 
# A Dash of Love

## Jill Sanders

### Contents

Summary

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Epilogue

Also by Jill Sanders

About the Author

# Summary

_Head back to Pride Oregon to find out what some of your favorite Jill Sanders' characters are up to._

* * *

Sara Jordan has finally been given the chance to run the Golden Oar, a restaurant that's been in her family for generations. But the sexy know-it-all carpenter that her uncle hired to make some changes keeps getting in her way. She'll have to use all her skills just to prove that she's up to the task.

* * *

Parker Clark was hired to bring new life to the old building, but he hadn't expected sparks to fly from the owner's niece. As a series of mysterious accidents plagues the jobsite, he finds himself working one-on-one with the temptress to avoid losing everything.

# Prologue

Parker watched Robin leave the restaurant and knew he'd been a fool, again. Dating sucked. It sucked even more when you were stuck in a town where everyone pretty much knew everyone else's history.

He nursed the rest of his beer as he watched people in the bar come and go. His dead-end job was a sore spot in his life. He loved what he did but hated being tied to a business where he didn't have more control over the jobs he took.

He'd dreamed of owning his own construction business. He had the talent and skill but lacked the funds to start things off.

What he needed was a fresh start. Someplace nice, someplace different. One thing was for sure—he was done dating for a while.

The sound of his phone ringing shook him out of his depression for a moment, especially when he saw his grandmother's face pop up on the screen.

The woman had given up so much to raise him after his mother had bugged out of his life when he was five. His mother, a junkie hooked on whatever drug she could get her hands on, had at least had the decency to leave him with the one woman he'd loved unconditionally.

"What's up pretty lady?" His grandmother loved flattery.

"Parker?" From the sound of his grandmother's voice, he knew something was wrong.

"Gran?" He dumped some bills on the table and got up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, son, I hoped... I wanted... More time." Her words were slurred, and he could hear that her breathing was labored.

"Gran?" He ran from the building now, pulling the keys for his truck from his back pocket.

"I couldn't stop...." She was crying and he instantly knew who his grandmother was talking about.

His mother had been making more frequent visits in the past few months, cleaning out his grandmother's purse of any cash she had on hand. He'd warned his grandmother not to keep any money on her, but the older woman didn't believe in credit cards. She worried that someone would get the numbers and steal all of her and her late husband's savings.

"Are you okay?" he asked again as he pulled out of the parking lot quickly. His tires squealed on the wet cement, but he didn't care. His grandmother's house was less than five miles away. He prayed he could get there fast enough.

"I love you," his gran said, her voice barely loud enough to hear now. Her breathing had turned sporadic.

As he drove, he vowed that whatever happened, his mother would pay for hurting the woman who'd raised him. The only woman who'd ever really loved him.

When he arrived, there were cop cars out in front of her place with their lights on. Without even turning off his engine, he rushed forward and ran straight through the open front door.

Two officers tried to hold him back, but he pushed through them while calling out for his grandmother.

As if in slow motion, his eyes scanned the front room, searching for her. Broken glass and lamps and upturned furniture filled the always-perfect sitting area.

He noticed his gran's slippers on the floor and looked over to the edge of the sofa, where he saw her bare feet.

Pushing his way through the police as tears rained down his face, he knelt next to his grandmother and reached for her hand.

"Parker." His gran smiled up at him, her hand reaching up towards him. "I love you, remember that always."

"No," he cried out repeatedly as her eyes slid closed.

"Sir, we need to move her," someone said to him. He didn't want to let go of her hand, but he knew she needed help. He nodded and moved back as they gently moved her. She cried out softly and her eyes opened once more. She smiled over at him as they rolled her out of the house.

"Sir, we'll need you to answer some questions."

He nodded again as he wiped the tears from his face.

"My mother." He turned to the man. "Joanne Clark," he said without being asked. He turned to the police officer and, suddenly, his fear and worry were replaced by pure anger.

# 1

One year later...

Parker stood outside the massive old building and smiled. The possibilities for improving the outside were endless. Inside, well, he'd get a look at it next. But for now, he rolled his ideas over in his mind as a light rain fell in the place he now called home.

Choosing the small town of Pride to start over and open his business in, had been an easy one. He had his Oregon contractor's license and wanted to stay in his home state. He had spent almost three months driving up and down the coastline, looking for the right place. Then one day he'd gotten a flat tire on his new truck and had to pull off the highway.

The picturesque town with its small shops and beautiful old buildings had given him plenty to do that first day as he waited for the new tire to be put on his truck. He'd walked into the grocery store and fallen in love with the place.

He'd grabbed up every real estate flyer and brochure he could find. Within a month, he'd moved his belongings into a small cottage along the coast. The old owners had let him live in the house until the official closing date, which had been less than a week later. There were plenty of things he had to do to fix up the place, but that made him love it even more.

One of the first things he'd done after settling in was create his own business flyer and post it in the grocery store, the library, and every other business in town. He'd spent a day walking around and talking to other business owners, getting to know the people of Pride.

Now, Clark's Construction was officially open for business. He'd enjoyed his chat with the grocery store owner, Patty O'Neil, that first day. The older woman had eyed him up and down until finally she had smiled and slapped him on the shoulder and exclaimed that he'd fit right in.

After that, it had taken less than a week to start getting calls for small jobs. But this job would be his biggest to date.

Remodeling the Golden Oar restaurant would ensure that Clark's Construction had a future in the town and, more importantly, that _he_ did. He was even more determined to get the job after seeing the outside of the place.

After jotting down a few of his ideas for the outside of the family restaurant, he stepped through the double doors and glanced around. He'd come early for the meeting with Iian Jordan, the owner, so he could get a feel for the place first. Thankfully, it was between the lunch and dinner rush and the dining area was pretty much empty.

Most of the staff were nowhere to be found and there were only six customers in the entire place at the moment.

Inside the door, his mind instantly got to work assessing the place.

He immediately noticed the beautiful oil paintings that hung on every available wall space. The colorful paintings depicted violent, stormy oceans, peaceful water scenes, colorful sunsets, and fishermen on their boats. Some paintings had underwater cities with merpeople swimming in the background. All were tastefully done and brought charm and character to the environment.

There was a large stone fireplace near the back of the dining room. A wall of glass overlooked the calm waters of the Pacific, providing guests a shockingly beautiful view while they waited for their food. From where he stood, Parker could see all the way up the coastline.

The tables were set with candles, small flower vases, cloth napkins, and paper placemats. Fishing nets, oars, and other nautical items hung on the walls, giving the place character.

He walked further into the room and noticed the painting above the stone fireplace. The mermaid was beautiful. Her green eyes mesmerized him, drawing him closer.

She was poised as if she were daydreaming, staring off to some distant place as she ran a shell comb through the long blonde tresses that covered most of her ample chest. Her tail was a vibrant green that matched her eyes, which sparkled and caught his eye.

He had to tear his attention from the beauty when a hostess asked if she could seat him.

"No, thanks, I'll just have a seat at the bar." He nodded towards the bar across the room. There was a wall of glass between the main dining area and the bar, breaking up the flow of the room.

"If you need anything..." She smiled at him and went back to looking down at her phone.

The place was outdated, even if it was very well maintained. He estimated that it hadn't been remodeled in over twenty years.

"Hi, what can I get you?" a pretty brunette bartender asked when he sat down. She was young, but that didn't stop her from shooting flirtatious looks as she ran her eyes over him.

He'd still been scanning the restaurant and hadn't really noticed her until she spoke.

"Water." He smiled at her and set his binder down in front of him.

Seeing the name on the cover, she smiled. "You're here to talk to my dad?" she asked.

His eyebrows shot up. "Iian Jordan?" he asked.

Her smile grew, and she leaned against the bar, her black halter top dipping dangerously lower. "Yup, that's him. I'm Riley." She held out a hand for him to take.

"Parker Clark." He shook her hand easily. "It's a lovely place your family has here." He glanced around again, hoping that she'd get the hint that this was business.

"Thanks. I've been begging Dad for years to let us update it. Not that it isn't great how my grandparents decorated it back in the Stone Age." She chuckled. "But the younger population is slowly taking over Pride and we want more. You know?" She got him a bottled water from a small fridge and set it down in front of him.

There was no way she was twenty-one. He'd guess seventeen or eighteen, if he had to wager. Seeing the way she moved and talked, he'd bet she had practiced the flirtatious moves in the mirror plenty of times before using them on customers.

"Should you be bartending?" he asked as he opened his water.

She laughed and leaned against the bar again, making sure to position herself just right so her cleavage was on display. She was attractive, but much too young for him to even consider doing anything about it.

"I'll be twenty-one someday." She leaned closer. "Besides, who's counting?" She winked, then her eyes moved past him, and her smile changed. "It looks like your meeting is going to start early."

He turned and saw a very tall, broad-shouldered man walk in. He had a frown on his face, and his eyes matched his daughter's eyes perfectly.

"What do you think you're doing?" the man said in a clear voice. He marched behind the bar and looked down at Riley. Parker had heard all about Iian Jordan from Patty.

"Getting Mr. Clark here some water." Riley nodded to his bottle with a smile. "Parker Clark, my father, Iian Jordan." She used sign language as she spoke to her father.

Parker stood and held out his hand for the man. There were several things he'd learned about Iian Jordan before agreeing to the meeting. One, the man was deaf. He'd read in one of the many interviews of the somewhat-famous chef that he had lost his hearing in a boating accident on his eighteenth birthday. He'd lost his father in the same accident. The second thing he'd learned from Patty was that Iian read lips very well. Lastly, he'd learned that he was very protective of his family, including his many nephews and nieces.

"Riley was very helpful," Parker said as Iian reached across the bar and shook his hand.

"I wasn't expecting you for half an hour yet," Iian said easily.

"I wanted to come early and take a look around." He made sure to face Iian when he spoke.

"Good." Iian took his daughter's shoulders and nudged her out from behind the bar.

"I'm sure Jacob needs your help in the back," Iian said.

"Jacob can..." Riley stopped when Iian gave her a fatherly look. "It was nice to meet you." Riley smiled in his direction.

They watched her go and when Iian turned back towards him, he sighed. "When did she grow up?" He motioned for Parker to take a seat at one of the booths.

Parker grabbed his binder and sat across from him. Iian Jordan didn't look like he was old enough to be Riley's father. There were streaks of silver along his temple and above his ears, but other than that, the man looked like he was in his early thirties.

"I hear you're new to town?" Iian, much like his daughter, was sizing him up. He could tell the man was trying to gauge what kind of businessman he was.

"Yes," he said and nodded as well.

"What brings you to Pride?"

"Work, hopefully." He was evading answering completely, but he knew to keep his answers short. "It's a picturesque town. I'd like to think I can make it even more beautiful."

Something changed in Iian's eyes and the man smiled. "I heard you helped Patty make some repairs in the back of the store."

"Yes, she needed a new freezer put in and a utility sink in the butchery," he answered.

Iian nodded. "I had a look at the job you did. I was impressed."

"Thank you." Parker smiled. "I've done a few other small jobs if you'd like more references?"

Iian shook his head. "No, why don't you tell me what you have in mind for this place." He nodded to the restaurant.

A little over an hour later, Parker walked back out of the building. He would have skipped, if he hadn't been sure someone would see him. Instead, he did a quick fist pump once he was back inside his truck.

Iian Jordan's handshake would have to do until the contracts and pricing were agreed on. Parker would be tied to his computer for the next week as he came up with the architectural design for his ideas. That was plenty of time to get the job done before his next meeting with Iian, where they would agree on exactly what was going to be done.

He made a quick stop at the grocery store for a few supplies to ensure that he didn't starve when he locked himself away to work on the design.

He was walking on cloud nine as he made his way through the store. He was so focused on planning the remodel in his mind that he didn't notice the woman until he bumped solidly into her.

The box of Ding Dongs that she had a hold of went flying up in the air as she reached out for something, anything, to steady herself.

He dropped his own basket of items and reached for her just as the box of chocolate cakes hit him squarely in the forehead.

When he finally felt steady again, the first thing he noticed was a pair of sexy sea-green eyes looking up at him.

He blinked a few times to try and clear his mind, but there, lying on the floor of the grocery store, was the sexy mermaid from above the fireplace at the Golden Oar. Anger filled her eyes, turning them an even darker shade of green.

Sara's butt hurt, bad, as she glared up at the man who'd bumped into her. She'd been on her normal Saturday evening snack run and so focused on figuring out what movie she and her cousin Lilly were going to watch tonight that she hadn't been paying attention. She and Lilly had been making their way through all the black-and-white classics her folks owned on DVD, and Sara was determined to get through each and every one of them by the beginning of summer.

She'd been so focused on making a decision that she hadn't been paying attention at all. But she wasn't going to tell that to tall, tan, and sexy, who was currently looking down at her like she was on the dessert menu.

"That hurt," she complained as she continued to sit on the hard tile floor of aisle three.

Her words seemed to shake him out of the stupor he'd been in. He reached down for her just as she moved to stand up. Their foreheads collided, and she ended up back on the floor, this time grabbing her head instead of her ass.

"Damn it." She hissed.

"My god." Finally, he spoke. His voice was sexier than she'd imagined.

This time, he reached down, placed his hands under her arms firmly, and helped her stand up. He was taller than she'd thought. His hair was cut short, almost military style. The dark shirt he was wearing was tight around his muscular arms, making her mouth water instantly. She imagined briefly what it would feel like to be held in them.

"Are you okay?" he asked. His voice woke her from her daydreams.

She made a show of dusting off her black yoga pants, which made her remember how she was dressed. She tried not to groan at her attire. She straightened, threw her shoulders back, and tossed up her chin.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you to watch where you're going?" Why had she said that? God! She was being such a bitch.

Instead of getting offended, the man smiled at her. Slowly, he bent down and picked up the box of Ding Dongs she had grabbed.

"Maybe if you have these, you'll give me a second chance at a first impression?" He handed her the box and she hugged it to her chest like a lifeline.

Her eyes narrowed. Why was he in such a good mood? She'd just thrown a box of Ding Dongs at his head, bumped him in the forehead, and yelled at him. He should be pissed, but instead, he was smiling at her like she was the best thing he'd seen all day.

"I can be cross when I'm hangry too," he added as he picked up his own basket of items.

"I heard the crash." Patty O'Neal came hobbling around the corner. The woman had once been very large, but when Sara was young, she'd lost almost all of the weight. In the past month she'd undergone full knee replacement on her left knee and was moving around better than before the surgery.

"We're okay," she told Patty, so the woman wouldn't worry and slip on the tile floor and hurt herself. "Just had a bump in." She walked past the man, still keeping an eye on him as she went by.

At the check-out stand, she wasn't surprised to find the man behind her as she waited.

"I'm sorry," he said after a moment. "I hope you're not hurt."

She turned slightly and glared at him. "No harm," she finally admitted, her eyes running up and down him. When she spotted a red mark on his forehead from where the box of Ding Dongs had hit him, she winced.

"I'm Parker, by the way."

Her eyes narrowed slightly at him. She'd never seen him before in town, and she knew everyone in Pride. Everyone.

"Visiting?" she asked.

"No, I moved here a little over a week ago," he answered.

She tilted her head slightly and gauged him again. A newcomer. Questions flooded her mind.

"Sara!" Carol, the clerk, waved her ahead.

She handed the box of treats over and tried to ignore the new guy standing behind her. It was then that she realized she'd forgotten her purse in her Jeep.

"Can you just add that to my tab?"

"I've got this," Parker jumped in. "Just add it to my bill."

He handed her the box and started putting his own items onto the belt.

She sighed, feeling guilty for being cross with him. "Well, thanks," she said and made a hasty retreat.

Jumping into her Jeep, she pulled open the box and shoved a treat into her mouth. Skipping lunch had been a bad idea. Especially after the early morning swim and the game of basketball with her cousins. She could never turn down Conner and Jacob. The boys looked so much like her favorite uncle, Iian, that she had too much of a soft spot for them. Besides, she loved a good sporting game and enjoyed trying to beat the brothers, even if she hadn't had a chance in hell. The fact that they were both well over six foot and she stood a measly five foot five inches, like her mother, didn't stop her from trying to whoop their asses on the court.

She was reaching for another treat when a knock on her window caused her to jump.

Parker stood outside her window, smiling at her.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

She shoved another treat into her mouth and nodded, then gave him a thumbs-up and started her Jeep.

As she drove away from the parking lot, she thought she heard him laughing.

Pulling into the house, she shoved the third cake into her mouth and finally felt human again. Okay, she really needed something other than a sugary snack to satisfy her. Her blood sugar had leveled off and now she wanted real food. Maybe she'd convince Lilly to order pizza.

Taking the box of treats with her, she walked up to the front door and didn't bother with knocking.

"Lilly?" she called out.

"In the kitchen," her cousin yelled back.

Where Sara was blonde with fair skin and sea-green eyes like her mother, Lilly had taken after her own mother, Sara's aunt Lacey. Lilly's thick, dark hair was something Sara had always loved, especially the slight curl it had. Sara's own hair was straight and extremely fly-away.

Sara walked into the kitchen near the back of the house and smiled as her stomach growled.

"Pizza." She walked over and sniffed the pepperoni pizza Lilly had just pulled from the oven.

"I'm starved," Lilly said as she cut the pizza. "I thought we could have a pie while we watch _Monkey Business_."

Sara laughed. "You read my mind, cousin." She gave Lilly a hug as she reached across and snagged a slice of pizza. "I ran into someone new in town today," she said, sitting down at the bar before biting into the slice.

"Oh? Is he cute?"

Sara shook her head. "No, cute is not a word I'd use." She thought about how sexy Parker was. The man had gotten her juices flowing with just one look.

"Oh?" Lilly walked over and stood across from her, leaning on the counter as she nibbled on her pizza.

"Tall, tan, dark brown puppy-dog eyes, and sexy as hell."

"Mmm, sounds like a perfect distraction."

Sara chuckled. "I doubt Dylan would be happy to hear you say that."

Lilly had secretly been in love with Dylan Bishop since the second grade.

"Dylan doesn't even know that I'm alive." Lilly sighed.

"That proves what you know and what you don't." Sara laughed at her cousin. She was looking forward to the rest of the night, and she tried to forget all about what a stranger had done to her in aisle three of the grocery store.

# 2

Parker sat at the same table in the Golden Oar a little over a week later. He stopped his knee from bouncing nervously for the second time in the last five minutes as Iian looked at his laptop screen and scrolled his mouse through the images.

He was confident in his ideas. Positive they would enhance the restaurant. Of course, he'd taken lots of notes as Iian had described what he wanted for the place. Parker's ideas had fallen closely in line with his, but still, he needed to make sure Iian liked everything.

He remained silent as Iian scanned the images he'd toiled over for the past week. Did the man know that both his business future and his future in Pride hung on what he thought? When Iian finally looked up, there was a smile on his lips.

"I love it," he said.

Parker's eyebrows shot up. "All of it?"

"Every detail. I wouldn't change a thing." He reached up and shut his laptop.

"Really?" He tried to cover up his insecurities by nodding. "Wonderful," he finally said. "When are you thinking of having me start?"

"Well, can I let you in on a secret?" Iian leaned forward slightly.

"Sure." He nodded and mimicked the man's move.

"It's our anniversary, my wife and mine, next week. I'm taking her on a month-long sabbatical to Europe. We're going to do it all: Ireland, England, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, and ending up in Greece. Every place she's ever wanted to go." He leaned back and glanced around. "I was hoping to have the majority of it done by the time we get back. Which means I won't be around to check in on the progress."

Parker's eyebrows had slowly gone up. If the man wasn't going to be around the entire time he was working, that could cause some problems.

"Wow, congratulations. I'm sure your wife will enjoy the trip. Are you planning on leaving a manager in charge?" he asked.

Iian sighed. "Well, sort of. My niece has been slowly taking over when I'm not around, which has been happening more often lately. She's been waiting for an opportunity like this to show me what she's made of. Most of the dining hall will be closed off in sections, which means she'll have her work cut out for her."

Parker thought about the logistics of the situation. "Will you give her power to agree to any changes if issues should arise?"

"Some, but I'd like to stick as close to this as possible." He tapped Parker's laptop.

"I can do that." He smiled and reached across to shake the man's hand.

"Speak of the devil." Iian chuckled and stood up. Parker glanced back to where Iian was looking and stilled.

There, walking into the bar area, was the sexy blonde he'd bumped into at the grocery store. Today, instead of tight yoga pants, she was wearing a short black skirt with a soft gray sweater. She had on ankle-high black boots with a slight heel and he noticed, just as in the store, she walked into the room like she had a mission.

"Uncle Iian," the woman said as she walked into the man's waiting arms. "I'm here. What did you need to see me about that was so important?" She signed along as she spoke.

As he stood up, her eyes traveled past her uncle and landed directly on him. Her entire demeanor changed, causing him to smile as he made his way towards her.

Bumping into the blonde had been the highlight of his time in Pride. Seeing the spark in her eyes when he'd tried to help her up off the floor had caused his heart rate to spike.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him, her tone making it clear he wasn't welcome.

He was pretty sure she'd turned her back on her uncle so that he wouldn't know what she'd said.

"Nice to meet you," he held out his hand, making a point to speak clearly so Iian would understand. "I'm Parker Clark, Clark Construction. Your uncle has just hired me to handle the remodeling of the Golden Oar."

"Remodeling?" Her voice pitched, and she turned on her uncle. Instead of speaking, she used sign language to, no doubt, voice her concerns to her uncle privately.

He didn't understand what she was saying, but by the way she was throwing her hands and body around as she did it, he guessed that she wasn't pleased with the new information.

"Why don't we all sit down," Iian finally said, putting his hands firmly on his niece's shoulders.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get your full name," Parker said after watching Iian practically push the woman into a chair.

Her eyes were still narrowed at him. "Sara Jordan," she said quickly. "I don't like you coming in here, pushing my uncle to—" Iian's hand was back on her arm lightly.

"I called Parker here, after talking to Patty and seeing the excellent job he'd done at her place. It's time this old building got some updates. We barely passed the last inspection." He sighed and leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. "As it is, I'm afraid it might catch on fire once Parker starts work."

Parker almost jumped in to assure Iian that he was always very careful, but the look the man gave him told him he wasn't really concerned, but instead trying to persuade his niece of the importance.

There were a few items they had agreed on in their first meeting that needed to be dealt with to make sure the place was up to code, but nothing that was very threatening.

"Is it really that bad?" she asked, using sign language as well as speaking along.

"It could easily get that way. The old place has needed a makeover for years. This is my chance, since we'll be out of town. Besides, to make things easier on you, I'm thinking of cutting back the hours to only dinner."

A small gasp escaped Sara. "That's drastic. So many people in Pride depend on this place for breakfast and lunch."

"I wouldn't want to overwhelm you on your first month alone," Iian added.

"Month?" Sara's eyebrows rose.

Iian filled his niece in on his plans. Parker could see the love and excitement in Sara's eyes when he mentioned the surprise trip for his wife. He listened as they planned how to surprise Allison.

Slight jealousy surfaced from seeing how close the family was. He'd always dreamed of being part of something bigger. Not that his gran hadn't showed him enough love, but his mother had always pulled in the opposite direction.

"We can finish this later," Iian finally jumped in. "I'm sure Parker doesn't need more of his time wasted."

"I appreciate the chance." He nodded.

"Can I see what it is exactly you have planned for the place?" Sara asked, her voice a little softer than before.

"I'm sure he'll go over things with you." Iian stood. "I have to make sure everything's ready for the lunch rush." Parker stood and shook his hand. "If you need anything, let me know. As it is, you can start work first thing Monday morning."

"I'll make all the preparations." He watched the man leave, then turned back to Sara, who had remained seated and was watching him closely. Sitting back down, he opened his laptop and turned it around. "Here's what we have."

Much like her uncle, she was quiet as she scanned through the plans. However, instead of looking pleased, she had a slight frown on her lips. Lips that happened to be painted a soft pink. His eyes returned to them over and over.

"You're taking out this wall?" She pointed to the screen. Since she was sitting opposite of him, he stood up and slid into the booth next to her. Seeing the screen, he smiled.

"Yes." He looked up at the wall in question. "The flow of the room will be better without it. Besides, in cases of emergency, having this area open will make it a lot safer."

"What about the fireplace?" she said after a moment of silence. "You don't show it here."

"Here." He leaned closer and clicked the screen until the right image showed up. "It's still there. We'll remove the old cracked and outdated stones, put in some new tile and paint. With the color your uncle picked out for the walls, the tile should really pop." In his mind, he could see the finished product.

He was so preoccupied with his daydreams, he didn't realize how close he was to Sara until she shifted slightly and her leg brushed up against his, sending his mind in a different direction.

Sara could feel her entire body react to Parker's closeness. Her heart skipped, the palms of her hands grew sweaty, and she nibbled her bottom lip nervously. All basic signs that the man had her libido skyrocketing.

Purposely leaning away from him, she jutted her chin up and took several breaths to clear him out of her system.

"What color?" she finally asked.

"Hmm?" Parker turned, and she found herself looking deep into those dark eyes of his.

"What color will the walls be?" Sara didn't like change. The Golden Oar had been the same for as long as anyone could remember. Everyone in town loved it for what it was, a piece of history. She didn't want the place to change.

Once, when she'd been in third grade, her parents had repainted her room. Even though she loved the soft pink color, it had taken her almost five years to stop complaining about it.

She still drove the same old clunker her father had purchased for her when she'd gotten her license. The old Jeep was in great shape but still had more issues than a newer car would.

"It's called Amazing Gray." He opened the binder sitting next to his laptop and there were several color samples.

She glanced through them and, even though she liked the color, she was still leery of the change.

Just then, she heard Parker's stomach growl loudly. Her own stomach responded with its own softer sound.

"Why don't we order some food, my treat?" He waved Carrie, one of the full-time waitresses, over. Carrie was easily one of the prettiest people in town. Her vibrant red hair was long, full, and curly, and her skin and makeup always looked perfect. Sara had always been jealous of the woman, even though they were close friends.

"Hi, Sara." Carrie smiled, her eyes scanning over Parker like he was a chunk of meat and she was starving. Sara had heard that Carrie had just broken up with her on-again, off-again longtime boyfriend, Joshua. Rumor was that she was looking for a long-term relationship while Joshua wasn't. "Hi," she added for Parker's benefit. By the way Carrie was eyeing Parker, she guessed that she'd moved on. "What can I do for you?" Carrie practically purred it.

"What's good?" Parker turned to her.

"Everything." She chuckled. "Carrie, I'll have the fish and chips."

"Make that two," Parker jumped in. "And some iced tea." He glanced over at her, his dark eyebrows up slightly.

"Sprite," she said. Carrie's hips swayed more than usual as she walked away, but Parker hadn't been watching. His eyes were still on her.

"Iian is your uncle." It wasn't a question, but she waited for him to say more. "Tell me a little more about your family."

He remained sitting next to her, instead of returning to his side of the booth, which didn't go unnoticed.

"Yes, Iian is my uncle. My father—Todd—and Iian are brothers. They have a sister, Lacey. She used to run this place, but since she became the mayor of Pride, she only comes in once or twice a month, when she has time."

"Your aunt is the mayor? That's exciting." He leaned back, his arm brushing up against hers. Suddenly, the booth felt smaller. "I met Riley last week. I guess she's one of your cousins."

"Yes, one of the twins."

Parker's eyebrows shot up. "She's a twin?"

"Her brother Jacob wants to be a fireman." She smiled and relaxed slightly. "They graduate next year."

"Are they only children?"

"No, they have an older brother, Conner, who's nineteen, no twenty now."

He nodded and remained silent for a moment. "What about you? Any brothers or sisters?"

"One of each. My older brother Matt works with my dad. Susannah, my younger sister, is in Portland for school." She turned slightly to him, unsure of why she was suddenly so comfortable around him.

"You love them," he said, as if answering her own internal question. "It shows in your eyes." When he reached up and gently brushed a finger down her arm, she stilled. It was on the tip of her tongue to scold him for being so familiar with her, but just then, Carrie showed up with their drinks and salads.

"What about you?" she asked once they were alone again. "Any siblings?"

"No, I wasn't lucky enough," he said between sips.

She chuckled. "Some days, I'd wished I'd been as lucky as you."

"Why didn't you head up to Portland?" he asked.

"I did for a while. My associate's degree diploma is hanging in my father's office collecting dust."

"Not for you?"

"This is where I belong." She looked around and smiled. For as long as she could remember, she'd dreamed of taking over here. She loved the hustle and bustle of the dinner rush, the calm of the times between rushes, managing the crew and staff. Not to mention the freedom that came with working with family and friends. "I've always wanted to manage this place."

"Oh?"

"I could sit here all day and watch people I know and love come and go." She nodded towards the dining room, which would be full of townspeople in less than half an hour. "What about you? What brought you to Pride?"

"Work," he'd replied quickly. She could tell that there was something else.

"So, you came to the small town of Pride to start your own business? Because working in the city wasn't a better prospect?"

He chuckled. "I've lived in cities. I like small towns better."

"Why Pride?"

"Why not?" he responded.

"Are you being..." She didn't get any further since Carrie walked over and set their food in front of them. Sara noticed the extra bright smile she gave Parker and tried to hide her chuckle as the woman walked away, hips swaying again.

"What?" Parker asked, looking at her sideways.

"Nothing." She shook her head as she poured a massive amount of ketchup on her plate. He surprised her by nudging her leg and waiting. "It's just... Carrie is recently back on the market." She nodded to the waitress when he looked at her like he didn't know who Carrie was.

Then his eyes moved across the room to where she stood at the bar, waiting for an order of drinks.

Sensing someone was looking at her, she glanced around and caught Parker's eye. She smiled brightly.

"Oh." Parker shrugged and stuck a French fry in his mouth.

"Oh?" She set the piece of fish down. "Just oh?"

"What more do you want me to say?" he asked, shoveling some more fries in.

"For starters, how about asking me for her number?"

"Why?" He frowned at her.

"You are straight, right?" she asked, feeling a little frustrated. "I mean..." She nodded to Carrie again, as if the pretty redhead was enough explanation herself.

"Is there something I'm missing? I mean, do I have to be automatically attracted to every pretty woman within five feet?"

She shrugged and tried to play it cool. "Pride is a small town." She shifted and reached for her fish again. "You'll understand once you've been here a while. Everyone expects..."

"What?" he asked when she stopped talking and shoved the fish into her mouth.

She figured she'd give the guy a chance to settle in before warning him about the matchmakers that made up half the town.

"Nothing," she said, taking a sip of her soda. "I suppose everyone will ask, but you are single, right?"

Once again, his eyebrows shot up. "You?"

"We're not talking about me," she added, feeling her face heat slightly at his gaze.

"I am," he answered, causing her face to flush even more as his eyes ran over her slowly.

"I'm not," she answered and instantly kicked herself for lying. Aiden hadn't even called her back after their last fiasco of a date. Besides, she'd told him more than a month ago that she needed space. Still, it had been a gut reaction to tell Parker that she wasn't free.

"Interesting." He wasn't reacting the way she'd expected. Instead of pulling away, he tilted his head and narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. "I think you're lying."

"What?" She almost choked on a fry.

"You don't strike me as a woman in love."

She swallowed some soda to clear her windpipe. "What has love got to do with being available?"

Hearing Parker laugh, really laugh, did something to her insides. The rich, smooth sound was like silk to her ears, causing her to smile along with him.

"You've obviously never been in love," he answered.

"And you have?" she asked, pushing her half-empty plate away.

"Three times," he answered more quickly than she expected.

"Three?" She chuckled and shifted to get a better look at him. "I can believe that. What happened?"

When his smile fell away, she wondered if she'd crossed a line.

"Not everything ends with 'and they lived happily ever after.'" He pushed his own plate aside and she noticed a look of pain in his eyes.

Reaching over, she laid her hand over his. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have joked."

"Why not?" She could tell he was trying to change the mood again. "I don't regret one minute of my life. How about you?"

There was plenty she regretted. The time she'd chopped her bangs off in seventh grade. Wearing the white dress to prom and then slipping and falling on the ice on the way into the gym. Letting Rory Collins take her virginity. The list was long, but sitting next to Parker, looking into those brown eyes, the only thing that really stood out in her mind was regretting telling him she wasn't available.

# 3

There was something behind those green eyes of Sara's that Parker couldn't get over.

He hadn't lied about not regretting things. His grandmother had raised him to look to the future, not toil over the past.

_"Where you've been in life molds you into the person you'll be tomorrow_ , _"_ she would often say.

So, even though he'd fallen hard and fast three different times and crawled away each time with a broken heart and, on one occasion, an empty bank account, he'd never looked back.

But Sara claiming to have never been in love and her hesitation to own up to being in a relationship told him the door was still open.

He wasn't looking for another roller-coaster ride of a relationship, but he couldn't deny the instant attraction he felt for her. And he knew she felt something too. It was right there, behind those sexy eyes of hers.

Glancing up, he noticed the redhead waving at Sara.

