by Candis Terry
Maybe she could use this as an opportunity to bring Chelsea in under her wing and teach her to be a cake decorator. At least the PG-rated cakes. The business would grow and they would need the help. Might as well be someone enthusiastic.
The bell over the door chimed and Kate looked up to see James Harley strolling in. She put on a smile.
“Hello, Deputy Harley.”
He glanced around and nodded. “The place looks good.”
“Thank you.” She proudly accepted the compliment. While he walked the length of the display case, she wiped her hands down the front of her apron and went to the new lunch counter to take his order. “Let me guess . . . two tuna subs, no tomato, and two iced teas.
James looked at her and the brown of his eyes deepened. “Just one order today.”
She cocked her head. “Just one?”
He nodded, averting his gaze.
She stood there for a minute taking in what that meant. “Why?”
“Shit. I told him you’d get upset.”
“You told who?”
“Ryan. He’s . . . uh . . .”
“Taken his business elsewhere?”
His silence verified what the chill in her spine already knew.
James raised his hands. “Look, Kate, I don’t get into his personal business. Well, not much. He didn’t say why. I didn’t ask.”
“Uh-huh.” She glanced over his shoulder and through the front window to the patrol car parked at the curb. The steam puffs coming from the tailpipe told her two things—it was cold outside and the car was idling. For a quick getaway no doubt.
“Is he out there?” she asked with a tilt of her head.
James looked over his shoulder. “Yep.”
Matt could be as stubborn as he wanted, but she would not let him make the bakery suffer for her actions. She gritted her teeth and forced a smile to her lips. “Will you excuse me for a moment?”
A flash of humor lit up James’s handsome face as Kate pushed open the bakery door. She stormed to the driver’s side window, and folded her arms.
Matt looked up in mid-bite of a greasy cheeseburger from the Grizzly Claw Tavern. Surprise widened his icy eyes. Kate leaned her weight on one hip, determined not to move an inch until he rolled down the window.
Fortunately his cop skills made him good at reading body language and the window motor whirred as the glass slid down into the door.
“What?” he said.
She held her hand out, palm up.
He looked at her hand then looked into her eyes. She swiped the burger from his grasp and marched away.
“Hey! That’s my lunch.”
“And a heart attack waiting to happen. If you want a decent lunch, Deputy Ryan, you will get your stubborn ass out of that patrol car and get inside that bakery. Stop behaving like a child. Avoiding me will solve nothing.” She turned on the heel of her Chucks and stormed back through the bakery door.
As she returned to her place behind the counter, she threw the burger in the trash and gave James’s startled face a smile. “Would you like to have a seat at one of our new tables, Deputy Harley? It’s much nicer than sitting in a smelly old patrol car.”
He chuckled. “Sure.”
“Good. I’ll have your order ready in just a few minutes.” While she prepared two tuna subs, no tomato, the front door opened and Matt walked in. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his fleece-lined uniform jacket and a scowl darkened his face. He looked nothing like the boy in the photo in her pocket and everything like the man who lit her up like she was some freaking pyrotechnic. He said nothing as he joined James at one of her tiled bistro sets.
She completed their order, added a square of cheesecake for each of them, and carried the meals to their table on a tray. She set the plates in front of them.
“Dessert is on me, gentlemen.” She looked at James. “If you enjoy it, I’d appreciate it if you could spread the word.”
With her heart aching to kiss him until he couldn’t breathe, she looked at Matt. If he truly thought they weren’t meant to be together, she had to prove him wrong.
She turned her smile flirtatious and went in for the kill. “I chose the blackberry especially for you, Deputy Ryan, because I know how much you like it. The way you moaned the other night . . .” She smoothed her hand across his wide shoulder. “. . . was a dead giveaway.”
He gaped like a big fish as she sauntered away. The heat of his eyes burned a hole in her backside.
Good.
If Matt Ryan wanted a war, he was messing with the wrong girl.
