Josh stepped closer and placed his hands on her upper arms. “Don’t push me away. I’m here for you. If you want to talk, we’ll talk. If you want to . . . have another food fight, then let it rip. But I don’t believe for a minute you really want me to go.”
He was right, and Ellie appreciated his trying to make her smile again. “I’m just having a rough day. Today makes four weeks since . . . Frank died.” And I still don’t know why.
In a soft voice, Josh said, “Then why don’t you let me make you dinner, and we’ll stay here.”
Ellie nodded, and Josh let go of her. He turned toward the stove. Sitting there and watching him cook was only going to give her more time to think. That’s the last thing she needed right now. So she went and stood by him. Forcing a smile, she picked up one of the tomatoes in a wire basket hanging over the counter. Handing it to Josh, she said, “Small, diced pieces.”
As he took it, Josh asked, “Don’t trust me to cook?”
She shook her head. “I’m too hungry to risk it.”
Josh laughed. “Wise woman.”
“I’d be happy to teach you how.”
“Let’s see how I do with this.” Josh grabbed a knife and cut a tomato in half and then looked back at her. “Small enough?”
Ellie chuckled. “Do that about forty more times, and I think you have it.”
Josh didn’t stop at just the tomatoes. He chopped the lettuce, olives, onions, and even the jalapeños. As she cooked the hamburger and added the seasoning, she noticed Josh knew his way around a knife. He was able to talk and chop and never come close to nicking his fingers. Next time he offered to cook, she was going to call his bluff and let him.
As she put all the ingredients for the taco salad together and carried the huge platter to the table, she was shocked to see Josh had already set the table. It was really nice having him there, cooking by her side.
When she sat down, she turned to him and said, “I’m glad you stayed.” She wished she knew for how long. Her gut said Yonkers wasn’t going to be graced by his presence much longer. The most she could do was enjoy the time she did have with him.
“You had me at taco salad.”
He seemed to always make light of the subject. That probably was for the best. The last thing Ellie needed was to get all wrapped up in him.
“Yes, I did. And I believe you said next time you’ll cook.”
Josh took a bite of the taco salad and said, “Not if you keep cooking like this. This is delicious.”
Shaking her head, Ellie said, “Flattery won’t get you off the hook.” He gave her a wink then leaned over and placed a brief kiss on her lips. “That’s sweet too, but you’re still cooking next time.”
Josh laughed. “Maybe after dinner we can negotiate a bit over dessert.”
Ellie blushed. “Definitely. But if you’ll excuse me for a moment, I forgot something in the kitchen.”
She went back inside, opened the cupboard, and pulled out a plate she’d set aside. She returned with the only surviving cupcake. Placing it in front of him, she said, “We can discuss it right after you eat your veggies. Josh, meet your challenge. I call this Broccolicous.”
Josh let out a heavy sigh, picked it up, and took a huge bite, green frosting lingering on his upper lip. Ellie smiled as she watched him take a second and third bite. She couldn’t help but be pleased when the entire thing had been gobbled up.
“You really ate it!”
Josh said, “I didn’t want to wear it again.” Then he reached out and took her hand in his. “You’re a wonderful baker. But please don’t ever tell my sister you got me to eat broccoli. I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Filled with pride, she said, “The secret is safe with me.”
Although tempted to lick the little bit of frosting that lingered as the only evidence he ate her cupcake, she didn’t want to start something she wasn’t ready to finish with him. There was no doubt if she gave in to her desires, it would be explosive. He could set her tingling with just a look or brief touch. No. Tonight, they would have dinner, talk and share some laughs. But that was all. Anything more would only add to her current state of emotional turmoil. She’d probably have to remind herself of that a few more times before he left.
