SARAH WAS LOOKING FORWARD to the outing with Tyler so much that she went home immediately, eager to do something just for fun. Soon fried chicken fillets and macaroni salad were chilling in the fridge, and she had a batch of biscuits in the oven. She was taking them out when she heard the mail being dropped through the slot on the door.
There was nothing especially weird in the collection, though she wondered about a health magazine from a private hospital in Stockton. Still, hospitals advertised. It wasn’t that unusual. The label was printed, and it simply looked like a bulk mailing addressed to “resident.”
There also was a reminder that she had a package waiting at the post office. Drat, she thought, shoving it in her purse with the other she’d gotten that week. She kept forgetting to pick it up.
Looking out the window, she saw the postal truck still parked across the street, so she grabbed the slip again and ran over. “Surprise, Diego, I was home. Any chance you brought my package with you today?”
Diego laughed. “Hey, there’s a whole bunch of them.” He pulled out a plastic box, filled with parcels of assorted sizes. “Just leave the container on the porch, and I’ll get it next time.”
“Okay, thanks.” Sarah carried the container into the house and looked through the items, her heart skipping unevenly. None of them had return addresses and the postmarks were from various valley towns.
Not now, she thought.
She didn’t want to think about anonymous packages or slashed tires or anything else. She wanted to go on a picnic with a sexy guy and enjoy herself. She shoved the box firmly under the kitchen table and finished preparing the food. It might be denial, but right now she didn’t care.
At precisely 4:30 p.m., the bell rang. Sarah hurried to the front with two bags slung over her shoulder and a folded blanket on her arm while Theo disappeared up the stairs so fast he was a blur of black fur.
She pulled the door open. “Hi, Tyler, I’m ready to go.”
He frowned. “It’s a good idea to check who’s out here before answering.”
“Please don’t channel my father. Besides, you’re so punctual, why would I worry? You said four thirty, and it’s four thirty on the dot.”
“You enjoy giving me a hard time, don’t you? Let me carry those.”
He held out his hand and Sarah gave him the bags and blanket, resisting the urge to tease him further.
His laughter and pleasure while discovering the speakeasy stairs had turned her to mush. He’d astonished her even further when he’d supported her in the midst of family pressure.
“Do you want to drive?” Tyler asked, breaking into her thoughts. “You’re familiar with the area and I’m not.”
“Sure.”
She took the keys and decided to head higher into the hills. Glimmer Creek sat on the margin of where the rolling foothills and evergreen forests began to blend. A few stands of pine had even survived the town being built and were tucked around Poppy Gold and the rest of the community.
“What is that scent I’m catching?” Tyler said, opening his window and inhaling deeply.
“Pine and deer brush, warmed by the sun. Maybe with elderberry and manzanita mixed in.”
“Elderberry, as in the wine?”
Sarah shot him a look. “That’s right. I’ve never made wine, but I’ve made elderberry jelly. Along with gooseberry jelly and blackberry jam. The youth group picks wild fruit to sell in town, and I’m on their regular sales route.”
“Is that where you get your blackberries for the bakery?”
“Those have to come from a commercial source, I’m afraid. I buy from the youth group for personal use. Also to make items for the church bazaar.”
Tyler shook his head. “I don’t see how you do all that and run the shop, as well.”
“It isn’t always this bad. The holidays and summer are my busiest periods, and I put a lot in the freezer to handle when life gets quieter. Anyway, my new catering managers will take some of the pressure off. We’ve done three luncheons over the past week and they handled them from start to finish. I was thrilled. They got rave reviews.”
* * *
TYLER GLANCED AT SARAH.
He didn’t know what to make of her. Though she worked constantly, she was irrepressible. His mother had commented that Sarah seemed to magically get more done in the kitchen than anyone else; he suspected it was simply because she liked cooking for people.
“I’m glad your catering managers are working out.”
“My cat is pleased, too. Theo doesn’t appreciate me working such long hours.”
“I didn’t realize felines had such strong opinions. Aren’t they self-sufficient?”
“In a way. They aren’t always as obvious as dogs in their affections, but Theo gets grumpy when I’m not there enough. He’s shy with strangers, which is why you haven’t seen him.”
