Home sweet home. I took a breath of the fresh air streaming through my open sliding glass door and sighed. Moving to MacKellar Cove over a year ago was a risk, but it felt like home. My condo felt like home. And I really couldn’t imagine leaving and going anywhere else.
Especially for a guy.
I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t help it. My friend, Karissa, made a dating app. Since I was definitely single, I signed up. I’d met a few decent guys, but none were really right for me. But the latest one…he seemed perfect. Until he admitted he lived almost two hours away.
Not happening.
He thought since I grew up in Syracuse I would just turn my life around for him because I lived there already and it was easy for me to go back.
Ha! He didn’t know me.
I looked around my messy apartment and shook my head. Not even Officer James Rucker managed to run me out of town yet. If he hadn’t gotten me to leave, neither was a man I’d never actually met. No matter how great he was through the app.
I buried myself in work over the next few hours, letting the rhythm of stringing beads for a long necklace distract me from everything else.
I lost track of time and nearly dropped the piece I was working on when someone knocked on my door. I finished what I was doing and hurried to answer it.
Karissa Thomas hugged me and breathed a sigh of relief when I let her in. I shared a birthday with her mom, the woman who convinced me to take a chance and move to MacKellar Cove in the first place. Ms. Georgia died before I made the move, but Karissa and the rest of her group of friends welcomed me in and made me feel like I was always a part of them.
“Hey,” Karissa said after a second. She was on her phone, which meant she was returning emails or answering questions or doing something for her business. She was a powerhouse and a woman who feared nothing.
“Hey,” I answered, surprised it was already lunchtime. “Sorry. I didn’t realize what time it was.”
Karissa waved a hand. “I never know what time it is. If I didn’t set alarms for everything, I’d never leave the computer. My mom always said I would die of starvation right there in front of the screen if I didn’t set reminders to stop for food once in a while.”
“What are you working on now?” I asked, moving into my kitchen. All the condos were set up in a similar way with the kitchen near the front door. A breakfast bar divided it from the dining space and the living room. To the side were two bedrooms with a large shared bathroom in between, complete with a laundry closet in the bathroom. Karissa and Finley lived downstairs from me, so their condo was the same except the living space on the right instead of the left.
“Actually,” Karissa said, pausing until I looked at her, “I’ve been developing an app for you.”
“What? Why?”
Karissa shrugged and handed me her phone. “I wanted to show you what I could do. I figured part of your hesitation was not knowing what it would look like, but if I went ahead and created it, then you could get a feel for it.”
I took the phone and my mouth fell open. It was stunning. Classy and elegant but simple. I didn’t know it could be all that. “Karissa, this is too much. I mean, I don’t know if I can pay you what you probably should have charged me for this.”
Karissa waved her hand. “Don’t think about that right now. I had fun with it. Book Boyfriends Wanted was my baby for so long, but now that it’s out there, I needed a new passion project. This was exciting and different for me. And honestly, it was crazy simple by comparison.”
I scrolled through the pages she had set up and found one after another examples of my work. She obviously pulled them from my website, but the way she displayed each page was perfect. You could search by style or color or what the item was, and on each item page, she added other selections that would coordinate.
“Wow. I love it.”
“Good. Then we can activate it and put a link on your website.”
I stared at the screen another minute then finally handed over her phone. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”
“For what? An app?”
I sighed and searched for the words that would explain what I meant. “It feels like a lot more than just an app. It feels like I’m pushing things to a new level. I love what I do, but it’s hard to explain.”
“You want more?” Karissa supplied.
I chewed on my lip and nodded. “I do. I want to give back in some way. I’ve been making videos of how to do certain things that beginners could do.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I learned how to do all this from my grandma, but if she hadn’t been around to help me learn, I would have ended up doing something else. I want to give other women a chance to learn something like this and maybe change their lives a little.”
“Wow. That’s awesome. It makes me feel totally selfish for wanting to develop an app so I have enough money for a double mastectomy.”