Chapter Seven
It had been the second time Josh used the code word, movie, to have someone call his phone pretending there was an emergency. He hadn’t told her what he did, and she knew his family wasn’t in town. He was going to need to tell her something eventually. Just not now. Either way, it sucked having to bolt out of there again. Ellie was probably left wondering why things were going so well, and then he pulled his disappearing act again. He knew Vanessa would have a fit if she knew. But thankfully, Gabe wasn’t clued in on the fact that there was a code word. “Movie” was one he used solely with the team helping watch over Ellie.
He’d have to come up with another bogus excuse when he saw her tomorrow. It wasn’t good when he needed to start tracking which lie he’d told her. The more they built up, the more he felt like an asshole. But there really weren’t any options. If he was right, and the list he now had in his possession came from Frank, it was imperative to have Gabe working on it immediately. His initial thought had been to snap a picture of it and put it back in the drawer, where he’d seen it. But it needed to be authenticated, checked for fingerprints.
Although it looked to be exactly as Ellie had described it, a list of vegetables, there was no way in hell Frank would’ve wasted time with that if he, in fact, knew his life was in danger. No matter how many times Josh had stared at it, nothing seemed to leap off the paper to him. Maybe it was because all he saw was Ellie turning these things into some crazy new cupcake. Damn, I need to get her out of my head. Now they were left hoping it meant more to Gabe. Maybe it’s not what it says. Maybe it’s who touched it?
Josh could spend all night guessing, but what he needed, what they all needed, were facts. Frank had been a damn good agent, but in the end he still was killed. None of the Turchettas wanted that to have been in vain. They needed to put an end to this madness and make sure everyone knew what really happened to Frank.
He could only imagine what it was like for Ellie. She was left without answers, and she might not realize it. But he did. Somehow he’d rectify that.
We just need a break.
It was crazy how his thinking had changed in a little less than a month. When Rafe had him relocate to Yonkers to keep an eye on Ellie, he thought it was unnecessary. No one would bother with someone like Ellie, the cupcake lady. Her aura was one of innocence. Each day that he’d been stuck sitting in that beat-up Jeep, tracking her every move, he felt as though his time was being wasted. If it hadn’t been for the friendship between Rafe and Frank, he knew none of them would have been doing any of this. And both Ellie and Vanessa probably would be dead right now.
Even if Frank didn’t have any information regarding a leak in the FBI, someone seemed to believe otherwise, and that was dangerous. Frank would’ve realized that, but Josh couldn’t picture Frank sharing that knowledge with Ellie. If anything he’d have taken measures to keep her safe, not put her in harm’s way.
“Rafe, why would he leave it for Ellie and not give it to someone he trusted in the Bureau?”
“Did Ellie say exactly how she came to be in possession of this list?” Rafe asked.
“No.” Then again he hadn’t asked. He’d been lucky that, when she opened a drawer in the kitchen, he’d seen it there. He hated taking it without speaking to her, but if there was any chance at all this was linked to the killing, he needed it as far away from her as it could get.
“It might not be anything, Josh.”
“We went through his place and found nothing. How was it Ellie came upon this list?” Josh hadn’t meant to voice that out loud, but Rafe must’ve been thinking the same thing.
“I’m not sure. It may have been overlooked due to its content. Or—”
“Someone placed it there afte
r we left?” That wasn’t a comforting thought either. The only others who’d entered after the Turchettas had been a team from the FBI.
“Fuck! I wish we knew where the hell she found it. That might provide some answers too. Josh, you need to ask.”
He knew that. But working that into a conversation wasn’t going to be easy. Ellie clammed up any time Josh mentioned Frank. He also didn’t want to give her any reason to go looking for the list either.
“I’ll see her first thing in the morning.”
“At least the list will be in Gabe’s hands within two hours. By morning we might have confirmed if this is at least Frank’s handwriting.”
“We need a hell of a lot more information than that,” Josh grumbled. “You know where you can find me. But, Rafe, if she looks for that paper, we’re screwed. She’ll start asking questions, and I don’t think she’s going to settle for anything less than all the facts.”
