveway.

  “Ella!” Krissy jumped out of the car, and Tony reluctantly took the keys from the ignition and followed. Ella, Cami, and Aubrey walked up the driveway.

  “Are you okay? Marco called Aubrey, and I was with her so I called Cami, and here we are.” Ella tossed her arms around Krissy and held her tight before pulling back. “You’re okay, right?”

  “I’m okay.”

  Cami held up a bottle of tequila. “I brought provisions just in case.”

  “Thanks for driving her home,” Ella said to him.

  Cami patted his shoulder. “We got it from here.” She gave him a wink as she passed.

  Aubrey offered a smile. “The boys are still down at the restaurant if you want to catch up with them.”

  “Thanks, sis,” Tony said to his now sister-in-law. Though he’d known Aubrey for a long time, and he guessed he kind of always considered her like a sister.

  “Sis, I like that.” She stopped before following the girls inside. “Krissy’s okay, but are you okay?”

  “I am just—” He looked toward the house, imagining Ella whipping up a batch of margaritas and Krissy finally calming down.

  “We’ll take good care of her.”

  “Thanks, Aubs.”

  Aubrey nodded, then looked toward the driveway. “You don’t have your car here?”

  “Shit. I drove Krissy’s car.”

  She handed over her keys. “Take mine and tell Marco he can swing by to get me later.”

  “You’re the best,” Tony said.

  “I know,” she said with a smile and headed into the house.

  Tony hopped into the car and adjusted the seat. Krissy was in good hands, and he had nothing to worry about. Though he hated that he wasn’t in there with her. It wasn’t his place, though. He couldn’t even get her to acknowledge what they shared went beyond a mistake, beyond a drunken hookup. But he felt like it was only a matter of time, so he left Krissy with the girls and went back to the restaurant to finish his night.

  Chapter 13

  After a few margaritas and some laughs with her friends, Krissy felt better. Though, now that they were gone, and she was left to the quiet solace of her house, the fear that had embedded so deeply into her bones earlier seeped back in. Ella had offered to stay the night, but Krissy didn’t want to put her out. Besides, this was her house, and she’d always felt safe in her own home. But the rumble of the boiler, the creak of the floorboards, the way the oak tree outside the window cast shadows through her window was seriously freaking her out. Had the tree always been so menacing looking?

  She picked up her phone and glanced at the screen. If it wasn’t eleven o’clock at night, she’d call Ella to come back, but the poor girl had three margaritas and Cami had topped two of them off with a tequila floater. Lucas would have his hands full tonight, and if he already got her in bed, Krissy didn’t want to wake her.

  Tony’s name caught her attention, and she stared at it for a long while. There were nights he didn’t sleep, choosing to sacrifice sleep for his work. Maybe he’d be up in his studio painting. What if he was painting because he was no longer blocked? Then she calls and knocks him out of whatever zone he was in.

  She was an adult. She could handle being home alone. All she had to do was go to bed, maybe read for a little, get lost in a fictional world, and tomorrow would be a new day.

  She picked up her e-reader and read the same line ten times before giving up completely. Her hand hovered over the light switch, and with a deep breath, she flipped it down. The room descended into darkness. Her heart picked up speed until it slammed violently against her chest. She smacked the wall, flipping the light switch on in one quick motion.

  She fumbled with her phone and hit call on Tony’s number. It rang three times, and she was about to hang up when his silky voice came through the speaker.

  “Krissy, are you okay?” he asked, his voice heavy with sleep.

  “I’m sorry you were sleeping. I’ll let you go.”

  “I’m up.” She imagined him kicking his bare legs over the side of the bed and sitting on the edge, resting his elbows on his knees, and his unruly curls falling across his forehead. “What’s going on?”

  “I’m a little scared, so I just thought if you could talk to me for a little bit…”

  “I’m coming over.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous because I’m being ridiculous.”

  “You’re not being ridiculous. What happened tonight was scary, and you were all alone, which is why I won’t leave you alone now.”

  “You don’t have—”

  “I’m already out the door. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  “Tony?”

  “Yeah, Kris?”

  “Is it okay if we stay on the phone?”

