Mann Cakes: A Beach Pointe Romance

by Mysti Parker

  Paige came up to him and settled her hands on his waist. "Hey, look at me."

  He raised his head.

  Her beautiful brown eyes looked right into his. "Remember what you told me? Let go of the past. We've both made mistakes. Let's concentrate on what's happening now. How does Garrett know that it was her...or him?"

  "He reviewed the security footage again. I'm not sure what he saw yet, but I trust him. He knows his stuff."

  "Okay, so that means she's here in town, or recently was. When he and Morgan get here, we can get more information to go on, and then we can call the..."

  Glass shattered in the front of the shop. Paige jumped and let out a shriek. Tanner pushed her behind him and ran toward the sound. A wall of fire flared up in front of the display cases. Flames streaked across the checkerboard floor, ignited on a chair, and climbed the papered wall.

  He skidded to a stop, arm shielding his face, and took a few steps backward. "Fire extinguisher!"

  Paige already had it out and shoved it into his hands. Tanner pulled the pin, aimed the hose, and squeezed the trigger. The spray whooshed out. He swept it across the flames on the wall and chair, then on the floor. A broken bottle neck and a charred strip of cloth spun on the tiles as the spray hit it. He could recognize a Molotov cocktail anywhere—the cheap, but highly effective weapon of choice in riots and sudden skirmishes. The insurgents in Afghanistan often used them when they had nothing else.

  The flames were out, but smoke clogged the air. Tanner coughed and covered his nose and mouth with his elbow.

  "Call 911!" he yelled to Paige.

  "I am!"

  "Good, now go out the back—"

  Another flaming bottle flew toward the window. He may not have known his stalker's real name, but that bitch didn't know who she was dealing with either. He roared with rage as he hurled the spent fire extinguisher through the broken window. It collided with the bottle bomb. A ball of fire burst in the air, sending glass and flaming streaks away from the building. A woman screamed outside.

  For one horrendous second, he feared that the scream could have come from Morgan if she and Garrett had arrived. But he had told Garrett to park around back. There was no reason for them to be out front, and he hoped to God they weren't.

  Then he heard Garrett's voice coming through the back door, followed by Morgan yelling, "Paige!"

  And then he knew—the enemy was right out front. Relief turned to consuming rage. Tanner took off running. He blocked his face with raised arms and leapt, hurdling over the shards of glass left in the window. He mostly cleared the licking flames from the bomb he had deflected and landed in a crouch at the edge of the sidewalk. A sturdy woman, dressed in a black jacket, pants, and boots with a black knit cap partially covering her hair, stood a couple yards away. She held another rag-filled bottle in one hand and desperately flicked a lighter with the other. Her attention darted from Tanner to the lighter, her teeth bared in a desperate snarl. He still couldn't see her face clearly in the dim parking lot, but at least now he knew he'd not been sexting with a dude.

  He smelled the gasoline and charged at full speed. She flicked the lighter again. A flame emerged. She moved her hand to light the bomb. He tackled her, latching onto both her arms as she went down. Her head and back smacked the pavement. She screamed and thrashed. Tanner planted himself on top of her, his knees locked at her sides. He picked up her arm and hammered it on the ground until she dropped the lighter.

  She went still just long enough for him to see her face clearly. She'd been pretty at one time. But now the former cheerleader was as big as a linebacker. Her demented eyes bulged, and her face contorted with hatred. Bourbon-blurred memories flashed through his mind—blonde hair, heavy breaths in the back seat of a Buick, Designer Imposter perfume mixed with sweat. Paige's former best friend.

  "Lisa?"

  "Call me Jenny." She tried to lift her head and arms off the pavement, but Tanner pushed her back down. His weight shifted onto her wrists. Lisa swept her left arm in close to her side, knocking him off-balance. She bucked her right hip. He toppled over and landed on his side. He tried to grab her, but she butted him in the nose with the heel of her hand. The sickening sound of bone cracking echoed in his head, and blood flowed onto his lip. Sharp pain brought stars to his eyes.

