“I WISH MY FATHER had talked to me the way your dad talks to you,” Tyler told Sarah a couple of evenings later.
He leaned against a counter, watching her stir a pot on the stove.
“They say getting older makes people assess their lives and relationships. Maybe your father would have done that if he’d had more time.”
Tyler wanted to believe that. He was finally seeing Richard Prentiss as simply a man, struggling with pride and grief and a haunting sense of failure because of something he couldn’t control. Understanding didn’t change anything, yet in a way it did make a difference.
“It’s hard to say,” Tyler said. “He had a lot of mixed-up ideas—more than I ever realized—but I feel sorry for him.”
Sarah’s eyes were warm with concern and Tyler ached, wanting to know if it meant she was in love with him or if she was just being compassionate.
He opened his mouth, then promptly closed it. He’d discovered it was one thing to decide to propose and another to risk rejection.
How did a guy who kept everything to himself learn to open his heart to the one woman who’d made him trust her? He knew it was all right to let Sarah in, yet he was fighting a lifetime of self-protection.
“Do you think my mother would be upset if I ask about Dad and Kittie sometimes?” he asked, his voice husky.
“Ask if it bothers her. If she doesn’t want to talk about them, she can say so. But I suspect she’d love to. Here, have a taste.” Sarah held out a spoonful from the pot she was cooking, and Tyler looked at it suspiciously, remembering she’d been working with oversize green squash.
“What is it?”
“Zucchini relish. Come on, it’s essentially pickle relish. I’ve been tinkering with the recipe to get it just right.”
Tyler put the spoon in his mouth. As a rule he could take or leave pickle relish, but this stuff was delicious. “It’s great, but I might not be the best judge.”
“Oh?”
“It’s hard for me to find fault with anything you do.”
The pink brightened in Sarah’s cheeks. “Smooth talker.”
“Nah, that’s my brother,” Tyler said, remembering she’d said the same thing to Nathan. “When I say something, it’s because I mean it.”
Their gazes locked and her breathing quickened. The expression in her eyes almost looked like...hope? Or maybe that was more wishful thinking.
He was about to ask when the doorbell rang, making them both jump.
“I’ll see who it is,” Tyler told her. “You were going to finishing filling the jars with that relish, weren’t you?” he added, knowing she’d object if she thought he wanted to answer the door to safeguard her. In this case it wasn’t a problem, Zach Williams stood on the porch.
“Good evening, I need to speak with my cousin.”
“She’s cooking, naturally.”
They headed for the kitchen where they found Sarah putting jars into a boiling water bath.
“Hi, Zach,” she called over her shoulder. “Just give me a minute.” Before long she turned and smiled. “What’s up?”
Zach held up a sheet of paper. “I wanted to tell you about the latest packages received.”
“I’m sure that’s going to be a cheery list.”
“Don’t let it get to you. Whoever this is, they aren’t rational.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, yeah, that makes me feel a lot better.”
Tyler didn’t feel any better about it, either.
Sarah sat down at the kitchen table and read through the list. “More baby clothes. Receiving blankets. A photo album for baby’s first year. Oh...ick...two home pregnancy tests, opened and used. With negative results.” She shuddered.
“I sent an officer to personally deliver this to the state crime lab, Sarah,” Zach explained. “We’ll get to the bottom of what’s happening. In the meantime, just hang tight and be careful.”
* * *
SARAH WALKED HER COUSIN to the front door. For some reason the pregnancy tests bothered her even more than having her tires slashed. Pregnancy tests and broken baby rattles were deeply personal.
“Sarah?” Tyler prompted and she realized she’d been staring into space, lost in thought.
“Sorry. It’s just so creepy.”
“But you’re certain your ex-husband isn’t involved?”
“Zach is reasonably certain. Besides, the baby-related stuff feels more like something a woman would do.”
“Nobody knows what goes on in a disturbed mind, Sarah.”
She shivered and Tyler pulled her to him. “I suppose it would be crass to propose going upstairs to your bedroom for relaxation therapy,” he said suggestively.
“It’s tempting, but I’ve got more canning to do tonight.”
Tyler didn’t look too put out by her refusal, and she wondered dismally if the spark was gone. Then she glanced down at his jeans. Men had a hard time concealing their response and he was no exception. Electricity zinged to the apex of her legs and she gulped.
