There was so much Sara was thankful for. Her family had always topped that list. Dinner was just what she had needed after the past couple days.

Somehow, her father had not only found out about what had been painted on the container, but also about her being locked in the freezer.

She should have known that it wouldn’t remain a secret for long. Nothing ever did in Pride. Still, she had been a little shocked at his laid-back approach to the situation.

Her family wasn’t one to freak out, but she expected her father to have more to say on the subject of his oldest daughter being locked in a freezer and almost turned into a Popsicle. The talk would probably come when Parker wasn’t present.

After her mother’s fabulous enchiladas, they made their way to the front porch and enjoyed the light breeze coming off the water.

It had been a while since she’d sat out here with her family. Her parents sat on the swing, her father’s arm draped over her mother’s shoulders as they rocked lightly. She couldn’t count how many times she’d seen them just like that or how many times she’d dreamed she’d find someone she could spend her life with doing the same thing.

Her brother had left shortly after dinner, claiming he had to hop on a plane to California first thing in the morning. Since Matt had started taking over more of her father’s responsibilities, she’d noticed a change in her dad. He was more relaxed and spent a lot more time working with his mom on the cabins or just taking walks on the beach.

She had known several couples where retirement had led to divorce. It was usually because the couple found out after spending more time with one another that they couldn’t stand each other. Her parents weren’t having that problem. Actually, she was pretty sure that her parents were falling in love all over again.

Her mother laid her head on her dad’s shoulder, and Sara recognized the signal that she was tired. Standing up, she pulled Parker up with her.

“How about a walk on the beach?” she asked, heading towards the stairs. Parker stopped and turned to her parents.

“Thank you for dinner. Everything was wonderful. It was really nice seeing both of you again.”

“Just because you’re dating our daughter, doesn’t mean you have to become a stranger.” Her father added, “Thanks for watching out for her.”

Parker glanced at her sideways as he gave her father a nod. “Night.”

They walked in silence down the lit pathway that passed the cabins and headed towards the beach. When they hit the soft sand, she pulled off her sandals, setting them aside and taking Parker’s hand.

“So,” she said as they walked. The sun was gone, but the full moon lit their way. “Who do you think painted that message?”

He tugged on her hand, stopping her. She turned towards him, and she could see a worry crease between his eyebrows.

“I was going to ask you the same thing.” He took a step closer. “Another old boyfriend? Someone who doesn’t have the local sheriff to vouch for him?”

“If Robert Brogan says Aiden was with him, I believe him.”

Parker nodded. “Sure, I agree. The man isn’t a liar. Can you think of anyone else?”

She bit her bottom lip and looked off to where the dark waves were crashing. The moonlight reflected off the water, making it look like the ocean had a million stars reflected in it. It was almost impossible to tell where the water ended and the sky began.

She thought back to who she had dated before Aiden. “Before Aiden, I dated Joe briefly.”

“Joe? Could he have—”

She stopped him. “No, Joe moved to New York and is now an investor for a top investment firm. He’s happily dating an actress. Before Joe, Roger.” She glanced at him. “Who’s married to one of the librarians in town. They’re expecting their first child this winter.”

He groaned and started walking again. “I don’t suppose your list stops there?”

She chuckled and continued through the list of men she’d tried on in life. None of them could she see painting, “The bitch will get none of it.”

“None of what?” She stopped and sat in the soft sand when they reached the water’s edge.

“Good question,” he said, sitting beside her, his knees spread wide as he rested his elbows on them.

“Maybe we’re looking at this wrong.” She turned slightly towards him. “Maybe it wasn’t aimed at me at all. Maybe one of the employees is having issues? I mean, Connie, our full-time bartender, just got out of a bad relationship.” The woman had come to work with a fat lip. “Maybe it was aimed at her?”

“Think you can do some detective work? Since we cleaned up the mess, I don’t think anyone else knows about it.”

She laughed. “Oh, I guarantee everyone in town knows about it by now.”

He frowned. “Have you told anyone?”

“No,” she answered. “Why?”

