Pistols & Pies (Sweet Bites Book 2) (Sweet Bites Mysteries) (21 page)

“Hi, Lenny.” She looked nicer than I’d ever seen her: Her hair shone like a halo around her head in the fading afternoon light and her makeup looked perfect—I hadn’t known she owned anything besides mascara. Even her outfit accentuated her shape instead of forming a lump around her as most of her other clothes, which were all too big to be flattering.

“Are you . . . are you here to stay?” he asked, feelings of hope and longing clearly stamped on his face.

Shawn looked up from the laptop he was using at one of the bistro tables in the eating area. His eyes followed the byplay, rapt. I sent him a conspiratorial look, then returned my gaze to the couple in front of me. Electricity practically made the air vibrate around them.

Kat stared at Lenny for a long moment, as if trying to memorize the way he looked. “You know what my conditions are.”

His expression fell. “So why did you come?”

Her face grew more pinched at his reaction and I could see disappointment in her eyes. “I decided to go to Sedona and check out some galleries there. I think I’m going to do a few paintings of the area, and I’ve taken a bunch of pictures of the scenery. It’ll keep me busy for weeks. How are you doing?” She did an almost-acceptable job of acting unconcerned about his answer.

“I, um . . . I’m just fine. I’m working more than Tess expected and I found an apartment, and it’s really comfortable and in a much nicer neighborhood than our old one.” His voice faltered and he took her hand in his, but couldn’t quite seem to take his eyes off her. “I missed you.”

I felt like a peeping Tom, so I moved back to the kitchen to watch through the doorway where I wouldn’t be so obvious.

“How long are you staying?” Lenny asked Kat. He hooked his thumbs in his apron pockets. It was a pretty awkward move, and didn’t make him appear at all at ease.

“That depends on you,” Kat said. She pulled her hand away from his and crossed her arms over her, as if hugging herself. She was afraid of rejection. I knew that feeling well enough to recognize it.

I both cheered and groaned inwardly at the words because it made her sound needy, but at the same time, it let him know she planned to stand her ground. When you love someone and want to let them back in, that’s the hardest thing to do.

There was a knock at the back door and I reluctantly pulled myself away from the conversation. Hardly anyone ever came to the back and I wondered who it would be. Deliveries had arrived the previous day, so it wasn’t like I was expecting one today. Maybe Honey stopped in for a quick snack before her son’s soccer game.

I opened the door and was confused when no one stood there. I glanced around before noticing the brown package on the stoop.

A light flashed, blinding me and everything turned white.

The back door slammed into my forehead, knocking me down and landing on top of me. My head hit the floor just before I got beaned again by the door and everything went dark.

When I returned to consciousness again, I lay on the floor and could just see my Outlander in the back parking lot. There was no door on my building. I twisted my head to the side and saw it leaning against the freezer. I couldn’t remember what happened, or what day it was. My head throbbed and dark spots played in front of my eyes.

“Hey, the paramedics are on their way.” That was Kat—thank goodness I recognized someone—she brushed the hair back from my face, kneeling beside me. Shawn knelt on the other side, lifting my eyelids to look in my eyes and asking me question so fast and furious that I could barely get out answers before the next had piled on top of the old one. The sound of sirens came toward me and I tipped my cheek into Shawn’s touch as he ran a thumb over my skin. I hurt all over but the gentle brush of his callous against my skin calmed some of the scared little girl that was fighting to get out of my chest.

As I started to put events together in my head, I realized Lenny was outside, directing traffic, because he shouted at one of the emergency vehicles to pull in. He sounded just on the sane side of hysterical. Barely.

I couldn’t see what was going on out there, but Shawn and Kat wouldn’t let me get up on my own, saying I needed to stay down. I knew Jack would agree with them if he was on the ambulance. For once, I really hoped he took the day off, even though he had a soothing presence. The sirens screamed as the ambulance pull into the parking lot. The sound of the police sirens joined it. Or was it the fire department? Maybe both.

“What happened?” Shawn asked me. “What do you remember?” When I tried to look outside, he drew my attention back by repeating the questions.

“No idea. Last thing I remember was Kat and Lenny making googly eyes at each other. How did I get onto the floor?” Thinking hurt my head. Not thinking was almost as bad.

“Something blew up,” he told me. “Some kind of pipe bomb. It ripped the door completely off its hinges and knocked you over. Do you have surveillance cameras outside?”

My brain felt like mush. “One, but it doesn’t cover this door. I don’t think.” I searched my memory, but it was all so fuzzy, it would have to wait until I got my bearings again.

“Great.” His voice suggested he thought otherwise.

“Tess, how are you doing?” It was Jack’s voice. Of course. Because he always saw me at my worst.

Kat moved away, and Shawn shifted to the top of my head, holding it still.

“Why are you always here when I feel like crap?” I asked Jack. I glanced up at Shawn and was glad my brain was too muddied to try to put it all together. This was one weird relationship triangle I didn’t have the energy to unravel.

“Just your luck, I guess. It’s my job to see people when they feel awful.” Jack pulled out his pen light and checked my eyes while some other guy checked my blood pressure. “What happened?”

An officer arrived and I tried to remember his name and realized it was Officer Mitchell, the same one who showed up at the reception center. “Give it to me straight,” he said.

Thankfully, Shawn filled in what he knew, and I added what I could remember as bits came back to me, but the bang on my head had seriously jumbled my mind.

