Sweet Escapes: Romance Story Boxed Set (3 page)

Struggling to control her anger, Holly saw Stan’s eyes narrow and a menacing look spread across his face.

“That money was mine,” he spat.  “I earned it.  You never worked a day during our marriage.” 

Holly might have been afraid of Stan, except she remembered that he was the kind of bully that talked mean but who ran away when push came to shove, a trait she had overlooked when she fell in love with him. 

“I wanted to work, but instead you
insisted
that I stay home and take care of the cleaning, cooking, and running all your errands. It was a partnership and that money was as much mine as yours.” Her finger poked repeatedly at his chest, emphasizing each word, anger overriding any fear she might have felt. 

Stan’s face turned smug.  “If that’s true, then half of your mother’s precious jewelry is mine too ... and I intend to get my share.”

The words chilled her to the core.  Her mother’s jewelry wasn’t worth a large sum of money, but it was worth everything to Holly in sentimental value.  She kept it in a small safe inside her house, and Stan knew exactly where it was. 
Had it been Stan she’d heard outside the house?

She took a step back, suddenly grateful that Bill had talked her into changing the locks on the house after Stan had disappeared. She looked at the man before her in stunned silence. The man she had been married to for fifteen years … and who she suddenly did not know anymore at all.  She wondered if he had always been this selfish and mean, and she too blind to see it, or if he had changed since he had left. Either way, there was one thing she knew for sure – she never wanted to see Stan Brennan ever again.

“You can walk away from me, Holly, but rest assured, I’m going to get everything I deserve.” Stan said it as if it had been
he
who had been wronged.

Holly turned toward her car, her back to Stan.  She couldn’t resist a final parting shot and turned her head to look over her shoulder at him.  “That’s right, Stan, you
will
get everything you deserve.”

***

Pulling the car away from the curb, Holly noticed her hands were shaking.  She hated to admit that her confrontation with Stan had scared her. 
Surely, Stan wouldn’t actually hurt her, would he? 
No.  Holly didn’t think he would.  Stan was big on talk, but that was about it.

She was more worried about him trying to get her mother’s jewelry, or somehow taking away what little she had.  She did sense a hint of desperation in his voice, almost like he needed the money to stop someone from threatening
him
.  Maybe he had gotten himself into some trouble back in Nevada.  More likely, Eve had gotten him into something. 

None of this was Holly’s problem, but now she needed to protect herself to avoid becoming a victim of Stan’s desperation.  Rose and Bill would be able to help.

No longer in the mood for a cafe lunch, Holly headed towards Rose’s house.

***

Holly went straight to the back door. She knew Rose would be in her favorite place, the kitchen.  Giving a quick knock on the screen door to announce her presence, she wrenched the door open and flew into the small but cozy room.

She blurted out the words before Rose had a chance to turn around. “Rose, Stan’s back in town and he means to make trouble for me!”

“You saw him?” Rose wiped her hands on a dish cloth and motioned for Holly to sit at the table.

Holly nodded, sliding into a chair with a sigh. “He must have followed me downtown.  When I came out of the art gallery, he was there waiting for me.”

Rose sat at the table opposite Holly.  Holly could see the growing concern in her face and felt a pang of guilt for causing it.

“What did he say?”

“At first he acted like he wanted to get back together. I told him we were through and he got kind of mean, and then said he wanted his half of Mom’s jewelry.”

Rose’s eyes went wide; her hand flew to the necklace she wore -- a piece left to her from their  mother. “He wouldn’t!”

“I think he might try to break in and get it.  He knows exactly where I keep the jewelry.... I should probably move it to a safe deposit box, but I like having it in the house  so I can wear a piece any time it suits me.”

Rose nodded.  Holly knew Rose did the same with the portion of their mother’s jewelry which had been left to her.  In a way, keeping the jewelry close felt like having Mom around.

“Holly, that must have been terrifying!”  Rose’s eyes narrowed. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“Oh no.”  Holly shook her head.  “His bark is worse than his bite, but I am afraid he’ll try something rash to get at the jewelry.  He seemed rather desperate for money.”

