want you to come with me to talk privately with your father.”
Privately? “About what?” she asked, bewildered.
He glanced at her mangled bike. “About protection. For you.”
“For me?”
“You’re not safe. Someone may be out to kill you.”
Edward followed Rachel into her father’s study. Augustus Grant looked up quickly from his desk, and his body seemed to relax at the sight of her striding into the room with only a barely noticeable limp.
He navigated his wheelchair from behind the desk toward them.
“You don’t have to move, Dad—”
Augustus grasped her arm and pulled her down to embrace her tightly. It seemed to surprise her, from the start she gave and the pink in her cheeks. “I’m fine, Dad.”
“Well, what did you expect me to think when you call home talking about ‘riding your bike’ and ‘car’ and ‘accident’?”
The man had a point. If Edward had received that kind of phone call, he’d have expected Rachel to come home looking more battered than she did.
“Edward.” Augustus extended his hand to him. “Thank you for going out there for me.”
Augustus’s grip was still weak, but much firmer than it had been a few months ago. He seemed to be progressing steadily since the stroke.
“It was no trouble.”
Rachel rolled her father to the fireplace, and she and Edward settled into chairs. Augustus settled back and rested his hands at his stomach, his gray-blond hair catching the light from the open windows.
“Augustus, I wanted to run an idea by you to get your opinion.” And his permission, although Edward would find a way to go through with his plans even if Augustus protested.
“Dad, for the record, I don’t think Edward’s idea is necessary,” Rachel said.
The older man cocked his head in question.
“There are two things about the greenhouse break-in that bother me,” Edward said. “First, the man—or men, because I think there were at least two of them responsible, were professional enough to dismantle a very sophisticated security system. Second, they not only trashed the plants, I think they stole a handful of them. We’re a few short.”
Augustus frowned thoughtfully.
“And there’s no way the thief knew the computer belonged to Naomi and not Rachel. Rachel had been carrying it and it had been stolen from her.”
A deeper frown.
“Then the accident today—”
“You can’t assume it was deliberate,” Rachel interrupted. “This is Sonoma, with a winery on every corner. It’s entirely possible it was a car full of tourists who were imbibing a little too much.”
“This early in the morning? Most wineries don’t open until 10:00 a.m.”
Rachel opened her mouth, then closed it again. With her usual candor, she relented, “You’re right. I don’t think it was drunk tourists, either. But I also don’t think I need the kind of protection you’re suggesting.”
“Protection?” Augustus asked.
“All these things happening makes me think someone is after Rachel’s research…and maybe her life,” Edward said.
Augustus nodded. “Although I’m not sure why they tried to hurt her. All they have is a basil plant, not the scar-reduction cream itself or the formulation for it.”
A shadow crossed Rachel’s face, and Edward thought he could read her mind—Except that they might have the formulation, in which case they don’t need me.
“If they were only trying to injure me, not kill me, it would set back development enough for a rival company to release their own scar-reduction cream,” Rachel said.
“Regardless of whether they were trying to kill you or injure you, you need protection so they can’t do it again,” Edward said. He turned to Augustus. “I want to stick close to her for the next few days.”
“I think it’s unnecessary,” Rachel said. “I’m perfectly safe inside the spa. There are card-key locks on the doors, security cameras surrounding the perimeter of the building so no one can approach without being filmed and two security guards on duty at all times.”
“Which was why you were mugged right outside the back door?” Edward pointed out.
“I think the guards will be more aware and that won’t happen again.” But Rachel’s cheeks flushed and she looked away from him.
He wondered if the real reason she was putting up resistance was because she didn’t want to spend time with him. They’d been cool and polite to each other, but closer quarters might be too awkward. Nevertheless he had to do something to protect her, no matter if she didn’t want him to.
“What about driving to and from the spa?” Edward asked. “Half the time you drive separately from Naomi and your aunt Becca because you need to stay late to work.” He couldn’t help himself—his voice had an edge to it when he mentioned her work.
Augustus cleared his throat. “Rachel, would you leave the two of us alone?”
She looked stung as she stared at her father, but silently obeyed, closing the library door with a crisp snap.
The man pinned Edward with steely blue eyes. “You seem rather concerned for a man who only works with my daughter.”
So Rachel hadn’t told her family about how they’d been slowly growing closer—at least until he’d deliberately withdrawn from her. He didn’t blame her, but he also wasn’t going to apologize. He had never crossed the line between them.
Until today. He’d embraced her today because he hadn’t been able to help himself. “When Rachel and I were in high school, we didn’t hang out together, but we knew each other. And then a year ago, she hired me to grow her basil plants, and we’ve gotten closer as friends.” He couldn’t control the tic at his cheek as he spoke the word. “I simply can’t stand by and do nothing when I know a friend’s life could be in danger. Would you?”
Augustus eyed him steadily, then sighed. “I have to admit that having you drive Rachel, Naomi and Becca to and from the spa would ease my mind. You won’t need to stay with them all day because the spa has security, but if you could be with Rachel outside the building, I would be in your debt.”
“I’d also like to ride out with her every morning so she’s never alone again while biking.”
Augustus’s eyebrows rose. “She’s not going to like that.”
“True, but she’s a scientist. She’ll eventually see the logic behind it.”
But Edward wondered if it was really logic that made him want to spend this extra time with Rachel. Why did the prospect of starting his day with a bike ride with her suddenly make his days seem brighter?
THREE
“I think that car is following us.”
Rachel didn’t know if it was her paranoia, but it did seem that the blue car was tailing them. Every turn on the winding Sonoma roads would hide the car briefly, but then it would appear around the next bend.
Granted, these roads saw lots of traffic because there were dozens of wineries along it, almost all of them open for wine tasting to tourists. The Joy Luck Life spa itself sat in the middle of rolling hills covered with grapevines, neighbored by wineries with sometimes hundreds of visitors a day, especially in summer.
But somehow this car seemed almost sinister. Or maybe she was just being fanciful—her