  Lisa rolled away and jumped to her feet. She grabbed the heavy glass bottle and drew her arm back, ready to smash it right into Tanner's face.

  Then came a loud clang and a red blur. Lisa's head jerked to one side. She dropped the bottle. It shattered on the pavement as she fell in a crumpled heap at Paige's feet.

  Paige stood over her, empty fire extinguisher still raised. Her chest heaved. "Tanner, you all right?"

  He sat up, took hold of his nose before he could chicken out, and cracked it back in place. "Holy fuck! Been better, but yeah. Watch out!"

  Lisa swept her leg to one side, striking Paige in the back of her knees. Paige cried out and went down face-first. She let go of the fire extinguisher, which flew from her grasp and spun out of reach. She caught herself on her hands.

  Lisa stumbled to her feet and reached into her jacket. Garrett ran at full speed and tackled her, knocking her flat on her back again. He didn't give her a chance to buck him off. He grabbed her right arm and right leg and roughly flipped her over onto her stomach. She yanked her left arm out from under her before Garrett could immobilize it. Clenching an army knife, she sliced the air in front of her with it, screaming like a madwoman.

  "Put the knife down, bitch!" Morgan stood over her, holding a handgun right at her head. "You may know how to street fight, but I know how to shoot. Want to try me?"

  Lisa went still. She lifted her head as much as possible. The whites of her eyes reflected her loathing sneer as she looked up at Morgan and dropped the knife.

  Morgan kicked it away as sirens blared. Blue and red lights flashed across the parking lot. The sheriff deputy's car skidded to a stop, along with a fire truck and EMS. Headlights illuminated the scene. Jesse scrambled out of the car. He kept his hand on his gun and held his flashlight on Lisa. She rested her cheek on the ground and bawled.

  "What the hell is going on here?" Jesse demanded. He shone his light on Morgan, who still held the gun on Lisa, then on Garrett, who was still sitting on Lisa's back, hands held up in surrender. He flashed it across Paige, who sat beside Tanner. Her bloody knees and palms looked terrible, but she had taken off her sock, balled it up, and was holding it under Tanner's nose to catch the blood. Then Jesse shifted the light to Tanner.

  "Dude, don't blind me." Tanner held his hand in front of his eyes.

  Jesse pulled his gun out, but kept it pointed to the ground. "Look, I don't know what kind of brawl y'all had out here, but Morgan, you need to put the gun down."

  "Okay. Take it easy," she said.

  He kept his eyes and flashlight trained on her. They all went dead silent, even Lisa.

  Shit, as far as Tanner knew, Jesse could have been in on it, too. He was already strategizing the best way to disarm him.

  Arms up, Morgan kept the gun pointed away from everyone, took her finger off the trigger and squatted down before placing it gently on the pavement between her and Jesse. She stood up again very slowly. As soon as she was upright, Jesse kicked the gun far out of reach.

  He noticed the knife by Lisa. "Whose is that?"

  "Hers," Paige said, pointing at Lisa.

  Jesse moved in and kicked the knife out of reach, too.

  He holstered his pistol. Paige let out the breath she'd been holding.

  Jesse held the light on Lisa, tilted his head to one side, and squinted at her. "Is that Lisa Barnett?"

  "It's McCoy now," Lisa said.

  "And Lisa, aka Jenny Smith, just tried to fire bomb my girl's shop," Tanner said. "She also burned our old computer shop and our friend, Will, to the ground."

  "Okay....?" Jesse shined his light on the shop, where the huge hole in the broken window grinned back with its jagged glass teeth.
The brick storefront and sidewalk was charred black from the second bomb. Had Tanner not stopped that one, the shop would probably be gone up in flames by now.

  Jesse shook his head and scratched his side. "Y'all got some more explaining to do." He took the handcuffs from his belt and tossed them to Garrett.

  Garrett caught them and arched one eyebrow.

  "Cuff her, Mann. Miss Lisa Barnett, McCoy, Jenny, or whatever the hell she calls herself is getting a free ride in the back of my car. The rest of you are going to follow, and we'll have a nice long talk at the station."