"It looks like you're needed." He nodded towards the bar. Carrie was desperately trying to get Sara's attention. He watched as the two women frantically signed across the space at one another.

"What was that about?" he asked when Carrie disappeared towards the front.

"Nothing." She glanced down at his plate, "Well, I have to..." She motioned for him to get out of the booth.

"Oh." He started to move but stopped when he noticed a tall dark-haired man quickly approaching their table, followed closely by Carrie.

"I tried to..." She stopped talking when the man arrived at their table.

"So, this is how it is?" The tone in the man's voice told Parker that this was who Sara was currently or had recently been involved with.

Parker stood quickly, since he wasn't sure if the man was going to pounce on him or not.

"Parker Clark." He held out his hand. "I was just meeting with Miss Jordan and her uncle about the work I'll be doing around here.

The man's chest seemed to deflate in front of him.

"Meeting?" he asked.

Sara slid out of the booth behind him. "What are you doing here, Aiden?" Sara crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the man.

"Betty had lunch here and she mentioned to my mother at the grocery store that she saw you snuggling in a booth with some man down at the Golden Oar." His eyes flew between them quickly. "When my mother told me—"

"Your first thought was to come down here and what? Bash someone's face in?"

"Well... no," he finally admitted, running his hand through his dark hair.

"Aiden, we both know..." Sara stopped talking and looked between the men. Then, without another word, she took Aiden's arm and pulled him towards the front door.

As soon as the pair was clear of the room, he gathered his belongings, paid his bill, and made his way out of the building. He was still in a good mood about Iian Jordan agreeing to his plans and because of the conversation he'd had with Sara.

Seeing the couple still arguing in the parking lot only reassured him that there was hope yet. He shoved his laptop and the binder with the samples in the back seat of his truck and tried not to overhear what they were saying.

He was just about to climb in the truck when hands spun him around and suddenly, Sara was plastered against him, her lips crushing his in a wild kiss with a heat he'd never felt before.

He only had time to register the softness of her lips before they were gone.

"See," she said angrily, turning away from him before he could lock eyes with her. "I'm free to kiss whomever I want, whenever."

"I'm warning you..." Aiden started as he moved closer to them.

Sara crossed her arms over her chest and threw her chin up. "What? What will you do?"

To his credit, the man stopped a few feet away from them. Parker saw his eyes turn sad. "You're playing with fire," he said in a low tone.

"Oh, and you weren't when you slept with Jenny?" she threw back.

At that point, Parker had ideas of quietly sliding into his truck and driving away, except he was still pretty much pinned between Sara and his door. If he moved, he was sure she'd spin on him and... well, he didn't know, but he didn't want to chance it.

So he stood there and listened to the argument. From what he could gather, Aiden had cheated on her, which had led to the couple taking a break. Aiden appeared to be under the assumption the hiatus was over. Sara was not.

"I told you... I didn't sleep with Jenny."

"No, you just finger banged her in the back seat of your car in this very parking lot." Sara's voice was surprisingly calm.

"Sara." Aiden made a move forward, but Sara threw up her hands.

"I think you need to go." Parker finally jumped in, after seeing that the situation wasn't going to solve itself anytime soon.

Sara turned on him and he got a full view of her green eyes. He'd expected anger, hurt, and pain. Instead, he could only see relief and a little annoyance. What was strange was that the annoyance was aimed at him instead of the guy who'd cheated on her.

Aiden took the hint though and took a step back. "We'll talk later, once you've calmed down." The man continued to back up as his eyes narrowed at him. He could tell that the guy was sizing him up.

They were similar in size, but Parker worked a physically demanding job every day and worked out, so he easily out-muscled the guy.

"Business meeting," Aiden mumbled as he turned around and walked away.

"So, that was your..." His eyebrows rose slightly as he let the question hang in the air. Aiden drove out of the parking lot, the rocks of the gravel crunching and spraying behind him.

Sara's eyes narrowed towards him as she took a step towards him. Heat flooded them and they turned emerald green. His own eyes locked and held there, enjoying the color change.

They had been sitting next to one another before, but now, looking down at her, he could just imagine how wonderful she would feel pressed up against him.

What would it feel like to kiss those lips again? This time he'd be in charge and take what he wanted. He'd make sure to go slower and a hell of a lot longer than before.

His eyes moved down to her lips and held there. He heard her breath hitch and smiled as she swayed slightly towards him. Reaching up, he held her shoulders gently to steady her.

"Are you okay?" he asked when she remained silent.

She surprised him by leaning a little closer as she spoke.

"Thanks for your... help." Her eyes dipped to his lips and his smile grew. "I'm sorry you had to witness that meltdown."

"It wasn't your fault." His fingers moved up and down her arms slowly.

The sound of a car entering the parking area seemed to wake her up, and she took a giant step back as his arms dropped to his sides.

She blinked a few times and glanced around. "Yeah, well... thanks" Shaking her head slightly, she turned and walked back into the restaurant without a glance back.

Sara watched through the windows as Parker drove away from the Golden Oar. What was she thinking? She leaned her head against the glass and sighed. Why had she kissed him?

Aiden had egged her on and, in truth, he'd asked for any pain it had caused him. After all, finding out that your boyfriend had cheated on you and the entire town knew it, was the worst kind of pain.

Not that they had made it to the next level in their relationship. They hadn't really committed to one another.

Looking back, it was clear that they were doomed from the start. Dating the sheriff's son wasn't something she'd planned on. They'd grown up together and she'd always had a thing for him, but now... friendship was the only possibility left between them.

Her mind wandered back to that kiss. She'd wanted to hurt Aiden and hadn't expected to get her socks knocked off when her lips touched Parker's.

"You okay?" Carrie asked from behind her. "My brother can be... well, a jerk."

"I'm fine." Sara wondered how much of the fight everyone in the restaurant had witnessed. Then she remembered the kiss again and groaned. "How was the show?"

Carrie chuckled and glanced around. There were only a handful of employees and guests in the place at the moment, but still, news would spread quickly that she'd kissed the new guy in town.

"So, how was it?" Her friend took her arm and led her towards the back.

"What?" She tried to play dumb but knew Carrie was too smart for it. Carrie gave her a look. "Fine," she lied, not wanting to go into details of how amazing the short kiss had been.

"It looked better than fine." Carrie sighed and plopped herself down on the old sofa in Iian's office. Even though her uncle didn't like employees using his office as a break room, everyone did anyway. Her uncle was too much of a softy towards his employees and family to make a big fuss about it.

Leaning against the desk that had been her great-grandfather's, she smiled. "The guy has sexy lips."

"That's not the only thing sexy on him." Carrie sighed and leaned her head back. "Did you see those arms?"

An image of them flashed in her mind and she smiled.

"I'd like to get my hands..." Carrie stopped when Iian walked into the room.

"What is this, a slumber party?" he signed to them both. He sat behind his desk, looking a little disgusted. She knew him too well to take him seriously and chuckled.

Most everyone who worked at the Golden Oar knew at least basic sign language. Carrie had worked there since her freshman year in school and knew more than most.

"Sara kissed Parker," Carrie signed, which earned her a look from Sara.

"Tattle-tale," she said, making sure to have her back towards her uncle.

"What?" Iian jerked his eyes towards her. "Why?"

"Oh, I don't know, Uncle. Maybe because he's hot," she said sarcastically.

"Damn it, Sara, the guy hasn't even started working yet. I don't need another relationship wrecking my business plans."

Iian glanced towards Carrie, who quickly stood up and walked out of the room without another word.

Joshua, Carrie's ex-boyfriend, had been a chef there, a damn good one, but after a messy breakup, which no one in town knew the details of, he'd packed up and moved out of Pride. He'd been gone almost a month now, and Carrie hadn't gotten back in the dating game since.

Then again, Sara wasn't looking forward to joining in the game either. Pride wasn't the smallest town in the world. In the past ten years, it had grown from a little more than a thousand to almost three thousand people. Still, the dating pool was very shallow. Most of the people her age had immediately left Pride after graduation.

People who moved to town tended to bring their significant others with them. Aiden was one of the few guys in her class to stick around.

"I just did it to get back at Aiden," she admitted. When it was just the two of them in the room, she didn't even bother speaking out loud. She'd grown up learning American Sign Language as a second language. Her folks had joked that she'd learned it long before she'd actually spoken her first words.

Iian seemed to take that in, his eyes scanning hers. Then a slow smile formed on his lips, one that she'd never seen on him before.

"You're the one who's going to be stuck dealing with him for a month."

"Don't remind me."

"Hey, you signed up for the job. If you're not ready—"

"No, I'm more than ready," she broke in. "You know that."

"Good." Iian leaned back and looked very relaxed behind the big desk. "Now, why don't you head in and see if everything is ready for the dinner rush. I've got some paperwork to catch up on before we leave."

Making her way through the kitchen, she was assured everything was in place by Chef Valerie, who had taken over as head chef when Iian wasn't there. The woman was older than everyone else who worked in the place but kept the employees on their toes and was so full of energy, sometimes the others complained that they couldn't keep up with her.

Sara wasn't working the evening shift so once everything was ready and the lunch rush was officially over, she clocked out, jumped in her Jeep, and headed home.

Living at your parents' house when you're coming up on your twenty-fourth birthday was a little depressing. Which is why she'd taken over one of the cabins at the family's bed and breakfast a few months back. The blue cabin was one of the farthest cabins from the main house. She'd only moved her clothes and computers in with her when she'd moved out of her childhood bedroom.

Her mother had tried to talk her out of moving out, but her father had appeased her by pointing out that Sara would be close enough to still eat her meals with them when she was home.

She'd thought about renting Patty's place above the grocery store, but currently there were renters in it, so she'd picked one of the small cabins with an incredible beach view.

Parking her Jeep beside her parents' sedan, she climbed out and thought about heading into the main house to see what her family was up to. But on the off chance they'd heard about the parking lot incident, she decided to head straight to her place and sulk. She had a carton of Rocky Road she could probably empty.

Shutting the door behind her, she glanced around the small cabin and groaned. Laundry and dishes needed to be done, as well as a general overall cleaning.

She leaned her head back on the door. She didn't want to focus on real life at the moment. Grabbing up her iPad, she took the container of ice cream and a spoon, snatched a light throw blanket, and headed for the beach.

The pathway that led her through the tall grass was well worn and would be lit after dark. Her brother and father had built new stairs and benches along the pathway a few years back. The electricity stretched from the farthest of the ten cabins, several of which had been built in her lifetime. The others had been remodeled shortly before her parents had started the business.

Her mother's brother, Matthew, had purchased the property long ago. Matthew and Sara's father, Todd Jordan, had been best friends. When Matthew had died in a car accident, her mother, Megan, had moved to Pride.

Once, when she was a child, Sara had overheard her parents talking about her mother's past. She knew that she'd been married to a man named Derrick who had been very abusive. When she'd been pregnant with Sara's brother, Matthew, named after his late uncle, her ex-husband had broken out of jail and kidnapped their mother. If it wasn't for her father, her mother may not have survived, and Sara and her brother and younger sister wouldn't be here.

Later, when she'd been in middle school, she'd overheard her parents talking about the man who'd almost killed their family before it had gotten started. Apparently, he'd died in a prison fight. It was the first time she'd heard her father curse.

_"The bastard finally picked a fight with someone bigger than him and got what he deserved," her father had said._

Sara settled in her favorite spot on the beach, a heavy piece of driftwood that had been smoothed out by years of rain and water hitting it and was perfectly shaped to her back. Tucking the blanket around her, she opened the ice cream and dug in as her eyes scanned to find her place in the book she was engrossed in.

A pint of ice cream and two chapters of her book later, she heard a dog barking in the distance and glanced around.

Seeing the person in the distance slightly annoyed her. It wasn't a private beach, but still, most of the time when she came here, she was alone.

Of course, during tourist season, the place was full of families, but they were still a few weeks away from spring break at this point.

Shifting, she tried to see who was walking towards her before they got too close. The dog came into full view long before its owner did. Her book was all but forgotten as the dog came running up to her.

Its paws were bigger than its head and the puppy kept falling over them and anything else that got in its way.

She laughed and played with the dog and waited for his owner to approach her. When he finally came into view, she knew she wouldn't get any more reading in that evening.

# 4

"Are you following me?" Parker asked as he sat down next to her. He tried to hide that he was a little breathless, since he'd had to chase Toby for the past two miles. If he hadn't already spent an hour working out before their walk, he would have simply taken the dog for a run. But now he was hoping the dog would stroll home slowly so he could enjoy the beach a little.

As he'd approached Sara, he'd watched her tossing a stick to Toby. The puppy's favorite game was fetch, but now he'd grown tired of playing and was lying at her feet, chewing the wood to pieces.

"I've been here for over an hour," she replied, tucking her iPad to her chest, "which would mean you're the one stalking me."

"If I can't keep up with Toby now, how am I ever going to when he grows into those paws?"

He pulled out a bottle of water from his backpack and gave Toby a drink, cupping his hands and letting the dog lick them dry before swallowing some himself.

"That's what leashes are for," she suggested.

Parker laughed and glanced over her shoulder towards the cabins in the distance. His knee brushed up against hers lightly, making him remember the kiss all over again.

He'd spent the last hour and a half trying to get her out of his head, but here she was again.

"You live near here?" he asked casually.

Her eyebrows shot up slightly. "Do you?"

He nodded back in the direction they had come. "I'm in the Fitch's old place." The gray wood-shingled house sat less than two miles from them.

She narrowed her eyes. "How'd you convince them to rent it to you?" she asked.

"I didn't." He smiled. "They sold it to me."

Her eyebrows went up more. "But they swore they'd retire there."

"Yup, that was until the water heater went out, the fireplace backed up, and half of the front porch caved in."

"So, you're fixing it?"

He nodded. "Most of the big stuff still needs to be done."

"Where did the Fitches go?"

"Where else?"

"Florida?"

"No." He chuckled. "They bought a new house just outside of Portland."

"Oh." She leaned back. "I really liked Jerry and Marg."

"They seemed like a nice couple," he agreed. "But, since it benefited me, I'm okay with them moving to a new place."

She glanced at him sideways. "Toby?"

He nodded. "I got him on my way into town. There was a farmer who had a truck bed full of the little guys." He scratched his dog's head and smiled. Toby may be a little exhausting but was well worth it. "I figured it was about time I got a dog."

He relaxed back against the driftwood and looked out over the water. He could tell there would be rain tonight and hoped he and Toby could make it home before it started to fall.

"Why are you here?" she asked after a moment of silence.

He glanced over at her. "Toby needed to stretch his legs."

She chuckled as she shook her head. "In Pride. You never got to finish telling me earlier," she corrected.

He shrugged. "It's a great town. Lots of potential for work." He glanced up at the cabins behind them. He could just make out a few roofs. He knew about the bed and breakfast the Jordans ran. Patty had talked to him about almost everything in town. All he had to do was pay attention and have a good memory to know a little bit about everyone who came and went in town.

"Where were you before?"

"Eugene," he answered as Toby rushed towards the water's edge. "Now he'll need a bath." He groaned as the dog jumped into the surf playfully.

"He's only a puppy once." She chuckled.

"Your folks own the bed and breakfast?" He nodded behind them again.

She glanced back. "Yup. What about your folks? Are they in Eugene?"

"I never knew my father." He watched Toby closely. He wasn't sure if the dog knew how to swim well or not.

"Your mother?" she asked.

He shrugged. Wanting to change the subject, he stood up. "How about a walk?" He held out his hand towards her.

She set her iPad down and tucked the blanket around it, then stood.

"Are you going to leave that here?" He glanced around. Even though they were the only ones on the beach, he'd grown up in the city and knew better than to leave valuables laying around.

"Who do you suppose is going to take it?" She motioned around them. "You're the first person I've seen in an hour."

He shrugged and followed her down the beach.

"So," she said after a moment, "you don't like talking about your mother?"

"What makes you say that?" he asked, his eyes focusing on the horizon as Toby fell in step with them.

"You changed the subject and have this... look. My mother gets the same look whenever someone mentions her first husband."

He glanced down at her. "Oh?"

"He was an ass and beat her. Broke her arm once, went to jail, broke out, and almost killed her and my brother Matthew when she was pregnant."

"What happened?" he asked.

"My father happened." She smiled. "Kicked his ass."

"I haven't met your parents yet. I met your aunt Lacey when I applied for my business license. I didn't know she was your aunt, since her last name is Stevens. And of course I've met Iian."

"Did she abuse you?" Sara asked, oddly still on track.

"No, she never laid a finger on me," he said, his tone low.

Sara's hand reached up and took his, making him stop and look at her.

"But she's hurt you." It wasn't a question. Her green eyes scanned his.

"Yes," he agreed softly. "My grandmother raised me."

Dropping her arm, she glanced around and nodded to where Toby was trying to carry a large log.

He chuckled at the sight and felt all the heaviness disappear between them. "I think I picked the dumbest one in the litter."

She laughed. "He'll get smarter as he gets older," she assured him. "We have three dogs. Raco started out dumb, but now that he's an old man, he's wise."

They turned back to the pathway that led towards the cabins. He was dying to see what kind of shape they were in, but knew he'd have his hands full with the restaurant restoration in the coming months.

If all went well, this job would open more doors in town for him.

"Where is your grandmother now?" she asked as she picked up her iPad and blanket.

"In a home." Hearing his tone of despair, he turned and whistled for Toby to come. "I'd better get this guy back and feed him. He gets hangry," he joked. When he turned to go, something stopped him. Glancing over his shoulder, he met her eyes. "How about dinner?"

Her eyebrows shot up. "Tonight?"

"No." He turned back around. Why was he fumbling this? "This weekend?"

"As in... a date?" She bit her bottom lip.

"Now that I know you're available." He smiled when she gave him a look. "Don't hate me for seeing an opportunity."

"I don't." She rolled her eyes. "I'm just not sure it's a good idea, since we'll be working with each other over the next few months."

He walked back towards her, stopping less than a foot from her. He wanted to reach out and touch her, but he tucked his hands in his shorts. "Make no mistake, I'm working for your uncle, not you."

Heat flooded her eyes and before he gave her a chance to reply or back away, he took her shoulders. This time, he wanted to leave little doubt as to who was in control.

It was the single biggest mistake of his life. Kissing Sara. The moment his lips touched hers, he knew nothing would be the same ever again. He would never want it to be, after the life-altering way her body melted against his.

When her lips opened slightly on a sigh, he dipped in and took everything she offered. Everything he'd ever wanted.

His fingers tightened on her skin, holding her closer as his mouth explored and demanded more. He felt her shiver with want and his body reacted fast and hard, like being slammed over the head.

Jerking back, he dropped his hands. He didn't think he could control the desire if he continued to touch her.

Her unfocused eyes had turned a sea green. He wanted to pull her close again, but instead, took a step back. "Friday night?" he asked, not sure if his voice would hold. When she nodded, he smiled. "I'll pick you up at six."

Again, she nodded. The fact that she hadn't spoken, hadn't moved, was a good sign. Turning, he whistled for Toby and walked back down the beach.

So many times, he wanted to turn around to see if she was watching him, but he kept his eyes focused straight ahead as his mind played over the single most powerful moment of his life.

Sara must have stood frozen to the spot for more than five minutes. The pair were just dots on the horizon when she finally woke from her stupor. That kiss had not only knocked her socks off but had had her on the verge of coming.

How did a man do that with just one kiss? She made her way back to her cabin and, before opening the door, remembered she had nothing to eat.

Setting the blanket down on the bench outside her door, she headed towards her parents' house, knowing full well that her mother would have a three-course meal waiting.

The classic Georgian Colonial home had a fresh coat of white paint on it, thanks to her father and uncles. She'd spent so many hours on the large wraparound porch, she had always thought of it as a second bedroom. The green shutters had been replaced with new ones a few years back when all of the windows had been replaced with double-paned glass.

When she opened the front door, the smell of her mother's pot roast hit her, and she groaned with happiness.

"Mom? Dad?" she called out as she made her way through the house. Two of their three dogs greeted her at the doorway. She knew Raco was probably laying at her mother's feet wherever she was.

The house hardly ever changed. A fresh coat of paint every now and then or new furniture whenever her mother got it in her mind to redecorate. Sara thought she could find anything in the house blindfolded.

"Back here," both of her parents called out at the same time.

Megan and Todd Jordan pulled apart from one another as Sara walked into the kitchen. Their public displays of affection had caused her and her brother and sister some discomfort over the years, but now she held in a sigh as she thought about feeling that way towards a man after twenty-some years of marriage.

"I heard a rumor," her father started before she could walk two feet into the massive kitchen.

"Don't start." She groaned, causing her father to chuckle.

"Rumor?" Her mother turned from the stove and frowned at her. "What rumor?"

Megan Jordan was still as beautiful as she'd always been. Her mother and father could easily be on the cover of a magazine. All of her family could. Sure, there was a little more gray in her father's dark hair these days. He complained that he couldn't beat her cousins on the basketball court anymore, but he could still keep up with them and, on a good day, Iian, Aaron, and her father could still school some of the younger family members on the court.

Her father walked over to her and placed a kiss on her forehead, like he had since she was a child. "It's just a rumor," he told his wife, who narrowed her green eyes in his direction.

Sara had gotten a lot from her mother. Their green eyes were a perfect match, as were the long blonde hair, skin coloring, and, to her father's amusement, their tempers.

"Where's Matt?" she asked.

"India," her dad answered. "He'll be home late Wednesday."

Her brother had started working with their dad at Jordan Shipping in high school. After graduating and taking several night classes online, he'd started slowly filling in for their dad with their international clients. Jordan Shipping had been in their family for as long as the restaurant had. Her father had traveled a lot in her youth, and sometimes he had taken the entire family. She'd been to more places than she could remember, countries most people only dreamed of going to. But Pride was the only place she'd ever called home.

When he was home, her brother lived in a small loft next to the old brick building that housed Jordan Shipping, but still made his way over to sit down for dinner most weeknights.

"So, it's just us?" she asked, looking around.

"It was just your mother and I, but you're here now," her father added. Her mother gave him a playful push.

"You can set the table." Her mother turned to her. "Then, over pot roast, you can fill me in on what everyone in town is saying about you and the man Iian hired."

Her father chuckled and quickly left the room.

"So, it _has_ gone around already." Instead of setting the table, she sat down in the chair and rested her chin in her hands. "Great."

"Is it true?" her mother asked from the stove.

"I don't know, what did you hear?" She glanced up.

"That you kissed him in the parking lot in front of everyone, including Aiden."

She rested her forehead down on the wood table.

"So, it's true?" her mother asked.

Sara heard a bottle of wine open and wasn't surprised to hear her mother set a glass down in front of her. "Want to tell me about it?"

"There isn't much to tell." She took the glass and downed half its contents.

"There's always something." Her mother sat across from her in the bay window booth. The formal dining room was reserved for when guests were around.

As far back as she could remember, family dinners had always been enjoyed at the smaller kitchen booth area.

"I kissed him to get back at Aiden. That's it."

The look her mother gave her told her that she didn't believe her. Still, she wasn't about to admit what Parker's kisses had done to her.

"Have you heard from Su?" she asked, changing the subject to her younger sister.

"Yes," her mother said after a moment. "She's getting excited for summer break. Right now, she plans to return home for the three months she'll be off." Her mother stood and set the food on the table, almost tripping over the little dog who watched her every move.

"Ruby, go tell Daddy dinner is ready," her mother told the small terrier, who bolted from the room to find her dad.

"That dog is smarter than most humans," Sara joked.

Her mother chuckled and sat down across from her. "You know, I can see right through you." She reached over and took her hand. Even their fingers were twin versions of each other. "You can't hide what you're feeling, because you're so much like me. Looking into your eyes is like looking into a mirror. That boy did something to you today. Something you're not happy about." Her mother's smile grew, confusing her.

"So, if I'm not happy about it, why are you smiling?"

Chuckling, her mother said, "Because, you have the same look that I walked around with for days after your father kissed me for the first time all those years ago."

# 5

Parker tried to stay busy the rest of the week. Friday night seemed so far off, and he was having a hard time keeping his mind from jumping ahead to what was coming.

He supposed it was a perfectly normal reaction, since it had been over twelve months since he'd gone out on a date. It wasn't for lack of trying, exactly. More a lack of interest.

After the disaster with Robin, he just hadn't been interested in dating. Until Sara.

There was plenty to keep him busy, making sure everything was ready to start work on Monday. He had to order and pick up paint, wood, flooring, new booths, tables, chairs, lights, and other supplies.

And that didn't include the work he still had on his house. He'd gotten most of the big items done and was still working on rebuilding the front porch.

Toby lay at his feet as he painted the new planks he'd installed in the stairs on his front porch. He heard a car pull up and glanced over at the new BMW that bumped up the dirt lane.

When Toby growled, he snapped his fingers and the dog settled back down. He was pleased that the dog obeyed. He'd been working with him and was surprised at how much the dog had learned so far.

"Evening," he said to the man who climbed out. The fact that the guy was dressed in a suit and dress shoes, which were getting dirty from the dust that settled from his drive, caused him a little concern.

His first thought was, "Lawyer... great, what'd he do now?"

"Parker?" The man approached as he set his paintbrush down. Toby watched him cautiously.

"Yes, can I help you?" He wiped his hands on a clean rag.

"I'm Matt Jordan. Sara's my sister."

Parker held in a chuckle. "Okay," he said slowly.

"She told me you'll be working on the Golden Oar."

"Yes, work starts Monday." He motioned to the chairs.

Matt sat down, and Parker sat across from him. Toby took that moment to approach the stranger.

Parker was pleased when Matt started petting the dog, who was obviously enjoying the added attention.

"You aren't here to warn me off your sister, are you?" he asked, half joking.

"My sister?" Matt frowned over at him. "Why? Should I?"

Parker shook his head quickly. "It's just a date."

When Matt's eyebrows drew up, Parker realized the man didn't know about him asking his sister out.

"Never mind," he added quickly. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, Patty gave me your flyer, but now, I'm curious about you and my sister." He shifted towards him as Toby lay at the man's feet.

"Like I said, it's just a date." He wished he could go back five minutes and keep his mouth shut. He'd dealt with overly protective brothers before and none of them had ever understood that their sister was free to date whomever she pleased.

"Sara's a big girl," he said slowly as his green eyes ran over Parker. "I stopped trying to tell her what to do long ago."

Parker took his time and assessed the man as well. The only resemblance he could see between brother and sister were those eyes.

"If you didn't come here to give me the brotherly third degree..." He let the question hang.

"I bought a place." Matt sighed. "An old place. One that needs a lot of work."

Instantly, Parker cheered up. "Okay." He held in the excitement.

"I won't need the work to start for a few months yet. And I don't expect to move in until the work is done, because the wind could probably blow it over at this point." He chuckled and ran his hand over the back of his neck, messing up both his hair and tie at the same time.

"If you give me the address, I can swing by it sometime, give you a quote for the work that'll need to be done."

Matt nodded, leaning back in the chair, and for the first time since he'd arrived, he looked relaxed. "I don't know what made me bid on the old place. I was taking my new motorcycle for a ride and stumbled across the auction."

"You bought a house in an auction?" Parker thought about the bad shape many auctioned houses were in and made a face.

"Exactly," Matt jumped in.

"How about a beer?" He could use one now that he'd cooled off after working. He probably wouldn't go back to work after Matt left anyway. He'd put in a full ten hours that day and could already feel his muscles screaming for a break.

"Sure," Matt said, loosening his tie further. "I should have changed before I stopped by, but... Patty had mentioned you when I stopped off at the store and, well, I'm not one for putting things off."

Parker chuckled as he stepped inside and pulled two cold beers from the fridge. When he stepped out again, Toby was snoring loudly, and Matt was watching him.

"Does your dog always sleep so heavily?" he asked.

"So far, yes." He handed over the beer and sat back down.

"I like what you've done here." He nodded to the porch and the new beams of wood. "The place needed someone young who could take care of it. Not that Jerry Fitch _couldn't_ , it's just... Well, he _didn't_."

"That's one of the reasons they sold the place to me."

"So, you're sticking around? It seems newcomers either put down roots and stay or run away as fast as they can."

"Oh?" Parker took a sip of beer. "Is there something worth running from?"

"Not particularly. The dating pool is small. And the people, while very loyal, are some of the biggest gossips along the West Coast." Matt chuckled. "Which is why I'm a little surprised I hadn't already heard about your date with my sister."

"I just asked her a few days ago." Had it really only been two days since he'd seen her?

"Usually it only takes an hour or two for that sort of thing to spread around town," Matt said as he sipped the beer. "Of course, I've been out of town for a few days. I just got back from India."

"India?" He looked at the guy again. "I thought you guys owned a B&B and a restaurant?"

Matt chuckled. "I've been working at the family business, Jordan Shipping, for almost ten years. I officially started the week after my sixteenth birthday but there isn't a time I don't remember being part of the business."

"Jordan Shipping..." He thought about the name and frowned. "That's your family?" He swallowed the last of his beer. He wanted another but one was his daily limit. Any more and he'd have a hard time getting to sleep that night.

"Yeah. Sara didn't mention it?" Matt asked, setting down his empty bottle of beer.

"No. There's a lot we haven't talked about yet."

Matt's eyebrows rose slightly, but the man was smart enough to change the subject to his plans for his new house.

By the time Matt drove away in his now-dusty car, Parker had already decided he liked the guy. Not just because he'd pretty much promised to hire him to fix his place, but because not once had he meddled in his sister's business, outside of those few hints.

Parker was beginning to wonder if everyone in the Jordan clan was likable.

"You what?" Sara glared at her brother and backhanded a slap across his shoulders once more. It probably hurt her more than him, considering how her knuckles screamed at her when she hit solid muscle.

Her brother was built a lot like her uncle, solid and toned. Both he and their dad regularly lifted weights to stay in shape.

"I said, I hired your new boyfriend to fix up my house."

"I heard you," she hissed, glaring towards the study where her parents were entertaining other family members. Lacey and Aaron had shown up less than an hour before Matt arrived back home.

"Then why ask me again?" Matt rolled his eyes and toed off his dress shoes. It still seemed weird to her that her brother was almost always in a suit lately.

She was used to him wearing old jeans or sweatpants instead of Dolce and Gabbana. Not that it didn't look good on him, but the fact that he was spending more on his suits than she had spent on her car unnerved her slightly.

Her eyes narrowed. "You bought a house?"

"Sure." He leaned his head back in the soft gray wing chair and propped his feet up on the matching ottoman. He looked tired, but that wasn't going to stop her from giving him the third degree.

"Where?" She pushed his feet aside and sat on the ottoman, searching his face.

"The old Jones place." He closed his eyes. "When is dinner going to be ready?"

"The..." She held in a gasp. "The haunted house?"

Her brother chuckled. "It's not haunted."

"How do you know?" She leaned closer. "Have you spent the night there yet?"

"No." He rolled his eyes. "The place is about ready to fall in on itself. I won't stay there until it's fixed up..."—Matt smiled—"by your new beau."

"Shut up."

"What's so bad about the family knowing about him? He seemed like a nice enough guy."

She waved her hand as if she was disregarding his comments.

"I'm not worried about the folks overhearing about Parker. It's about you buying a place," she whispered.

Matt sat up and narrowed his eyes at her. "Why would that be an issue?"

Her eyes moved to the French doors when she heard laughter coming from the next room. "It just is, okay?" She moved to get up, but he stopped her by putting a hand on her knees.

"Sarie." Her brother's use of her nickname caused her to groan slightly. "I've lived on my own for a few years now. I can't be expected to continue paying rent and living in a small apartment a few feet from where I work."

"Of course not." She sighed. "Our folks are still under the assumption you'd build your own place here, on family land. After all, the Jordans have lived on these fifty acres for four generations now."

"So." He shrugged and relaxed back again. "You'll still be here. Besides, who do you think the folks will give this place to when they're gone?"

"Stop it. Our parents are never going to be gone."

Matt chuckled. "Okay," he said slowly.

"We both know that the place will go to Susannah or me."

"What did you think would happen when you or Susie gets married?" He paused, a big smile forming on his lips. "The land moves out of the Jordan name and into the name of whatever depraved man you two can rope into marrying you."

She thought about it, then smiled. "Then I guess it's a good thing it'll go to us, because who in their right mind would ever want to marry you." She pushed his feet off the ottoman the rest of the way.

"Hey." He sat up and glared at her as she walked out of the room.

When she walked into the den, she was greeted with laughter.

"I can just see her there now, butt naked, hiding behind a..." Her father stopped talking and laughing when she walked into the room.

"Who was butt naked and hiding behind something?" she asked, sitting on the arm of the sofa, next to her mother.

"Your aunt." Aaron laughed. The couple had their fingers linked as they sat next to one another—another testament of her family's strength.

Jordans didn't do anything lightly. When they fell in love, it was for life. Her father's family all told the same stories about how their great-grandfather had loved their great-grandmother until their dying days.

The only exception to the story was her father's parents. Her father's mother had skipped out on George, her grandfather, making way for him to marry and fall in love with Lacey and Iian's mother. She had died giving birth to Iian, breaking the man's heart and spirit. Or so the story went.