“Then you need to make sure she doesn’t go looking,” Rafe said flatly.
“By?”
“Take her out somewhere. Give her a reason not to be in the shop.”
“That’s not going to happen. She wouldn’t close it for the day even if the president himself asked to see her. She’s driven to make that place work.” Josh respected that about her.
“Then you better think of something, because I don’t want her knowing she is being watched. Not yet at least. Right now she isn’t looking over her shoulder. That would change quickly, and it would be like raising a red flag.”
“The only person she has working for her now is some teenager, and trust me she’s more trouble than help. We need eyes on the inside.”
“Offer to work for her,” Rafe said as though it was a logical resolution to the problem.
If it weren’t so sad, he’d have laughed. “Ellie doesn’t have employees, because she can’t afford them. Everything she has is tied up in that place.”
“Damn. I can’t believe Frank would’ve left her in that situation. All the years I’ve known him, all he ever talked about was his kid sister. Something doesn’t make sense. I’m going to have Gabe search and see if there was a life insurance policy out there she doesn’t know about.”
“I hope he finds one.” The money wasn’t going to bring Frank back, but Rafe was right, Ellie spoke to him as though Frank had always been her protector. There was enough age difference that he may have looked at her more like a daughter than a kid sister.
At least the Bureau paid for the funeral. Since he was killed in the line of duty, it was the least they could do. Josh was angry with himself. He’d seen how hard Ellie was working. He should’ve thought about looking deeper before now. At the time, it wasn’t about making sure she was financially stable. He’d been successful at the task given, keeping her in one piece. I want to keep it that way.
Josh snapped his instructions, “Just have Gabe expedite the result. I’m not sure how long I can—”
“From what Deanna has told me, you seem to be doing more than what’s expected.”
Damn, that was faster than I thought. Word traveled fast amongst the family, whether it was good or bad. And if the women had an opinion, then the guys might as well give up. They didn’t stop until their voices were heard. That was a good thing in a way. They sure as hell weren’t pushovers. Right now more like busybodies. Josh didn’t need to worry about what they were saying or worse, planning. He had enough on his plate already. “I know when to back off.”
“I’m sure you do. I just want to make sure your eyes are focused where they should be.”
Yeah, Rafe knew more than Josh wanted him to. He’d known that was highly probable when Vanessa had caught wind of the video. For once, Josh wished he’d been wrong. Yet Rafe’s warning was coming from personal experience, therefore Josh knew this was no time for a smart-ass retort. Rafe had done everything he could to keep Deanna safe, yet he’d almost lost her.
“I know damn well what’s at stake. If it comes back that list is from Frank, we need to make sure it wasn’t just a food challenge as Ellie believes. If it’s not, I think we need to get Ellie the hell out of Yonkers.” He knew that would require telling her the truth about why he was there in the first place. But one thing he’d learned since getting closer to Ellie was she had a stubborn side just like her brother. Hence those crazy flavored cupcakes. Mushroom? Really?
“I agree. Until then, you need to come up with any excuse to be by her side more often.”
“Any?” Josh asked.
“Don’t push it. If you can’t pull this off, I’m going to need to pull Hydria in.”
That made sense, but Rafe was assuming because Hydria was a woman they would connect better. As far as Josh was concerned, he’d done pretty damn good at breaking that ice. Maybe too good at times.
“Keep her where she is. I’ll be in the shop all day tomorrow, but I’ll be listening if you have any updates for me.”
Rafe said before ending the call, “Just remember, Josh, we’re listening too.”
That’s not something I’m going to forget. Again.
Josh had copied down the list of the vegetables. They fit so nicely into what Ellie did. This most likely was going to be a wild goose chase. Until he had confirmation of that, his men were doubling their efforts.
* * *
Ellie couldn’t sleep. If she’d known Josh was going to leave so early, she never would’ve had a cup of coffee that late. She hadn’t asked him what he did for a living now, but whatever it was, they called him at the oddest times.