  Garrett grinned and followed orders. Lisa had gone limp, staring right at Tanner and Paige. Tanner swallowed hard at the despair in her eyes. He regretted ever having gotten in her car back then and for later engaging with her online, even if he didn't know who she was. He had hurt her, yes, but he didn't make her take one man's life and attempt to take all theirs tonight. That was all on her.

  Morgan knelt beside Paige and stroked her hair, grimacing at her sister's wounds.

  Jesse's face softened a bit. "Do you need an ambulance?"

  "No, but some first aid would be nice," Morgan said.

  "Okay, you guys let the EMTs fix you up, and I'll meet you over there once we book her."

  Garrett got off Lisa and stood aside as Jesse hauled her to her feet. He put his hand on her head and got her seated in the back of the police car. Garrett went to Morgan and took her hand. She stood, and he embraced her tightly.

  Jesse shut the car door and looked back at Morgan. He looked half relieved, half regretful. "Are you okay?"

  Morgan nodded and glanced up at Garrett with a soft smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Jesse."

  He answered with a nod. "Take care of her, Mann."

  "I will. Always."

  Chapter Nineteen

  A few evenings later, they gathered in front of Two Sisters Cupcakes to discuss how to proceed with cleanup and reopening. An ugly piece of plywood and plastic sheeting covered the broken window. Because they had firsthand proof of the attempted arson, the insurance would pay for the damage, but it would take some time for them to get everything fixed. The fire had destroyed the surface of one wall, a few chairs, a table, and part of the floor. The window would have to be custom ordered. She'd had to call and cancel all the booked parties and orders to be filled within the next month. Most of the customers were very understanding and supportive. A few of them had even set up a GoFundMe campaign to help them rebuild.

  Still, it was hard to see the shop like that, with so much damage done in such a short time. Years of hard work had almost gone up completely in flames. Tears rolled from Paige's eyes.

  Tyler held her hand and looked up at his mother. "We can fix it, Mom."

  She bent and kissed the top of his head. "Yes, we can. I'm just happy we're all okay, baby."

  Her knees and hands were bandaged from where she'd hit the pavement. At least they had stopped stinging. Poor Tanner was still in quite a bit of pain, though he shrugged it off. He had a big bandage on his face that covered the splint on his nose, and he sounded nasally with all the gauze blocking his nostrils. But Paige was beyond grateful that he had been there. She didn't want to imagine what could have happened if he hadn't been.

  He put his arm around her shoulders and nodded. "Yeah, we could fix it, but...I think I have a better idea."

  Garrett rolled his eyes. "Oh Lord, Tanner's got an idea again. Let's hope this one doesn't come with a crazy stalker."

  "Bro, that's harsh."

  Morgan nudged Garrett. "Yeah, at least hear him out before you smart off."

  "Okay, sorry. Go on, Tanner. Let's hear it," Garrett said.

  "Well, our shop is pretty spacious. And you know what they say—four heads are better than one. Or something like that."

  Paige wiped her cheeks and huffed a laugh. "What? You going to buy us out?"

  "No, I'm saying we call a truce and become business partners. All of us. Combine the sweet and savory. And there's a space next door to us that just went up for lease. We could get that one too. Double our space and customer base."

  Garrett laughed. "It's hard to take you seriously when you sound like that."

  Morgan elbowed him. "Hey, I think it's a great idea."

  Paige looked at her, then back at her blackened, broken storefront. "You think so? Really? But where would Ty and I go? We're staying with Mom now, but I like having my own space."

  "An apartment just opened up in my complex," Morgan said, smiling all secretively like Mona Lisa. What was she up to?

  "Yeah, and I put a deposit on it," Tanner said. "I can't stay with Dad anymore. His snoring is killing me."

  Paige lifted her hands, palms up. "Well, I guess that's out."

  "Out? See, how it works is, you move in, not out," he said.

  A smile jumped around on her lips. "Wait. What? Are you asking us to move in with you?"

