Julie wondered what the two of them were going to come up with today.
The case was empty by the time they came out of the kitchen with a tray of ‘Happy Jack’ cookies. “These look wonderful.” She grabbed one and popped it in her mouth. They were tiny cookies with mini-chocolate chips, and looked perfect enough to put in the case. But she wouldn’t. These were Mia’s creations.
“How did you get them so perfect?”
Gabe chuckled. “Mia is a good student.”
“I still have a little clean-up to do. If you’re finished in the kitchen, Mia, why don’t you do your homework?”
“I can do it at home.”
“Now, please.”
Mia went to a corner table and brought out a book.
“She’s a remarkable girl,” Gabe said. “And a serious pastry chef.”
“She’s six, Gabe. Give me a break.”
“She’s six going on twenty. I’m telling you Mia has a gift.”
Julie sighed. “Am I going to have her in the kitchen every day baking free cookies?”
“It’s good marketing.”
Gabe was right. A lot of customers were coming in more regularly now and almost every one took a sample of Mia’s creations.
When Gabe followed her, grabbing a cloth to wipe down the case, she told him, “Why don’t you go home and get a good night’s sleep. You’ve earned it.”
“I need to talk to you.”
“Okay.”
“Not now, later. Would you be able to come to my apartment after dinner?”
What was so important Gabe couldn’t tell her here?
“I guess.”
He grinned. “I’d offer to cook, but I know how you like to eat one meal a day with your family.”
That was true. But how did he know? The man was more perceptive than she knew.
They finished the clean up, and he turned to go.
“Around seven?”
She nodded as she grabbed her bag, called for Mia, and headed out with him.
“Your Harley’s at Jeff’s, isn’t it?” She realized she hadn’t heard the sound of his Harley when he left for the day for a few days now. He’d been walking back to Jeff’s and she didn’t know it. Now she felt bad.
“Yep. If I’d left it here, Chad would have known I was inside.”
“Kinda sneaky, aren’t you?”
“Not sneaky. Smart.”
She laughed. “You should have told me. I didn’t even notice. I’ll take you home.”
“I can walk.”
“Get in Gabe, and don’t argue.”
“Did you forget?” Mia piped up. “Mom’s the boss.”
Laughing, Gabe got into the passenger seat.
Chapter Twenty
Julie was so nervous she couldn’t eat dinner. What did Gabe want? She was afraid she knew and didn’t think she could take it. It was her fault for falling for a wandering kind of guy. What would she do? Not just about the sweet shop, but what about her? There had been something both dangerous and reassuring about him from that first day. Since then, his quiet strength had calmed her, made her less anxious.
Of course his wonderful pastries were part of the reason. More and more customers came into the shop every day. As a result, Julie wasn’t so afraid she’d have to close.
Now she wasn’t so sure. Would they go elsewhere if Gabe left?
The customers were spoiled now. So was she. Mom would never be able to take over the kitchen again. Julie was good but not good enough to keep the customers as happy as they were now.
On top of that, she wanted Gabe for personal reasons. She wanted to melt into his arms for a kiss that brought beds and hot, sweaty bodies to mind.
She glanced at Mia, innocently eating her dinner, as she told her gram all about the ‘Happy Jack’ cookies she’d made today and how her piggy bank was almost full. What would Mia do?
Her precious daughter loved Gabe as much as she did.
How would she handle it?
Maybe Julie was worrying for nothing. Maybe he wanted to tell her something totally unrelated to leaving.
She could only pray.
By the time the kitchen was cleaned up, and she’d taken a hot shower, her nerves were stretched tighter than a bowstring.
“I’ll be out for a while, Mom. Would you put Mia to bed?”
“You don’t have to ask.”
She knocked on the door of Gabe’s small apartment ten minutes later. Her stomach was in knots, her heartbeat exploding in her chest.
He was unsmiling when he opened the door and ushered her in. This was serious.