Sarah turned down yet another hard dirt road, and Tyler reflected that it was a good thing she was driving. She’d already taken numerous turns, and he didn’t have a clue where they were anymore. Then she went around a curve and he saw the town lying below them in the distance.
“Isn’t this beautiful?” she asked, pulling to a stop. “My cousin and her husband bought the land earlier this year. Luke was living in Texas, but he decided to move here when he fell in love with Carlie. He has twin daughters from his first marriage, and they’re making a fresh start.”
“It’s a nice property. Does the stream flow year-round?”
“Pretty much. I think this must be similar to what Glimmer Creek looked like before a gazillion miners descended in 1849 and began panning for gold. Well, it’s flatter lower down, but you know what I mean. Peaceful and wild.”
Tyler had always lived in cities, but could see the appeal of the open sky and natural setting.
The property was hilly, with outcroppings of rock and a mix of trees. The small stream meandered nearby, and a hawk circled lazily above. It almost seemed a shame to build on the property, though the right house might fit, perhaps something inspired by Julia Morgan. In his mind he automatically began sketching the outlines, a place with huge windows and broad decks supported by a foundation of native stone.
Lately ideas had been coming fast and furious. Though he didn’t have any pending contracts, he’d spent hours getting those ideas down on drafting paper, with accompanying sketches to flesh out the vision.
“Let’s eat here,” he suggested.
“Okay.”
Picnic for two, Tyler mused as they spread the blanket under a tree. Another romantic custom he’d never experienced before. Thanks to Sarah, he was starting to regret missing out on the things that many people took for granted.
He’d always considered flowers and picnics and dinner by candlelight to be impersonal tactics for creating a mood, but maybe they could be more than that. Just the other day he’d walked by the Argonaut Market and seen bunches of Dutch irises and roses for sale. He’d nearly bought Sarah some, just to make her smile.
This whole thing between them made him uneasy, even though he was trying to see it as a temporary interlude.
“What are you thinking about?” Sarah asked as she sat and stretched her legs out. “Your face has that look.”
“What look?”
“The one you get when you’re thinking about something and don’t want anyone to know.”
“I’ve just never had this kind of picnic. You know, two people, on a blanket under a tree.”
Sarah grinned as she opened the insulated bags she’d brought. “If you say it’s a cliché, I won’t give you dessert.”
“I wouldn’t dare.”
He accepted a plate, and his mouth watered as she explained that one container was filled with spicy fried chicken fillets and another was Southern-style. A third container held macaroni salad loaded with cheese and olives. Assorted fruit and fresh vegetables came out, as well. From the second bag, she pulled out biscuits that were still warm and filled with butter and honey. Dessert was chocolate caramel peanut candy with crunchy bits that turned out to be pretzels.
“A little magic with the microwave and they’re done. No baking required,” Sarah said, popping one into her mouth.
Tyler was in agony. He kept trying to ignore the effect she had on him, but the sight of her pleasure was wreaking havoc on his self-control.
Sarah was still sitting upright, and he was tempted to pull her down next to him. It was a perfect setting to make love in the late afternoon sunshine.
“I swear you’re corrupting me,” he complained. “Usually I can’t sit and do nothing.”
“Glimmer Creek has a way of mellowing folks, which makes it a good place for a vacation.”
Tyler wasn’t sure if he’d been mellowed or seduced. “I’m not on vacation.”
“Do you even take vacations?”
“Nope. I stay in the saddle, work, work, work.”
“Stay in the saddle?” Sarah cocked her head. “Do you ever wonder where that expression comes from?”
“Probably from the image of the old cowpoke, dedicated to guarding his herd. I used to watch a lot of Westerns when I was a kid,” he said when Sarah looked surprised.
“I never would have figured you the type.”
“Where do you think I learned my poker face?”
* * *
SARAH SNICKERED.
She’d realized Tyler didn’t have that great of a poker face. He kept everything locked inside, but someone watching closely enough could figure out what was going on.
She stretched, arching her back, and saw him tense. While she didn’t know if she wanted to succumb again, it was nice to be reminded that she was a woman who could make a man’s eyes glaze and his body react.
“Who’s your favorite old-time actor?” she asked, pretending not to notice. Instead she put the leftover food back into the cold bag.
“Gary Cooper.”
“You didn’t have to think about it?”
