by Haley Travis
Mrs. Whitley, a nice lady who always came in for tea and a muffin, insisted on brewing the next pot of coffee so that I could rest. It seemed like everyone was pitching in, and nobody was upset that they couldn’t have their usual breakfast treats.
The shop was almost completely cleared out except for coffee and tea around ten in the morning when Daniel came in.
The way his eyes lit up when he saw me filled me with a strange wave of softness that I’d never encountered before. Then he pretended to glare. “This is taking it easy?” his deep voice rumbled as he chuckled.
“I slept in and didn’t bake. I just put on the coffee,” I said quickly. “And look at me, sitting here. Completely lazy, I swear.”
He was standing awkwardly, and I realized his hand was behind him. He pulled out a small bouquet of bright pink and purple Gerber daisies, coming close to hold them out to me. I immediately began to reach out with both hands, then pulled the left one back, shaking my head.
“Wow, thank you,” I said, my voice becoming tiny as my throat suddenly closed.
“Get well soon flowers are normal, aren’t they?” he asked gently.
I realized that most women probably didn’t get choked up so easily. “Thank you, Daniel. No one’s ever given me flowers before.”
I realized with shock that I should not have said that. I was supposed to be playing the part of a regular woman. And the way he looked at me in surprise was certainly not a normal response.
“Do you have a vase or anything I could put these in for you?” he asked, probably realizing that whatever was making me rattled, I couldn’t speak about it at the moment.
“How about that?” I asked, pointing to a huge neon green vase in the window.
“Perfect,” he said, taking it to the back and filling it with water before bringing it out to the counter and arranging the flowers.
I couldn’t help giggling. “You’re one of those people that just make themselves comfortable everywhere you go, aren’t you?”
Daniel nodded. “Yup. Pretty much.”
I shook my head, mentally giving him a few more imaginary points. “Interesting.”
He reached out to trail his fingertips along my cheek. “The most gorgeous girl I’ve ever seen finds me interesting? It’s a good day already and it’s not even noon.”
I was shocked at how easily he made me laugh, all the time.
Then a few teen-aged customers came in, and Daniel quickly explained how the resident baker was injured saving puppies from a wild mountain lion, and it might be a few days before a new batch of cupcakes could be baked. They laughed, agreeing to spread the word at school.
“My shift starts in a little while,” Daniel said quickly. “I’m sorry I can’t stay. Are you going to be all right here today alone?”
“Of course.”
“You’re not going to do anything crazy like try to work, are you?”
I bit my lip, looking down, but then flashed him a huge grin. “I’ve actually been planning out the easiest things to bake, that require the least amount of lifting and arm work. So I might prep a few little things for tomorrow morning. Just a few racks of cookies and muffins. Nothing heavy or dangerous.”
“Could you call in an assistant for a couple of days?”
I shook my head. “Likely not. Unless it’s someone who already knows how to bake, the time I spent training then would just be crazy. People seem pretty understanding that it’s going to be a few days before I can make everything again.”
Daniel stepped close beside me, tucking his arm around my back. Breathing in his seductive, woodsy scent, I instantly felt a bit better. The tiny voice that screamed that I should not get close to him was silenced whenever he touched me.
“It’s not just your arm, Bailey. You lost some blood and had a severe panic attack about the needles. Please don’t stress yourself out.”
I nodded, truly touched by his concern. “I won’t. I’m going to close up by noon and spend the rest of the day on the couch with a notebook, brainstorming recipes. That’s resting, right?”
He grinned. “I guess that’s your version of resting, sure.”
“Do you have any huge plans for the day?” I asked, trying to get the focus off of me immediately.
He shrugged, his arm winding a little tighter. “Just driving around, being a cop. Doing official things like looking out for bad-asses.”
“Sir,” I gasped, pretending to be horrified. “Your language in front of the unicorn. Please.” I gestured to the huge tacky unicorn sculpture behind him in the window.
“Forgive me, Mr. Pointy Horse,” he apologized to the pink and white pearl monstrosity.
Then Daniel looked up at the security camera in that corner of the window. “You have a lot of cameras here,” he said. “I noticed that bringing you home yesterday. Every entrance, every window is covered quite well.”
I nodded, giving a calm, measured smile. “Since I just moved here, I wasn’t precisely sure what sort of neighborhood it was, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to be a bit cautious.” Shrugging casually, I added, “Single girl in the big city, my first business, and all that.”
“You have a few of them that cover the street out front, right?”
“The sidewalk and a fair bit of the street around my front entrance are well covered.” I realized that he wasn’t grilling me, he needed information.
He nodded, thinking. “If I were to get back to you with a window of time from last week, is there any chance you could share the footage with us?”
“Absolutely,” I nodded. Being instantly agreeable had been hammered into my psyche since I was three. “Dare I ask what happened?”
“Yeah, it’s already been in the news, but you’ve been busy, obviously. The Carter building at the corner of Dawes and Chapman burned down, and it may have been arson. Someone may have snuck in the back door and started the fire.”
“I know you can’t likely tell me details, but should I be looking for huge rough guys, or anybody who looks shifty?”