An occasional crackle from the scanner broke the silence in the patrol car and the sky spit wet heavy snow against the windshield as Matt ran the lake to lookout patrol. When the flames in his fireplace had become an image of Kate writhing naked on his sheets, he called the station and volunteered for the patrol no one wanted on a night like this. He needed to get Kate off his mind and out of his heart. Nothing better than driving in a white-out to regain his focus.
Wind gusts bent the tips of the pines and the moon couldn’t break through the thick layer of clouds. Matt was having a hell of a time keeping the SUV straight. Halloween hadn’t yet arrived and they’d already been doused with a blanket of white that wouldn’t melt until the daffodils pushed up in the spring. By then the special election upon Sheriff Washburn’s retirement would have been held. Before then he had plenty of work to do. He gripped the wheel and eased the SUV around a treacherous curve. There were speeches to write. Promises to make. Babies to kiss. Ex-girlfriends to forget.
The tires crunched on fresh fallen snow as he rounded the final bend and into the space that made up Deer Lick’s version of Lover’s Lane. His headlights swept the area.
Shit.
Through the Star Wars effect on his windshield, he saw the big brown Buick parked across the lot. With one occupant.
He cut the lights and rolled the SUV to a stop behind her. Below and beyond her front bumper the lights of the town glowed behind a haze of white. Enough to allow him to see her right hand move and flail as if she were in a heated discussion. Before he could open his door, she flung her cell phone out the window. It landed with a splat in a mound of snow.
He grabbed his hat from the seat next to him, pushed it on his head, and zipped up his jacket. He could smell trouble a mile away. And lately she came with the scent of sugar cookies and gingersnaps.
His boots crunched against the snow as he walked to her side of the car and discovered her with her back pressed against the door. He tapped on the window but wasn’t surprised when she ignored him. He noticed the door wasn’t locked and yanked it open. She nearly fell out. His gloved hands caught her and not even a layer of fleece and leather could keep him from the electricity that snapped between them.
“What the hell are you doing up here?” he asked.
She righted herself and glared at him from beneath a knit cap that looked like it had braided pigtails. “It’s my thinking spot.”
He laughed and looked around at their solid white surroundings. “You don’t have enough sense to stay home on a night like this and do your thinking there?”
Her smoky eyes narrowed. “Are you calling me dumb?”
“Kate. In case you haven’t noticed we’re having a white-out. I know in Glitter Town that might have something to do with a different kind of powder and might be considered a good time, but here in Redneckville we call it dangerous. So yes, I’m calling you dumb.”
She grabbed the door handle and tried to pull it closed. He put himself between her and the door and made that impossible.
“Go to hell, Matt.”
“Already been there, Hollywood.”
“I would appreciate it if you would stop calling me that.”
The commonsense side of him said to run away. Fast. “Move over,” he told her.
She looked up at him, tightened her lips, and then slid across the bench seat. With her arms folded across her puffy white parka she looked like a big
marshmallow.
He slid in next to her, shut the door, and extended his arm across the back of the seat. Frosty breath curled from her nose like she was breathing fire. The snowfall had swallowed all sound and he could almost hear her blink.
Trying to ignore the memory of what had transpired in this place years before, he released a hard breath. “So this is your thinking spot, huh?”
She tightened her crossed arms. “Yes.”
“Why?”
“Don’t laugh.”
“Me? Never.”
“I like it because the town reminds me of Whoville from up here.”
“Whoville?”
“Yes. You know the place where life is wonderful and everybody holds hands and sings.” She untangled her arms and shoved a hand through her hair, knocking her pigtail cap askew, and shot him a look. “Until the Grinch shows up and ruins everything.”
He laughed. “Are you calling me a Grinch?”
“You said you wouldn’t laugh.”
He laughed again. “Sorry.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Are you talking the Dr. Seuss version or the Jim Carey version? Because honestly I don’t think I’m that funny.”
