A Love to Treasure (Sunriver Dreams Book 1)

by Kimberly Rose Johnson

  “Enough!” A lifeguard glowered over them. “You boys are banned from the pool.” He looked at Nicole, concern in his eyes. “Are you okay?”

  “I’ll live.”

  “Thanks for intervening.”

  Connor strode toward the exit.

  “Excuse me.” Nicole tossed the words at the lifeguard then rushed to the lounge chair. She swept up her belongings then darted after Connor. “Wait up!”

  He didn’t slow.

  She ran and caught up to him on the other side of the fence. “Connor, stop!”

  He stood still, breathing hard, fists clenched at his sides.

  “What happened back there?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Too bad. You can either tell me, or I can call your cousin.”

  “No!” Panic shone in his eyes. “Please, Nicole. It’s not a big deal.”

  “I disagree. If you don’t want to tell me what happened, then maybe you’d rather talk with Mark.”

  Connor toed a pebble. “Yeah, I think I would.”

  “Fine.” She pulled out her cell phone and sent him a text. A moment later he replied to meet him at the police department. “Come on. I’ll drive.” She walked toward her car, which was parked across the street. “Hop in.” A few minutes later she texted Mark to let him know they were waiting outside the PD for him.

  Dressed in uniform, Mark pushed out the door and smiled when he spotted them. “How are two of my favorite people?”

  “We’ve been better.” She quickly explained what went down at the pool then walked away. If Connor didn’t want to share with her then that was fine. At least he was willing to talk with Mark. She found a bench to sit on about a hundred feet away. What had set the kids off? She rubbed her stomach. At least the boy didn’t deliver too much of a wallop, but her midriff would probably be sore tomorrow. Her knee bounced up and down at a rapid pace. When she’d come to Sunriver she hadn’t anticipated becoming a part of so many lives. She had more of a life in Sunriver than at home.

  Could God be trying to tell her something? Maybe He wanted her to move here. She shook her head—impossible. The homes were out of her reach, and she had no job. No. Come the end of August, she’d head home to Corvallis unless something came of her application to the local school. Her stomach knotted at the thought of returning home without a job—or was it returning home and leaving Sunriver and all the friends she’d made here that really bothered her?

  Mark and Connor approached. Mark’s serious face put her nerves on edge. She stood. He leaned toward her and whispered. “I’ll call you later.” Then he turned to the boy. “Don’t forget what we talked about.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Good. I’ll stop by your place on my route later.”

  “You don’t have to.” The boy kept his head down.

  He rested a hand on Connor’s shoulder. “I want to.”

  Connor squinted at him. “Okay.”

  “I’ll give you a ride home.” Nicole pulled car keys from her purse and mouthed thank you to Mark. The man had a huge heart. It seemed he made a habit of going above and beyond for everyone in his life.

  He nodded and waved.

  Nicole was accustomed to dealing with the occasional altercation in the classroom and on the playground, but this was different somehow. Connor walked silently beside her and slid into the car without a word. Had she ruined their friendship today? She’d only wanted to help.

  With a sigh, she started the car and headed to Sarah’s. At least her friend would be home in a couple of hours and Mark would be stopping in, so Connor wouldn’t be alone for long. A couple of minutes later, she pulled onto Sarah’s street and stopped in front of her house. “Are you angry with me?”

  “No. Just embarrassed. I’m sorry about what happened earlier. I hope you’re not hurt.”

  A smile touched her lips and she breathed easy for the first time since the incident at the pool. “I’ll live. If you need anything—”

  “I won’t, but thanks.” He hopped out and rushed inside.

  She pulled away from the house and drove home. Mark’s call couldn’t come soon enough. Curiosity ate at her.

  Several hours after meeting with Connor and Nicole, Mark pulled to a stop in front of Nicole’s place. He’d promised to call but would rather talk in person. Connor said she’d taken a punch to the gut. The front door opened, and Nicole stood there with a perplexed look.

  “This is a surprise. Come in.”

