Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
K nowing that Palmer and Loki would be officially moving in with her in the next few days had her mind whirling long after the man beside her and the beast sleeping at their feet were snoring.
Palmer’s heat seeped into her bones, his heartbeat soothed her, and his steady breathing comforted her.
She’d been nervous to ask him to move in. Since his accident—scratch that, the attack by his parents—she’d been thinking about it.
Every change she made in her home made it feel more like it was hers.
The morning after the last time Palmer had stayed there, she’d moved all of her things into her mother’s old bedroom. Their room now. She’d purchased new sheets, a soft white comforter, and many brightly colored throw pillows.
She smiled and thought about all the other changes they were going to make to their home while she drifted off to sleep.
The sound didn’t register at first. The growl was low enough that it mixed in with the dreams that she was having. Loki’s bark, however, had her sitting straight up.
“I’ll look, see if I can figure out what’s bothering him,” Palmer said, rolling out of bed and pulling on his pants and shoes.
She wanted to argue, but the dog was now at the bedroom door, barking loudly. The way Palmer was acting, it seemed it was a fairly normal occurrence.
Since she was up, she pulled on some clothes and socks and followed them out to the living room. The pair of them were standing at the back door. Loki’s growls turned deeper and more urgent.
“What is it?” she asked, moving to turn on a light.
“No,” Palmer said, stopping her. “Someone’s out there. I was just about to call?—”
The rest of what he was going to say dropped away as her back glass door shattered, sending beads of glass all over Palmer and Loki. The dog yapped, but recovered quickly and bolted out of the door, chasing whoever had just broken her door.
“Palmer?” she cried out, rushing over to him.
“No, stay back,” he said, stepping out of the destroyed glass. “Call 911,” he yelled over his shoulder as he disappeared into the darkness.
Her cell phone was still in her bedroom, so she rushed back to grab it. Her hands shook as she unlocked her phone. While she called for help, she ran back out and slid on her shoes, prepared to hurry outside after Loki and Palmer.
She could no longer hear the dog’s barks as she relayed the details to the police. Growing frustrated, she went out the back door in search of them.
The cool night air hit her like a slap as she stepped outside. The shattered glass from the door crunched beneath her shoes, and her heart pounded in her chest. Her yard was dark and, beyond, the beach was eerily quiet, save for the distant crash of waves.
Where were they? She could no longer hear Loki’s bark and feared something had happened to them both.
“Palmer!” she called, her voice carrying into the darkness. “Loki!”
She waited for a response for only a few seconds before taking off across her yard and towards the sand dune separating her yard from the beach.
Her breath came in quick bursts as she scanned the beach, her eyes adjusting to the dim light of the moon. She couldn’t see them, but faint footprints in the sand led away from the house, towards the lighthouse.
Gripping her phone tightly, she rushed after them, her legs trembling with both fear and adrenaline. The salty air stung her eyes as she moved, the sand making each step heavier than the last.
“Palmer!” she yelled again, her voice more urgent this time.
Finally, a bark rang out, faint and pained, from somewhere ahead. Her heart sank, and she quickened her pace, her shoes slipping in the soft sand.
When she crested the next dune, she spotted them. Palmer was crouched next to Loki.
“Palmer!” she cried, stumbling towards them.
He looked up, his face pale but determined. “He’s hurt,” Palmer said, his voice strained.
Sophia dropped to her knees beside them, her hands hovering over Loki as she assessed the situation. It was too dark to see anything, but she could tell something was wrong with Loki, who just moaned and whined.
“What about you? Are you okay?” she asked Palmer as he picked up his dog.
“I’m fine,” Palmer said, though the small cuts on his arms and a deeper one across his cheek told a different story. “Just a couple of scratches. Did you call the police?”
“Yes, let’s get back to the house. They should be there.” Her voice shook as she tried to focus on the dog.
Palmer stood and helped her to her feet. He scooped Loki up in his arms, the dog letting out a soft whine but not resisting.
“What were you thinking, running off like that?”
“I thought I saw someone. Loki was onto something, but I lost sight of them and lost the trail near the rocks.” He gestured towards the jagged outcropping a few yards away. “They’re long gone by now.”
“And now you’re both hurt. What if something worse had happened?” she said as she helped him back over the dunes with Loki in his arms.
“Hey,” he said softly, his voice cutting through her panic. “We’re okay. Loki will be fine. I’m fine. And the police are on their way.”
She looked at him, her chest heaving as the adrenaline began to wear off. The moonlight illuminated his face, and the concern in his eyes made her throat tighten.
