My Sweet Valentine (13 page)

“I'll try to make it today. If not, we're still on for the Christmas party, right?”

“Of course. I even bought a new dress yesterday.” She smiled. Thinking about the event caused her to get excited. A real fancy party. Here in Pride. She couldn't wait to see what the Jordan clan had done with the restaurant. She'd heard that Amber, their new manager, had made some major changes. He nodded and smiled as she jumped out of the truck, past the water flowing in the gutter. Turning around on the sidewalk, she waved as he honked and drove off.

When Sara walked into the building, she closed the door behind her, making sure to disarm her new alarm, and took a deep breath. She felt like dancing, but settled for a quick twirl. When she entered the kitchen, she looked around. Yes, now the place gleamed and shined again. It felt like hers again. Flipping on the lights, she walked around pulling out everything she'd need for the day. Halfway through preparation, the back doorbell rang. Looking through her new peephole, she saw Zach, one of her deliverymen. She had heard somewhere that he lived in Edgeview and had all the local routes. It was always a good idea to treat the deliverymen with kid gloves. If they liked you, you had an in to some of the freshest products. Opening the door wide, she smiled.

“Good morning, Zach. Beautiful day, isn't it?” His smile wavered as he balanced the handcart with her boxes of supplies.

“I heard about the break-in yesterday. Is everything alright?” He looked around, a frown on his face when he stepped inside.

“Oh, everything is fine now. We cleaned it all up. They did some damage, but it's all fixed.” She motioned to the patched wall.

“Yeah, I guess.” He set the handcart down. “Had to replace a lot of your stock, though?”

“It's just food.” She signed the paper when he handed her the clipboard. “My next delivery will be on schedule. I appreciate you fitting me in today.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “No problem. I'm stopping by the Golden Oar to make a large delivery this morning. I guess they’re having a big party there in two days.”

“Yes, I can't wait to go. This will be my first year attending their Christmas party.”

“That's cool.” He looked around, avoiding her eyes. “I suppose you already have a date?”

Her smile almost faltered. She'd never really thought of him in that way. He was probably five years younger than her, but in her eyes, the age wasn't a problem. He was skinny, tall and looked like he hadn't grown into his body yet.

“Yes,” she tried to think of something, anything else to say.

“That's cool. I guess I'll see you around.” He started wheeling the handcart out.

“Zach?” She waited until he turned. “If you’re done with your deliveries around noon, stop by. I'll have a batch of cupcakes ready. You can take a box if you want.” She watched his face light up.

“What kind?”

“Well, I'll be baking Red Velvet, Strawberry Cream, and…” she paused for a moment trying to decide, “…Death by Chocolate.” She smiled.

“Sounds good. I'll stop by on my way out of town.” He turned and left, whistling on his way out.

Rolling up her sleeves, she started unpacking the boxes of supplies, then took her time filling her canisters with fresh flour, sugar, and cocoa. Dusting her hands, she pulled on her large apron and looked around. Everything was back in its place.

“Now, time to get to work.” She started making the batter for the Red Velvet cupcakes first. It was an older recipe she'd discovered years ago. It was one of her favorites and would be used for cakes, tea cakes, and cupcakes. She had several batters that transcended like this one. Today, however, she was only making a small amount of the batter. Mixing the ingredients in a small mixing bowl, she smiled when she turned on the mixer for the first time and watched the ingredients swirl and combine. She flipped on her ovens, letting them warm as she prepared the other two batters. The containers she used to hold the batter were almost full two hours later. She looked at the clock on the wall and realized she still had time to make something more. Deciding on cookies, she started a batch of chocolate chip and peanut butter. She had just finished with that batter when the back doorbell rang. Wiping her hands, she let Jack Timothy in so he could finish patching the spots on the wall that he'd repaired yesterday.

By noon, when Allen showed up, she had two batches of each cupcake ready, and three batches of cookies, hot from the oven.

He walked in with three other men and a young woman. “It sure smells good in here. I hope you don't mind, I brought a few recruits along. We were heading back from beach training and thought we'd stop by.”

She smiled. “No, not at all. The more taste testers, the better.” She motioned to the display cases, where she'd put the cupcakes. “Choose your poison.” It was wonderful having a dry run of serving customers. The espresso machine hummed as she made their orders.

She handed out freshly printed menus to everyone as they all sat on the folding chairs she'd placed around the room.

“The tables and chairs are being delivered tomorrow.” She smiled, apologizing for the lack of space. A few people walked by the window and poked their heads in, asking for a sample. She handed out her last cupcake right as Zach walked in the door.

“Oh, looks like I was too late.” He frowned.

She smiled. “Not at all.” She rushed to the back and took the box from the countertop. Coming back into the front room, she set it down. “I put these aside for you.” She opened the box and showed him the mixture of cupcakes she'd saved for him.