George had died on Iian's eighteenth birthday while taking his youngest son on a sailing trip. They had found her uncle in the water a few days later. He was broken and left deaf for the rest of his life. In one of his last acts of love, her grandfather had saved his son by sacrificing his own life.

"Naked?" She looked over at her aunt. Lacey Stevens was a spitfire. Had been as long as Sara could remember. Marrying the town doctor had made her seem more so, in many townspeople's eyes.

There had been an incident, long before Sara was born, that had changed the way her aunt looked at the town of Pride. Everyone who knew them claimed that, after almost being killed in a hit-and-run accident, Lacey had taken it upon herself to see to it that all the townspeople in Pride were safe. She spent so much time after the incident putting in speed humps and new stop signs along the main road that it had opened the door for her to run for mayor many years later.

Now, her aunt was loved by all and there wasn't a street corner in Pride that didn't show the results of Lacey's hard work. Pride was booming, and it was all thanks to her aunt.

"What?" Lacey chuckled. "A girl can't skinny dip on her own property?"

"Half of the pond was on my property," Aaron added.

"If my memory serves me right"—Lacey smiled at her husband—"I wasn't the only one au naturel that day."

Aaron chuckled and quickly changed the subject. "So, is everything set to surprise Allison?"

"Yes," Sara's mother jumped in. "Riley is going to sneak in and pack for her so that Saturday morning, when Iian convinces her to spend a nice evening in Portland, her suitcase will be in the trunk of his car."

"How is Riley going to distract her long enough to pack a suitcase and haul it downstairs?" Lacey asked.

"Well, that's where you come in." Megan smiled at her sister-in-law. "You're so good at distracting." Lacey rolled her eyes.

"What about you?" She turned to Sara. "Are you available to help out Friday night?"

"No," Sara answered a little too quickly, causing both her mother and Lacey's eyebrows to shoot up.

The women looked nothing alike—Lacey was shorter, with the Jordan's dark complexion—but they had matching expressions on their faces. Sara chuckled.

"Yes, it's a date, and no, I'm not going into details."

"Is it that boy Iian hired?" her mother chimed in, earning her a glare.

"Oooh." Lacey moved forward as she rubbed her hands together. "I smell gossip." When her husband chuckled, she turned on him. "What kind of mayor would I be if I didn't know everything that went on in my town?"

Sara laughed and gave up trying to keep her private life... well, private.

# 6

Friday finally came around and still Parker was unsure where to take Sara on their date. The Golden Oar was the only decent place in town. There was a small Italian place, but he hadn't had time to check it out first and wanted everything perfect. So, after checking the weather forecast, he made a decision and drove to the grocery store to stock up on a few necessities.

It took him a few hours to set everything up and get things prepared. Checking his watch, he quickly showered, dressed, and made sure Toby was settled in for the duration of his date, happily curled up in his crate.

He'd learned that kennel training for a puppy was a necessity after several pairs of shoes, more than a dozen socks, and a couple of his books had been used as chew toys.

He pulled up in front of the massive white house and parked in front of the Pride Bed and Breakfast sign.

Leaning over the steering wheel of his truck, he looked up at the place.

This is where Sara grew up? The house was bigger than any others he'd seen in town.

He was busy taking in the architecture when a knock on his window caused him to jump.

"Sorry." Sara chuckled. "I didn't mean to scare you."

He quickly got out of the truck. "You didn't," he lied. He glanced towards the house. "Didn't you want me to come in?"

"No." She shook her head. "No one is home anyway." She nodded to his truck. "Shall we?"

He walked around the truck and opened the door for her. Before she climbed in, he took her elbow.

"You look wonderful," he said softly. He was thankful she was wearing pants.

"Thanks." She smiled and hopped up into the truck. "So," she said when he got behind the wheel, "where to?"

"Well, since about the only decent place to eat belongs to your family, I thought we'd do something different." He pulled out of the driveway.

"Okay...So?"

"Picnic on the beach." He glanced over and tried to gauge her response. He noticed the moment she relaxed.

"Sounds perfect." She turned again. "Unless you can't cook."

"I can cook," he assured her. "My gran taught me as soon as I was tall enough to reach the stove."

She chuckled. "In my family, it was more of a family survival skill."

"Oh?" He turned the truck towards the beach. "I would think that since your family owns the best restaurant along the coast, everyone in the Jordan clan would have the skills of Chef Ramsey."

"We do now, but only after years of working with a very patient uncle."

He put the truck into park and turned it off. "I hope my cooking lives up to the expectations."

He rushed out to open her door and then grabbed the bag and basket from the backseat.

"Up for a little walk? We could just head to the beach, but the best spot is—"

"Up there." She nodded in the direction he knew well.

"You read my mind." He motioned for her to start and then followed her up the pathway.

"You've been doing a lot of exploring," she said as they made their way towards the spot.

He took her hand and helped her over a large piece of driftwood. He wanted to go on holding it, but since he was loaded down with the basket and bag, he had to drop it. "Your brother paid me a visit the other night," he said just before they reached the highest spot of the trail.

"Yes, so I heard." She glanced back at him. "Don't feel obligated to take the job."

His eyebrows shot up. "Obligated?"

"My brother can be..."—she stopped and looked down at him—"a perfectionist."

"That's a good thing. Especially when it comes to his own home," he assured her.

"Right, but some people have found it impossible to work with him." She turned and started walking again. "Just giving you a friendly warning."

"We seemed to get along fine," he said as they entered the clearing that overlooked the beach. From here, they could see the town of Pride in the distance. There was a thick patch of green grass and he set the basket down and pulled a blanket from the backpack.

"Need some help?" she asked.

"Nope." He smiled up at her. "There, you can sit, relax. I'll set everything up."

She did, leaning back on her elbows and watching the waves crash below them.

"I haven't been on a picnic in years." She sighed and rested back.

"That's a shame." He handed her a plastic glass of wine. "I hope you like red."

"I spread my love to all colors of wine." She sipped and smiled as he carefully laid out the meal he'd prepared.

"You made sushi?" she asked when he held out the container.

"Yes, my gran taught me. California Rolls are pretty easy to make once you get the hang of it." He waited while she dipped the roll in the soy sauce and shoved it in her mouth.

"Oh my god." She groaned. "I haven't had sushi in a while. Tell me you have pot stickers in that basket, and I'll marry you tomorrow."

He chuckled, set down the rolls, and pulled out a soup container. He handed it to her and pulled out the chopsticks. "Wontons, pot stickers, noodles, and tempura." He opened the lid of the individual container and handed it over. Then he took his own and settled beside her.

Her eyes grew large looking at the variety of food before her. "Okay, serious cooking skills."

"I figured you get American food a lot. It's nice to spread your wings. Besides, there isn't a good Chinese place around here."

"Nearest one is in Edgeview." She shoved a pot sticker into her mouth. "You're telling me your cooking skills have a range?"

He nodded, enjoying his own California roll. "Chinese, Japanese, Indian, French, German, a few Russian dishes, and the basics, American, Italian, Mexican." He shrugged. "My gran traveled a lot when she was younger. She learned from some of the best."

"And she taught you?" she asked, between bites.

"No free rides in her house," he joked.

"She sounds like an amazing grandmother. I'd like to meet her someday."

Sadness threatened so he reached for his wine and swallowed it.

"What about you? Any grandparents around?"

"Nope, both sides were long gone before I came along. But the rest of my family filled in and made sure I never felt the loss." She took a bite of the tempura and groaned. "Okay, seriously, you need to make this for my uncle. He'll be so impressed. If you need a skill to fall back on, I can personally recommend becoming a chef."

He smiled. "I'm glad you like it. Wait until you try the dessert."

Her green eyes moved to his and something passed between them. He felt his blood begin a slow burn. He hadn't been prepared for how sexy she looked when she ate. The way her eyes kept returning to his, the way her tongue slowly licked her lips. The sexy little noises she made as she enjoyed the food.

He'd gone too long without dating. Without the feel of a woman against him. His body and mind screamed for her, but he'd learned long ago to make sure he didn't move too quickly. Someone usually got burned and most of the time, it ended up being him.

Sara was so impressed with Parker's cooking. Especially when he pulled out a black forest brownie dessert with cherries and fresh whipped cream on top.

"You lied to me," she said after her first bite.

"About what?"

"You didn't really make all this. You've probably got a genie in your back pocket with unlimited wishes."

He chuckled again. She could get used to the sexy sound.

"Tell me something about yourself," she said, taking another bite of the chocolate goodness.

"Like what?" He relaxed back on his elbow and watched her.

"You mentioned you'd been in love." She eyed him. "Three times. What happened?"

"I was young the first time."

"How young?"

"Third grade." He smiled.

She laughed. "I suppose I could say I was in love then too."

She finished her dessert and leaned back, resting on her elbows and looking at him.

"What about number two?"

The smile on his lips fell away. "I was fresh out of school." He shrugged. "Life got in the way. She moved to Boston, I didn't."

"And the third?"

His eyes grew dark.

"Robin," he said softly, "took everything I had."

"She robbed you?" She leaned up slightly.

"I was conned. I was stupid to fall for the old tricks." He sighed. "Not that I had a lot back then." He reached over and brushed away a strand of her hair that had blown in her eyes. Her entire body responded to his light touch.

"I guess that's why it's taken me a year to try this again."

She froze. "It's been a year since you dated?"

He chuckled. "Don't worry, it's like riding a bike." He cupped her face and then, to her pleasure, leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"I've been thinking about doing that again since our last kiss, especially since you attacked me in the parking lot." His laughing eyes met hers.

"I didn't attack..." She sighed. "When I attack you, you'll know."

His eyebrows shot up and his smile grew. "Promise?"

He rolled slightly, and she found herself pinned to the blanket as he looked down at her. Her arms held onto his shirt just above his hips.

"So, unless you're going to move across the country or rob me blind..." He waited.

She chuckled and shook her head. "Currently I have no plans to do either."

"Good." He leaned closer. This time when his lips touched hers, she was prepared and relaxed into his touch.

Just the weight of him, pressing her into the soft grass below the blanket sent her desires into overdrive. Her hands started roaming as his demanding mouth moved over hers.

She couldn't stop herself from responding to his every desire. Her body ached where he touched her, and she wondered what it would feel like to be skin on skin with him.

Then, as quickly as he'd rolled over, he was gone, lying beside her again.

"Sara." He sighed and rested his forehead against hers. "You're killing me."

"Good." She rolled this time, straddling his narrow hips, pressing her core to his. She smiled when she felt the wonderful bulge in his shorts. "Then you know how I feel." She leaned in, her hair raining over him as she kissed him. Demanding what she wanted. Showing him just how much she wanted.

She ground her hips against his and he groaned and bucked under her. His hands moved to her hips, digging his nails into her soft skin as she rained kisses over every inch of his face and down his neck. Something was driving her. The desire was stronger than she'd felt in years.

Reaching under his shirt, she touched his bare skin with her fingertips and groaned as his nails dug in further. When he stilled her hips with his fingers and she felt him tense, she pulled back slightly.

"I hadn't planned for this," he sighed as his body shook slightly.

"Who does?" Resting her forehead on his, she closed her eyes. Suddenly, everything came back to her. The sounds of life around them. Birds calling in the sky, the waves crashing below them.

She'd enjoyed sex outdoors, but never her first time with someone. Maybe he wanted to go more slowly. She should go more slowly. After all, it had only been a few weeks since her official breakup with Aiden, though it had been several weeks before that since they'd done anything.

She'd stopped all physical contact with him upon hearing the gossip around town.

"If we do this"—she sat up abruptly—"I expect loyalty." Her eyes narrowed. He didn't seem the cheating type, but then again, neither had Aiden.

Parker chuckled. "I'm not Aiden."

She sat beside him and thought about what he'd done to her and how her body was still on fire. They hadn't even gotten to second base yet, but already, she knew she'd be dreaming about him every moment she could. "No, you're not."

"How about a walk on the beach?" he asked after a moment of silence.

The sun was just setting, and she knew that if they stayed there much longer, the journey down the hill would be difficult.

"Sounds like a perfect end to a perfect date." She helped him clean up, then waited while he took the basket and bag back to his car.

He settled a light jacket over her shoulders when he returned to her side.

"It's getting a little chilly." He wrapped his arm around her waist as they started walking.

"Where's Toby?" she asked, thinking the dog would have enjoyed the adventure.

"He's on doggie time out."

"Oh no, what'd he eat?" She chuckled.

"Not what he ate, but what he peed on." He sighed. "The vet says he'll stop marking things once he's fixed."

She stopped and looked at him. "Taking away his manhood?"

"Making sure there aren't any more puppies being given away on the side of the road." He smiled. "Besides, if it'll get him to stop marking my newly painted front porch, I'm all in."

She couldn't stop from laughing. "Puppies are a commitment."

"So is moving to a new town and buying a house," he said as they started walking again.

The sun was setting, and the sky was filled with light pinks and blues that would turn to deeper colors soon. Every sunset she'd ever enjoyed watching over the water was different, yet the same, like snowflakes.

"How about we do this again, say dinner at my place next weekend?"

She thought about it. "My schedule is pretty packed since I'll technically be in charge at the Oar." She sighed. "But since we'll be seeing each other every day, I'm sure we can plan something when we have a moment together."

He stopped her and then wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm trying to remain cool here." He smiled down at her. "But I have to say, I can't stop thinking about kissing you again."

"Then stop thinking." She stretched up on her toes and laid her lips over his.

"I doubt this will get old anytime soon," he whispered against her skin. This time it was him who ran his lips down her neck, leaving a trail of goosebumps everywhere he went.

"That's good." She sighed. "Because I don't intend to stop until we both get what we want."

"And what does Sara want?" he asked, pulling back slightly until his eyes searched hers.

"Everything," she whispered. And then she kissed him again.

# 7

The next morning, Sara was cursing Parker for not relieving the ache he'd caused. They had walked on the beach until it was too dark to see. Parker had used his phone as a flashlight when they made their way back to his truck.

There, he'd kissed her and touched her until the ache had been almost too much. Then he'd pulled back and driven her home.

She knew he was just trying to be a gentleman, but part of her wished she could skip ahead in their relationship.

He had even walked her to her cabin. When she'd asked him inside, he'd groaned and told her he was trying to take things at the right pace.

What did that even mean, the right pace? If there was one thing she'd learned from her many relationships, there was no set pace. Each relationship was different.

The attraction between her and Parker had been instant and explosive. She knew he'd felt it as well, in the store. He couldn't blame their working partnership, since it hadn't technically started yet.

So, she had crawled into bed alone and dreamed about how wonderful it had felt to have a man's hands on her again. Not just any man's, Parker's.

When her alarm had woken her at a quarter past six, she'd rolled over and slapped it off. Less than a minute later, her cell phone alarm had gone off. She'd cursed herself for setting them so early but then remembered the reason for setting them that way.

Groaning, she rolled out of bed and dressed quickly.

Walking into the Golden Oar less than half an hour later, she was greeted by Iian, who looked worried.

Sara imagined this was how her uncle had looked on his wedding day.

Chuckling, she patted his arm. "Relax," she signed. "It's not like you're getting married," she joked.

"Actually," he signed back, "that was in my plans as well."

"What?" She stopped walking and touched his arm to make him turn towards her. "But you're already married."

"Right." He smiled. "I was talking about getting remarried. In Ireland. I have it all set up. We're going to renew our vows on the beach."

Sara sighed and couldn't stop the smile. "You're a big softy. And a romantic." She followed him all the way back through the kitchen. "What time is Allison going to be here?"

"She's supposed to be here any minute." He glanced down at his watch, looking nervous.

"Hey." She walked over and hugged her uncle. "She's going to love it."

"Who's going to love what?" Allison said from the doorway to Iian's office. Sara's office, for the next month.

"Um." Sara almost choked on air. "Valerie. Iian was working on some new and exciting food for the lunch menu."

"Oh?" Allison walked into the office and gave her husband a kiss. "What kind of food?"

Allison Jordan was tall, slender, and extremely stylish. She was a beauty inside and out and easily one of Sara's favorite aunts. She was also a famous artist, but that didn't faze most of the people in Pride.

Her aunt and uncle's relationship was like all the relationships in her family, strong and powerful.

Iian looked stumped and his eyes moved to her for help.

"Sushi," Sara blurted out.

"How wonderful." Allison clapped and hugged her husband again. "You'll be the only ones within miles serving it. People will flock here for it."

"Are you ready?" Iian asked Allison.

"Where are you two off to so early this Saturday?" Sara asked, trying not to seem too eager and knowledgeable.

"Iian's going to take me into Portland. He heard about an art showing this evening."

"How nice." Sara smiled. "You kids enjoy yourselves and don't do anything I wouldn't."

"Thanks for filling in for him today." Allison hugged her. "Prove to him you can handle this and maybe then he'll take me on a vacation," Allison said to her, making sure that Iian couldn't see her mouth.

"That's what I'm hoping for." She nudged Allison towards the door, since she knew they had to get to Portland quickly to make their flight.

"Thanks," Iian added. "If you need anything..."

"I can handle it. After all, it's just one day." She winked at him as he nudged his wife out the door. "Thank you," Iian mouthed as he left. Sara nodded.

After watching Iian help Allison into their car, Sara turned and smiled at the empty restaurant. It was all hers for the next month.

She took a moment to enjoy it, then moved back into the kitchen where the hustle and noise took over.

By dinnertime, Sara's feet and back hurt so much, she was wondering how Iian had done this for over three decades. She'd thrown back a few aspirin after lunch, since her head had felt like it was going to explode. The aspirin along with a quick glass of wine and a rushed dinner in Iian's office had helped.

She'd managed the restaurant before, but after word had gotten out that the renovations would start on Monday and that they would be on restricted hours, it seemed like everyone in Pride wanted a last meal in the old place.

Managing was one thing but being short staffed and having to wait on customers at the same time was another.

Somehow, her uncle had not only managed for years but had been head chef for most of the time as well.

When the last customer had left, she helped the crew clean up and set up for the morning shift, knowing she would be there again, bright and early, before the doors opened.

Crawling into bed that night, she seriously wondered if she was crazy to want to take over as manager.

When her cell phone chimed, she cracked an eye open and read Parker's message.

-Hope your first day as manager went well. I wanted to call or message you earlier, but figured you'd be crazy busy. I stopped by for lunch but didn't see you.

She smiled as she typed her response.

-I was stuck in the kitchen. Feel free to poke your head in next time and say hi. The day went well. I'm exhausted.

-Will do. I missed seeing you. It's a good thing I didn't see you. I might have tried to pull you into a corner and kiss you again.

Her entire body responded to his words.

-Now I hope you stop by tomorrow.

-I just might.

-I can't stop thinking about you.

Her phone rang.

"I needed to hear your voice," Parker said. His voice was low, and she could tell he was probably lying down. Which conjured up images of him lying in bed, naked.

"What are you wearing?" Her voice was husky and a little breathless.

"Nothing, you?" She heard him shuffle around.

Pulling off her own night clothes, she kicked off her covers. "Me too."

She thought she heard him groan.

"Are we doing this?" she asked, running her hands over her body, imagining it was him.

"I don't think we can stop it," he said. "I know at this point, I can't."

"I don't want to." She arched under her own touch.

"Tell me," he whispered.

Closing her eyes tight, she told him everything she wished he'd do to her. Everything she'd imagined since first running into him in the grocery store.

His responses were raw and her body reacted quickly. He described to her how he wanted to spread her legs and bury his face between them, taking her until she clung to him, gasping, panting, wanting more.

When the orgasm came, she cried out his name and heard his own release follow.

For a moment, they lay there, silent.

"I'm a snuggler," Parker said softly. "I wish I could wrap my arms around you and hold you until the morning."

She thought back to all her ex-boyfriends. None had ever stuck around long after sex. Not once had she spent the night with a man holding her. She'd always dreamed of it, hoped someday she'd get it. Now, she couldn't wait to spend an entire night in Parker's arms.

"When?" she asked, climbing under the blankets.

"Next weekend?" She heard him shuffle. "Toby wants out." He groaned. "How about we talk about it tomorrow?"

"Okay." She held in a yawn. "See you."

"Sara?"

"Hmm?" she said, her eyes already closed.

When Parker remained silent, her eyes opened.

"See you tomorrow," he finally said before hanging up.

Setting her phone down, she snuggled into bed and dreamed about Parker holding her.

The following day, Parker filled his morning by dropping Toby off at the vet for his surgery. The dog was finally old enough to get snipped. He hated that Toby would be stuck there for the next two days, but he didn't want any more of Toby's running around, especially since there were half a dozen of his brothers and sisters somewhere out there already.

He stopped off at the store to get some basics and made sure to buy a carton of condoms. He wanted to make sure he was prepared.

He glanced at his watch and groaned when it was only ten. Waiting a few hours to see Sara was going to be murder. So, he stopped off at the local bakery and sipped a cup of coffee and nibbled on a scone.

He had met and liked the owner, another Sara in the small town. She worked alongside her sister Becca most days. The ladies were some of the first people he'd met in town.

He'd run into Sara's husband, Allen, who ran the Coast Guard training facility just outside of Pride. He had yet to meet Becca's husband, Sean, but had seen both couples' kids running in and out of the place several times.

Sitting in the front booth along the large window, he looked out on the town. Families were enjoying the sunshine in the small park area in the town square. Which started him thinking about his own future in Pride.

Someday, he could just imagine his family there, enjoying a walk with Toby around town. His own kids, maybe a son and a daughter, would be running circles around him and his wife.

The fact that Sara's face instantly filled his mind didn't even cause him problems. He'd only known her for a short time but knew that he wanted to explore their relationship to the fullest. Did that mean marriage and kids someday? He wasn't sure. One thing was sure, she was nothing like Robin or any of the other women he'd fallen for.

His gran had always told him that he fell in love too quickly. With his past history, he should be cautious in relationships. But somehow, instead, he always jumped in quickly, never minding the burn that came afterwards. It was, in his opinion, part of life.

"Someone's deep in thought."

Riley sat down across from him. She had a massive cinnamon roll that almost fell over the plates edges.

"Where'd you get that?" He glanced over at the rows and rows of treats on display.

"They just came out of the oven." Riley motioned to Becca behind the counter. "Another heart attack on a plate for my friend here."

Becca chuckled and carried one over and set it in front of him.

He'd nibbled on the scone, but it just wasn't a steaming, gooey cinnamon roll.

"Wow," he said after his first bite. "Why isn't everyone who works here fat?" He nodded towards Becca. He guessed her sister was in the back, baking.

"The sisters are scary like that," Riley said between bites. "Is it true that..." She paused. "Never mind," she said after a moment.

"Is what true?"

"It's nothing. Just something I heard. It's not really my place to ask." She bit her bottom lip. He took a drink of coffee to counter the sweetness of the roll. "C'mon Riley. Spit it out."

Riley leaned forward. "Is it true... I heard you were somehow involved in your grandmother's death?"

Parker's swallow of coffee ended up going down the wrong pipe and a long and hard coughing fit ensued. Riley jumped up and patted him on the back, but as his eyes watered, he felt his stomach roll.

Gone was his desire to finish the cinnamon roll. A bitter taste rolled up from deep in his gut. When the coughing finally settled, he took a sip of the water Becca had set in front of him.

"Where did you hear that?" he asked when he finally could.

Riley frowned. "I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't mean..."

He shook his head, stopping her. "Where?" he asked.

"A...From a woman who came in to the Oar yesterday."

"Who?" He grabbed Riley's hand, holding her.

Her eyes moved to the contact and her eyebrows drew together. "Just a woman."

"Can you describe her?"

"Long dark hair." She shook her head. "Just... an average looking woman."

"Young or old?" he asked.

"Not old." She shrugged. "Older than me." She frowned and looked down at his hand. He quickly removed it.

"Dammit. Don't believe everything you hear. My grandmother isn't even..."

"Isn't even what?"

"Nothing. Never mind. Just don't listen to gossip."

"Well, if you won't tell me, why shouldn't I believe what someone else says?" She leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest.

Parker sighed and leaned forward slightly. "Can you keep a secret?" he asked as he searched her eyes.

She leaned forward again, placing her hands on the table. "Of course."

He could see the truth and knew he could trust her.

"My grandmother isn't dead," he said softly. "But not a lot of people know that, and I don't want whoever is snooping around to know it either."

"That's good to hear," Riley said, pushing her half-empty plate aside and looking relieved. "So, who was the woman and why is she going around telling everyone you killed your grandmother?" She leaned forward suddenly, and Parker could see the mischief back in her eyes. "A disgruntled ex, maybe? A scorned lover?"

He shook his head and would have laughed if he didn't feel sick to his stomach. "I'm not sure, but if you see the woman again, give me a call." He pulled out one of his business cards.

"Sure thing." Riley tucked the card into her purse. "Should Sara be concerned?"

"Sara?" He frowned. "Why?"

"Well, if it's a stalking ex..." She let her meaning hang in the air.

"No, all my ex-girlfriends have long moved on." He pushed his plate aside.

"Then who?" she asked.

"I'm not sure."

"What about your mother? If your grandmother is still alive..."

"The description doesn't fit my mother. My mother is a good deal older and has fuzzy blondish red hair," he answered.

"Oh." Riley sunk back in the booth. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"You didn't." He smiled across at her and decided to change the subject. "Did your mom and dad get off on their trip okay?"

Riley's smile grew. "Yes, they called when they landed. Mom was so surprised." She laughed. "She can't believe dad finally took her on her dream vacation."

"That's wonderful." He nodded.

"He had been keeping it as a surprise, but he told her about the remodel. She can't believe he agreed to it while he's away, he loves to oversee every detail all the time."

"Oh?" It was his turn to lean forward. "Why's that?"

"My dad, as far as his restaurant is concerned, is somewhat of a control freak."

"He's made a name from himself. I read an article in _Bon Appétit_ once. I was impressed that someone so famous still ran his own place in a town the size of Pride. Of course, that was long before I visited." He glanced out the window again. "Now, I can see what keeps him here. The charm, the people."

"Family," Riley added with a smile. "It's the only place I can ever see myself settling down."

"What about your brothers? You have a twin?"

"Yes, Conner is starting Coast Guard training after graduation and Jacob has no clue what he wants to do with his life." She laughed. "Fireman was the last I'd heard."

"What about you?" he asked.

She leaned forward and dropped her voice. "Me? I want to find a good man like you and settle down." She almost purred it.

If he'd just taken another drink of coffee, he would have coughed all over again.

"Riley, I'm flattered..." he started, but then he was interrupted by his phone ringing.

Seeing the number for his recycled brick supplier, who was supposed to deliver a few pallets of brick first thing in the morning, he glanced over at her. "I have to take this."

"Sure." Riley smiled at him and once again, he felt his gut ache.

While he was still on the phone with the man, Riley had waved at him, pointed to her watch, and mouthed, "Talk later."

Glancing at his watch, he figured he could swing by the house before heading over to the restaurant to see Sara.

He had a few calls to make to ensure everything would be ready for tomorrow morning. He'd hired a few contractors to help, as this was by far his biggest project to date. Still, he'd managed workers and job sites before. He knew the job inside and out, but it was more exciting this time just knowing he was the boss.

He thought about driving around town and looking for the dark-haired woman who'd been spreading the lies, but there was too much to do before tomorrow morning. He'd just have to deal with the woman later if she showed herself again. He was pretty sure he'd hear about it if she spread rumors again.

He kept his eye on the time and finally shut down his laptop and headed towards the Golden Oar. Towards his future.

# 8

How was it possible to be more stressed the second day in charge than the first?

She'd overseen several Sunday brunches before and they had gone smoothly. Today, however, was a complete disaster.

The spring flu was going around town, leaving her short staffed. The delivery of fresh home-grown, organic eggs hadn't been on time that morning since the truck bringing them had gotten a flat tire. The eggs were delivered two hours into the breakfast rush.

She'd ended up having to cook, since Valerie had called in, her voice so low and rough it had been hard for Sara to understand her. She couldn't have a chef getting customers sick, so she'd had to put on the apron and help Damion, the sous chef on duty. She'd messaged the other sous chef, Liz, to see if she could come in, but so far, hadn't heard back from her.

Three of her waitstaff had called in and Katie, the hostess, was out as well.

If everyone could have just waited until tomorrow, things would have been easier. Monday through Saturday they had cut the hours back and were only open from three until ten in the evening. This would allow Parker's workers to do most of their work in the morning. And Sara would be present for every hammer swing.

She knew her uncle was a stickler and didn't want to disappoint him by missing something that wasn't done right. Not that she didn't trust Parker. But trusting the workers he'd hired was a completely different matter.

She had learned from her pseudo-management position at the restaurant for the past two years that some employees needed constant encouragement and supervision.

When Sunday brunch was finally over, and the orders started slowing, she felt the layer of kitchen sweat on her skin and desperately wished for a shower before Parker showed up.

Just as she made her way to the office, Parker walked in.

"You look tired already." He walked down the hallway and wrapped his arms around her. "You smell like bacon." He chuckled into her hair.

"There's probably a layer of bacon grease on my skin." She tugged him into her uncle's office, shut the door, and pushed him against it, her mouth covering his before he had a chance to respond.

"I'm sweaty, tired, and horny," she said between kisses. "I can't take a long break, but how about you come over to my place after I get off?"

He smiled and rested his forehead against hers. "Sounds wonderful. What time?"

She thought about it and groaned. "Midnight."

He nodded. "Toby's at the vet for the next few days. Why don't I plan on staying? That way I can fulfill my promise to hold you all night long."

She felt her insides melt and smiled. "Deal." She leaned up and kissed him again just as there was a light knock on the door.

Rolling her eyes, she called out. "I'll be out in a moment."

"There are a few things I need to see to here, before we start tomorrow." He brushed away a strand of her hair that had fallen out of the loose bun.

"You know your way around." She pulled back, rolled her shoulders, and opened the door. "See you tonight," she said before disappearing down the hallway again.

She didn't have a lot of time to think about Parker or tonight. She caught Riley twice trying to play bartender. Her cousin skipped classes most weekdays and tried to work. Her father kicked her out time and time again.

But since Iian was gone, Sara and Riley made an agreement that as long as she wasn't serving alcoholic drinks, she could spend time on the weekend behind the bar, with Connie as chaperone.

Besides, she could use the help. She had even called in her other cousins. Jacob was busing tables and Conner was waiting tables.

She glimpsed Parker a few times going over measurements in the kitchen and in the dining area. She wanted to have more time with him but was too busy to spare a second.

She did see Parker talking with Riley and watched their interaction for just a moment. Riley, for her part, was totally infatuated with Parker. Parker, however, looked at Riley like she was a younger sister.

She didn't see Parker leave since the dinner rush was in full swing. Once again, it seemed the entire town came out for what was to be the last Sunday dinner before the remodel began.

She was a little disturbed to see Aiden and his parents arrive for dinner.

Liz had come in just before the dinner rush to help out in the kitchen, so now Sara was on the floor, with no way to avoid them.

"Evening, Sheriff Brogan, Mrs. Brogan." She pasted a smile on her lips and tried to avoid eye contact with Aiden. "Does everyone know what they want?"

"Sara," Aiden said, trying to get her attention. She avoided him.

"How about you, Mrs. Brogan? What would you like tonight?" She turned to Aiden's mother.

"I'll have steak tonight." She turned to her husband.

"Same," Robert added.

"Sara," Aiden tried again.

"What would you like to order, Aiden." She turned to him, all business.

He sighed loudly, then placed his order.

She took a moment before putting in their orders to be thankful Aiden wasn't an ass. At least he wasn't a stalker or an angry ex.

The truth was, sex with him had never really... worked.

Every time they'd moved past kissing, things became awkward. Almost as if they were both virgins, fumbling in the dark.

It was one of the reasons being with Parker was important to her. She had to know she wasn't the reason. That she could have good sex, hot sex. Sex like they have in the movies. And tonight she was going to prove to herself that she could.

After the open sign was switched off there was prep work needed for tomorrow morning when Parker and his crew would start working. When she locked up, she was sweaty and getting low on energy. She grabbed a soda from behind the bar for the drive home.

When she pulled up and parked in her spot, she had less than half an hour before Parker would arrive.

Her first order of business was a shower. Washing the layer of workday grime off had never felt better.

After the shower, she pulled her hair back in a long braid, dabbled on a little makeup, and pulled on the sexiest thing she could find, which included a sheer top over a camisole along with a pair of black leggings.

She was just putting on the finishing touches with lip gloss when she heard a knock at her door. Double-checking the mirror before opening the door, she smiled at the face full of flowers she met on the other side.

"They're beautiful." She inhaled their sweet scent, then smiled at the man behind them. The fact that Parker looked as nervous as she felt caused her to relax slightly.

"Come on in." She stood back as he entered. He set a small bag down just inside her door and glanced around the small one-room cabin.

"So, this is what these cabins look like on the inside."

"Each one is different." She walked over to the small kitchenette area and put the flowers into a vase, then pulled out a bottle of wine and held it up. "Want a glass?"

"Sure." He looked at the large painting hanging above the fireplace. "One of your aunt's pieces?"

