Bachelor Protector

Driven to defend a woman who won’t let him!

Poppy Gold Inns should be the perfect place to relax, except architect Tyler Prentiss doesn’t do slow. He’s juggling his work long-distance while looking after his brother, a wounded soldier battling PTSD. And he’s figuring out how to make nice with Sarah Fullerton, his mother’s new boss. Helping the stubborn, sexy baker remodel her kitchens is a step in the right direction, he figures. And when someone begins harassing Sarah, he wants to do more, but the independent woman won’t let him. Tyler knows all about needing space. She’s in danger, and so is he...of finally opening his heart.

“Do you still want to go for a drive?” Tyler asked.

“Not tonight.”

“Then how about me coming over tomorrow or the next day and looking at those blueprints?”

“Sure.” Sarah walked him to the door and was almost afraid to look out in case another gift bag had been left, which was absurd because the police had only departed a few minutes earlier. “Good night, Tyler.”

He hesitated, staring at her mouth.

Sarah gave it a brief moment of thought before rising on her toes and planting a thorough kiss on his lips. After all, there was no point in being coy, and it would be a much better ending to the evening than a creepy gift.

His arms went around her and he deepened the kiss. Every inch of her skin burned and the response from his body was unmistakable.

Dear Reader,

It probably isn’t a surprise that I enjoy writing about large families. (Was that a big “duh” I just heard?) Sarah Fullerton enjoys her many relatives in my third Poppy Gold story. She is open and loving, despite a bad marriage, and very busy running her dream business. I’ve paired Sarah with Tyler Prentiss, a man who struggles to be close to anyone, much less his own small family. Tyler has several concerns, including a grieving mother and a brother recovering from serious military-related injuries, but he can’t restrain his protective instincts when Sarah is threatened.

I hope to write more Poppy Gold stories in the future, as well as revisit the Hollister family from my series Those Hollister Boys. Lots of stories, just never enough time to tell them all!

Classic Movie Alert: share a smile with me by watching Bringing Up Baby, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. Cary is a paleontologist whose life is turned upside down by a madcap heiress and a leopard.

Please check out my Facebook page at Facebook.com/julianna.morris.author. Readers can also contact me at c/o Harlequin Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON M3B 3K9, Canada.

Julianna Morris

Bachelor Protector

Julianna Morris

www.millsandboon.co.uk

JULIANNA MORRIS isn’t crazy about housework, but she enjoys home canning because it connects her to the farming and pioneering roots of her ancestors. Of course, this conflicts with everything else she enjoys, including hiking, traveling, reading, painting and photography. But the way Julianna sees it, she’d rather have too much to do than too little. One thing is sure—she’ll never be bored!

In loving memory of Burt and Emily

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Extract

Copyright

PROLOGUE

SARAH FULLERTON PRESSED a finger to her forehead, trying to concentrate.

In the past four years, she’d gone from running a small sweet shop with two employees to overseeing a bakery and catering business with more than twenty employees. The front of the shop looked the same as before, but the operation behind it had become a monster.

A loud clatter out in the main kitchen made her jump.

“Sorry about that,” called Gabby Michaelson, one of the shift supervisors. “Just dropped some pans. No harm done.”

Except to my nerves, Sarah thought, pushing the order forms away. She’d hoped to finish her office work during regular hours, but it would have to wait.

Lately she’d begun to daydream about getting a full night’s sleep. While the business was booming, it was partly due to nepotism. The nearby Poppy Gold Bed and Breakfast Inns was owned by relatives, and they’d contracted with her to provide all the food needed at the facility. Now their kitchens were quiet most of the time and hers were insane.

Granted, things were crazier than normal right now because her aunt, who’d been helping to manage the shop, had recently broken her leg. It would get better when Aunt Babs came back. If she came back. She’d asked Sarah to look for a permanent replacement for her, but it wasn’t easy finding an experienced office manager in Glimmer Creek.