Rose nodded her head, then a curious look passed across her face.  “What were you doing downtown, anyway?”

Holly felt a rush of excitement which made her momentarily forget about her problems with Stan. “Oh, I didn’t get a chance to tell you yet! Nick knows the owner of the Cooley Art Gallery. They have a job opening, so he arraigned for me to go interview there.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful!” Rose’s smile of genuine happiness for her sister made Holly feel all warm inside.  Then Rose’s face creased into a frown.  “So,  you did call Nick and tell him you saw Stan, right?”

“Umm ... well, no.” 

“Why not?” Rose demanded. “Don’t you like Nick?”

Holly looked down at the floor, suddenly feeling like a small child being reprimanded. A hot blush crept into her cheeks at the memory of their kiss the night before.

“I do ... it’s just, well, Nick makes me feel ... things.  Things that maybe I don’t want to feel right now.”

“And why not?  Surely you are over Stan?  It’s been long enough.  And Nick is cute.  Plus I think he really likes you.  You should give him a chance.” 

Holly felt a little nervous at the wide eyed, expectant look on Rose’s face.

“Rose, I just got free of Stan and I’m enjoying being independent and doing what
I
want instead of what someone else tells me to do.  I won’t give that up for anyone, even Nick.”

Holly felt completely justified in her feelings so the look on Rose’s face surprised her.  It was a familiar look, the one Rose used to give her when they were kids and Holly had just said or done something incredibly stupid.

“Holly ... ” Rose emphasized her words with a shake of her head. “I can see why you would feel that way, but you’ve got it all wrong.  It’s true, Stan was a domineering control freak, but not
all
men are like that.  Look at me and Bill for example, do you see Bill controlling what I do?”

Holly had never thought about it
that
way before.  Rose and Bill had a wonderful relationship -- the kind she would like to have for herself.  Rose did whatever she wanted and Bill was supportive; he never stood in her way or told her what to do. 

Holy realized she might be sacrificing her future because of her past experiences with Stan by assuming every man would act the same way he did.  In reality, Nick didn’t seem to be the least bit like Stan.

“You know what, Rose, you’re right.”  Holly pulled her cell phone out of her purse and dialed Nick.

Chapter Five

“Are you sure this will work?”  Holly whispered from the backseat of Nick’s car.

“I think so,” Bill answered. “It’s the best way to make sure we can put Stan behind bars so he won’t bother you ever again.”

They were parked one street over from Holly’s house with a clear view to her back door.  Thanks to Nick’s investigative skills, they knew Stan had been watching the house.  Holly had made it obvious she was leaving for the evening earlier, and they hoped Stan would take the opportunity to break in. 

A sudden movement near Holly’s back door captured their attention. 
Stan
.  They watched him creep to the door, cover his fist with the sleeve of his hoodie, and smash the small pane of glass near the knob. 
Where had Stan learned to do that?
He reached in and, after casting a furtive glance towards the neighbors’, opened the door, slipping quietly inside.  Holly made a mental note to install a deadbolt.

“Let’s go,”  Bill said to Nick.

Nick turned to Holly.  “You’re going to stay here like we agreed, right?”

Holly nodded, plastering a wide-eyed look of innocence on her face to hide her real intentions.  She watched them jog over to her back door before slipping silently out of the car and following them in.

***

Holly cautiously poked her head in the back door.  She could hear the scuffle going on upstairs. 

“Put the gun down and your hands up!” she heard Bill yell. 
Stan had a gun?

Concern overrode Holly’s caution and she took the stairs two at a time.  At the top of the stairs, she turned right and bounded towards the room which held the safe.  She stopped short in the doorway, a jolt of fear wrenching her gut.

Stan stood at the safe; the door was open and he had obviously been in the act of taking out the jewelry.  He was facing into the room, a bag of jewelry in his left hand, the gun in his right.

  Bill and Nick were facing Stan, their backs to the doorway.

Stan looked over at Holly in the doorway, his face contorted into a mask of fury.

“You!” he shouted at Holly.  He pointed the gun in her direction, the barrel wavering side to side in his shaky grasp.

