by Deany Ray
He picked up his head and stared directly into my eyes with a charming smile.
“Is it that obvious? No, I'm not from around here.” He paused. “Actually I came to Ouna Bay looking for your café.”
So this was the mystery man from this morning.
“How come my café? Is it featured in the famous travel guides?” I smiled.
“Unfortunately no. Let me introduce myself. My name is Houston Hayes. I'm the nephew of Mr. Duncan Hayes.”
Chapter Three
My jaw dropped open. This I did not expect. This beautiful man sitting in front of me worked for the Hayes Corporation? Angela would be disappointed when she found out he was not my admirer. Although I knew he must have known my name, I reached out my hand and introduced myself also.
“Becky Chambers. Are you here to try to persuade me to sell Mr. Hayes? Because I already told your uncle I am not going to sell,” I said.
Somehow that got another smile from him. “No, that’s not why I’m here. I was just curious to find out who the person is that keeps rejecting our buying offers. And call me Houston.”
“All right, Houston. This is the person.” I stood in front of him with my arms lifted on the side in a daring take-a-good-look-at-me stance.
I was surprised by my own boldness, but that was just the anger that had built up inside of me. I was supposed to believe he came all the way to Ouna Bay just to have a cup of coffee? I was sure he was here to convince me to sell my beloved café. I was slowly beginning to feel harassed by the H. Corporation.
“I can see my uncle made a good impression on you. But don’t worry. My uncle and I often don’t see eye-to-eye. Actually you’re the first person ever to reject his offer. You’re quite the hit at our company and I just had to meet this famous person.”
Somehow, the tone of his voice calmed me down a little. There was something soothing in it and that smile, oh my. But I still couldn't let my guard down. He was working for the company that wanted my café and I couldn't forget that simply because he was gorgeous.
He crooked his head and looked towards the window.
“Is this some kind of new trend regarding store fronts? Because I gotta tell you, your door becomes fairly redundant.”
I put my elbows on the counter and smiled. “You know, you're the umpteenth person today to tell that joke.”
“Oh, my mistake,” he said. “It looks good. Very original.”
“Original? Now that's a first for today,” I said laughing.
He took another sip of his coffee.
“I also heard you make the most delicious pastries around town. Can I get a blueberry muffin?”
I didn’t know what to think about the new visitor, but a customer is a customer. I served him the muffin which he evidently enjoyed, since he asked for more.
The second time I poured him coffee, he insisted on telling me that he was just the company’s lawyer and that his uncle was the one who found new cafés to take over. Houston was very pleasant to be around, but I didn't know if I could trust him.
While I was in the back getting more of the rhubarb cake, Maia came running to me and asked me about our new visitor. She was also surprised to find out who he was.
“Here's a thought,” she said. “Don't you think it's a little suspicious that he comes here on the same day your window gets smashed?”
I stopped what I was doing and looked up. I had to admit, that had crossed my mind, I just didn't want to believe it. Could the Hayes Corporation be capable of this? I went back to the front and tried to keep myself busy and not think about anything that had to do with the H.C. Corporation. Which was not that easy, considering a Hayes family member was sitting at my counter drinking coffee.
After a while the phone behind the counter rang and it was Rosalie.
“Becky! What happened? Are you okay?” she said hastily.
“Of course I'm okay. Why do you ask?”
“I heard about the window. What happened to it?”
Good Lord, news really traveled fast around here.
“Do you want me to come over tonight and keep you company?” she asked.
“Rosalie, I'm fine. You don't need to do that. It was probably just some kids playing,” I answered.
“Some kids playing? What kind of playing is this, smashing other people's windows? I'm telling you, if I ever put my hands on the culprit...”
You had to love Rosalie. She was always ready to defend her friend. I managed to calm her down and she promised to leave it to the police if we found the culprit and not to perform self-justice.
“By the way, you forgot your scarf in my car,” I said.
“Good gracious, I looked for it all over the place. Good thing my head's screwed on, right?” she said and I could hear her laughing.
“Thank God for that,” I said.
I hung up and attended to some customers at a table in the back, all the while with my eyes on Houston, who was still sitting at the counter enjoying his coffee and pastries.
When the phone rang a second time, I was too far out of reach, so I asked Maia to pick up. I finished pouring coffee for a customer and approached the counter asking Maia who it was. She held her hand over the phone and whispered that it was Roger, the deputy chief.
“He says he heard about the window and wants to talk to you,” Maia said, still holding her hand over the phone.
I felt a sudden wave of nervousness and my stomach instantly clenched.
“Tell him I'm not here,” I said and went to the back, supposedly to get some whipped cream from the fridge. I didn't have the mental strength today to talk to him. I took a deep breath and returned to the front.
I noticed that Houston sat way too close to the phone since he perked up.
“This is some friendly town you have,” he said. “The deputy chief himself calls about a broken window. May I ask why you didn't want to talk to him?”
Oh my, the new visitor sure was curious. I honestly did not know how to answer him. Most likely, being too personal with him was not the best strategy. Unfortunately, Maia didn't have the same sense of the situation and intervened before I could answer.
