SARAH WAS MORE SHAKEN than she wanted to let on in front of her cousin and Tyler Prentiss. She didn’t want to believe someone had been trying to rob her, but the scared part of her—the one that had been getting silent calls at night and a complaint called into the city—wasn’t so sure.
One minute she’d been enjoying the evening sunshine, and the next she was on the ground. Her arm hurt, and she suspected the rest of her body would protest once the shock had worn off.
Her own impressions of the motorcyclist were vague at best. She really hadn’t been paying attention.
Glimmer Creek was wary of motorcyclists. A few years ago, they’d had two biker gangs meet up in town and get into a fight, but Sarah had friends in Los Angeles who rode motorcycles and they were nice people. They just liked the freedom they felt on a bike. While some were more unconventional, that didn’t make them criminals.
“Shall I contact Kurt for you?” Zach asked, distracting her.
She shook her head. “I’ll talk to Dad myself. It would scare the heck out of him if you call, and I don’t need more drama tonight.”
“Okay. Who is this?” he queried, looking at Tyler.
“Tyler Prentiss. He’s staying at Poppy Gold, and his mother works for me. Tyler, this is Zach Williams, the Glimmer Creek police chief.”
Zach’s expression shifted almost imperceptibly as he shook hands with Tyler. He must have remembered Great-Uncle Milt saying that Tyler had caused a scene at the bakery.
“Hello, Mr. Prentiss,” Zach said coolly. “I don’t think Sarah mentioned that we’re related.” It was a not-so-subtle warning.
Tyler’s return smile was equally measured. “I figured it out when you called her coz.”
“Of course. Sarah, let me take you home,” Zach said after a final look at Tyler.
“Nonsense. My car is behind the shop, and I’m okay to drive.”
He hesitated, then nodded. “Very well. Call if you need anything.”
Sarah was grateful when the officials and most of the onlookers had dispersed. She glanced at Tyler. “You’d better get going, too. I’m sure Rosemary wonders what’s kept you.”
“Mom knew I was coming here to discuss your building. She’ll be more concerned if I return too soon. Besides, I haven’t finished measuring.”
“Maybe another time,” Sarah said firmly. She wasn’t in the mood for dealing with anything but the necessities, and Tyler was far from a necessity. While he might be a great architect, she couldn’t afford him.
He shrugged. “I’ll still walk you back.”
It was just a short way and the same direction as Poppy Gold, so she didn’t object. But at the entrance of the shop she stuck up her chin. “Good night. Thanks for coming to help.”
She quickly slipped inside and locked the door behind her.
“Sarah?” Millie called from the kitchen.
“Yes, it’s me.” Sarah went in and tried not to appear as frazzled as she felt. “Can you handle everything? I want to go home for a hot bath.”
“No problem,” Millie assured her confidently. “You don’t have to stay every night. We know what to do.”
“I realize that. There’s just a lot of work.”
“And you have us to do it.”
Sarah didn’t need more convincing. She locked up the credit card receipts, grabbed her purse and went out the back door. Each business on the block had a rear parking area, a perfect spot for the electric food-delivery vehicles. All she’d needed to do was install a special station for overnight charging—with few exceptions, Poppy Gold didn’t allow modern gas-powered vehicles on-site.
Automatically, she plugged the catering vehicles into the charger, then got in her car and drove home.
Once inside with Theo on her lap, she started to call her father’s cell, only to remember he’d said he’d lost it. So she dialed his home number. It was unusual to get voice mail—he was the early-to-bed type—but easier, too.
“Hey, Dad,” she said brightly. “In case someone else calls and tells you about it, I wanted to let you know there was a minor incident on Mariposa Avenue this evening. A motorcyclist drove too close and I fell, but I’m perfectly all right. I’m home now and going to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow. Love you.”
Sarah disconnected and dialed into her own voice mail. There were several silent messages. She deleted them one after another, her stomach churning.
Earlier in the day, she’d signed up for the national Do Not Call list. It would take a while for her number to be processed...but if the calls weren’t from a telemarketer, being on the list wouldn’t do any good.
Theo was still hungry for attention, so she cuddled him for another few minutes before opening a can of his favorite food and going upstairs for a bath. The water lapped around her, soothing her tired muscles, and she closed her eyes.
Abruptly the phone rang. She’d put the handset within arm’s reach—half expecting her dad to call—but the caller ID showed it was her cousin Tessa.
