KENNY was at the kitchen table sipping coffee when Sarah entered the room. He glanced up from his cup with a kindly smile. His crinkled eyes were the same cobalt blue as Josh’s, with the same ornery sparkle. Like father, like son. No wonder Lucy had fallen for him. Those Logan men were irresistible.
Sarah had a feeling this was a test run to see how she would react to Mom’s boyfriend being in the house. She sort of hovered in the doorway, not sure whether to sit, stand, or take over the cooking. It was off for her since she normally had a game plan.
“Good morning, Sarah. Sleep well?” Kenny tried covering his grin by taking another sip of his coffee.
Playful teasing she could do. “Very well. Did my mom’s snoring keep you awake?”
“Sarah, I do not snore!” Lucy swung around from the stove, waving a spatula at her to make her point.
“Your mama’s snorin’ wasn’t what kept me up.” He set his coffee down and braced himself in case her mom threw the spatula at his head.
“Kenny! You’re as bad as she is!” Lucy blushed tomato red and looked tempted to brain him. She merely brandished her utensil at him like a sword.
“Sorry, honey. I only meant that I have a lumpy mattress. Tossed and turned all night.” Kenny widened his eyes in innocence and winked at Sarah. “My boy sneak back out the window?”
“How did you…?”
“No, he’s right here, Dad.” Josh brushed by her, trailing a hand over her shoulder as he went. The delicious aroma of his aftershave went with him. She found herself leaning forward, trying to take in more of his scent. The man smelled better than the bacon frying, and that was saying something. There wasn’t a whole lot better in the world than bacon, and he’d just topped it. He settled against the counter next to Sarah’s mom. “Good morning, Lucy, dear. Need any help?”
“Hey, flirt with your own woman,” Kenny grumbled from the table.
Lucy directed him with her spatula. “Yes, Josh, you make toast. Sarah, you make some more coffee, please. The sheriff should be here soon.”
Sarah and Josh traded glances. It didn’t go unnoticed by Lucy. “Are you two going to tell me why the Madison County sheriff is coming over to ask questions? Does this have something to do with Richard?”
“Um, why do you ask?” As far as Sarah knew, it was most likely about Richard. She thought everyone else had been too busy singing karaoke to notice what had happened. Someone had obviously heard something.
“What’s going on, Sarah? What happened?”
Sarah didn’t know where to begin. She remembered Richard pawing at her and breathing his bourbon-tainted breath in her ear and felt nauseated all over again. “Last night, he…You see, Richard tried to…um…I was alone in the office and he…” Sarah didn’t want to think the word, much less say it. She wasn’t in denial. She just didn’t want to relive it, either.
“Richard tried to assault Sarah.” Josh stood straighter and crossed his arms against his chest. He looked ready to find her ex-husband and strangle him. He could get in line behind her.
“Assault? You mean…?” Lucy fluttered a hand to her chest and cast a worried glance at Sarah.
“Yes.”
“Oh, my God, Sarah! Did he hurt you?” Lucy rushed up, gathered Sarah in her arms, and hugged with amazing strength for a small woman. It was a mother’s hug and exactly what she needed. Sarah tried not to tear up.
“No, I…sort of…hurt him.” She still felt amazingly okay with that.
Josh filled in some more of the details. “Pretty sure Sarah broke his nose. She also kicked him in the…” He censored himself. “Let’s just say that Richard should be singin’ soprano for a while too.” He smirked at that.
“Good. I wouldn’t mind giving him a few kicks, myself.” Lucy was in mama bear mode. “Have you pressed charges? He can’t get away with that!”
Sarah stepped back from the embrace. “No, Mom. I just wanted to go home. The bar was full of people, and if I would’ve called the cops in, it would be all over town in no time. I want this kept under the gossip radar, if possible. I was going to file a restraining order this morning.”
“So no one called the sheriff?”
They both shook their heads. As far as she knew, there were no other witnesses.
Kenny rose from his seat. “Sarah, honey, you sit down. I’ll make the coffee.”
“I’m fine! Nothing happened.”
He held the chair out for her. “Make an old man feel better and have a seat.”
Sarah caught Josh’s eye. He raised his hands with a “what can you do?” expression. Sarah took a seat.
Kenny set out another chair. “Lucy, you have a sit-down too and let us finish up.”
Her mom wasn’t used to men cooking in the kitchen. She puzzled it out for a moment and then handed her spatula to Josh’s dad. “Oh, all right. The eggs are done, and the bacon…”
Kenny accepted the spatula like it was the baton in a relay race. “We’ve got it covered, sweetheart.” He nodded toward his son. “Josh, get a cup of coffee for Lucy.”
“Yes, sir. How do you like it, Lucy, dear?” Josh laughed when Kenny gave him a stern glare.
Lucy was bright-eyed and rosy-cheeked from all the attention. “Just a little sugar.”