“We should get back to the house,” she said again, her voice barely above a whisper. “I need to check your cuts, and Loki needs help.”
They made the rest of the way back to the house in silence. The shattered glass glittered ominously under the porch light as they stepped inside.
Sophia grabbed the first-aid kit from under the sink and set it on the kitchen counter. “Sit,” she ordered, pointing to a chair.
Palmer obeyed, setting Loki gently on a blanket on the sofa before sitting down.
Sophia worked quickly, cleaning the cuts on his arms and face. “You’re lucky these aren’t worse,” she muttered, her voice still tinged with frustration.
Palmer watched her, his gaze soft. “You’re mad.”
“Of course I’m mad,” she said, not looking at him. “You ran off into the darkness after…” She didn’t want to say that she thought it was his parents. Weren’t they were supposed to be in jail? But who else could it have been? “You rushed out into a dangerous situation without thinking. What if you hadn’t come back?” She wanted to ask him if he thought it was his parents again, but bit her tongue. She doubted they were out of jail this quickly.
“I couldn’t just stand there,” he said quietly. “I had to do something.” His eyes met hers as a knock sounded at their door.
“It’s Aiden,” they heard him call out.
“I’ll open the door for him,” she said, getting up.
While she showed Aiden inside, she updated him on what had happened.
“I’m having Nick check around the house,” he told them. “How’s Loki?”
“I think he just hurt his paw. We’ve wrapped it for now. I’ll take him to the vet in the morning,” Palmer said.
“What about you?” He motioned to the cuts.
“I fell running on the beach. Hit some driftwood.” He rolled his eyes. “It was dark.”
Aiden smiled and nodded. “I can help you with the door.” He motioned towards the opening.
“Tell me they’re still locked up,” Palmer said quietly.
Aiden sighed and shifted. “Posted bail about three hours ago. I sent a text to you and your brother.”
Palmer sighed. “I must have slept through it.”
“Do you really think they’d be stupid enough to do…” He waved towards the destruction.
“Yes,” Palmer broke in. “Yes, I do think they’re that stupid. Hopefully Loki scared them away.”
“How did they know where I live?” Sophia asked, feeling frustrated and angry.
“Our guess is they’ve been in town since they were released. They’ve probably followed you around without you noticing. Your father?—”
“Jack, call him Jack,” Palmer broke in again.
Aiden nodded. “Jack wouldn’t own up to attacking you at Max’s place the other day. He claimed they were in Edgeview at their hotel room the entire day.”
“Do you buy it?” Palmer asked.
“Not for a minute.” Aiden sighed.
Just then Nick stepped through the back door. “It’s all clear.” He shook his head. “Need some help cleaning this mess up?”
“I’ll clean.” Sophia started to get up.
“No, you stay with Loki. We’ve got this,” Palmer said, touching her shoulder.
She held Loki, who had fallen fast asleep, while the three men cleaned up the glass and put a huge plywood board over the hole that used to be her back door.
After Aiden and Nick left, Palmer walked around and ensured everything was secure before carrying Loki back into the bedroom and lying the dog on his bed. The dog groaned a little, rolled over, and then went back to sleep.
Something had shifted inside her, something she couldn’t explain. She was angry that Palmer would have taken such a risk. He should have stayed and waited for the police. Then again, she’d been worried about Loki too and had wanted to run after him.
“Hey,” Palmer said, sitting beside her on the bed and taking her hand in his. “You look upset.”
“I am.” She avoided his gaze.
“Because I brought this mess on you?”
She frowned and jerked her gaze towards him. “No. Your stupid parents have nothing to do with my anger. Well, maybe a little, but no. For one second, did you stop and think about me? What am I supposed to do if something happens to you?”
His expression softened and he reached up, gently cupping her face. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
Her eyes stung with unshed tears, but she blinked them away and focused on trying to convince him how stupid he had been.
“You’re impossible,” she said, her voice shaking a little.
“How so?”
“If it had been me running out in the darkness after someone who had just broken our door, you’d be pissed too.”
He nodded. “Damn right I would. I would have never let you go.” He leaned in and brushed his lips across hers.
“See, see what I mean?” She pushed lightly on his shoulder. “You’re an idiot.”
He smiled. “You’re right. I need someone like you around to tell me when I do stupid things. So, I guess it’s a good thing I’ll be moving in here tomorrow.” He smiled. “And also, because I think I’ve fallen in love with you.”
Her heart skipped and then her eyes filled with tears. “You think?”