“What?” I asked her, my eyes automatically dropping to her chest. “Why?”
Karissa shrugged and for the first time looked less than sure of herself. “My mom died of breast cancer. She caught it really late. I have the gene, which means I have a good chance I’ll develop the same. But if I get a double mastectomy, my chances are dramatically less. It could save my life.”
“Oh, wow, Rissa. I had no idea you were thinking about all that.”
She nodded. “I’ve been trying to decide what to do for a while. I think I’ve finally decided I want to do it.”
“Insurance won’t cover it?”
“I have private insurance since I’m self-employed. They don’t cover the whole thing.”
“Wow,” I said again, at a loss. “I think we need a drink.”
Karissa laughed. “A toast to my boobs.”
I snorted a laugh. “To your boobs.” I poured us glasses of wine and grabbed the salad and sandwiches I made for our lunch. We toasted and dished out lunch and sat on the balcony overlooking the cove.
“I’ll make you a deal,” Karissa said, turning to me.
“What deal?”
“If you give the app a chance, I’ll help you get your videos loaded and create a page on the app for them.”
“How is that a deal?” I asked.
Karissa shrugged. “It’ll help me to focus on something other than cutting off a part of my body.”
I reached over and grabbed her hand. “Fine. Since you need the distraction.”
Karissa grinned. “Good. Now, tell me all about the guy who hit on you last night and James coming to your rescue.”
I groaned and shook my head. Life in a small town.
I wasn’t sure if I was ready to talk to a new guy, but after spending the afternoon with Karissa, I decided to see if I had any new matches. There were things I liked about Karissa’s app, but it was intimidating to say yes or no to someone when you had no clue what they looked like.
That was the whole point of it, but it was something I was still getting used to. I hated to think of myself as being shallow, but the reality was, I was a little. I’d been judged enough by men for my top-heavy, hourglass figure, but I still judged a man by his appearance. I was no better than them.
I found a new match. His profile was funny, and his pic was a lobster, which made me laugh. I liked a guy with a sense of humor. It was one of the many things missing in my last relationship.
I took the plunge before I thought twice about it and sent the guy a message asking where he lived. Best to get that out of the way off the bat.
I laughed and shook my head.
I sighed.
It wasn’t the kind of talk that lit a fire in me, but I didn’t need fire off the bat. He was nice and flirty, but not the creepy kind of flirty where you felt like you needed to shower.
I made my plans for the next day and laid out the supplies I would need so I could jump into the video I wanted to shoot. I was starting to really enjoy doing something new and different but still creating beautiful pieces.
By the time the sun was drifting low over the river, I wanted to get outside. I tried to force myself to go for a walk at least once every day, even if the walk was just up the street for food.
The smell of the river and the fresh air outside sent me straight to the Riverwalk on the back side of my condo. The path led from just past my building along the cove to Catherine Park in the center of town and then beyond to the north side. It was peaceful. Benches were spaced along the walking path for people who wanted to sit and relax, but the wide path was easy for just about anyone to walk.
My phone buzzed in my purse, and I stopped to check the message. I smiled when I saw a picture from my grandma of a new bracelet she made. I told her about working with resin and she wanted to try it out. It was getting harder for her to hold beads in her hands, but the resin was less of a challenge for her.
Looks great. You’re already a pro.
I hit send and was about to slip my phone back into my purse when it tugged on my arm.
Then harder, a yank. I felt like I was operating in slow motion. I grabbed the bag, but there was a man holding onto the strap.
“That’s mine. What the hell?”
“Give it to me,” he growled. His voice was deep but sounded young. I could see a little bit of his face but not much with his hoodie pulled low. We were between street lights, which made it even harder to make out any of his features.
He pulled again, harder. I tugged back, not ready to let go of my stuff. I had my phone in my hand, but my purse had everything else. My keys, my wallet, my favorite pair of sunglasses.
