Guarding a forbidden lov.., p.8
Guarding a Forbidden Love, page 8
“No,” she replied. “Nobody has asked me out for at least a year or so.”
A little over a year ago she had gone out on one date with Billy Jackson. He was a nice older man who worked at the post office. They had gone out to dinner together at the café but had quickly realized they had very little in common and there had been absolutely no sparks between them. They hadn’t gone on a second date and he had just recently married a nice woman who worked at the grocery store. Since then, nobody else had asked her out. Nobody had shown any kind of a romantic interest in her. Not until Sam.
She and Sam sat in silence for several long minutes. She was still trying to wrap her mind around the horrid doll that had been left for her. Who on earth would even think to do such a thing? Who would think to drive a nail file into a doll’s head? It was positively sick.
“Harper.” Sam said her name softly. She turned to look at him again. “It’s going to be all right. I swear it’s just a stupid scare tactic.”
“Well, it worked because right now I’m scared,” she replied.
“Try not to be,” he replied. “I really believe whoever did this isn’t a real threat to you.”
She desperately wanted to believe him, but she couldn’t help the shivers of fear that continued to race up and down her back.
Again, they fell into silence and minutes later a knock sounded at her door. It was Dallas, and she was hoping the lawman would be able to tell her whether she should really be afraid or not.
* * *
As Dallas questioned Harper, Sam once again took one of her hands in his to show his support. Her hand felt so small and trembled slightly as she told Dallas she had no idea who would be this angry that she was seeing Sam.
Dammit, he hated that she was so frightened. He hated the dark shadows that had taken over the beautiful sparkle of her blue eyes... the fear that tightened her lush lips into a thin slash. And he hated that this had happened because he was seeing her.
“Two of my girlfriends talked to me tonight after the meeting about not liking the fact that I’d gone out with Sam on a date,” she now said.
“Their names?” Dallas asked.
“Becky Barlow and Allie Crawford, but neither of them would stoop so low as to do something like this,” Harper said. “They’re nice women and they would never, ever even think about doing something as crazy, as awful as that.” She gestured to the doll in front of her.
“What about you, Sam?”
Sam straightened up and looked at Dallas in surprise. “What about me?”
“Are there any women out there who might have a problem with you seeing Harper?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” Sam replied.
“Any women who have made it clear they’d like to go out with you?” Dallas asked.
Sam was aware of Harper gazing at him curiously. “Uh, Celeste Winthrop has let me know on more than one occasion she’d like me to ask her out, but I’ve tried to make it clear to her it isn’t going to happen.” He tightened his hand around Harper’s. It felt a bit awkward to discuss this in front of Harper. “But honestly I can’t imagine Celeste doing something like this.”
“You’d be surprised what some people will do,” Dallas replied dryly. “We know somebody here in town is hiding an evil secret as far as the murders are concerned. Why wouldn’t Celeste harbor a secret hatred of Harper if she was desperate enough for a date with you?” He released a deep sigh and stood. “I’ll just run out to my car and get an evidence bag. I’ll dust the doll for fingerprints and maybe we’ll get lucky.”
As he walked out the front door, Harper pulled her hand away from Sam’s. “Are you okay?” he asked her worriedly.
“I will be,” she replied. “I just have a few questions for Dallas.” She leaned back against the sofa cushion with a frown working lines across her forehead. “I hate that we even had to bother him with this. He already has so much on his plate with the two murders that have occurred.”
“True, but he also needs to know the other things that are going on in his town. I wouldn’t have felt right not calling him about this,” he replied.
At that moment Dallas came back through the door. “I’m assuming you don’t want to keep this nasty piece of work,” he said as he pulled on a pair of gloves.
“I definitely want it gone out of my house as quickly as possible,” she replied fervently.
Once he had his gloves on, Dallas took the doll and placed it in the bag he’d brought in. He also put the note in the bag. “I hate to tell you this, but right now no real crime has been committed here. If things like this were to continue then I might be able to make a case for stalking or trespassing at the very least. What I hope is I can hunt down the person who did this and have a stern talk with him or her and make sure this kind of nonsense stops.”
“I just want to know if I should be afraid or not,” Harper said, her voice trembling slightly. Once again, a rich anger ripped through Sam. Damn whoever did this. Damn whoever had frightened her like this.
Dallas frowned thoughtfully and raked a hand through his hair. “It is a thinly veiled threat, but I don’t think you need to be overly concerned with it. Honestly, people who do things like this are rarely a real physical threat. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, but they are rare. All I can really tell you is what I said earlier tonight at the town meeting...watch your surroundings and stay aware. Don’t let anyone get into your personal space unless you want them there.”
“Thank you, Dallas, for coming out here for this. I know you have far more important things to deal with right now,” she said.
Dallas smiled at her. “I’m glad you called me. It’s important that I know everything that’s going on in this town,” he said, mirroring what Sam had told her moments before.
Sam got up and walked the lawman to the door. “Thanks, Dallas. We appreciate it.”
