Sweet Haven

by Shirlee McCoy

  “Just give me a dozen of whatever you like most,” he said, his gaze drifting to the hallway that led to the kitchen. “Kid still working out for you?”

  “Yes. Are you still hoping he won’t?” He and Sinclair both seemed to be worried about Chase. Neither believed the teen’s story. Adeline didn’t either, but she liked Chase, and she was willing to give him a chance.

  “Who said I was hoping that?”

  “I just get the impression that you’ll be happy when he finally leaves town.”

  “I don’t care how long the kid stays here, just as long as while he’s here, he stays out of trouble.”

  “So far he’s been a model employee.” She reached into the display case and grabbed four milk chocolate bonbons and put them in a box, added a few caramel pecan logs and a piece of white chocolate bark. Vera loved Lamont fudge, but Addie didn’t have any of that to give, so she substituted five soft brittle squares—Vera’s second favorite.

  “How long is he planning to be in town?” Jax was still staring at the hallway.

  “Until he has enough money to get his car fixed.”

  “I can help him with that.”

  “He won’t take your charity. He wouldn’t even take the tip Millicent left.” She gestured to the tip jar. “He also agreed to help out until Byron returns. Even if his car is fixed, he won’t be able to leave.”

  “You might be better off hiring someone local.”

  “Why?” she demanded, handing him the filled chocolate box.

  “Because you have no idea what his long-term work potential is. He could steal you blind and—”

  “Shhh!” she hissed. “He might be listening.”

  “I don’t care if he is. He’s got a clean record, but I’m not sure how he ended up in Benevolence. I’d like to find out. Maybe I should go back there and ask.” He handed her a twenty, probably would have headed down the hall, but she blocked his path.

  “Can you wait and ask him another time? I’m swamped, he’s not causing anyone around here any trouble, and—”

  The bell above the shop door rang, and Sinclair walked in.

  He didn’t have Tiny with him. Which was a relief.

  Or maybe not.

  “Did Tiny escape?” she asked.

  He smiled, and her heart did a funny little flip that she did not appreciate.

  “No. He and Gavin are hiking. They were both driving me crazy, so I sent them off together.”

  “Sorry about that. If you want, I can go get him.”

  “Tiny or Gavin? Because I’d much rather you take my brother off my hands than the dog.” His gaze shifted to Jax, and he nodded. “Did you ask her?”

  “I was getting to it.”

  “Getting to what?” She didn’t like the look that passed between the two, and she braced herself.

  “What time did you come back to the shop after you took Tiny home last night?”

  “Around eleven.” She’d decided to run to Walmart to hunt for an orange zipper. That had taken time. Lots of it. She’d puttered around looking for things she didn’t need because she hadn’t wanted to return to the shop. “Why?”

  “The office light in your granddad’s place was on again,” Jax said.

  “This is what?” Addie’s stomach churned with unease. “The third time?”

  “Yeah,” Sinclair muttered, his eyes dark with irritation. “And it’s really starting to bug me.”

  “Did you change the lock?”

  “Yesterday.” He raked his hand through his hair. “If someone was there, they got in another way.”

  “You’re sure you turned the light off?”

  “I’m pretty good about things like that.”

  He was pretty good about a lot of things.

  It was on the tip of her tongue to say it, but he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and continued speaking. “Is your mom the real estate agent representing the property next door?”

  “May’s shop? Yes.”

  “Do you think she’d be willing to let us take a look inside?”

  “Janelle is always willing to show a property.”

  “We’re not interested in seeing the property,” Jax said. “We want to take a look at the door that leads into Byron’s property. If someone is getting into the place, that’s how he’s doing it.”

  She hadn’t thought about that.

  Now that she was, it made sense: Byron seeing someone in the apartment, the door closing when she walked in, the random lights turned on when they should have been off. All of it could be attributed to someone entering the apartment through that door.