She glanced over at the beautiful painting her aunt had done for this cottage.

"Yes, my mother hired her initially to do pieces for each of the cabins. This is the blue cabin, so she used blue for the painting." She smiled. "Each cabin has its own color."

"Is that why the doors are all different colors?"

"Yes." She handed him his glass. "My father helped remodel each cabin." She motioned towards the sofa. Her feet were killing her, and she desperately wished to get horizontal soon. "They've made a few updates over the years but kept the color theme. It helps us know which cabins are rented and makes it easier for returning guests to request their favorite cabin." She smiled and patted the spot directly next to her.

"Are they all this size?" he asked, sitting beside her.

"No, the next one over, the red one, is the largest." She tucked her legs up under herself and rolled her shoulders as the wine started helping her relax. "It's a two-bedroom place. We reserve that for families. There are two that size, three with one bedroom, and the rest are around this size, more like a studio apartment. They each have their own kitchenettes." Her words began to slur slightly, and a few large yawns escaped her. "When guests are here, breakfast is delivered every morning by Sara's Nook, and lunch by the Golden Oar. Dinner is usually at the main house, but guests can order from the restaurant if they want to stay in."

"Your family has thought of everything." He set his wine glass down after taking a sip. Then he took her half-empty glass and set it down as well.

"Sara." He pulled her close. "I wanted to go slow." The first kiss was soft and warm, and relaxed her even further.

"Hmm," she said against his lips. It felt so good to be in his arms.

"Sara?" he asked, his voice soft next to her skin. He ran his lips down her neck as his hands played over the material of her leggings, slowly traveling up her legs.

"Hmm," she said between yawns. She heard him chuckle and opened her eyes to look up at him when he pulled back.

"You're exhausted." It was a statement not a question.

"Is it that obvious?" She tried to pull him back to her.

He leaned in and kissed her quickly, then stood up. She gasped slightly when he scooped her up into his arms, carried her across the room, and laid her gently on the bed.

"Let's try this." He kicked off his shoes before lying beside her. "Ten-minute power nap." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

She snuggled into his chest and after feeling his heart beat next to her ear, relaxed even more.

"This isn't what I planned," she said between yawns.

"Neither of us did. But sometimes you just need to go with it." He yawned himself and she smiled.

"So, we're really going to snuggle first?"

"Shh." He ran his hand through her hair. "I'm enjoying myself."

She drifted off to sleep more easily than she had in a long time.

Parker woke with a slight jolt. The dream hadn't been anything new, but the feeling of a woman in his arms had.

Then he smiled when he remembered who that woman was. Since the cabin was still dark, he tried to free an arm to check his watch and see how long they had clocked out.

When he moved, she snuggled tighter against him, causing him to smile. He finally found his watch and groaned. They had less than an hour before his alarm was set to go off. He had been more tired than he'd known.

Making a decision to let her sleep, he tried to disengage himself from her, but her eyes flew open and she sat straight up.

"What?" she said, looking around the room.

"Easy." He chuckled. "I was just going to let you sleep some more.

"What time is it?" she said once she relaxed back.

"Quarter till five."

She groaned. "Ten-minute power nap?" She rolled over and wrapped her arms around him. "You're not going anywhere." She pushed her body against his.

"I'm not?" he asked playfully.

Then her mouth was on his as her hands tugged on his shirt. He leaned up as she pulled the shirt over his head, then straddled his hips as their lips melted together again.

His fingers dug into her hips, holding her to him as she moved over him. She brushed her fingertips over his bare skin, sending goosebumps over every spot she touched.

When his hands moved up, taking her soft tank top with them, she arched. Sitting up, he tugged her shirt over her head, then leaned back and looked at her perfect skin.

"You're so beautiful," he said under his breath as he took in every part of her. He wished for more light to see her better but didn't want to interrupt the moment. Instead, he took what he could.

"Parker," she moaned, her fingers digging into his hair as he traveled down the column of her neck. She arched back, giving him more access.

When his lips skimmed just above her silky bra, a moan escaped her lips, making his cock grow even harder.

"Sara, I'm trying to go slow."

"Don't go slow," she said, moving over him and reaching for his jeans. Her fingers fumbled as she tugged the material off his hips.

He bucked and tugged with her, laughing as her fingers brushed the tender spot of his hips.

"Oh, a hidden surprise," she said, doing it again.

He gripped her fingers, stilling them. "Later," he warned. "Paybacks." He twisted, flipping over until she was underneath him, pulling her hands over her head.

His eyes ran over her. Her hair was flowing around her face as she smiled up at him. She was a little breathless, and so was he.

When he leaned in for the kiss this time, he allowed everything he'd dreamed of since laying eyes on her to surface.

His hands yanked down her leggings until he found her skin underneath. Hot, wet, ready for him. When his fingers dipped in, she jolted under him and cried out with pleasure.

"Yes," he growled. "Beg for me." He moved beside her, his mouth tugging down the rest of the lace that covered her skin until he was able to take the rosy peak into his mouth.

Her fingers dug into his scalp as his hands continued to run over her. When he dipped lower and covered her pussy with his mouth, she cried out again.

"God, you taste like honey," he said against her skin. "Wrap your legs around me."

She did as he asked, and he took his fill of her, pushing her to the very edge.

Then he moved up, quickly slid a condom on, and took her the rest of the way.

This time he woke when the alarm beside the bed went off.

Sara groaned and rolled away from him, but he quickly pulled her back, missing her warmth and softness.

"Not yet," he said into her hair. "Just another moment." He placed a kiss on her lips.

"I can't be late. The new contractor might be a dick about it."

He laughed. "Tell me about it. I'm sure my client will have a few choice words if I'm late. But I just need one more moment." He kissed her again, then rolled with her until they stood next to the bed. "Shower?" He started walking towards the bathroom.

"Shower." She tugged off the shirt she'd pulled on, then reached in and turned on the shower.

"It takes a moment for the water to get..." She screamed when he pulled her under the cold spray as he laughed.

"How do you expect to wake up if you don't get your blood flowing?" He kissed her until her resolve turned into desire.

# 9

Sara watched Parker walk into the restaurant and sneered.

"Is this how strong your work ethics is? Showing up late on the first day?" She leaned against the bar top.

He smiled at her as his crew entered behind him, setting down equipment and tools.

He stopped a foot from her, his eyes running over her face.

"Sorry, boss, it took me a while to get... motivated this morning," he said softly. His meaning sent her insides warming. "I can't guarantee it won't happen again."

"Is that a promise?" She wanted to reach out and touch him, but there were six other people in the room with them.

"More like a warning," he said, then he turned towards his crew. "You didn't have to be here so early. Your uncle gave me a set of keys."

"I'm here to make sure everything goes smoothly."

"Suit yourself." He smiled. "I'm sure my guys won't mind being watched." He winked at her and walked across the room to get to work.

She sat behind the bar, watching them hang and tape plastic sheets along the back wall.

Her team had removed all of her grandmother's paintings and the rest of the decorations the night before and had put them in the storage container sitting in the parking lot.

When the hammering and loud noises started, she retreated to her uncle's office to save her sanity. Still, she made sure to check in every half hour.

From what she could see, everything was going smoothly. It hurt a little, seeing the old stones around the fireplace lying on the floor in piles. Still, she'd seen Parker's designs for what he had planned.

Parker was one of the men using a sledgehammer to break the massive stones from the wall. He'd removed his long-sleeve shirt and wore only his T-shirt along with heavy leather gloves.

With each of his swings, she watched the muscles in his arms and her excitement grew.

Several of his men eyed her every time she checked on the work but left her alone. When lunch time came, she helped Valerie supply the workers with food.

She sat with Parker in a booth, away from the others.

"When will you start on the deck area?" she asked, looking out the window.

"Once we get the inside done. Your uncle thinks it's best to finish up in here before doing the add-on."

She nodded. "Good idea." She glanced at the wall of plastic. So far, it was keeping the majority of the mess out of the main dining area that they would be using for customers over the course of the next few weeks. Still, the men hadn't started hauling the stones outside to the industrial-sized dumpster that had been delivered. She knew once they did, there would be a trail of dust and grime through the front doorway.

"How's it going?" she asked as she finished up her soup and sandwich.

"Whoever installed the stones around the fireplace must have used some of the hardest cement known to man."

She smiled. "My great-grandfather."

He glanced at her. "Oh?"

Nodding, she glanced at the plastic. "He built this place, along with most of the other men in town. At that point, there were probably fewer than a hundred of them." She leaned closer to him, placing her elbow on the table and her chin on her fist as she imagined what Pride was like back then. "I'm sure their wives all cooked for them while they worked. My great-grandmother was a painter, not a chef, so she probably only gave my grandfather sandwiches." She chuckled. "The story goes that my great-grandfather had to build the first restaurant in Pride since he didn't want to starve waiting for his wife to stop painting and start cooking."

Parker chuckled. "Sounds like you know a lot about them."

"Oh, everyone in Pride does." She sat up. "You can read about them down at City Hall or the local library. The library is named after my great-grandmother, who helped start up the art program there."

"It must be strange, and nice, to know so much about your family's past."

She tilted her head and looked at him more closely. "What about you? Surely you have a little of your own family's history."

He glanced around. "Only what I could squeeze out of my grandmother." He sighed. "She wasn't one for what she called gossiping about the past."

She could see sadness fill his eyes and decided to change the subject.

"So, it appears that Riley is infatuated with you."

She'd caught him as he'd been sipping his drink and he coughed and choked on the small swallow of water. She slapped him on the back as his face started to turn red.

"Are you okay?" she asked after he settled down.

"What is it with you Jordan women that makes me choke on water?"

She didn't mean to, but she giggled.

"Yeah, laugh it up." He rolled his eyes and took another drink of water. "Riley is a cute kid, but..."

"Chill." She laid a hand on his arm. "I was just teasing you. She'll get over it. I'm sure by next week, she'll have someone else to fantasize about."

He groaned. "That long?"

"What? Can't wait a week to get her off your back?" She moved to gather their empty plates.

"Not when I have who I want already." His hand covered hers and stopped her from moving. "When do you get off work?" he asked in a low tone so no one near them could hear.

"Late, after midnight again." She groaned.

"I'll be here to pick you up."

She almost shook her head and said no, but something stopped her. "Okay." She smiled. "When do you pick up Toby?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. The vet called this morning to tell me that the surgery went smoothly."

"Good." She stood up and took the plates. "I'd better get back in there and start things for tonight."

"Sara." He stopped her by touching her arm.

She waited for him to speak, but he seemed to be debating telling her something. "Yes?" she finally said.

"Nothing." He shook his head and stood up suddenly. "I'll see you at midnight."

She nodded and walked towards the back, her mind preoccupied with Parker.

She almost bumped into Damion, whose hands were full of containers of tomatoes.

"That would have been a mess," she joked.

He frowned slightly at her. "Get your head out of the clouds." He glanced towards the door and rolled his eyes. "You've got a business to run."

Her back straightened and she glared at the man's back as he walked away from her. He was only a few years older than her. Her uncle had hired him on one of his trips to New York.

Why the man had left the hustle and bustle of the big city for Pride was beyond her. He seemed like the type that preferred the city over the country, but she had to admit, he was one of the best sous chefs around. She'd tolerated his rudeness from day one. After all, it wasn't just her that he seemed to have issues with. She'd even heard Iian arguing with him a few times.

But Damion had been correct. Her mind had been in the clouds and if she wanted to prove to her uncle that she was up to the task of running the Golden Oar, she needed to keep her mind off of the wonderful sex-filled morning she'd had with Parker and get to work.

Parker left the Oar long before guests started arriving and decided to drive around town and look out for the dark-haired woman Riley had talked to. He was hoping to stumble across her, but ran into everyone else in town, instead. So far, no one else hinted at any new gossip from his past. Instead, he'd lined up a few more odd jobs. Some he could handle after he clocked off from the restaurant every day. Most he could handle by himself.

As he made his way towards the first small job at the local barber shop, he bumped into a tall blonde woman. Before he could excuse himself, he saw her eyes and the grip he had on her shoulders to keep her from falling down tightened.

The woman laughed up at him. "I'm very flattered that a young man your age would be eyeing me like this," the woman said, "however, my husband might take offense to it."

He shook his head and dropped his hands. "I'm sorry, it's just..." He narrowed his eyes and scanned her. "You're too young," he said out loud.

"Why, thank you again." Her smile grew, then she leaned closer as if she was about to tell him a joke. "Too young for what?"

"To be Sara's mother. You're too old to be her younger sister, so that leaves..." He thought about it. "Older sister?"

The woman laughed. "I like you." She nodded, then held out her hand. "You must be Parker."

He nodded, putting his hand easily into the woman's smaller one. "I am."

"Well, you're right about one thing, I am Sara's mother. Megan Jordan. I've been looking forward to meeting you."

"Likewise." He smiled and looked around. "I hope your husband didn't see me ogling you. I'd hate to get off on the wrong foot with him. It's just... You have Sara's eyes." He shook his head quickly. "I mean... the other way around."

Megan laughed. "Yes, to my husband's delight, all three of our children got my green eyes."

"I met your son as well. Matt."

"Yes." Her chin rose slightly, and he could see pride grow in her eyes. "So, I've heard. It's hard knowing he's gone off and purchased a home of his own, but there's been gossip about the house." Worry replaced pride.

"Oh?" He started worrying that he'd gotten in too deep when he'd agreed to remodel the place.

Megan laughed and laid a hand on his arm. "Nothing structural, but spiritual."

He frowned. "I'm not following you."

She laughed. "Ghosts." She patted his arm. "There have always been rumors surrounding that old house."

"Oh." He relaxed. "From my experience, small towns will manufacture gossip when there is none."

Megan's eyes glowed with pride again, only this time they were directed at him. "I couldn't agree with you more. Case in point, there are rumors surrounding you..." His heart jumped, and his gut did a little twist like it always did when lies about him surfaced. "And my daughter," Megan finished up, but not before she'd seen the change in him.

"Oh." He relaxed slightly. He ran his hand over the back of his neck and realized there was sweat rolling down his shoulder blades. "Right, I... um..." He swallowed.

"Relax. Save the smooth talk for my husband." She chuckled. "Sara is a grown woman. We raised her right and trust her decisions." She waved as a car passed by them and honked. "I better get going." She started to turn. "Oh, Parker?"

"Hmm?" She glanced back at him. "If you hurt her, you'll have me to contend with. And ask anyone in town—I'm a force to be reckoned with." She said all of this with a sweet smile on her lips, and he smiled back and nodded in agreement.

"I'd never think to cross you."

"Good." She nodded again before walking down the sidewalk towards the grocery store.

He took a couple deep breaths and tried to relax his shoulders. He could see where Sara had gotten her beauty from. The woman was stunning, just like Sara.

When he walked into the old barber shop, he was greeted by the man who'd hired him.

Gus Malcom looked like he was an original Pride resident. The man could have easily been over a hundred years old.

Parker had gotten his hair cut from the man once before and had been surprised at how good the guy was at his job, considering how much his hands shook.

"There you are, my boy," Gus said. He smiled, causing deep creases in his cheeks.

From the looks of him, Parker guessed the man had spent most of his life smiling and laughing.

"We were just talking about the job you did at Patty's place."

He set his toolbox down and nodded, waiting for the man to continue.

"Joe, here"—he slapped the man who was currently in the chair, getting a shave—"was telling me he has a few odd jobs around his place."

"I'm not as young as I used to be. This fall, I'll need someone to get up on my roof and check my shingles. I'll also need someone to clean out my chimney. It hasn't been done in a year or two."

"Here's my card." He handed the man one from his pocket. He'd learned to be prepared when going anywhere in town. "Give me a call when you're ready. I'll give you a quote."

"Perfect," the man said just before Gus wrapped a warm cloth around his face.

"The old sink is in the back there." Gus nodded towards a dark wood door. "I'll be just a few more minutes here."

Parker picked up his toolbox and made his way towards the back. Three hours and two successful jobs later, he drove his truck back to his house. He was sweaty and had a layer of grime on his skin. What he wanted was a long shower and a nap before picking up Sara at midnight.

Instead, he had to settle for a quick cold shower and two hours of working on the water heater. He finally gave up and decided to replace the old thing.

After a second cold shower, he ate a cold turkey sandwich and then fell asleep on the couch, watching the news.

When his phone alarm went off, he rubbed his hands over his face, then remembered why he'd set the damn thing and perked up.

Grabbing his keys, he headed out to the restaurant to pick up Sara.

He parked in front of the dark place and texted her.

-I'm out front.

After five minutes with no response, he decided to use his keys and let himself in. Her Jeep was still parked in its spot from earlier, so he knew she hadn't gone anywhere.

He walked into the dark restaurant and turned on his cell phone light. Why were all of the lights off? He could have used more light, but the light switches used a key to turn on and off, and he hadn't been given one.

Frowning down at his watch, he noticed it was ten past midnight. Making his way towards the back, he called out to Sara.

He heard banging and rushed to where the sound was coming from, a massive walk-in freezer near the back of the kitchen. A U-shaped bar was threaded through loops that used to be part of an old lock, holding the door shut from the outside. He removed it and opened the freezer, and Sara fell into his arms.

"What the...?" He pulled her close to him when he felt how cold she was.

"St-st-stupid door sh-sh-shut on m-m-me," she said as her teeth rattled.

He ran his hands up and down her bare arms as he pulled her further away from the massive freezer.

"You're freezing." He pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. "How did you get locked in there?" He glanced towards the door, which still stood wide open.

"I... I don't know. It j-j-just shut." She pulled her arms through his jacket and wrapped the rest around her tightly. "God." She closed her eyes.

"How long were you in there?" he asked, as he nudged her into a chair. He walked over to a coffee pot and, finding it empty, filled it with water and started the machine up.

"W-what time is it?" She glanced towards a clock that hung over the back door. "Half hour."

"Half an hour?" He glanced at the fridge. "You could have frozen to death. Why didn't you call me?"

"N-no s-signal." She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on her knees. She pulled her phone from her slacks and set it on the countertop. Just then, it chimed, and his message showed up on the screen.

He walked over to the freezer door and shut it, then slid the U-shaped bar into his back pocket so no one else could lock someone in there again.

"Someone would have had to lock you in there. Who else was here when you went inside?"

She shook her head. "No one. Everyone had left already."

"The front door was locked." He walked over to the back door and tested it. "This one is locked too." He frowned. "Who was the last person to leave?"

She closed her eyes as if trying to remember. "I..." She shook her head.

"You're too cold." He poured a cup of hot water from the coffee pot and mixed up a package of hot chocolate for her.

"Here. We'll head over to your place and you can take a hot bath. But for now, this will help."

As she drank the hot liquid down, he assessed the situation again. The only conclusion was that someone had locked her in the freezer, on purpose. Someone had tried to kill Sara and if he hadn't shown up, they would have succeeded.

# 10

Sara sank into the hot bath and her entire body tingled. Her fingers shook, her toes were numb, and she still couldn't stop her teeth from chattering.

Parker sat next to the tub and watched her. Instead of passion in his eyes, worry flooded them.

"I still think we should call your parents," he said for the third time.

"N-no. I'm okay. Really." She smiled. "I'm sure it was just a mistake."

"One that could have cost you your life." He frowned down at her and handed her a clean washcloth.

She wiped her face and when the warmth hit her eyes, she was shocked and a little ashamed that tears started flowing. She buried her entire face in the cloth, pulled her knees up to her chin, and cried. All the while, Parker watched and ran his hand over her back softly.

When she was done, she leaned back and let him wash her hair. He was so gentle, she hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep until he drained the water and picked her up, wrapping her in a towel and carrying her to the bed.

When he laid her under the thick comforter, she tried to pull him down next to her.

"I'm going to make you some soup," he said, sitting next to her. "It'll help." He placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Okay." She started to get up.

"No, stay put. I think I can manage it."

She nodded and relaxed back. After he left the room, she was no longer tired and her mind played over what had happened.

She'd locked the back door behind Candace, the last of the employees to leave. She was sure she'd locked the front behind the last customer hours before. Clean up usually took two hours, but she had wanted to go over the paperwork to make sure everything was perfect.

She couldn't even remember what had sent her to the freezer. She thought back and then remembered she had wanted to bring home some of the chocolate desserts that Rene, the pastry chef, had made earlier that night.

She had imagined enjoying them with Parker.

She'd entered the freezer and located the sweets near the back, but when she turned back around, the door had shut. She'd tried the handle, but it hadn't budged.

She had banged on the frozen door for a few minutes before trying her phone. Seeing no bars, she had walked around the walk-in for a few minutes, trying to get a signal. When that hadn't worked, she had kicked the door and cussed for a few more minutes. That was when the tears and fear had settled in.

She had just given up hope and had closed her eyes when the door had jerked open and Parker had grabbed her. She didn't know what she would have done if he hadn't come along.

"Here we are." Parker's voice broke her out of the dark thoughts. He carried a tray across the room towards her. "Soup and more hot chocolate." He set them down on the nightstand. Instead of handing them to her, he waited. "They need to cool," he said as his eyes ran over her. He brushed her damp hair away from her face. He had helped her dry it with a towel and had even run a comb through it for her.

"Do you think you should tell your uncle what happened?" he asked.

She stiffened as she thought of explaining to Iian how she'd been stupid enough to lock herself in the freezer.

"No," she said quickly.

"Okay. But first thing in the morning, I'm looking at making sure this doesn't happen to someone else." He leaned down and brushed a kiss across her lips. He handed her the bowl. "Make sure to blow on it if it's too hot."

By the time she'd finished the soup and hot drink, Parker was sitting beside her on the bed, relaxed, talking, and watching her closely.

She set the empty bowl down and snuggled against his chest. The hot food in her stomach made her sleepy and she quickly fell asleep with Parker's arms wrapped around her.

She'd figured she might have nightmares, but nothing had prepared her for them. Jerking in her sleep, she fought against the frozen door, screaming and kicking out. In her dream, her fists bled as she beat against the unmovable object.

Warm, strong arms pulled her closer, and she heard Parker's voice next to her ear, softly waking her.

Her hands touched bare skin and when her eyes fluttered open, she looked into his dark eyes.

"I've got you," he said softly. His entire body was pressed against hers and she realized that she was still completely naked. Her arms wrapped around him and she noticed that he'd removed his shirt sometime during the night. "Sara."

Her name was like silk coming from his lips. Leaning up, she covered his mouth with hers before he could say anything more.

She couldn't explain it, but she needed him. Now.

Rolling, she climbed over his hips until she'd pinned him to the bed, her mouth moving over him.

"I need you," she said between kisses. "Now." She slowly ran her fingers down his chest, enjoying the play of muscles as she went. When she reached his boxers and her hand brushed over his hardness, she moaned and felt her desire grow. In one quick move, she yanked his shorts down and slid onto him while his fingers dug into her hips.

Tossing her head back, she leaned into him and stilled as a low moan escaped her lips.

"My god," he groaned.

When she looked down at him, his eyes were closed, as if he was deep in concentration.

"Parker." When his eyes slid open, she smiled. "Watch me." She needed his eyes on her as she ran her hands over her own body. She began to slowly rock as she lost herself completely.

Parker walked into the restaurant the next morning, hand in hand with Sara. He knew there were others already there since the parking lot had a few cars in it already.

"I'm coming to the back with you," he said, following her instead of stopping by his men. "Go ahead and get started without me," he told Donny, his foremen. "I have some things I have to take care of in the back first."

"Sure thing, boss. We've got things covered," Donny replied.

He followed Sara to the back. Since they didn't open until three, the place was still dark.

Sara pulled out the keys and turned on the lights.

"Okay, why haven't those been replaced with regular light switches?" he asked, looking at the stupid switches.

She shrugged. "It's what was put in when my grandfather built the place.

"I'll be replacing those today." He walked over to the freezer and thought about how to fix it so no one could lock the door behind someone else.

Sara had disappeared into the office, and he was thankful. He didn't want to bring up that someone had locked her in, again. She was having a hard enough time as it was. He planned to stop by her brother's office to talk to him once he was done for the day.

He worked on the freezer for half an hour, grinding down the two small hooks the bar had been hooked through. When he was done, the freezer couldn't be locked from the outside ever again.

He stopped and looked in on Sara in the office before heading back outside to start his work.

She was sitting behind the massive desk with piles of receipts and paperwork in front of her.

He knocked on the door, and she glanced up at him, smiling when she saw him.

"I'll get Donny to replace those light switches today. He's our certified electrician." She nodded as he moved further into the office. "What's all this?" he asked, looking at the stacks of reports she was glued to.

"I think I've found a way to save my uncle close to a thousand dollars a month." She smiled.

"Wow." He glanced over her shoulder at the computer screen.

"See?" She pointed to the report she was looking at.

To him, it was a row of numbers, nothing more, but he nodded. "I'm sure he's going to be proud."

Her shoulders straightened with pride. "I hope so." She sighed and looked back at him.

"Let me know if you need someone to go over your books. I'm finding that I really enjoy it."

He tilted his head and looked at her. "Ever think about taking some classes and doing it full time?"

She bit her bottom lip. "For as long as I can remember, I wanted to manage this place." Her eyes moved around the office.

"You still could. They have online classes." He ran a hand over her shoulder lightly.

She glanced up at him and he could tell she was thinking about it. Leaning down, he placed a soft kiss on her lips as his mind flashed to what she had done to him earlier that morning.

"We'll need to talk about... things." He felt his heart kick up.

"Things?"

"You were... let's say... very eager this morning. I didn't have a chance to use protection." He leaned his hip against the desk as she smiled.

"I'm covered." She ran her hands over the denim covering his knees.

He nodded. "I'm clean. I was tested after my last breakup."

"Over a year ago," she added with a smile.

"Yes." He sighed. "You?"

"Same, but for me it wasn't that long ago."

If he didn't know better, he'd swear she was teasing him. "I pick up Toby this afternoon."

Her fingers were moving higher on his leg and he felt his body react to the closeness of her fingertips.

"Okay," she said, her eyes moving to the spot where his jeans had grown too tight for comfort. Her smile increased.

"Sara, you're not playing fair," he warned.

"Maybe I don't want to." Her fingertips brushed against the outside of his jeans, making his cock jump in response. "Did you know that my uncle installed a lock on that door?" She nodded to the office door.

He jerked his hips when she ran her palm over him this time. His eyes closed as he dreamed of what he wanted to do to her.

Then, he was up and sliding the lock into place on the door. When he turned back towards her, she was laughing at him.

"You're going to get it," he growled as he crossed the room.

Hooking his hands under her armpits, he pulled her up until she sat on the edge of the desk. Her neatly stacked paperwork fluttered to the floor.

He jerked her legs apart and hiked up the little black skirt she was wearing. Tearing the silk panties down in one quick movement, he bent down and covered her pussy with his mouth.

She cried out, her fingers digging into his hair. She held him to her and made sexy noises as he used his tongue to lash her. Her thighs tightened when he took her nub into his mouth and used his teeth gently on her. She cried out and arched back to give him better access.

Sliding a finger into her, he continued his torture until he felt her convulse in his mouth. Only then did he unzip his jeans. Before she could recover, he jerked his hips, fully embedding himself into her.

He covered her cries as he pumped relentlessly into her until he felt her build up again. This time, he couldn't hold back and followed her.

Needless to say, it was hard for him to concentrate the rest of the day. So instead of swinging the sledgehammer, he helped haul out the rubble and dump it into the massive dumpster outside.

It was backbreaking work, but it kept him from thinking about going back into the office and locking the door once more.

He avoided seeing her again after lunch and when they were all cleaned up for the day, he jumped into his truck and headed out to pick up Toby.

The dog, upon seeing him, jerked the leash out of the doctor's hand, ran across the room, and jumped into his lap, shaking like a scared baby. He whined as Parker held him while the vet described what to watch out for in the coming days.

Helping the dog into the truck, he laughed when he tried to climb into his lap.

"Did that mean man cut your balls off?" he asked as he pushed the dog into his normal spot in the seat next to him. Toby whined as a reply.

He couldn't help it, he laughed. "How about we go see Matt? You liked him, remember?"

He knew it was odd, but he talked to the dog like he was a human, instead of a pet. He was pretty sure the animal understood everything he said, because Toby let out an excited bark and sat down in his spot.

He parked in front of the brick building just down the street from the Golden Oar. The two family businesses were complete opposites.

When he walked into the lobby of Jordan Shipping, he felt underdressed. Especially with Toby at his side. Still, the receptionist smiled and waved him in.

"Is it okay that he's here?" He glanced down at Toby, who was sniffing the woman's shoes.

"Oh!" She started petting Toby and giving him all of her attention. "Yes, of course. We're a pet-friendly environment. Mr. Jordan brings in his dogs every now and then." Finally, she smiled up at him. "How can I help you, besides giving your dog love?" She giggled.

"Parker Clark to see Mr. Jordan. If he's available."

"Let me find out for you. Why don't you have a seat and I'll buzz him." She motioned to the leather chairs.

Parker tugged Toby away from the woman and forced him to sit on the floor after he tried jumping up onto the chairs.

Within five minutes, a man with curly blond hair walked over to him.

"Hello, Parker?" The man held out his hand. "I'm Todd Jordan. Matt's out of the office this afternoon."

Sara's father. His gut sank. What was it with her family? They must have all won the lottery when it came to genetics.

Parker stood suddenly, causing Toby to excitedly rush towards the man. Grabbing his leash, Parker held him at bay.

"Who's this guy?" Todd leaned down and gave Toby his attention.

"Toby. He's a little loopy," he said after the dog fell over. "He just got fixed."

"Oh, poor guy." Todd smiled up at him. "Why don't you come back to my office?" He motioned towards the elevators. "I hear you'll be working on my son's place after you're done with the Oar."

"I hope so. I'll be swinging by the house later next month to start putting together a quote." He followed the man into the elevator.

He was a little nervous, since Toby had never been in an elevator before, but the dog handled it like a pro and sat on his butt until the doors slid open.

Parker followed Sara's dad down a long hallway and into a massive office on the top floor.

"Nice place," Parker said. Then he noticed the old dog lying at the foot of the desk.

"That's Raco. He comes with me when he doesn't want to deal with the other two at home. He's friendly." He nodded towards Toby, who was sniffing his way across the room towards the old dog, who had yet to get up or move.

"What can I help you with?" Todd asked, motioning towards a chair.

After sitting, he debated telling Sara's father about the freezer incident. It was one thing to tell Sara's brother why he'd been there to pick her up at midnight, but a completely different thing to tell her father.

In the end, he opted to tell the man everything, since it was more than just her reputation on the line.

"Do you think it could have been Aiden?" he asked after he'd gotten the story out.

"Aiden?" Todd thought about it for a moment. "No, I doubt it. The boy was hurt, but he's not someone I can see doing something like that." He shook his head.

"What about a disgruntled employee?"

"Iian would know more about that than me. I can..."

"No," Parker jumped in. "Sara would kill me if she knew I was talking to you, let alone if Iian found out. She's trying to prove to her uncle that she's capable of running the place."

Todd shook his head. "Iian has known for years that she was ready. He was just waiting for the right opportunity to let her prove it to herself." Todd leaned back. "You said you fixed the freezer so it can't lock again?"

He nodded. "It took some work, but the two loops have been ground down."

"Until we know more, we'll just have to keep a closer eye on things." Todd stood suddenly. "I've got a meeting in half an hour, but I think we'll swing by for a late dinner."

"I'm picking her up after work. I'll continue to do so every night until I'm sure she's safe."

Todd reached out his hand and Parker easily took it. "Even under the circumstances, I'm happy to meet you." He chuckled. "Of course, we'll have to come up with some explanation for how we met."

"Yeah." He laughed himself. "I doubt she'd take too kindly to knowing that I came down here and tattled on her."

"Still"—Todd bent down and scratched Toby's head—"I'm happy you did."

# 11

It took Sara almost an hour to straighten up the office again after Parker left. Somehow, every single piece of paper had ended up on the floor.

Still, she was smiling and humming as she finished the task.

When the evening crew came in, she kept busy and time flew by. Before she knew it, it was closing time and she was locking up again. This time, however, she carefully went through the building, making sure she was alone before heading back to the office. Still, she couldn't stop the shivers as she walked by the freezer.

Even after she'd noticed what Parker had done to the door, she had an eerie feeling as she walked by it. She had avoided going in it the entire day but tomorrow she would force herself to man up.

Parker was going to pick her up again tonight. She'd tried talking him out of it, since her Jeep had sat in the parking lot for two nights now, but he was persistent. She figured when he arrived, she could talk him into allowing her to follow him back to his place that night.

She was excited to see Toby again, which was why they were staying at his place. She had a bag of clothes in his truck.

She was just finishing up the newest budget report with her suggestions for Iian when she heard a strange noise coming from outside.

She glanced down at her watch and frowned. It was half an hour before Parker was due to arrive.

Maybe he'd arrived early, after last night's excitement. She shut down her computer and pulled her bag out of the bottom drawer. Locking the office, she followed the sound and stepped out the back door.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust in the darkness. When the door shut behind her, the sound stopped.

