My Sweet Valentine (5 page)

I
t felt like his lungs were on fire. Even when his body begged for air, he steadied his mind and continued to hold his breath for another fifteen seconds. When he finally came up for air, he noticed he'd been the last one to do so. It had always been that way. His new recruits were all treading water around him, some gasping for air, others easily swimming. He'd taken stock of who had come up first and the order that the other seven recruits had come up.

“Jones.” He nodded towards the skinny kid. “Dry off, change, and be in my office in five. The rest of you, take ten laps and call it a day.” He hated letting the kid go, but so far, his record wasn't impressive. You had to be made of stronger stuff and the hundred-and-thirty-pound twenty-two-year-old just didn't have what it took to be in the Coastguard. Sure, he'd worked hard for the last three years, but that didn't mean he was tough enough to handle an open ocean rescue.

Allen dried off and watched his recruits swimming laps in the Olympic-size swimming pool they used to train for water rescues. Finally, after a few minutes, he turned and walked towards his office. The kid was standing by his door looking like every other recruit had before he'd given them the news. The kid’s shoulders sank, his head hung low, and he avoided eye contact with Allen.

He hated telling kids that their life's dreams were being squashed. Only once in the last several years had he been wrong about someone. Terry O'Brian had been much like the kid standing before him now when Allen had given him the news that he wasn't cut out for the job. Terry had taken it badly, but the next year had shown back up on Allen's doorstep, fifty pounds heavier with bulging muscles, and his head firmly on his shoulders. He'd passed the yearlong classes with flying colors and had gone on to take a position in Alaska, one of the roughest jobs along the coast. Allen smiled. Maybe this kid could bounce back like Terry had, he thought, shutting his door behind them.

When he got off work, he decided a meal at the Golden Oar was in order. Sitting in the familiar room with the sounds of a crowd and the smells of wonderful food always lifted his spirits. By half way through his meal, he'd talked himself into believe cutting the kid loose was for the best. If he looked at it from one angle, he could have just saved his life.

After he'd eaten, he sat there and chatted with Iian a little. When he left, the snow was coming down in thick clumps. Already his truck was starting to slide on the hill when he went up towards Main Street. When he saw the light on in the bakery and Sara's small car sitting outside, he pulled over and parked behind it. He'd hate to think that she'd have any more car problems on a night like this.

Sara stood back and watched as her new appliances were being hooked up. The vents and fans had been installed yesterday, and now the two ovens sat beautifully below them. The ovens, one a gas six-burner with two ovens below, the other a double-stacked, double-wide convection oven, looked perfect along the stainless-steel-plated walls. Her new register was sitting on the countertop, but she decided she could unpack it at the last moment. It was the same she'd used at her last job. The new coffee machine and espresso machines sat along the back counter, ready to use. She figured she'd try those out soon, since she was dying for a caramel latte.

She still had so much to do in the front, but decided to take a break and watch the process. Looking around the large back room of her bakery, she smiled. The light yellow walls made the place look cheery. The shiny chrome worktables in the middle of the room gleamed in the daylight. She'd yet to unpack all her utensils; they sat in several boxes in the corner, out of the way. The huge mixer sat on the opposite wall. It was an older model that she'd found used online, but it looked and ran like new. The shelving that would hold her dry supplies still had to be put together. They sat in large boxes pushed up against the back wall. She planned on putting them together herself later that night.

Her sister stood beside her, looking bored. Becca had wanted to come down and help her today, but so far all she'd done was text her friends. It took the men less than half an hour to have everything set up. When she walked over and tested the units, they kicked on and she couldn't wait to bake something in them. She was still waiting for her refrigerators, which would line the wall to the left, but everything else had been delivered and setup. When the men left, she walked over and took one of the boxes from the corner and placed it on the worktable.

“Becca, you can help me out by unpacking my utensils. They hang on the hooks here.” She showed her sister the hooks hanging above the workspace. “That box,” she pointed to the other box along the wall, “is full of knives and they go on the magnets there.” She pointed towards the long magnetic holders that hung above the cutting table. “Be careful, they are very sharp. I'm going to finish up front. If you have any questions, let me know.”

She watched her sister set her phone down on the worktable and open the box. Becca still looked bored as she got to work, but she knew her sister would do her best to have everything in place.

When she walked back into the front room, she was greeted by the two smiling face of Allison and Conner just outside the front door. She rushed to open it for her friend.

“Wow, look at what you've done so far. The place looks wonderful!” Allison said as she wiped her snow-covered boots on the large mat that Sara had set out. It was just an overly large black work mat, but it kept the floors clean for now. She planned to buy a better looking one for when she opened the doors.

“
Thank you. Would you like a tour?” Sara reached over and grabbed Conner from Allison's arms. The little boy had his arms reached out for her and the second she held him, his chubby fingers reached up and intertwined with her dark curly hair.