“Well, you probably wouldn't want to talk to your ex-fiancé neither, would you?” she said to him.
Chapter Four
Houston lifted his coffee mug to take a sip but stopped mid-air. Maia went about to other customers completely oblivious to the situation. It was not a secret that Roger, the deputy chief, was my ex-fiancé. I mean, the whole town knew about the break-up. However, sharing personal things with a Hayes family member probably was not the smart thing to do. He may have found a way to use this against me in the whole getting me to sell my café affair.
“Small towns are more exciting than I thought,” he smiled and took a sip of his coffee.
“Yes, big cities have nothing on us,” I said, smiling back.
“But don't worry. If you were meant to break-up, better sooner than later. Trust me, if it's later and you're already in a marriage, it's more complicated than just giving a ring back.”
“So you're married?” God, why did I ask that? I needed to remember, no personal stuff.
“Divorced,” he answered.
“Oh, I'm sorry.”
“Thank you, but you don't have to be. It wasn't meant to be.”
The way Houston put it sounded so easy and simple. If only I could see things like that. I was still pretty shaken up about the thing with Roger.
A half hour later, Houston thanked me for the coffee and the blueberry muffins and went on his way. He said he was going back to his bed and breakfast hotel to get some work done and that he would be back the next day. He added that there was something charming about our town and that he may stay longer than he planned. I still didn't know what to think about him and especially about him staying in town.
The day went by without any further interruptions. Customers came and customers left. Luckily, everyone seemed to enjoy the rhubarb cake. There was barely
any left in the afternoon.
It's funny how I was so excited in the morning about baking the cake and how that crept to the back of my mind with all the things happening today.
I closed the café at eight pm, about two hours after Maia ended her shift. A new, shiny window was in its place at the front and I was glad the repairs went so fast. I changed my mind and took on the invitation to meet Rosalie, so I called her and told her I'd pick her up and go to my place to chat and have a cooking session. I really needed to tell her about the day I'd had.
As I stopped in front of her house, Rosalie was already waiting for me at the curb.
“Hey hon,” she said, as she jumped in my car. “Glad you changed your mind. I could use a good night cooking together.” She took her scarf and wrapped it around her neck and shoulders with a deliberate diva-like move. The headband she wore in her short, light brown hair shimmered in a turquoise color tone and could make any fashionista jealous.
“Tell me about it,” I said and headed towards my house.
“So what happened today? First your window, then the new visitor. It was quite a day, right?” she asked with a large grin.
“How do you know about him?” I frowned. I couldn't believe how fast news was spreading.
“Well everybody saw him at the café. I heard it from Beverly who heard it from Mitcham. They said his eyes were glued to you the entire time,” Rosalie said with a spark in her voice.
“Good Lord,” I rolled my eyes all the way to the back of my head.
I told Rosalie everything that happened, starting with the surprise I'd had in the morning when I discovered the broken window, then Houston's visit at the café and Roger calling.
“My, you've had an adventurous day,” she said. “The only excitement I had today was finding out that our beloved mayor transferred a good chunk of his money to an offshore account.” Rosalie looked at me and raised her eyebrows up and down a few times, grinning with pleasure.
“Rosalie, you're not supposed to snoop around other people's finances,” I said.
“Yeah, like there's police for that,” she said with a snort.
I turned and looked at her. “Yes, there is.”
She thought about that for a few seconds. “Oh okay, so there is. But I'm not hurting anybody just by knowing stuff. And I like knowing this stuff.”
“I know that,” I laughed.
“You never know when it will come in handy,” she said.
“Fine, whatever. Although I'd rather not know what the mayor does with his money.”
“Well last month, he...”
“Stop!” I interrupted her. “I really don't wanna know.”
“Okay okay, don't get your panties in a bunch,” she said with a sigh. “Better we talk about the hunk that came to see you.”
“You didn't even see him. How come you're assuming he's a hunk?” I asked, incredulous.
“That's what I've been told, hon. Everybody that saw him today said so.”
“Right,” I said and exhaled a puff of air.
“Don't be so surprised, Becky. I think a little flirtation would be good for you,” she said.
“Flirtation? There was no flirtation with him,” I said in a very insecure tone.
“Oh, come on. You don't believe that yourself. After that whole Roger fiasco, you were sent a good-looking man. So what if he's a Hayes? Go with it. Have some fun.”
I wish I could have been as relaxed as Rosalie put it, but something was holding me back. Could it be fear?
“Rosalie, when you put it like that it sounds easy. But it's more complicated than that,” I said.
“Well, if I were you, I'd just go with it. Wouldn't want to let a man like that go to waste, you know,” Rosalie laughed.
I couldn't help it and laughed with her.
“Oh Rosalie, you're too funny. You haven't even seen him and you're already so convinced of his good looks.”
“I haven't heard you denying it,” she grinned at me.
She got me there. I couldn't deny it. Houston was a gorgeous man.