Nick and Bill turned to face her, twin looks of surprise on their faces.

“Get out of my way or I’ll shoot her.”  Stan motioned to Nick and Bill to move.  They stepped to the side.  Stan made his way towards Holly and the open doorway.  She moved into the room, just inside the door to block his exit.

Holly tried to reason with him. “Stan, don’t do this ... you won’t get away with it.”  But Stan only clutched the bag closer, his gun hand becoming more erratic.

‘This is all your fault,” he spat.  “You and your boyfriend.” He jerked his head in Nick’s direction and waved the gun between Nick and Holly.

 Nick took a step towards Stan.  “Really, how do you figure
that
, Stan?”

Holly hoped Nick knew what he was doing. It didn’t seem like a wise move to provoke Stan in the state he was in.

Stan snorted. “If it wasn’t for
you
putting ideas in her head, Holly would have come back to me, and all the jewelry, the house, and everything else would be mine!”

Stan took a threatening step closer to Nick.  In the heat of the argument he must have forgotten to pay attention to where he was pointing the gun. Holly saw it was aimed at the floor.  Suddenly, Nick’s elbow shot out with lightning speed and connected with Stan’s nose. Stan dropped the gun and the jewelry, clutched his face, and crumpled to the floor. 

Holly flew into Nick’s arms. Bill jumped on Stan and wrenched his arms behind his back, securing them with his handcuffs. 

Nick looked down at Holly.  “Are you okay?” he asked. 

Not trusting herself to speak, she simply nodded.

“I thought you were going to stay in the car?” he said, reproachfully.

Holly felt a blush creep into her cheeks.  “I was afraid Stan would hurt you,” she confessed, “and I thought if I was here I might be able to stop him.”

Nick brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead.  “You could have been hurt, Holly. I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.” 

The sound of Bill making his call to the police saved Holly from further admonishment.  They turned to look at Bill, Nick keeping a protective arm around her.

“Well, I’d say that’s a job well done.”  Bill leaned down and hauled Stan to his feet.  “You know what
Stan
, I never really liked you all that much and now it seems you’ve sunken to a new low.  I guess you’ll have a lot of time to think about the mistakes you’ve made in jail.”  He headed for the door, pushing Stan in front of him.

***

The police were quick to arrive and Holly felt a perverse pleasure in seeing them put Stan in the back of the police car.  Bill quickly took control of the situation as the lead detective and soon the house was abuzz with people taking pictures and writing notes.  They took Holly aside separately and asked a barrage of questions.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Holly, Bill and Nick stood in the living room watching the police pack up their gear.

Nick turned to Bill. “You might want to take another look at the stolen car ring you were investigating a few months back.  I think Stan was involved.”

Holly felt her eyebrows shoot up in surprise.  “What?”

“I did some more investigating after you ran into him, Holly, and I found some things linking him ... and Eve, to the ring.” Looking at her, his face turned sympathetic.  “He was probably involved long before he left here.”

Holly felt like she had been punched in the stomach.  Stan had been involved in a stolen car ring ... with Eve, right under her nose, and she’d had no idea. 

“Well, that would explain his sudden departure and his desperation for money. We’ll find out the real story once we get a chance to talk to him,” Bill assured them. “I better head on out in one of the police cars.  Looks like I’ll have a long night ahead of me.  I’ll have one of the guys give me a ride home.”

As Bill nodded a good-bye and headed out the door, Nick reached for Holly’s hand and pulled her over to him.

Holly felt happy, happier than she had in years. “Nick, I think maybe we should talk about a few things ....”  She let her voice trail off.

“Yes, we should,” Nick replied with a teasing gleam in his eye.  “By the way, what was all that  ‘boyfriend’ stuff Stan was talking about upstairs anyway?”

Chapter Six

The outdoor tables at the Purple Finch Cafe were small but charming. Holly bit into her grilled cheese sandwich and let the warm, gooey cheese coat her taste buds.  The late fall sun shone brightly, making it warm enough for Holly to bundle in a sweater and sit outside to enjoy her lunch break from the museum.  She marveled at how perfect her life had become and let out a soft sigh of contentment.