Bachelor Protector Read online

  “I’m going to reason with her. You can’t possibly understand the situation.”

  “I understand you’re a chauvinistic jackass—how’s that for a start?” she shot back, quickly losing the battle to control her temper. Rosemary had talked often about her son the architect, but she hadn’t mentioned he was utterly impossible.

  “Sarah certainly has figured you out, my darling,” said Rosemary. She’d returned from a visit to the office supply store and was glaring at her son. Sarah was reminded of her iron-willed grandmother who’d helped raise her. Yet Rosemary’s expression softened when she gestured to the red scar at her son’s hairline.

  “What happened? You didn’t tell me you’d had an accident.”

  He snorted. “You didn’t say anything about coming to California, either. We’ve talked every day since I left, and the subject never came up?”

  Rosemary turned pink. “I knew you were busy and didn’t want to distract you. How did you get hurt?”

  “It isn’t important. I’m fine.” He lowered his voice. “Look, you have to realize your doctor wouldn’t approve of you working. And I know that Nathan checked out of rehab against medical advice. So let’s go back to the suite and pack your things. We can leave in the morning.”

  Rosemary shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere, and I’m sure Nathan wants to stay, too. Besides, I have a job now. Responsibilities.”

  “You aren’t strong enough to hold any sort of job, much less do the kind of labor this place must require.”

  “What do you think I’m doing here, scrubbing floors with a rag and toting hundred-pound sacks of flour?”

  “It doesn’t matter. Nathan needs to go back in rehab. That’s where he belongs, and I’m sure you want to be near him.”

  “He wasn’t getting better in that place and wanted to leave.”

  Sarah bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. The men in her family could be opinionated and old-fashioned, but Rosemary’s son made them look like models of modern thinking by comparison. Of course...Tyler Prentiss might have a point if his brother wasn’t following medical orders, but he wasn’t going to fix the situation by acting this way.

  “Nathan needs professional care,” Tyler said. “I’ve got plane tickets for tomorrow. We’re going back to DC.”

  Rosemary crossed her arms over her stomach. “Enjoy your flight.”

  “I have tickets for all of us.”

  Whoa.

  Sarah had never seen someone actually talk between clenched teeth before, but Tyler Prentiss was doing a credible job of being rock-jawed and speaking at the same time. It was too bad to see so much striking masculine appeal wasted on a guy like him.

  When she’d first seen him—before he’d opened his big mouth—she’d actually felt a flash of awareness. Tyler was tall and classically handsome, with a strong bone structure. Paired with his dark hair and cool brown eyes, she’d found him quite compelling...until he’d started talking.

  Tyler turned and focused on her again. “Please understand, Ms. Fullerton, my mother’s doctor told her to avoid stress. She’s had a difficult time since my fath—”

  “Richard Tyler Prentiss,” Rosemary interrupted. “This is my place of employment, so unless you’re going to buy some of the delicious goods we sell here, please leave.”

  “Fine. We’ll talk later.” He stomped out the door with a grim expression.

  As soon as he was gone, Rosemary began to deflate. “I’m sorry my son made a scene, Sarah. Tyler means well, and I’m sure he’ll regret this when he calms down. Please don’t fire me.”

  “I don’t fire employees because their sons behave badly,” Sarah assured. “In fact, I’m promoting you to assistant manager. My aunt won’t mind. She’s been hoping I’d hire someone in her place. You can focus on the office, supplies and coordination the way you’ve been doing, and I’ll manage the kitchen.”

  Rosemary beamed. “In that case, I’d better get busy.”

  She hurried away and Sarah rolled her shoulders to relax them, but before she could return to her baking, Great-Uncle Milt arrived.

  “I heard you had a disruptive customer and came to help,” he announced.

  “Thanks, but everything has been resolved.” Sarah had to rise on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. He was extremely tall, with a shock of thick white hair and a pair of youthful blue eyes. Folks in Glimmer Creek referred to him as the Big Kid, though as Glimmer Creek’s recently retired police chief, he could be stern about the law. Not that he was completely retired. The town had given Great-Uncle Milt the title of Police Chief Emeritus at his retirement ceremony.

