Yours to Savor (2 page)

She banged on the door with all her strength, rattled the doorknob, pressed her shoulder against the splintering wood to break it down. Nothing she did worked. The door remained locked. What
was
Chloe doing here?

Fear threatened to bubble up inside her again. There were too many people, too many noises, too many ominous shapes.
She felt oppressed, pushed down, boxed in—and now, more than anything—hopeless.

“
Chloe
! Chloe,
please
, open the door! It’s your sister! It’s SANDRA!”

A bang erupted from the depths of the house.

The entire foundation shook. The music died, and a babble of confused voices took its place. The voices lasted only a second, and then somebody screamed. The scream was echoed by another person, and then another, until all Sandra could hear was the thunder of a hundred panicked voices.

People started rustling past her, streaming for the exit. It was untold commotion.

Sandra grabbed at the handle and pressed herself against the door to prevent being swept away in the stampede. The screaming continued.

“Chloe!
CHLOE
!”

She was tearing at the door, scratching and kicking to try to pry it open. “
CHLOE
!
CHL
—”

Somebody scooped her by the waist. Before she knew it, she was in the air, being carried away. A scream ripped from her throat. She struggled against the grip, but the arm holding her was too strong. She was in the throng of people, and in the confusion lost sight of the door. A moment later, she felt cold air on her face, and knew she was outside. But her sister was still inside. Chloe was still in the house. Still behind that door.

Sandra twisted and sank her teeth into the flesh of the arm that was holding her. A man cursed, and she was free. She dropped to the ground, stumbled, caught her balance and ran against the flood of people flowing from the house. She was within ten feet of the entrance when that strong arm caught her again and lifted her off her feet.

“No!” Sandra screamed. “
No
!” She beat against the back of her captor, who was rushing away from the house.

Another bang sounded, much louder than the first, and a second later, the entire house was engulfed in huge, violent flames. Roaring heat blasted against her face. The shockwave slammed into her and the man carrying her, causing him to trip and fall.

He fell forward, cradling her just in time to avoid crushing her with his weight.

Sandra lay beneath him, motionless. She could see the light from those ghastly flames dancing on the ground, mocking the night. She didn’t try to fight. She didn’t try to escape.

Sirens sounded somewhere in the distance. But they hardly registered. Everything blurred in Sandra’s vision
as she withdrew, somewhere deep inside her mind, away from the horror of reality.

She didn’t cry. She had no feelings left to cry. The sirens, the screams, the roaring flames all coalesced into a dark ball in her mind as the world she knew collapsed around her.

Those strong arms picked her up and started to rock her. She barely felt it. Her sister was still inside. Her sister…

Sandra’s eyes shot open in the dark. The room was silent. She tried to take a breath—but her lungs did not fill with air. She was suffocating!

Panic gripped her. Then, she picked out the soft buzz of the refrigerater at her feet. Relief swelled, and she let out the anxious breath she didn’t even know she was holding. Ssandra squeezed her eyes shut to banish the last of the nightmare from her mind. She rolle
d over—and cringed.

Her sheets were drenched with sweat.

But, she was used to it by now. It had happened nearly every time the chronic night terror had visited her over the last sixteen years.

Scooting over to curl up on the dry edge of the mattress, Sandra reached to her ratty nightstand and felt for the small container of pills. Ambien might make her go to sleep, but nothing could erase the stinging pain she felt over her sister’s death that terrible night.

Chapter One

“Didn’t get much sleep last night?” Cassie’s eyes twinkled as she buzzed behind the counter, working on Sandra’s coffee. “Did you meet another guy?”

“No!” Sandra jumped. “That was
once
, and anyway, nothing happened. He had a drink at my place and left. How do you still remember? That was almost two years ago.”

“I’ve a mind for gossip,” Cassie said, tapping her head.

“And a tongue to spread it.”

Cassie gave her a look of such level innocence that Sandra couldn’t help but laugh.

“Anyway, here’s your drink, hun.”

“Thanks.” Sandra picked up the cup and took a sip. The hot liquid scalded her tongue, and the brew tasted stronger than she expected. She made a face. “This isn’t—”

“Your usual latte? I know.” Cassie flashed a crafty smile. “I figured you needed an extra-shot Americano to get you through the day. I try to take care of my customers whenever I can.”

Sandra smiled back. Cassie was the chatty owner of a small coffee shop named, most appropriately,
Cassie’s Blend
. It was the only place that served decent drinks in town, despite an attempt by Starbucks to bully their way onto the territory last year. The corporates erected
that
shiny new building right across the street from
Cassie’s
, but the residents of Ocean Shores boycotted it in protest, and the place shut down after three months. Cassie hadn’t stopped beaming since.