“We don’t have any identifying clues at all,” he said.
“Okay... But were the doors bashed in by somebody huge, or was it a clean lock pick situation?”
Daniel gave me a completely stunned glance.
I laughed quickly. “Sorry, I used to watch a couple of crime shows, and they were always looking for things like that.”
He nodded. “Good point. I guess I could say that nothing indicates that any of them were any particular size or extremely powerful individuals.”
“Them. So I’m going to assume that it’s at least two or more people?”
Daniel shook his head, grinning. “You’re too quick, Bailey. We’re thinking three or four, but I guess it could be as few as two.”
“Okay. I’ll look over the feed tonight.”
Daniel reached out for the pen and pink cupcake notepad on the counter, jotting down a phone number. “That’s my cell.”
I grabbed the next sheet of paper and wrote down my cell number. It suddenly occurred to me that he was now the only person besides suppliers that had my number, but I squashed that thought down immediately. I needed to focus. “And that’s me.”
“Great. Thanks. I’ll text you in a few hours.” He looked at me carefully. “But if it’s a pain to get to your security system or anything, please let me know and I can come help. Or send one of our techs to assist.”
“It’s easy,” I said. “I can get to it at some point during breaks in my extensive napping schedule that I have planned out for this afternoon and evening.”
“Good,” he grinned. He glanced toward the door, making sure there was no one in the shop or out front. Then he bent down to brush his lips against mine for just a second, sending surges of raw desire straight through me.
“Call if you need anything at all, Bailey,” he said gently, stroking my hair and tucking it behind my ear. “I’m just on neighborhood patrol today, so I’ll be around.”
“Isn’t that a c
omplete misuse of police resources?” I asked, raising my eyebrow.
Daniel looked surprised, as he nodded. “Technically you’re right. This is the first time in my life I haven’t given a damn about the rules.” He leaned in to kiss my forehead. “You’ve corrupted me completely already, Bailey.”
I laughed, flashing him a huge grin as he gave me a careful hug then left.
As soon as he was gone, I nearly collapsed against the counter. He had obviously been kidding, but he was far more accurate than he realized.
I was no good for him. There was absolutely no way that I could be involved with a police officer. Even if it wasn’t completely ridiculously dangerous for me, being with me could shame him if it were ever discovered. There’s no way I could let him look like a laughing stock in front of his colleagues. Or put him in danger. There’s no way that I could take a chance and ruin this lovely man’s entire life.
On some level, I knew that my past wasn’t my fault. But I felt toxic. Like the darkness was in my blood. It wasn’t something that I could run away from.
After years of being with dark souled people, Daniel was a ray of light. He even had the sunshine in his eyes. Was I actually so afraid of my past that I wouldn’t allow myself one chance to be happy?
CHAPTER SIX
I sent Bailey a text giving her a time window and a description of what we were looking for. There had been a fire a week ago in an old building that had been tied up in red tape for years. The owners wanted to sell, but the only buyers wanted to tear it down to build condos. Since it was a heritage building, that was not permitted. So it had been smothered in paperwork for a while.
With the building gutted from the fire, it was condemned and had to be torn down. It was a little too convenient for the purchasers to swoop in and get a great deal.
Fire investigators had estimated that the blaze started somewhere between midnight and two am, so any people or vehicles spotted in the neighborhood that seemed out of place between eleven and three could possibly be a lead.
It wasn’t much to go on, but our detectives didn’t have anything else at the moment. Instances simply being too coincidental to be believed didn’t hold up in court.
But I also sent Bailey a text saying that her rest was far more important than our investigation. She responded saying that she would get back to me soon. I had to force myself not to pester her further. I wanted to know how she felt. I wanted to know if I could drop by the store and bring her anything.
I didn’t mean to be pushy, or too forward. I couldn’t stop the overwhelming urge to protect her, to care for her. Yet I’d noticed that she seemed a bit timid. As if she wanted to be careful about how much of herself she shared. She might have her mental and emotional shields up for good reason.
When she mentioned running away from an ex-boyfriend, my blood ran cold. She didn’t go into any details, but it also seemed like her face had turned into a mask. A practiced expression of external calm.
I’d learned that look when I was very small. My mother wore it often. It was the look she used to gloss over the bruises on her arms when the neighbors politely asked questions. It was the expression she wore when she had to take me to the doctor for my yearly check-up, but refused to answer a single question about herself.
I had wanted to help her, and I tried my best, but I didn’t hit my growth spurt until I was seventeen.
When I was nine, all I could do was try to make our home a place where nothing could possibly trigger my father. When my father fatally smashed his car into a stoplight post when I was eleven, I was confused by how guilty I felt at the relief. I saw that my mother felt it too. A sliver of joy and peace when there was supposed to be sorrow.
It solidified my belief that some people are good, and others are bad. Sure, everyone has a mix inside them. Everyone has crazy days where they behave completely outside of their character. But when it came down to brass tacks, most people were on one side of the line or the other.
It took a long time for my mother to build herself back up. To allow herself to make friends again, and go back out into the world.