“No problem. I’ll be in touch and let you know what I find out,” he replied.
The minute Dallas left Sam returned to his seat on the sofa next to Harper. “Harper, I hope you don’t give this creep the power to make you stop seeing me,” he said.
She stared at him for several long moments and then a slow smile curved her lips. “You know what they say about bullies. They say the best way to deal with one is to stand up to them, so I don’t intend to change anything I’m doing right now.”
“That’s my girl,” Sam replied with a smile of his own. From the moment he’d seen the doll and the note, he’d been afraid that Harper was going to tell him she was done with him.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather date Celeste Winthrop? She’s a beautiful woman and she’s much more your own age,” Harper said.
“Why would I want to date a woman who seems superficial and rather vacant when I can date a woman who is warm and real and can actually have a meaningful conversation with me?”
“And why would I date an old man when I can date a handsome young hunk like you?” she replied.
He was grateful to see the light back in her eyes, taking the place of the dark shadows of fear that had been there minutes before.
“I am totally a hunk,” he replied.
She laughed. “And a humble hunk at that.”
“So, we’re still on for tomorrow night to go to the Farmer’s Club?” he asked.
She hesitated a moment and then nodded. “Yes, we’re still on.”
“Then we’ll firm up the time tomorrow during my lunch break.”
“Sounds good to me,” she replied.
He got up from the sofa. “It’s getting late and I know you have an early morning so I’m going to get out of here.” She got up as well and walked with him to the door.
He opened it and then turned back to her. “Are you okay to be alone tonight?”
“You’ll have to work harder than that to get into my bed, Sam Bravano,” she said wryly.
“No... That’s... It’s... That’s not what I meant,” he sputtered.
She laughed. “Sam, I’m just giving you a hard time, but in any case, I’ll be fine. I’ve got good locks on my doors and windows.”
“Harper, if you get scared or just feel the need to talk, no matter what the time, you know I’m only a phone call away,” he said. “And I can be here in less than five minutes if you need me.”
“Thank you, Sam. I really appreciate it.”
He raised an eyebrow and winked at her. “Do you need a kiss to get you through the night?”
She shoved him toward the door with another laugh. “You are incorrigible. Good night, Sam.”
“‘Night, Harper.” He stepped out on the front porch as she closed the door behind her. He waited until he heard the satisfying sound of her door lock clicking and then a dead bolt being turned.
As he walked to his truck, he used the faint light of a nearby streetlamp and the moon overhead to make sure nobody was lurking around her house.
Driving home, he tightened his hands around the steering wheel as a sharp anger stabbed into him once again. Who had left that damned mutilated doll for her to find? Who cared that much about who Harper was dating? Unfortunately, he had no idea. She had no idea, either, and he seriously doubted that Dallas would be able to find the culprit.
There was also an anger and a small amount of guilt that he was the cause of that doll being left for her. What was he supposed to do? Stop seeing her because some creep had a problem with it? Dammit, he wasn’t ready to stop seeing her, especially not because of a doll and a note.
In the time he’d been working for her, he hadn’t noticed anyone showing any kind of a romantic interest in her. Sure, she had several male regulars who came into the bakery, but as she’d told Dallas, none of them had ever asked her out or indicated to her that they had romance on the mind where she was concerned.
Was it possible it was some woman in town who was angry at Sam? Celeste? The woman had definitely been chasing him for the last couple of months or so. Was it possible she had done this? Maybe when he got home, he’d find something disgusting had been left on his door, too.
He needed to call Dallas and tell him there were several other women in town who had been pretty forward in wanting Sam to ask them out. He hadn’t wanted to rattle off a list of names with Harper sitting right there next to him. It would have not only been embarrassing, but it had felt like it would be disrespectful to Harper.
Despite the growing lateness of the hour, his two brothers were seated on his front porch when he pulled in and parked. “Don’t you two have a home?” he asked after greeting them. He unlocked his door and the two followed him inside.
“Yeah, we have a home, but we like yours better,” Michael said as he flopped down on the sofa.
“You know Ma goes to bed really early and we weren’t ready to call it a night yet,” Tony said as he took up the other half of the sofa.
“Why don’t you move out and into your own places?” Sam eased down in his recliner, his thoughts still on Harper and what had happened. Nothing had been left on his front door which led him to believe it was somebody Harper knew who was upset about the two of them dating each other.
“You know we don’t want to leave Ma all alone,” Michael said.
“She would probably be happy to be all alone, and you mean you don’t want to leave a place where your meals are cooked and your clothes are washed and where the two of you are babied,” Sam replied.
“Well, there is that,” Tony said with a laugh.
“I haven’t heard from Lauren in a while. How’s she doing?” Sam asked.
A touch of guilt shot through him as he thought of his older sister. Lauren was two years older than Sam and the two siblings had always been close. They usually touched base by phone at least once a week or so, but at least two weeks had gone by since the last time he’d talked to her.
“She’s fine. Her and Russ have been busy putting together her shop,” Tony said.