  “Of course, sweetheart. Why don’t you tell me about what happened after I left and the wolves descended?”

  A giggle slipped from Krissy’s lips, and it calmed the rigid tension in her body. “I’ll be sure to tell them you said that.”

  His laugh rumbled through the phone, and she focused on the joyous sound, ignoring the menacing noises of the house.

  “Ella’s probably going to have a hangover tomorrow,” Krissy said. “She did offer to stay with me.”

  “But you sent her home.”

  “I didn’t want to inconvenience her.”

  “When are you going to realize you’re not an inconvenience? Never. Especially not to your family or your friends.”

  Krissy grew quiet. She’d been only a child when her mom had left, but Krissy would never forget the last conversation they had together. The woman who had birthed her told her how much of an inconvenience she was and that she never should have had her. It wasn’t a happy memory, but it was one that had been implanted on her mind and no matter how hard she tried to shake it, she couldn’t. It was always there, poking at her insecurities and reminding her that even the woman who was supposed to love her most didn’t.

  “Kris, you there?” Tony asked.

  “I’m here. Are you close?”

  “Almost there.”

  She closed her eyes as relief flooded through her. She heard the car go in park and the engine shut down.

  “You going to let me in?” he asked.

  She dropped the phone and ran to the door. She peered through the peephole and flung the door open. Tony stood in a pair of dark gray sweatpants that sat low on his hips and a black t-shirt that was tight around his biceps. Splashed across the front in white the words Weapons of Mass Creativity surrounded by different kinds of paint brushes. His hair was more unruly than usual, with curls falling across his forehead.

  Ignoring the urge to throw herself into his arms, she stepped aside to let him in. A familiar scent followed him. “Did you use the soap I gave you?”

  “I did.”

  “I can smell it.”

  “I actually really like the scent.”

  “Me too.”

  She pressed her lips together and looked around the foyer. “Are you hungry?”

  “No. I had my share of lobster rolls this evening.” He pressed a palm into his eyes. “I was supposed to bring you a lobster roll tonight.”

  She shook her head. “It’s okay. I heated up a bunch of finger foods when the girls were here and pigged out.”

  “Still, I owe you a lobster roll.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that.” Feeling awkward standing in the foyer, she walked toward the living room and sat on the couch. Tony plopped down beside her, the cushions sinking beneath his stature.

  “If you’re tired and want to go to bed, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll st
ay right here.”

  That was exactly what she had planned to do before getting scared and calling him, but now that he was here, she didn’t want to go to sleep. She wanted to spend time with him. “How about a movie?”

  He shifted, turning his body to face her, a smile on his lips. “I could do a movie. How about you pick this time?”

  “If you leave that up to me, we’ll be watching Willow Cove.”

  He rolled his eyes and flopped his head back.

  “It’s a classic and put our town on the map.”

  “I will give you that. It certainly put our town on the map, but it is nowhere near a classic.”

  “I guess you’re choosing again then.”

  “Why don’t we watch something fun?”

  “I’d like that.”

  “How about The Wizard of Oz?”

  “I haven’t seen that movie since I was a kid. The Wicked Witch always scared me.”

  “Maybe we should pick something else then.”

  “No. I always said I wanted to go back and watch it as an adult. I just never got around to it.”

  “Then there is no better time to watch it than now.” He took her remote, logged into his account, selected the movie, and hit play.

  He settled onto the couch and held his arm up. She hesitated for only a second before nuzzling into his side, resting her head against his shoulder. His warmth seeped through her, comforting her in a way she didn’t realize she needed. She inhaled the fresh crisp scent that clung to his shirt and the spicy scent of his soap. Her eyes slowly closed, but she forced them open. She didn’t want to sleep now, even though for the first time since the incident, she finally felt at peace.

  The movie started, the screen dimming to black and white. Silence spread between them, except for the actors on the TV. Funny. Now that Tony was here, she didn’t notice all the little sounds throughout the house.

  His hand rubbed absently up and down her arm, and she snuggled into him closer. This was nice. She couldn’t remember the last time she had a guy over, or one who was content to snuggle on the couch while watching any kind of movie.