Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
SAM
I walked into the Bavarian Bagel Company the next morning and immediately felt my mood lift when I spotted Rose sitting at my usual table with a coffee and bagel sandwich.
“Well, this is a surprise,” I said, making my way over with a grin. “I can’t believe you table-jacked my favorite spot by the window.”
Rose looked up and smiled brightly, and I felt that same flutter I’d been trying to analyze since she’d kissed me last night.
“You snooze, you lose,” she smirked, then tilted her head toward the empty chair across from her. “Tell you what—I’ll let you join me, if that makes you feel better.”
“Lucky for you—I was just about to call security,” I said.
Rose laughed, then casually glanced out the window.
She did a double-take, then blinked a few times.
“Are you expecting Chloe?” I asked, following her glance, but not seeing her best friend.
“Chloe?” she said, looking a little distracted. “No, she’s still sleeping.”
“I get you all to myself then,” I said with a grin.
“Hang on, my food should be ready, since I ordered online. Don’t move.
” I took off my jacket, hung it on the back of the chair, collected my bagel sandwich and coffee from the pickup counter, then settled into the seat across from Rose.
“This is perfect since I wanted to talk to you about what happened last night.”
“Are you going to make things weird?” Rose asked.
“Me? Make things weird? I think you easily took care of that when you kissed me and then ran away like you were late for a Next Generation convention,” I said.
“Jean-Luc Picard can call me Number One any day, but that is a complete exaggeration,” Rose said. “I walked away slowly.”
“Whatever you say, Speedy.”
The door chimed, and a woman who looked like she’d stepped straight out of a ski resort catalog walked in wearing an all-white jumpsuit. She glanced in our direction, then pulled out her phone and started typing.
“Here comes trouble,” Rose muttered under her breath.
“Why do you say that?” I whispered back.
She shrugged. “Call it a hunch. I’m getting a bad vibe from her. I’m pretty sure she’s that pickpocket everyone’s been talking about. Keep your hand on your wallet.”
A pickpocket? I studied the woman more carefully, but couldn’t see what Rose was seeing. She looked much more like a tourist than a local—if tourists typically dressed like Hollywood celebrities who were about to hit the slopes at Aspen.
The woman took two steps toward the counter, then stopped abruptly. She closed her eyes, then her hand shot up to her forehead in what looked like genuine distress.
“She doesn’t look good,” I said, watching her sway slightly.
Rose barely glanced over. “She’s probably just hungry. Happens to me all the time.”
How could she be so dismissive?
The woman was clearly struggling.
She wobbled on her feet, and instinct overrode caution. I jumped up and caught her just as her knees buckled.
“Are you okay?” I asked, steadying her weight.
“Yes—I think so,” she breathed. “Thank you.”
Her arms wrapped around me tightly, and I felt her hands move across my chest as she gripped my shirt for balance. One hand drifted lower, and down my back.
Was she really going for my wallet? Rose’s pickpocket warning suddenly didn’t seem so paranoid. I shifted, angling my back pocket away from her fingers.
“Lucky for me, you were in the right place at the right time,” she murmured. “A robust man to catch me. I don’t care what people say—chivalry isn’t dead. Thank you so much.”
“My pleasure,” I said, attempting to gently extract myself, but the woman had a vice-like grip. “It’s nothing. Really.”
“I’m Beverly, by the way.”
“I’m Sam. Are you feeling better?”
“Whoa—maybe not,” she said, swaying harder and pulling me closer. “I’m so dizzy. What’s happening with me? It’s the weirdest thing.”
I tried supporting her with my left arm while keeping my right hand firmly planted over my back pocket.
“Let me help you with that.” Rose appeared out of nowhere and tried to wedge herself between us with the force of someone breaking up a bar fight.
“Excuse me!” Beverly tightened her grip on me while trying her hardest to push Rose away with her other hand. “What are you doing?”
I was thinking the same thing.
“Just lending a hand,” Rose said, maintaining her grip on my waist for leverage while doing her best to maneuver Beverly away from me.
I fought hard to keep my balance while not letting Beverly or myself fall to the floor. I felt like I was in some kind of action movie where the hero had to defuse a bomb while fighting off an attacker.
“Let go!” Beverly tried to twist free. “I don’t need your help!”
“I think you do,” Rose said.
I stood there tangled in between them, watching this unfold with the growing realization that I had become the rope in the world’s strangest tug-of-war. Was Rose jealous? Over-protective? Having some kind of episode?
Finally, I freed myself from the middle of their struggle. Rose was now trying to guide Beverly toward a chair while Beverly kept attempting to get back to me. They moved in awkward circles, bumping into each other like two players trying to guard the same basketball.