Sarah let out a sigh. Tessa had gotten married two years ago, so she generally didn’t phone this time of the evening unless it was related to Poppy Gold Inns and a catering need. Marriage changed people, but even having a baby hadn’t dulled Tessa’s determination to make the facility an even bigger success than her parents had already made it.
“Hey, Tessa,” she answered.
“Hi. Um, I just checked my email. We have a last-minute request to have a catered dinner on Saturday. It’s for that big family reunion—the one you’re doing a reception for tomorrow. I know it’s a lot to ask, but is there any chance you can accommodate them?”
If Tessa hadn’t been her cousin, Sarah would have screamed that the Poppy Gold website stated all catering requests needed to be made three weeks in advance, not less than two days. Instead she gritted her teeth. “How many people?”
“Ninety-seven, guaranteed. If it helps, they’re offering to pay a 25 percent surcharge for the short notice. They want the wild salmon and prime rib menu.”
Sarah’s stomach rolled. She was allergic to seafood—even the smell made her nauseous—but salmon was so popular, she had to offer it.
“I’ll check the schedule and contact the supplier in the morning to see if they can get enough salmon,” she said. “I’ll let you know tomorrow. Now go pay attention to your husband and stop looking at emails.”
Tessa laughed, and Sarah heard a male voice rumbling in the background. She was glad her cousin was happy, but it was hard to imagine living with a guy like Gabe McKinley, a grim former navy SEAL whose hands were probably registered as lethal weapons. Still, he might be good with those hands in other ways...
Sarah grinned as Tessa said good-night.
Leaning her head back, she tried to relax again but couldn’t. Theo wandered into the bathroom and meowed. Sarah held out her hand and he rubbed against her fingers, his loud purr rumbling like a poorly tuned motor. She’d once read that cats could modify their purr to get what they wanted, but it hadn’t been a revelation...this was Theo’s “come to bed” purr.
Bed was an excellent idea, so she got out and dried off.
The phone rang again and she checked. It wasn’t her father—it showed the caller ID was unavailable.
No way was she answering it. She needed sleep, and her imagination was already working overtime. There wasn’t any reason to connect the calls to the anonymous complaint and motorcycle incident, but knowing and believing it were two different things.
* * *
KURT HAD A small side business repairing and servicing diesel engines, and he stayed late, catching up on work, only to be ready to spit nails when he got home and found the message from his daughter. More than anything he wanted to go over to the house and check on her, but Sarah had said she was going to bed.
He accessed the voice mail for his missing cell phone, his concern escalating at a message from Uncle Milt, one of his father’s younger siblings.
“It’s Uncle Milt. I heard on my police scanner about an incident involving Sarah near the bank. She isn’t hurt, but a motorcycle knocked her over and took off. There’s also some question about whether it was an attempted robbery. Call if you want to talk. I’ll be up late.”
Kurt stared at the phone. Attempted robbery? Why hadn’t Sarah told him that part? He paced the floor, arguing with himself about what he should do.
Finally he dialed Uncle Milt.
“Hello,” boomed Milt Fullerton after two rings.
“It’s Kurt. Thanks for letting me know about Sarah. She left a message but didn’t give much detail. Do they really think someone was trying to rob her?”
“From what I heard on the scanner, witnesses thought it was a possibility. Don’t stress too much. Zach was on the scene, and he’ll take care of whatever needs doing. Besides, knowing Sarah, a whole lot more fuss was made over it than she likes.”
“All too true.” Sarah didn’t appreciate being the center of attention. “Thanks for the info.”
“No problem.”
Kurt’s mood was grim as he disconnected.
It was typical that Sarah didn’t want him to worry, but when would she realize that he wanted to know if something was wrong, no matter what? He needed to know. She was his daughter; protecting her was his job, not the other way around. He couldn’t make up for being a lousy dad when she was a child, but he could do his best to be there for her now.
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING started with a bang when Sarah found her father waiting at the bakery at her usual 4:00 a.m. arrival time.
“Is something wrong, Dad?”
“Wrong?” he repeated, his tone filled with disbelief. “Your message didn’t mention that the motorcycle driver tried to rob you, before running you over and escaping the scene. Uncle Milt provided that little tidbit.”
She winced. “Don’t exaggerate. Nobody ran over me, and the rest is speculation. The rider could have lost control, then panicked when I fell.”
