Free Made For Another (Caroline Dawson Series - Book 1) by Alesha Cary

this chocolate." The dyed-red haired woman interrupted her thoughts.
    "Sure," Sarah told her, standing up and taking the items to the counter. "Looks like you have a new baby in the family."
    "Yes, my niece and her husband. Actually, it's twins!" The woman gushed. "And they have my red hair!!"
    Sarah smiled but held in her chuckle.
    ~ # ~
    The week had gone by quickly, but Sarah was getting more and more anxious to see Bradley again. Now that she knew he liked her, and now that he had passed the Aunt Carrie test, she couldn't wait to get to know him better. Besides, that kiss at the car had been just too electric to ignore.
    It was everything Sarah could do to wait patiently over the weekend. She kept hoping that she would hear from Bradley - that he was back in town early. She hadn't thought to give him her cell phone number, but she was listed in the phone book, so she kept hoping he would call.
    She had gone to the police station on Monday to finish giving her statement, and other than making her all emotional again, that had been pretty easy. Chief Caldwell hadn't been available, so she'd spoken to Carl, one of the officers on duty.  He'd been matter of fact, and she was glad to have gotten that out of the way.
    And, that was the most exciting thing that happened to her all week.
    She'd spent the rest of the time attempting to keep busy by doing laundry, organizing her books and sorting through old magazines that she had been collecting. It was the start of the new semester, so her classes weren't very demanding. She had finished her assignments Friday night, and it was getting hard to find something to distract her. 
    The weather was cooperating, so she took a long walk along the beach on Sunday afternoon. By Sunday night however, she was really anxious. She hoped Bradley would be back at work the next morning. It was hard for her to think about anything else.
    On Monday morning Sarah showed up early for work. She was on pins and needles, anticipating what she was going to say when she saw Bradley, and excited about being with him again. 
    By midmorning she was disappointed. She realized she'd have already run into him if she was going to see him that day. Maybe she'd misunderstood, or perhaps his parents had needed his help, requiring him to stay longer than he'd anticipated.
    She would just have to be patient.  After all, he hadn't said it would be exactly a week.
    Sarah hoped there hadn't been a problem with his folks. She knew how fragile parents could become as they got older. Even when they looked like the pillar of health. Her mom had only been in her late 40s when the cancer struck her down.
    Mom was lucky to have good insurance (and to have Sarah to help her), but not everyone was in the same situation. 
    She mentally berated herself for not making sure she had given Bradley her number before he left - and for not making sure she had his.
    ~ # ~
    By Wednesday Sarah couldn't stand it any longer.  She needed to find out why Bradley wasn't at work. She hoped nothing had happened to him - or to his family - but she was starting to get worried and even a little depressed about not hearing from him. Without his phone number, there was no way to reach him.
    "Clara, have you heard anything about Bradley? Like why he isn't here at work? I know he was on vacation, but wasn't he supposed to be back already?"
    Clara looked at her sympathetically, "Sarah, I really couldn't tell you anything, even if I wanted to, and even if I knew anything."
    "I know, Clara, I'm sorry. I don't want to put you on the spot, but I'm starting to get worried about him."
    "Honey, why don't you go talk to Personnel. They'd be the ones who could tell you anything."
    It was after lunch when Sarah couldn't stand it any longer - she was starting to imagine all kinds of strange and bizarre scenarios  -  so she headed downstairs to Personnel.
    Florence was standing at the counter with a stack of papers next to her, filling out some forms.
    "Hi,