He wrapped the strap around his hand and yanked my purse away from me. Since I was pulling back, I smacked myself in the face when I let go. I fell to the ground, landing hard on the pavers. A jolt of pain burst through me.
The guy ran away. His fast steps echoed off the buildings around me as he disappeared into the night.
It took me a minute to process what just happened. Someone walked by and asked if I was okay. I shook my head.
“Can I help you?” the man asked.
I recoiled. He was another stranger. Someone I didn’t know. Was he going to kick me while I was down?
“How about I go get someone?” he asked, understanding my fear. “Did you see who did this?”
“I…”
“I’ll go get someone,” he said, turning to walk away.
“No,” I said firmly. “I’m okay. Thank you.”
I struggled to stand but managed to get up on my own. My face hurt and my hip was sore, but otherwise I was fairly sure I was okay. Or I would be. Eventually.
I thought about going back home, but I had no way to get into my apartment. Tears built behind my eyes as fear sank in. The person who took my purse had my address from my license and keys to my home. I couldn’t go back home. I had nowhere to go.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” the man asked.
I’d forgotten he was there. I had to get off the Riverwalk. I needed to figure out what I was going to do. My entire body trembled with fear and adrenaline. I finally nodded at the man and told myself the same thing I said before I called the police when my mother was abused by her ex.
I was not weak. I was strong. And I was smart. I did all the things you should do. He caught me off guard.
Thankfully, I was close to O’Kelley’s and Hudson was there. He took one look at me when I walked in the door and ushered me back to his office. He stood guard while I used his private bathroom.
I finally worked up the nerve to check out my reflection in the mirror. Better than I expected. My hair had something in it, and my lip was bleeding and already starting to bruise. All of it could be fixed. Later. I knew the drill.
I heard murmured voices outside the door and knew the cops were there. Hudson asked before I went in if I wanted him to call. I hated the thought, but I was not going to let that guy get away with it.
I flushed the toilet and debated not washing my hands in case there was evidence on them, but that was going too far. I didn’t touch the man who stole my purse. I washed them and snarled at the substance in my hair. It was going to be a pain to wash it out. I’d just washed my hair that morning, but I needed to do it again when I got home.
I took a breath and told myself I was strong. The cop was there to help. I didn’t do anything wrong. I could tell him what happened and then go on my way.
I opened the door and the voices stopped. Hudson was right there in front of me. I’d never seen him look so concerned. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “I’m fine. Shaken up, but I’ll survive.”
“Good,” the other man said. “Then maybe you can explain to me what the hell you were thinking?”
Officer James Rucker. The bane of my existence. He’d been a thorn in my side for a year, and the look on his face said he wasn’t done.
He also wasn’t in uniform, which made me wonder why he was there at all.
“I thought you were going to call the cops,” I said to Hudson with a growl.
“I am the cops,” James replied. “I was on my way here and heard the call. I’m a cop, which you know.”
I gave him my sweetest smile and said, “Well, if you’re not on duty, then why don’t you go on about your night and I can talk to someone who isn’t going to immediately assume I’m a criminal.”
He growled and took a breath. I glared at him, waiting for him to give in. Then he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
“Officer Rucker, badge number 2857. I’m at O’Kelley’s with the call that just came in. Will you send Hughes out here?” He paused. “Yeah. Okay, thanks.”
He hung up the phone and looked at me. “A female officer is on the way. You can speak to her and tell her everything that happened. Until she gets here, I’d like to ask you a few questions, if that’s okay.”
“I don’t need to talk to a female cop. The guy yanked my purse off my shoulder and…” I broke off, emotion and fear mingling inside me. I stared up at the ceiling and tried to stop the tears that I knew were coming.
The office door opened and closed, and when I looked, James and I were alone.
“Trinity, I’m sorry this happened to you. I should have started with are you okay?”
That did it. That was all he had to say, and I lost it. I crumbled. I sank to the floor where I stood and put my head in my hands. Tears poured down my face. Fear overwhelmed me.
Then he sat down next to me and held me while I cried.