"Parker?" she called out. When the area remained silent, she started walking around to the front of the building as she pulled out her cell phone. She heard the noise again and realized it was coming from the large trash container.

Probably an animal scrounging for food. She turned on her cell phone's flashlight and made her way across the parking lot. The noise stopped again, and she tiptoed the rest of the way, not wanting the animal to jump out at her and scare her.

She was less than five feet from the massive dumpster when headlights flashed on her, causing her to jump slightly.

"What are you doing out here?" Parker asked, pulling up beside her.

She smiled as Toby tried to poke his head out of Parker's open window. Parker tried shoving him back, but the dog wasn't having it.

She patted him on the head and was about to lean in for a kiss from Parker, when Toby let out a low growl. Before either of them could respond, the dog jumped out of the open window and took off across the parking lot towards the back of the dumpster.

"What the..." Parker threw his truck into park and jumped out to chase his dog. "Stay put," he called over his shoulder.

Trying not to think about Toby catching whatever animal was digging through the trash, she climbed into the truck and waited.

Less than ten minutes later, Parker came back to the truck, pulling Toby along with him. The look on Parker's face made her smile fall.

"Is Toby okay?" Worry flooded her thoughts.

"Yeah. Would you mind keeping him in with you? I need to call this in."

"What's wrong?"

"Someone broke into our supply trailer and messed with some equipment."

"Oh no." She scooted over and let Toby jump in beside her. "Do you need me to—"

She stopped when he shook his head. "No, I've got this. I've already called Donny, my foreman. He's on his way down."

Toby was excited to see her and spent the next few minutes trying to climb into her lap and lick her face. Finally, when he settled down, she glanced around the dark parking lot in hopes of seeing Parker.

When another truck pulled up beside them, she waved at Donny, whom she'd seen working on the light switches earlier that day.

When he jumped out of the truck, Parker was there. She rolled the window down, trying to hear them, but Toby stuck his nose out to the night air and drooled over the glass. Not wanting the dog to jump out again, she rolled up the window.

The men disappeared behind the dumpster just as the police cruiser pulled in.

Robert Brogan and Aiden were made from the same mold. With the exception of Robert's silver hair and laugh lines, the father and son looked almost identical.

She waved to him as he passed the truck. Parker stepped out and waved him back.

For the next twenty minutes, she remained locked up with Toby in the truck. When the dog started whining, she wondered when he'd last relieved himself. Seeing his leash, she clipped it on him and narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're not going to drag me around, are you?"

The dog stared at her, then let out another whine. He looked at her with his big brown eyes and begged to be let out.

"If you tug me, I'll never walk with you again," she warned gently.

Opening the door, she slid one leg out. Before she could put both feet on the ground, Toby had jumped down and was nudging her towards where the men had disappeared.

There was a grassy spot behind the dumpster Toby could use, so she made her way back there.

When she saw the mess that greeted her, she gasped, causing all three men to turn towards her.

The dog did his business quickly, then tried to get attention from the men.

"I had hoped we could have this cleaned up before you saw it," Parker said, taking Toby's leash from her hands.

They were standing next to the large container that held all of the tools and supplies that Parker and his men were using to fix up the Oar.

Tools were scattered on the ground, equipment was tossed around, and a bunch of two-by-fours lay broken and splintered on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Parker finally asked her.

"Me?" She turned towards him. "It's not my stuff lying all over the place, destroyed."

"No, but..." He nodded to the back of the trailer. The doors were half shut, and just as Robert pointed his flashlight, she got a glimpse of why Parker had been concerned.

There, spray-painted on the back of the trailer in dark black letters, it said, " _The bitch will get none of it."_

"You think that whoever did this meant me?" She turned to Parker. "Why?"

He shrugged. "It was Robert's idea."

"Parker told us about what happened last night," Robert started.

"I locked myself in a freezer. Stupid move, but not criminal." Her eyes returned to the lettering.

"Sara." Parker took her shoulder with his free hand, since Toby was getting attention from Donny at the moment. "There wasn't any way you could've been locked in without someone putting the U-shaped bar in place. Someone locked you in there, on purpose."

She let his words sink in. Part of her had known. After all, not one other employee had ever been locked in there. She knew that was why Parker had ground down the two loops.

Parker wrapped his arms around her. "Go back to the truck. We'll clean this up."

She shook her head. "I... I'm going to drive myself home," she said under her breath.

He gently pulled her a few feet away from the others, dragging Toby with him.

"I'd rather you stay put. Robert called your parents. Your dad is on his way here."

"My...?" Her eyes narrowed in Robert's direction. "Fine, they can take me home."

"Sara, I wanted..." Just then, a car pulled into the parking lot, causing Parker to sigh. "I'll see you tomorrow." He walked with her back to the parking lot and helped Toby jump back up into his truck. He waved at her parents and watched them drive away.

Sara tried to keep her eyes dry until after they were out of the parking lot.

"What happened?" her dad asked when they were on their way.

"Nothing." She settled into the leather seat and closed her eyes, feeling defeated. She was too tired and embarrassed that all of this would get back to Iian. She was ruined.

Her father turned to her after parking in front of the house. "Sweetie." Her father's hand went up and covered her hair, holding her face until she turned towards him. With his thumb, he wiped a tear away from her cheek. "Iian doesn't need to know everything." He winked at her.

She lunged towards her dad and held on as she cried again.

Parker was pissed. All the tools were accounted for and while they would need a new load of lumber, that was no big deal. Most of the damage done had been to Sara.

Who would have done something like this? The sheriff had been quick to defend his son and assured him that he had been with them all night.

With the obvious culprit off the list, he had no fresh leads. He toiled over it as he helped Donny clean up.

"I'll stop by the lumberyard first thing tomorrow to replace what was damaged," Donny said, tossing the discarded wood into the dumpster next to the trailer. "We'll need a new lock."

"I have one in my truck." He pulled it out of his glove box and noticed that Toby was fast asleep curled up on the driver's side. "This will have to do until I can get another one."

"I'll pick one up tomorrow," Donny said. "As far as it goes, we lucked out. All of the tools were here and undamaged."

He nodded. If any of the equipment had been stolen, it would have set him back in not only money, but time. Some of the equipment had to be purchased in the city, since the hardware store in town didn't carry the bigger stuff.

"Well, see you tomorrow. I hope your lady didn't get too upset over all this. It's probably just kids or an ex." He shrugged. "My ex-wife stalked me for a while, until she found a new man."

He drove home with Toby's head resting in his lap. He was going to be lonely without Sara next to him in his bed.

He thought about driving by her place but she was probably staying at her parents' house for the night. So, instead, he crawled into bed with Toby and got a few hours of sleep before his alarm went off.

When he arrived at the restaurant the next morning, he was surprised to see Sara's brother, Matt, dropping her off until he remembered that her Jeep was still parked in the same spot it had been in for two days.

Parking beside Matt's shiny car, he jumped out and opened Sara's door. She had a carrier full of coffee cups and a box of what he hoped were donuts.

"Morning," he said cheerfully.

She smiled up at him. "Morning," she said back, a little too cheerfully. He could tell that she had gotten as much sleep as he had.

"Thanks, Matt. See you tonight." She shut the door and waved as her brother drove away.

He took the container of coffee cups from her and walked with her towards the front door.

"What's tonight?" he asked, after she'd opened the door and flipped on the lights.

"Wow, this is a lot easier." She nodded towards the simple light switches.

He smiled. "Changing the subject?" He set the coffee down on the bar.

"Maybe." She opened the box of donuts. "Matt stopped by Sara's Nook and I thought your guys would like some coffee and donuts."

He grabbed a donut and a cup, then leaned closer, blocking her from leaving. "Tonight?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "My parents would like to formally extend an invitation to you for dinner tonight."

"What time?" He smiled when he noticed her cheeks turning pink.

"Seven."

"What time do you get off?"

"Five." She smiled. "I moved things around so Damion will close up tonight." She reached into the box and grabbed a donut for herself. He watched her nibble it and was mesmerized.

"I'll be there," he said softly as he took a sip of the liquid to try and cool himself down.

"Good." She ducked around him with a chuckle. "See you then."

"Sara." He stopped her before she walked out. "We'll need to talk about this."

Instead of answering, she nodded slightly and left.

He committed himself fully to his work, letting his mind clear as he pounded away at the stones. Within an hour the rest of the stones were down, and they were left with the bare bones of the fireplace. It took the rest of the day for him and another crew member to haul out the heavy pieces. Meanwhile, the rest of his team worked on tearing out the back wall, which would become the entrance to the new deck overlooking the waterfront.

He had eaten his lunch with the rest of the crew since Sara had gone out to run errands during his break.

It was almost as if she was avoiding him and he was determined to get in her way as much as he could. At some point, they were going to talk about her safety. And he wanted her thoughts on who could have left the message last night.

When he finished cleaning up for the day, he went to search for her with no luck. He ran home, took Toby for a run on the beach, then showered. When he was done, it was time to head to Sara's folks' place.

He hated wearing ties but took one in the truck with him just in case he decided when he got there he wanted one.

He couldn't count the times he'd met a woman's parents, starting way back in junior high when he'd asked Darcy Robins to his first dance. As he parked his truck behind Sara's Jeep, his palms were as sweaty as they had been back then.

It didn't make him feel any more relaxed knowing he had already met them. He sat in his truck, the engine off, staring at the massive place in front of him.

The large white two-story house had beautiful flowers surrounding it in neatly kept flower beds. The house itself was in perfect condition with long green shutters on either side of the picture windows that lined the front of the house. There was a long porch with cozy chairs and a bench swing.

The front door was painted bright red and had stained-glass windows on either side.

He was sitting in the truck debating if he wanted to strap on the tie or not when a light knock on his window jolted him.

Sara chuckled as he opened the door.

"Sorry," she said. His eyes ran over her and he decided the tie wasn't needed and tossed it on the seat next to him before jumping out.

She was wearing an old pair of faded jeans, open-toe sandals, and a flowing cream top. He imagined in the right light, the top would be see-through.

Leaning in, he gave her a soft kiss before she could move away from him.

"There." He smiled down at her, taking her hand in his. "Now I won't be kicking myself all the way through the meal for not doing that."

They walked up the front stairs together, but she stopped him before reaching the door.

"My family..." She sighed. "They..."

"Relax," he said, realizing she was just as nervous as he was. "I've met both your mom and dad before."

"You have?" Her eyes narrowed, and he realized his mistake too late.

"I ran into them in town one day," he quickly recovered.

"Oh." She frowned a little. "I'm sorry if they did or said anything—"

He leaned in again and kissed her. This time, however, she pushed her body against his and wrapped her arms around him. He sank into the kiss, losing himself in the feeling of her against his body.

Neither of them heard when the front door opened, but they did hear when someone cleared their throat directly beside them.

Parker jumped away from Sara, almost falling over backwards.

Matt stood leaning against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest as he chuckled.

"It's a good thing I was the one who opened the door instead of Dad," Matt joked.

"Dad knows I kiss boys," Sara said easily, walking past her brother.

Parker was left standing there, facing her brother, unsure of his next move.

Thankfully, Matt reached out his hand and gave him a smile. "Well, come on in. I know I could use a beer."

Parker relaxed and shook the man's hand. Matt glanced behind him. "You didn't bring Toby?"

He smiled. "No, he's still mad at me for letting the doctor do unthinkable things to his manhood."

Matt chuckled. "Responsible pet owner. I can see why my folks like you."

He walked through the front door and glanced around.

A beautiful dark wood curved staircase sat directly in the entryway. A large chandelier hung from the top floor over the staircase.

French doors sat on either side of the hallway. He followed Matt down the hallway towards the back of the house, passing a cozy study on one side and a formal dining room with a maple table already set for dinner on the other side.

He stopped just inside the doorway to the kitchen. Matt walked over to the fridge and pulled out a couple of beers and handed one to him. Parker noticed that Sara's father was already sipping one as he leaned against the counter, one arm wrapped over his daughter's shoulders.

Sara's mom, Megan, stood at an oversized white stove, stirring something that smelled delicious.

"Hope you like Corona, since we're having chicken enchiladas. My mom likes to keep the entire meal in sync." Matt chuckled.

He took a swallow and nodded. "I'm not picky when it comes to free food." He smiled at Sara. "And good company."

"Kiss up," Matt said softly before taking a drink of his beer.

"Leave him alone." Sara walked over to the fridge and pulled out her own beer. "I hear he'll be working for you on your new house." He could tell that Sara had meant to start something, since her eyes darted between her parents and her brother.

"You're too late, kiddo." Matt smiled. "They already know and approve."

Sara frowned and walked over to where he stood.

"Approve, yes. Agree that it was a good choice to buy a home that's falling in on itself, no," Todd added.

"Parker's going to help me fix it up. Besides, I'll bet it has a solid foundation."

"I'll know more during the inspection," Parker added.

"You'll let me know if there's anything... off," Todd said to him.

"I'll have a complete list of repairs needed."

"Which he will then give to the owner of the home," Matt warned. "It's my business what needs to be done, not yours."

Todd walked over and wrapped an arm around his son. "Just because you are old enough to buy a home on your own doesn't mean I will ever stop worrying about you."

"Why don't we move this into the dining room? The food is ready," Megan said, pulling a pan of enchiladas out of the oven. "Matt, you can help me take all this in. Everyone else, go on in."

Over dinner, he watched the family very closely and realized he had never really had a family before. His grandmother had tried, but it took more than what she could have ever given him. Part of him was jealous of what Matt and Sara had grown up having. Part of him longed to make this for himself and in his imagination, it was Sara he was building that family with.

# 12

There was so much Sara was thankful for. Her family had always topped that list. Dinner was just what she had needed after the past couple days.

Somehow, her father had not only found out about what had been painted on the container, but also about her being locked in the freezer.

She should have known that it wouldn't remain a secret for long. Nothing ever did in Pride. Still, she had been a little shocked at his laid-back approach to the situation.

Her family wasn't one to freak out, but she expected her father to have more to say on the subject of his oldest daughter being locked in a freezer and almost turned into a Popsicle. The talk would probably come when Parker wasn't present.

After her mother's fabulous enchiladas, they made their way to the front porch and enjoyed the light breeze coming off the water.

It had been a while since she'd sat out here with her family. Her parents sat on the swing, her father's arm draped over her mother's shoulders as they rocked lightly. She couldn't count how many times she'd seen them just like that or how many times she'd dreamed she'd find someone she could spend her life with doing the same thing.

Her brother had left shortly after dinner, claiming he had to hop on a plane to California first thing in the morning. Since Matt had started taking over more of her father's responsibilities, she'd noticed a change in her dad. He was more relaxed and spent a lot more time working with her mom on the cabins or just taking walks on the beach.

She had known several couples where retirement had led to divorce. It was usually because the couple found out after spending more time with one another that they couldn't stand each other. Her parents weren't having that problem. Actually, she was pretty sure that her parents were falling in love all over again.

Her mother laid her head on her dad's shoulder, and Sara recognized the signal that she was tired. Standing up, she pulled Parker up with her.

"How about a walk on the beach?" she asked, heading towards the stairs. Parker stopped and turned to her parents.

"Thank you for dinner. Everything was wonderful. It was really nice seeing both of you again."

"Just because you're dating our daughter, doesn't mean you have to become a stranger." Her father added, "Thanks for watching out for her."

Parker glanced at her sideways as he gave her father a nod. "Night."

They walked in silence down the lit pathway that passed the cabins and headed towards the beach. When they hit the soft sand, she pulled off her sandals, setting them aside and taking Parker's hand.

"So," she said as they walked. The sun was gone, but the full moon lit their way. "Who do you think painted that message?"

He tugged on her hand, stopping her. She turned towards him, and she could see a worry crease between his eyebrows.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." He took a step closer. "Another old boyfriend? Someone who doesn't have the local sheriff to vouch for him?"

"If Robert Brogan says Aiden was with him, I believe him."

Parker nodded. "Sure, I agree. The man isn't a liar. Can you think of anyone else?"

She bit her bottom lip and looked off to where the dark waves were crashing. The moonlight reflected off the water, making it look like the ocean had a million stars reflected in it. It was almost impossible to tell where the water ended and the sky began.

She thought back to who she had dated before Aiden. "Before Aiden, I dated Joe briefly."

"Joe? Could he have—"

She stopped him. "No, Joe moved to New York and is now an investor for a top investment firm. He's happily dating an actress. Before Joe, Roger." She glanced at him. "Who's married to one of the librarians in town. They're expecting their first child this winter."

He groaned and started walking again. "I don't suppose your list stops there?"

She chuckled and continued through the list of men she'd tried on in life. None of them could she see painting, " _The bitch will get none of it."_

"None of what?" She stopped and sat in the soft sand when they reached the water's edge.

"Good question," he said, sitting beside her, his knees spread wide as he rested his elbows on them.

"Maybe we're looking at this wrong." She turned slightly towards him. "Maybe it wasn't aimed at me at all. Maybe one of the employees is having issues? I mean, Connie, our full-time bartender, just got out of a bad relationship." The woman had come to work with a fat lip. "Maybe it was aimed at her?"

"Think you can do some detective work? Since we cleaned up the mess, I don't think anyone else knows about it."

She laughed. "Oh, I guarantee everyone in town knows about it by now."

He frowned. "Have you told anyone?"

"No," she answered. "Why?"

"Because, Robert, Donny, and I agreed that until we know more, we are going to keep it hushed. So, unless you've talked, it should be our little secret."

She thought about it. "Unless someone else was driving by and saw it. Still, our chances are good, since it was so late." She cocked her head to the side and watched the surf for a while. "This could work to our advantage."

"How so?" he asked.

"If I drop some hints that someone was sneaking around, whoever is afraid could come to me for help. After all, everyone who works there trusts that I have their best interest at heart."

"Sara," he started to say, but she had already started forming a plan in her head.

"I'll snoop around." She smiled, then leaned closer to him, nudging him back until he lay in the sand with her over him. "Enough shop talk," she said before she laid her lips over his. "Have you ever made love on the beach under a full moon?" she asked softly.

"I can honestly say that I haven't." He chuckled as she started tugging his clothes away.

Sara had always imagined that making love on the beach would be like so many movies had shown. In truth, it was nothing like it. Sand got everywhere, sticking to their heated skin, falling in her mouth and eyes, blinding her and making her cough. In the end, they gathered their things and rushed towards the cabin.

After enjoying a long hot shower, they fell in bed together, the perfect end to the night.

"So, that didn't go as planned," Parker joked as he ran his fingers through her long wet hair.

She leaned up and looked down at him. "So, how is it that it looks so easy in the movies?"

He chuckled again. "They're actors and aren't really... doing what we were." His smile grew.

"Is it strange that I'm not tired now?" She laid her head back on his chest, loving the sound of his heartbeat against her ear.

"No." He ran his fingers gently over her bare shoulder. "You will be once your heartbeat settles. I can still hear it pounding away."

"That's not mine." She smiled. "Yours is like a running horse."

His answer was a chuckle.

She listened for a while and heard it slow down, then realized her own had matched the beat.

"As much as I would love to fall asleep with you in my arms tonight, Toby is alone in my house," he said, jolting her out of a near sleep.

She sat up slowly. "I understand." His hands cupped her face and he placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"I really want to stay," he said against her lips.

"Go. We can plan for me to come over tomorrow night," she promised, knowing she would be stuck at the restaurant late once again, and he would no doubt talk her into letting him take her home.

"Promise?" he asked.

"Yes." She kissed him again. "Don't expect me to walk you to your truck." She lay back down and watched him slip on his jeans.

"Damn." He groaned. "Now I'll need another shower. There was a pile of sand in these."

She chuckled and he turned back towards her. She noticed the moment his eyes went from aggravation to desire. She was laying on top of the sheets, naked, her arms above her head, playing with her hair as it spread out on the sheets.

"Maybe I could—"

"No, you're not bringing that sandy butt in my bed." She moved up and placed her hands on his chest. "Go, we'll have tomorrow night."

He groaned and reached for his shoes.

Once he was fully dressed, he leaned down and kissed her again before leaving.

She lay in bed, listening to the silence of the night as the past hour played over in her mind. She didn't think she could deny it much longer. She was falling for Parker, and falling hard.

The next day started much like the one before: up before dawn, let Toby outside to do his business, and swallow as much coffee as he could to pull the sleep out of his body before he headed into town.

The only exception was that when he showed up, there was a police car parked behind Sara's Jeep.

His heart skipped several times as he parked quickly and rushed towards the restaurant door.

When he entered, he knew immediately that Sara was safe, but that they had been hit again. This time, there was red paint all over the plastic and walls of the dining area.

He couldn't make out any single phrase, but the word _bitch_ was repeated multiple times as was, _you'll pay_.

Robert was taking a report while Sara stood looking at the mess. Besides the paint, chairs and tables had been turned over. Behind the bar, bottles were smashed and glasses broken. The place was a disaster.

"Hey." He stopped a foot from Sara and shook Robert's hand. "Looks like we were hit again."

"Yeah," he said as Sara turned towards him. Her damp eyes undid him.

Walking over to her, he pulled her into his arms. "Don't worry, we'll have this cleaned up before you know it," he promised.

She said something into his chest that he couldn't fully understand. He ran his hand over her hair and held on while she cried for the loss.

"Is she done here?" he asked Robert.

"Yeah. Maybe she should head to the back. I'll help clean all this up. I've already gotten pictures." Robert removed his jacket just as Parker's men walked in.

"Donny, mind helping out? I'll be a few minutes."

After seeing Sara's tears, his foreman quickly directed the men to clean up.

"The door was locked," Sara said after he shut the office door behind them. "How did they get in?"

"I'm not sure." He wrapped his arms around her fully. "But I'll find out." He thought about what he needed to work on today and mentally moved things around. "I'm heading into Edgeview this morning." He leaned back and used the back of his fingers to wipe the tears away. "How about you ride along with me?"

"I..." She looked around and he could tell she was searching for a reason to stay.

"Come. We'll be back before your crew gets here. We can have lunch and take the morning off while we shop for security cameras."

Sara's eyes perked up. "Yes." She nodded. "I asked my uncle years ago to get some installed." She smiled. "He can't say no if they're already installed. Besides, I just saved him enough money yesterday to pay for it." Her chin rose slightly, and he knew he'd hit the right note.

"I'll just clean up," she said, stepping away, then stopping. "Thanks," she said before leaving the office.

He walked back into the main room and noticed that his men already had half the mess cleaned up.

"How does it look?" he asked Robert.

"No furniture was broken, just tossed about. As for the bottles and glasses, I think they have enough to replace the mess." He nodded towards the bar area. "They shattered the glass wall between the rooms."

He smiled. "That's okay. They did us a favor there, since it was coming down anyway. I guess we'll just move on to that area next."

"Well, we'll have this all cleaned in no time," Donny said, walking over to him. "We should be able to finish knocking out the wall back there as well. I wanted to show you something." He nodded towards the covered area. "Showed the sheriff already."

Parker followed Donny through the hanging plastic and instantly saw how they had gained entry.

They had been so careful yesterday not to break through the wall completely, since they were going to put up a temporary door where the large glass ones would go. Now, however, a hole large enough for a grown man to slide through let in the cool air off the water.

"Well, damn." He sighed.

"Yup. We'll have this closed up good tonight," Donny added.

"Good." He thought about telling his men that they would be installing cameras, but something made him hold back. "I've got a few errands to run with Sara. We should be back after lunch. Keep me posted on your progress."

"Will do."

He left and met Sara by the front door. "I feel like I should be helping." She nodded to the mess.

"They've got it mostly done. Our time is better spent making sure we catch whoever is doing this."

"Agreed. I'll drive," she said.

"Sounds good." He followed her to her Jeep and got in the passenger side.

The drive wasn't more than half an hour, and he tried to keep her mind off of the break-in by talking about Toby or some of the odd jobs he'd had around town.

She was laughing by the time they hit the outskirts of Edgeview.

He'd been to the nearby big town a handful of times for supplies that couldn't be found in Pride. Each time he'd been there, it had confirmed that he'd made the right choice in moving to Pride instead of the bigger town.

Not that anything was wrong with Edgeview, but he enjoyed the slow pace of Pride much better than the hustle and bustle here.

"There are a couple places that sell security cameras," she said, glancing over at him. "At one point, I had priced it out for my uncle."

"Why didn't he want to install them?" he asked.

"They've never had any problems before. Sure, some employees trying to steal stuff, but nothing major like this before." She shrugged, and he could see sadness fill her eyes.

"This isn't your fault," he said, reaching for her hand.

"Iian left me in charge," she said softly.

"So you're to blame?"

"Well, no." She frowned. "But, like I said, no one ever broke in while he was in charge."

Suddenly the truth of the matter was clear to him. His heart and his gut hurt with the truth.

# 13

Sara knew something had changed with Parker, she just wasn't sure what it was. He remained silent as they shopped for the security cameras. She had priced out and researched the equipment less than a year ago and knew exactly what she wanted. She was a little surprised she hadn't thought of it herself after the first break-in.

She had chalked it up to being preoccupied with Parker. When the man was around, her mind and body turned to mush.

She found what she was after in the second store they went to. She was surprised when Parker went right to the items and, after asking the clerk a few questions she had yet to think of, said to her, "This is the system I think will work best."

She smiled up at him. "That's the one I tried to get my uncle to buy last year."

"You did your research." He nodded. "Looks like we'll have time to grab some lunch. Know of any good places in town?"

"There's this amazing burger place." She felt her stomach growl at the thought of a juicy burger.

She paid for the system with the Oar's business credit card, and Parker helped her load the boxes into the back of her Jeep. Then they headed out towards Joe's Burger. The place was one of the greasiest holes-in-the-wall around, but their burgers and shakes were legendary.

"You were right about the burger," Parker said, holding up the massive thing as meat juice dripped from it. The cheese was running off the edges and once you picked the thing up, it was best not to set it down again, because it would fall apart, and you'd be stuck eating it with a fork. The crisp fries went perfectly with a large chocolate shake.

"Why don't you serve this kind of stuff at your uncle's place?" he asked after swallowing a mouthful.

She laughed. "Iian loves a greasy burger every now and then, but his reputation as a chef goes beyond burgers."

"True." Parker nodded. "I haven't tried the Oar's burgers yet, but I bet they're better than these." He took another bite.

"Shhh." She glanced around. "You don't want to open that messy debate again." She relaxed when she realized no one else was in earshot of them.

The place was packed so all the waitstaff were too busy to hear.

Parker laughed. "What, don't tell me the Oar has a feud with Joe?"

"Not anymore," she joked and smiled.

"I was thinking." He set his burger down and leaned closer. "For now, I think we should keep the security cameras to ourselves. I'll come around tonight after everyone leaves and we can install them ourselves."

She thought about it. "You think if they hear about them, we won't be able to catch them?"

"Right, and as you have mentioned, if you tell someone in town, it's bound to get around the entire town in a day."

She nodded. "Agreed. We can leave everything in my Jeep until everyone leaves."

"I was thinking of coming around for dinner and then sticking around until after everyone leaves."

"Sounds good." She smiled, looking forward to the evening with him.

During the drive back to Pride, Parker was more talkative and seemed a little more relaxed. She was eager to install the cameras and eager to catch whoever had destroyed the place.

When they got back, she stayed busy replacing the bottles behind the bar and helping the bartender move extra glasses from the storage room and clean them up.

Then the dinner rush started, and she was occupied with helping out wherever she was needed. Close to the end of the rush, she noticed Parker sitting in the corner booth in the bar area.

It was still strange to not have the glass wall there, blocking the view of the bar from the main room, but she had to admit, she was pleased that they had finished removing the half wall before they had returned from their trip to Edgeview. It really did open up the place up, which made her even more excited to see everything else Parker had planned come to life.

She didn't have much time to talk to him but made sure to stop by his table after he'd finished his meal and drop off a large piece of apple pie a la mode for him.

"What's this?" His eyes went big at the slice.

"Just a little something to say, thank you." She leaned in and kissed his cheek when she set the plate in front of him.

"Little?" His eyebrows rose slightly.

"I was hoping to have some time to share it with you."

He moved over in the booth and she sat down next to him. He handed her one of the spoons she'd set down and they got to work knocking back the huge slice.

"Okay, I don't think I should eat that much sugar for dinner again." She leaned back and thought about loosening her slacks.

He chuckled. "Try eating that much after putting back an entire plate of lasagna."

She groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, you may have to roll me out of here."

Just then, there was a commotion in the back. Sara jumped to action and Parker followed her. They entered the kitchen and Parker rushed past her to yank away the man who was trying to pull Connie out the back door.

Connie was screaming and kicking, trying to free herself from the man. Her always-neat hair was tangled and her shirt was ripped. Tears flowed down her face.

Parker yanked the man from Connie's side and forced his face against the wall as he twisted one of the man's arms behind his back. She could tell he was ready to kick the guy's feet out from under him if he moved.

"Stay still," Parker warned in a low tone that Sara had never heard before.

Sara rushed to Connie's side and gathered her up. "I told him never to come here." She cried in Sara's shoulder.

"That bitch owes me," the guy said, trying to break free from Parker's hold. So Parker did what Sara had imagined he would; he swept his legs and the guy crashed to the floor. Parker shoved his knee in the man's back and jerked the guy's arm up higher until the man couldn't move.

Connie cried out when Parker made his move but they both watched in amazement as Colin was taken down for probably the first time in his life.

Sara had never met Colin Gifford before, but his reputation had floated around Pride since he'd dropped out of high school a few years before her freshmen year.

She wouldn't have been able to pick him out of a lineup before tonight, but after seeing his face turn red from anger and hearing the hate spew from him towards Connie, she doubted she would ever forget him or that moment.

"Call Robert," she said to Damion, who was standing there like he'd never seen anything like it before. He nodded and pulled out his cell phone.

Taking Connie by the shoulders, she moved into the office and shut the door, locking out the noise and the sight of Parker controlling her friend's ex.

"Sit." She nudged Connie onto the soft sofa. "Want some water or a soda?" She walked over to the small fridge her uncle kept behind his desk.

"Water," she said with a shaky voice.

Sara handed her a bottle and sat next to her.

"You two broke up a while back?" she asked.

Connie nodded. "After the last time..." Her eyes darted to her. "I didn't want to be his punching bag anymore. I've never seen anyone stand up to him before." She glanced up at Sara. "It was kind of nice to see him finally get what he deserved." She looked down at her hands. "Does that make me wicked?"

"No, it makes you human." Sara smiled.

Connie's chin rose. "I moved back in with my parents after the last time he messed with me."

"Good. Has he bothered you since?"

"He tries calling or stopping by, but my dad keeps him away from me."

"Has he come here before?" she asked.

"No." Connie shook her head. "Never."

Sara took a deep breath. She could tell Connie was worried about her job and she laid a hand on hers. "You're not in trouble."

"Really? Everyone in the dining room must have heard." She closed her eyes as more tears rolled down her cheeks. "Everyone in the kitchen knows what happened."

"And no one blames you. Trust me." She wrapped her arm around the woman. Connie had been a few years ahead of her in school. They hadn't been close friends, but they hadn't been enemies.

"Thanks," she said, sniffling. "I'll probably have to file another restraining order." She groaned.

"We'll let Robert tell us your next move. He should be here soon. I'll stay with you."

"Thank you," she said again.

By the time things settled down again, everything was cleaned from dinner. Most of the staff had left already.

Damion agreed to take Connie home and other staff members arranged to pick her up and drop her off for the rest of the week. She couldn't have been prouder of her staff for stepping up for one of their own. Her uncle had picked the best crew to work for him.

Locking the front door, she turned to Parker and smiled. "I feel like I'm in a spy movie." She giggled. "Sneaking around after hours and planting hidden cameras."

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her. He had borrowed her keys and brought in all the boxes that now sat in her uncle's office.

Just as Parker leaned down to kiss her, her cell phone rang.

Seeing her aunt's number, she frowned as she answered the call.

"We heard about Connie." Sara could hear the concern in Allison's voice. "Iian wants to know if she's okay."

"Yes." She sighed and mouthed 'Allison' to Parker, who nodded and pointed towards the back. She nodded her agreement for him to start pulling out the equipment while she talked. "It was a good thing Parker was here for dinner. He took care of Colin. Damion took Connie home tonight," she said.

"Oh, good." She was silent for a while. "Iian wants you to arrange it so that someone is with her..."

"Already done. The crew made a schedule of who's picking her up every day and making sure she gets home after her shift."

Allison was quiet again and Sara knew she was signing to Iian.

"Thank you." Allison sighed. "We were worried. Connie is a sweet girl."

"Yes, she's fine. How's the trip?"

Allison's voice changed from worried to excited. "Oh, it's wonderful."

For the next few minutes she listened to her aunt talk about their romantic getaway and everything they'd done in the past week. She filled her in briefly on the work that had been down so far, making sure not to mention the break-in.

"Don't worry about a thing," Sara encouraged them. "We've got everything under control."

"Sounds like you do. I'd better get off the call. We're heading out for breakfast. See you in two weeks."