Lenny filled in where he could, and I told them about the camera system. They took a copy of the recording while Jack checked me over for injuries.

“Any neck pain at all?” he asked as his fingers probed my spine.

“No.” But when I shifted my head slightly I realized I did have some stiffness. Was that leftover from the almost-shooting? I couldn’t remember. “Mmm, maybe a little.”

“I didn’t mean for you to move your head,” he chided. “I want you to hold it perfectly still.” He and his partner, along with the help of some people from another ambulance, rolled me onto a backboard and strapped me down. By the time I had a C-collar and foam blocks beside my head, I felt like a mummy and just a tad claustrophobic. And I think the board I was lying on hurt my back worse than the explosion had.

Through it all, Shawn was there, a strong, mostly silent figure being my support. I loved that about him.

Lenny seemed to have calmed down somewhat, with Kat’s help, but he was still not exactly an example of serenity.

“You better not start an IV on me this time. I’m not losing blood so I don’t need one,” I told Jack. “I may refuse to serve you in my store for the rest of your life if you try.”

He laughed. “They’re probably going to want to take blood samples. You’re going to get poked either way, might as well let me do it.”

“No.” I think I may have growled slightly under my breath, but I was in pain, so I’m sure he’d forgive me. If I needed forgiveness. But he didn’t poke me with any needles.

He was right about getting an IV and blood tests at the hospital, of course. The ride there, the trip to the x-ray machine and the wait for results seemed to take forever. Shawn stayed with me while Lenny and Kat waited in a room down the hall.

“How do you get yourself into these messes?” Detective Tingey asked when he came over to my bed a while later. He looked at Shawn. “I thought you were supposed to be protecting her.”

“How was I supposed to know she would open the back door?” Shawn asked. “If I’d known, I would have shadowed her.”

“We don’t really use it except for our weekly deliveries,” I explained. “I was surprised to hear the knock there. I didn’t think about it.”

“So what did you learn that upset the killer?” Detective Tingey asked.

“I don’t have any idea, but I must be getting closer than he wants if he’s trying to kill me.” I tried to laugh, but it wasn’t easy. Partly because it hurt to laugh, and partly because the subject of my demise wasn’t particularly funny.

The doctor came over and started to unstrap me. “You’re a lucky woman. No serious damage. You have a concussion, which is going to give you problems for a while. The bruises won’t be a picnic, either.”

I groaned. I was so used to the whole concussion thing. Really, did they not have anything more interesting than that they could diagnose me with?

Then again, who wanted to be hurt worse?

“I’ll stay the night at your place if you need me to,” Shawn suggested.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Kat’s staying with me for a few days, so your rest is safe.”

Tingey chuckled.

“Did anyone check my surveillance tapes?” I asked. It had been on my mind since I’d seen Officer Mitchell with the tape in hand.

“Mitchell’s working on it, but I’ll get word to you as soon as we have something. So,” he asked when I was sitting up. “You care to give me a statement?”

I sighed and took the papers from him. It never ended.

Shawn and Lenny all but carried me into my apartment when we returned from the hospital, and Kat and Honey, who Lenny had called while I gave my statement to the detective, fluttered around, driving me bananas. It seemed they had to make sure I had everything I would need for a week of bed rest, even though I planned to be up and at work again in the morning.

Honey left the room for several minutes, returning with a bulging canvas grocery bag. “You know I don’t do chicken noodle soup, so I brought you some other homemade remedies for quick recovery that are tried and true in our house.” Her eyes twinkled with laughter and she reached into the bag, which she had set on the end of the bed.

She pulled out a quart bell jar filled with eggs floating in a slightly pink liquid. “Grandma LaVon always had these on hand and swore they cured everything from a scraped knee to a broken arm to chicken pox. Don’t try them for upset stomach, though. It’s a bad combination.”

“What are they?” I’d seen the jar sitting in her fridge before, but had always been afraid to ask about them.

“Pickled eggs.”

If I hadn’t felt a little nauseated from the accident already, I think that would have done it for me. “You aren’t serious.” Apparently, my tongue was not following my better judgment.

“Of course I am. But remember, they aren’t a cure for nausea, so you may want to hold off if you think you might puke. But try them sometime, for real.” She reached back into the bag making me hope desperately that the second item had chocolate in it.

When she pulled out a tin pan and tilted it toward me, my quick prayers had been answered. “Madison’s oven s’mores?” I’d eaten it before, and it was really tasty.

“Of course. You know that’s what she always wants when she’s feeling down. While I was at the hospital with you, she made them, then called to have me pick them up for you.”

 I went misty, and knew only part of it was the medication the doctor had given me. “She’s such a sweetie. Tell her I’ll enjoy every bite. And maybe I’ll even share some with Kat.” I blinked with tiredness as I sent Kat a teasing smile.

The guys must have been doing something useful, because I could hear noises as they moved around.

“I’ll tell her. And I’ll let Madison know my gift wasn’t nearly as well received as hers.” She made a harrumphing sound but I knew she was only feigning offense. “I’ll go see how the men are coming with that mess downstairs. Sleep well—or as well as you can with someone interrupting you all night and the guys banging around—and I’ll call you tomorrow.” She gave my hand a squeeze.

When Honey went to check on the boys, Kat stood in my doorway. “You nearly scared Lenny to death. Shawn, too.”