  “What happened?”

  She tugged him out to the front sidewalk and explained, not wanting Rosemary to hear the comments being made about her eldest son.

  “I’ll check into this fellow,” Great-Uncle Milt declared when she finished, his eyebrows drawn together.

  “It’s fine. I’m sure he won’t be a problem,” Sarah said, though she was still annoyed that Tyler Prentiss had tried to interfere. She’d like to give him a sharp kick in the rear.

  “Nevertheless, I’ll talk to the new police chief about it,” Great-Uncle Milt insisted. “I won’t have some stranger upsetting things around here.”

  “If it makes you feel better,” Sarah said, yet the corners of her mouth twitched. The “new” police chief was Zach Williams...Great-Uncle Milt’s grandson. Zach was her second cousin, though in Glimmer Creek family was family. Period. And in-laws were relatives the same as anybody else. Great-Uncle Milt just didn’t like emphasizing the connection in case folks thought his grandson had gotten the job because of the relationship.

  Yet Sarah’s humor faded as she thought about her cousin’s wife. Gina had died from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. Zach had never been the same.

  It was worse to bury a spouse than get divorced, but at least he remembered his wife with love, instead of the loathing Sarah felt for Douglas.

  * * *

  TYLER PACED THE GARDEN around the John Muir Cottage until his brother barked at him to go away. Inside the large Victorian farmhouse, he couldn’t find an informational booklet, so he called the Poppy Gold registration desk to get the Wi-Fi password. He had to do something while waiting for his mother to return.

  Did she really think sunshine and fresh air would be enough to help Nathan?

  Tyler frowned as he worked at the table in the suite’s kitchen. When Nathan had been in the military hospital, he and his mother had taken shifts so someone would be with him around the clock. She stayed days, while Tyler had stayed nights.

  He’d never forget the first time he’d seen Nathan in the throes of a violent nightmare...groaning, thrashing, striking out violently. Sometimes yelling, revealing hints of the horrors he’d lived through. Even his less-intense nightmares had been disturbing to witness.

  After that, Tyler had done research on PTSD. Nightmares occurred in a fairly large percentage of cases, and since Nathan was an expert in hand-to-hand combat, it wasn’t safe to get near him while he was experiencing one.

  The minutes passed slowly, and finally the side door off the utility room opened. His mother walked in, bright and chipper, though her cheery expression faltered when she looked at him.

  “You owe Sarah an apology,” she said flatly. “And you owe me one, too. I can’t believe you’d embarrass me like that.”

  “I can’t believe you and Nathan would fly to California without a word,” Tyler retorted. “Three months ago you were still so distraught about Dad that you asked me to postpone going to Rome a second time. You didn’t want me out of the area for even a few weeks.”

  Rosemary raised her chin. “I just felt it was too soon after Nathan had gone into rehab and that you should be there. But yes, I was also still upset about your father. I’d lost my best fri
end and the love of my life. Can you blame me for not being able to handle it right away?”

  Tyler frowned.

  While he’d respected his father, the idea of his parents enjoying such a close relationship was a challenge. When would they have found time? Richard Prentiss had often worked ninety hours a week, though admittedly, some of his work had included schmoozing with clients, his wife at his side. He’d been a lawyer, greatly in demand. More than anything he’d wanted his sons to go into practice with him, but Tyler had wanted to be an architect and Nathan a soldier.

  Still, Tyler was willing to believe his parents had been closer than he’d realized. It would certainly explain why his mom had fallen apart so badly.

  “I’m not blaming you,” Tyler said carefully. “On the other hand, I don’t think getting a job on a whim is the answer. What are you planning to do, move here?”

  “Perhaps. Glimmer Creek is a nice town.”

  “I don’t think you’d like it for long. The nearest place to buy designer accessories has to be fifty miles away.”

