Page 33 of Lakehouse Mistletoe
The day was dark and overcast and wasn’t going to get any brighter.
By nine a.m., she’d finished rolling out the dough for the Christmas morning cinnamon rolls and baked a fresh batch of shortbread. Pulling out the rolling pin, she began rolling out the dough she’d made for the lemon meringue pie she was making tomorrow.
“Busy already?”
Helen stiffened at the sound of Mr. Sykes’s voice. She slowly looked up. He leaned in the doorway with his arms crossed over his barrel chest. A smirk tugged at his mouth.
His gaze traveled over the kitchen as though he owned the place. When he finally looked back at her, she felt a barb of unease at the base of her neck.
“Meals don’t make themselves,” she said and picked up the rolling pin to continue rolling out the dough. Maybe if she ignored him, he would get the hint and go away.
That’s all she wanted. She wanted him to go away.
He took a step closer. “It’s a shame how you went from being a suburban housewife to working like a servant at a bed and breakfast.”
Helen jerked her head up at him. “How did you know that?”
He sneered. “Maybe if Carl had taken care of his debts, like a real man, you wouldn’t be in this mess.”
Her heart thudded in her chest like a drum. It was so loud she was sure he could hear it.
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she let it out and then spoke. “How do you know Carl?”
He lost his smirk. His expression became hard. “Carl owes money. A lot of money. I’m not as forgiving as others are. I’ve come for my payment with interest. When I talked to Carl, he told me you’d be good for what he owes me. Said you’d bail him out.”
Helen’s stomach twisted. “Carl was wrong—and he’s a liar. I don’t owe you—or anyone else—a dime.”
Darkness seeped into his eyes. He stepped closer. “You think you can just say no? No one says no to me. His debt is your debt. Either you pay, or you’ll wish you had.”
Her pulse thundered, but she straightened, meeting his stare without flinching. All the anger she had tried to bury deep inside bubbled to the top like a volcano. “I’ve lived under lies long enough. No more. I don’t have money to pay you and, even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you.”
Everything else happened quickly. Sykes lunged and Helen acted on instinct. Her fingers tightened around the rolling pin. She swung it toward him with all her strength.
The rolling pin connected to his head with a sickening thud. Sykes staggered, and looked at her, stunned. He collapsed on the floor.
Helen blinked. She eased over to him and glanced down, with her rolling pin still raised in the air. Her whole body was trembling.
For the first time in years, she had held her boundaries and met fear head on.
The back door swung open, and Oliver stepped in. His gaze went from Helen to the unconscious man sprawled on the floor.
“Helen?” He crossed the room in two strides.
Her grip on the rolling pin loosened. “He came for my ex-husband’s debts. Said I was going to pay them. He threatened me.”
He held her gaze, came to her side, and encircled her shoulders with his arm. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Yes, But he’s not.”
He pulled his phone from his coat pocket. “You did the right thing. I’ll call the police.”
She finally set the rolling pin down on the counter, her breath hitching in relief as Oliver’s presence filled the kitchen. The storm raged outside, but, inside, for the first time in what felt like years, Helen felt safe.
Chapter 30
The blue and red lights flashed against the white snow drifts around the Laurel Cove Bed and Breakfast.
Helen glanced out the window as the EMTs stuffed Sykes into the back of the ambulance that had been called. The police were filling out reports and taking items out of the room Sykes had been staying in for evidence.