"Bye." She hung up her phone and turned to where Parker had laid out all the equipment on a table.

"Ready to play spy?"

It took him a little longer than expected, but they had wanted to make sure no one would spot the cameras, so he had taken the time to drill small holes in the ceiling and crawl up in the attic to place all the wires. They had one camera facing out the back door, one out the front, three in the main dining area, and one in the kitchen. There was no way to miss whoever was destroying things now. Sara had installed the app on her phone and would be notified when motion set them off. They programed it to call Robert when she hit the alarm button.

By the time they pulled up to Parker's house, they were covered in a layer of dust and sweat.

He suggested a shower after letting Toby out to do his business. His shower hadn't been remodeled yet, and he hadn't gotten a new water heater yet, so Sara climbed in and out in record time.

It took laying under the thick comforter for a few minutes with his arms wrapped around her before she stopped shivering.

"You can bring Toby over to my place until you have a new water tank."

He chuckled. "I ordered one at the local hardware store. It should be in tomorrow. I was going to spend the evening installing it."

"Good." She sighed and finally relaxed.

He brushed a kiss over her hair. "Go to sleep."

"Already there." She grunted when Toby jumped up and tried to wedge his body between them.

"Down—" he started to say.

"No, I like the extra warmth. But he has to lay near my feet. They're still frozen."

He pushed the dog's lax body until he lay over Sara's feet.

"Better?"

"Yes." She sighed, and he could tell she was fast asleep.

He woke to his alarm, which happened to be Toby demanding to be let out. Rolling away from Sara's warmth, he blindly walked to the door and opened it. The dog raced out. It didn't immediately dawn on Parker what he was seeing, since his eyes were half closed. But he quickly realized that someone had painted words all over his porch. Toby had ignored the fresh paint on the deck, desperate to empty his bladder.

Flipping on the flood light, he cursed under his breath and tried to stop the dog from running through the red paint again.

"What is it?" Sara asked, sitting up when he returned to the bedroom to get his cell phone.

"Nothing," he replied quickly, but he saw she wasn't going to take being blown off. "I guess we should have bought a camera for my front porch as well."

"What?" Her eyes flew open.

"I got tagged last night. Sucks, because I just got the porch painted the way I liked it. I'm calling Robert."

She reached over and grabbed her phone. "I'm checking the cameras at the Oar."

He nodded and stepped outside to have a better look around. The sun wasn't up yet, so he used a flashlight to shine around and check for more damage.

The messages painted on the wood were more personal and precise, and he immediately guessed who had done them.

After getting off the phone with the station, he met Sara at the door. "It's a mess out here. Why don't you go get dressed. Robert will be here shortly."

"What does it say?" She tried to turn her neck to read the letters.

"Your whore won't touch a dime of my money," he read. "I think my mother is in town."

"Your mother?" Sara frowned.

"Later," he promised. "I'll tell you everything. For now, I don't want you dressed like that when Robert and a deputy show up."

She glanced down to see that she was only wrapped in a sheet.

"Okay, but we're heading to Sara's Nook for donuts and hot coffee, and you're going to spill it all."

"I promise." He walked over and kissed her. "I'm sorry."

"For?"

"It looks like those messages weren't for you, but me."

She touched his face. "We'll talk." She glanced behind him as a car's lights hit the house.

"Go." He nudged her inside and shut the door, hoping to keep her and Toby in the house while he ran through why his mother was doing the things she was.

An hour later, after spraying down the somewhat dry paint from his porch, he changed and drove Sara into town. Parking across the street from the bakery, he stopped her from jumping out of the truck.

"My mom is sick," he said.

"Sick as in..."

"Mentally, physically, you name it. She's bipolar and has struggled with drugs since long before I was born. When I was five, she left me on my grandmother's doorstep and I've only seen her a handful of times since. Each time she came around, she demanded money from my grandmother. She would deny that I was hers and claim that my grandmother was spending all her money on someone else's brat." He closed his eyes and rested his head against the headrest. "The last time she saw my grandmother, she trashed the house and by the time I got there, Gran had had a stroke."

Her hand took his. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

"I had Gran moved to a facility just outside of Pride. I've gone by and visited her a few times, but she doesn't recognize me anymore and they say it's only a matter of time."

"I'm sorry," she said again.

"My mother thinks she's dead."

"Why would she?"

"Because I allowed fake news to spread in the small town she lived in so she wouldn't hunt us down and do it all over again. My grandmother can't defend herself anymore. I won't let anyone harm her."

"Of course not."

He realized his eyes were burning, so he quickly jumped out of the truck and helped her out.

They ate breakfast in silence. He tried to enjoy the sticky bun and coffee, but everything tasted sour to him since his mind was tainted once again with thoughts of his mother.

"Eat," Sara urged him. "We have a long day ahead of us."

He nodded and finished the roll. Just then, Riley walked in, a large smile on her face as she pushed a sleeping toddler in a stroller. He almost choked on his drink.

"Jesus, tell me she doesn't have a kid." He nodded towards Sara's cousin.

Sara laughed. "No, she's babysitting for Abby and Lane Austin. Lane is the fire chef in town." She smiled and waved her cousin over to the table.

"Morning." Riley sat down next to Sara. "I heard about the mess yesterday. I hope Connie is okay."

"She's fine," Sara said.

"If you need me to fill in—"

"No," both he and Sara said at the same time, causing Riley to sigh loudly and rest her chin on her fist.

"I can't wait until I'm twenty-one." She rocked the stroller slowly.

"Don't grow up too fast," Parker added, thinking back to his own youth. Because of his mother, he never really got to be a kid.

"Well, since you're off the market"—Riley's eyes moved between them—"marrying young is out of the picture. All I have going for me is mixing drinks now."

Sara reached over and patted Riley's hand. "You'll find your man sooner or later. Probably when you least expect it, but..." She paused. "When you're older."

Riley rolled her eyes. "I'd better go. We're expected at the library with donuts soon. It's playdate day." She rolled her eyes once again. "Bye."

Parker stood up and followed her to the counter. "Riley, have you seen that woman again?"

She leaned closer and whispered, "The one who came in and told me that you had killed your grandmother?"

"Yes."

"No, but I did see a strange woman bothering Patty the other day. The woman wanted to buy booze, but Patty doesn't sell liquor anymore, not since Cash's opened up last year."

The sinking feeling was back as he asked. "What did she look like?"

"Older, a real mess. The woman was drunk or high." She shrugged. "Frizzy hair."

He nodded. "Thanks. If you see her again around town, call me. Better yet, call Robert."

Riley's eyebrows rose. "Is she dangerous?"

"Just call, okay."

"Sure thing." She turned to place her order and he walked back towards Sara, who was clearing their mess from the booth.

"What was that about?" she asked as they walked out.

"Riley saw my mother at Patty's. Do you mind if we head over there before going to the restaurant?"

"Sure, I needed a few things anyway."

Parker liked Patty O'Neil. The woman was more of a character than any woman he'd ever known. She was animated somehow. He could tell by just looking at her that she loved the town and everyone in it.

"Hey," she called to them. "What brings you two in this early?"

"Parker wanted to talk with you for a minute," Sara said. "Maybe we can go back into your office?"

"Sure thing. Gosh, I hope it's not something wrong?"

"No," Parker assured her.

After she shut the office door, he turned to her. "The other day an older woman was in here wanting to buy alcohol. You turned her away."

"Yes." Patty nodded, frowning at him.

"I'd like to keep it between us, but that was my mother. She's mentally unstable. If she comes in again, call Robert."

Patty was quiet for a while. "Most people in town don't know this, but my father was diagnosed with clinical depression. My mother found out right after I was born. He started having episodes where he would hurt himself or hurt her. She spent the rest of her life fearing for his and our safety until he died in a mental hospital in Washington State."

"Oh, Patty." Sara walked over and gave the woman a hug.

"Oh, well, I'm okay," She smiled. "Don't you worry about your mother, Parker. We take care of our own around here." Patty walked over and gave him a hug. "And you're one of ours now."

# 14

On Sara's first full day off of work, she found herself rolling up her sleeves and getting dirty, helping Parker install a new water heater. She wanted to spend more time at his place for Toby's sake, and taking another frozen shower wasn't an option.

The install of the new heater was mostly just handing Parker tools while she watched him work. It was a huge turn on, though, since he had to remove his shirt and wedge himself in the small closet space to tug out the old heater. Once it was removed, she cleaned out the dusty closet area. She was expecting another large tank to go back in, but he pulled out a smaller box.

"What's that?" She frowned down at the thing.

"Tankless water heater." He pulled the device out of the box.

"We have those at the cabins. I didn't know what they were for."

Parker chuckled. "They are the reason you have unlimited hot water when you want it. I noticed it at your place and decided I wanted one for my own place. This one is bigger than yours, since I have two bathrooms and a full kitchen."

Once the water heater was installed and tested, he handed her a pair of gloves and a mask.

"Now to conquer the porch." He groaned.

"It won't be so bad," she said, pulling on the mask as she stepped outside.

The red paint was everywhere. Not only could the lettering still be seen, but there were bright red drops all over as well, as if his mother had sprinkled it everywhere on purpose.

"How do we do this?" She looked around at the mess.

"First, we powerwash this all off." He nodded to a machine. "It's messy. Be prepared to get wet." He chuckled. "Stand back, I'll start out."

She stepped off the porch while he started the loud machine. It sounded like a lawn mower at first, then as he began to spray, it sounded more like a car wash. She was pretty sure she could handle the job, and when he waved her over, she took the wand from him and repeated what he'd been doing to each board.

Two hours later, they had stripped his entire decking of every inch of paint, including the layer he had done himself less than a week ago.

"We'll have to let this dry before painting it again. How about we pack a lunch and take Toby to the beach?"

"Sounds wonderful." She smiled. "I'll change." She looked down at her soaking jeans and T-shirt.

After a quick hot shower, she pulled on clean jeans and a clean top. She slid on her shoes and walked out to the kitchen where Parker had lunch already packed. Toby was dancing at the door with his leash hanging from his mouth.

"He started that a few days ago." Parker laughed. Parker had changed into shorts and a gray shirt. "Ready?" He bent and strapped Toby to the leash.

"I'll carry the food. You'll have your hands full with him." She laughed when the dog bolted as he opened the front door.

She carried the basket until they reached the pathway, where he let Toby loose. He took the basket from her and took her other hand in his free one.

"It's a perfect day." She rested her head against his shoulder.

"Too bad we can't do this every day," he said as they walked. "We can set up lunch down by the water." He nodded to a spot.

"Perfect." She laughed at Toby as he hit the surf and jumped in the water.

"I know someone who'll be staying outside until he dries off," Parker said. "I'm thinking of installing an outdoor shower to hose him off."

"That's a great idea. We have them at some of the cabins. It helps keep the sand outside."

"I have big plans for the place. I just need a little more cash flow before I start on the bigger items."

"Like?" she asked when he dropped her hand and started setting out their lunch. She sat down on the soft sand.

"Like," he said pulling out containers, "I want to put a metal roof on the place and remove the shingled exterior walls and put up something more up-to-date. And that's just the outside." He handed her a container and a fork. She had been expecting sandwiches but there was a fresh caprese salad inside it. "Inside, the master bathroom and bedroom will get a complete overhaul. I plan on turning the back workroom into an office space with sliding doors to the backyard." He took a bite of his own salad. "The kitchen also needs a serious update."

She smiled. "So, how long do you expect all this to take?"

He shrugged. "I've got time. I'm in no hurry. I want to make sure I know what I want. I've already changed my mind a few times on things."

"Oh?" she asked finishing her salad.

"Sure, like the workroom. I was originally thinking fourth bedroom, but then I realized I needed space for paperwork." He shrugged, then pulled out another container.

She opened it and looked inside.

"It's Italian chicken pasta," he said.

"I can see that. You had time to make this while I got ready?" she asked.

"No." He smiled. "I made most of it yesterday and threw it together while you showered."

"Okay," she said after her first bite. "Serious skills in the bedroom and the kitchen. Why hasn't someone tied you down yet?"

He chuckled and started on his own food. Toby had found a large piece of driftwood and decided this was a good time to lay it across Parker's lap.

Parker jumped up, almost spilling his food. The driftwood was soaking wet and had dumped sand and dirt on his lap.

She waited to see how he would respond to the dog and was happily surprised when instead of yelling, he brushed his shorts off and spent a few minutes playing tug of war with the dog.

When the dog had tired of the game and decided he'd chase some seagulls instead, Parker sat back down next to her, a large smile on his face.

"You know, none of my previous boyfriends would have acted like that."

He frowned. "Like what?"

She shook her head, feeling foolish all of a sudden, but he waited patiently until she finally told him.

"They were all very low on patience when it came to animal behavior. Joe came over for dinner once, and Raco jumped on him when I opened the door. The dog didn't have dirty paws and didn't leave a mark on his slacks, but Joe yelled at him and acted like he had been soiled. A day later, I broke up with him."

"I broke up with my girlfriend in high school because she was allergic to my grandmother's cat."

She smiled and held up her bottled water. "To animal lovers."

"Animal lovers." He tapped his water bottle to hers, then added, "They make the best lovers."

Parker had never spent a more fulfilling day in his life. He was tired and sore by the time they climbed into bed, but he had to admit, it felt wonderful to hold Sara in his arms as he drifted off to sleep. Toby was curled in a tight ball at their feet, nice and clean from the bath Sara had given him.

He was jolted awake in the middle of the night when her cell phone started buzzing loudly.

She sat straight up and fumbled for it.

"What? What time is it?" He sat next to her, trying to see her screen.

"It's 2:30. The motion camera just went on in front of the restaurant." She showed him the screen. He couldn't make out anything on the night vision camera. They sat and watched the screen for a few minutes then got dressed and headed down there to check things out for themselves.

"It could be that a bat flew in front of the camera and set it off," he assured her as he drove.

"I'd rather check, just in case," she said, biting her lip and looking down at her phone screen nervously.

As he pulled into the parking lot, Sara's eyes were still glued to the picture on her phone. She kept flipping between the front door and back, then would check the ones inside.

"Anything?" he asked, already feeling more relaxed.

"No, nothing." She sighed. "Maybe it _was_ a bat."

"Just the same, I'm here. I'll go check the storage unit and make sure no one has messed with it." He jumped out. "Lock the door behind me. I'll be just a minute." He took the flashlight from the door and made his way across the parking lot. He heard Sara lock the door behind him and smiled.

The lock on the heavy metal doors to the storage container was still in place. He tested it to make sure it was locked, then turned back towards the truck. He was just about to step out between the two large containers when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. He didn't have any time to respond before something hard and metallic hit him in the side of his jaw, sending him falling forward to the ground. He had only a moment to respond and he rolled, expecting another blow. Instead, there was only silence.

His flashlight had landed on the pathway and in its beam of light lay a large cylinder-shaped buoy the size of his fist. He figured that was what had just hit him. He listened for any sounds and when he guessed it was clear, he reached for the light.

He felt his jaw and wiggled it a few times before slowly standing up. Flashing the light in the direction the buoy had come from, he held his breath and listened. When no sounds or movement came from any direction, he moved over to the spot and could see footprints in the dirt that led towards the grassy area.

Shining his light down the street, he listened for any sounds of a vehicle. He didn't hear anything and made his way back to the truck.

"Is everything okay?" Sara asked as he got in. He turned towards her and she gasped. "What happened?" She was across the seat, her fingers gently playing over his jawline.

"Someone threw this at me." He held up the buoy.

"What?" She looked down at the metal can. "What is it?"

"It's a can buoy. Usually used for fishing or lobster bait traps or marking off areas in the water. One this small I'd say was used for bait traps."

"You got hit with it?" she asked as her fingers brushed over his skin. "Someone threw it at you?"

"I'm guessing so." He sighed. "I doubt it fell from the space station." He chuckled slightly, trying to lighten the mood. "Looks like it wasn't a bat after all, but a ruse to get me down here." He leaned back. "I guess we weren't good spies when we put up the cameras outside. Someone obviously saw us."

She groaned. "Let's go get some ice on your jaw. It's going to be swollen and probably black and blue by morning."

Just what he wanted, he thought as he drove home again.

"Maybe we should make a show of removing the outside cameras?" she suggested as he drove.

"No. My mother may be crazy, but she's not stupid. She'll know if we put them up outside, we would have installed them inside as well."

"Now what?" she asked as he parked out front.

"Now, we report it to Robert, try to go about our lives, and wait for her to make a mistake. I'm sure the police will eventually find her. There's probably only a few places she could be staying on her budget."

"What does she do for a living?" Sara asked as they parked in front of his garage.

"Nothing. My grandfather set up a trust fund for her before he passed away." He rushed around and helped her out of the truck. "It's one of the reasons she was always demanding more from my grandmother. She didn't like the slow trickle of money and wanted it all at once."

"All?" She stopped on the front porch and turned towards him. "What did your grandfather do for a living that he could leave her enough money to live on like that?"

"Clark Enterprises," he said. Her eyes went big.

"You're that Clark." It was a statement, not a question. "The largest aviation firm along the West Coast, outside of Boeing, of course."

"Yup, my grandfather was. He sold it all when he found out he had cancer. That was before I was born. He wanted to leave his wife and daughter something while he could. But at the time, my mother was running around and out of control, so my grandmother talked him into putting her in charge of a trust fund so my mother would be taken care of all of her life instead of blowing all of her inheritance within a few years."

"Then why is she upset at you? And why does she think I'll get the money?" she asked.

"Because when my mother dumped me on my grandmother's porch, my grandmother made up a new will that, upon her death, would give me everything, leaving my mother nothing other than her monthly payments."

"And she thinks your grandmother is dead?"

"Yes. I didn't want my mother to find her. At this stage, my grandmother isn't even mentally able to understand where she is and what happened, let alone fight against being forced to change her will. I want her last days to be peaceful and not filled with worry."

She stepped up and wrapped her arms around him. "Since it appears we're not going to get any more sleep, how about I cook us some breakfast."

He kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry for dragging you into all this mess."

"You didn't drag me." She leaned up and kissed him. "I jumped in with both feet, willingly."

# 15

Over the next couple days, everything remained quiet. Sara was impressed with the pace of the work at the restaurant. Now, instead of just the back wall being blocked off, the entire bar area was behind plastic.

It seemed to her that more people came in to see what was going on than normally ate there. Each night, the place was packed and on Friday night, there was actually a line out the front door.

She stayed busy during the day while spending more and more of her nights with Parker and Toby. He'd convinced her to bring some of her things over to his place, since he claimed he liked the smell of her shampoo in her hair over his.

By the end of her second week in charge, everything was wonderfully back on track. She relaxed slightly and didn't check the security cameras as often when she wasn't at the restaurant.

There had been a few minor incidents with the workers. Someone had been hurt slightly when ceiling tiles crashed down on them. Another man had injured his hand when the nail gun misfired. Nothing major; it could have been a lot worse.

Parker seemed to be more upset about these instances than the initial break-in to his tool container.

She'd helped him install security lights and cameras at his place one evening and he'd given her the code for the system.

The next full day they had off together, she'd gone with him to visit his grandmother. She'd been to the Hotel, __ the retirement home along the coast just outside of Pride, a few times during her school years. Her school had required community service hours, and she had spent her time there, reading to the elderly. Since she didn't have any grandparents alive, she had imagined several of the residents as her own and, during her eighth-grade year, had begged her mother to drive her down there every other weekend.

Parker had been right; his grandmother was in pretty bad shape. The stroke hadn't been kind to her. Sara could tell that the older woman didn't even know they were there. Parker talked to the head nurse quietly while she arranged the bundle of flowers they had bought at Basketcase, the new flower shop in Pride.

She walked over and touched his grandmother's hand and leaned in to whisper.

"Thank you for raising such a wonderful man. You can be proud of him." She leaned in and placed a soft kiss on the woman's paper-thin cheek.

When she turned around, she saw that Parker had been watching her from across the room.

"Thank you." He touched the nurse's arm. "I'll try to make it back here next week." The woman nodded and left quietly.

"How's she doing?" Sara asked when they were alone.

"Not so good." He leaned in and placed a kiss on his grandmother's forehead. "Hey there, old lady," he said, lovingly. "I heard you're not having an easy time."

Parker continued to talk to his grandmother for a few more minutes before turning back towards her.

"Thanks for coming with me." He took her hand and pulled it up to his lips. "I'm sure she enjoys the extra company. She always got tired of me talking so much." He chuckled.

"You're lucky to have her." She leaned against Parker's shoulder. "I've never had a grandparent. I used to come here"—she glanced around the private room—"and pretend mine lived here."

"This is part of the reason I chose Pride." He nodded out the window. "You can't beat the staff, the facilities, and that view."

The ocean sat below them, the waves crashing on the rocky shoreline. It was one of the best views in Oregon. The retirement home had been there over a century, and clearly, whoever built the place had wanted its occupants to enjoy living there.

"I know this excellent restaurant down the coast. We can drive down there and have dinner before heading back home," she suggested.

"Sounds wonderful. How about we pull off the top on the Jeep and you let me drive?" He smiled as he pulled her into his arms.

"Depends. Can you drive stick?"

He chuckled before he kissed her. "Don't worry, baby, I won't scratch your pride and joy."

She playfully shoved him back and laughed.

"Well, well, isn't this sweet." The scratchy voice from the doorway made Parker stiffen.

Sara turned towards the woman in the doorway. Her first impression was that the woman needed a shower. She was drug-junky thin. Her frizzy blonde hair was out of control in places while greased back in others. She had on dark blue eyeshadow with bright pink lipstick painted high above her normal lip lines, making it look like a child had painted them. She was shocked when she realized that the woman standing in the doorway was Parker's mother.

"How did you find us?" he asked, putting his body between the woman and his grandmother.

"I had to hire a private investigator. I spent the last of my money on the bitch. You owe me." His mother moved into the room and walked past him. She reached over and picked up her mother's hand. "I can't believe you'd keep my mother from me during her last days on earth." The woman actually narrowed her eyes. "You'll be hearing from my lawyers about this, as well as getting my bill for the PI."

"You're the reason she's here," Parker said, and Sara heard the anger in his voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The woman pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed as if she was going to sit there and wait for the old woman to die.

Parker took a step closer and lowered his voice. "Before the stroke, she told me you had trashed the place, demanding money that night."

His mother's chin rose slightly. "You can't prove anything."

"No, I can't. And I can't keep you from visiting her here during visiting hours, which are over in..."—he glanced down at his watch—"five minutes." He moved over and sat down across from his mother and got comfortable.

"I'm going to go powder my nose," Sara said, backing up towards the door.

In the hallway, she ran into Margie, the head nurse. As quickly and quietly as she could, she explained what was happening and asked that Margie or any other employees give her a call when the woman showed up again.

Margie laid a hand on her arm and smiled. "We've got you covered. We deal with this more often than you'd think."

When Sara entered the room again, Parker had the door open and was waiting while his mother talked quietly to her mother.

They watched the woman leave, and Sara knew that, for Parker, the day had been spoiled. Maybe even the rest of the week.

"I'm sorry," Sara said, taking his hand as they headed out.

"Don't be. She was bound to find out about this place sooner or later. It makes sense now. Riley told me of a woman that had been poking around town, asking after me. That must have been the investigator she'd hired to find me. Funny, I didn't peg her for the type that would pay someone to do her dirty work. Actually, I can't see her paying for anything." He stopped at the back of her Jeep.

Riley had told Sara about the woman and what she'd said about Parker. She figured getting his mind off the situation was the best move and held up her keys. "Are you still up for a drive?"

"More so now than before." He sighed and leaned in to place a kiss on her lips. "Thanks for being here for me."

"I had a talk with Margie. She's going to call me anytime your mother shows up."

He nodded, then pulled out his cell phone. "I had arranged to have this installed when I moved her into the room. I had seen too many reports of the elderly being abused and had it written in the contract that I could install a camera." He showed her the phone screen. There, in the middle of the room, was his grandmother. "I'll know anytime she visits and exactly what she does."

"Good." She let him help her pull the soft top of her Jeep down and set the navigation on her phone to the Wild Horse Café, about a half-hour drive from Pride. "She won't ever hurt her or you again," Sara assured him.

The evening air helped clear his anger as he drove the winding beach roads. He took the drive slow instead of speeding, and Sara relaxed after he quickly proved to her that he could handle the drive.

He could tell that she knew he was upset and that he wanted to think as he drove. She sat beside him, quietly, enjoying the view and the drive.

The sun was just setting when they pulled into the café's parking lot.

The little place looked more like a home than a café. The parking lot was full, so he parked on the street.

"Feeling better?" she asked when he cut the engine.

"Yeah." He smiled over at her and took her hand in his. "The ocean air cleared a lot of the anger and memories away."

"She'll be okay," Sara reassured him.

"I know." He nodded. "Let's go eat."

The café was a pleasant change from eating in town. The view was slightly different than that at the Oar. The beach stretched behind the large glass windows for as far as he could see. The sun had already slipped below the horizon, but the sky was still full of bright colors as they were seated.

The soup and sandwiches were delicious and he mentally added the place to his revisit list.

By the time they were ready to drive back home, the temperature had dropped, and he had to pull the top up. Besides, he was pretty sure that it was going to rain.

They started home and, sure enough, it started pouring before they got there. When they arrived, they had to rush towards the house in the rain.

"It's a good thing you put the top up." Sara laughed as she shook the rain drops from her hair.

"Yeah." He heard Toby whining at the front door and opened it. Upon seeing the rain, the dog did a little circle and then sat down at the top of the steps and looked at him like he was supposed to stop the rain so he could go out and do his business.

Parker chuckled. "Sorry, bud, best I can do is hold an umbrella for you." He reached inside and grabbed the umbrella he kept by the door.

Sara waited for them on the porch. When they all went inside, she suggested popcorn and a movie. The three of them sat on his sofa and watched a scary movie. Toby wasn't too keen on it and fell asleep quickly while Parker held onto Sara as she covered her eyes during the scary parts. He laughed when she squealed and hid her face in his chest during the gory scenes.

By the time they lay in bed together, she had turned his mood around and he was no longer thinking about his mother.

They woke early and headed into town to have breakfast at the bakery. The place was packed on Monday morning since the Oar was still closed for breakfast, but they finally found a small table and sat to eat cinnamon rolls and drink their coffee.

It was nice sometimes that Sara knew everyone in town. During the half hour they were there, more than a dozen people stopped at their table to chat.

Sara had only gotten a few bites of her food before it was time to head to work. She ate the rest of the food as he drove to the restaurant.

When they arrived, he pulled into his normal spot and kissed her before they went their separate ways for the day. They had finished the bar area and he had a tile and grout guy putting the finishing touches on the new fireplace. They had installed the glass accordion doors that would open up to the new deck area where a dozen more tables would sit outside during nicer weather.

They were days away from switching the customers to the new dining area and closing off the main part of the dining room to begin work there. During that phase, the kitchen would also get a quick update with at least one new stove and some electric and plumbing work.

In the dining area, they had to finish the rich oak slat board ceiling before they hung the new chandeliers and track lighting. Since they would be working where he'd hidden one of the cameras, he'd shown up early one morning and moved the camera to another corner, out of the way of their current work.

One of the last things they would do, when the entire dining area was done, was buff the old hardwood floors and put a new polish on them to make them shine. The place would have to be closed for a few days to allow it to dry, so it was one of the last things on his list to complete.

He was up on the ten-foot ladder, holding the lighting in place while Donny finished wiring in the new glass chandeliers.

They were an hour from cleaning up so the place could open for dinner when he felt the ladder sway. He tried to steady it, but it seemed to only shake even more. He cried out for someone to steady it, then felt it twist at an odd angle. His hands released the chandelier he'd been holding as he fell ten feet to the ground.

He landed on his left hip and elbow and only had a moment to brace before the glass light came crashing down on top of him.

He felt the shards of glass splinter into his skin as they crashed around him. He cursed and tried to get up, only to be held down by Nick, one of the men he'd hired to help out.

"Easy, son. You just took a dive. Don't get up too quickly."

He groaned and tried to assess the damage.

"I'm getting cut." He nodded to the blood dripping from his bare skin.

"Well, damn," Nick said. "Someone needs to grab the first aid kit."

Parker heard someone moving around quickly and shuffled until he didn't feel the glass poking him anymore.

"Do you need an ambulance?" Nick asked.

"I don't think so. Just bruised my pride." He glanced towards the ladder and frowned. "What the hell." This time, Nick couldn't hold him down.

The bolts that held the spreader bars had been ground down. All someone had to do was use the ladder for a while and disaster was bound to strike.

"Son of a..." he started to say.

"What happened?" Sara came rushing in. "I heard..." She stopped short when she noticed the blood flowing from his elbow and arms.

She gave a cry and rushed towards him.

"Easy," he said, trying to stop her from slipping on all the broken glass. "I'm okay."

"You're bleeding," she cried.

"We'll take care of him," Nick assured her.

"Someone might as well get Donny out of the ceiling," he said, letting Sara lead him to one of the new booth seats they had already installed.

While she cleaned up his cuts, he instructed his men to double-check the other ladders.

"Boss, it doesn't look like any of the others have been tampered with," Donny reported. "I'll check all the other equipment. It might be a good idea for us to check each time before climbing up one again."

"Agreed, tell the men." He nodded and rested his head back.

"This one might need stitches." Sara had been trying to convince him to head into the clinic and have her uncle Aaron look at him.

"It'll be fine. Just put some of those butterfly bandages on it."

She sighed heavily, then narrowed her eyes at him.

"Listen, I'm fine, really." He took her hand. "A little bruised and cut, but I'll be fine." He was just thankful it had been him instead of one of his crew. Some of the men were on the older side and could have easily broken bones in the fall.

"Fine." Sara set down the gauze and crossed her arms over her chest. He reached over to touch her hand and hissed when his skin broke open. She glared at him and got up to leave. Without a word, she stormed through the plastic.

"She's pissed at you," Donny said, chuckling softly.

"She'll get over it." He stood up and held in another hiss when his hip screamed at him. "I want to know who's messing with our stuff."

"The ladders were locked with all the other stuff, right?" Donny asked.

Parker thought about it. "This one was leaning against that wall. That's why I used it, because it was there." He thought about it for a moment. "Why don't you clean this up? I'm going to see if Sara has something I can take for the pain."

"Sure thing, we'll close up." He looked down at the broken light. "I can pick up another light tomorrow until you order a new one of these."

There were to be two of the massive chandeliers in the place and he was wondering if glass was the best option at this point. What if it had fallen on a customer? He nodded, then stopped. "Hold off. I think we need to reevaluate hanging that much glass over customers' heads."

"Sure thing, boss." Donny saluted him. "Go make things right with your lady."

He would have laughed at Donny, but he was in too much pain. Instead, he focused on how someone could have gotten to the ladder as he headed back to Sara's office.

When he knocked on the door, he heard her get off the phone with someone before calling for him to come in.

"Any chance I can look at the footage from the back area?" he asked, sitting down gently on the sofa. He tried to keep the pain out of his eyes, but Sara was watching him closely and he knew she noticed it.

She flipped around her laptop and held it out for him.

He held in a groan as he reached across to take it from her. He was pretty sure she had done it on purpose to test him because her eyes narrowed when he hissed under his breath.

"What are you looking for?" she asked when he settled back to open the app.

"Someone tampered with the ladder. I'm looking to see if I can tell who did it."

She remained silent as he watched the screen.

The ladder had been sitting against the wall when they'd flicked the lights on that morning. So he went back to yesterday's footage and ran through it. He hadn't been there Sunday. He watched Donny carry the ladder in from the front area first thing in the morning. No one used it all day, but just before the lights flickered off for the night, a hooded figure walked into the blocked off area and moved over to the ladder. The figure stood there for a few minutes. It appeared that they were sawing the bolts down with a hacksaw. The person never looked up and the hood hid their face completely from the cameras. He flipped through all the other angles, but not once did they capture an image of the face.

"It's a man," Sara said. She had moved to stand behind him and looked over his shoulder.

"Yeah, it would appear so."

"It wasn't your mother." She sounded as disappointed as he felt.

"Nope." He sighed.

# 16

Sara tried to act innocent when her uncle stepped into the office with a black medical bag.

"Hi." Aaron looked between them. "Is this my patient?"

Parker glared over at her.

"Yes," she said, throwing her chin up in challenge. "He seems to be suffering from a bruised pride and male stupidity." She heard both men chuckle as she glided past Parker and left the men alone in her office, knowing that her uncle wouldn't let Parker leave without at least taking a look at his cuts.

She helped the evening crew prepare for the dinner rush and made a mental note to keep an eye out for anyone fitting the description of the person on the video.

When she went back to her office, Parker and her uncle were gone. In her trash bin were his old bandages so at least she knew Aaron had patched him up better than she had.

Let him be mad at her for calling her uncle, she thought as she filled in for one of the waitstaff that night. At least she knew he'd been taken care of.

She smiled and was cordial to everyone, but in the back of her mind was the horror of what could have happened to Parker. Falling from a ten-foot ladder could have been deadly.