But the night wasn’t going to be a total waste. His eating her Broccolicous cupcake without complaint had really motivated her to keep working on the other vegetables. She looked at the board and saw she’d put beets next on the list. That was relatively simple; she’d make them look like red velvet, which was always a hit. And I can call it You’re Beet Red.
Before she could start baking, she needed to make the beet puree. That would add the color, and the cocoa powder would offset it just right. While the beets boiled, she jotted down her first attempt at a recipe. Flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, baking powder, sugar, eggs, beet puree and . . . buttermilk. That sounded pretty good. But she didn’t want to do a frosting that would be too sweet. So she decided to make one with cream cheese, a little of the beet puree, honey, and lemon zest.
She knew what ingredients complemented each other. This was going to be so good. It wasn’t supposed to release until next week, but why wait? There was no reason she couldn’t do two each week. After all, this was her shop, and she made the rules. Or broke them.
Asparagus was a bit more challenging. Ellie felt the same way about asparagus that Josh felt about broccoli. The problem was she needed to taste it as she went. Doing so next week sounded so much better. In the meantime, she’d think about what would pair well with it. She needed something that would keep it moist. Her first thought was pineapple. If I cook the asparagus with pineapple and make a puree then . . .
This step is where she always got stuck. She needed to focus on one new cupcake at a time. Her beets were boiled, peeled and pureed. The rest was easy. Over the next few hours she baked, frosted, and placed them on the tray. There was no need to wait until morning.
Flipping on the lights in the shop, she carried the tray and set it inside the display case. Then she walked to the front to take one last look. If anyone looked at it, they really would think it was a red velvet cupcake. The case looked amazing. Now all she needed was customers to come and buy them.
She’d tried talking to Josh about the video, and he changed the subject. But she still thought Katia-Lynn was on to something. Ellie didn’t do social media, but the rest of the world seemed to. She needed to stop thinking about how she looked for things, in catalogs and magazines, and think big. Think big to be big.
Josh might not like it, but she was going to talk to Katia-Lynn tomorrow when she came to work. The video was out there already. All she needed was to take it up a notch. If she
could somehow get only bits and pieces of the video and combine it with shots of how this display case looks right now, it might actually work.
Ellie stood there a moment longer feeling proud. Frank’s list might have been one of his best ideas ever. Between the colors and the flavors, she had another tray of eye-catching cupcakes. Laughing to herself, she thought, Who knows, maybe Josh will enjoy these too.
All of a sudden she felt exhausted. Looking at the clock, she was shocked to see it was almost three a.m. Thankfully, the prep work was done for morning, but she still needed to be up by sunrise. The store hours said they opened at eight. No matter how tired she was, that wasn’t going to change. With her luck, it would be the one day someone came by early wanting to buy a dozen for work.
Ellie double-checked that the doors were locked, shut off the lights, and headed back into the kitchen. Her heart sank as she looked at the pile of dishes she’d left behind, never mind her counter space. If she started cleaning now, she wouldn’t get any sleep at all. She’d never done this before and really was ashamed, but it had to be done.
She turned the lights in the kitchen off and headed to her apartment. The morning might start on a bad note, but right now she was going to bed with a smile.
Her muscles were sore; she would normally take a quick shower. Instead, the tub was calling out to her. She turned on the hot water and added lavender bath oil. While it filled, she decided to head back into the kitchen for one last thing: a glass of merlot. Before she turned off the lights again, she went to the drawer to grab Frank’s list. No better time to dream up more recipes than while soaking in a tub.
But when she pulled open the drawer, she didn’t find it. She wasn’t overly concerned. After all the baking she’d done earlier, she had to have moved it. If she wasn’t so tired, she probably could recall to where.
“I have no idea what I did with it.” Frustrated, she poured her glass of wine and headed back to the bathroom. The last thing she needed was to delay and find her tub had overflowed.
For Passion Page 8