“Sarah, can you help Aurelia?” Gabby called. “With David out, she’s swamped. A bunch of customers just came in, and we’re filling éclairs for that special order.”

With a tired sigh, Sarah got up and went out front, a babble of voices greeting her from the waiting area.

Sarah’s Sweet Treats was on the edge of the Glimmer Creek historic district and the tour buses parked nearby, so they got groups coming and going. She usually had two employees at the counter, but David had called in sick and Aurelia was trying to handle everything herself.

“I’m sure you’ll love the fudge,” said a familiar voice. Sarah’s eyes widened—it was Rosemary Prentiss, a Poppy Gold Inns guest she’d talked with several times. “The cappuccino flavor is my favorite,” Rosemary continued. “I also love the banana muffins. They’re wonderfully moist and have chunks of dried apricot.”

“Those sound delicious, too. I’ll take four.”

Rosemary had been visiting the sweet shop for the past several days, sitting and drinking tea for extended periods. Now she was behind the display counters, boxing a selection of fudge and muffins. She handed the containers to Aurelia to ring up at the cash register and cheerfully greeted the next customers in line.

Once again she efficiently filled the order, her enticing descriptions of the baked goods convincing the older couple to order a dozen peanut butter cookies, a caramel apple pie and a pan of bread pudding.

Sarah shook off her surprise and stepped forward. “I can take over, Rosemary, but thanks for helping,” she said. “It’s awfully nice of you.”

Rosemary smiled. “I don’t mind staying. We’re doing fine. Aurelia is handling the cash register, and I can manage the rest. I’m sure you have other work to do.”

Aurelia Fullerton, one of Sarah’s many cousins, nodded fervently. “She’s a whiz, Sarah. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Uh, okay.”

Nonplussed, Sarah watched for another minute. Rosemary had explained she was staying at Poppy Gold with her youngest son, an Army captain who was recovering from a bomb blast in the Middle East. To give him time alone, she’d been exploring Glimmer Creek.

“Shoo, we’ve got everything under control,” Rosemary ordered, looking happier than Sarah had yet seen her. She’d seemed sad and lonely sitting at a corner table for hours, reading and drinking tea. When Sarah had said hello the first time, Rosemary had even anxiously asked if she was in the way.

Sarah gratefully retreated, thinking she would give Rosemary a gift certificate or selection of baked goods as a thank-you.

Sarah’s Sweet Treats had been a lot more fun before it expanded; Sarah wanted to be a baker, not a businesswoman, but she couldn’t let her cousin down—Tessa was the owner-manager of Poppy Gold Inns and had wanted to outsource their food needs. And the contract had helped pay off the debts from opening the shop.

Sarah was even starting to save for a rainy day. Sooner or later her frantic schedule would sort itself out, and she’d have more time for the things she loved.

In the smaller secondary kitchen, she began a batch of fudge. She had a swing-shift employee who made candy, but the fudge was a huge seller and they could always use more. Once she got a few of the standard batches made, she might experiment with a new flavor—chocolate, cinnamon and cayenne. Unique recipes were her specialty.

The familiar task was more soothing than office work, and soon she had several pans cooling on the candy rack, including her latest experiment. The challenge was making it zippy enough to wake up the taste buds but not too spicy.

Periodically she went out to check on Rosemary and Aurelia. Sales had remained brisk and she expected to find empty spaces in the display cases, but Rosemary had found time to restock them from the supplies in the back.

“Maybe I should put you on the payroll,” Sarah joked in a rare lull between customers.

“I’ve noticed your Help Wanted sign in the window. How about hiring me?” Rosemary asked, surprising Sarah. Rosemary dressed chicly and wore expensive jewelry. On top of that, Poppy Gold wasn’t cheap; this couldn’t be a woman who needed a job.

“What about your son?”

“He says he mostly needs peace and quiet and that I drive him crazy when I hover. So I could work afternoons to start and add mornings when he’s better.”