She couldn't wait for him to pick her up that night so she could assess the damage on the rest of him. He had been limping slightly when he'd come into her office, and she wondered if he'd banged his knee. Had Aaron looked at it?

She was heading to the back with a tray of dirty dishes when she noticed the flap on the plastic that blocked off the construction zone was open. There was a zipper that, during the evenings, was closed completely so guests didn't wander in there.

Setting the tray down, she stepped into the area.

It was a lot darker in here now that the sun had set, and not all of the lights had been installed. She blinked a few times to let her eyes adjust. Moving quietly, she tiptoed further into the area.

She couldn't see anything yet and wondered if she should turn on her phone's light to catch whoever it was that had snuck back here. She was sure it was the person messing with things.

She was almost to the middle of the room when she was shoved from behind, hard.

Reaching out, she tried to catch herself before falling and grabbed a workbench, toppling over the heavy tools that lay on it. She hit the ground on both knees and cried out with pain when a piece of glass from the broken chandelier ripped through her slacks.

When she glanced around, she saw someone rush through the opening and head towards the front door.

Once again, the figure was too big to be Parker's mother.

Sitting on the floor for a moment, she hissed at the cut and flipped on her phone light. The piece of glass wasn't big, but the cut looked nasty enough that she wanted to clean it out quickly.

Hobbling back out of the area, she turned and zipped the area closed again with her good hand. She didn't bother with carrying her tray as she made her way back to her office.

"What happened?" Connie rushed over to help her by throwing Sara's arm around her shoulders and taking most of her weight.

"I slipped and fell on some of that glass. I guess they didn't clean it all up from earlier."

"Why were you back there?" Connie asked, helping her open her office door.

"I thought I saw someone..." She shook her head. "Never mind. Could you hand me the kit?" She nodded to the first aid kit she'd used on Parker earlier.

Connie brought it over and sat next to her. "Here, let me." She started cleaning the cut. "There's still glass in here."

"There should be tweezers." She rummaged through the box. "Here." She handed them over to her.

"Are you sure you want me to do this?" Connie asked nervously as she took them from her.

"Your hands are probably a lot steadier than mine at the moment."

Connie nodded slowly. "Okay, here goes." She took a deep breath and started, but when Sara hissed in pain, she stopped quickly. Glancing between Sara and her hand, she relaxed slightly and started again as she talked.

"You don't think it was Colin, do you?" Connie asked, biting her bottom lip as she worked.

Sara thought about it as Connie dug out the glass shards carefully.

"No, the man's build was different."

"Got it," Connie said, holding up the small piece of glass.

"Thanks." She smiled.

"I'll clean it out now, then I think all you need is a bandage," Connie added.

"Yeah." Sara leaned back and thought she must look like a mess now, her slacks torn, her knees bloody. "And a new pair of slacks." She thought about how she would hide this from Parker. She didn't want him to worry. Then she realized that that is what had probably been going through his mind earlier in the day and she felt a little guilty.

After Connie left her office, she pulled out her laptop and checked the footage. Watching herself walk through the plastic was like watching a horror movie you've seen a million times.

She noticed the dark figure step into the opening about two minutes before she walked by. Switching over to the other camera angle, she saw him pick up a hammer from the workbench and move towards the newly tiled fireplace. The person appeared to be debating using the hammer on the new work, when they turned their head as if listening for something. Quickly, they moved off to a dark corner. Switching back to the other screen, she saw herself walk by and, upon seeing the opening, set her tray down.

"No, don't go in," she said half-heartedly to her image. But she stepped through the opening and moved further into the room.

Watching the dark figure rush over to her and give her a shove caused her to wince all over again. What she hadn't noticed the first time was that they had thrown the hammer down as they left the area. They could have easily knocked her over the head with the thing. They had chosen to simply push her down, and for that, she was grateful.

Quickly switching angles, she saw the person run out of the building and move out of the sight of the parking lot camera. No view of a car or vehicle, no face shot of any kind. Whoever it had been, they obviously knew about the cameras and where each one was. Which either meant they hadn't done a good job hiding them, or the person had at one point thoroughly checked the place out.

Settling back in the chair, she started looking over every second of footage since the day they had installed the cameras.

She didn't move for almost two whole hours. Her neck and back screamed at her from sitting in the same spot for so long. When she did finally move, she reached for the bottle of aspirin Iian kept in the top drawer.

Walking out to the kitchen, she poured herself a soda and grabbed a basket of fries before heading back into the office.

The place had quieted down and the staff were currently on clean-up mode. She chatted with Connie and Liz and made sure Valerie would lock up when she left.

"Burning the midnight oil?" Valerie asked on her way out.

"Yeah." She smiled and waved.

"I'll lock everything up tight. If you need anything..."

"Thanks," she said, not looking up from the screen again.

Sara had gone through most of the footage in fast-forward. Seeing faces she knew buzz by the screen and sit down to eat and drink in fast motion was almost like watching a soap opera. It could easily become addictive. Several times she had to rewind and watch in slow motion as people she didn't know went by.

Every time Parker entered the screen, she tried to keep her mind focused on finding the culprit instead of looking at the sexy man move. Even in fast-forward, the guy was hot as hell.

She watched the work move quickly and was impressed at how much they could do in a single day. Ladders were brought in, ceilings were torn out, electricity wired, lights hung, slat board stacked along the back wall. She knew they would be hung up in the next few days, after the lights were finished.

She slowed it down and watched Parker climb the ladder. Once again, her mind screamed for something to change. Instead, she watched the ladder wobble and cringed as he took a dive off the thing.

It really was impressive that he'd walked away.

Which reminded her, he was probably worried about her. Glancing down at her watch, she gasped at the time. It was a quarter past one in the morning. Then she noticed the missed call and punched the call button. Since she was planning on staying at her place that night, she'd convinced him that she could get there on her own. He'd reluctantly agreed.

"Hey," Parker answered, sounding tired. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She stretched her arms over her head and realized how stiff she was. Remembering the cuts on her knees and the desire for clean clothes, she added, "I'm heading home. I've got to grab some fresh clothes and I have to deal with breakfast for some B&B guests, since my folks left on a trip up the coast to visit some friends of the family."

"Okay," he said, and she heard Toby whine in the background. "We'll miss you. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yes." She smiled. "Don't let Toby get too comfortable sleeping in my spot on the bed."

"He won't. We'll both miss you."

"Night." She sighed.

"Night."

After hanging up, she shut her laptop down and locked it away, then grabbed some fruit and a slice of chocolate pie to take home with her before locking up.

She kept her eyes and ears open as she made her way towards her Jeep, making sure to lock the Jeep door the second she closed it.

The engine purred to life and she slapped on her seatbelt and slowly made her way towards her little cabin. Since it was past midnight, there wasn't another car on the road.

She knew in a couple hours, the fishermen would be up, heading out towards open waters, along with the Coast Guard employees and trainees, who would be going out for training exercises. Shortly after, parents would be dropping kids off at school before heading to work. By then, the little town of Pride would be so busy, you couldn't help but run into someone you knew anywhere you went.

She parked her Jeep in front of the sign her father had made for the bed and breakfast and carried her food carefully as she made her way down the pathway.

There were renters in a couple of the cabins for the week, so she was careful to remain quiet as she went. It wouldn't do to have customers complain about someone stomping around at one in the morning.

Carefully setting down her pie container, she unlocked the door and was just reaching inside to turn on the light, when the door jerked open. She let out a loud scream and fell backwards, landing hard on her butt. For the second time that day, a dark figure pushed past her.

This time, however, she was a lot quicker. Seeing an opportunity, she grabbed the dark figure's legs, sending her assailant falling headfirst down the short stairs of the deck.

Parker jolted awake when his phone shrilled. He'd taken another aspirin after a hot shower to try and soothe the throbbing in his knee and hip from the fall.

Glancing at the time, he instantly worried. He'd talked with Sara less than half an hour ago. Seeing her face on his screen now had him sitting straight up.

"Are you okay?" he answered.

"I'm fine, but I think you'd better get over here." Sara sounded worried.

"But you're okay?" he asked again.

"Yes, I'm fine," she reassured him. "Robert's on his way, so is Aaron." He heard a muffled sound. "Scratch that, Aaron _and_ Lacey are both here. I... have to go. Come over." She hung up quickly, giving him no other information.

He pulled on his jeans and boots quickly, then tossed on a shirt and grabbed a jacket.

"Be good," he warned Toby as he rushed out the door.

When he drove up to the parking area, there were three cop cars parked by Sara's Jeep, all with their lights on. His heart rate spiked, and he sprinted down the pathway, holding his breath until the cabin came into view.

His eyes were glued to Sara, standing on the front porch. He didn't even register the people around her. She had a cut in her slacks and he could see a white bandage under the opening.

He rushed past the police officers standing around and didn't stop until Sara was wrapped in his arms. "Are you okay?" he asked, feeling his arms shake as he held her.

"Yes." She sighed into his chest. "I'm fine."

He pulled back and ran his eyes over her again. "What happened?" he asked, finally scanning around the area. He stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed who was sitting in one of the chairs on the front porch. "What's she doing here?" he asked, dropping his arms from Sara and moving until Sara was safely hidden behind him.

"Your mother—"

"I didn't do anything," his mother broke in. Her chin rose and that's when he noticed the blood dripping from her face. She had nasty cuts and scrapes along the underside of her chin and on her arms and hands.

Sara's uncle, Aaron was currently cleaning the wounds on her hands.

"Your mother," Sara started again, "broke into my place. Trashed it." She nodded towards the open door.

From where he stood, Parker could see the mess. Anger filled him so much that he shook from it.

"Did she hurt you?" He nodded to her knees.

"No." She glanced down. "I did that at work. I'm fine, really."

"Your mother might have a slight concussion. I'd like to take her in for X-rays before..."

"I didn't do anything wrong. I was just walking up the path when that girl of yours knocked me down."

He crossed his arms over his chest. From the way she was slurring her words, he knew that she was drunk. He glanced at Sara.

"I was just telling Robert that I unlocked my door and she came rushing out, knocked me on my butt. When she darted past me, I grabbed her leg." She nodded to the stairs. "She fell down them and landed face first. She was unconscious until Aaron and Lacey showed up."

It was then that he noticed Sara's aunt standing behind Sara.

"She was lying at the foot of the stairs when we arrived." Lacey stepped forward. "As if she'd just fallen down them."

"I don't doubt your account of the situation," Robert jumped in. "I've checked the system and there are several warrants against her. Including a new report that she skipped out on paying a bill for a local investigator."

"That's not true," his mother jumped in. "I paid that bitch." It looked like she was giving up the fight, since she leaned back in the chair as Aaron finished wrapping up her hand and moved to get up.

But instead of remaining seated, his mother rushed up and darted past Aaron, knocking him on his ass, then pushed past Sara and headed for the stairs where Robert stood, blocking her path.

She didn't make it past Parker. He reached out and easily gripped her arms and yanked them hard behind her back, holding her in place.

"Stay put," he growled in her ear. "It's about time you paid for your crimes."

Robert took hold of her. "I think that X-ray will have to wait."

Aaron nodded. "If she's well enough to pull a move like that," he said, standing up from the floor, "I think it can wait until the morning. I do want a blood test. I think there might be something... foreign in her bloodstream which could give us reason to make sure she won't have any other... charges or issues." His eyes darted to him.

Parker dusted his hands off as if they were dirty from just touching the woman. "Yeah, she's probably high on something, go ahead and test her. Will Sara need to make an official report?" he asked.

"I'll stop by the Oar tomorrow and have her sign what I type up. I think I have enough that I can piece the rest together." Robert put handcuffs on his mother and started walking down the pathway with the other officers trailing behind him.

"Want me to look at that?" Aaron nodded to Sara's knees.

"No, Connie fixed me up earlier. Thanks." Sara walked over and hugged her aunt and uncle. "Thanks for coming so quick."

"I called your folks. They said they'll be here in the morning," Lacey added.

"No." Sara groaned. "I didn't want them to cut their trip short."

"Don't worry about it. I'll take the breakfast duty from you tomorrow." Lacey reached up on her toes and placed a kiss on Sara's cheek. "Go, get some rest." She nudged her towards Parker.

"I..." She turned towards her door and winced at the mess.

"Whatever you need, we'll get it, then head home." He took her hand in his.

When he followed Sara inside, he felt his anger grow. Clothes, furniture, dishes—nothing had been left untouched.

"Was she looking for something?" Sara asked as she started digging through her clothes.

"What would she be looking for?"

Sara shrugged. "Why else would she do this?" She glanced around.

"Because she thinks she can." He set the small kitchen chairs around the table and pushed the dresser back into place. "She probably wanted to scare you."

"From?" Sara asked, tossing a few things into a backpack.

"Me," he said, feeling his gut twist.

Sara stopped and looked up at him. "She thinks she can?"

He smiled, then moved over and knelt beside her. Taking her hands in his, he leaned in and kissed her. "I love that about you."

"What?" She was smiling back at him.

"That, after all this, you can still be so strong. That you thought to talk to the nurse and protect my grandmother from her own daughter." He kissed her again.

"The biggest bummer of the night was that I dropped my chocolate pie." She nodded outside.

"I think I have some cookies left at my place. I did some work for the ladies down at the hair salon and they paid me with baked goods."

"Tell me Kathy gave you some of her chocolate fudge cookies and I'll kiss you." Sara groaned.

He smiled. "There might only be two left."

She leaned in and gave him two slow kisses.

He finished helping Sara pack what she needed, which, he noted, left very few of her items in the cabin. He thought he would have been bothered by that fact, but instead, he wondered why she hadn't taken everything.

He'd never lived with anyone before. A few had stayed a night or two, but none had ever moved in. He'd never found anyone he'd wanted to live with before Sara.

Since she needed her Jeep tomorrow, he followed her back to his place, where he took her bags from her and helped her inside. Toby was waiting with kisses when she walked in.

By the time she'd finished off the cookies and a glass of milk, it was past three in the morning.

As she stripped down, he took the time to gently remove the bandages over her knees and clean out the small cuts as she explained what had happened earlier that day.

He wanted to scan through the video himself in the morning. Sara assured him there wasn't much to see, but he could at least snap a picture and take it in to Robert for another report.

When he was lying in bed with her tucked tight in his arms, he truly relaxed for the first time that day. His body still hurt from his own fall that day, but with her sleeping by his side, his pain began to dissipate.

There was no denying it—he had fallen hard for her. There was no going back now. Watching Sara sleep beside him, he knew that he'd have to make his next move soon if he wanted to keep her right where she was.

# 17

Sara stood under the hot water and let all of yesterday's sourness wash away. Her knee was already turning a dark shade of purple and was a little swollen. Still, she figured by the end of the week, she'd be back to normal.

She turned slightly when she heard the shower door open. She smiled when Parker climbed in behind her.

"Morning." He smiled and leaned in for a kiss. "I thought you'd sleep in."

She wrapped her arms around him and shook her head. "Can't. I don't sleep in."

"Ever?"

"Nope." She smiled. "I tried to once, but at sunrise, I was staring at the ceiling, bored to tears."

She moved aside so he could stand under the spray. She was done showering but figured she would watch the show as he got clean. Her eyes ran over him, then she cried out.

"What?" He jerked around and faced her again.

"Look at yourself."

Two massive bruises ran over his hip and his thigh. She touched the skin gently and hissed at a large knot under his hip bone.

"You should really have my uncle—"

"Sara." He took her hands. "I'm fine." He kissed her. "Really, I've had worse."

"When?" He looked surprised by the question, but the casual way he had brushed her off disturbed her slightly.

"In my line of work, I get cuts and bruises all the time."

She narrowed her eyes and he sighed.

"Before my mother dropped me off at my grandmother's, bruises were a way of life." He turned off the water and handed her a towel. "Let's talk over breakfast. I'll throw some omelets together." He stepped out behind her and wrapped a towel around his hips, hiding the bruises from her view.

She dressed quickly in leggings and a work shirt and slipped on some black flats, since her knee still ached. She tied her long hair up in a sloppy bun and applied a dab of makeup before stepping out.

Parker already had the omelets ready and was pouring her a glass of orange juice.

After sitting down, they ate in silence. She glanced up at him and waited, her eyebrows raised slightly.

He sighed and set his fork down. "There's little I remember about my time with my mother. What I do remember is hiding from her or her boyfriend Jake. The man didn't think that hitting a kid with his hands would teach a strong enough lesson, so he tended to use his belt."

"Was he your father?" she asked.

Parker shrugged. "My mother always said no. She told my grandmother that my father was a wealthy man and that he'd screwed her out of money by denying I was his."

"What does it say on your birth certificate?"

"I don't know. My mother never gave it to my grandmother." He shrugged. "I never requested a copy either."

"How did you go to school? Get jobs?" she asked, a little shocked.

"I have my social security number." He shrugged. "My gran had connections at the school. She used to teach before..." He shook his head. "Anyway, my life didn't become normal until after I started living with her."

She reached across the table and took his hand. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"I swore, after I learned what a normal life was like, that if she came back for me, I'd run away. There were several close calls. She'd show up, I'd head out the back door. My grandmother threatened to cut her off completely if she took me, so she stayed away as long as she got her monthly checks."

"What changed? Why did she start demanding more?"

"I'm not sure. I only know that the drug use became worse. She would show up so far gone that she couldn't remember my name. She kept calling me Palmer."

"Did you know anything more about her? Where she lived?"

"No. I never cared, as long as she left me alone. The more she stayed away, the happier I was."

He glanced down at his watch. "I wanted to talk to you about something else, but I've got to head in and meet my workers."

She nodded and stood up, taking her dish with her.

He stopped her. "I can open up. Why don't you take a walk on the beach. Toby could use the exercise. He only got a quick bathroom break this morning."

"Are you sure?" she asked, watching him set his own dish in the sink.

"Yes." He walked over, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her. "We can have that other talk over lunch."

She smiled. "I'll come early and make something special for us."

"Sounds good." He kissed her again. "See you. Enjoy the walk."

She stood at the screen door and watched him drive away. Toby's nose was pressed against the glass. When she took down his leash, the dog spun in circles and then jumped around happily.

She clipped on his leash and headed towards the beach. The clouds kept the morning cool, and she was thankful she'd grabbed a jacket.

Summer was in full swing, but that didn't stop the occasional cool and cloudy day. Cooler air and rain threatened to arrive later that evening. Her mind wandered to where she'd be come winter. Would she still be at Parker's place? Living with him? She'd never lived with anyone other than her family before. Though sharing a bathroom with her brother and sister had prepared her for living with the opposite sex.

Somehow, living with Parker was less work than she'd always imagined living with a man would be. But Parker was much different than any man she'd ever dated before. She could picture a future with him, and her imagination went far beyond this fall and winter.

She was just turning around to head back to the house, when her phone rang. Seeing his face on the screen, she smiled and answered it quickly.

"I was just thinking about you," she answered.

"I hate to say it, but you'd better come in." Parker sounded frustrated.

"Oh?" She frowned and glanced around for Toby. "What's wrong?"

"Looks like my mother's path of destruction didn't start at your place last night."

Her stomach pitched. She called out for Toby. "I'll be there as soon as I can." Hanging up, she rushed towards the house with Toby on her heels.

When she pulled up at the Oar, two cop cars sat out front. She stepped through the front door and gasped.

The place was trashed, much like her cabin had been. Broken glass and furniture lay all over the place.

"It doesn't stop here," Parker said, rushing over to her. "It's in the back room too."

"Back?" she asked, feeling real fear now. There was some very expensive equipment in the kitchen.

"Dishes mainly," he added, following her. "I checked the footage. Robert's checking it out to see if we can get a clear shot of my mother."

Seeing the destruction in the kitchen, Sara leaned against the doorway and groaned. "We were going to replace most of the dishes with new ones, but still."

She turned to take in the mess and her mind suddenly cleared.

"How could she have done all of this so quickly and then get to my place before me? When I left here, everything was fine. When I opened my door, she was inside my place."

Parker was silent for a while. Without saying anything to her, he made his way back out front. She followed him to where Robert and another of his deputies stood, watching the computer screen.

"It couldn't have been my mother," he told the men. "She didn't have enough time to do all this and beat Sara home."

Robert nodded. "We have a face." He turned the laptop around and pointed. "Recognize this man?"

She felt Parker tense. "His name is Jack. He's been working for me."

"I thought so," Robert added. "How else would he have known where all the cameras were?" He clicked a button and the screen moved. "He moves through the place and avoids them all, except this camera." He pointed up to the spot Parker had moved the camera to a few days before. "He doesn't happen to be here, does he?" Robert asked, looking around.

"I'll go check." Parker took off before she could stop him. She was thankful when Robert followed him outside.

She watched the screen as the man known only as Jack trashed the place. So much destruction and for what? Was he upset about his pay? Was he covering a theft? Had he stolen anything? She leaned closer to the screen and paused the image when the man looked directly at the camera. She froze. Her hands shook as she looked at the image. Then she rushed from the room to find Parker.

Parker was outside talking to Donny when Sara ran outside.

"Is he here?" she asked, a little breathless.

"No, he hasn't shown up. He probably got spooked when he saw all the cop cars."

Sara took his arm and tugged him a few feet away from the others.

"He's your father," she blurted out, her eyes searching his.

He chuckled. "Okay, what makes you say that?" Was this some sort of joke?

"Parker," she said, her tone filled with concern, "he is."

He tried to remember what the man looked like. Sure, they had similar builds, but most of the men who worked for him were built like laborers. It came with the job. The man had longer dark hair that had been tied up with a leather strap. He looked more like a biker than a construction worker. But he'd known how to use a nail gun and other equipment, so Parker had hired him.

"We need to talk to your mother." She started walking over to where Robert was talking with Donny.

He followed as if in a stupor. Half an hour later, they sat in the police station, waiting for someone to bring his mother into a small room. When she came in, she was handcuffed but, this time, her hands were in the front of her. When she saw them, her eyes narrowed as a slow smile caused the lines on her face to deepen.

"Well, well, here to bail your old lady out?" she said sitting down across from them.

"Who is this?" Parker took the image Sara had printed out and set it in front of her.

His mother didn't even glance at it.

"I don't know." She smiled and shifted in her seat.

"Is this my father?" he asked. He was trying to keep his tone low but couldn't keep the buried emotions out of it.

"Your father was a rich man, a senator from Washington. He denied you were his and I never saw a penny after having to deal with you all those years."

Sara jumped in when he stiffened with anger.

"Why are you lying? You think he cares who his father is?" Sara shifted closer. "I can see it plainly in your eyes." She leaned across the table slightly. "You're nothing but a liar and a junkie."

The smile fell from his mother's lips and her eyes narrowed towards Sara.

"Who the hell do you think you are, talking to me like that? You're just some whore my son is sleeping with."

Parker slammed his fist down on the table and stood. Sara covered his hand and looked into his eyes. "Why don't you step out for a moment and let me have a chat with your..."—she glanced in the woman's direction—"egg donor."

Parker turned without a word and exited the room. He was pissed and felt like hitting something, but he followed Robert into the room next door and watched Sara with his mother.

"Normally we don't allow this, but I think maybe Sara can get something out of her that I can't," Robert said.

Through the glass, she saw Sara take a slow breath. "You know that once the woman who loved and raised Parker dies, you'll be left with nothing." She practically purred the words and Parker couldn't have been prouder of her for her calm tactics.

"You don't know shit." His mother's hands began shaking and he could see that she was coming off a high. She tucked her hands under the table to hide it.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Sara said softly.

"What?"

"Knowing you couldn't care for your son, couldn't give him the basics in life—a home, a father, the love of a mother."

"You don't know shit," his mother repeated.

"Don't I?" Sara was silent for a while and he wondered what she saw when she looked at the woman who'd given birth to him. "I know more than you think. My mother survived an abusive relationship. She survived it, conquered it, and moved on. She married my father, had three kids, and raised them with love in a good solid home. But you...You couldn't even take care of a five-year-old without pawning him off on your mother. You allowed your own needs to outweigh those of your sons. What happened? Drugs?"

His mother's eyes turned angry.

"I loved that little boy," his mother screamed. "But he was nothing like I'd imagined. He was a terror from day one." His heart twisted, and his anger grew.

"Yes, you probably told yourself that," Sara said calmly.

"It was the truth," his mother yelled.

"He was a kid. What he remembers of his time with you was that it was sad and pathetic. He remembers getting the belt," Sara said calmly. "He was five."

"That kid was rotten from the moment he could crawl," she sneered. He knew Sara was trying to piss his mother off in hopes of getting some information from her. It was a genius move, but would it work? "But not my Palmer." His mother's eyes glassed over, and she smiled for the first time. Parker's heart stopped. Who was Palmer? He remembered all those times his mother had showed up at his grandmother's place high or drunk. She'd always called him Palmer and tried to hug him and take him back with her. He had kicked her and yelled at her, and she'd change and push him away. He'd always believed it was just a mistake.

"Palmer?" Sara whispered.

"You think that brat out there is the only one I was blessed with?" She laughed. "My Palmer is a true gem. That boy can do no wrong."

Sara stood slowly and leaned on the table, her palms spread out on the wood. "Parker has a brother? And you kept them apart?"

His ears started ringing as his eyesight narrowed. He watched the rest of the scene as if he were watching a movie, disconnected somehow from the people behind the one-way glass.

"I didn't keep them apart, that woman did. She told me if I came around again, she'd stop all my checks. I was owed them! My old man was an ass. He used to rape me," his mother said, adding the last as an afterthought.

Parker remembered the times his grandmother had talked about her deceased husband. The man had practically been a saint. He'd seen the pictures of him and his mother. There had been love once between them. Then his mother had changed, grown distant, and he knew it was her addiction that caused her outlandish accusations. He chose to believe his grandmother over his mother any day.

"And when she dies, I'll make sure I get what I'm owed. That brat out there doesn't deserve anything." She pointed towards the door.

"Where is your husband?" Sara asked calmly, glaring down at her. "Did he take your things, take your drugs and run?"

"Jake would never do that to me." His mother banged her hands on the table. "He'd never leave me." Suddenly, it was very clear to Parker. The worker that had trashed the restaurant was none other than Jake, the man he remembered beating him before his mom had delivered him into the loving hands of his grandmother. Jake was Parker's father. Jake was Palmer's father. Parker had a brother and a father and both men were currently missing.

"What about Palmer? Where is he?" Sara asked.

Parker noticed the change in his mother and made his way back towards the room.

When he stepped in, his mother's eyes turned towards him as her chin rose. "He's somewhere safe." The lie was obvious.

"You don't know," Parker said, moving further into the room "What happened? Did the state take him away? Or did you dump him on someone else's doorstep?"

Before she could answer, Robert walked in.

"We found him," he said to them.

He grabbed Sara's hand and turned to go, but Sara stopped and glanced over her shoulder. "I'm glad you had nothing to do with raising Parker, because he's the best man I've ever known. I have his grandmother to thank for it." They didn't give the woman time to respond before walking out of the room hand in hand.

That was the old part of his life, and he wasn't going to look back on it any more. Now, his focus would be on protecting Sara and building a future with her as he looked for his brother.

They walked out to the main room of the station. An attractive dark-haired woman was sitting in Robert's office.

"It's the PI your mother hired and didn't pay. She found out that we had your mom in custody." Robert stopped him from going into the room. "She was just hired by your mom, so don't take your anger out on her. She came to help."

Parker nodded and took a couple deep breaths before walking into the room to find out where his father and brother were.

The meeting was short. The woman handed him a file of everything she had on him. Which, to his amazement, was plenty. His address, every place he'd done work in town, what several of the town people had said about him.

It made him wonder how a stranger in Pride could have gotten so much out of the townspeople.

"I used to live here," the woman told him. "I'm Mia Dylan. My father used to own the vet clinic a long time ago."

"Now you're a PI?" he asked her.

She nodded. "I work out of Edgeview." She glanced around. "But I've been thinking of coming back here for a while."

"I heard my mother didn't pay your bill." He shifted. "Forward me a copy and I'll see to it that you get paid."

"Thank you." She smiled and glanced between him and Sara. "If it makes you feel better, I never gave her much on you. I didn't trust her. There was just something..." She shook her head. "I only told her where you were working. She must have pieced the rest of it together."

Parker nodded. "Thanks." He sighed and took the folder and Sara's hand and left.

# 18

Waiting to hear the gossip in a small town had never been so nerve-racking. Especially when it was about someone you cared so much about.

Parker drove Sara back to the Golden Oar and helped her and the crew clean up all the mess. She pulled out every number on her list and had more than two dozen employees sweeping glass and putting everything back in order.

Several other people from town had stopped by to help once the rumor mill had spread far enough.

Within the hour, the restaurant was back to its former glory, except for the blocked off area where Parker's workers were back to work hanging the new ceiling.

When three o'clock rolled around and the doors opened, they still hadn't heard from Robert. He'd told her he would text her once they had Parker's father in custody.

When Parker's crew was done for the day, she wasn't surprised to see Parker take up residence in the back office as if he was prepared to stay there until she clocked out. She tried to convince him to go home, but he just lay back on the sofa and read a book her uncle had on the shelf.

She was halfway through the dinner rush when Robert and a few of his deputies walked in. Seeing them, she set down the empty tray she was holding and crossed the room.

"Well?" she asked a little winded.

Robert shook his head. "Their hotel room was cleaned out. The clerk said that she hadn't seen them and that they hadn't officially checked out. She gave us a description of the vehicle they'd been driving." He glanced around. "How about seating us? We've been going since early this morning."

She nodded and took them to a large table that sat along the row of windows.

"What kind of car?" she asked as she handed them all menus, even though most of the men probably knew it by heart.

"Ford truck, F-250, tan," David said. He was one of the older men in the group and had been on the force with Robert for as long as Sara could remember.

"We'll be looking out for it," she added. "Cara will be your waitress." She motioned to the high school student who worked most evenings. "Take good care of them." She winked at Cara as she made her way to the back to relay the information to Parker.

She'd had to do some quick talking to keep him from going to the small hotel with Robert and his men earlier when they'd received a tip about the man's whereabouts. When Robert hinted that the man might still show up at the restaurant, Parker had stayed put.

Now, as she told him the latest, he seemed even more determined to stick by her side. He talked to Robert for a few minutes and found out that they were transferring his mother later that evening to Douglas County, where she had two outstanding warrants. Then he sat at a table in the main dining area and nursed a beer until the last customer left.

She'd received a text from Robert shortly before closing, letting her know that the transfer had gone smoothly. She should have felt relieved knowing that his mother wasn't an issue any more, but with Parker's father out there, she was more on edge than ever before.

Having Parker beside her as she locked up helped, but she still doubled-checked every dark corner as they walked out.

"He won't come around again," Parker assured her. "Most likely he's following my mom's trail."

He jumped behind the wheel of the Jeep after opening the passenger side for her.

"What about your brother?" she asked as he started the engine.

"I did some research. I think I might know where he is."

"How?" She turned towards him, eager to know more.

He chuckled and handed her his phone. "Easy enough. He's on Facebook. The kid looks like I did back when I was his age." On the screen was an image of a young man. Parker was right, he could have been a younger Parker.

"How old are we talking?" she asked, searching the page. "Thirteen." She answered her own question.

The boy was living in Portland in what seemed to be some sort of home for abandoned and troubled teens.

"What do you plan on doing about Palmer?" She set the phone in her lap and glanced over at Parker. They were just pulling out of town and heading towards his place. For the first time that day, she felt tired and figured she would fall asleep quickly once she crawled into bed.

"However screwed up my parents are, the kid shouldn't have been dumped in a place like that. I'm going to drive up there this weekend and—"

Sara had no warning. One minute she was listening to Parker's plans and the next, the right side of the Jeep exploded, sending glass and metal her way, pushing her entire body into the middle console. The gear shift slammed into her knee as the door squished her body even more.

The entire right side of her body screamed in pain and the right side of her head was slammed against the upper part of the Jeep's door.

She reached out for Parker's hand as the Jeep flipped over and over, but the spot next to her seemed oddly empty. When the world finally stopped spinning, everything was dark, so dark. She panicked. She didn't know if she'd passed out or if it had been just moments since the Jeep had stilled.

Fumbling around frantically in the dark, her fingers brushed against Parker's phone. When she clicked it, the screen's light spread in the cramped space.

She was laying at an odd angle, which told her the Jeep was in fact, laying on its side, with her side on the ground.

She tried to free herself, but her knees were trapped between the dash and the twisted metal that used to be her door. Then she moved the light over to the driver side and cried out. Where Parker should have been was now an empty space. The seat belt was hanging free, falling towards her, sliced in half. The steering wheel was bent at an odd angle and his door was completely gone. She was looking up into the night sky, totally in shock.

She cried out for him but didn't hear anything. Panicking even more, she tried to wiggle herself free, but every time she moved, the twisted metal cut further into her skin. Her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears, she doubted she could hear it if Parker called out to her.

She struggled for a full minute before it registered to her that she could use the phone and call for help.

Her father answered on the first ring.

"Daddy," she cried, feeling the tears roll down her face, blocking her eyesight, "help."

