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 celling 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.”