He chuckled. “I know I have.”
She frowned slightly. “You are an idiot for running out into the darkness.”
He laughed and kissed her again. “But I’m your idiot.”
“I love you too.” She kissed him. It was impossible to stay angry with a man who made her feel so much.
The next morning, while she cooked breakfast, Parker delivered them a new glass door. They hauled it from his truck to the back deck and proceeded to destroy her doorway even more getting the old frame out of the wall.
When they were ready for a break, they sat down and ate chocolate chip pancakes and filled Parker in on everything that had happened the night before.
Since Loki was up and running around, Palmer decided to swing him by the vet later that day to have him checked out.
After breakfast, she helped them finish installing her new door before cleaning up and heading into work. She made a point to give Palmer a set of keys to the house so he could start to move his things over that day.
Since Lucas was out of work for the rest of the month, enjoying time with his new family, she was busier than ever. It seemed like none of the employees knew how to do their jobs anymore. She caught several mistakes from both the kitchen staff and the waitstaff.
By the dinner rush, she had a full-blown headache. There was a party scheduled on the rooftop terrace, and she had made sure they had extra staff that night to help with the crowd. An hour later, once the party upstairs was in full swing, she swallowed a couple aspirin and ate half of a chicken chimichanga and three sopapillas, which helped.
Friday nights were always crazy but with the break in the weather—it was the warmest night of the spring so far—and with the big party upstairs, the place was packed. It didn’t surprise her to see Palmer and his brother’s entire family sitting at a booth when she made her way through the front dining area. Since she’d been working upstairs, she didn’t know how long they’d been there.
“Hey.” She made her way over and kissed him. “Have you all ordered yet?”
“Yes,” Palmer and Sara said at the same time.
“It’s busy tonight,” Sara chimed in.
“Fridays.” She chuckled and refilled Palmer’s tea. “I wish I could join you, but I just finished my break about twenty minutes ago.”
“It’s okay, I was going to hang around until closing,” Palmer added.
“Good, then maybe we can have some dessert before we head home.” She kissed him again. “Gotta get back upstairs. See ya,” she said to everyone before heading back to work.
During one of her rounds up and down the stairs, she heard shouting from the rooftop. She set her tray down and rushed up to see what was going on.
Two men were standing face to face, fists clenched as they toed off. The people surrounding them were all shouting and trying to pull the men apart.
“Enough!” Sophia screamed, gaining the attention of a few people as she pushed her way through the crowd.
“Aaron. Leo.” She barked the men’s names. “Enough!” That got the men’s attention. “I warned you last time.” She pointed at each man’s chest, then pointed towards the door. “Out.” The men shoved one another slightly, then parted as the crowd dissipated.
“Sorry, Soph,” Leo said as he walked by her.
“One month,” she warned. “Like last time.”
“Come on, that’s not fair. We didn’t even throw punches this time,” Leo complained.
“Since you can’t get along with your brother, you’re not setting foot in my restaurant for at least a month.” She narrowed her eyes. “And don’t forget to pay your bill. And tip well.” She motioned towards the upstairs bar area.
“Yes, ma’am.” Leo sighed and turned to walk towards the bar area.
“You know, one of these days, those two are going to kill each other,” someone joked.
“It’s a wonder they went into business together,” someone else added.
Aaron and Leo ran the new auto parts store just outside of town. It was the first that offered everything from oil changes to tires. It had been needed in the growing town and had already earned its place as one of Pride’s most profitable business.
The only problem was, the brother’s fought more often than not. Rumor had it that Aaron was ready to move on and Leo, the more levelheaded brother, was trying to buy his brother out.
While she got back to work, she wondered what life would have been like if she and Lucas hadn’t gotten along. Maybe they got along so great because her brother was ten years older than her?
Whatever the reason, she couldn’t remember having one fight with him. Ever. They worked great together and were always laughing and hanging out.
She didn’t think she could have made it through the last few months without his and Avery’s support.
Once all the excitement upstairs was over, the majority of the party group left. Almost an hour later, Palmer came up to keep her company while she cleaned up. He even helped her straighten the tables and chairs.
Once everything was cleaned and she’d sent the staff home, they sat up on the rooftop eating tres leches and sopapillas under the string lights and stars. To say that it was magical was an understatement.
They talked for hours, laughed, and even danced when Palmer played her favorite song on his phone.
When they returned home, she was happily surprised to see Loki and all of Palmer’s belongings already organized and put away in their room. He was home. They were home. Nothing had ever felt this right.