  Why someone would want to do that, she didn’t know. Once, she could understand, but Byron didn’t keep valuables in the apartment. All the family’s antiques and heirlooms were at Janelle’s place, all Alice’s old jewelry was in a safety deposit box at the bank. Even if there had been valuables in the apartment, it seemed like a thief would have taken what he wanted, and not returned.

  “What do you think you’re going to find?” she asked. “Someone squatting in the building?”

  “I don’t know.” Jax opened the box of chocolates and pulled out a bonbon. She’d swirled the glossy top with a thin line of hazelnut spread. She used to love bonbons. She used to love fudge. Now just looking at the piece of chocolate made her want to puke. “But I went home last night, and I started thinking about your grandfather and how he keeps insisting that someone was in the apartment the day he fell, and it makes me wonder . . .” He bit into the bonbon, moaned softly. “This place makes the best chocolate I’ve ever eaten.”

  “I’ll tell my grandfather you said so.”

  “You driving out to see him today?” Jax finished off the bonbon and reached into the box for another one. If he kept going, there wouldn’t be any left for Vera.

  She didn’t point it out, because she was in a foul mood and didn’t want to take it out on Jax.

  “I’m hoping to.” The hospital was in Spokane. A good hour-and-a-half drive. She’d planned to make the trip the previous day and the day before that, but she’d gotten caught up in . . . stuff. Dresses that didn’t fit, zippers that were broken, fudge that couldn’t be made properly. Running and accounting and doing a bunch of crap that really wasn’t more important than Byron.

  “Is he at Sacred Heart?” Sinclair asked.

  “Yes. He’s had three surgeries, so that was the best place for him.”

  “I’d like to go see him, so if you do go tonight, let me know. We can drive out together,” Sinclair said.

  She thought about that for about two seconds—about being in the car with Sinclair for nearly three hours. It didn’t seem like a good idea. As a matter of fact, it seemed like a horrible idea. There were all kinds of trouble she could get into in three hours, all kinds of conversations that they could have, questions she could ask, things that she could learn about a guy that she really should be avoiding.

  I probably won’t go. That’s what she meant to say.

  Instead, “Sounds good,” slipped out.

  He smiled. “I have to do a little more work at Gavin’s place. We’ve got a delivery scheduled. I’ll pick you up after that. Maybe seven. Sound good?”

  It sounded kind of like a date, and dating wasn’t something Addie was interested in doing. “I—”

  The door opened, the bell rang, and a small group of women walked in. She didn’t recognize any of them. All had variations of a short, curly hairstyle. All wore dark blue slacks, thick winter coats, and leather gloves.

  “We made it!” one cried gleefully. “Chocolate Haven. The object of every chocolate fantasy I have ever had!” The woman rushed forward, her group rushing along with her.

  In the midst of the chaos of women calling out their chocolate orders, Sinclair and Jax disappeared and Chase appeared, boxes in hand, gloves on. He began filling orders, and she began ringing them up, the shop resounding with a dozen voices all chattering at once.

  She gathered that the group was from
Montana, that they’d been driving all night to come to Chocolate Haven for their March birthdays. All because one of them had been there with her parents years ago and had never forgotten biting into a piece of Lamont fudge.

  She’d heard variations on the story many times since she’d taken over the shop. For some reason, today it made her a little maudlin, a little more tired than she already was. Chocolate Haven wasn’t just a shop. It was a legacy.

  So far, no one had walked out empty-handed. Everyone who’d come for fudge had gone home with something, but that first bite of fudge . . . it was something people wanted to relive.

  Addie hadn’t been able to accommodate any of them.

  God! She hoped she didn’t destroy the place before Byron was released from the hospital. She hoped that she wasn’t ruining what three generations of Lamonts had built and babied and grown. She hoped more than anything that Byron would be back soon, taking over the shop, doing all the things that everyone who came to Chocolate Haven expected. Because she sure as hell wasn’t doing it.

  She swallowed back a hard lump that seemed to have settled right in the middle of her throat, handed the last box to the last costumer, and headed back to the kitchen to try the fudge recipe. One. More. Time.

  * * *

  Sinclair had never been good at waiting.