  He followed her inside then out onto the deck.

  “I’ve been waiting for you to call for the past three hours.”

  “Sorry. My shift just ended.” He sat in one of the teak chairs, and the other chair creaked as she settled in the one next to him. “I heard you were injured today.”

  “I’m fine. Had the wind knocked out of me for a moment, but that was all.”

  “You could press charges.”

  “Oh, I don’t think that’s necessary. Do you?”

  “Not really, but I wanted you to know.” Mark rested his forearms on his knees and stared at the deck under his feet, buying himself some time. How much should he tell her? He leaned back in the chair. “Connor was defending you.”

  “What?” Alarm replaced the concern. “What do you mean he was defending me? I was minding my own business and reading a book nowhere near the kids.”

  He shook his head. “Not what I meant. The other boy made a rude remark about you so Connor took a swing at him.”

  “Oh. I had no idea. Why would he do that?”

  “It’s a guy thing.”

  “That’s nuts. What did he say?”

  “It’s not important. What is important is that Connor felt very bad about everything, including choosing to hit the kid. I talked to him, and I think he understands that in the future there are better ways of handling situations like that.”

  Nicole’s distressed look made him chuckle. “What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t believe he got in a fight because of me. I feel awful. I was only trying to help Sarah, and I ended up making a mess of things.”

  He reached for her hand and ran his thumb across the top. “It wasn’t your fault. Let it go.” He gently squeezed her hand then stood up. “I should head home. It’s been a long day.” A frustrating day to be exact. They were no closer to solving the burglaries, and two more houses had been hit while he was off duty.

  Nicole stood and faced him. “Okay. Thanks for helping with Connor and for stopping by.” She walked him to the door. “If you weren’t in a rush, I’d offer you dinner.”

  He hesitated. Was she still feeling uncomfortable being here alone? “I could eat.”

  She laughed, slipped her fingers around his forearm, and tugged him into the kitchen before moving to the fridge. He missed her touch. He cleared his throat, unwilling to follow the direction his thoughts were taking. “What are we eating?” In truth, she could’ve been serving sand, and he wouldn’t have noticed. What was happening to him? He enjoyed being with Nicole way too much.

  “You look deep in thought. Care to share, or is it work related?”

  He shook his head. “My thoughts are best left up here.” He tapped his head. If she had an inkling of what he was thinking she would probably bolt. Yes, he definitely needed to keep his thoughts to himself.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Nicole paid for a large mocha at the Merchant Trader Café then walked outside onto the deck. Bailey called saying she was running late. Considering Nicole had nothing on her schedule for the day, Bailey’s tardiness didn’t matter.

  She sipped the drink slowly, hoping it would last until the designer arrived. Beyond the deck, golf carts rolled past. A couple of kids and their parents were on the putting green. Maybe she’d try it out before the end of summer.

  A commotion near the door that led inside drew her attention. Her eyes widened. Bailey crouched to pick up a messenger bag. Grams would have called it a fancy briefcase. At least she hadn’t drop
ped her drink. She stood, blew her bangs out of her eyes, then waved when she spotted Nicole.

  Nicole pushed a chair out for her. “Rough morning?”

  “Aren’t all mornings rough?” Bailey sat.

  Nicole shook her head. “I love mornings. It’s the best time of the day.”

  Bailey chuckled. “If you say so. Clearly I’m not a morning person.” She opened her messenger bag and pulled out a tablet. “Good thing I didn’t have my laptop in here. At least I have a protective case around my tablet.” She powered on the device and adjusted it so they could see the images better. “I’m glad you sat in the shade or we wouldn’t be able to see the screen.” She pulled up an image and handed over the device. “What do you think?” Anxiety filled her face.

  Nicole stared at the screen. Her room was beautiful, and the bathroom though small, looked spa-like with white quartz counters mounted on a new vanity, a new tiled shower and tile flooring. “I love it. The budget was big enough to do all of this?”