“Hey, we’re talking Gary Cooper. He’s hard to beat. But maybe you’ve never watched classic Westerns. They’re great. They have good guys and bad guys, and the good guys win. Most of the time, at least.”
Sarah held back another smile. “When I was a teenager, Grandpa George and I watched old movies together every Tuesday night, including Westerns. I like Cooper, too. It may sound schmaltzy, but he usually played a character trying to do the right thing or redeem himself. That’s my kind of hero.”
“Where was your grandmother during these movie fests?”
“Usually at a city council meeting or doing something else as mayor. She’d come home and scold because I was up late, but she never seemed too upset.”
Sarah realized belatedly that mentioning her grandparents probably hadn’t been the best way to maintain a sexy mood, but the thought was interrupted by the arrival of a huge white SUV. It was Carlie and her husband, so it was just as well that nothing had developed beyond light conversation.
Annie and Beth, Luke’s twin daughters, jumped out and ran over. Beth threw her arms around Sarah’s neck while Annie sedately said, “Hi,” and hugged her, as well.
“I didn’t know you were coming up here this evening,” Sarah told her cousin.
“We’re just double-checking how long it will take to drive back and forth to Poppy Gold once the house is built,” Carlie explained.
“It probably won’t be too bad once the road is paved. Want some food?” Sarah asked. “We had a picnic, and there are lots of leftovers. I don’t have extra plates, but you could take it home for dinner.”
“Sarah makes the best chicken,” Beth declared before her mom and dad had a chance to respond.
Carlie laughed. “We’d love to have it, thanks.”
There was enough room on the blanket for everyone, though Tyler appeared desperately ill at ease with the way the twins plopped next to him, telling him their names and ages and asking the kind of artless, candid questions that adults learned to censor.
Sarah remembered him saying that he was uncomfortable with kids and they felt the same about him. Well, he hadn’t met Beth and Annie. They were very determined children.
“Slow down, girls,” Luke told them. He held his hand out to Tyler. “Luke Forrester.”
“Tyler Prentiss.”
“The architect?” Luke seemed suddenly focused, and Sarah kicked herself. Of course. Since Luke and Carlie were unhappy with the various designs submitted for their new house, they might have a healthy interest in meeting Tyler.
“Yes,” Tyler replied in a clipped tone.
“Nice to meet you. This is my wife, Carlie.”
Tyler nodded at Carlie. “I recognize you from the ghost walk, but there were so many people, we didn’t have a chance to be introduced.”
“It was quite a crowd that evening.”
“It’s lucky running into you this way,” Luke said. “We both admire your work and would love to discuss the house we want to build.”
If Tyler had looked uptight before, now he was rigid. Sarah leaned forward, but before she could say anything, Carlie smiled. “I hope you’ll have time to speak with us, Mr. Prentiss. We’re also looking for the right architect to design the hospital we’re building in Glimmer Creek.”
“My experience with designing medical facilities is limited. I interned with one of the top people in the field but haven’t done much since then.”
Luke shrugged. “We plan to have a team of consultants, no matter who gets the contract. But having the right lead architect is important.” He took out a business card. “I’ll give you my personal cell number, just in case you find a break in your schedule.” He wrote on the back and held it out.
* * *
TYLER GLANCED AT SARAH, wondering if she’d set up the meeting with her cousin, trying to get him a local commission.
He put the business card in his wallet, taking note of the company name and realizing he’d heard of Luke Forrester. His first wife had been killed by sniper fire in the Middle East. The story had been carried by every news outlet on the planet—partly because she’d been a female soldier and partly because her husband was one of the wealthiest men in the United States.
Working with him would be a prime contract at any time, but right now, it would bring a particular satisfaction. Still, Tyler didn’t want to have discussions with the Forresters only to have them back out because of the business in Illinois.
In the meantime...
He looked at Sarah, who was talking to the twins and felt a stab of longing. Her face glowed. She’d said she wanted children and would obviously be an amazing mother. It made the contrast between them even sharper.
After a moment Sarah met his gaze, and he lifted his eyebrows. “Maybe we should leave,” he said, keeping his face neutral. “I should get back and see what’s going on with Nathan and my mother.” It was just an excuse—what he really wanted was a chance to speak to her privately.
“All right.” She got to her feet. “Carlie, I’ll get the containers and stuff from you guys on Sunday.”
