“Of course they love her baking,” Liz said. “She’s amazing. Maybe you can convince her to open up a bakery. I think I can speak for everyone in town when I say there is no way I’m waiting another month to get my sugar fix from these.” She shoved the last bite of a cookie into her mouth.
“That’s a good idea. I was just talking to Tom about them opening a coffee place. He’s signed a lease on the old gas station building across the street.” He motioned to an old fifties-style gas station that had at one time been converted to a historical diner. A few years ago, when the economy tanked in Cedar, the place had been closed down and had sat empty ever since.
The old pumps still sat there, unused, but the entire front of the building had been blocked off and made into a patio sitting area.
Liz’s salon sat opposite that and the empty place next to it would be perfect for a bakery. People could walk from the coffee shop to purchase baked goods. “They’re planning on opening up after the New Year,” Nick finished.
Kara bit her bottom lip as she thought about providing baked goods to sell on a daily basis. Could she do it? Did she want to?
Kara’s heart did that stupid little skip again, and this time she knew it matched how she felt right before stepping onto a very scary ride. Still, there was enough excitement there that she promised to think about it.
As Nick was helping them gather their things to haul to Kara’s truck, a loud bang rang out feet from them. The loud pop echoed in the grassy area. At first, Kara thought it was the sound of thunder, but then Nick tackled her to the ground. Liz screamed and fell beside them as two more shots rang out.
People screamed. People ran. People hid.
Then everything went silent as everyone looked around for any sign of who was shooting.
Police sirens caused Kara’s ears to ring, and she gently nudged Nick as several police officers rushed past them.
“Are you okay?” Nick asked.
“I’m okay,” Kara told him after quickly assessing herself. “Liz?” She looked over to her friend who was staring at her with a confused look.
Then she noticed blood trickling from Liz’s arm and rushed over to her friend.
“Help! She’s been shot!” Kara cried out. She gripped her friend’s arm, applying pressure as blood oozed between her fingers.
“Here,” Nick said. He ripped the tablecloth she’d just folded up and applied a torniquet just above the wound. “We need an ambulance,” he said to Cheryl.
“Over here!” Cheryl called out as several more officers rushed by. “Someone’s been shot.”
“Over here!” someone else called out a few feet away from them. “Help!”
Kara couldn’t tear her eyes from her friend’s pale face.
“Don’t you dare die on me,” she said to her friend. “I refuse to go into business without your help,” she said as tears flooded her eyes, blocking her vision.
“Kara,” Liz said softly, her voice sounding a million miles away.
“She’s in shock,” Nick said as Kara was pushed aside. Her shirt and hands were soaked in her best friend’s blood. They loaded Liz onto a gurney and rushed her towards a waiting ambulance. She followed them, as Nick held her upright.
“I’ll drive us to the hospital,” Nick said, steering her towards his truck. He helped her inside, and she watched as if in a daze as they followed the ambulance.
“Oh god,” she cried as the realization that her best friend has been shot hit her.
“Hey,” Nick said, taking her bloody hand in his equally blood-soaked hand. “She’s going to be okay. It looked like the bullet just grazed her. I think she was in shock more than anything.”
“Yes.” She closed her eyes and tried to remember everything she could about her friend’s arm.
The bullet had torn apart Liz’s jacket. Nick had torn the rest of the sleeve off and then… Kara knew Nick was right. There had been a lot of blood, but from what Kara had seen, there had just been a long, deep gash in her friend’s upper arm just under her shoulder.
There was no way the bullet could have hit anything major. Right? Muscle. Most of that area was muscle. Right?
She reached up and touched her own shoulder, using her fingers to explore the same area.
“It’s all muscle here, right?” she asked Nick, who glanced over at her. His eyes moved to where she was touching before nodding and returning his eyes to the road.
“Yeah. If I remember correctly from health classes, it shouldn’t have hit anything major.” That made Kara relax a little.