Parker felt like he'd been hit by a truck. His head hurt, and his shoulder felt like it had been through a shredder. When he tried to open his eyes, crusty dried blood stopped them from opening all the way, which meant his head had been bleeding at one point. It also meant that he'd been unconscious long enough for the blood to dry.

"There you are, _son_."

He knew that voice. His entire body tensed as he frantically glanced around.

He was lying in the bed of a truck. The dark sky was above him and he felt a light rain falling on his face. The man he'd known as Jack stood at the tailgate, smiling down at him.

"Knew you'd come around sooner or later."

"Where am I?" He tried to keep his voice calm, but his body was aching and that threw him off. "What happ—" He stopped midword, remembering everything. "What have you done with Sara?"

"Easy, your little girlie is fine. Or at least, she looked like it when I peeked in the Jeep. She was thrashing around hard enough." The man chuckled. "That one's a fighter, just like your mother."

Parker was thankful he couldn't move, since he was pretty sure he would have killed the man.

"You did this? Why?"

"Well, you see, your mother and I have plans to secure our future, and everything would have gone smoothly had you not gotten in the way."

"This is about my grandfather's money?" He tried moving slowly, but his head spun, and his stomach lurched.

"Her money. Our money. Joanne's old lady changed everything. That last fight was about our monthly payments." The man hopped up on the bed of the truck and knelt beside him. Parker could see it then, what he'd been blind to for the past few weeks. He was almost a spitting image of the man. Somehow, it made his stomach roll even more. "You see, the old lady found out about Palmer and demanded that we turn him over to her. She stopped our checks and called Child Protective Services on us. They took the boy away. If we turned over parental rights to her, she promised she would start the checks back up. It was extortion."

He tapped Parker's knee and he cried out in pain.

Jake chuckled. "You don't look so good," he said with a smile. "Anyway, we figured we were owed a lot more that those small monthly checks and came up with a new plan. Before the stroke, we had a lawyer, a buddy of mine that owed me, write up a new will, all legal like. Joanne took it over to her and told her that if she signed it, the kid was all hers. What do we care anyway? We'd dumped Palmer off at my sister's place years ago. But that old bitch wouldn't sign the new will. She ripped it up and threatened to have us arrested. She'd found out about Joanne's warrants and held those over her head." His voice rose as he talked. "Her stroke was a godsend." He relaxed again. "Now she wouldn't know what's what, and we could easily make her sign a new will. But by the time we found her, you'd shoved her in that place that has her under lock and key. They won't even let me in. Joanne tried going back, but each time, they blocked her way."

"You tried to get her at the home?" he asked, feeling his vision fade and his mind turn slightly fuzzy. "You'll never get a dime. I'm legally my grandmother's power of attorney now. She signed it almost a year before Joanne attacked her."

"Joanne never laid a finger on the old lady."

Parker's mind cleared temporarily. "You?" He felt anger replace pain and, suddenly, a surge of power throbbed through every muscle.

"The bitch wouldn't sign the new will, so I tried to force her. How was I to know—" His father didn't get another word out. Parker's fist moved fast and before he had a chance to swipe out, the man fell backwards, off the opened tailgate of the truck.

Every inch of Parker screamed as he jumped up, ready for a fight. The man hadn't gained his feet yet, and when Parker jumped off the high truck, his knee buckled, causing him to fall in the dirt.

The rain increased and water dripped in his eyes. It was mixed with the blood that had started flowing again from a deep cut on the side of his head, just above his ear. He used his sleeve to swipe at it as he stood up again. His father had gained his wits and was also standing.

"I've waited for this day for years," his father said, holding up his fists. "'Bout time I taught you some manners. Never could get any through when you were younger."

"I've learned them from an old woman and they're better than yours will ever be." He didn't even raise his fists. Instead, he prepared to dodge his old man's fists, something he hadn't known how to do as a five-year-old.

Jack's fist swung out and missed him but crashed into the truck's taillight, causing the red plastic to shatter into shards. The man's hand came back bloody, and Parker was pretty sure he had a broken knuckle. Still, that didn't slow down the man's fists. Parker dodged the next swing easily enough and backed up, putting some room between them.

It was then that he noticed where they were. The truck was parked on the edge of Mill Road. He'd driven it a few times up to the national park. The road was winding and rose above the coastline, making the drive one of the prettiest and deadliest in Oregon. He realized he had his back to a very steep cliff.

Taking his steps carefully, he tried to position his back to the truck, but his father's fists kept flying and he kept dodging them. With his head hurting badly and the rain intensifying, he lost track of which way he faced. Even the truck was now out of view.

He tried to keep his body and mind focused, but the adrenaline that had caused him to stand was slowly seeping out of his body. He had to do something fast, or the old man was going to throw him off the cliff. He'd wager that was the guy's intention.

"What were you going to do? Toss me over the cliff?" He ducked another swing and noticed the old man was winded and wheezing.

"Why not? With you out of the way, Palmer is the only living heir. The kid will do anything I tell him to, unlike you. You never did fall into line."

"That kid is my brother, and if you think I'm going to let you harm a hair on his head now that I know he exists, you're wrong."

His father laughed harder. "I've warned him all about you." His swings were slowing down. "He's just like me. Just wait and see. The kid will never accept you."

Parker swung out for the first time, catching the man under the chin. He'd learned long ago that when you threw a punch, you had to make it count.

His father's body flew backwards until the man lay in the dirt, unconscious.

Parker fell to his knees, breathing hard and praying that he wouldn't join him.

# 19

Sara held onto her mother's hand as the men worked around her, cutting her out of the twisted metal.

When her parents had arrived moments ago, before the sirens could be heard, her father had started to crawl into the Jeep with her, but she'd frantically told him that Parker had been driving. She'd convinced her dad that she was okay and that he should look for Parker instead of crawling in there with her. He'd fought her, but then he'd listened to her pleas and had disappeared. She hadn't expected her mother to crawl in the twisted Jeep in his place, but she had and sat next to her until help arrived.

Her mother's presence and comforting words soothed her slightly, causing the initial shock and adrenaline to lessen, and suddenly she could feel every ounce of pain.

Her body was shaking by the time her legs were freed from the metal. She was covered in blankets and gently pulled from the Jeep. Being strapped to a gurney and tied down so she couldn't move was nerve-racking, but at least her mother was able to ride with her to the Edgeview hospital.

"Where's Dad?" she asked feeling the effects of whatever they had given her start to relax her.

"Honey, he's looking for Parker."

"I love him, Mom," she said as tears slid down her face. "I can't lose him."

"Oh, honey, I know." Her mother's face blurred. "Your dad will find him. After all, he was the one who found me when I was lost." Her mother smiled.

"Okay." Sara was so groggy now, she couldn't hold onto a single thought. The only thing in her mind was an image of Parker smiling at her.

There was a mixture of lights, sounds, and pain before a sweet darkness and calm filled her.

She woke several times with pain. She remembered waking up on the X-ray table, being rolled into another room, then having bright lights shine in her eyes as her legs turned numb.

Her eyes scanned the room for Parker, but he wasn't there.

The next time she woke, it was oddly quiet. Reaching her hand out, she winced as wires tugged on her skin.

"Easy." Her mother's voice was beside her. She gently took her hand. "I've got you."

"Parker?" she asked.

"Your father just called. They're still looking for him. They'll find him." Her mother leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"How bad am I?" she asked, sliding her eyes closed again. She scanned her body to see if she felt any pain, but everything was numb from whatever they had given her. Her head spun when her eyes closed, so she opened them again.

"You have a broken leg, your right one. It was a compound fracture. They fixed it up, but they gave you a few pins and screws." Her mother's voice was oddly strong, and Sara searched her eyes.

"What else?"

She shrugged. "Cuts and scrapes. The leg was the worst of it."

"What hit us?" she asked, remembering only a few details.

"We don't know. Robert is trying to figure it out now, but Parker is the priority."

She could tell her mother was hiding something.

"What?" she asked. "Tell me."

Her mother took a deep breath. "They think... The Jeep was close to the edge of the road at the turn on Inlet Road. They think there's a slight chance Parker was thrown from the Jeep and landed in the water."

Sara's heart skipped. "You mean, he was thrown off the cliff?" Images of that particular turn flashed in her head. It was easily a hundred-foot drop to the rocks and water below. She'd driven the road most of her life and had never thought anything of the tight turn. Tears rolled down her face as she felt her chest tighten.

"Honey, it's only a theory." Her mother leaned down and kissed her again. "I'm sure he's fine."

But Sara was blocking out everything once again as terrible images flooded her mind. There were so many things she hadn't told Parker, so many new memories she'd wanted to make with him. She hadn't even told him how she felt about him, that she loved him. She'd wasted too much time. She cried for her loss until once more, the darkness took her.

She woke herself up, crying once again, Parker's name on her lips as pain spread through her heart.

"Easy," a soothing voice said beside her. Her hand was gently caressed. "I've got you."

"No, I want Parker." She shook her head. "Nothing will ever be okay again. He's gone." More tears flowed, and her chest started to hurt once again.

"I'm here," he said softly. "I'm not going anywhere." When his lips touched hers softly, she finally opened them, and Parker's face came into focus.

"You're here!" she cried. She reached up for him, and this time, when the wires tugged on her skin, she didn't mind. Her fingers touched his face and she smiled. "You're okay?"

"Slightly better than you, at the moment."

There was dried blood on his face. It looked like he hadn't even been seen by a doctor or cleaned up yet.

She tried to sit up to get a better look at him, but he held her still. "Easy," he warned. "You're kind of tied in with all these wires and tubes." He moved her hand slightly and set it back, so the wires weren't pulling.

"You're okay?" she asked again.

"Yeah." He smiled down at her.

"Where were you?" She frowned.

"Later." He leaned in and kissed her again. "They want to clean me up a bit, but I had to see you first." He rested his forehead on hers. "Later, we're going to talk about our future." He leaned back. "I love you and I don't ever want to be away from you like that again."

She nodded. There was a lump in her throat, but she managed to say, "I love you."

His lips covered hers again, slowly kissing her until they heard someone clear their throat.

She glanced over and smiled at her dad. She'd seen Todd Jordan scared before, but nothing like he looked now as he walked over to her.

"You found him." She reached for her dad as Parker moved aside. Her dad took her hand. She could see that he was trying to mask his worry, which wasn't really working.

"He found us, actually." Her dad chuckled and looked over at Parker. "The fool was trying to drive back down the road himself, in the state he's in."

"Drive?" She frowned. Nothing was making sense, and she realized the machine administering her pain meds had just kicked in again. "Damn, I'm going loopy again."

"It's okay." Parker came into view again. "Rest. I'll be back after they clean me up."

"Promise?" she said, sleepily.

"Always." His voice drifted into her mind as she shut down once more.

Parker hissed when the fluid washed over his torn skin.

"Sorry," the nurse said softly as she worked on patching him back together.

"It's fine," he said, turning his attention back to Robert, who was standing at the foot of the bed where Parker was getting cleaned up and sewn back together. So far, he had twenty stitches in various places. He expected he still needed at least ten more in his leg.

"We have your father..." When Parker's eyes narrowed at him, Robert cleared his throat. "I mean, Jake in custody. He was right where you left him. You did a fine job on him, son." Parker could have sworn there was a hint of pride in the man's voice. "They're patching his face up now down the hall."

"He deserved it. Besides, I only hit him once." He thought about it. "Twice."

"From the looks of it, that's all it took. They said that the guy appeared intoxicated. We've taken a blood sample and will charge him for DUI along with the hit and run."

"He rammed his truck into the Jeep and almost killed Sara." Parker tried to keep his anger in check. "Not to mention he kidnapped me and tried to throw me off a cliff."

"Did he say that was his intention?" Robert asked, writing something down in the little book he had.

"Well, no, but he didn't have to. Why else did he take me up there? He sure the hell wasn't going to have a father-son moment."

Robert nodded. "We'll get as much information out of him as we can. You say you have a brother..." Robert looked at his notes. "Palmer?" Parker had given the boy's location to Robert and told him he had every intention of getting custody of the kid as soon as possible.

"Right." He nodded. "I'll have someone contact the house where he's at first thing in the morning and let them know you'll be there soon."

"We were going to go up there this weekend and get him, but now... I might drive up there today." He felt his stomach roll. He didn't want to let another night fall without meeting the kid.

Robert nodded, then waited for the nurse to leave the room. "Most people in town don't know my story," he said softly. "My old man killed my mother, took off on me. Left me all alone. I was raised by my grandmother, much like you were. Then, after I became sheriff, I hunted him down. He died years back, sitting in the jail cell I put him in." Robert held out his hand to him. Parker shook it. "I'm not usually one for talking about it, but if you need to chat, you know where to find me."

"Thanks." When the man was gone, Parker stood up, testing his leg. There was a fresh bandage over the row of stitches holding his shin together. He pulled up his tattered pants and looked around for his shirt. It was a complete loss and he was looking around the room for something to throw on when Sara's dad walked into the room.

"Thought you might need a fresh shirt." Todd handed him a new shirt wrapped up in plastic. "I got this in the gift shop downstairs, so I apologize ahead of time."

Parker opened the shirt and smiled. _Straight outta surgery_ was printed in bold white letters across the black T-shirt.

"It'll do," he said as he pulled it over his head.

"I wanted to thank you." Todd reached his hand out.

Parker frowned at it. "For? Putting your daughter's life in danger?"

Todd shook his head. "That isn't what I've heard. From where I'm standing, it looks like you did everything you could to protect my little girl." The man moved closer and his voice dropped slightly. "Tonight's not for storytelling, but there was a time, not so long ago, that I was in your shoes. You can't always stop bad things from happening to those you love, but it's how you fight for them and protect them, then pick yourself up afterwards, that really counts. I see the way you look at my little girl and more importantly, the way she looks back at you." Todd smiled, and Parker relaxed slightly. "She's not my little baby anymore, but she'll always be my little girl. Do you understand?"

Parker nodded slowly and swallowed the knot in his throat.

"Good, because I just wanted to make myself clear that I approve of your next move." The man's eyes bore into his own and Parker received the message clearly.

"Thanks," he managed to croak out.

Todd's smile grew. "Welcome to the family, son."

As if in a daze, Todd led him back to Sara's private room. The shades were drawn, and the lights were dimmed. He glanced at the clock and realized his men would be showing up for work any minute. He thought about heading over there to make sure everything was okay, but then turned towards Todd.

"Any chance I can convince you to head over and make sure my men get into the restaurant to do their work today?"

"I've already called Riley. She'll head over there and open up before coming down here. She's going to fill in for Sara this afternoon as well."

"Sara's not going to like that," he said under his breath.

Megan smiled. "We won't tell her until tomorrow."

He chuckled as he sat beside the bed. Sara was fast asleep.

"We'll head down and grab something for you at the cafeteria. We need to make a few calls ourselves," Todd added, taking his wife's arm.

They left the room as his eyes ran over Sara's entire body, taking in every bandage.

Her right leg was propped up and had a metal halo around it. He couldn't see any pins sticking out of her skin, but he'd overheard her mother talking about pins and wondered just where they were.

He pulled the sheet that was covering the leg aside and, suddenly, tears burned his eyes. He collapsed next to the bed and cried as he looked at her bruised and broken body.

What had he done? Why couldn't he have protected her better? Why was his family so screwed up?

What if he brought his brother into this mess and his father was telling the truth and the kid was as screwed up as he was? Could he be putting Sara in more danger?

By the time her parents returned with a foam container of eggs and bacon, he had made up his mind. Telling them his idea was one of the hardest things he'd had to do in a long time. He was surprised that they were open minded and, in the end, agreed to his plan. When Sara's brother volunteered to drive him, his chest grew tight.

He kissed Sara before Matt drove him home to let the dog out, shower, and change.

Riley had arrived at the hospital with a bundle of flowers for her cousin.

So much had changed in the past month. His business was stronger than ever, his relationship with Sara had progressed quickly, and his standing in the town had become so strong, most of the town now accepted him as a true local.

There was only one part of his life that needed mending, and he was hoping to take care of that by the end of the day.

# 20

It was really hard to concentrate on the pain with so many people packed into her hospital room. Family, friends, and others from Pride were crammed into the small space. There were so many flowers and balloons, she was amazed that they all fit in.

Her eyes kept scanning the crowd for Parker, but he was nowhere to be found. When she finally waved her mother over, she was fighting the pain meds again.

"Can they cut back on this stuff?" she asked her mom, who immediately hit the call button for the nurse. "Where's Parker?" she asked.

Her mom smiled down at her. "He and Matt had to run an errand and will be back later tonight."

"Mom." She waited until her mother's eyes locked with hers. "I love that everyone came down to see me, but I'm tired."

Five minutes later, her room was cleared out, but she still had all the flowers, balloons, and cards to remind her how much she was loved by the people in Pride.

The nurse came and adjusted the machine feeding her the drugs. Her parents and her aunt Lacey were still in the room with her. Lacey worked quietly in a corner on her laptop. Her dad sat next to her bed, holding her hand, while her mother walked around arranging the flowers and reading cards to her.

When the door opened, Sara was a little shocked to see Susannah rush into the room.

"Sara." Her sister sat on the bed next to her and tried to give her a hug.

"Suzie, what are you doing here? It's the middle of the summer semester." She used her childhood nickname for her sister.

"When mom called this morning, I took the weekend off. My professors understood." Her sister's eyes ran over her leg. "How bad does it hurt?"

"Not at all right now. My meds kicked in a few minutes ago." She smiled at her little sister. "You cut your hair."

Suzie nodded. "Do you like it?"

They heard a chuckle and matching green eyes turned towards their father.

"What?" they said at the same time.

He smiled. "It's good to know that even in the face of disaster, my girls can still talk fashion."

Sara laughed and reached for her father's hand. She hadn't realized tears were rolling down her face until her father reached over and gently brushed them aside.

"Is Parker mad at me?" she asked out of the blue.

"Oh, honey." Her mother rushed to her bedside. "No, sweetie, he..." Her mother's eyes moved to her father's. "Had a few things to see to."

"Is that code for something?" Suzie asked.

"No," her mother answered.

"He's in Portland, getting his brother," her dad answered.

"Parker wanted to assess the situation first. He may not bring the boy back. He wants to make sure you are safe, first and foremost," her mother added.

"He's a kid," Sara said. "He belongs with his brother." Her heart ached a little, knowing she wouldn't be there for their first meeting.

"Yes, but Parker was concerned..." Her father took a deep breath. "He told me that his father said some... things. He just wants to make sure he won't put you in any more danger."

"Parker didn't _put_ me in any danger," she said slowly.

"Of course not," her mother chimed in. "But you can understand his desire for caution."

She nodded.

"So." Her sister sat next to her. "Tell me all about your new man."

They talked for more than half an hour before she grew tired again. Sara had never napped so much in her life. Even though they were short catnaps, she was growing tired of being tired.

Whenever her eyes were open, she watched the clock like a hawk and wondered about Parker. She had tried to call him a couple times, then realized his cell phone was probably still in the pile of metal that used to be her Jeep.

"Did he say when he'd be back?" she asked for what was probably the hundredth time.

"No, sweetie," her mother said from her spot in a chair across the room.

Just then, there was a light knock on the door. Her father opened the door, then quickly stepped outside. She could hear him talking and desperately wanted to know what was going on.

When the door opened again, Parker stepped inside without her father.

"Hey." He moved over to her bed and smiled down at her. "You're looking more awake."

Her eyes ran over him. "You're okay?" she asked, taking in the fresh bandages on his arms.

"Yeah." He sat down in the chair next to her. "Just some cuts and bruises. I've had..."

"Worse," she finished for him, causing him to smile.

"Right."

"Did you find your brother?" she asked.

He nodded. "He's outside."

She waited. "Are you going to keep me from him?"

"Your dad's talking to him now."

"Interviewing him, you mean." She would have crossed her arms over her chest, if she could have.

"He's... feeling things out." He took her hand in his and raised it to his lips. "It's spooky how much we have in common. I think the kid looks more like me, than our old man."

She smiled. "I can't wait to meet him. Why did you go without me?"

His smile fell away. "I had to make sure things were... safe."

She wanted to ask more but just then the door opened, and her father and her brother stepped in. The kid followed behind them more slowly.

Instantly, her heart went out to the boy. He was too skinny, tall for his age, and looked like an insecure younger version of Parker.

She tried to shift up into a sitting position, and Parker helped her by pushing the button on the mechanical bed.

"Thanks," she said softly. "Hi." She tried to put on her best smile for the kid.

"Hey," he said in a voice that had already most likely gone through the change to a lower octave.

"I'm Sara." She waved him closer.

"Yeah, Parker, my brother, told me what happened," Palmer said as he moved further into the room. "Everything..." Sadness filled the kid's eyes and Sara knew instantly that the boy wasn't dangerous.

"We're going to head down and grab some food." Her father took Suzie by her hand. Her eyes were glued to the scene in front of her as if she were enjoying her latest soap opera.

Her family quickly made their retreat while Palmer looked on, appearing a little uncomfortable.

"Why don't you sit down? I'd really like to get to know you some more," she said, motioning to the chair beside her bed.

"You aren't tired or hurting?" Palmer asked, his eyes running over her leg.

"No, I'm fine for now. The pain medicine they have me on numbs it all."

The kid sat down across from his brother. For a moment, she let her eyes slide between the pair.

"So, how long were you at Covenant Home?" Sara asked.

Palmer shrugged and looked at his hands. "A little over a year."

"And before that?" she asked.

"My aunt, our father's sister. She had two other kids my age," Palmer answered.

Sara looked at Parker, who nodded and looked like he wanted more information himself.

"How long with them?"

Palmer's eyes moved up to hers. "I can't remember a time I didn't live with Josie."

Sara's chin rose. "What about your parents?"

He shrugged. "They'd come and go. Mostly show up drunk or high and crash on the sofa for the night. The next day they were always gone."

"Did they ever mention you having a brother?"

Parker squeezed her hand and when she glanced in his direction, she saw the hurt behind his eyes.

"No, I didn't know until they called Jerry's this morning." He shook his head. "It's what we call the home. It was named after the guy that started it." He shrugged.

"Do you want to live with your brother?" Sara finally asked. She was feeling tired and didn't have time to beat around the bush.

Palmer's eyes moved to Parker's. "He seems okay. As long as he's nothing like our old man... Sure, why not."

Sara smiled. "Palmer, I give you my word, your brother is nothing like your father."

The kid shrugged and went back to looking down at his hands.

Just hearing those words from Sara caused Parker to relax for the first time in twenty-four hours.

Matt had driven them like a bat out of hell to Portland in his BMW. They had made it up there before noon. Meeting his brother for the first time was like seeing for the first time.

He knew he was a stranger to the kid, but on the drive back to Pride, he'd tried to ask and answer as many questions as he could while Matt drove.

He'd been thankful Sara's brother had volunteered to drive him up there and back, since his knee was sore and had started to swell underneath the bandages. Besides, he'd been able to take a quick catnap on the drive up there.

He knew he could have put the trip off for a few days, but after last night, he wanted closure on that part of his life.

Knowing his grandmother had known about Palmer convinced him that whatever happened now, he had to make sure the kid was taken care of.

"I'm sorry, I'm feeling groggy," Sara said, her words slurring.

Parker stood, and Palmer followed his lead.

"We're going to go get the kid settled in my guest room. Then I'll be back."

"No." She reached for his hand. "Get some rest. I'll be fine. My mother is going to stay tonight. Go, order some pizza and get to know your brother." She smiled up at him.

His eyes moved over to Palmer's and he could tell she'd struck a chord with the pizza offer.

Bending down, he laid a soft kiss on her lips.

"We'll have that talk, soon. I love you."

"I'm not going anywhere," she said softly.

They ran into her family in the hallway as they were heading out of the building. Parker was a little shocked how much Sara's sister, Suzie, looked like her. Then again, Palmer was a smaller look-alike of himself. That would take some getting used to.

Megan assured him that she would stay with Sara and message him if anything changed.

He reached in his back pocket for his phone and cursed under his breath.

"Oh." Todd snapped his fingers. "Robert dropped this off earlier." He pulled Parker's cell phone from his back pocket. "The screen is cracked but it still works."

He smiled. "Thanks." He looked over at the kid. "Do you have a phone?"

"No." Palmer looked depressed about it.

"Looks like we'll have to pick us up some new ones this weekend." The kid's eyes grew big and Parker could see the excitement behind them.

Since his truck was at his house, Matt offered to lend them his car for the night.

"You sure?" he asked when Sara's brother tossed him the keys to the BMW.

"You can walk if you want." Matt jokingly reached for the keys. Parker snapped them away and shoved them deep in his jean pockets.

He turned to his brother. "We're good, right?"

The kid surprised him by laughing. "Hell, yeah."

Parker chuckled all the way out to the parking lot.

"Can I drive?" Palmer asked as they stood at the hood of the car they'd ridden in all day.

Parker glanced down at him. "Hell no. You're only..." He turned and narrowed his eyes at the kid. "Thirteen, right?"

"Fourteen next month," Palmer supplied.

"I bet you can't even reach the pedals yet," he joked, unlocking the car.

Palmer quietly got in the passenger side.

"What's your house like?" Palmer asked as Parker pulled out of the parking lot.

"A good deal better than the place you were staying, I'd wager," he said as he stopped at the light. Edgeview was a bigger town than Pride and at this time of night, there were still a lot of cars on the road. He bet in Pride, everyone was already tucked in their homes.

Glancing at the clock on the dash, he calculated they had time for a stop before heading to his house.

"How about a quick stop before we grab some pizza and you meet the mutt I call Toby." He'd told his brother about the dog, making sure the kid wasn't allergic or something.

"Sure." Palmer sat back and looked relaxed in the seat. "Where?"

He glanced at him sideways. "I thought you'd like to meet your grandmother."

He punched the number on his broken screen and made a call.

Half an hour later, they walked through the door of the retirement home. It had taken him a little sweet-talking of the head nurse on duty, but he'd finally convinced her to allow them five minutes when they arrived.

When Parker opened his grandmother's door, he stepped in and allowed Palmer to follow him. His grandmother's state hadn't changed.

He hobbled over to the side of the bed and reached for the old lady's hand as Palmer took up residence on the other side. They both looked down at her, Parker with love and Palmer with interest.

"This is our mother's mother?" he asked.

"Yes. She's the only person in my life that's ever loved me unconditionally. Until Sara," he added. His eyes moved up to his brother's and his heart broke when he noticed the younger boy's eyes grow red.

"I wish..." A strange sound escaped the kid, and he rushed from the room.

Parker looked down at his grandmother and laid a kiss on her paper-thin cheek.

"I'll take care of him, I promise you that. He's family now. He'll know how wonderful of a parent you were. I'll show him the love you showed me." He kissed her again, then went to find his brother.

# Epilogue

Three weeks later....

Sara stood leaning against Parker as her uncle cut the ribbon on the newly remodeled Golden Oar. The building's transformation was nothing short of a miracle.

Gone was the old shingled siding. It had been replaced with strong wood that gleamed in the daylight. The metal roof had been powerwashed until it gleamed. The only thing that remained outside was her great-grandfather's handmade sign, which had been fitted with a new light to make it glow at night.

"Do you think he'll like his birthday present?" Parker asked, wrapping his arms around her.

Iian and Allison had returned from their trip early, after hearing what had happened to them. Her uncle had promised her that once she was back on both feet, she'd have the new manager job full time, allowing him to finally cut his hours back to part-time.

Palmer was standing next to her uncle, helping him cut the ribbon. Sara and Parker had been surprised when the kid had wanted to work side by side with his big brother. If it wasn't for the extra help, Parker swears it would have taken them an extra week to get the place done.

It had taken some doing, but Palmer was enrolled in classes in Pride for the fall. So far, the boy had fit into the town as easily as his brother had. It was fun living with the pair of them, and they were all getting to know each other. It just sucked that she was slowed down by her leg and the boot she had to wear everywhere.

Right now, her crutches were leaning against her new Jeep, and she was solely depending on Parker to keep her upright.

Palmer had helped them pick out her new Jeep. He enjoyed riding in it so much, he talked about getting his own Jeep someday.

The kid was great with helping out around the house and with Toby. The boy and dog had quickly become inseparable. Toby even took to sleeping in Palmer's room each night. Sara was pretty sure it was because he was afraid of her boot. Toby growled at it when she took it off to shower.

"I know he's going to love it." She touched Parker's hand. "Your grandmother would be proud of you."

Sadness flooded Parker's eyes. His grandmother had died the night after their accident. Parker and Palmer had gone to visit her and by the next morning, they had received a call from the nursing home that she had passed peacefully in her sleep.

Parker waved the kid over to them as everyone else started filing in to see the inside of the restaurant.

"Hey," Palmer said after jogging across the parking lot. "Aren't you going to go in?"

"Later," Parker said, smiling at his brother. "We have something for you, an early birthday present." Parker made sure to hold her up as he leaned into the Jeep's window and pulled out the envelope.

"What's this?" Palmer asked, looking down at it.

"You won't know unless you open it," Parker joked.

Palmer ripped it open quickly and started reading the document. "What is this?" Palmer shook his head.

"Well, it's the legal paperwork saying that I now own your butt." Parker reached over and ruffled his brother's hair. "And that I've set up a trust fund in your name."

"But..." Palmer frowned at him.

"Once you turn eighteen, you have access to your share. Our grandparents' money was split in two equal parts."

Sara grabbed her crutches from the Jeep with tears in her eyes as Palmer threw himself into his brother's arms.

"Thank you," Palmer said into Parker's chest.

"Don't thank me. Our grandmother would have wanted—" Parker started.

"Not for the money, stupid," Palmer interrupted. "For keeping me, for giving me a home for the first time in my life." The kid turned towards her and hugged her gently. "For both of you. A newly engaged couple taking on a teenager is just plan crazy." Palmer wiped the tears from his eyes and glanced around to make sure no one had noticed them. "You didn't have to, but—"

"Course we did," Sara broke in. "You're family." She hugged the kid back, then laughed when Parker had to catch her from toppling over.

"I don't know what to say." Palmer took a couple deep breaths.

"Don't say anything." Parker smiled. "Let's go in and enjoy our hard work. Besides, I heard Sara say that she was going to buy us a shake."

As they helped Sara into the restaurant, she couldn't stop thinking about how thankful she was for her new family and for the future that awaited them. Together.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

* * *

A DASH OF LOVE

DIGITAL ISBN: 978-1-942896-96-8

PRINT ISBN: 978-1980533719

Text copyright © 2018 Grayton Press

All rights reserved.

Copyeditor: Erica Ellis – inkdeepediting.com

* * *

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

# Also by Jill Sanders

**The Pride Series**

Finding Pride

Discovering Pride

Returning Pride

Lasting Pride

Serving Pride

Red Hot Christmas

My Sweet Valentine

Return To Me

Rescue Me

* * *

**The Secret Series**

Secret Seduction

Secret Pleasure

Secret Guardian

Secret Passions

Secret Identity

Secret Sauce

* * *

**The West Series**

Loving Lauren

Taming Alex

Holding Haley

Missy's Moment

Breaking Travis

Roping Ryan

Wild Bride

Corey's Catch

Tessa's Turn

* * *

**The Grayton Series**

Last Resort

Someday Beach

Rip Current

In Too Deep

Swept Away

High Tide

* * *

**Lucky Series**

Unlucky In Love

Sweet Resolve

Best of Luck

A Little Luck

* * *

**Silver Cove Series**

Silver Lining

French Kiss

Happy Accident

Hidden Charm

A Silver Cove Christmas

* * *

**Entangled Series – Paranormal Romance**

The Awakening

The Beckoning

The Ascension

* * *

**Haven, Montana Series**

Closer to You

Never Let Go

Holding On

* * *

**Pride Oregon Series**

A Dash of Love

My Kind of Love

Season of Love

Tis the Season

Dare to Love

Where I Belong

* * *

**Wildflowers Series**

Summer Nights

Summer Heat

* * *

**Stand Alone Books**

Twisted Rock

* * *

For a complete list of books:

<http://JillSanders.com>

# About the Author

_Jill Sanders is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of Sweet Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, Western Romance, and Paranormal Romance novels. With over 55 books in eleven series, translations into several different languages, and audiobooks there's plenty to choose from. Look for Jill's bestselling stories wherever romance books are sold or visit her atjillsanders.com_

* * *

_Jill comes from a large family with six siblings, including an identical twin. She was raised in the Pacific Northwest and later relocated to Colorado for college and a successful IT career before discovering her talent for writing sweet and sexy page-turners. After Colorado, she decided to move south, living in Texas and now making her home along the Emerald Coast of Florida. You will find that the settings of several of her series are inspired by her time spent living in these areas. She has two sons and off-set the testosterone in her house by adopting three furry little ladies that provide her company while she's locked in her writing cave. She enjoys heading to the beach, hiking, swimming, wine-tasting, and pickleball with her husband, and of course writing. If you have read any of her books, you may also notice that there is a love of food, especially sweets! She has been blamed for a few added pounds by her assistant, editor, and fans... donuts or pie anyone?_

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