  “Is that what you really think of me?” Rosemary asked sadly. “I needed to dress a certain way because it was important to your father that I looked like a successful attorney’s wife, but I’ve never cared that much about stylish clothes and jewelry. I thought you understood.”

  Tyler didn’t know what he understood. At the moment he was exhausted, jet-lagged and his career was on shaky ground. He supposed there was a certain truth to his mother’s claim, though. His parents’ social circle would have expected them to be perfectly dressed.

  “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m wearing sensible shoes.” Rosemary lifted a foot. “Kurt got them for me when he went shopping in Stockton.”

  The comment went over Tyler’s head for an instant then he frowned. “Who’s Kurt?”

  “Sarah’s father, Kurt Fullerton. He manages the Poppy Gold greenhouses and working gardens, but he also helps the bakery by shopping down in Stockton for specialty items. He’s a lovely man.”

  The warmth in her voice made Tyler pause. “Are you dating him?”

  It might explain a lot.

  The disappointment in his mother’s eyes deepened. “Your father has only been gone for eight months. While some people are ready to move on that quickly, I’m not one of them. Kurt and I met two weeks ago at the bakery. Hard as it may be for you to understand, men and women can just be friends.”

  Tyler worked with both men and women, but he couldn’t claim any of them as friends. He didn’t have that many friends, even from college. After he’d rejected law school, his father had refused to pay for his education. So Tyler had worked and borrowed his way through college, which hadn’t left time for socializing.

  “I still don’t see why it’s so important for you to work,” he said. “If you want to get involved with something again, what about your causes back home? Surely they need you.”

  “I’m needed here.” Rosemary’s face lit up. “I hear Nathan outside with Kurt. They often spend time together in the afternoon.”

  “Maybe I should meet him.”

  “Fine, but mind your manners. I’ll freshen up and be out in a minute.” She hurried upstairs.

  Tyler’s head ached worse as he stepped into the garden and saw a burly fellow talking to his brother. This was the guy his mom called “a lovely man”? He certainly didn’t resemble the petite blonde at the sweet shop. Sarah Fullerton was slender with an elfin face, while her muscular father would look right at home in a Hells Angels jacket and straddling a Harley-Davidson.

  Kurt and Nathan were deep in a debate about the merits of Humvees versus the earlier jeeps used by the military, and for the first time in months, Tyler saw animation in his brother’s face.

  Fullerton looked up. “I’m guessing you’re the brother.”

  Since he hadn’t said “chauvinistic jackass,” Kurt probably didn’t know what had happened at Sarah’s Sweet Treats.

  “Tyler Prentiss.” He put his hand out, and Kurt shook it with the strangling grip of a wrestler. “It sounds as if you’ve been in the service.”

  “I’m retired army.”

  “Kurt was in Kosovo and did a couple of tours in the Middle East,” Nathan interjected. “He saw more than his share of action.”

  The older man sighed heavily. “We’ve all seen too much.” He stood as Tyler’s mother came through the door. “Good afternoon, Rosemary.”

  “Good afternoon.” She smiled and pointed to her feet. “The shoes you picked out are wonderful.”

  Kurt Fullerton looked abashed. “I just got what Sarah told me was comfortable.”

  Tyler stepped back and watched his mom chat with Kurt, trying to decide if there was an underlying thread of flirtation. Friendship was one thing, but he wanted to know a whole lot more about Fullerton if something serious was going on. After all, his mother was a financially comfortable widow who was shockingly naive for a woman her age.

  Nathan had become quiet again, the hollow expression creeping back into his eyes.

  Hellfire. Why had he become a soldier instead of something safer? Yet even as the thought crossed Tyler’s mind, an uneasy sensation followed. He’d defended Nathan’s decision to enlist, saying it had to be his choice.

  “Sarah mentioned that you’ve been promoted,” Kurt said to Rosemary. “Assistant manager, no less. Not bad.”