The apartment, though only one room, was sparsely furnished, but neat. She walked straight to the small sofa and sat down. She had to. Her legs didn’t seem to hold her up.
“Something to drink?”
“Water.”
In seconds he handed her a bottle. She opened it and took a sip. “What’s on your mind, Gabe?”
She shut her eyes for a second and prayed she was wrong.
“I have something to tell you, Julie.”
“Okay.” Get on with it. The suspense is killing me.
Gabe seemed nervous, too, as he sat across from her. He’d showered and changed, but didn’t look comfortable. Which was totally unlike the Gabe she’d come to know.
He swiped a hand through his dark hair, which wasn’t in its usual short ponytail, but loose, hanging down almost to his neck. With his straight, coal-black hair she thought he looked as sexy as hell. “My name isn’t Gabe Vaughn. It’s Nate Holden.”
He didn’t stop at her gasp of disbelief.
“I’m a cop.”
“What?” She couldn’t be more surprised. Her pastry chef a cop? Her gaze took in all six feet plus of him. She’d seen the sharp look in his dark eyes—saw daily how attentive he could be. But a cop? How did he end up here? Was that how he so easily thought up the plan to trap Chad? Lynn had called her when she got home to tell her what had really happened. She’d also told Julie how it was Gabe’s idea to give Chad a break.
“What are you doing in Lobster Cove?” The words came out in a worried whisper.
“I went undercover over a year ago in Houston. I was given a criminal background, arrested in public, and sent to jail. We were on the cusp of arresting one of mob boss Al Valine’s biggest henchmen, Mad Jerry Malone, and they wanted me in place. It was my job to get a confession out of Mad Jerry that would hold up in court. HPD wanted enough evidence to put the mob boss away as well.”
Julie took another drink of water. Gabe, a cop who’d been in jail. She couldn’t believe it. Her world tilted. So did the room. She shut her eyes, begged her head and heart to still.
“Valine was arrested, and I testified in court. But his mob is still in operation. An FBI friend, Jackson Oliver, told me I had been outed. He didn’t know who made me, but now the whole mob knows Detective Nate Holden went undercover to get the goods on their boss and squeal on Mad Jerry.
“So my life isn’t worth the bullet it would take to kill me. Jack offered to put me in witness protection. But I didn’t know who I could trust. At some point the wrong person could find where I was. When I turned Jack down, he told me I had twenty-four hours to get out of town or else. I spent that time getting a new identity. Not too good a one as your friend, the sheriff, found out that Gabe Vaughn died twenty years ago. I didn’t tell anyone my new identity, not even Jack. You’re the first person I’ve told.
“Jack helped me get legal papers signed so he could sell my condo and all my possessions so I could disappear. Which wasn’t easy to do and not leave a paper trail. But I found out the FBI can do just about anything and, if need be, hide it.”
“Why here?” Her voice wasn’t her own.
“Mere chance.” He told her about the bus and how he was heading to Nowhere, USA when they had a blowout.
“Your parents? Was that the truth? Or did you learn to bake in jail?”
“It was the truth.”
His eye
s took on a distant look. “They were killed while I was serving a stint in the Marines. I came home vowing to find their killer.”
“Did you?”
He turned his dark eyes her way. “Not the person. But it was someone in Valine’s organization. I found out they were demanding kickbacks from all the businesses in the area. Only Mom and Dad refused to pay. They lost their life because of their principles. So I became a cop and vowed to catch the bastards and put them away. Going undercover and giving up a year of my life seemed worth it to avenge their deaths.”
“Only someone turned you in.”
He wiped his face with both hands. Julie felt badly for him, wanted to go to him, comfort him. But she had a feeling he wasn’t finished.
“Why are you telling me this now?”