She hurried to the kitchen and took the jars of relish from the boiling water bath.
“I want to help. Where do I start?” Tyler asked, rolling up his sleeves.
Sarah turned off the stove, walked over and kissed him, deciding the remaining vegetables and fruit would have to wait another day. “With me. I changed my mind. Let’s do that relaxation therapy thing. It sounds intriguing.”
A laugh rumbled through his chest, and he cupped her bottom. “Yes, ma’am. I aim to please.”
* * *
TWO DAYS LATER, Tyler was more sexually satisfied than he’d ever been...and climbing the walls with worry. They’d gotten zero news about who could be stalking Sarah, and it was wearing on everyone.
Actually, Sarah seemed to be holding up better than the rest of them.
Her father was morose and bad-tempered, the bakery staff was jumpy, Zach Williams seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face and Tyler’s mother had called 911 twice because of raised voices in the front of the shop.
Tyler had been there when his mom apologized for one of the disruptions, but she’d sounded more defiant than repentant. Of course, that might be due to the thumbs-up he’d given her from behind Sarah’s back.
Finally he dragged Sarah out for another drive, saying he needed to get a better feel for the SUV he’d rented.
“This was a good idea,” she said, directing him through the back routes she favored. He liked them too, because it would be hard for anyone to follow them without being observed.
“Yeah, you’re making me lazy,” he drawled. “I could be working on ideas to show Luke Forrester, but I’m doing touristy stuff instead.”
“Poor baby. Someone is making you have fun instead of working.” Sarah pulled her knees up and rested her bare feet on the dashboard. “Jeez, why didn’t you switch the sedan for a convertible? That would have been nice.”
“Because people in Glimmer Creek seem to mostly own trucks and SUVs, and I wanted to fit in.”
She grinned. “Fitting in isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
They drove around a bend and saw a view of the foothills below, bathed in late afternoon sunlight, but a jarring ringtone sounded from the floor. Sarah scrunched her nose. “We must have gotten a cell signal back. Sometimes I hate modern technology.”
She squirmed in the passenger seat, hiking her T-shirt up to her midriff while retrieving the phone from her purse. Tyler clenched the steering wheel, praying for control.
A minute later, Sarah sighed. “It was a voice mail from Zach. He got the report from the state crime lab and wants to see me. He’ll be at the police station until six and will come by the house if doesn’t hear from me before then.”
“Let’s go to the station,” Tyler said immediately.
Sarah’s mood was decidedly more solemn as she directed him back to Glimmer Creek.
The police chief was talking to a group of officers when they arrived at the station, and he gestured for them to wait in his office. A few minutes later he walked in and closed the door, though he plainly wasn’t too pleased to see she had company. “You don’t have to be here, Tyler.”
“Yet here I am.”
“Please skip the testosterone,” Sarah interrupted, visibly tense. “What’s in the report?”
Zach pulled out a file. “We finally got a decent fingerprint. It belongs to Nell Sheehan, your ex-husband’s second wife. We got lucky. She was arrested for shoplifting years ago, so her prints are on file.”
* * *
SARAH STARED. “YOU aren’t serious. I’ve never even met the woman.”
“That’s what the crime lab found, and it’s their opinion it matches the partial lifted when your tires were slashed. I’ve talked to the LA police. Ms. Sheehan wasn’t home for questioning, but they spoke to your ex. He claims no knowledge of his wife’s actions, stating that she’s often away and that her behavior has been erratic since she learned she can’t have children. That part seems to fit with the baby-related items, especially the negative pregnancy tests.”
“But why would she care about me?” Sarah protested. “It isn’t as if I want Douglas back. The guy is a manipulative creep.”
Saying it was liberating. She wasn’t trying to pretend any longer. She’d made a mistake, done her best to correct it and now was moving on. End of story. And even though Douglas was connected to her present troubles, she didn’t feel the drugging fear she’d known while living with him.
Zach shrugged. “Who knows why these people do what they do? We’re checking to see if anyone has seen her in Glimmer Creek, and my officers are on the lookout. This is her photo. Do you recognize her?”