“Maybe, but we should ask the police department to run extra patrols around your business and the house.”
“Dad, I don’t need extra police patrols. Even if it was an attempted theft—which is questionable—they were after my bank deposit, not my glass paperweight collection. Don’t overreact.”
“I don’t overreact.”
Sarah snickered. “Oh, yeah? When you came home on leave when I was a kid, you’d drag me to the doctor if I so much as sneezed or skinned my knee. Everything got blown out of proportion, and nothing has changed.”
“I just want you to be okay.”
“I was fine then and I’m fine now, but you need sleep,” she ordered. “You can snooze in the office. Put your feet up and get some rest.” She would have sent him upstairs to the apartment above the shop, but it wasn’t furnished.
Her father disappeared down the hallway, and Sarah quickly set to work. Four and a half hours later, the last batch of food had left for Poppy Gold, her dad had eaten and gone, and the shop’s shelves and displays cases were filled, ready for their first customers. But she couldn’t relax. They had hors d’oeuvres to make for the reception that evening. And now the Lindors wanted a prime rib and salmon dinner for ninety-seven people?
Sarah wrinkled her nose.
She’d heard from her supplier. Prime rib was always available, and he’d just gotten a shipment of wild salmon. But she would have to pick up the order herself, which meant a special trip to Stockton the next morning. Reluctantly she dialed her cousin’s office at Poppy Gold Inns.
“Hey, Sarah. Do you have good news for the Lindors?” Tessa asked when she answered.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
Tessa chuckled. “I know it’s a pain, but thank you. I’ll transfer the payment immediately.”
The sound of a child babbling “Mama, Mama, Mama” came over the line, and Sarah smiled.
“When did Merri learn to say Mama?” she asked. Merri was Tessa’s daughter, a toddler who was the darling of the Poppy Gold staff.
“Oh, that’s right, you missed the big event. A few weeks ago, she stood up during Grandpa George’s sermon, pointed at me in the choir loft and shrieked Mama, but she hasn’t come out with Daddy, much to Gabe’s dismay. I keep explaining to her that even Dada would be enough to make him happy.”
“I’m sure she’ll get that next. Give her a kiss for me.”
Sarah got off the phone and let her staff know that the Saturday evening meal was officially a go, then returned to her baking.
Soon, loads of food would start going over to the historic Glimmer Creek Concert Hall where the reception was being held. Poppy Gold handled decorating and did all the setup, so mostly the catering staff just needed to refill the food platters as needed.
“Are you okay?” the shift supervisor asked as Sarah swallowed an aspirin.
“I’m fine. A headache is all,” she fibbed.
She was achy from the previous evening, but she was trying to downplay the incident with her staff, not wanting motorcyclists to get an even worse reputation than they already had in Glimmer Creek.
* * *
KURT WAS STILL WORRIED about his daughter when he returned to the bakery at midmorning.
The kitchen was frantically busy, and he didn’t try to speak with her, instead slipping into the office to chat with Rosemary. “Did you hear what happened to Sarah last night?” he asked, sitting down.
“Yes. She hasn’t said much about it, but Tyler saw everything and told me. He was here to talk about the remodeling.”
“What remodeling?”
“The building inspector told Sarah yesterday that the county building codes are changing. She’ll need more space in the kitchens and another exit in the back, that sort of thing. He’s sending a full report in a few days.”
Kurt didn’t like hearing there was another problem he hadn’t known about, though to be fair, it could have slipped Sarah’s mind after nearly being robbed. At any rate, he’d get the family together to handle the renovations, and she could use the commercial kitchens at Poppy Gold while it was being done. His niece would be happy to help out, and Sarah already used their kitchens whenever she catered a meal.
“Is there anything else I should know?” he asked.
Rosemary looked uncertain for a moment. “Well, Sarah is going to Stockton in the morning to get supplies for a last-minute dinner at Poppy Gold. Her grocery supplier has fresh salmon available, but they can’t get it to Glimmer Creek in time, so she has to pick it up herself, along with prime rib and a load of produce.”
In spite of Kurt’s concerns, he was pleased to learn there was a way he could help. “I’ll take care of it. Would you or Nathan like to drive with me?”
