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Penny
Penny Hoffmeier ignored the fatigue weighing heavily on her as she drove through the streets of Sumneyville in the early morning fog. Her ongoing battle with insomnia meant she was accustomed to functioning on only a few hours of sleep, but she hadn’t even gotten that. She had been afraid if she did allow herself to get some shut-eye, she’d sleep right through her alarm and not get the flowers to the church on time.
She’d outdone herself, if she did say so herself. So what if she’d had to drive all the way out to Harrisburg to personally pick up the hybrid irises, roses, and calla lilies? It was totally worth it, as was the all-nighter she’d pulled to get each and every bouquet and arrangement absolutely perfect.
A woman’s wedding day should be perfect. She’d been involved in dozens, maybe hundreds of weddings over the years, and she tried to make each as unique and special as the bride herself. Penny was something of a romantic at heart.
The air was pleasantly cool. The sky was just beginning to lighten, an early morning mist hovering just above the ground. She zipped through town with ease, turning up the radio when one of her favorite songs came on but not too loud.
The town’s only stoplight ahead flicked to yellow, but the roads were empty at that hour. Penny pressed her foot down on the gas pedal, hoping to beat the light, and began to execute the left turn that would take her to the church. No one would be there yet, but Reverend McFinley had given her a key just for such occasions.
The full-sized van was great for delivering flowers but not taking turns at higher rates of speed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the stack of corsage boxes on the passenger seat shift.
One quick glance confirmed her fears. She’d spent far too much time on the intricate mini arrangements to chance them being tossed and squashed, and she reached over with her right arm to hold them in place.
That was when she heard the angry shout, the squeal of tires, and the stomach-turning crunch of metal on asphalt.
“Forsythias!” she blurted out, the only acceptable F-word in her household.
Penny slammed on the brakes, her heart hammering and her blood turning to ice in her veins when she looked back and saw the motorcycle lying on its side in the middle of the street. She searched frantically for its rider, desperately hoping he wasn’t underneath her van.
She exhaled in relief when she saw the man limping toward her, a smudge of black against the light-gray fog.
“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry!” she said, getting out of the van. “I didn’t see you.”
He grunted. “Obviously. Are you fucking blind or something?”
His deep, growly voice commanded her attention while the hint of an unusual accent garnered her curiosity. It sounded kind of Southern but not really.
Her heart continued to beat harder and faster as he drew closer. He was a big guy, at least six feet tall, with broad shoulders wrapped in black leather. He lifted off his helmet, revealing deep chestnut hair long enough to touch his shoulders and a matching scruff along his very strong jawline. Full male lips were pressed tightly together, and his eyes—an intense and stormy grayish green—glared at her.
Even pissed off, as he clearly was, he was an incredibly attractive man. And definitely not a local.
“Are you okay?” She reached for his arm, but he swatted her hand away.
“I’ll live.”
Penny felt his gaze acutely as he scanned her up and down. A tingle started deep within, followed by an embarrassing tightness in her breasts. When she sucked in a breath, his gaze lifted to her face. His upper lip curled, and he made a sound in the back of his throat. Then, he turned away and stalked back toward his motorcycle, heavily favoring his right leg.
The view of his back was just as pleasant as the one from the front.
He walked several steps before Penny shook off those inappropriate thoughts and reached for her phone. “You’re hurt! Let me call an ambulance.”
“I don’t need an ambulance,” he shot back without bothering to turn around.
She ran after him. “At least let me drive you to the ER so you can get checked out.”
He ignored her, lifting the bike with a grunt and then cursing when he saw the damage. “Fuck me.”
Penny didn’t know a lot about motorcycles, but she knew enough to recognize that something didn’t look right. “Is it bad?”
That lip curled again. “Got a garage around here?”
“Not really. The nearest one’s in Pine Ridge, about twenty miles away.”
And there was that glare again, too. She was pretty sure he could melt ice with it.
“What kind of town doesn’t have a fucking garage?”
“This one, apparently,” she mumbled. “We used to, but ...” She let the words trail off when his glare intensified. Clearly, he wasn’t in the mood for local history. “But Zeb Stoltzfus might be able to help. He restores old bikes and stuff.”
“Where can I find him?”
“About two blocks that way,” she said, pointing down the street, “but he won’t be able to help until Monday.”
He blinked at her. “Why not?”
“Because his daughter’s getting married today. I’m actually on my way to the church now to deliver the flowers for the wedding.”
“What about tomorrow?”
“He won’t be in any shape to help you tomorrow. She’s his youngest, and ...”