Lauren had married Russ Lincoln three years ago. Russ was a nice guy who worked as a firefighter and was helping Lauren’s dream of opening a trinket and dress shop on Main Street come true.
“How’s the shop coming along?” Sam asked.
“According to what Lauren told me, the interior has all been painted and the shelving is mostly in,” Tony said. “You should go by and check it out. I think it’s going to be really nice.”
“I’ll do that,” Sam said.
“On another note, you’ll be happy to know that Paula and I are back together again,” Michael said.
“He’s such a schmuck,” Tony said with disgust.
“I’m happy about it if you’re happy,” Sam said.
“I’m totally happy,” Michael said with a wide grin. “She’s definitely what I want.”
“Schmuck,” Tony replied.
“So, what did you think about the meeting tonight?” Michael asked, obviously ignoring Tony.
“As far as I’m concerned there were no real surprises,” Sam said.
“I feel bad for Dallas,” Tony said. “He’s got to be pulling his hair out over this. One murder was bad enough, but two is horrible. Sandy was a real nice woman.”
“Yeah, she was, and it sounds like Dallas has no clues to help him solve the murders,” Michael added.
“He’s a smart man. Eventually he’ll figure it out and get the murderer behind bars,” Sam said.
“I found one thing very surprising about tonight,” Michael said. “What are you doing with Harper Brennan?”
“I’m dating her.”
Tony straightened up and stared at Sam. “For real?”
Sam nodded. “For real.”
“Why?” Michael asked.
“Ah duh, because I like her,” Sam said. “I like her a lot and I’m enjoying spending time with her.”
“Yeah, but you could date any hot young chick in town. Why Harper? Isn’t she a lot older than you?” Michael asked.
“I don’t want any of the hot young chicks in town. I’ve already dated my share of them. Harper excites me. The age thing doesn’t bother me at all. I just really like being with her,” Sam said. “She’s smart and funny and I’m eager to get to know her even better.”
“Don’t you worry that maybe she’s dating you as some sort of a trophy? She must be happy for everyone to see she can score with a hot younger man,” Tony replied.
That thought had crossed Sam’s mind, but he knew better now. “Harper isn’t that kind of a woman and right now I intend to keep seeing her whether you guys like it or not,” Sam said.
“I don’t have a problem with it, I just think it’s kind of weird,” Tony replied.
“And I give it two weeks and you’ll be ready to move on to a younger, hotter woman,” Michael said.
The conversation suddenly irritated him and he was glad when they didn’t stay long after that. He didn’t need to hear their negative opinions about dating Harper. Couldn’t anyone be happy that he and Harper were happy together? And who had left that doll on her front door?
Right now, Sam had two worries in his head. The first was Harper’s safety, even though he tended to agree with Dallas that the creep who’d left the doll was probably harmless.
His other concern was that Harper would bend to the pressures around her and stop seeing him. For the first time in his life, he’d found a woman he wanted to fight for and he wasn’t just walking out of Harper’s life without a battle.
Chapter 6
Harper checked her reflection in the mirror and mentally pronounced herself ready for another date with Sam. She’d tossed and turned all night long, thinking about the doll and her friends and Sam.
There was absolutely no way she believed Allie or Becky had anything to do with the doll. They’d certainly speak their minds, and had during the meeting, but Harper believed there was no way they’d stoop to such a level as to leave that horrendous doll for her to find. They just weren’t that kind of people.
The easy thing for her to do would be to stop seeing Sam in any kind of a social way. Then her friends would be happy and whoever had left the doll for her would be happy. Everyone would be happy except her.
That day when Sam had taken his lunchtime inside the bakery with her, he’d reminded her of just how much she enjoyed his company. He caused a girly breathlessness deep inside her at the same time he made her laugh.
His presence in her life had eased the deep core of loneliness that had been with her since the day her husband had walked out on her. And somehow, she didn’t believe anyone else would have done that as well as Sam had.
All the pushback she had gotten about dating him had made her wake up that morning with a new determination that she was going to see Sam whenever, however she damn well pleased. To heck with everyone else.
She wasn’t a complete fool. She didn’t believe they had any kind of a real future together, but for the first time in her life, she was doing something to please herself. He made her happy, and she hadn’t really been happy in her personal life in a very long time. She would continue to see Sam as long as he wanted to see her.
She now left her bathroom and went into the living room to wait for Sam’s arrival. It was going to be a very low-key night, drinks and conversation at the Farmer’s Club. After last night she was definitely looking for a low-key, drama-free evening.
It had been another hot day and so she wore another sundress this evening, this time in a bright pink. She’d worn it several times before and had always gotten compliments, so she knew it looked good on her. And she wanted to look as good as she could for Sam.
She jumped up as a knock sounded on the door. That would be him and her heart did a crazy little dance as she went to answer. She opened the door and a new warmth swept through her at the sight of him. Nobody wore a pair of jeans as well as Sam, and the emerald green polo shirt he wore brought out the beautiful color of his long-lashed eyes. He looked totally hot.