Sarah looked at the picture. “Not really, but I’ve been living in a kitchen for the past four years. She could have been in the shop a dozen times. Is there anything else?”
“Not for the moment. Just be careful. The vandalism alone is a potential felony, depending on how the prosecutor decides to handle the charges.”
Subdued, Sarah thanked her cousin and left the station with Tyler. “It doesn’t make sense,” she murmured.
“You think Douglas is manipulating his wife to harass you?”
“Except that doesn’t make sense, either. I’m pretty sure he lost interest when my friends promised to cut off his testicles if he ever bothered me again. At heart he’s a coward.”
Tyler let out choked laugh. “I can see how that might have discouraged him.” He put an arm around her waist. “Tell you what, let’s be couch potatoes and watch Bringing Up Baby. Does Glimmer Creek have a video store?”
“Sure, but wouldn’t you prefer a Gary Cooper film?”
“A little silliness would be better. The jail scene in Bringing Up Baby is always good for a smile. I could watch Katharine Hepburn scold that leopard a thousand times.”
Sarah melted a little more. Tyler was right—silliness was exactly what they needed.
* * *
OVER THE NEXT few days, Tyler and Sarah only heard small snippets of news about the case from Zach Williams.
Apparently Nell Sheehan had stayed at Poppy Gold occasionally, though more often at nearby towns. At the shop, Aurelia had recognized her picture, saying Nell had been there on different occasions, mostly sitting and watching the customers and seeming sad. Aurelia was astonished she might be the vandal, and Tyler grew alarmed when he saw the expression on Sarah’s face—she didn’t need to feel sorry for the other woman, she needed to protect herself.
He’d talked Sarah into letting him use the apartment above the shop during the day to work on the hospital design, saying the speakeasy history made it more creatively inspiring. It put him close, even though the card table he hauled up the steep staircase was a dismal alternative to his drafting equipment.
The fact she’d let him do it gave him hope.
Tyler rolled his tight shoulders. He was actually getting a great deal of work done. He hadn’t called the Forresters, but he liked the idea of becoming the lead architect for the new Glimmer Creek hospital. His early work on medical facilities had been very satisfying and the thought of going back to his roots was appealing.
The situation in Illinois remained a nagging concern, but he was mostly worried about Sarah.
Just then, Tyler heard heavy thumping as someone climbed the staircase—obviously not Sarah, who was so light of foot, she often took him by surprise.
It was Kurt Fullerton.
“Anything new?” Tyler asked immediately.
“Nothing, but my daughter is still telling Zach to be gentle with the Sheehan woman when she’s caught.”
Tyler frowned. He and Kurt had united over the concern that Sarah would be too sympathetic toward Nell Sheehan to properly protect herself. Sarah’s soft heart was one of the things he loved about her, but Nell was a threat that couldn’t be ignored.
“Somebody is with her most of the time. That’s some comfort.”
Kurt glared. “Yeah, right, you’re with her all night. Tell me, is it just sex, or are you serious about my daughter?”
Phew. Tyler had known that a question about his intentions was inevitable, but he hadn’t expected it to be so blunt. He looked Kurt square in the eyes. “I couldn’t be more serious.”
A series of emotions chased across the other man’s face. “Then don’t hurt her.”
“I’d never knowingly cause Sarah pain. If she’ll have me, I’ll do whatever I can to make her happy.”
Kurt sighed. “I believe you. But I’d better get going, or else she’ll be up here asking why we’re yakking when we have work to do.”
When Tyler was alone again, he bent determinedly over the design he was working on. He always wanted to be the best architect possible on a job, but the hospital plan held a special importance.
After all, it could be the place where Sarah gave birth to their children.
* * *
SARAH HUMMED AS she worked on a new recipe in the candy kitchen—a “jelly” layer to put on top of peanut butter fudge. Her first attempt was all right but too mild. Raspberry instead of strawberry, she decided.
She began measuring ingredients for raspberry fudge. This time it had the bold fruit flavor she’d been hoping for, and she poured it over a waiting batch of peanut butter fudge. But before she could scrape the last bits out, she heard an agitated hum of conversation from the main kitchen.
Sarah hurried out. “What’s going on?”