“I...sure,” Sarah said. “If you’re serious, I’ll get an application.”

Rosemary suddenly looked uneasy. “I’m quite serious. But I’ve never had a job, so I don’t have any references. I’ve managed numerous fund-raisers though, and I can give you names of people involved with them. I’m sure they’d vouch for me.”

“That’s fine. I mostly need to do a standard background check.”

Sarah went to get the application, unsure if she was batty or desperate. But Rosemary had already shown she was capable, and Sarah believed in listening to her instincts. The one time she hadn’t, she’d ended up married to a guy with the conscience of a snake.

As a matter of fact, her ex made snakes look good.

CHAPTER ONE

TYLER PRENTISS WAS frustrated and worried.

His red-eye flight had been delayed coming into the Sacramento International Airport, and then the car rental company had lost his reservation. It took an hour before he was finally able to get a vehicle and head for the small town of Glimmer Creek.

He’d never visited California’s Gold Country and wouldn’t be going now if his mom and brother hadn’t lost their minds. The thought made Tyler wince. It was closer to the truth than he liked.

Rosemary Prentiss had almost suffered a breakdown after his father’s death a few months earlier, and now Tyler’s younger brother, Nathan, was struggling to recover from post-traumatic stress and injuries received while serving overseas.

The employee at the Poppy Gold Inns reservation desk directed him to the John Muir Cottage where his family was staying in the Yosemite suite. Nathan was sitting in a comfortable chair in the back garden, and Tyler’s gut tightened. It had been a month since they’d seen each other, but his brother’s face seemed as gaunt as before.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Nathan returned tonelessly.

“I was able to come home a few days early and went to the rehab center for a visit, only to learn you’d checked out. You didn’t mention it when I called.”

“I knew you’d do the big brother thing and try to stop me.”

“Yes, if you weren’t ready,” Tyler couldn’t keep from retorting. “I happen to know your doctor didn’t want you to leave. One of the patients at the center told me.”

Nathan made a rude gesture, which was completely out of character for him. “Screw doctors, I’m sick of ’em. When I said I was checking out of rehab no matter what, Mom got a referral or something to come here.”

Tyler looked around. “Where is Mom?”

“At a shop called Sarah’s Sweet Treats. I didn’t like her hanging over me, so she got a job there. Now she’s gone most of the day, except when she brings something for lunch and checks in on her breaks. It’s much calmer this way.”

A job?

Tyler stared. His mother had never worked in her life, and it seemed unlikely she was in any condition to start now considering how shaky she’d been when he’d left for Italy just a few weeks earlier. Lately she’d seemed a little better when he’d phoned, but still anxious and uncertain.

The guilt he felt for even going on the business trip returned full force, but what else could he have done after postponing it twice? He’d designed a private museum in Rome, and his contract required him to spend a certain amount of time on-site. While the clients were sympathetic and had agreed to a shorter period, they’d run out of patience when he’d tried to delay his visit another time. Then he’d needed to leave for a few days in the middle to fly to Illinois for an emergency.

“All day?” Tyler repeated. “As in full time?”

“I guess. The first day she was just gone in the afternoon, and then she asked if I minded her staying away longer. I was all for it. I’m sick of people fussing at me.”

It was hard for Tyler to picture their mother being able to focus on anything, much less stick to an eight-hour workday. Rosemary Prentiss was a Washington, DC, socialite—a sweet woman with a short attention span, flitting from one cause to the next. She’d never even balanced her own checkbook or paid a bill, leaving everything to her husband.

When Tyler’s father had died, Rosemary had fallen apart. She’d been so unstable, her doctor had considered hospitalization. Then Nathan had gotten injured in Iraq. Needing to concentrate on her son’s recuperation had forced her to set aside her grief for a while, but it didn’t mean she’d fully recovered, any more than Nathan had.

“I’ll go check on her,” Tyler said.

Nathan shrugged. “Are you staying?”