“Sit!” Rose said, grabbing Beverly by the shoulders and slamming her into the chair.
Beverly shoved Rose’s hands away. “You are completely insane.”
“And you’re about as subtle as a car alarm,” Rose shot back.
“Do you two know each other?” I asked.
“No,” they said simultaneously, still locked in an intense stare-down.
“Never met,” Rose added.
“Total strangers,” Beverly confirmed.
Right. Because this was exactly how strangers behaved—like two dogs who’d just spotted the same bone.
Except the bone was me.
Which was both flattering and deeply uncomfortable.
Rose took a step back and gestured toward Beverly with both hands, like a game show host revealing a prize. “Look at that. Your dizziness magically went away. It’s a miracle.”
Beverly’s face went crimson. “I—you—this—” She seemed incapable of forming a coherent sentence.
“You’re welcome,” Rose said cheerfully.
“I don’t need this abuse—I’m leaving.” Beverly got up from the chair and headed for the door, then glanced back at me. “Maybe I’ll bump into you again, Sam, when your friend isn’t having a psychotic episode!”
The door slammed behind her with enough force to make the bell jingle violently. Every customer in the bagel shop was staring at us.
Rose grabbed the chair and casually walked back to our table like it was no big deal, like she hadn’t just engaged in public combat. She sat quietly, picked up her sandwich, and took a bite.
Another casual morning in Leavenworth.
Nothing to see here.
I returned to my seat slowly, trying to process what I’d just witnessed. My brain felt like it was still buffering because I had no clue.
Rose chewed slowly, gazing out the window like she was admiring the view, then she sipped her coffee.
I stared at her.
Another bite of the sandwich.
Nothing. Not a word.
Was she actually going to pretend nothing had happened?
The silence stretched.
I didn’t look away.
“You’re not eating or drinking, Sam. Is anything wrong?” Rose finally asked, all wide-eyed innocence, like she hadn’t just committed assault with a deadly bagel.
“You don’t know?” My voice cracked. “What was that I just witnessed?”
“I already told you—I was helping.” She took another bite, remarkably mellow for someone who’d just caused a scene that would be discussed in this bagel shop for weeks. Possibly, months.
“Rose, you practically body-checked a stranger in a bagel shop.”
“I extracted you from a dangerous situation.”
“She was dizzy.”
“She was fake dizzy. Big difference.”
“How can you possibly know that?”
Rose bit into her sandwich. “I just know.” She dabbed her mouth with a napkin. “You’re welcome, by the way. That woman screams trouble. I have a sixth sense for these things.”
I massaged my temples, trying to understand why Rose was so sure about this. Based on what evidence, exactly?
The scary part was that I was actually starting to believe her.
“Anyway, she’s gone, and that’s what matters.” Rose gestured to my untouched food. “You should eat. It’s getting cold.”
I stared at her for another moment, then—I couldn’t help it—I laughed. Just a quick burst that caught me off guard.
“What?” Rose asked, but she was fighting a smile.
“Nothing. There’s never a dull moment with you.”
Her smile broke through. “Would you rather be bored?”
“God, no.” I reached for my sandwich and was just about to unwrap it when my phone buzzed twice in succession.
I pulled it out and felt my mood deflate as I read the messages.
“Perfect,” I muttered in frustration.
“Problem in paradise?” Rose asked.
“Two problems, actually.” I grabbed my coffee and sandwich, then stood. “The network’s down at the library, which is odd, since I have a solid backup in place. Anyway, that means I need to go play IT guy and fix the problem before we open the doors to the public.”
“I’m sure you can handle it.” Rose stood and tossed her sandwich wrapper in the trash. “I’ll walk with you since my hotel is on the way.”
“I’d like that,” I said.
She wasn’t scheduled for a volunteer shift today, so it was a pleasant surprise that I got to spend a little time with her.
“What was the other problem?” Rose asked as we made our way up Ninth Street. “You said there were two?”
“My elf for this evening had to unexpectedly bail,” I said. “I don’t know what it is, but I am having the worst luck with elves this year.”
“Check yourself, Santa,” Rose smirked.
“Present company excluded,” I said, then held up my hand before she could respond. “But don’t worry—I’m not asking for your help. I promised you’d only have to do it once, and I keep my word. I’ll find someone else.”
“You don’t need to ask—I’ll do it,” Rose said.
We turned the corner onto Front Street, and her words finally penetrated my distracted brain.
I stopped walking and turned to her.
“Wait. What?” I asked.