“Aurelia spotted that woman out front. It’s bizarre—she’s wearing a green sundress, just like the one you wore to the Fourth of July barbecue,” Gabby said excitedly. “Rosemary is calling the police.”
Oh, God. Gabe McKinley listened to the police scanner over at Poppy Gold, which meant an army would be descending.
Sarah hurried to the front. “Where is she, Aurelia?”
“She just left. I’m sorry, I think she noticed me watching her. I told 911 that it looked as if she was headed toward Poppy Gold.”
Sarah raced out the door over Aurelia’s frantic protest. She had to know why Nell was focusing her misery on a stranger. Down the block, there was a feminine figure in green and Sarah followed, catching up near the Poppy Gold town square park.
“Wait, Nell,” she called. “We need to talk.”
Nell Sheehan turned slowly. She was blonde and pretty, with eyes so haunted that Sarah drew a sharp breath. In a way, she might have been looking at herself when she was married to Douglas.
“Stay away,” Nell cried. “You’re the one who stole everything from me.”
Sarah didn’t go closer. While it was unlikely that Nell could be hiding a gun under that sundress, she couldn’t be sure about other weapons. “I don’t know what you mean, Nell.”
“You refused to have kids, but you also didn’t want to bother with birth control, so you made Doug get a vasectomy. Then you walked out and nearly destroyed him. He was afraid to tell me when we got married. He tried to have it reversed, but nothing has worked and now it’s too late. I have endometriosis, and the doctor says it’s progressed too far for a baby.”
More damage from Douglas’s lies?
A weary sorrow swept through Sarah. “If Douglas had a vasectomy, I didn’t know about it,” she said quietly. “I tried to get pregnant. When it didn’t happen, I went to a fertility clinic. I still have the paperwork showing there was no medical reason I couldn’t conceive. But Doug refused to be checked...which makes sense if he didn’t want me to know he’d had a vasectomy.”
“No, no, no. That can’t be,” Nell said frantically. “He said the only thing you cared about was starting your bakery. I mean, he wanted to wait a while for children after we got married, but when I found out about the endometriosis, he told me the truth and went to New York to have the procedure reversed. He’s had two other surgeries since then, but none of them have worked.”
“The surgeries were always out of town, never with you there?” Sarah asked.
A small sob came from Nell. “H-he said it was better that way. Easier on us both.”
“Douglas could always make things sound plausible. I started trying to get pregnant when he accused me of having an affair. I thought it would prove that I wasn’t looking at other men.”
“A-affair?” Nell’s face went even whiter, if possible.
“That’s right. I was never unfaithful, but he’d call me over and over when he was at work or on a business trip to make sure I was home. Except it would just be silence when I answered.”
“And the number is unavailable, so you don’t know who it is,” Nell whispered as if in a trance. “He says it isn’t him. He says you’re imagining things. That everything is just in your head.”
Sarah burned with anger. Apparently her ex hadn’t changed his old ways. “Doug is a liar and a womanizer and spent most of our marriage terrorizing me. I was the one who left, but it was because I caught him with another woman.”
With a moan, Nell sank to the ground, arms wrapped around her stomach, rocking back and forth. “I believed him, I believed him,” she kept saying over and over. “How could I believe him?”
Sarah had been so focused on Nell, she hadn’t seen Tyler, her father, Zach, and a dozen other people arrive.
She put up a hand to stop her cousin from grabbing Nell, but it wasn’t necessary. Her fragile condition was obvious. So much pain, all because of an insecure, horrible man.
Hopefully Nell would get the help she needed...and a divorce.
“People are here who want to help you, Nell,” she said gently. “Please let them.”
Nell looked up. “I’m so sorry. I wanted to believe Doug, and he kept talking about how it was your fault I couldn’t have the babies I wanted. I wanted you to pay for what I’d lost. I’m sorry.”
“I know, but go with Zach now. He wants to help.”
Seeming docile and almost childlike, Nell let Zach put her in the squad car that had just pulled up.
Kurt marched over. “Sarah, you scared the hell out of me. I know you’re an adult now, but don’t ever—” He released a sigh. “Oh, forget it.” He pulled her into a bear hug and whispered, “I love you” in her ear.