We arrived at my house and I had to admit to myself that Rosalie had put me in a better mood. I don't know how she does that, but it's been like this forever.
We were walking towards the front door while we kept discussing the hotness of Houston and stopped short on the last step. We both looked down and saw a flower bouquet. We looked at each other questioningly and I saw Rosalie's face light up.
“Ohmigod, he sent you flowers!” she exclaimed.
“That can't be right.” I took a step forward and looked at the flowers. “Those are dead flowers.” I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“What?” Rosalie bend down and took the bouquet. “Oh, this doesn't look pretty. And they smell bad too. Why would somebody leave these things on your doorstep?”
“I don't know.” Suddenly I felt a chill down my spine. Something was not right about this.
“What kind of flowers are these anyway?” Rosalie asked as she inspected them closely.
It took a few seconds until I noticed it.
“Those are red anemones,” I said to her with a monotonous tone. “I planned to have red anemones as centerpieces at my wedding with Roger.”
Chapter Five
Rosalie looked at me, her eyebrows clenched.
“Could it be just a coincidence that these are the same flowers?” she asked.
“I don't know,” I said, sitting down on the step, crossing my arms on my knees and putting my head on them. “I remember distinctly being at the flower market with Roger looking for the perfect flowers for our wedding. When I saw those beautiful red anemones, I knew those were the right ones.”
“Well, this is a little freaky then,” Rosalie said putting the flowers down.
“Freaky is the right word,” I said. “Even if the red anemones are just a coincidence, it's still strange that obviously someone took the energy to tie up dead flowers in a nice bouquet and bring them to my house, leaving them here. First the window this morning and now this.”
“Oh hon,” Rosalie sat down next to me and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. “Could this just be a stupid, mean prank of Roger?”
“I don't think so. I mean, I don't know. It doesn't seem like him to do something like this,” I answered.
“You're right. He's not exactly known for being a funny man.”
“A broken window and dead flowers are more a gruesome joke than a funny one.”
“You're right about that too. This isn't funny,” Rosalie said thoughtful.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked.
“Could this be the work of...you know?” she asked me with a look that said it all.
I thought about that for a few seconds. “I don't know. Why would she? I should be the one with a reason to be mad at her.”
“I know. But she's a mean little snake. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out she did all this. Speaking of, do you need moral support for the Yearly Official Brunch event on Saturday?”
“Ughhh,” I groaned. “I completely forgot about that. Why did I accept holding the brunch for the police department at my café? Now I have to see Roger and her.”
“You accepted because you're a professional and you can totally do this. This is about business. The police department is paying you a pretty big chunk of money for hosting the event at your café. And why shouldn't they? Your pastries are the best.”
Rosalie smiled at me in the sweet way only she could. She offered to sleep over and wouldn't take no for an answer. I was actually relieved she wanted to spend the night at my house, since I was pretty shaky after all that happened today. My gut feeling told me the broken window was not an accident. Someone intentionally smashed it and then put dead flowers on my doorstep. I kept asking myself why would somebody do such things. Was it Roger? Was it her? Was it Houston, who suspiciously showed up on this very day?
I tried to get some sleep but wasn't very successful at it. I kept tossing from one side to
the other while my mind was racing. One question was going through my head: if someone did all this intentionally, what was it that they wanted from me?
***
The next morning I was up at six. There was no point in staying in bed staring at the ceiling. I did manage to get a couple of hours of sleep, so it would have to do.
I drove Rosalie to her house and headed to the café. My stomach clenched when I approached Brown Street as I was scared of what I would find at my café. I didn't feel like browsing through cooking magazines at Dev's kiosk, so I parked in front of the café and was glad that the window was still in place.
I set the coffee brewing and filled the biggest mug I had. I really needed coffee. I rearranged the freezer and cleaned the pastry case window, while another batch of the rhubarb cake was in the oven. Keeping myself busy was the best strategy I could think of. The moment I stopped moving, I thought again about the happenings of the previous day.
Maia started her shift and at ten am people were already coming in, delighted by the aroma of cakes, pastries and fresh coffee.
The next few hours went by at a normal pace. All of the ten tables were taken, some customers ordered a second round of rhubarb cake and Maia and I brewed coffee constantly. While I was cleaning up a table and getting it ready for the next customers, I heard a voice behind me.
“Hi Becky.”
I turned and saw Houston wearing a pair of dark-blue jeans and a cool grey shirt. His hair was still damp, probably from a shower. With that smile of his, he could be wearing whatever and he would still look good.
“Oh hi, Houston,” I said. “I almost didn't recognize you.”
“Being that I'm working from my hotel room, I figured a suit and a tie would be redundant.”
He took a seat at the counter, just like the day before, ordering coffee and some muffins.
“So how long are you going to be in town?” I asked him.
“I'm not sure. Initially, I planned to get away for a few days from the hustle and bustle of the city and Ouna Bay seemed the right choice. A strong curiosity led me to your café and your delicious pastries. All in all, it was the best decision for a short vacation.”