A Dash of Love (Pride Oregon #1)

by Jill Sanders

  “I don’t doubt your account of the situation,” Robert jumped in. “I’ve checked the system and there are several warrants against her. Including a new report that she skipped out on paying a bill for a local investigator.”

  “That’s not true,” his mother jumped in. “I paid that bitch.” It looked like she was giving up the fight, since she leaned back in the chair as Aaron finished wrapping up her hand and moved to get up.

  But instead of remaining seated, his mother rushed up and darted past Aaron, knocking him on his ass, then pushed past Sara and headed for the stairs where Robert stood, blocking her path.

  She didn’t make it past Parker. He reached out and easily gripped her arms and yanked them hard behind her back, holding her in place.

  “Stay put,” he growled in her ear. “It’s about time you paid for your crimes.”

  Robert took hold of her. “I think that X-ray will have to wait.”

  Aaron nodded. “If she’s well enough to pull a move like that,” he said, standing up from the floor, “I think it can wait until the morning. I do want a blood test. I think there might be something… foreign in her bloodstream which could give us reason to make sure she won’t have any other… charges or issues.” His eyes darted to him.

  Parker dusted his hands off as if they were dirty from just touching the woman. “Yeah, she’s probably high on something, go ahead and test her. Will Sara need to make an official report?” he asked.

  “I’ll stop by the Oar tomorrow and have her sign what I type up. I think I have enough that I can piece the rest together.” Robert put handcuffs on his mother and started walking down the pathway with the other officers trailing behind him.

  “Want me to look at that?” Aaron nodded to Sara’s knees.

  “No, Connie fixed me up earlier. Thanks.” Sara walked over and hugged her aunt and uncle. “Thanks for coming so quick.”

  “I called your folks. They said they’ll be here in the morning,” Lacey added.

  “No.” Sara groaned. “I didn’t want them to cut their trip short.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take the breakfast duty from you tomorrow.” Lacey reached up on her toes and placed a kiss on Sara’s cheek. “Go, get some rest.” She nudged her towards Parker.

  “I…” She turned towards her door and winced at the mess.

  “Whatever you need, we’ll get it, then head home.” He took her hand in his.

  When he followed Sara inside, he felt his anger grow. Clothes, furniture, dishes—nothing had been left untouched.

  “Was she looking for something?” Sara asked as she started digging through her clothes.

  “What would she be looking for?”

  Sara shrugged. “Why else would she do this?” She glanced around.

  “Because she thinks she can.” He set the small kitchen chairs around the table and pushed the dresser back into place. “She probably wanted to scare you.”

  “From?” Sara asked, tossing a few things into a backpack.

  “Me,” he said, feeling his gut twist.

  Sara stopped and looked up at him. “She thinks she can?”

  He smiled, then moved over and knelt beside her. Taking her hands in his, he leaned in and kissed her. “I love that about you.”

  “What?” She was smiling back at him.

  “That, after all this, you can still be so strong. That you thought to talk to the nurse and protect my grandmother from her own daughter.” He kissed her again.

  “The biggest bummer of the night was that I dropped my chocolate pie.” She nodded outside.

  “I think I have some cookies left at my place. I did some work for the ladies down at the hair salon and they paid me with baked goods.”

  “Tell me Kathy gave you some of her chocolate fudge cookies and I’ll kiss you.” Sara groaned.

  He smiled. “There might only be two left.”

  She leaned in and gave him two slow kisses.

  He finished helping Sara pack what she needed, which, he noted, left very few of her items in the cabin. He thought he would have been bothered by that fact, but instead, he wondered why she hadn’t taken everything.

  He’d never lived with anyone before. A few had stayed a night or two, but none had ever moved in. He’d never found anyone he’d wanted to live with before Sara.

  Since she needed her Jeep tomorrow, he followed her back to his place, where he took her bags from her and helped her inside. Toby was waiting with kisses when she walked in.

  By the time she’d finished off the cookies and a glass of milk, it was past three in the morning.

  As she stripped down, he took the time to gently remove the bandages over her knees and clean out the small cuts as she explained what had happened earlier that day.

  He wanted to scan through the video himself in the morning. Sara assured him there wasn’t much to see, but he could at least snap a picture and take it in to Robert for another report.

  When he was lying in bed with her tucked tight in his arms, he truly relaxed for the first time that day. His body still hurt from his own fall that day, but with her sleeping by his side, his pain began to dissipate.

  There was no denying it—he had fallen hard for her. There was no going back now. Watching Sara sleep beside him, he knew that he’d have to make his next move soon if he wanted to keep her right where she was.

  17

  Sara stood under the hot water and let all of yesterday’s sourness wash away. Her knee was already turning a dark shade of purple and was a little swollen. Still, she figured by the end of the week, she’d be back to normal.

  She turned slightly when she heard the shower door open. She smiled when Parker climbed in behind her.

  “Morning.” He smiled and leaned in for a kiss. “I thought you’d sleep in.”

  She wrapped her arms around him and shook her head. “Can’t. I don’t sleep in.”