Gabe stepped forward, as well, clearly intending to scold her, but Tessa was there and she grabbed his elbow. Though she was half her husband’s size, he froze and locked gazes with her. Sarah almost laughed—in a battle of wills, husband and wife were equally matched.
“Let’s get out here,” she told Tyler.
Undoubtedly Zach would want her to sign a statement, but right now she wanted to forget for a while.
* * *
TYLER’S RENTAL SUV was closest, so they headed to the parking area near the John Muir Cottage. He drove out of Glimmer Creek until he found a small wayside with a historic marker.
He parked in the shade and glanced at Sarah. He’d been terrified for her, yet a part of him understood why she’d taken such a risk. She was loving, bright and filled with compassion. Her compassion even extended to someone who’d terrorized her.
“Don’t ask me to justify what I did,” Sarah said, lifting her chin.
“That isn’t what I was thinking.”
“Hmm.” She gave him an appraising look, then wiggled out of her chef’s apron and tossed it into the back seat. “I feel like I’ve been set free. You wanna make out?”
He grinned, both amused and aroused. Sarah was like an uncorked bottle of champagne, intoxicating to a man who’d lived in a self-imposed emotional prison his entire life.
“I always want to make out with you, but I’d like to talk first.”
She made a face. “No lectures, okay?”
“How about me saying how wonderful you are?”
“That’s okay.”
“And that you’re also brave, impulsive and totally breathtaking.”
* * *
SARAH DIDN’T HAVE a huge amount of experience with relationships and breakups, yet she was starting to wonder if there was a “but” coming.
But I’m afraid you’ve gotten too serious about me.
But I’m only in Glimmer Creek for a short time.
But...
“Uh...thanks,” she said, determined not to say anything stupid or juvenile. “What else do you want to talk about?”
Tyler looked distinctly apprehensive. “Okay, this is the hard part.” He took her hand. “I’m crazy in love with you, Sarah. Will you marry me and be the mother of my children?”
Her eyes widened. “You’re proposing?”
“Yes.”
She got dizzy. In a fantasy world, the hero proposed and everyone was happy, but this wasn’t a fantasy. “I love you, too. But I...I can’t accept.”
Tyler’s breath hissed out. “Is it the ice man thing?”
“No. Well, it was a problem at first. Not that you’re an ice man,” she said hastily. “You’re a challenge, but I’m learning how to get around your barriers.”
“Then why? God, Sarah, I swear I will do whatever it takes to be a good husband.”
She believed him. But that was the problem; she couldn’t be the reason he didn’t achieve everything he’d ever wanted.
“Tyler, you’re an amazing man,” she said carefully, “but you said yourself that you don’t have room in your life for a wife and family. You’ve got a dream, and I can’t be the one who threatens it. Right now you’re probably wondering if you even have a career because of the mess in Illinois, but it won’t be long before clients are begging you to design their buildings. You’ll be more in demand than ever.”
Tyler hiked an eyebrow. “This has nothing to do with Illinois. As for threatening my dream? I’ve never been so inspired. Ideas are pouring out faster than I can get them down on paper.”
“That could have happened anywhere.”
“Sarah, listen to me,” he said intently. “Deep down I’ve known there was always something missing in my projects. Now I know what it was. How can I make people’s hearts beat faster if my own heart isn’t in my designs? It was lost and you found it. And since my heart and soul will always be in Glimmer Creek with you, I’ll never become the architect I’ve wanted to be unless I’m here, too.”
Sarah gulped at the raw sincerity in Tyler’s face. Her hand fumbled at the door handle and she got out, feeling as if she couldn’t breathe.
He was offering her everything. He’d even mentioned children.
The other door opened and Tyler rounded the front of the SUV. “Are you all right?”
“I’m not sure.” Sarah’s head was still spinning, so she latched on to the first thought that came to her. “You mentioned having kids, but it wasn’t very long ago that you gave me a very logical, thought-out explanation for why you didn’t want a family.”
* * *
TYLER WINCED.
He suspected countless men had spouted their reasons for not wanting a family, only to discover it was complete nonsense when they met the love of their life.
“Can I plead idiocy?” he asked. “I wouldn’t blame you for doubting my sincerity after seeing me with the Forrester twins. But loving you has made me understand why people want children. Not as copies of ourselves, but as wonderful acts of creation we can teach and learn from. And I do mean learn. Beth and Annie cut through all the nonsense and wanted to know if I was going to marry you. That was pretty smart of them.”