“If I can get a room.”

“No problem. There are two extra bedrooms in the suite. Mom asked for the largest space available, thinking it would be quieter. That’s one of the problems with the hospital and rehab center—it’s never really quiet.” Nathan put his head back and closed his eyes.

More concerned and frustrated than ever, Tyler looked up Sarah’s Sweet Treats on his phone and followed the directions. It occurred to him that he ought to think it through first, but instead he marched inside.

“I need to speak with Rosemary Prentiss,” he told the woman at the counter.

“Rosemary isn’t available right now.”

“She works here, doesn’t she?” The question came out harsher than he’d intended.

“Uh, yeah. Let me get the owner.”

She hurried into the back, and a minute later another woman appeared. There was a smudge of white on her right temple, and she was wiping her hands on a towel.

Tyler assessed her quickly. Young, probably no more than thirty. Beautiful. Pale blond hair in a French braid. Striking green eyes. She also had an enticing figure, discernible despite the spotless chef’s apron wrapped around her.

“Hello, I’m Sarah Fullerton. I own Sarah’s Sweet Treats. Can I help you?”

Tyler pushed his physical response to her aside.

“My name is Tyler Prentiss. I want to know what you were thinking, hiring a woman as fragile as my mother to work for you?”

* * *

SARAH BLINKED.

Rosemary...fragile?

Were they talking about the same person?

Over the past two weeks, Rosemary had saved her sanity. The woman was an organizational marvel, with a quiet way of stepping in wherever needed. While she hadn’t been paid to work before, she’d spent most of her adult life running massive charity events, blood donor drives and church bazaars. Apparently marshaling volunteers into line was excellent training for managing the chaos of a bakery-restaurant and catering business.

“I’m sorry, but my employees aren’t your concern,” Sarah replied carefully.

“They are if my mother is one of them. There are safety issues to consider, along with everything else. I don’t want her exhausting herself in a hot, crowded kitchen.”

Sarah glanced at Aurelia who was watching wide-eyed. Other customers also appeared to be watching with varying levels of interest.

“Let’s step outside,” Sarah said in a tight tone. She didn’t appreciate scenes, particularly in front of her patrons.

“Just tell me where my mother is and we’ll both get out of here.”

His arrogance took Sara’s breath away. “What are you going to do, issue an order and expect Rosemary to follow it?”

“I’m going to reason with her. You can’t possibly understand the situation.”

“I understand you’re a chauvinistic jackass—how’s that for a start?” she shot back, quickly losing the battle to control her temper. Rosemary had talked often about her son the architect, but she hadn’t mentioned he was utterly impossible.

“Sarah certainly has figured you out, my darling,” said Rosemary. She’d returned from a visit to the office supply store and was glaring at her son. Sarah was reminded of her iron-willed grandmother who’d helped raise her. Yet Rosemary’s expression softened when she gestured to the red scar at her son’s hairline.

“What happened? You didn’t tell me you’d had an accident.”

He snorted. “You didn’t say anything about coming to California, either. We’ve talked every day since I left, and the subject never came up?”

Rosemary turned pink. “I knew you were busy and didn’t want to distract you. How did you get hurt?”

“It isn’t important. I’m fine.” He lowered his voice. “Look, you have to realize your doctor wouldn’t approve of you working. And I know that Nathan checked out of rehab against medical advice. So let’s go back to the suite and pack your things. We can leave in the morning.”

Rosemary shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere, and I’m sure Nathan wants to stay, too. Besides, I have a job now. Responsibilities.”

“You aren’t strong enough to hold any sort of job, much less do the kind of labor this place must require.”

“What do you think I’m doing here, scrubbing floors with a rag and toting hundred-pound sacks of flour?”

“It doesn’t matter. Nathan needs to go back in rehab. That’s where he belongs, and I’m sure you want to be near him.”

“He wasn’t getting better in that place and wanted to leave.”

