A Christmas Surprise (2 page)

Chapter Two

Danny Cassidy strode into his sister's restaurant with his brother Miles and sat down at their favorite table. They could see everything from there, including their wayward sister, well, that was before Zach got control of her.

He could see Sandi by the counter, talking with another waitress, and knew she would be over soon. He and Sandi had dated for a short while not too long ago. He had gotten the feeling that she wanted a commitment, which had freaked him out. He wasn’t ready to settle down, then or now. He wanted to slap himself when the thought of family and kids snuck into his head yet again.
Damn it, he needed to get a grip
, there were too many Cassidys getting married. He needed to maintain the family reputation. Miles surely wouldn’t do it; he was the quietest out of the whole bunch.

As he saw her turn towards him, his pulse sped up and for a moment, he felt excited that he would get to talk to her. Not that he hadn't talked to her yesterday or the day before, but since all the issues with his family members had started, something was changing inside of him. He played it cool by looking at the menu, as if he had no idea what was on it. Hell, he had helped make the damn thing, but of course, Danny refused to look as if he missed a woman, his reputation and all was on the line.

Just then, someone walked up to the table, and he looked up into the eyes of Kristy, the newest addition to the restaurant staff. What was going on? Where was Sandi?

“Where is Sandi?” Danny asked smoothly.

“Why?” Kristy frowned and looked around. “I can take your order and not screw it up.”

“I know, darlin'. I was just wantin’ to ask Sandi a question about a Christmas present for Jade.” Danny lied.

“Oh, well, she’s in the kitchen. She muttered something about refusing to jump every time you smiled at her and told me to take your order,” Kristy said honestly and looked down at her pad of paper as if she hadn’t said anything wrong.

Miles laughed loudly and Danny glared at him, really. So, this was the way it was going to be. Huh?
What the fuck ever, who needed the hassle
, Danny thought, ignoring the nagging feeling in the back of his head and ordered his usual.

The lone man sat at a corner table by the window where no one would notice him. He had found her, he smiled to himself, and there was no mistaking it was her. Looking all kinds of damn happy and content, what nerve of the bitch. She ruined his life, and all she could do was smile gently at him, as she looked right by him. She didn’t even realize who she was staring at.

She was going to pay now that he had found her. He was pleased that he’d tracked her all the way from Tennessee to this small-town dump. He looked around. It may be small; however, it was the perfect place for him to do what he had to do. Huckleberry Hound over there didn’t look like he could solve a case unless it was written down and mapped out for him.

She was ignorant to everything around her, he decided. It had taken him years to prepare for this. Oh, he would have had her a few years ago if she had stayed in place. He found her just after she shut up the posh house she was allowed to grow up in.

She had ruined their lives, not that it was great to begin with, but it got even worse after. She was at fault. She was the reason his mother drank herself into an early grave, and he was thrown into foster care. He’d been bounced around from home to home, never finding a family of his own. The caseworker had finally sent him to a group home, where he had stayed until he was eighteen.

When he’d gotten out of that hellhole and got a job in a restaurant washing dishes, he began to search records on the Internet, trying to find her. That was when he saw the obituary on the aunt. That led him to Tennessee where he talked to a neighbor who, after finding out he was a long-lost cousin, told him that Sandi had moved.

She conveniently had a forwarding address in Colorado where Sandi was currently staying. Now here he was, sitting in a restaurant not fifteen feet from her. He couldn't wait to get his hands on her, but first she had to suffer a little bit, after all, it was Christmas and anticipation was everything.

It seemed the lunch crowd had thinned out, and Sandi decided to take a break out back for just a few minutes to feel the soft flakes falling on her face and enjoy the crisp air after helping out in the hot kitchen. She stepped out of the back door, walking over to the small picnic table they had set up for employee breaks. She turned her back to the alleyway and leaned against the table, tipping her face up to catch the flakes on her tongue. She closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath.

Her mind wandered to Danny as it usually did, he looked so damn good in his deputy uniform. His hair had been windblown and that one stray lock had fallen over his forehead. Her fingers had itched to brush it back for him.

She smiled as she thought about how he would looked at her and smiled, reaching with his muscular arm to pull her towards him then he would wrap his other arm around her as she looped her arms around his neck. Slowly, he would lower his head and lightly brush his lips,
BANG!
A car backfiring brought her out of her musings, and she shook her head to clear it.
Better get back in and begin to get ready for the dinner crowd,
she thought as she headed back inside.

Later that evening after the last customer left, Traci and Sandi were putting the chairs on top of the tables. Being one of the nights they closed early, usually they moved things around and turned into a bar, but tonight was Tuesday, on every Monday and Tuesday they closed after dinner.

Sandi was really tired. She had put in a long day, and all she wanted to do was go upstairs and have a nice long soak in the tub. She heard a tapping on the main door and looked up to see Traci unlocking it for Jared, Jade's oldest brother and now Traci's fiancé. Jared walked in, took off his sheriff’s hat, and shook his head.