“Kids are artless and say the first thing that occurs to them. It doesn’t mean they’re sharing a great insight.”
Tyler thought about it, then shook his head. “They knew. I think I’ve always been uneasy with children because they see what I’ve tried to keep hidden. The way you see me, except now I don’t mind. If you’re willing to help, I’ll do my best to be a good, loving father. I’ll even change stinky diapers, though I don’t expect to enjoy that part.”
The corners of Sarah’s mouth twitched. “Stinky diapers aren’t an aspect of parenting that very many people enjoy.”
Tyler stroked her face, loving her more than ever.
“Trust me,” he pleaded. “I’m going to get certified in California and open an architectural office right here in Glimmer Creek. And I’m going to stop traveling so much. When I have to be at a job site, I hope you and our children can go with me, at least part of the time. The only thing I’d ask is that we both take days away from our work and spend them together as a family.”
* * *
SARAH WAS SILENT for a long minute, wanting to fling her arms around Tyler and never let him go.
Somehow she’d known from that very first wonderful smile that she was going to fall for him. Not that a marriage to Tyler would be easy. She’d have to keep knocking down the barriers he’d built to protect himself, but she could do that. And when she thought about the ways he’d opened himself already, she knew it would be all right.
Some of it she would simply have to take on faith.
But if he thought she was going to just sit idly by and let some commission in Illinois take its time deciding his future, he’d better think again.
“All right, I’ll marry you,” she said, then stuck her chin in the air. “But we’re going to Illinois and making the commission clear your professional name. Rosemary can run things at the sweet shop, and my father can keep an eye on Nathan and make sure he gets to his appointments and does his therapy. Dad will love it—he’s a natural mother hen. Those are my terms. Take it or leave it. This time, we’re all taking care of you.”
Tyler grinned and tugged her close. “So the princess rescues the prince, and everybody lives happily ever after.”
“With a few arguments along the way.”
“That’s okay. We’ll have fun making up. I love you.”
He kissed her and Sarah’s last doubts fled. After all, love was the most powerful force in the universe.
The following summer...
Sarah watched her husband grin as he slid into home plate.
“Safe,” cried the umpire.
“I tagged him out by a mile,” Gabe yelled.
“I said he’s safe. Are you arguing with me, McKinley?” Great-Uncle Milt demanded, taking off his umpire’s mask.
“Maybe you couldn’t see well enough from your angle.”
“The call stands.”
Tyler was still lying on the ground and his grin turned into a hearty laugh. He laughed a lot these days.
Nathan had fully recovered and was back on duty. Tyler’s architectural career was also recovering. The commission had absolved him of any responsibility for the building collapse in Illinois, and Milo Corbin had settled out of court on the slander suit. Practically everyone involved was doing court-ordered community service or had been fired. Blame for the collapse had even extended to the county’s building office, which had ignored the warning Tyler had sent prior to the start of construction.
Right now he was busy leading the design team for the Glimmer Creek hospital, and had delighted Carlie and Luke with the plan for their new house.
Like Gabe, Tyler was finding his place in the family, along with his mother. Rosemary had become “Aunt Rosie” to kids all over Glimmer Creek. She reveled in it, but was looking forward to her first grandchild even more.
Sarah patted her gently rounded tummy. In another few months Rosemary would be Grandma Rosie.
She locked gazes with her husband as he got up and dusted off his legs. He winked, and she wondered how he’d ever seen himself as an ice man. They still had rough periods when he disappeared into himself, but they dealt with it one day at a time.
It was all right. Perfection would be boring, and she didn’t intend for their life to ever get boring.
* * * * *
If you enjoyed this story, be sure to check out Juliana Morris’s earlier books in the
POPPY GOLD STORIES miniseries.
Watch Gabe and Tessa spar in
UNDERCOVER IN GLIMMER CREEK
and see Carlie and Luke create their family in
CHRISTMAS WITH CARLIE.
Available from Harlequin Superromance.
Keep reading for an excerpt from REBEL IN A SMALL TOWN by Kristina Knight.
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