  “Ever?”

  “Nope.” She smiled. “I tried to once, but at sunrise, I was staring at the ceiling, bored to tears.”

  She moved aside so he could stand under the spray. She was done showering but figured she would watch the show as he got clean. Her eyes ran over him, then she cried out.

  “What?” He jerked around and faced her again.

  “Look at yourself.”

  Two massive bruises ran over his hip and his thigh. She touched the skin gently and hissed at a large knot under his hip bone.

  “You should really have my uncle—”

  “Sara.” He took her hands. “I’m fine.” He kissed her. “Really, I’ve had worse.”

  “When?” He looked surprised by the question, but the casual way he had brushed her off disturbed her slightly.

  “In my line of work, I get cuts and bruises all the time.”

  She narrowed her eyes and he sighed.

  “Before my mother dropped me off at my grandmother’s, bruises were a way of life.” He turned off the water and handed her a towel. “Let’s talk over breakfast. I’ll throw some omelets together.” He stepped out behind her and wrapped a towel around his hips, hiding the bruises from her view.

  She dressed quickly in leggings and a work shirt and slipped on some black flats, since her knee still ached. She tied her long hair up in a sloppy bun and applied a dab of makeup before stepping out.

  Parker already had the omelets ready and was pouring her a glass of orange juice.

  After sitting down, they ate in silence. She glanced up at him and waited, her eyebrows raised slightly.

  He sighed and set his fork down. “There’s little I remember about my time with my mother. What I do remember is hiding from her or her boyfriend Jake. The man didn’t think that hitting a kid with his hands would teach a strong enough lesson, so he tended to use his belt.”

  “Was he your father?” she asked.

  Parker shrugged. “My mother always said no. She told my grandmother that my father was a wealthy man and that he’d screwed her out of money by denying I was
his.”

  “What does it say on your birth certificate?”

  “I don’t know. My mother never gave it to my grandmother.” He shrugged. “I never requested a copy either.”

  “How did you go to school? Get jobs?” she asked, a little shocked.

  “I have my social security number.” He shrugged. “My gran had connections at the school. She used to teach before…” He shook his head. “Anyway, my life didn’t become normal until after I started living with her.”

  She reached across the table and took his hand. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

  “I swore, after I learned what a normal life was like, that if she came back for me, I’d run away. There were several close calls. She’d show up, I’d head out the back door. My grandmother threatened to cut her off completely if she took me, so she stayed away as long as she got her monthly checks.”

  “What changed? Why did she start demanding more?”

  “I’m not sure. I only know that the drug use became worse. She would show up so far gone that she couldn’t remember my name. She kept calling me Palmer.”

  “Did you know anything more about her? Where she lived?”

  “No. I never cared, as long as she left me alone. The more she stayed away, the happier I was.”

  He glanced down at his watch. “I wanted to talk to you about something else, but I’ve got to head in and meet my workers.”

  She nodded and stood up, taking her dish with her.

  He stopped her. “I can open up. Why don’t you take a walk on the beach. Toby could use the exercise. He only got a quick bathroom break this morning.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked, watching him set his own dish in the sink.

  “Yes.” He walked over, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her. “We can have that other talk over lunch.”

  She smiled. “I’ll come early and make something special for us.”

  “Sounds good.” He kissed her again. “See you. Enjoy the walk.”

  She stood at the screen door and watched him drive away. Toby’s nose was pressed against the glass. When she took down his leash, the dog spun in circles and then jumped around happily.

  She clipped on his leash and headed towards the beach. The clouds kept the morning cool, and she was thankful she’d grabbed a jacket.

  Summer was in full swing, but that didn’t stop the occasional cool and cloudy day. Cooler air and rain threatened to arrive later that evening. Her mind wandered to where she’d be come winter. Would she still be at Parker’s place? Living with him? She’d never lived with anyone other than her family before. Though sharing a bathroom with her brother and sister had prepared her for living with the opposite sex.

  Somehow, living with Parker was less work than she’d always imagined living with a man would be. But Parker was much different than any man she’d ever dated before. She could picture a future with him, and her imagination went far beyond this fall and winter.

  She was just turning around to head back to the house, when her phone rang. Seeing his face on the screen, she smiled and answered it quickly.

  “I was just thinking about you,” she answered.

  “I hate to say it, but you’d better come in.” Parker sounded frustrated.

  “Oh?” She frowned and glanced around for Toby. “What’s wrong?”

  “Looks like my mother’s path of destruction didn’t start at your place last night.”

  Her stomach pitched. She called out for Toby. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Hanging up, she rushed towards the house with Toby on her heels.

  When she pulled up at the Oar, two cop cars sat out front. She stepped through the front door and gasped.

  The place was trashed, much like her cabin had been. Broken glass and furniture lay all over the place.

  “It doesn’t stop here,” Parker said, rushing over to her. “It’s in the back room too.”

  “Back?” she asked, feeling real fear now. There was some very expensive equipment in the kitchen.

  “Dishes mainly,” he added, following her. “I checked the footage. Robert’s checking it out to see if we can get a clear shot of my mother.”