“I’d love to, but Nathan is the one who needs an outing. I’m afraid he won’t be in the best of moods, though. Tyler is taking him to see a doctor today, and he isn’t happy about it. If you could convince him to go with you, I’d be awfully grateful.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Kurt assured her. “Then when I get back tomorrow, why don’t I show you Poppy Gold’s Victorian greenhouse? You haven’t seen it yet.”
* * *
“I’D LOVE TO,” Rosemary said. She smiled determinedly. She’d felt ill ever since Tyler had spoken to his brother about the possibility of returning to active duty. It would be nice to have a distraction on her days off.
At least Kurt understood what Nathan was going through. It seemed to help her son to spend time with someone who’d seen war and the destruction it caused...someone who’d come out whole on the other side.
“I still can’t find my cell,” Kurt explained, “but I’ll call from work and let you know if Nathan decides to join me.”
“Check around your driver’s seat for the phone,” Rosemary suggested. “That’s where I always find mine. They slide into the oddest places.”
“Good idea.” He got up. “I’ll tell Sarah I’m getting that fish. I wish people wouldn’t order it. She’s allergic to seafood and gets sick at the smell alone.”
Rosemary blinked. Sarah hadn’t mentioned she had a problem with fish. “There’s bound to be odor, even in a cooler.”
“Yup. She has special cold boxes to use when needed, just for salmon, so there won’t be any chance of cross-contamination. She even has one of her chefs prepare it in a separate kitchen.”
Whenever Kurt talked about his daughter, pride welled from every word.
“I’d better get going,” he said. “They want extra flowers for that reception tonight at Poppy Gold.”
He left the door open, and Rosemary could hear him in the kitchen telling his daughter that he would take care of the trip to Stockton.
“No,” Sarah refused promptly. “It’s my responsibility.”
“Of course it is, sweetheart. But I need a few things for my repair shop, and I may as well kill two birds with one stone.”
Rosemary grinned at the excuse. It was unlikely he had a desperate need for anything since he drove to Stockton weekly.
“You’re just making that up.”
Rosemary’s grin widened; obviously Sarah didn’t believe him, either.
“No, I’m not,” Kurt protested. “Besides, I’m inviting Nathan Prentiss to go with me. We have the best conversations. Some things have changed in the army since I retired, while others are just the same.”
“Oh. Well, I’ll pay for your gas.”
“We can discuss it later. Love you, sweetheart.”
A minute later, Sarah came into the office. “Did you hear?” she asked. “Dad is insisting on picking up the supplies instead of me. He’s like a tornado sometimes.”
“It makes him happy to help,” Rosemary said softly. “At least he can do more for you than I can do for Nathan.”
“Nathan isn’t improving?”
“He has good and bad days. I wanted to give him space here at Poppy Gold—he was adamant that all he needed was peace and quiet—but I don’t think he’s even doing the exercises to strengthen his leg. Having your father to talk to is boosting his spirits, but he needs more than a confidant.”
“I told Tyler that Dr. Romano at the Glimmer Creek clinic has experience with combat veterans.”
“So I heard. He’s taking Nathan there this afternoon.” Rosemary fought back guilt. Once again she was relying on her eldest son to handle things instead of taking care of them herself. She’d truly believed that Nathan wasn’t improving at the rehab center, but she also should have been more assertive about him getting medical support here.
Not that feeling guilty was anything new, especially when it came to Tyler. They should have seen his birth as a precious gift after Kittie died. Instead they’d dreaded the possibility of losing another child. Was that why he’d been such a sober, self-contained little boy? It wasn’t that he hadn’t been wanted, but he’d come too soon, before they could deal with their grief.
“You can take time off if you want to take Nathan yourself or go with them,” Sarah said, breaking into Rosemary’s thoughts.
“Thanks, but that would probably disturb Nathan even more.”
“All right. I’d better get back to the kitchen now. The Lindor family ordered a mountain of food for their reception.” Sarah smiled and walked out of the office.
Rosemary was grateful that Sarah was so nice. She could have gotten angry that Kurt had learned about the trip to Stockton. Perhaps telling him had been wrong, but Rosemary knew how unhappy he’d be to discover, too late, that there was something he could have done for his daughter.
She pursed her lips.
Her job wasn’t important to her because of the money—it was just important. She could contribute something to make things easier for Sarah, and it was a gift to feel useful, particularly since she didn’t feel that way with her sons. She was desperately proud of Tyler and Nathan, but neither wanted to hear it.