Kenny leaned down and kissed her. “There’s a little sugar, honey.”
Lucy’s gaze shot to Sarah to gauge her reaction. It had been so long since she’d seen her mom this happy that she wouldn’t begrudge her any of it. Sarah figured it was okay for her to flirt too. “Josh, I’d like a little sugar too.”
Josh made a bee line for Sarah, ready to deliver. Kenny stopped him in his tracks. “Food first. You two can canoodle on your own time.”
“Which one are you this time, Dad, the pot or the kettle?”
“You bet. Come on. Let’s get to it.”
* * * *
Seth arrived an hour later, grim-faced, with notebook in hand. With his glossy dark hair and eyes so brown they were practically black, there was no denying his Hispanic/Latin heritage. His teeth looked especially white against his swarthy complexion. According to the Madison Falls grapevine, the sheriff was still single—not for lack of trying from the matchmaking mamas and some of the more aggressive single women in town.
When asked on more than one occasion why he didn’t date, he’d laughed it off and said that for the time being, he was married to his job. Josh knew Seth wanted to prove himself competent after the former deputy went bananas last summer. Elaine Newman, Bobby’s mom, still hadn’t returned to town after her son’s scandal. For a woman who used to be the town’s biggest gossip, when it came to her own life, she wanted privacy.
Josh never had a high opinion of Bobby, for obvious reasons. It was still shocking when he’d found out that Bobby was in jail for corruption, arson, kidnapping, and attempted murder. Sabrina Sutton had figured out Bobby was taking bribes from Dix Superstores, and he’d tried to keep her quiet by shooting her. Thankfully, it only grazed her hip, and Keith and Chris had found her before Bobby could do any more harm.
After that scandal simmered down, the town had moved on to other gossip, namely the romantic speculations about the new sheriff. Considering Seth never discussed his personal life with anyone, the biddies were left with nothing to do but speculate.
Seth was in his freshly pressed tan uniform and ready to do business. “Sorry to bother you on a Sunday.” He saw Lucy standing next to Sarah. “Good morning, Mrs. Brandon. If you don’t mind, there are a few things I need to discuss with Sarah and Josh. Is it okay if we all sit down?”
Lucy was a gracious hostess. “Good morning, Sheriff Hughes. I’ll make a fresh pot of coffee while you all have your conversation.”
“Oh, yes, of course! Where’d my manners go? Would you care for some coffee, Seth?” Sarah was still on edge. Her words were coming out one on top of the other, and her smile held a forced brightness.
If Seth caught on, he pretended not to notice. “Thank you. That would be great.”
Sarah led him into the living room and invited him to get comfortable on the sofa. Seth sat on the edge and broke out his notebook. “The reason I’m here is because Richard Alan is missing, and according to reports, you were the last two to interact with him.”
“What?” Sarah popped back up from her chair. “How do you know he’s missing? We saw him less than twelve hours ago.”
“His car was found abandoned out by River Bend Road near the Falls. The driver’s-side door was left open, and there were signs of a struggle.”
“Who reported him missing?”
“His girlfriend, Brandi Belmont, made the report. According to her, he had an altercation with Josh before being seen leaving your bar, Sarah.”
Sarah wasn’t having any part of it. “Josh didn’t have an altercation with him. I did. I kicked his ass for trying to…”
“Assault her.” Josh intervened. “Richard had her pinned against the desk in her office trying to assault her.”
Seth didn’t react with any amount of surprise. The only reaction to the news was a slight tic in his jaw. “I see. Sarah, did Richard Alan try to physically force himself on you last night?”
Sarah sank back into her chair. “Yes.”
“About what time did this take place?”
“Between ten to ten thirty. I was taking care of some employment applications while Josh and Chris King fixed the karaoke system. Someone had cut all the wires to the speakers and the video monitor.”
“While we were workin’ on gettin’ the karaoke back up, Richard snuck back to Sarah’s office.”
“Did you see him?”
“No, his girlfriend told me about it. She said that she thought Richard was back there fu—uh, screwin’ around with Sarah. Then she offered to have revenge sex. I don’t know if she was tryin’ to block me from going back there or what.”
“You didn’t tell me Brandi did that.” Sarah’s hands clenched up into little fists at the mention of Brandi.
“I hadn’t thought about it until now.” Josh continued his explanation to Seth. “I told her no and had to peel her off me to get back to Sarah.”
“What happened then?”
“The door was locked. I could hear a man speakin’, but no one would open the door. Since he sent those crazy texts, I thought Sarah was in trouble, so I broke down the door. I think maybe Sarah should be the one to tell you about the rest of it.”
“Were you injured in any way?” Seth had his pen poised above his notebook. He glanced up at Sarah when she was slow to respond. “Sarah?”
Sarah slid a quick glance at Josh. He should have known that she hadn’t come out of it completely unscathed.
“I’m sore from where he was squeezing my ribs. I don’t have any bruises or anything.”