  Tanner took her hand and shrugged. "Maybe, then again..." He went down on one knee.

  Paige's jaw dropped. She covered her mouth. This couldn't be for real. She hoped no one pinched her in case she was dreaming.

  "Paige Baxter, will you and Tyler move in with me?"

  She put a hand on her hip and shook her head. "Uh-huh."

  Tanner's nasally laugh made her giggle. "What I meant was, will you move in with me and marry me? In whichever order you'd like. I'm not picky."

  That sounded better. She smiled down at Tyler. "What do you think?"

  He looked from Tanner to Paige and nodded. "You should get married. You like thirty-three a lot. I like him, too."

  Laughing, she bent and wrapped her arms around Tanner's neck, holding him tight. "In that case, yes!"

  Morgan clapped and jumped up and down. "Yay! By the way, Garrett's moving in with me. We'll probably get married eventually."

  Garrett chuckled. "That's very likely. We'll let them go first."

  "Fine by me. I get more time to plan the flowers and the decorations and the cakes..."

  "Whatever you want, honey. Let's go get some lunch and talk business. I have a lot of new recipe ideas."

  "This is going to be awesome, right, sis?"

  But Paige barely heard her.

  A FedEx truck drove into the parking lot and parked in front of the store. The driver got out, holding a white envelope. He walked toward them, looked down at the address, then asked, "Paige Baxter?"

  "That's me," she said.

  "Great." He gave her the envelope and a handheld signature pad. "Sign here, please."

  She tucked the envelope under her arm and held the stylus, but her hand trembled so much, her signature looked like an alien language. The driver took the device, glanced up at her with an arched eyebrow, and returned to the truck. She inspected the envelope—no company name, but she recognized the address. Heart pounding, she met Tanner's gaze.

  He wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. "No matter what," he whispered.

  Morgan nudged Garrett and nodded toward the shop. "Hey, Ty, you want to go color with Aunt Morgan and Uncle Garrett?"

  "Okay." He shrugged and followed them inside.

  Paige appreciated that little gesture to give them privacy for such an important moment. They'd gone the day after the attack to a DNA testing center in Louisville. She couldn't open the shop anyway and didn't want to wait any longer. She'd hoped they could have an answer the same day, but they said they'd mail the results. Now that she held the envelope, though, she hesitated. Yes, he had said no matter what, but when it came down to it, what lay inside could change things between them. Tanner moved to stand in front of her, which meant she'd be the first one to see it.

  Paige took a deep breath. Now was not the time to let fear and doubt have control. She loved Tanner. He loved her. She had a son she wouldn't trade for anything, no matter whose DNA made up half of him. She took the end of the pull tab and tore it off. Then she lifted the flap and found the edge of the paper. She took one last glance at Tanner, and at his encouraging nod
, she slid it out.

  It took her a moment to find the actual result, but when she did, her hand went to her mouth. The sobs followed. She dropped the envelope and paper. They fell to the sidewalk at their feet.

  Tanner's forehead creased with concern. "Paige?"

  She uncovered her mouth and threw her arms around his neck. His strong arms held her tight. He rubbed her back, and she knew then for certain that he had meant what he said.

  Through her tears, she finally managed to speak. "He's yours. You're his dad."

  He held her until she stopped crying then pulled back and gave her the sweetest, most tender kiss she'd ever had. The future looked brighter than it had in a long time. But the thing that excited her most? She could kiss her man anytime she wanted to, for the rest of her life.

  THE END

  If you enjoyed this book, please take a minute to leave a review at Amazon and/or Goodreads. Don’t forget to tell your friends about it, too. Word of mouth is an author's best friend. Keep reading to find the Monday Muffintops recipe at the end of this book, AND find out how to claim your FREE bonus Mann Cakes recipe!

  Other Books by this Author

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  The Roche Hotel: Season One (FREE!)

  The Roche Hotel: Season Two

  The Roche Hotel: Season Three

  Connect with the author

  Email: mystiparkerbooks@gmail.com

  Twitter: @MystiParker