"Evenin' ladies, everything alright?" he asked, moving further into the room. Jared was tall and muscular. He had led the school to their first State Championship in football. He was the All-Star quarterback who had all the girls throwing their underwear at him when he walked into a room. Now he was off the market, and by the way he and Traci were kissing right now, they should be out of the public’s sight. Man, they were steaming up the front windows that Sandi just cleaned.

They broke apart and then Traci looked over at Sandi and said, "Why don't you go on now? Jared will help me finish up."

"Are you sure?" Sandi asked.

"Of course, go on, get some rest. See you in the morning," Traci stated and pointed to the back door.

"Okay, see ya." Sandi turned and grabbed her coat to head upstairs.

She went out the back door and turned to go up the stairs. There were two floors above the restaurant, the second floor was storage, and the third was the apartment where she lived. Thankfully, the stairs were enclosed so she wasn’t freezing her ass off as she walked out without a coat.

Sandi went up the first flight and heard a noise in the corner of the walkway. She turned to look, but it was so dark she couldn't see anything. Frowning, Sandi reached out from where she moved to go up the next flight of stairs, there was a light switch there for the stairs, and she could just flip it on to make herself feel better. A cold shiver ran through her as she took one-step and then another, something didn’t feel right. A dark figure jumped out at her, and Sandi screamed for all she was worth. Hell, it was probably the night watchman Zach hired, but she didn’t care.

She was shocked when the figure reached out and pushed her hard causing her to fall to the bottom of the stairs. The fall made her land on her hip and back, knocking the breath out of her.

Suddenly, the back door to the restaurant flew open, and Jared stood there with his gun drawn. He saw Sandi lying on the ground and immediately went to her.

"What happened? Are you alright?" he asked as he began to run his hands over her to see if she had anything broken.

"I'm fine," she gasped, finally able to take in a breath. "Someone was upstairs and knocked me down the first flight. Where did he go?"

"I didn't see anyone when I came out," he said and scanned the area again.

Just then, Traci came out and ran over to Sandi. "Are you okay? What happened? Can you move?"

"I thought I told you to stay inside," Jared growled.

"I did, and then I came out to see what happened," she growled back at him.

"Next time, do as you're told. You never know what could have happened. We could’ve been being held at gun point, and you were our only way of getting help."

"Oh yeah," Traci snorted. "Could have been Jack the Ripper out here, too, but I am not seeing it."

"With all that has gone on, nothing would surprise me," Jared said wryly.

"Um, guys? I would really like to get up now, if you don't mind," Sandi said, still lying on the ground.

"Oh sorry, honey, here let us help you up," Traci said, glaring at Jared.

They helped her to stand and then Jared asked, "Did you get a good look at who it was? Did you know him?"

"No, it was dark and he was wearing dark clothing," Sandi said. "Maybe someone just got lost or turned around."

"Well, come on. I'm gonna walk you up and make sure everything is okay," he said, putting his hand on her lower back, and grabbing Traci's hand in the process.

They all went up the stairs, and when they arrived at Sandi's door, Jared motioned for the girls to step to one side. He cautiously pushed the door open. Sandi couldn't believe it. It had been slightly ajar!
Now why would anyone want to get into her house?
she thought.

Jared pointed to the girls to stay where they were. Neither one of them argued. They waited outside, clutching each other's hands until Jared came back out.

"Looks like someone wanted to send you a message, Sandi. It seems you have an admirer." He turned and led them into the living room, and back to the bedroom.

There on her pillow sat a single red rose. Sandi looked around the room, and then gasped when she saw the mirror above her dresser. In red lipstick, the one she loved to wear on bar nights, the word,
SOON
, was written. What the fuck did that mean? Who did this? Why did she suddenly feel very alone and very vulnerable?

Jared was on the phone talking to one of his deputies when Sandi reached out to grab the offensive rose, and he stopped her saying, "Don't touch anything, this is all evidence now." He then continued to give orders about having the lab come and search for fingerprints.

Sandi could not think for the life of her, of anyone who would want to do this. She hadn't been on a date since, well, since Danny. Not that she hadn't been asked, it was just that no one else could measure up in her eyes. And surely she hadn’t pissed anyone else off enough to do this. She was a Manager of a Restaurant, the most excitement she had was when Mr. Jorman from down the street sent back his green beans because they gave him gas.

This was giving her a headache, and to think, hours before she was thinking about how wonderful her life was now that she lived here in Johnstown, Colorado. She was gonna be the next headline in the Breeze, the local newspaper. The owner never had anything exciting to report so he listened to the police scanner for all the details of what was going on, it showed up in the paper the next day. Jade and her brothers had been fodder for the paper in the last few months.

Jared began to question her, asking about dates, previous boyfriends, anyone who might be angry with her. The whole time Traci sat with her and held her hand as they sat on the couch together. Then the lab guys showed up; Jared went back on the phone again and walked outside.

"I'm so sorry, honey," Traci said. "We have to figure out where you’re going to stay for the next few days because you sure aren't staying here by yourself."

"Oh no, I will be fine," Sandi said. "This was just a prank of some sorts, it has to be."

"Well, in the meantime, you don't need to be alone. Now, let's see, what with everything happening, we’ll have to figure out who has an open room."