Seth did a visual sweep of her. There was nothing sexual about it. He was searching for unmentioned injuries. He nodded. “Would you lead me through the events that ended with the rest of his injuries?”
Sarah detailed how Richard had followed her back to her office. She grimaced her disgust when describing how her ex-husband had restrained her and rubbed himself against her. She hugged her arms around her middle as she talked. “I felt him groping behind me, and I…I couldn’t scream with his hand over my mouth. I scratched his forearm where he was holding me. When you find him, there should be some marks on him.”
Josh added, “When I got in the room, I saw him workin’ on his fly while he had her restrained.”
Sarah continued with the rest. “Josh pulled him off of me, and once I was free, I kicked him in the, well, I kicked him in the nuts.”
Seth nodded in what looked like approval. “Did you injure him in any other way?”
“When he was bent over, I smashed my knee into his face. I might have broken his nose.”
“Did you?” Seth glanced up again.
Sarah loosened her hold from around her middle. “His nose was bleeding pretty heavily. I told him to leave me alone, and Josh threw him out.”
Seth cast a curious glance at Josh. “Did you hit Richard Alan?”
Josh had wanted to. “No. I tossed him out on his ass and told him to stay away from Sarah.”
“Did you threaten him?”
“Yeah, I did. I told him if he messed with Sarah again, I’d put him in jail or the hospital.”
“Is that the last you saw of him?”
“Haven’t seen him since last night.”
Sarah leaned forward, gripping her knees and radiating her apprehension. “Am I going to get arrested?”
Seth glanced up from his paperwork. “For what?”
“Assault of an ex-husband.”
He gave her a reassuring wave of his hand. “As far as I’m concerned, that was self-defense. As far as his disappearance goes, I have to ask. Do you two have alibis for last night?”
Sarah thought about the hour or so Josh had been gone to do stuff. Did it take that long to pick flowers?
“We were here all night and this morning.”
“Any witnesses to that?”
“My mom.” Although Sarah didn’t know what time Lucy had come home. “What do you think happened to Richard?”
“We’re still investigating. I can’t really tell you much more than that.” Seth scribbled something else on an official-looking form. “If he returns, would you like to press charges against Richard?”
Sarah shook her head. “No, but I want a restraining order against him.”
“You’ll have to see the judge for that. Make sure you do that, Sarah. In the meantime, if you hear from your ex-husband, notify the sheriff’s department immediately.”
“I will.”
Seth handed over the paperwork. “I need you to read through the statement on this form to make sure I didn’t miss anything. If it all looks squared away, you and Josh both need to sign it and date it.” She read through the form and signed the bottom, and handed it Josh so he could do the same.
The sheriff canted forward with both elbows on his knees. “Off the record, I have zero tolerance for a man who would hurt a woman. Make sure you get a protection order as well as a restraining order.”
“What’s the difference?”
“We don’t enforce a restraining order. In the event that he violates the order by coming near you, you and your lawyer will file a motion of contempt in court. On the other hand, with a protection order, officers anywhere in the state can enforce it and arrest the violator.” He took the form from Josh, read it, and signed it. “I’ll do my best to find him.”
Lucy entered the room with a tray of coffee and cookies. “Would you like some coffee now?”
Seth was preparing to leave until he saw the cookies. He took the mug gratefully. “Thank you, ma’am. Did you make the cookies?”
Lucy offered the other mugs to Josh and Sarah. “I can take credit for the coffee. The cookies were made by my youngest daughter, Sophie. She keeps me pretty well stocked with sweets.”
Kenny came in behind Lucy munching on a chocolate chip cookie. “I recommend the chocolate chip, Sheriff. I already ate three.”
Seth chose a few cookies and set them on a napkin. He smiled up at Lucy. “Her chocolate chip are my favorite, followed closely behind by her peanut butter ones.”
Sarah saw a new side of the sheriff. “You look like a happy little boy at snack time.”
“Do I?” He seemed to relax out of cop mode and chilled out. “I’ve always had a sweet tooth, and I love homemade cookies. That rumor about cops and donuts is pretty close to the truth for me too. If we ever get a donut shop in Madison Falls, I’m in some serious trouble.”
Josh chose a few for himself. “I tell you what, livin’ above the bakery is sure a sellin’ point for my place. I should be gettin’ fat by the scent alone, not to mention my daily dose of cookies.” He nodded at Sarah. “Then there’s the potato skins I can’t get enough of at Sarah’s place.”
Lucy beamed with maternal pride. “Everything on the menu is from Sarah’s recipes. She has a knack for knowing what sells.” Her mom nodded at Josh. “Sarah has always had a head for business. Even from when she was little, her lemonade stands always sold out.”
“Mom, I think that’s because Dad…” Sarah’s phone went off. She took a peek at the text and instantly felt like throwing up.
Josh sounded far away when he asked, “Sarah, what is it?”