Authors: Anna Kristell
“Sunny, we’re all the way down the hall from everyone else. And the bathroom is even farther away. I don’t think you need to worry that anyone is going to hear us. They all know what we came up here to do anyway…remember?”
“How could I forget?”
“And we
are
married. Have you forgotten that fact…it’s not like I’m taking advantage of my beautiful young nanny.”
“Now that’s an angle we haven’t tried…”
“What?”
“We could pretend I’m still your nanny and you’re the hot
, sexy boss.”
“Oh brother…”
“Kiss me, husband…I’m tired of talking.”
“You…tired of talking…I’d better take advantage of that…fast.”
“Chase!”
“Kidding,
baby, just kidding…now shut up and kiss me,” he said as he leaned in to get his kiss.
Things were
actually going smoothly both at home and the office. There had been no further contact from the Thomlin family, although Chase wasn’t convinced that was a good thing.
Brenda James called Sunny at the office one morning. “How was your holiday?”
“It was great, how about yours?”
“Good, we stayed home this year so it was quiet. You went to Florida, didn’t you?”
“Yes, we took everybody, mothers, staff, it was great.”
“Chase has always treated his staff well. That was one thing he and Brittney agreed on. I’m
sorry, I shouldn’t talk about her to you.”
“It’s
all right, Brenda. Chase and I have no secrets from each other. I know all about his marriage to Brittney. After all, she’s the mother of his two children.”
“And she was a good mother, I’ll give her that. Anyway, the reason I’m calling is to ask if you’d like to meet me for lunch today. I thought we could go to Spaghetti Works
. Have you been there?”
“No, I haven’t. We don’t go out to dinner often, we prefer to be with the kids
, and if we do go out it’s usually to one of our restaurants. I’d love to meet you there. One o’clock all right or is that too late?”
“One is fine. I’ll see you then.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” She hung up and walked down the hallway to Chase’s office.
“Lisa, is he busy?” she asked the secretary.
“No, go on in. I believe he’s looking over the quarterly reports. He’ll probably welcome a distraction, Sunny.”
Sunny knocked and when
she was told to enter, she was greeted with a smile. “Hi, I’m glad it’s you. Come on in.”
“I won’t keep you
. I just wanted to let you know Brenda invited me to have lunch with her, so I’ll be leaving to meet her a little before one.”
“That’s great,
baby. I’m so glad you’re making friends. I know with the move, the marriage, the kids, and this place, there hasn’t been much time for that.”
“It
’ll be nice to have some girl time with someone nearer my age. Don’t get me wrong, Marty, Alma, and Alice are all wonderful, but it’ll be nice to have a friend like Brenda, too.”
“Have fun. Is George picking up the kids?”
“Yes, he’s on the schedule for today. We don’t have to worry about that.”
“Why don’t you take the whole afternoon off? You can go shopping
, or whatever you feel like doing, after lunch.”
“If you’re sure you won’t need me here…”
“I always need you, baby. But there’s nothing major going on today, except going over these reports, and a meeting with our accountant later. I can fill you in on the details later. You can look at the figures tomorrow. I’ll see you later.” He got up and walked around the desk to give her a kiss.
“I’ll see you at home.”
Brenda was waiting for her when she arrived at the restaurant. They were seated and had ordered when Sunny told her, “I’m so glad you called today, Brenda.”
“I
’ve been meaning to call you since the night we had dinner together, but with the holidays and all, I figured you were busy.”
“I have been
busy, but I could’ve made time for you.”
The two women shared an enjoyable lunch and enlightening conversation. They found they shared a lot of the same interests.
“I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” Brenda said as she sipped her Coke.
“So do I.
And since I haven’t had much time to meet new friends since moving to Des Moines, I’m thrilled.”
“We’ll get together again soon, I promise. And the four of us will have to have dinner again.”
“I’d like that and I know Chase would, too. He mentioned to me, Brittney didn’t socialize with his friends much.”
“No, she had her own set of friends. It was just a different type of relationship.”
“Yes, I know and I can’t understand it at all.”
“That’s because you
’re nothing like her. You’re warm and caring, Chase is lucky to have found you. He deserves a good relationship. He’s a gem in my book.”
“Yes, indeed
, he’s a gem.”
“I can tell you love him deeply.”
“Does it show?” Sunny asked in surprise.
“Only with every breath you take and every word you say.”
“Oh my, I didn’t realize I was so obvious.”
“It’s okay to be in love with your husband, Sunny.”
“He’s also my best friend, Brenda. We share everything.”
“Then it’s a marriage made in heaven and I’m happy for the both of you. I hate to cut this short
, but I have an appointment. I really need to get going.”
“I should go too. I’ll call you.”
“Do that. Give my love to Chase and the kids.”
“I will
. Please tell Jay I said hello.”
Sunny and her newfound friend walked out of the restaurant
, together, into the cold Iowa wind. Waving goodbye, Sunny walked to her car. Once inside, she decided to go home. She preferred a walk to her bench instead of shopping. She hadn’t walked since they’d returned from Florida. Even though it was a cold January day, she felt she could go for just a short while.
She parked the car
in the driveway. Wrapping her scarf around her neck, she pulled the hood of her coat over her head, put on her gloves, and began the walk to the clearing in the woods. When she got to her bench, she sat and enjoyed the late January sunlight. Her thoughts went to her lunch with Brenda. Losing track of the time, she looked at her watch. Aloud she said, “I’d better get back to the house. No one knows I’m out here. A good hot cup of coffee, in front of the fire, sounds really good right now.” She pulled her coat tighter and began the walk back to the house.
