Bachelor Protector

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.”

Sarah shrugged. “Stephen doesn’t know—it was anonymous. I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding.”

On reflection, an anonymous complaint didn’t sound like Tyler Prentiss. Of course, she couldn’t think of anyone else it could be, either, though the memory of the silent calls she’d been having popped into her mind.

Don’t be paranoid, Sarah ordered. It was unlikely the two problems were connected.

“I heard Tyler dropped by this morning,” Rosemary said, still looking upset.

“Yes, he apologized.”

Rosemary brightened. “I’m glad to hear that. He means well, but he’s protective. The truth is, I was a complete mess after Richard died. I’d let my husband handle all our personal affairs and wasn’t the least prepared when...” She swallowed. “Richard died of a massive stroke. He was older than me and should have retired years ago, but nothing could make him slow down.”

“It must have been a shock.”

“He simply wouldn’t take care of himself. But I shouldn’t keep you—you have enough to do.”

Sarah smiled. She didn’t mind the moments that she and Rosemary got to talking. Thanks to the older woman’s ability to manage the business end of the sweet shop, she was getting more time to do what she loved most.

“Actually, I’m going to finish my blackberry tarts, then go home and take a nap,” she explained. “I’ll come back later to make fudge.” Her candy chef had asked for an extra day off this week, and she didn’t want to run low.

In the kitchen, Sarah found someone else had finished the tarts, so she gratefully left. At the house, she set the alarm and unplugged her landline before lying down. Theo delightedly jumped up with her and settled down, purring.