He stared at her as if she were speaking gibberish.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked again.
“What the fuck am I supposed to do until Monday?”
She tore her eyes away from him and looked at the bike. “I guess you can’t drive it, huh?”
“Not without causing more damage.” He turned away and began to push his motorcycle down the street.
“Hey, don’t you at least want my name or my insurance info?” she called after him.
He ignored her and kept going. He made it about half a block before the fog swallowed him up.
Penny resisted the urge to run after him again. He clearly didn’t want her help, and she needed to get those flowers to the church.
As she was walking back toward her van, she spotted something on the road and bent down to pick it up. A pocket watch. A nice one by the looks of it.
“Hey, you dropped your ...”
She looked back to where he’d disappeared into the fog. He wasn’t going to get far. As soon as she delivered the flowers to the church, she’d track the mysterious stranger down and return it.
* * *
The morning fog had lifted by the time Penny got all the bouquets unloaded and into the church, completing her part in the upcoming nuptials. The arrangement and placement of the displays were up to the church and the wedding planner.
She got back into the delivery van, anxious to find the mysterious stranger and return his pocket watch. Despite the unfortunate incident, he had been the most exciting thing to happen to her in quite a while. Interesting things rarely happened in Sumneyville, and when they did, they tended to happen to other people, not her.
Locating him shouldn’t be too hard. There weren’t a lot of places he could be, especially without a vehicle. Sumneyville just wasn’t that big. And a guy who looked like him? Even without the motorcycle, he stood out.
Penny was quite certain she’d never seen him before, but there was something familiar about him. She couldn’t put her finger on it. Maybe he just reminded her of some of the other military guys she’d seen in and around town lately. He had that same intense, kind of scary look about him, as if he’d seen—and maybe done—things he couldn’t unsee or undo.
Chances were, he’d been on his way to Sanctuary when their paths collided. That’s where most of the military types went. At one time, the place had been a resort run by a prominent local family—the Winstons—but after it was destroyed in a tragic fire, the sole remaining heir, Matt Winston, had decided to turn it into a place where servicemen and -women could transition back into civilian society at their own pace and in a safe space.
Penny thought it was a great idea, as did most of the locals in and around Sumneyville. There were those, however, who didn’t like having a group of former military personnel close by.
Those naysayers were constantly issuing dire warnings, but as far as Penny knew, there hadn’t been a single verifiable incident. Unfortunately, some people weren’t interested in things like facts or evidence. On those few occasions when she crossed paths with the Sanctuary guys, they were nothing but polite and courteous.
Mr. Dark and Mysterious wasn’t going to make it up the mountain on foot though, so she kept her quest to the town proper.
On a hunch, Penny swung into the lot of Mel’s Motel and drove around to the back. The place was more crowded than usual, probably due to friends and family coming in for the Stoltzfus wedding, but it was still only half-full.
She spotted the motorcycle easily enough, parked away from everyone else. It wasn’t hard to figure out which room he was in. Of those nearest to where the bike was parked, only one had the blinds closed.
A thrill went through her at the thought of seeing him again, but she doubted he’d be pleased to see her. She hadn’t exactly made a good first impression. Hopefully, he’d overlook the whole accident thing and be glad to get his watch back.
She grabbed the pocket watch and looked at it more closely. It was old but not ancient. Well-made but not extravagant. A workingman’s pocket watch.
The cover had a mountain-forest design, like something an outdoorsman would appreciate. When she turned it over, she peered more closely. The jeweler’s mark was hard to make out, but if she didn’t know better, she’d swear it was the one old Mr. Mueller, the jeweler on Main Street, put on his creations.
But that was unlikely. What were the odds of Mr. D & M having a pocket watch made right there in Sumneyville?
Penny took a deep breath, summoning her courage. After getting out of the van, she went around to the back, opened the doors, and grabbed a small bouquet. Everyone liked flowers, right?
She picked out one with red and white carnations in a blue plastic vase. They seemed more appropriate than the bud roses or the hothouse lilies.
Penny was a strong believer in random acts of kindness. Whenever she made a delivery, she took an assortment of flowers with her to give to someone on impulse. Today, he would be one of the unsuspecting recipients.
She went into Mel’s using the back entrance, silently counting the rooms until she got to the right one, though it wasn’t necessary. His was the only door that had a Do Not Disturb sign hanging on it.
“Grumpy bear,” she murmured under her breath.
The sign was almost enough to make her reconsider and leave the pocket watch at the front desk instead.
Almost but not quite.
Taking another deep breath for courage, she raised her hand and knocked.