  “Yes. If you give your approval, work will begin on Monday morning. I will be there to get things started, but then the contractors will take over. Once the big work is completed, I’ll do the finishing touches. The project will take a full week to complete, possibly longer depending on what we find once we pull everything out. To be safe plan on two weeks.”

  Under promise over deliver. She hoped it really could get done that fast, but Bailey seemed confident. Nicole couldn’t stop smiling. “I feel like I have a fairy godmother. Then again, this isn’t my house.” She sipped her now lukewarm mocha.

  “Would you do anything differently if it were your place?”

  Would she? “No. I don’t think so. I love all the choices right down to the flooring.”

  “Then we accomplished our goal.” Bailey’s face lit when she smiled.

  Though the designer’s features were plain, and her bangs hung too low, the more she got to know Bailey, the more she realized there was a beautiful woman hiding behind large glasses, and too much hair around her face. Not that it mattered. Bailey was a sweetheart, but Nicole couldn’t help but wonder why a woman with her design sense would try to be invisible. At least that’s the way it appeared to her.

  “So what do you do for fun around here?” Nicole asked.

  “If you like the outdoors then you are in the perfect place. What kinds of things do you enjoy?”

  “I’ve enjoyed tennis, bicycling and hanging out by the pool, but I know there must be more than that around here.”

  “Oh yeah.” Bailey named a litany of activities. “Personally I like the winter sports, although I’m not good at them. The last time I went ice-skating it was a disaster. And forget about skiing. But Bachelor has inner tubing, which brings out the kid in me.” A smile lit her face.

  “Me too! There’s a hill near my house, and if we get enough snow I’m right there with all the kids. But skiing is my favorite.”

  “Not me. I’ll stick to inner tubing, thank you very much. The idea of barreling down the side of a mountain on two tiny skis is more adventure than this girl can handle.” Bailey laughed as she tucked the tablet back into her bag. “I should head out. Mona will wonder what happened to me if I’m gone too long.” She stood.

  “I’ll walk out with you.” Nicole stood and tossed her cup in the trash. “Do you like your boss?”

  “Mona is a fantastic designer, and I’m honored to work for her. I’ve learned a lot.”

  Nicole noted she didn’t really answer the question, but it wasn’t a fair question, so she dropped it. They strolled through the café and the connecting store then left the building coming out by the stone waterfall Nicole had admired her first day here.

  Nicole waved. “See you Monday.” With a little extra bounce in her step, she headed to her car. Grams would be tickled. Not only had she gone an entire morning without stressing her job situation, she’d had fun, and she hoped, made a new friend.

  A kid flew by on his bike. She did a double take—Connor. The boy really needed to follow the rules before he hurt himself or someone else. Tires squealed. She turned toward the sound. Connor! Her heart rate kicked into double time.

  She sprinted to the boy who lay on the pavement, and dropped to her knees beside him. He groaned and held his arm. “Where are you hurt?”

  “My arm.”

  The male driver stood beside the hood of the car presumably calling 911.

  “Do you hurt anyplace else?”

  “No.” Connor sat up. “I think I’m okay. That was so stupid.”

  “Agreed. You need to be more careful. You’re lucky you weren’t seriously hurt. Can you stand?”

  Sirens sounded nearby, and a moment later a police cruiser came into view.

  Connor groaned. “Why are the cops here?” He stood and sucked in a breath. “That stings.”

  “What?”

  He pointed to his scraped and bloodied knee.

  Spencer bolted from the cruiser and approached. “Hi, Nicole. Did you hit this kid?”

  “No officer. I did.” The man looked nervous and angry. “He whipped around the corner and darted right in front of me. I slammed on my brakes but couldn’t stop fast enough.”

  Nicole noticed the man’s cracked windshield and cringed. She turned to Connor. “Good thing you were wearing a helmet.” From the look of the windshield Connor was fortunate he wasn’t seriously injured.

  An ambulance pulled to a stop nearby and two medics approached.

  “I’m okay,” Connor said, but his face registered pain.