  Rosemary sent a smug look in her eldest son’s direction. “That’s right. I love working for your daughter.”

  “She’s a good kid, all right.”

  A promotion?

  Pain pounded in Tyler’s head. This would make it even harder to convince his mother to leave. She might be doing all right at the moment, but her moods had been wildly erratic since being widowed. For a while she’d be like her old self, then something would happen and she’d fall apart. It seemed unlikely that she’d drastically improved in the few weeks he’d been gone.

  Perhaps he should try enlisting Sarah Fullerton’s help rather than antagonizing her, though he wasn’t sure what she could do. But at least if she fully understood the situation, she might be more supportive.

  Of course, first he’d have to convince her that he wasn’t the chauvinistic jackass she’d accused him of being. And since he’d not only stuck his foot in his mouth but jammed it all the way down his throat, it might take some doing.

  * * *

  SARAH SLID INTO her bathtub that evening, feeling utterly decadent. She hadn’t enjoyed a long soak since her business had gone crazy, but thanks to Rosemary Prentiss, she might be getting her life back.

  Imagine, she’d actually gotten six hours of sleep the night before. Six. She might have gotten seven if her cat hadn’t demanded treats at 2:00 a.m.

  She looked over and saw Theo’s whiskered face gazing at her from the basket of clean laundry she’d brought upstairs.

  “Thanks, Theo, I really wanted to wash that stuff again.”

  He yawned, stretched out his front legs and rested his chin on them, a vision of smug contentment.

  Sarah smiled and closed her eyes, reveling in the warm water and silence. She loved her business, but it was no longer quiet there, day or night. The shop was open for customers nine to five thirty, but the kitchen operated twenty-four hours a day.

  The phone rang abruptly, and Theo lifted his head with a reproachful meow.

  She considered not answering since she’d been getting numerous calls from an “unavailable” number—mostly silent messages on her voice mail—and figured they were telemarketing robocalls. Then she realized it was almost nine, which was a little late.

  “Sorry, toots.” She scrambled out of the tub and grabbed the receiver, shrugging into her robe. “Hello?”

  Silence.

  Irritation filled her. It probably was a robocaller, checking t
o see when she was home so a “live” telemarketer would know when to reach her. Still, silent calls made her uneasy. Her ex-husband had used them to check on her a dozen times a day, paranoid that she might be cheating.

  What a joke. He’d been the one cheating. He’d also used other tricks to frighten and control her. It had taken a long time after the divorce to stop being afraid of every odd occurrence.

  Sarah looked at the caller ID log and saw the number was shown as unavailable, just like all the other calls. With an effort, she pushed the thought away and looked at Theo.

  “Come to bed,” she told him.

  As a male companion, he lacked certain qualities, but he slept next to her every night instead of tomcatting around like her ex. Not that she’d stayed married after learning about Doug’s infidelity.

  And Theo’s feline smugness was a whole lot more appealing than Tyler Prentiss’s arrogance.

  Sarah got into her nightshirt and lay down, thinking about Rosemary’s eldest son. He might be sexy and gorgeous, but she’d learned all too well what a handsome face could hide. She hadn’t left her marriage hating men; she knew her ex was a selfish, narcissistic creep who didn’t represent men in general. But when she was ready for another relationship, it wouldn’t be with an uptight guy like Tyler Prentiss. When the time was right, she wanted to be with someone who was easygoing and open, with no hidden dark side.

  After a long time, she finally drifted into sleep, only to be jerked awake when the phone rang again.

  Heart pounding, Sarah glanced at the clock. It was after midnight. She then checked the display and saw the number was unavailable. It couldn’t be anybody from her family, so they couldn’t be phoning with an emergency.

  Her finger hovered over the talk button. She really didn’t want to know if silence would greet her if she answered.

  After the last ring, she pushed the phone under a pillow.

  With an anxious cry, Theo cuddled up to her again, his velvety black fur making him virtually invisible in the darkness. He put his paws around her neck and licked her cheek.