“Wow, thanks.” He smiled at her. She felt eyes burning into her side and looked over to see Allen frowning at the kid. She felt like laughing, but decided she'd explain everything once they were alone.

Finally, when the room was empty except for Allen and his recruits, he pulled her into the back room and kissed her, pushing her up against the wall behind the door. When he pulled back, he looked down into her face.

“What was that all about?”

“Hmm? What?” She tried to pull him down for another kiss, but he pulled back a little.

“Paying off your delivery man?” He smiled.

“More like bribing.” She smiled back at him. “A girl does what she must for fresh eggs and blueberries.” He chuckled.

“If I didn't know any better, I'd say the kid was hot on you.” He pulled her closer.

“Yeah, he tried to ask me to the Christmas party.” She bit her lower lip.

“He'll get over it.” But there was still a frown on his face.

“What?” She put her arms around his neck and looked at him. “What has you frowning?”

“Nothing.” He tried to wipe the frown from his face. “Just something Robert said, that's all. Well, Sara's Nook looks like it will be a success opening week.” He changed the subject quickly.

“Hmm, yes. I can't wait. Now all I need is furniture and employees. Not to mention the signs.” She started thinking of her list and knew there was still so much that needed to be done.

“Don't worry. You'll have plenty of time to get the rest done.” He kissed her again quickly. “I've got to get back. My schedule is pretty packed the next two days. If I don't see you in between, I'll pick you up at your place at seven for the party.”

She nodded and reached up to kiss him again. When everyone left, the place felt empty. She pulled out her laptop and started doing some ordering she'd been putting off. Her phone rang and when she looked at the number, her heart skipped a beat.

“Hi, Josie.” She was greeted with a high-pitched screech.

“Oh my God, Sara. I'm so excited! I can't believe you're doing it. Yes. Yes. Yes. Count me in. I'm sorry it took so long to get back to you. I lost my cell phone and I dropped my Mac. I've been unwired for two whole weeks until I finally got my replacement phone.” Josie wasn't usually this unconnected. Sara had taken her friend’s silence as an answer of no.

“Really?” She took a large gulp of air and felt her head spin. “You'll really pick up and move to Pride?”

“Yes!” Josie screamed in the phone. “I'm packing as we speak.” She heard her friend laugh. “I've waited for the right moment to tell Stephan and Bethany off. Things have gotten a lot worse since you left. I'll tell you all about it when I get there. It shouldn't take me more than two weeks to have everything tied up here.”

“I can't wait. I'll look into renting the house today. I'm so happy you're going to be here.” Sara closed her eyes on a wave of happy tears. Everything was falling into place. An image of Allen's face popped into her mind.

T
he day was hell on him, and it had nothing to do with the three calls he'd gone out on and the long hours of training he'd put his new recruits through. Being apart from Sara had left his house feeling empty and his body craving hers.

He was sore in places he hadn't used in years. Even though he was used to the hard work and the long hours, he was looking forward to the next few days off. Morale around the facility was high. Everyone was looking forward to having some time off. The morning of the party came and his phone went off just as he was getting out of the shower. Tripping over Beast, who was lying on the shower mat, he barely answered the phone in time.

“Hello?”

“Allen, it's Richard. We have a call for help in international waters. Sounds like a boat of immigrants ran into some bad weather.”

“I'll be there in ten. Have them prep the chopper, and call the on-duty team.” Allen shoved out of the bathroom, racing towards his gear. Less than five minutes later, he had Beast locked up and was heading down his drive. Punching Sara's cell number, he waited as it rang.

“Morning.” She sounded so cheery he almost forgot what he was racing towards.

“Hey, sorry to spring this on you, but I've got an international distress. I may be a little late tonight. What do you say we meet there?”

“Oh, I hope everything is alright.” He heard the concern in her voice. “Sure, I understand. I'll see you there.”

“Thanks.” He drove by her shop and saw the lights on. “Don't tell me you’re baking at this hour.”

He could tell she was moving around, “Of course. Baker hours start early. Lacey contacted me earlier this week and ordered a few things for the party. Cakes, cupcakes, some fudge.” He heard her sober up. “Be careful out there.”

“Will do. Bye.” He hung up and made it to the parking lot just as Marcus and two other men on his team drove up. They may goof off during off hours, but today they were all business.

Less than ten minutes later, they were flying over the water at top speeds. Dispatch squawked in his ear, giving him the latitude and longitude of the vessel’s last-known location. His team was strapped in behind him, each doing their jobs, preparing for rescue. Each time they went out, they geared for the worse, not knowing what to expect.

It took them a little under an hour to reach the last known location. The weather out here was worse than on shore. Here the waves kicked up ten to twenty feet. The rain was coming in sideways and he could see lightning off to the north. Larry and Marcus scanned the horizon, looking for any sign of a vessel.