  Nicole placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Connor, Spencer is a friend of Mark’s. I think he’d want you to do what these people say.”

  “Who’s going to take care of my car?” The man who hit him crossed his arms and glowered down at them.

  Spencer stood and moved the man away from them. The medics took Connor over to the ambulance.

  Nicole pulled out her cell and called Sarah. She explained what happened.

  “Is he okay?” Panic filled Sarah’s voice.

  “I think so. Nothing looks broken from what I can see, but the medics are with him now. I’ll let you talk to one of them.” She walked over and explained she had Connor’s guardian on the phone and handed it over to the woman.

  The EMT finished bandaging Connor’s knee. “You’re a lucky boy.”

  “How’s his arm?” Nicole asked.

  “It’s hard to say for sure without an x-ray, but it doesn’t appear to be broken.”

  The woman handed Nicole the cell phone back. “I’m here, Sarah.”

  “I’m leaving the office now. Please take Connor home for me. I told the medic that I don’t want them to take him to the hospital. You’ll need to sign the waiver for me. I’ll meet you at my place.” She tucked her phone into her pocket and pivoted to the boy. “You ready to go? I’m taking you home.” She quickly signed the wavier.

  “What about my bike?”

  Spencer cleared his throat.

  Nicole looked over her shoulder. “I didn’t realize you were there, Spencer.”

  He nodded. “I took the driver’s statement. Did you see what happened?”

  Nicole told him what she saw before the accident and what she’d heard. “I need to take Connor home now. Can we go?”

  “What about my bike?” Connor asked again.

  “I’ll bring it to your house,” Spencer said. “Although it’s a little banged up.”

  Connor sighed. “I want to go home now,” his voice wobbled.

  Nicole immediately strode to her car, expecting he’d follow. She unlocked the car and slid behind the wheel. Connor got into the passenger seat. They drove in silence to Sarah’s house. When she parked, he bolted and went inside, slamming the door behind him.

  “I guess I’ll wait out here.” She put the windows down and got out a few minutes later when Spencer pulled up.

  “How’s he doing?”

  “I think he’s more upset about his bike than anything. That’s h
ow he gets around. It will be a long summer without wheels.”

  Spencer frowned. “He should have thought of that before riding recklessly.”

  She nodded. “His cousin will be here soon. Maybe you could leave his bike by the door.”

  “I need to talk with her before I leave.”

  “Oh.” She wished Mark was here. She leaned against her car. “How’s the burglary case coming?”

  “Still open.”

  She nodded. “I hope you catch them soon.”

  “That’s the plan.” He checked his watch.

  She couldn’t blame him for being short. He was probably anxious to get back to his case.

  Sarah finally pulled up beside her car. She flung the door open. “Where’s Connor?”

  Spencer stepped forward. “He’s inside. We need to talk.”

  “Okay.” Sarah gave Nicole a quick hug. “Thank you for being there and contacting me.”

  “Of course. Call me later.”

  Sarah nodded before turning and going inside with Spencer.

  Nicole blew out a breath. What a way to start the day. Poor Connor and Sarah. Hopefully everything would turn out okay.

  Monday morning Nicole sat outside on her deck with a cup of coffee and a book. She’d all but given up on Grams’ game. If she didn’t find the book Grams’ was talking about soon, she didn’t know what she’d do.

  She tried to tune out the racket going on inside as the men demoed the master bathroom, but every time they tossed something into the garbage bin out front she startled.

  “Hello!” A woman called.

  Nicole stood. “Bailey?” She strolled to the gate and looked over the top. “Hey there. I wasn’t sure when you’d be here. I’m hanging out here.”

  “I don’t blame you. Let me check on the guys then I’ll join you.”

  Nicole sneezed. Hopefully her allergies wouldn’t give her too much trouble, or she’d be forced to retreat indoors. She sneezed again and rubbed her itchy eyes. Maybe reading in the loft would be a better idea, but she’d wait to meet with Bailey first.