“Pfft. No kidding.”
He shook his head and pulled off his gloves. “So what is it you’re sitting here thinking about? Aren’t you supposed to be on your way to London by now?”
“You want to know why I’m still here?”
He shrugged. “I’ll probably kick myself for asking, but sure, Kate, why are you still here?”
“Because of my dad.” She turned toward him. “And the bakery. And this town I seem to want to be a part of. And I’m still here because of you, Matt.”
And on her list of reasons to stay, he came dead last.
He didn’t want to be last in a woman’s heart. He wanted to be first.
Was that so awful?
He wanted a woman in his life. Someone permanent. He wanted a family. Love. He wanted to protect the people in the town he called home. He was a man of simple dreams. Kate had built a life on fame, fortune, and glamour. She should be proud of herself. Hell, he was proud of her. Sure they had chemistry—the kind that was too explosive to even fathom. But that was all they’d ever have. Had. Past tense.
It had taken him a few days but he’d finally accepted the truth. He needed to move on. She needed to move on. Before they both went crazy. “Who was on the phone?”
She lifted her head and swept a finger beneath her eye, capturing a drop of moisture. “What?”
“Who was on the phone before you tossed it out the window?”
“Doesn’t matter. Just more threats of lawsuits and ruination.” Through the dark she looked across the cab at him long and hard. “And none of that means jack right now.” She curled her hands in the front of his jacket and pulled him toward her. She pressed a hot hungry kiss to his mouth.
Before he could respond she’d climbed onto his lap and straddled him.
The sweet taste of her filled his mouth. The delicious scent of her skin saturated his senses. He welcomed the punch of white-hot lust that twisted his insides as she knocked his hat off and plunged her fingers into his hair. A moan stuck in her throat, then broke free as the kiss turned into a carnal assault.
Then she was gone.
When he opened his eyes, she was staring into the backseat as if she’d seen a ghost.
“Not here,” she rasped.
“What?”
She pushed the door open, crawled off him, and yanked him outside.
“Kate?”
She pulled him by the hand through the snow to his patrol car, opened the door, and slid inside. “Get in,” she said and peeled off the marshmallow parka.
Kate watched him hesitate. Without giving him another moment to think she reached for him, dragged him into the car, and dove into the passion spreading across her skin like a summer wildfire. Held within his arms her heart swelled and the emptiness began to subside. When his hot breath brushed her cheek, her words escaped on a breathless plea. “I need you, Matt.” She reached for the buttons on his shirt and closed her eyes as the eagerness to feel his warm skin, his heart beating beneath her fingers, consumed her.
His big hands manacled her wrists. “Stop.”
Her eyes popped open. “What?”
“I said stop.”
She leaned back to see if he was kidding. “Seriously?”
He lifted her off his lap and set her onto the seat beside him. Humiliation burned her cheeks and she scooted toward the door.
“We can’t do this, Kate.” His icy glare cut through the darkness. “I can’t do this.”
She tore her gaze from his and stared out the windshield at the heavy snow collecting on the glass.
He exhaled. “Honestly, in the beginning I thought it would be enough just be with you a few times. But I can’t. I want more. And I can’t play this game. No matter how much it tears me up inside.”
She looked at him. “What if I were to tell you I plan to stay? Here. In Deer Lick.”
“Why would you do that when you’ve got clients and employees and lawsuits and a whole other life that has nothing to do with me?” As if easing the pain he rubbed at the back of his neck.
“I want you, Kate. All of you. But I guess I’m old-fashioned. I won’t settle for less. I can’t base the rest of my life on someone who plans to stay. And I just don’t think you’re ready to take a leap of faith and definitely stay.”
Everything inside of her froze and restricted in her chest as he reached for the door handle. She grabbed his arm. “Where are you going?”
“To get my hat, pull your cell phone out of the snow, and lock your car.” He pulled the handle back and opened the door. Big fat snowflakes fell on the sleeve of his dark green jacket. “Then I’m taking you home and saying good-bye.”