“I'd love one.” Allison hung her coat on the coat rack Sara had placed by the front door. She planned to replace it with hooks that would line the wall next to the door. For now, the coat rack and her small desk and folding chair were the only furniture in the large front room besides her display cases.

“Actually, maybe you can help me out.” Sara turned to her friend.

“Sure, anything.” Allison looked eager.

“I need some tables and chairs and possibly a couch for this room. I don't want anything new, since I think most people in town appreciate a little history. I was planning on hitting the antique stores in Edgeview this weekend. If you have a free day, maybe you'd like to go with me, since it is what you did before you became a world-famous artist.” Sara smiled at her friend.

Allison laughed. “World famous, huh? I'd love to go shopping with you. Let me text Iian and make sure he can schedule a day at home with our little joy here.” Allison tickled her son’s stomach and was rewarded with a fit of giggles. While Sara tried to hold the wiggly boy, Allison text her husband and arranged it all.

“There, we're all set. Saturday, I'm all yours. I can't wait. I haven't been antiquing since…well, since I ran Adam's Antiques.” Allison laughed.

“Do you miss it?” Sara set Conner down and watched him run circles around the room. Looking up at Allison, she saw a tear slip down her friend’s face. “Oh, no. Don't do that.” She rushed to her friend’s side. “I didn't mean to make you sad.”

“You didn't.” Allison smiled. “Seeing this old place being fixed up, it does me good knowing that it will be used again. I have nothing but fond memories of this place. Of my parents and of Abby during happier days.”

Allison's sister Abby had died; cancer had taken her quickly after they'd graduated high school. They’d lost their father a few years before, and Abby and Allison had pretty much taken over the family business. The antique store had shut down a few years back when Allison's art career had rocketed to huge proportions.

“I'm sorry.” Sara knew what her friend had gone through back then.

Allison spun in a slow circle, much like her son was still doing. “It makes me happy knowing you're turning this place into something great again. It's sat empty for too long.” She was smiling when she stopped. “I can't wait to see it all when it's finished.”

Sara smiled. “Let me show you the kitchen. You'll get a kick out it. They just finished installing my stoves.”

Allison picked up her son and they started walking to the back room. When she swung open her new doors, she was shocked to see her sister in a heated embrace. She recognized Nick Becker and coughed loudly, watching as the pair jumped apart. Hearing Allison giggle behind her, she straightened her shoulders and tried to stifle a smile. She needed to keep tighter reigns on her sister, as it was beginning to look more and more like her mother wouldn't do it.

“Becca, I'm sure Nick has other things he needs to be doing. I know you do.” She turned to Allison, dismissing the couple as she started talking about everything that she'd done in the back room.

After Allison left, Becca made some excuse and said she was heading home, which left Sara alone in the store. She didn't mind being alone. Actually, it was the first time she'd been left alone in the place since she'd taken possession.

She had a dozen or more emails she had to reply to. Her menus were completed and she'd emailed the company with her approval and order. Her website was almost done and she had emailed the designer a photo of herself. Now all she needed was pictures of some of her creations and an image of the building. She was waiting to take that picture until after her sign was delivered next week. Then there were the emails to her suppliers. By the time she was done, her head was a little dull and it was full dark outside the large front windows. She still had to put the shelves together in the kitchen, and was excited to use the new tools she'd purchased just for this occasion.

She was about to shut her laptop down when she was notified of a new email. Opening it without a thought, she was shocked when an old image of herself crossed the screen. The picture had been taken almost five years ago, just after she'd moved away from Pride. Her hair was shorter then and she had an extra ten pounds on. But what shocked her and made her hands shake was that the image had been altered. Her head was pasted on someone else’s body, a very naked body. Red splashes had crossed the woman's wrists and naked breasts. Her legs were at an odd angle, thanks to editing software. All in all, whoever had altered it had done a terrible job. But the meaning was clear. Sara's hands shook as she picked up her phone and punched the number she knew by heart.

“Detective Price.”

“Hello, Detective. It's Sara. I just received another email.”

“Sara? Are you okay?”

“Yes, I'm fine. There's just a picture this time.”

“I'm sorry. Forward it to me if you would. Do you want me to send someone down there?”

“No. I'm fine. Besides, we already talked to Robert. He knows what's going on. I just thought I'd let you know before I sent this one to you.”

“Thanks for calling. If you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know.”

“I won't. Have a wonderful Christmas.”

“You, too.”

Sara hung up the phone and an image of Detective Price’s face came to mind. The man was old enough to be her father. He had kind green eyes and more hair on his chin than on his head. But he'd been there for her the last three years as she’d dealt with the horrors of a madman.

Forwarding the image to his email, she looked at the image and frowned. She didn't remember having that picture taken of her. She didn't doubt it had been snapped at some party or even at her workplace. The more she looked at the image, the more frustrated she became. She'd hoped she had escaped all the madness by moving home again. But now, it looked like she was destined to be afraid for the rest of her life. Or until he finally made a move. Which according to everything the internet had to say about situations like this, they almost always did.