***
*
When
Chase arrived home he found Lindy Thomlin waiting for him.
“Lindy, hello, what are you doing in Des Moines?”
“I flew in to speak to you about the offer you declined. It could be put back on the table,” she said in a confident tone.
“Come into my office.” He led her into the home office and closed the door. “Have a seat,” he said, offering her a chair.
“So you’re interested.”
“I didn’t say that, Lindy. Did your father send you to soften me up?”
“No, Daddy doesn’t know I’m here. I believe he may be giving up on acquiring your restaurants. He’s moved on to other things. I, on the other hand, will never give up, Chase.”
“My wife and I discussed it
, Lindy. Although it was a very generous offer, we’re determined to keep Li’l Taste of Heaven a family owned business. We plan to run it together.”
“I was sure the young little thing would like all those dollar signs. I heard she worked as a receptionist in a doctor’s office in Clinton
, before she met you.”
“She did, that’s true, but Sunny isn’t like that. The money meant nothing to her.”
“Perfect little Sunny.”
“Yes…s
he is perfect. She’s perfect for me, for my kids, and for my business. The day she came into my life was certainly my lucky day.”
Lindy cringed at his words.
“As a matter of fact, she’ll probably want to say hello to you. She had lunch with Brenda James today, but I’ll see if she’s back yet.”
“Hobnobbing with Brenda James, she didn’t waste any time getting into the Des Moines social circle now did she?”
“Brenda and Jay are good friends of mine, so it makes sense Brenda and Sunny would become friends, Lindy.
He called Alma on the intercom. “Alma, is Sunny back from her afternoon with Brenda? Have her come into my office for a minute, please.”
“Chase, her car is here but she’s not. I’m beginning to worry about her. It’s awfully cold outside. Do you think she walked to the woods? Poor thing is probably frozen.”
Chase’s face went ghostly white as he told her, “Have George meet me at the back door. We
’re going to look for her.”
“Is the little woman missing, Chase?” Lindy asked sarcastically
, when he rose from his chair.
“Lindy, this meeting is over. I’ll talk with you later.”
“Sure, Chase, I hope you find your missing wife. Maybe she’s meeting a secret lover.”
“Lindy, that’s not funny…it’s downright ridiculous. Now go
, please, so I can locate her.”
“Goodbye, Chase, happy hunting,” she said as she flounced out the door.
George was waiting for him when he reached the kitchen. He was holding a flashlight and a blanket. Alma handed a thermos of hot coffee to Chase. The two men headed for the woods.
“Sunny
!” Chase cupped his hands and yelled her name but there was no answer.
“Oh my God, over here, Chase
,” George yelled. He had found her crumpled on the ground, with what appeared to be a nasty bump on her head. Dried blood covered her forehead.
“Sunny, my sweet
, precious Sunny.” Chase cradled her in his arms.
George
immediately took out his cell and called 911. He asked them not to have the siren blaring. He didn’t want the children to hear it. “Don’t pick her up, Chase, wait for the paramedics to get here,” he barked, taking control of the situation.
George phoned Alma
, telling her not to let the kids see the ambulance. He also asked her to call Marty, Laura, and Alice.
The paramedics arrived momentarily and began administering to Sunny. “How long has she been unconscious?”
“We don’t know. She had lunch with a friend. She must have gone for a walk when she returned. There’s a clearing farther back in the woods where she likes to sit. I can’t imagine as cold as it is she could have been out here for long, though,” Chase told them sadly.
“We became worried when we noticed her car in the driveway
, but there was no sign of her,” George added.
They had given her oxygen, put a neck brace on her neck
, and lifted her onto a gurney.
“Can’t I ride with her?”
Chase asked.
“It would be better if you followed in your car.”
“I’ll drive you, Chase. I’ll stay with you until your mother arrives. Alma is calling her,” George said sadly.
“Thank you, George.” The two men hurriedly ran back to the house and got into the car. They followed the ambulance arriving at the hospital within minutes.
Sunny was taken to a cubicle in the ER. Chase was asked to wait until a doctor had examined her. He filled out the necessary paperwork and sat down in the waiting area. George handed him a cup of coffee. Marty flew into the room.
“Chase, my God, what happened?”
“She apparently tripped and fell in the woods when she was walking back to the house. She hit her head. Mom, she was bleeding and she’s not conscious.”
Marty
sat down next to her son. “Alma called Laura. She’s catching the next flight out. George will pick her up and bring her straight here. Just stay calm, Chase, we’ll see what the doctor has to say.”
“The kids…”
“The kids are fine. Alma’s with them. She kept them away from the windows. They don’t know anything about this yet.”
“I can’t lose her, Mom.” Chase began to cry, sobbing as his mother comforted him.
“Chase, don’t talk like that…nobody has said anything about losing Sunny. She’s a fighter. She’s young and she’s strong.”
“Call Brenda,” he told her in a broken voice.
“Brenda James?” she asked.
“They
’re friends, they had lunch earlier today. She might be able to give us an idea how long Sunny was in the woods. The paramedics wanted to know. I’m sure the doctor will, too.”
“I
’ll call her. Do you have her number?”
“It’s in my phone.” He handed his cell phone to her and she dialed the number.
Chase listened to Marty explain what had happened.