“Because, Robert, Donny, and I agreed that until we know more, we are going to keep it hushed. So, unless you’ve talked, it should be our little secret.”

She thought about it. “Unless someone else was driving by and saw it. Still, our chances are good, since it was so late.” She cocked her head to the side and watched the surf for a while. “This could work to our advantage.”

“How so?” he asked.

“If I drop some hints that someone was sneaking around, whoever is afraid could come to me for help. After all, everyone who works there trusts that I have their best interest at heart.”

“Sara,” he started to say, but she had already started forming a plan in her head.

“I’ll snoop around.” She smiled, then leaned closer to him, nudging him back until he lay in the sand with her over him. “Enough shop talk,” she said before she laid her lips over his. “Have you ever made love on the beach under a full moon?” she asked softly.

“I can honestly say that I haven’t.” He chuckled as she started tugging his clothes away.

Sara had always imagined that making love on the beach would be like so many movies had shown. In truth, it was nothing like it. Sand got everywhere, sticking to their heated skin, falling in her mouth and eyes, blinding her and making her cough. In the end, they gathered their things and rushed towards the cabin.

After enjoying a long hot shower, they fell in bed together, the perfect end to the night.

“So, that didn’t go as planned,” Parker joked as he ran his fingers through her long wet hair.

She leaned up and looked down at him. “So, how is it that it looks so easy in the movies?”

He chuckled again. “They’re actors and aren’t really… doing what we were.” His smile grew.

“Is it strange that I’m not tired now?” She laid her head back on his chest, loving the sound of his heartbeat against her ear.

“No.” He ran his fingers gently over her bare shoulder. “You will be once your heartbeat settles. I can still hear it pounding away.”

“That’s not mine.” She smiled. “Yours is like a running horse.”

His answer was a chuckle.

She listened for a while and heard it slow down, then realized her own had matched the beat.

“As much as I would love to fall asleep with you in my arms tonight, Toby is alone in my house,” he said, jolting her out of a near sleep.

She sat up slowly. “I understand.” His hands cupped her face and he placed a soft kiss on her lips.

“I really want to stay,” he said against her lips.

“Go. We can plan for me to come over tomorrow night,” she promised, knowing she would be stuck at the restaurant late once again, and he would no doubt talk her into letting him take her home.

“Promise?” he asked.

“Yes.” She kissed him again. “Don’t expect me to walk you to your truck.” She lay back down and watched him slip on his jeans.

“Damn.” He groaned. “Now I’ll need another shower. There was a pile of sand in these.”

She chuckled and he turned back towards her. She noticed the moment his eyes went from aggravation to desire. She was laying on top of the sheets, naked, her arms above her head, playing with her hair as it spread out on the sheets.

“Maybe I could—”

“No, you’re not bringing that sandy butt in my bed.” She moved up and placed her hands on his chest. “Go, we’ll have tomorrow night.”

He groaned and reached for his shoes.

Once he was fully dressed, he leaned down and kissed her again before leaving.

She lay in bed, listening to the silence of the night as the past hour played over in her mind. She didn’t think she could deny it much longer. She was falling for Parker, and falling hard.

* * *

The next day started much like the one before: up before dawn, let Toby outside to do his business, and swallow as much coffee as he could to pull the sleep out of his body before he headed into town.

The only exception was that when he showed up, there was a police car parked behind Sara’s Jeep.

His heart skipped several times as he parked quickly and rushed towards the restaurant door.

When he entered, he knew immediately that Sara was safe, but that they had been hit again. This time, there was red paint all over the plastic and walls of the dining area.

He couldn’t make out any single phrase, but the word bitch was repeated multiple times as was, you’ll pay.

Robert was taking a report while Sara stood looking at the mess. Besides the paint, chairs and tables had been turned over. Behind the bar, bottles were smashed and glasses broken. The place was a disaster.

“Hey.” He stopped a foot from Sara and shook Robert’s hand. “Looks like we were hit again.”

“Yeah,” he said as Sara turned towards him. Her damp eyes undid him.