“Every time the door opens and that damned bell sounds off, my stomach goes into knots. At first, I didn’t know a soul in town except you, Jeff, and Mia. Every face was a stranger—every face a potential hit man.” He looked her in the eye with such intensity she had to catch her breath. “I can’t live like that anymore. Remember when you told me about the tourist trade and how business increases? I’ve come to recognize most of the regulars now, but I can’t see myself wondering about every stranger who walks in the door once the season starts.”
It was as she expected. He was going to leave before tourist season began.
She couldn’t breathe. She wanted to get up and run out of here and not hear the words. “What are you trying to tell me, Gabe? That you’ll leave in a few months? Why not wait and tell me then?”
He stood and went to the window, pushed aside the curtain. “That’s not it. I want to make it right. I want to live my life in peace, not fear.”
He turned back toward her and she saw the regret in his eyes. “How can I help?”
“There’s nothing you can do. But in a week or maybe a little longer, I’m going back to Houston.”
She gasped. “You can’t. The mob will come after you, kill you.”
“That’s not the plan.”
“Are you going to tell me the plan?”
“No.”
“Can I tell Lynn the truth about you?”
“Not until I’m gone. I don’t want any interference.”
He came toward her and pulled her to her feet. “I care for you, Julie, more than I’ve ever cared for another woman. Can you trust me to do this?”
She cradled his face in her hands, kissed his crooked nose, his lips. “Only if you promise to come back to us.”
“Us?”
“To me and to Mia. You know she loves you.”
“And I love her.”
He took her lips with his and kissed her deeply.
Did that mean he loved her, as well? She wouldn’t ask. “I don’t want you to go. What if they find you? What if…?”
“No more what ifs. I’ll be fine.”
He hugged her close. Julie thought her heart was going to break. Gabe could die. What would she do? “You’d better be.”
They kissed again. And again. Until Julie’s head was swimming, her body crying for release.
Instead of doing anything about it, Gabe gently pulled away and walked her to the door. “Once I’m a free man, we’ll take up where we left off.”
Moments later, she found herself outside his door, her keys in her hand. Dazed, she looked at him, couldn’t believe he was sending her home when she wanted to stay.
“I’ll see you in the morning, Julie. I have more to do now than ever before.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll be gone a few days. I’ll put as much pastry as I can in the freezer so all you’ll have to do is frost the cupcakes and put out the cookies. You’re a whiz at making the tarts, so they’ll be no problem. It’s the best I can do.”
“Oh, Gabe. I don’t care about any of that. I just care about you.”
“Call it my way of caring about you.”
He kissed her lightly on the lips. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
His door shut, and she stood there, unable to move, unable to absorb the story he’d just unfolded.
She’d known all along Gabe was a man of mystery—a dangerous man. Her instincts were right on that score. But a cop? One who was hunted by the mob? It was unreal.
She walked slowly to her car. She wanted to cry, but her eyes stayed dry.
She had to trust what he said, that he’d come back. Could she?
She hadn’t known when he walked through her front door that she’d fall in love.
Her heart trip-hammering in her chest, she started the motor and drove home.
Gabe was leaving.
Would he keep his promise and come back?
Chapter Twenty-One
Gabe did as he’d promised. The freezer was full to overflowing with muffins, cupcakes, and cookies. He’d wanted to make a few cakes as well, but not all of them froze well so he passed. Julie would have to make the tarts, but that was okay. She’d been making them for a long time.
It was time to go.
He’d contacted his FBI friend, Jackson Oliver, who wasn’t too keen on Gabe’s plan. When Gabe insisted, Jack told him to get his butt back to Houston, and by the time the plane landed, he’d have the fake beard ready that Gabe needed to make himself look as he had while in the pen and when he testified on the stand.
His plane would leave at eight tonight from the Bangor airport. He gave the counters one last swipe and stepped back. He’d come to love this kitchen with its stainless steel appliances, stainless steel counters, and white tile floors. However, it did need another oven and a bigger workspace. When he got back from Houston, he’d try to remedy that situation.