“I’ll make sure to bring them or drop everything by the shop. Thanks for the food.”
The two little girls promptly hugged Sarah goodbye.
Tyler didn’t say anything until they’d reached a paved road again. “The children seem fond of you.”
“I think the size of the Fullerton clan was overwhelming to them at the beginning, but Luke’s sister moved here at the same time he did, which helped. I’m especially recognizable because I’m the cookie lady. That’s what they called me at first.”
“Why cookie lady?”
“They were here for the Christmas season last year, and my shop provides cookies and other treats for Poppy Gold activities. That’s when Luke and Carlie met.”
“They didn’t seem overwhelmed to me—I couldn’t have gotten a word in edgewise if I’d wanted to.”
Sarah chuckled. “I know. They’re competitive, though Beth is much more gung ho than her sister. I usually wait for the first rush of energy to ease off, then it’s easier. Say, do you want to see the property that Luke and Carlie have purchased for the hospital? It’s on the edge of Glimmer Creek and really nice.”
The question was a reminder of what was bothering him...whether Sarah had told her cousin about him.
“Not right now.”
* * *
SARAH WAS FOCUSED on the road ahead, but from the corner of her eye she could see Tyler’s mouth had flattened into a straight line.
She parked in front of her house and handed him the keys to his rental car, but he got out when she did and headed up the walkway with her.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“I want to look around and be sure everything is okay.”
“It’s broad daylight.”
“I’ll still come in. We need to talk.”
Sarah pursed her lips, fairly certain he wasn’t playing the protective-man role. Instead she was going to hear what was upsetting him.
She unlocked the door, and they went inside. “What bee do you have in your bonnet now?”
Tyler scowled. “I don’t have a bee in my bonnet. I want to know if you recommended me to Luke Forrester and his wife, and if it was some sort of repayment for consulting on the remodeling.”
She put out her jaw, getting annoyed, as well. “No and no. I forgot they were looking for an architect until they were talking to you. But why would it be so awful if I had made a recommendation? Do you think I’d recommend someone I don’t trust?”
“I guess not.” Tyler sank down on the couch. “It’s just awkward until everything is cleared up in Illinois.”
“I realize that.” Sarah sat next to him, wishing she knew what to say. “What’s the latest news from your lawyer?”
“Corbin seems to have been stunned into silence by the slander lawsuit. He’s cancelled all interviews and hasn’t gone near a microphone. That part is good. His attorney has suggested that he’ll withdraw his lawsuit if I withdraw mine. My lawyer says to hold firm, that it’s just part of the legal maneuvering.”
Sarah made a face. “So it’s still a waiting game.”
“Afraid so.”
“Why can’t you sit on the commission’s doorstep and insist they bring in experts to evaluate your original plan? Surely they can rule out your involvement without compromising the rest of the investigation. And it’s only fair. If Corbin was smart, he’d want it, too. The longer this goes, the more he’ll have to pay you.”
“I’ll talk to my lawyer, but I’m reluctant to leave Glimmer Creek right now.”
“You aren’t indispensable here,” Sarah said bluntly. “Your mom or my dad can take Nathan to his appointments.”
A curious expression filled Tyler’s eyes. “I’ll think about it. But off the subject, I’ve been wondering something about Poppy Gold.”
She blinked. “What?”
“Well, it’s obviously a hugely popular resort, fully booked, but somehow my mom and brother got a four-bedroom suite on short notice. How is that possible?”
“It isn’t generally known, but the John Muir Cottage is special,” she said slowly. “Poppy Gold keeps it for service members or their families who need a place to rest and recuperate, which means it isn’t on the regular reservation schedule. You get in through referrals from specific commanding officers. In Nathan’s case, it would have been General Pierson. Is that important?”
Tyler sighed. “Maybe not. I’d postponed my business trip to Italy a couple of times, then had to go or be in breach of contract. Things had settled down with Mom and Nathan, so it seemed all right. It was only for a few weeks, and I could call them every day and fly home if needed.”
“But you still felt guilty for going,” Sarah guessed.
He shot a glance at her. “Yeah. And now I’m wondering if they planned the trip to California even before I left. But maybe it plays out the same—they just couldn’t tell me. I think that’s partly why I was so upset when I got here, I couldn’t believe they would do something like that and keep it a secret.”
