Never Let Me Go (Welcome To Redemption) (25 page)

Exasperation rumbled in her throat. Garrett could never just say what he came to say. Had to make a big darn production out of it.
Drama King.
 
She set the icing down and moved to the coffee maker to pour him a cup of the fresh brew.

“Thanks.” He leaned back against the counter and took a few sips, his expression thoughtful.

“Garrett, would you spill it already?”

With a reluctance that unnerved her, he met her gaze. “John Andrews was found dead yesterday in his living room. Looks like he had a heart attack while watching TV.”

Her pulse picked up speed.
Good God...
“Has Mike been contacted yet? Is he coming home for the funeral?” She stared at her brother, silently begging him to say no.

“'Fraid so. According to the officer who spoke to him, Mike should arrive in Green Bay sometime tonight.”

Sara slowly shook her head, the shock of it almost too much to comprehend. She tried to pour herself some coffee, but her hands were shaking. She braced them on the counter. “He hated his father.
 
Maybe he won’t come.”

“He’s coming, Sara.”

“You don’t think he knows, do you?”

Garrett blew out a heavy breath. “I’d say it’s unlikely. Nobody else does; how could he?”

“I don’t know.” She wasn’t exactly convinced.

“Listen, even if he knows, so what? He’s not likely to contact you. Don’t forget the reason he skipped town in the first place. He’s a gutless worm.
 
Just like his father.”

The look in his eyes became fierce, and Sara’s heart missed a beat. Garrett had a devil of a temper, especially when it came to his family. The last thing she needed was for him to work himself into a fury and go looking for a fight.

Specifically, go looking for Mike Andrews.

“Garrett, you keep that temper of yours in check, especially around Ethan. I don’t want him to suspect something’s wrong. He’s a very intuitive little boy.”

His harsh expression softened at the mention of his nephew. “He’s a sharp kid all right. Always knows when something’s bothering me.” His brow furrowed. “It’s annoying as hell, too.”

Sara managed a small smile. A talent her son had no doubt inherited from his uncle Garrett, although she’d keep that observation to herself.

“You’re right, it is.”

Garrett polished off the cinnamon roll and licked the icing off his fingers. After a few more sips of coffee, he poured the rest down the sink and tossed the dark pink paper cup in the trash. He stood beside her and hooked an arm around her shoulders.
 
“Listen, the Andrews’ place is on the east side of town, so there’s not much of a chance you’ll run into him. And before you know it, he’ll be on his way back to Chicago and the rock he crawled out from under.”

“God, I hope you’re right.”

“‘Course I am. Now,” he gently pulled her with him until they faced the back of the display case, “on to something important.”

“You promised to bring back enough sweet rolls for the entire station again, didn’t you?”

He grinned down at her. “Yeah, but don’t look at me like that. I’ll pay for them this time.”

“Don’t be silly, I wouldn’t have this place if it weren’t for you. Your sweet rolls are on the house just as they’ve always been.” She folded one of the big white boxes and began filling it with an assortment of what she knew were everyone’s favorites.

“You have this place because you work your tail off. I only co-signed the loan.” Garrett reached in and filched a raspberry-filled bismarck from the box.
 
“Besides, you were meant to own a bakery.” He gestured with the half-eaten pastry, raspberry jam coating a good portion of his upper lip. “These are even better than the ones from that little bakery out in Pulaski.”

“Glad to hear it since they’re still my biggest competitor.”

Sara had loved to cook for as long as she could remember. Even before Uncle Luke moved in with her and her three brothers following the deaths of their parents. So after one bite of Uncle Luke’s Spam casserole, she’d dug out her mother’s old cookbook and barred her well-meaning uncle from the kitchen.
 
Baking, however, became her specialty. By the time she’d turned fifteen, the kitchen had become the busiest room in the house. There was always hot coffee in the carafe and fresh-baked something or other coming out of the oven. Her brothers’ friends had even hung out on a regular basis, waiting to see what she’d pull from the oven next.

Which was how she’d met Mike.

She finished the box off with half a dozen chocolate glazed and taped it up. “So who’s picking Ethan up from school today?”

“I am. Ethan asked me if I’d pick him up in the squad car on the last day of school.” Garrett grinned, looking very much like a little boy himself.

“Thanks, I appreciate it. Just drop him off here, and he can watch cartoons in the storeroom till I finish up.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you later.” He picked up the box and strode out the door.

Sara stared in numb silence as he drove out of the parking lot.
Mike’s coming home.
It was a miracle her knees hadn’t buckled under the impact of Garrett’s news. But she knew her overprotective big brother never would’ve left if he’d known how unsettled she was. And she certainly didn’t want him getting into trouble at work.

The shop’s bell rang again just as she stuck the tub of icing back into the microwave. She took a deep breath and composed herself. Later, she’d dwell on Mike’s imminent arrival. Right now, she had a bakery to run.

Her neighbor, Nancy Martin, walked through the door, keys jingling in her hand. Sara arched a brow and shot a quick look up at the neon, cupcake-shaped clock that hung over her blackboard menu.

“Wow, you’re out and about early.”

“I have tons of running around to do today for the party.
 
Thought I’d hype myself up with some caffeine before hitting the stores. Besides, it’s gorgeous out there. Already seventy degrees, and it’s supposed to hit eighty by noon.”

Sara smiled, although it took some effort. She’d never felt less like making idle chit-chat. “Well, I’m glad I decided to do Shelly’s cake first thing this morning.”

“You did?
 
Cool.” Nancy plopped her purse and keys on the counter and blew out a dramatic breath.
 
“I still can’t believe my baby’s turning five.” She leaned in to peer at the half-iced tray of cinnamon rolls, and a mob of strawberry-blond curls spilled forward. “Man, those suckers smell good. I’ll take one to go and a cup of your house blend.”