Walking over to her, he pulled her into his arms. “Don’t worry, we’ll have this cleaned up before you know it,” he promised.

She said something into his chest that he couldn’t fully understand. He ran his hand over her hair and held on while she cried for the loss.

“Is she done here?” he asked Robert.

“Yeah. Maybe she should head to the back. I’ll help clean all this up. I’ve already gotten pictures.” Robert removed his jacket just as Parker’s men walked in.

“Donny, mind helping out? I’ll be a few minutes.”

After seeing Sara’s tears, his foreman quickly directed the men to clean up.

“The door was locked,” Sara said after he shut the office door behind them. “How did they get in?”

“I’m not sure.” He wrapped his arms around her fully. “But I’ll find out.” He thought about what he needed to work on today and mentally moved things around. “I’m heading into Edgeview this morning.” He leaned back and used the back of his fingers to wipe the tears away. “How about you ride along with me?”

“I…” She looked around and he could tell she was searching for a reason to stay.

“Come. We’ll be back before your crew gets here. We can have lunch and take the morning off while we shop for security cameras.”

Sara’s eyes perked up. “Yes.” She nodded. “I asked my uncle years ago to get some installed.” She smiled. “He can’t say no if they’re already installed. Besides, I just saved him enough money yesterday to pay for it.” Her chin rose slightly, and he knew he’d hit the right note.

“I’ll just clean up,” she said, stepping away, then stopping. “Thanks,” she said before leaving the office.

He walked back into the main room and noticed that his men already had half the mess cleaned up.

“How does it look?” he asked Robert.

“No furniture was broken, just tossed about. As for the bottles and glasses, I think they have enough to replace the mess.” He nodded towards the bar area. “They shattered the glass wall between the rooms.”

He smiled. “That’s okay. They did us a favor there, since it was coming down anyway. I guess we’ll just move on to that area next.”

“Well, we’ll have this all cleaned in no time,” Donny said, walking over to him. “We should be able to finish knocking out the wall back there as well. I wanted to show you something.” He nodded towards the covered area. “Showed the sheriff already.”

Parker followed Donny through the hanging plastic and instantly saw how they had gained entry.

They had been so careful yesterday not to break through the wall completely, since they were going to put up a temporary door where the large glass ones would go. Now, however, a hole large enough for a grown man to slide through let in the cool air off the water.

“Well, damn.” He sighed.

“Yup. We’ll have this closed up good tonight,” Donny added.

“Good.” He thought about telling his men that they would be installing cameras, but something made him hold back. “I’ve got a few errands to run with Sara. We should be back after lunch. Keep me posted on your progress.”

“Will do.”

He left and met Sara by the front door. “I feel like I should be helping.” She nodded to the mess.

“They’ve got it mostly done. Our time is better spent making sure we catch whoever is doing this.”

“Agreed. I’ll drive,” she said.

“Sounds good.” He followed her to her Jeep and got in the passenger side.

The drive wasn’t more than half an hour, and he tried to keep her mind off of the break-in by talking about Toby or some of the odd jobs he’d had around town.

She was laughing by the time they hit the outskirts of Edgeview.

He’d been to the nearby big town a handful of times for supplies that couldn’t be found in Pride. Each time he’d been there, it had confirmed that he’d made the right choice in moving to Pride instead of the bigger town.

Not that anything was wrong with Edgeview, but he enjoyed the slow pace of Pride much better than the hustle and bustle here.

“There are a couple places that sell security cameras,” she said, glancing over at him. “At one point, I had priced it out for my uncle.”

“Why didn’t he want to install them?” he asked.

“They’ve never had any problems before. Sure, some employees trying to steal stuff, but nothing major like this before.” She shrugged, and he could see sadness fill her eyes.

“This isn’t your fault,” he said, reaching for her hand.

“Iian left me in charge,” she said softly.

“So you’re to blame?”

“Well, no.” She frowned. “But, like I said, no one ever broke in while he was in charge.”

Suddenly the truth of the matter was clear to him. His heart and his gut hurt with the truth.