A Christmas Homecoming (25 page)
“In a way. I work for a local company, but before this we lived in Bend.”
He nodded. “Welcome to the neighborhood. Most of the homes on this street are rentals.” He pointed to a home three doors down and across the street. “Your closest full-time neighbor lives there. A retired couple.”
“You seem to be well acquainted with this area.”
He raised his chin. “Thank you. I try to make sure I know as many of the locals as possible.”
“Does this mean you come around a lot?” her son asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
She couldn’t blame him, but she didn’t allow sass. “Trey.” The warning was all it took.
“Sorry. Excuse me.” He marched past them and opened the back of the SUV.
Officer Preston frowned. “I guess I made a bad first impression on him. I’m sorry about that.”
“It was an honest mistake and my own fault. I should have remembered to turn off the alarm.”
“Will your husband be joining you, too?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why do you ask?”
“Just like to know who is supposed to be here and who isn’t.” He raised a brow.
Irritation surged through her. This dude was seriously getting on her nerves. He didn’t need to know her personal business. “No one else will be joining my son and me. Please excuse me.” As the cop strode to his squad car, she walked over to her SUV and stacked one box onto another then strutted by the cop.
Whew!
Spencer Preston stood at the water cooler in the bullpen at the police station, unable to get the pretty blonde who hadn’t been wearing a wedding ring off his mind.
“Hey, Spencer. How’d it go today?” Mark, his buddy and fellow officer asked.
“Fine.”
Mark crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. “You are too easy to read. What happened?”
“Nothing.”
Mark motioned for him to follow him into the conference room. “What’s going on?”
Spencer ran a hand along the back of his neck. “I responded to a silent alarm call today. It turned out to be the house-sitter who forgot there was an alarm.”
“And?”
Mark knew him too well. “And nothing.” He didn’t do anything wrong, but he couldn’t shake that what happened today would be life altering.
“Nope.” Mark shook his head. “I’m not buying what you’re selling. Tell me.”
“The woman intrigued me.”
“How so? Is she someone we need to keep an eye on?”
“No. Nothing like that. I mean she snagged my interest.” Except for one problem—her son. There was no way the teen would ever forgive him for what he did.
His buddy grinned. “Caught your eye, huh? I was beginning to think you were destined to remain single forever.”
Spencer playfully slugged him in the gut. “Watch it. You’ve been here all of ten months. You don’t know everything about me.” Nor would he. There were some things he didn’t talk about. Even with a good friend like Mark.
“Good point. Sorry. Catch you later.” Mark sauntered to his desk and sat facing his computer.
Spencer was glad Mark didn’t know his past. A churchgoer like him would likely only judge him. He’d judged himself enough and didn’t need any help knowing what a fool he’d been. He waved to whomever might be paying attention as he left for the evening. It’d been a long day, and he was ready for the peace and quiet of his little house situated on the south side of Sunriver. It wasn’t grand or glamorous, but it was affordable and close to work.
An image of the woman from the silent-alarm house flashed in his mind as he got into his pickup. Her fear-filled eyes heaped a load of guilt on him. He hated that he’d frightened Ms. Robbins and her son. She didn’t look old enough to have a teenager. But he was smart enough to know people didn’t always look their age, and some women had kids at a young age. Which one was she?
A sudden idea hit him and with renewed energy he headed to the Sunriver Village. He found exactly what he was looking for and purchased it. Who didn’t love chocolate cake?
A short time later, he pulled into the driveway of the house he’d been called to this afternoon, grabbed the cake and got out. “Here goes nothing.” The street looked as quiet as he’d expected. It wouldn’t get busy until the weekend when tourists flocked to the resort community in droves to take part in winter activities on Mount Bachelor, which was less than a thirty-minute drive away.
He marched up the steps and rang the doorbell that gonged and seemed to echo. A moment later Sierra pulled the door open. “Officer Preston?”
He held out the chocolate cake. “I brought a peace offering. I felt bad about earlier, even if I was doing my job. That’s no way to be welcomed to the neighborhood.”
She hesitantly took the cake. “Thank you.”
“Who is it, Mom?” Her son came up behind her and scowled when he spotted Spencer.
“Your local police officer bringing by a welcome-to-the-neighborhood cake.” Spencer quirked a grin. Talk about sounding corny!
The kid frowned. Not the response he was hoping for.
Sierra stepped aside. “Trey, what do you say to Officer Preston?”
“Call me Spencer.”
Trey’s eyes narrowed. “Thanks,
Spencer
. For the record, my mom doesn’t date.”
“Trey!” Sierra’s face reddened.
The teen shrugged. “What? You don’t. And we both know he’s only here because he either feels like a jerk for pulling a gun on me, or he’s interested in you.”
“That’s enough.”
Apparently Trey had a little sense in his head considering he took the cake and darted away.
“I apologize for my son. I’m afraid what happened this afternoon has had a lasting effect. He might need a few days . . . or months to get over it.”
“I’m really sorry to hear that. I had no way of knowing you and your son weren’t burglarizing the place. I wouldn’t have been doing my job if I hadn’t stopped him.”
“Good point, and I’m thankful you weren’t trigger happy.”
Spencer nodded.
A car pulled up behind his, and Bailey Calderwood, her boss, got out. “Hey there, Spencer. What’s going on?” She strode up the stairs and stopped beside him.
He gave her the shortened version of what had happened and why he was there.
She shot a worried look at Sierra. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. What brings you by?”
“I wanted to see how your move went and if you needed anything.”
“For the most part everything went well. That was really nice of you to stop in to check on us.”
“I also brought you this.” Bailey opened her purse and pulled out a paint wheel. “I’ve marked the colors I need you to order.” She then pulled out two squares of fabric. “The homeowner decided to go with custom drapes and sheers. I’ll leave that in your capable hands.”
Spencer stood there silently taking in the women’s conversation. Bailey was a friend of a friend. She managed the design side of Belafonte and Sons Construction and Design, a local interior decorating company that worked alongside the other branch of the company—new home construction. So Sierra must be the assistant he’d heard so much about. He should’ve put that together this afternoon.
“Do you want a slice, Spencer?” Bailey asked.
Both women stood there looking at him like he was a miscreant child.
“Why are you looking at me like I stole cookies from the cookie jar? What’d I miss?”
They both grinned and said in unison, “Nothing.”
He took a step back. “O-kay. I’ll be headed home then. Have a good evening, and I hope you enjoy the cake.”
“We will,” Bailey called after him as he retreated to his car.
He raised a hand and quickly got inside his pickup. He knew better than to daydream in the presence of two women. Too bad Bailey had stopped by. He’d really hoped to clear the air between himself, Sierra, and Trey.
He’d have to find another way to make this afternoon up to them. But how?
Releasing April 1, 2017
Books by Kimberly Rose Johnson
Sunriver Dreams
A Christmas Homecoming
Wildflower B&B Romance Series
Stand Alone
Series with Heartsong Presents