“Two years,” Cassie mused. “Time flies. You thinking of settling down here, then? I can help you find a guy, you know. Broad shoulders, great teeth, the works. In fact, I know just the fellow—”

“No, thank you,” Sandra said quickly. Cassie meant well, but she had a penchant for choosing the
worst
type of men to play matchmaker with. Sandra remembered the one time she gave in to Cassie’s urgings, and ended up on a dinner date with a man with greasy hair and fish-like body odor. “We’ve been through this before. I’m not looking for a guy right now. And no, I’m not settling down. This is just temporary for me.”

“It’s only ‘
temporary’
until it becomes ‘
permanent
,’ ” Cassie philosophized. “You’ve been coming in every morning since you arrived. Heck, I remember when I couldn’t get a word out of you—”

“That’s because I didn’t know if I was staying.” Truth be told, Sandra hadn’t been able to imagine living in the little Washington community at first. She was used to life in a big city after growing up in Chicago. It was impossible to find anonymity in a town of five thousand people, but she had ended up here anyway because she thought a change of scenery might help her deal with her nightmares. In the sixteen years since the fire, Sandra had never gone more than a week without reliving the terrible experience at least once in her sleep. “I didn’t even have a job back then. Remember?”

“I was hiring.”

“I wouldn’t have made a good barista.”

“What?” Cassie looked scandalized. “Anybody can do it! Especially since I’d be at the helm training you. Why, I’d make a proper barista of you in no time. In a day you’d know how to smile at customers so they leave a big tip. And in a week? Yowzah! With those cheekbones?
Please
! They wouldn’t stand a chance.” She winked. “Heck, you might even do a better job of it than
me
.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to supplant you.” Sandra smiled, taking another sip.

“No, no.” Cassie waved the suggestion away. “I’d be right there with you, keeping a close eye.”

“I wouldn’t want to make your other employees jealous.”

“Oh, there’s enough of me to go around,” Cassie laughed. Sandra couldn’t help but join in. Cassie was perpetually on some new diet, and talked endlessly about losing the thirty pounds she’d gained since opening the coffee shop to get back to her “college figure.” Sandra knew that Cassie loved what she did too much to put any real effort in those diets. She was happy as she was, and her job did not exactly provide the best environment for losing weight.

The door chime rang, announcing a new customer, and Cassie cut off. She stood tall—and went still. “Well, hello,” she murmured. “There’s someone new.”

Sandra turned in her stool just in time to see a man enter the shop. Cassie was right. The coffee shop didn’t get many customers this early, at least not until the ceremonial pre-work rush, and the man standing at the doors was definitely not one of the regulars. He was tall, and not much older than Sandra. His wide shoulders were rolled back confidently, and he walked in with the easy swagger of a guy who worked out.

Sandra’s eyes went to his shoes. She was impressed with what she found. Few men had the sophistication to understand how much information the right pair of shoes could portray to a woman. His sleek black loafers were made of alligator leather, finished with a shining silver buckle. Her eyes moved up, sweeping past the clean-pressed, black dress pants, lingering for a moment just beneath the belt buckle that sat on his narrow waist. She pushed aside the wicked thoughts trying to form in her brain. He wore a white dress shirt tucked into his pants, which peeked out from under the lapels of a silver-gray blazer made of fabric that faintly reflected the light.

The shoes alone were probably worth more than Sandra’s monthly salary. Nobody—not even the few lawyers around town—ever dressed so extravagantly in Ocean Shores. This man was definitely a stranger. As Sandra’s eyes continued to move up, she realized that the top few buttons of his shirt were undone, offering an enticing glimpse of the sculpted chest underneath.

She looked at his face. Rough stubble covered the man’s cheeks, offering a contrast to the clean-pressed folds of his pants and blazer. His eyes were hidden behind dark designer shades; why he would wear sunglasses so early in the morning, Sandra couldn’t fathom. His wavy, tousled hair was a deep brown. It curled softly on his strong neck, making him look like he’d just rolled out of bed—lazy and hot. Sandra had always found that look so very appealing. It was a stark contrast to the dull, uptight men she’d gotten used to in her premed days at college.

One corner of the man’s mouth was raised in a half-smile, making him look like he was in on some immensely amusing private joke. It gave him an aura of ruthless carelessness that Sandra knew was universally attractive. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one to appreciate it. Cassie gave a fluttery sigh from behind the counter.