Sara poured her a cup of the aromatic, vanilla-flavored Icing on the Cake, snapped on a plastic lid, then slid one of the gooey cinnamon rolls into a bag.
 
The usual rush of pride swelled her chest when she read the words
Sara’s Bakery
in dark pink print on the front of the bag.

“Your cake’s in the big cooler; I’ll be right back.”

When she returned, she set the square white box on the counter and proudly flipped open the lid.

“Holy Strawberry Shortcake, Sara, it’s perfect!” Nancy declared. “I can’t believe you drew her from memory.” She dug out her wallet. “So how much do I owe you? And don’t say ‘nothing’; we’ve already been over that.”

“Twenty-four fifty.” Sara reluctantly accepted the two twenties Nancy handed her and counted out her change.

“I can’t wait to show Shelly.” Nancy slung her purse over her shoulder and picked up her goodies.
 
“Her eyes are going to light up like sparklers.”

“If she’s even half as excited as you, I’ll be thrilled. See you at the party.”

As Nancy walked out the door, three more cars pull into the parking lot, one of them Teresa McKay’s. Sara struck gold the day Teresa walked into the shop looking for a job. She was professional, friendly, and an absolute favorite with the customers. Jay Rogers, Sara’s only other full-time employee, had been with Sara since day one. He came in six nights a week, working until the sun came up frying donuts, baking cinnamon rolls, muffins and other pastries.

In the beginning, she’d worked side by side with Jay, baking all night, then working half a day behind the counter. Thank God for her brothers and uncle who’d taken good care of Ethan while she’d been busy getting her business off the ground. Now
Sara’s Bakery
was a thriving success, and she no longer had to spend so much time away from her son.

Life was almost perfect.

Almost.

The fact that she hadn’t been on a date in more than a year was a bit depressing. She’d always insisted her lack of a social life was no big deal. She had her son, her family—all she needed for life to be complete.

Yeah, sure, keep telling yourself that.

Truth was she’d been ready for some time now. Ready to find a good man she could fall in love and settle down with. A man who would love Ethan almost as much as she did.

Her thoughts unwittingly returned to the news of Mike’s father’s death. She tried not to let her nerves get the better of her, but it was hard. Although she’d never have admitted it to Garrett, a small thrill had shot through her at the thought of seeing Mike again. Then she’d given herself a mental head slap. Mike Andrews deserved her contempt, nothing more.

With Herculean effort, she managed to drag her thoughts back to business.

By two o’clock, Sara had all her cake orders filled and everything packaged except a few pies that had just come out of the oven. She tried to get some paperwork done, but found it impossible to concentrate, so she told Teresa she had personal business to take care of and had to leave for the day.

She gave Garrett a call from her cell phone as she packed up a few bakery boxes to take home.

Half a block from the house she saw Garrett’s squad car pull into the driveway. God, she couldn’t wait to hold her son. Of course he’d squirm and protest, but he’d simply have to deal with it, she thought with a motherly smile. She’d give him the squeeze of his life, order his favorite pizza, and all would be forgiven.

She parked on the street and made her way up the walk as Garrett unlocked the front door. Ethan ran inside with a quick wave in her direction, but Garrett waited, holding the door.

“Thanks again for picking him up. I wish I’d been ten minutes earlier, I could’ve saved you the trip.” She walked into the kitchen and set the bakery boxes on the table.

He waved that off. “No problem, don’t worry about it.” He followed her to the table and started rummaging through the boxes. His eyes lit up when he came across the chocolate chip cookies. Sara grinned as he dug a couple out.

When Ethan ran through the kitchen, Sara caught him around the waist and pulled him against her in a ferocious hug. He squirmed, just as she knew he would, and when she reached down to kiss his cheek, he whined, “Come on, Mom, leggo! Yu-Gi-Oh’s about to start!”

With a wistful smile, she released him.

Garrett ruffled Ethan’s nearly black hair as he ran past. “Hey, don’t let it get to you. Boys that age don’t like their mothers to cling. That’s just the way it is.”

“I know.”

Garrett searched her face. “You sure you’re all right?”

“I’m fine, really.” She made a shooing motion with her hands. “Now get your butt back to the station before someone puts out an APB on you.”

* * *

Sara set the coffee carafe on the kitchen table. “Anyone ready for dessert? I have apple or coconut custard pie.”

Her younger brother, Danny, leaned back in his chair and blew out a heavy breath. “I’m stuffed.”

“Me too,” Nicky, the second oldest, chimed in.

Uncle Luke poured himself a cup of coffee. “None for me, thanks.”

“I’ll take a pass as well,” Garrett said. He took a sip of his coffee and met her gaze across the table, as if sending her a silent message.

Sara understood, and he was right. With Ethan downstairs playing video games, now was as good a time as any to tell them about Mike. She took a deep breath, let it out slowly, then explained the situation.

Uncle Luke reached over and grasped Sara’s hand, his gaze full of concern.

“Holy shit.” Danny looked back and forth between her and Garrett. “You don’t think he’d show up here, do you?”

Danny echoed the question that had been running through Sara’s mind all day, keeping her stomach tied in such knots she’d barely been able to eat her supper. Would Mike have the nerve to show his face here? The thought frightened her as much as it excited her, and she hated herself for such weakness.

Garrett said, “I think the threat of getting the shit kicked out of him will probably keep him away, but we can’t take any chances. Especially for Ethan’s sake.”

Sara decided it was time she spoke up. “Look, I appreciate all your concern. But I’m a grown woman and more than capable of taking care of myself.
And
my son.”

All four men exchanged glances.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. God, how she hated when they did that—made her feel like a little girl who needed to be taken care of. She knew they all loved her dearly and only wanted to protect her and Ethan, but sometimes they could be a bit overbearing.