Sarah’s heart ached for him. “Rosemary mentioned that your father used to decide everything for her. Maybe coming here has less to do with you and more with her need to make a decision.”
“Dad was a control freak. There was only one area he didn’t...” Tyler’s voice trailed off.
“Um, yes?”
“I suppose it doesn’t matter if you know. My father enjoyed risky investments. Emerald and diamond mines, deep-sea mining, sci-fi technology. That kind of thing.”
Sarah was relieved; she’d been afraid of hearing that Richard Prentiss had cheated on his wife. High-risk investments were nothing compared to infidelity.
“Maybe he needed it for the adrenaline rush.” She paused, then straightened. “Tell me more about Illinois. You’ve told me some of the facts and I know you hate that those workers got hurt, but I’m getting the idea more is going on behind your stone face than you’ve said.”
Tyler narrowed his eyes. “Stone face? You just said that to get me to talk.”
“Did it work?” she asked hopefully.
“I suppose. The thing is, I should have done a better job of convincing Corbin that the modifications he wanted were unsafe, or worked on a modified plan that might have satisfied him. Instead I got angry and opted out of the contract. Now one of those construction workers may spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.”
Sarah swallowed. Beneath Tyler’s stern exterior was a man with intense emotions. People could find all sorts of reasons to feel guilty. In the past year, he’d lost his father, and his brother had been injured... Maybe his grief and regrets over those traumas were adding to his guilt about the building collapse.
“The owner is responsible for what happened, not you. He’s the one who chose to go forward with a design you told him wasn’t safe.”
* * *
“YOU MUST THINK I’m stupid to be bothered by it,” Tyler muttered.
“It’s human nature to question,” Sarah said. “Decent people look at their behavior and wonder if they could have done something different. I respect that, but you have to stop tearing yourself up. You told the owner that the design changes were dangerous and then risked your own life to help when you were proven right. That’s more than a lot of people would have done.”
He pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket and showed it to Sarah. “There’s more. I got a fax this morning from my lawyer. It’s the report from the lab about the sample of concrete I snagged after that wall collapsed. The mix was way off. But I don’t think it was a mistake; I think it was a cost-cutting measure. Who knows how many other shortcuts were taken? I should have been there, ensuring this kind of thing didn’t happen.”
Sarah crossed her arms and fixed him with a stern gaze. “Seriously? You can’t be at every building site on the planet, looking over every builder’s shoulder. Stop searching for reasons to feel responsible. I bet you even wonder if you’d gotten your law degree, you might have been able to convince your father to slow down. Now it’s all gotten mixed up with your feelings about the building in Illinois.”
Tyler sucked in a breath. How could Sarah do that? She seemed able to look into the darkest part of him and know things he’d only acknowledged to himself.
“It’s true, isn’t it?” he asked. “Dad might have retired earlier if I’d been there. He could have been alive and playing golf right now.”
Sarah made an exasperated sound. “In the first place, the East Coast is in a different time zone—nobody is playing golf there, it’s dark. In the second, you didn’t owe him your entire life. And from what your mom has said, nothing could have made him slow down. Ultimately he might have seen you as competition, maybe even resented having you there.”
That was true, too.
Tyler knew he was a rational, logical person trying to resolve impossible “what ifs.” If he was more like Sarah, who acted from the heart, it might be easier to wade through the emotional quagmire.
“The more I learn about my father, the more he confuses me,” Tyler admitted.
“I’m sorry,” Sarah said simply, her eyes filled with the warmth Tyler had grown accustomed to seeing there. He rarely had to question what she was feeling, and it was making him understand how difficult his own reserve must be for others to handle.
Blast.
Sarah was undermining all his resolve, all the decisions he’d made about what he wanted in his life. The problems in Illinois notwithstanding, he was fine. His career would recover. His life would be successful. He didn’t need her to rescue him.
Or did he?
* * *
SARAH WASN’T SURPRISED when Tyler got up, making an excuse about checking on his mother and Nathan. She opened the door, only to freeze at the sight of another gift bag sitting on the steps of the porch.
“Gee, look at that. Another present from my secret admirer,” she said, unable to keep the tension from her voice.