That could be what Bailey was going through now. A reinvention of herself, in her new role as an independent woman and new business owner.
It had been hard for my mother to ask for help for a long time because she was afraid it would come with strings attached. She would likely always be petrified that men could turn against her.
I could only hope that Bailey knew she could reach out to me at any time. The entire neighborhood seemed to love her. How could they not? She was sweet and friendly, thoughtful and creative. Her whimsical food and adorably weird shop was a focal point of the street.
Her rather extreme locks and video cameras could have been installed by an overzealous salesperson. Or she could be paranoid. Or, it might not be paranoia. She might have good reasons to make her home into a fortress.
I couldn’t stand the thought of her not feeling safe. She mentioned not sleeping well. I wished that I could wrap my arms around her every night so that she’d sleep better.
The next morning, I got to work early, cruising by the bakery to pick up a coffee before my shift. The way Bailey’s face lit up as I walked in the door made my heart melt. She finished serving cookies to a couple of mothers and their toddlers, and I held the door as they rolled their strollers out.
“You’re looking a bit brighter,” I said with a huge smile. “Feeling better?”
She nodded, grinning. “Yes, thanks. I’m afraid to use my left arm to lift anything heavy, so I made tiny cookies and mini muffins. There are more pans, but they’re all lighter, so I can lift them mostly right-handed.”
I came to stand at the side of the counter, not quite in her workspace, but close enough to feel that amazing connection that seemed to be growing between us.
“Very clever,” I said. “Plus, miniature food is always more delicious than regular-sized food.”
“Right?” she exclaimed. “Toy food is always better. That’s why we like mini meatballs. And sushi. Bite-size things are tastier. It’s science.”
“But now you have more pans to clean,” I said, looking around. “Do you need a hand?”
She shook her head with a grin. “Mr. Barry from the shoe store sent his son over already to scrub the baking sheets, sweep the shop, and help me fill the water container.” She grinned. “Devin is a really nice kid, and he saving up for drum lessons, so he’s very dedicated.” Her eyes grew wide as she leaned closer. “Don’t tell the cops that I’m illegally paying him cash under the table.”
I laughed louder than I had intended. “Not my department. But I’m pretty sure a few days of work isn’t really worth all of the paperwork.”
“Precisely,” she said. “Paperwork is the only part of my job I don’t like.”
She glanced up at the massive clock framed with flowers, leaves, and tropical birds. “Doesn’t your shift start soon?”
I reached out to slip my hand under the back of her hair, tipping her face up to mine as I planted a tiny kiss on those perfect lips. “You know my schedule?” I murmured. “Keeping tabs on me?”
She giggled, her cute nose crinkling. “Keeping tabs on the coffee pot as well, of course.”
Bailey started to get up from her stool, but I stopped her. “I just need two coffees. Is it okay if I get them so that I can pretend to be chivalrous, and let you rest?”
She shrugged. “Sure. But this being lazy thing is starting to get boring.” Then she snapped her fingers. “Oh – I got those videos ready for you. I quickly chopped the four hours down so that it’s only the footage that shows people or cars, and it’s all time stamped. That made it a lot easier to pop onto a drive.”
I began to dig in my wallet, but she waved me away. “Please, Daniel, a couple of free coffees doesn’t begin to thank you for the luxurious car service back from the hospital.”
“Well then, if we are going to use the barter system, what if I brought some pizza and wine ove
r tonight, to thank you for the video footage?”
Bailey paused, and for a soul wrenching moment, I wondered if she was going to turn me down. I could actually feel my heart beating hollowly in my chest during the four thump pause.
“Sure,” she said, “But my apartment is a bit messy.”
“Good,” I said quickly. “You’re supposed to be resting. I’m sure it’s fine.”
We made plans for me to drop by at seven, with a ground beef and pepperoni pizza with extra oregano.
My hope for a goodbye kiss was thwarted by the arrival of several customers. I wasn’t sure about her opinion on public displays of affection, and since we hadn’t had the discussion, I certainly wasn’t going to announce it in her place of business.
As I waved goodbye, her bright eyes flashed as she smiled at me. I realized I was already in deeper than I had ever expected.
I adored her. I was fascinated by everything about her. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and promise her that nothing in this world would ever hurt her again.
Instead, I went to work and tried to focus.
Luckily it was a pretty easy day, dealing with endless parking violations, driving offenses, and cruising around the neighborhood. Some people found a police presence reassuring. It annoyed other people. But those tended to be the folks up to no good.
At the end of my shift, after I completed the last of the paperwork and reports, my hand hovered over the keyboard. There had been something I’d been thinking about, but trying to talk myself out of.
Before I could stop them, my treacherous fingers were running a search on Bailey Saunders. There were several social media profiles, but they were for a seven-year-old in England, a toddler in California, and a few older ladies though the mid-western States. Nobody remotely resembling my Bailey.
I felt absolutely disgusting, but I entered her name into the police database. Surely she must have had a parking ticket at some point. Everyone does, especially in Toronto.
There was absolutely nothing. She didn’t own a car. Or if she did, it wasn’t registered in her name.