“What do you mean good-bye?”
“You’re a smart woman. Figure it out.” He gave her a look that broke her heart. “Go back to Hollywood, Kate, because you’re too late. Way too fucking late.”
The realization hit her like a rock-filled snowball between the eyes. He meant good-bye. Forever. Just like that, everything she really wanted but had been too wimpy to grasp had now become completely out of her reach.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Halloween arrived a few days later with blue skies and sunshine that turned the snow to slush. Heartaches tended to turn everything upside down and Kate hadn’t slept since Matt had dropped her off at her father’s house. And since she was now close to losing every ounce of remaining normal brain cells she possessed, she was desperate for a distraction. Trick or Treat night had always been one of her favorites and she decided to indulge.
Even if she did so on autopilot.
The bakery door had been swinging all day with patrons filing in for orders of spiced pumpkin cookies or black marshmallow cats. The mice she’d made of Hershey’s kisses and the haunted house designer cake she’d donated to the senior citizen center were a hit. Her Little Red Riding Hood ensemble was anything but innocent, but her only other choices had been Carnal Cave Girl or Hottie Heidi the Upstairs Maid. And, okay, she looked pretty darned good. So sue her if she hoped the elusive Deputy Ryan might come by for a tuna sub.
Her father, with his offbeat sense of humor, had dressed as Melvin the Mad Butcher. Though with their brisk business, she didn’t imagine the hatchet sticking from his head would deter many from sampling the new menu.
From the back room she grabbed a few fresh towels from the shelf. The click of toenails came up behind her. “What’s up, my little pimp?”
Togged up in his very own costume, the dog looked up at her with utter humiliation in his big brown eyes. Kate squatted down and cupped her hands around his adorable mug. “Who’s the cutest widdle doggie in the world?” She pressed her nose against his and kissed the top of his head. If the purple velour and cheetah print jacket and pimped-out fedora—green feather included
—weren’t enough, the poor little guy had to endure her baby talk too.
She washed her hands and returned to the counter. As she slid a bat-shaped cake into an oversized pastry box for Irene Neilson’s book club party, the bell over the door chimed. With moose-head cane leading the way, Edna Price hobbled inside. The collar of her worn red coat had been pulled up and her usual thick beige hose had been replaced with a pair she’d obviously hand-dyed orange. Her idea of a Halloween costume, Kate assumed.
When the older woman peered into the display case, mentally selecting the perfect chunk of brownie, Kate grinned and reached beneath the counter to retrieve the special treat she’d made for her sparring cohort. Kate hoped the small token of apology would soften the woman’s bitterness.
“I have something special for you today, Mrs. Price.”
Edna looked up and peered at her suspiciously. “Why?”
“Because it’s Halloween and I thought you might like something a little different but equally as delicious as those plain old brownies.” Kate pushed the white box bearing the Sugar Shack logo across the counter.
An extra wrinkle or two creased Edna’s forehead as she lifted the lid and looked inside. “Is this supposed to be funny?”
“Funny?”
Edna’s faded eyes narrowed. “Are you trying to insult me?”
“I wouldn’t do that, Mrs. Price. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m talking about you calling me a witch.” Edna shoved the box at her across the counter, turned, and hobbled toward the door.
“What?” Kate lifted the box lid and groaned when she realized she’d grabbed Felicity Houtman’s witch cake instead of the happy pumpkin brownie she’d decorated especially for Edna. “Mrs. Price! Wait!” But all that remained of Mrs. Price was a flash of her red coat as she turned the corner.
Seconds later, as Kate stood there with her gut burning from her stupid mistake; James Harley strolled in with one of his famous woman-eating grins.
“Afternoon, Red.”
Kate glanced down at the black lace-up corset and red skirt wishing her basket of goodies for grandma included a magic mirror to disappear through.