Sarah bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. The men in her family could be opinionated and old-fashioned, but Rosemary’s son made them look like models of modern thinking by comparison. Of course...Tyler Prentiss might have a point if his brother wasn’t following medical orders, but he wasn’t going to fix the situation by acting this way.

“Nathan needs professional care,” Tyler said. “I’ve got plane tickets for tomorrow. We’re going back to DC.”

Rosemary crossed her arms over her stomach. “Enjoy your flight.”

“I have tickets for all of us.”

Whoa.

Sarah had never seen someone actually talk between clenched teeth before, but Tyler Prentiss was doing a credible job of being rock-jawed and speaking at the same time. It was too bad to see so much striking masculine appeal wasted on a guy like him.

When she’d first seen him—before he’d opened his big mouth—she’d actually felt a flash of awareness. Tyler was tall and classically handsome, with a strong bone structure. Paired with his dark hair and cool brown eyes, she’d found him quite compelling...until he’d started talking.

Tyler turned and focused on her again. “Please understand, Ms. Fullerton, my mother’s doctor told her to avoid stress. She’s had a difficult time since my fath—”

“Richard Tyler Prentiss,” Rosemary interrupted. “This is my place of employment, so unless you’re going to buy some of the delicious goods we sell here, please leave.”

“Fine. We’ll talk later.” He stomped out the door with a grim expression.

As soon as he was gone, Rosemary began to deflate. “I’m sorry my son made a scene, Sarah. Tyler means well, and I’m sure he’ll regret this when he calms down. Please don’t fire me.”

“I don’t fire employees because their sons behave badly,” Sarah assured. “In fact, I’m promoting you to assistant manager. My aunt won’t mind. She’s been hoping I’d hire someone in her place. You can focus on the office, supplies and coordination the way you’ve been doing, and I’ll manage the kitchen.”

Rosemary beamed. “In that case, I’d better get busy.”

She hurried away and Sarah rolled her shoulders to relax them, but before she could return to her baking, Great-Uncle Milt arrived.

“I heard you had a disruptive customer and came to help,” he announced.

“Thanks, but everything has been resolved.” Sarah had to rise on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. He was extremely tall, with a shock of thick white hair and a pair of youthful blue eyes. Folks in Glimmer Creek referred to him as the Big Kid, though as Glimmer Creek’s recently retired police chief, he could be stern about the law. Not that he was completely retired. The town had given Great-Uncle Milt the title of Police Chief Emeritus at his retirement ceremony.

“What happened?”

She tugged him out to the front sidewalk and explained, not wanting Rosemary to hear the comments being made about her eldest son.

“I’ll check into this fellow,” Great-Uncle Milt declared when she finished, his eyebrows drawn together.

“It’s fine. I’m sure he won’t be a problem,” Sarah said, though she was still annoyed that Tyler Prentiss had tried to interfere. She’d like to give him a sharp kick in the rear.

“Nevertheless, I’ll talk to the new police chief about it,” Great-Uncle Milt insisted. “I won’t have some stranger upsetting things around here.”

“If it makes you feel better,” Sarah said, yet the corners of her mouth twitched. The “new” police chief was Zach Williams...Great-Uncle Milt’s grandson. Zach was her second cousin, though in Glimmer Creek family was family. Period. And in-laws were relatives the same as anybody else. Great-Uncle Milt just didn’t like emphasizing the connection in case folks thought his grandson had gotten the job because of the relationship.

Yet Sarah’s humor faded as she thought about her cousin’s wife. Gina had died from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. Zach had never been the same.

It was worse to bury a spouse than get divorced, but at least he remembered his wife with love, instead of the loathing Sarah felt for Douglas.

* * *

TYLER PACED THE GARDEN around the John Muir Cottage until his brother barked at him to go away. Inside the large Victorian farmhouse, he couldn’t find an informational booklet, so he called the Poppy Gold registration desk to get the Wi-Fi password. He had to do something while waiting for his mother to return.