The door closed behind Paul Nelson leaving the shop empty for the first time today. It was time to tell Julie goodbye.
“Did he have another roll of bills when he paid?” Gabe asked.
Julie nodded. “I’m worried about Jane.”
“I think it’s time you told your friend the sheriff to check on her. Either that, or have her check with Ms. Stiner’s lawyer to make sure Paul isn’t bleeding his grandmother dry.”
“I’ll do it right now.”
“No.” He took her arm as she headed for the phone. “Right now, I want a kiss. One I’ll remember until I get back.”
“You’re leaving now?”
The look on Julie’s face almost broke his heart. He didn’t want to leave. “It’s time.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck, clung to him as if she never wanted to let go. Gabe’s heart splintered. He had to do this. It was the only way he could live here in peace.
His plan would work. Afterward, he could make better plans—happier ones that included the woman in his arms.
He kissed her hungrily, wanting more, wanting forever with this woman and her daughter.
He peeled her arms away and stepped back. “I have to go.”
Tears fell from Julie’s beautiful green eyes, making them shine like emeralds. “Please come back.”
He chuckled low. “You couldn’t keep me away.”
One last quick kiss and he left. If he kissed her one more time he might change his mind. And he couldn’t.
Straddling his bike, he headed for Bangor.
After a stopover in Dallas, and four hours after he’d left Bangor, the plane landed in Houston. Gabe grabbed his backpack from the overhead compartment and walked off. He looked around. No Jack. He’d told Gabe he’d meet him.
Without Jack’s cooperation there was no way the plan would work.
Stepping out and into the warm September air, he shrugged out of his jacket. When he’d left Lobster Cove it was a cool forty degrees. In Houston, it felt like ninety.
Gabe was headed for the taxi stand when he saw Jack standing beside a nondescript dusty Toyota Camry. He must have left his black suit and tie at home as he was in jeans, Western shirt, and boots. He looked nothing like an FBI agent.
“You look good, Nate. At least as goo
d as that ugly puss of yours lets you.”
Gabe chuckled. “Thanks a lot. Like I told you on the phone, I’ve found a place where I can have a life. After we carry out my plan, I’m going to make it happen.”
They were in the car heading out of Bush Intercontinental. “I don’t like it. If anything goes wrong, you could end up hurt or dead.”
“If I don’t get the situation with the Valine mob straightened out, I just as well be dead, because I’ll never have a day where I’m not looking over my shoulder.” He took the beard out of the bag Jack handed him, looked at it in the dim light of the dashboard before he put it on. “How does it look?”
“You look the same as you did when you were in Huntsville and when you testified in court.”
“Is word out I’m in town?”
“Put it out today. They’re looking for you.”
“Still hanging out at the same haunts?”
“Mostly.”
They were silent for a moment. “I have a cashier’s check in my billfold for the sale of your possessions. Another for your wages for the past year. Are you still wearing your money belt?”
“I am. All I own is in it.” All except the few hundred dollars he’d hidden next to his gun in the back of a cabinet in the kitchen at Julie’s.
“You don’t have a gun, so you’ll need this.” He reached over to the glove compartment and handed Gabe a 9mm Smith and Wesson.
Gabe checked it as best he could with the light he had. “It’ll do. Hopefully, I won’t need it.”
When Gabe glanced at Jack, he saw the clamped lips, the frown, and realized how worried his friend was about this. “It’ll work Jack. It has to.”
Gabe hadn’t given Jack any details about the life he planned to live once this was over. If anything went wrong, Gabe didn’t want anyone to know about Lobster Cove, Maine, or about Julie. It was safer that way.
Jack drove to a lower-end motel on I-45 and parked in front of room six.
When they got out, Jack handed Gabe a key to the room. “It’s paid for three nights. When do you want to put your plan in motion?”
“Tomorrow. Do you have anyone you can trust to bring with you?”
They walked into the room and shut the door. The room was basic but clean. Good enough.
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