Bachelor Protector. Julianna Morris
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A thoroughly nice man, Rosemary had concluded after watching father and daughter together. She was glad for them, but it was a reminder that she didn’t have a similar relationship with her own children.
Maybe that was why she’d gone along when Nathan insisted on leaving the rehab hospital...because she’d hoped it might bring them closer.
* * *
GREAT-UNCLE MILT came into the shop to see Sarah shortly before the lunch-hour rush.
“Hey, Uncle Milt, how about a sandwich?” Sarah nodded to Aurelia, who began packing his favorite meal into a bag.
“I should say no, but I won’t. Just put it on my account. I mostly came to tell you about that fellow from yesterday.”
“Oh?” Sarah said cautiously, hoping he didn’t know Tyler had shown up again. “Let’s go for a walk.”
Aurelia handed Great-Uncle Milt his lunch, and they headed down the street.
“I spoke to Zach and he did a standard background check at the police station,” Great-Uncle Milt explained as they strolled toward the city park. “It turns out Tyler Prentiss is connected to an investigation in the Chicago area.”
Sarah nearly tripped. She didn’t have a high opinion of Rosemary’s eldest son, but she didn’t think he was a criminal.
“What sort of investigation?”
“Earlier in July a building under construction collapsed and injured several workers. Prentiss was the original architect, though another architect took over the project in February and made changes. Nonetheless, the owner is blaming Mr. Prentiss. The investigation could take months to resolve.”
Sarah wasn’t surprised that Rosemary had been silent about the incident; it wasn’t something you’d casually discuss. “It doesn’t sound as if he could be responsible if changes were made to his original design.”
“I realize that, and Prentiss’s work is highly regarded, which I’m sure the authorities are keeping in mind. Other than this, his record is spotless. Not even a speeding ticket.”
“I appreciate the update.”
Sarah wasn’t sure what to make of Great-Uncle Milt’s revelation, though it actually made her feel more sympathetic toward Tyler. She knew what it was like to be to be exhausted and not thinking straight.
Within just a few months, his father had died and his brother had been seriously injured, and now his career was under siege. What did they say about trouble coming in threes?
Rosemary had talked often about her sons since starting to work at the bakery, and a picture of Tyler had emerged as an extremely cool and measured man.
Sarah had begun to think of him almost as a hermit crab, toting around an oversize shell into which he could withdraw. The mental image still fit what she’d seen of his personality—except for the bad temper he’d shown—but she hadn’t expected his “shell” to be so...mouthwatering.
With a sigh, Sarah glanced at the clock tower on City Hall. “Sorry, Uncle Milt, but I have to scoot,” she said. “See you on Sunday.”
Sarah hurried back toward the sweet shop, and as bad luck would have it, ran into Tyler Prentiss going into the newly relocated Valentino’s Pizza Pizzazz. In such a small town, encounters were to be expected. She just wished it could have happened on a different day.
He gave her an inquiring look. “I thought you weren’t taking lunch.”
“I don’t take long lunches, though in this case I was discussing something with a relative, not eating.” Sarah resisted the temptation to say she had the right to do whatever she wanted, regardless of what she’d told him. “Uncle Milt is the former Glimmer Creek police chief.”
Tyler’s expression didn’t change. “Mom mentioned you have family in the area.”
“That’s right.”
Grandma Margaret called their family an embarrassment of riches. Sarah thought that was apt. She was fortunate to have so many people who cared about her.
Of course, she hadn’t always felt lucky when she was a teenager and couldn’t get away with a tiny bit of rebellion—too many relatives to see it.
Being a little wild might have been fun, and maybe she wouldn’t have made such a huge mistake with her ex-husband if she’d been able to learn from smaller mistakes as a teen.
“Is something wrong?” Tyler prompted.
“Nope. I understand you don’t have any extended family yourself.”
“It’s just the three of us now.”
Sarah couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have so few relatives. Sometimes it seemed as if everyone in Glimmer Creek was related to her in one way or another.
“I’m sorry about your dad,” she said, unsure if she should say anything at all. Some people didn’t want to be reminded of someone they’d lost.
A mask seemed to come over Tyler’s face. “Thank you. He was a great lawyer. Tops in the DC area.”
“Oh. That’s nice.”
Despite her comment, she was puzzled. If she’d lost her father, even sympathy from a stranger would have made her declare how special and wonderful he was. Calling him a brave soldier or gifted horticulturist would only have occurred to her later.
She squared her shoulders. “Well, I won’t keep you.”
Sarah headed down the passageway between the sweet shop and the pizza parlor to go in through the back entrance. The front of the bakery was so crowded that there was a line out the door, extending down the street.
Yet a part of her mind wasn’t thinking about the shop and everything that needed doing... It was thinking about Tyler Prentiss and the closed-off look in his eyes when he’d talked about his father.
* * *
SHORTLY AFTER THE lunch rush, Sarah was putting the final touches on a batch of wild blackberry tarts when Rosemary came into the kitchen.
“Sarah, there’s a Mr. Seibert on the line for you, from City Hall.”
Sarah hurried into the office and picked up the receiver. “Hey, Stephen.” She didn’t know him professionally—he’d started working for the city after the various renovations had been completed on her business—but they’d met at a few community events.
“Hello, Sarah. I...um... I’m sorry, but I need to schedule an inspection,” he said hesitantly.
“Sure, but we don’t have any remodeling planned.”
Stephen cleared his throat. “Actually, I received a complaint saying your facility might not meet building codes for the number of employees. Also that the air-conditioning might not be up to par.”
“A complaint?” Sarah tried not to react as she recalled Tyler saying he didn’t want his mother in a hot, crowded kitchen. “From who?”
“It was anonymous. These things usually are, and they’re usually a bunch of nonsense, but I still need to check. It’s standard city protocol.”
“Okay. Do you want to come today?”
“Tomorrow is fine. How about 2:00 p.m.? I’ll also have to see your work schedules to know how many employees are present at any given time.”
“Whatever you need.”
Sarah got off and tried keep the frustration from showing on her face.
“Is there a problem?” Rosemary asked worriedly.
“No, the city just does inspections now and then.”
“I heard you mention a complaint. Who would complain? Everybody is so happy here.”