The bag was unexpectedly heavy, and glass tinkled inside when she lifted it. There were cartoon elephants dancing on the front and layers of pink tissue paper sticking artfully from the top, but Tyler caught her hand when she started to reach inside.
“Careful,” he warned. “You don’t know what’s in there. Maybe you should call Zach and let him take a look first.”
“Not until I see what it is. I won’t disturb any fingerprints.” She found a large plastic container and carefully tipped the contents out...a shower of broken glass.
Tyler swore. He grabbed a pen from a holder by the phone and poked through the pieces.
“Those two look like they used to be champagne flutes,” Sarah said, trying to keep her voice steady as she pointed at a couple of more intact pieces.
“But what are these?” There were a number of heavy chunks that seemed to have come from something else.
She looked closer and used the pen to nudge the largest pieces closer together. “The shapes look vaguely familiar. Maybe it was some type of art glass.”
Tyler was standing nearby, and Sarah longed to lean into his warmth.
“I’ve noticed you have a number of paperweights,” he murmured. “Are any of them missing?”
Sarah’s pulse jumped as she recalled telling her dad that no one would be interested in her glass paperweight collection. “I don’t think so, but I’ll check.”
She and Tyler did a quick circuit of the house. It seemed unlikely that someone could have broken in, swiped one of her paperweights and left no other trace. But she’d learned anything was possible when Douglas had been trying to terrorize her.
“Nothing seems disturbed,” she said finally.
They went back downstairs, and Sarah didn’t need any urging to phone Zach.
“Hey, it’s Sarah,” she said when he answered. “I’m sorry to call when you’re off duty.”
“I told you to. What happened?”
She explained, and he said he’d be right over.
“He’s on the way. You don’t have to stay if your mother’s waiting,” she told Tyler when she hung up the phone.
He gave her an incredulous look. “You think I’d leave after you found something like that? I may have my faults, but I’m not going to run off when a friend is in trouble.”
“Friend?”
“Yes, friend,” Tyler said firmly. “And I’m short on those, so don’t argue with me.”
Sarah blinked, trying not to cry. “Okay.”
Friendship was more than she’d expected, though her heart longed for more. When it came down to it, hearts weren’t reasonable. They made their own choices, ignoring logic and good sense and the very real likelihood of getting broken.
Zach’s knock jerked her out of the painful thought, and she hurried to the door. Her cousin was in civvies but had attached his badge to his belt, so this was clearly an official visit.
“Let’s see it,” he said briskly.
“It’s in the kitchen. By the way, I also got some packages in the mail you might want to check. There’s no return address on them, and the postmarks are from valley towns.”
Zach and Tyler both glared at her.
“You got anonymous mail and didn’t tell me?” her cousin demanded. “Are you trying to make my job harder?”
“It isn’t as bad as it sounds. They didn’t fit through my mail slot, so the postman has been leaving package slips. I didn’t think much about it, but I caught him this afternoon when he was in the neighborhood.”
Zach growled something under his breath. “First I want to see the broken glass.” He put on gloves and silently examined the contents of the plastic box. “I wish I’d seen the bag before it was disturbed. I’m concerned whether the glass was arranged with the intent of slicing your hand when you reached inside.”
Sarah’s skin went cold, and her fingers curled. In her mind, she saw the jagged tips of the broken champagne flutes rising up, hidden by layers of pink tissue paper.
“Hey, I think Sarah is scared enough,” Tyler declared. He didn’t look pleased.
Zach appeared equally annoyed at the challenge. Obviously, he and Tyler weren’t crazy about each other.
“If you don’t object, I’m going to take the packages with me,” Zach said finally. “They should be opened under controlled circumstances.”
“Absolutely no objections.” She pulled the box from under the table, glad to see it go.
Zach took everything out to his vehicle and returned. “Sarah, I’m going to run extra patrols down your street. I don’t know what’s going on yet, but please be careful.”
She nodded, not trusting her voice.
The door closed behind him, and she looked at Tyler again. “Well, this has been interesting.”
“I’m spending the night on your couch.”
It was nice that he hadn’t assumed he’d share her bed, but she wasn’t budging.
“No, you’re going back to Poppy Gold to reassure Rosemary that everything is fine.”
Over his continued objections, she pushed him out the door. There was too much chance that if he stayed, she’d weaken and invite him upstairs.