  Seeing the destruction in the kitchen, Sara leaned against the doorway and groaned. “We were going to replace most of the dishes with new ones, but still.”

  She turned to take in the mess and her mind suddenly cleared.

  “How could she have done all of this so quickly and then get to my place before me? When I left here, everything was fine. When I opened my door, she was inside my place.”

  Parker was silent for a while. Without saying anything to her, he made his way back out front. She followed him to where Robert and another of his deputies stood, watching the computer screen.

  “It couldn’t have been my mother,” he told the men. “She didn’t have enough time to do all this and beat Sara home.”

  Robert nodded. “We have a face.” He turned the laptop around and pointed. “Recognize this man?”

  She felt Parker tense. “His name is Jack. He’s been working for me.”

  “I thought so,” Robert added. “How else would he have known where all the cameras were?” He clicked a button and the screen moved. “He moves through the place and avoids them all, except this camera.” He pointed up to the spot Parker had moved the camera to a few days before. “He doesn’t happen to be here, does he?” Robert asked, looking around.

  “I’ll go check.” Parker took off before she could stop him. She was thankful when Robert followed him outside.

  She watched the screen as the man known only as Jack trashed the place. So much destruction and for what? Was he upset about his pay? Was he covering a theft? Had he stolen anything? She leaned closer to the screen and paused the image when the man looked directly at the camera. She froze. Her hands shook as she looked at the image. Then she rushed from the room to find Parker.

  Parker was outside talking to Donny when Sara ran outside.

  “Is he here?” she asked, a little breathless.

  “No, he hasn’t shown up. He probably got spooked when he saw all the cop cars.”

  Sara took his arm and tugged him a few feet away from the others.

  “He’s your father,” she blurted out, her eyes searching his.

  He chuckled. “Okay, what makes you say that?” Was this some sort of joke?

  “Parker,” she said, her tone filled with concern, “he is.”

  He tried to remember what the man looked like. Sure, they had similar builds, but most of the men who worked for him were built like laborers. It came with the job. The man had longer dark hair that had been tied up with a leather strap. He looked more like a biker than a construction worker. But he’d known how to use a nail gun and other equipment, so Parker had hired him.

  “We need to talk to your mother.” She started walking over to where Robert was talking with Donny.

  He followed as if in a stupor. Half an hour later, they sat in the police station, waiting for someone to bring his mother into a small room. When she came in, she was handcuffed but, this time, her hands were in the front of her. When she saw them, her eyes narrowed as a slow smile caused the lines on her face to deepen.

  “Well, well, here to bail your old lady out?” she said sitting down across from them.

  “Who is this?” Parker took the image Sara had printed out and set it in front of her.

  His mother didn’t even glance at it.

  “I don’t know.” She smiled and shifted in her seat.

  “Is this my father?” he asked. He was trying to keep his tone low but couldn’t keep the buried emotions out of it.

  “Your father was a rich man, a senator from Washington. He denied you were his and I never saw a penny after having to deal with you all those years.”

  Sara jumped in when he stiffened with anger.

  “Why are you lying? You think he cares who his father is?” Sara shifted closer. “I can see it plainly in your eyes.” She lean
ed across the table slightly. “You’re nothing but a liar and a junkie.”

  The smile fell from his mother’s lips and her eyes narrowed towards Sara.

  “Who the hell do you think you are, talking to me like that? You’re just some whore my son is sleeping with.”

  Parker slammed his fist down on the table and stood. Sara covered his hand and looked into his eyes. “Why don’t you step out for a moment and let me have a chat with your…”—she glanced in the woman’s direction—“egg donor.”

  Parker turned without a word and exited the room. He was pissed and felt like hitting something, but he followed Robert into the room next door and watched Sara with his mother.

  “Normally we don’t allow this, but I think maybe Sara can get something out of her that I can’t,” Robert said.

  Through the glass, she saw Sara take a slow breath. “You know that once the woman who loved and raised Parker dies, you’ll be left with nothing.” She practically purred the words and Parker couldn’t have been prouder of her for her calm tactics.

  “You don’t know shit.” His mother’s hands began shaking and he could see that she was coming off a high. She tucked her hands under the table to hide it.

  “It hurts, doesn’t it?” Sara said softly.

  “What?”

  “Knowing you couldn’t care for your son, couldn’t give him the basics in life—a home, a father, the love of a mother.”

  “You don’t know shit,” his mother repeated.

  “Don’t I?” Sara was silent for a while and he wondered what she saw when she looked at the woman who’d given birth to him. “I know more than you think. My mother survived an abusive relationship. She survived it, conquered it, and moved on. She married my father, had three kids, and raised them with love in a good solid home. But you…You couldn’t even take care of a five-year-old without pawning him off on your mother. You allowed your own needs to outweigh those of your sons. What happened? Drugs?”

  His mother’s eyes turned angry.

  “I loved that little boy,” his mother screamed. “But he was nothing like I’d imagined. He was a terror from day one.” His heart twisted, and his anger grew.