  He tapped his fingers on the mahogany table in Janelle’s real estate office and eyed Jax. He liked the guy. He always had, but he hadn’t been all that happy to see him in Chocolate Haven. He should have kept walking, gone into the apartment to replace the breakfast and lunch that Tiny had devoured on the way to his grandfather’s house. That’s what he’d planned. Grab some food and go back to work.

  But he’d gone into Chocolate Haven instead.

  And not just because he’d wanted to find out if Jax had spoken to Adeline about the light on in his apartment. Sure, he’d asked Jax to check in with her. He’d have handled it himself, but Adeline had dropped Tiny off that morning and run. She’d been there and gone so quickly, he’d barely had time to say good morning.

  She was avoiding him.

  Which was fine.

  As long as she was also avoiding Jax.

  That didn’t seem to be the case, and he wasn’t all that happy about the way it made him feel.

  “You look about as happy as a turkey on Thanksgiving,” Jax commented, pulling a chocolate out of the box he was holding and biting into it.

  “I’ve got work to do at my brother’s place.”

  “I’ve got work to do at Vera’s, but I want to get in that building.” Jax finished off the chocolate, set the box on the table, and stood. “You can head out, if you want. I’ll wait for Janelle. I can call and let you know if I find anything.”

  “Do you really think you will?”

  “I’ve got some suspicions.”

  “Do they have anything to do with Adeline’s new assistant?”

  “It did occur to me,” Jax said, pacing to a window and looking out onto Main Street.

  Janelle had a nice office. A really nice one. But then, from what Sinclair had heard, she did several millions of dollars’ worth of sales a year.

  Jax continued. “Things started going haywire in that apartment right around the time that boy’s car broke down.”

  “Haywire how?” Sinclair eyed the box Jax had abandoned on the table and thought about snagging one of the chocolates. He hadn’t eaten breakfast. Thanks to Tiny. And he was starving.

  “You know that Byron fell down the stairs, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you know he said someone was in the apartment? According to the story he’s telling, he saw someone standing in the hallway when he walked in the door. He ran outside to call for help, tripped, and nearly broke his neck.”

  “You checked things out?”

  “James McDermott heard him calling for help and found him at the bottom of the stairs. As soon as he heard that someone was in the apartment, he ran up and searched. He found nothing.”

  “McDermott was sheriff when I was a kid, right?”

  “Exactly. He knows what’s what, and he said there was no sign of anyone. He even checked the door that goes into May’s building. It was locked.”

  “Did he go in the building next door?”

  “I think we all assumed that Byron was in shock. Maybe he’d hit his head when he fell or something.” Jax shrugged. “Now I’m wishing we had.”

  “How long had Chase been hanging around at that point?”

  “A few days. His car broke down, and he rolled it to the camp. Took a while, but eventually he started hanging around town asking for work.”

  “So, he’s been in town for . . .”

  “A few weeks.”

  “Anything missing from the apartment?”

  “Nothing that Addie or Janelle noticed.”

  “You know,” Sinclair said, a picture of Adeline running down the stairs in that orange dress suddenly filling his head, “the night Janelle brought me to see the apartment, Adeline insisted she’d heard a door close when she walked into the place.”

  “She didn’t mention it to me.”

  “You guys see each other a lot?” he asked, and then wished he hadn’t.

  Jax smiled, his scar pulling just a little, his eyes filled with amusement.

  “What’s so funny?” Sinclair growled.

  “I guess I just never figured you for the kind of guy who’d fall for a girl like Addie.”

  “What kind of girl would that be?” he asked, not nearly as amused by the conversation as his friend seemed to be.

  “Small town. Simple. Uncomplicated.”

  “Adeline isn’t simple.”

  “You have it worse than I thought. Good thing I found out now. I was planning on asking her to May’s wedding.”

  “Go ahead. I’ve got no claim to her,” Sinclair said, nearly choking on the words.

  “I don’t move in on a friend’s territory. Claim or no. Besides, Willow was always more my type.”

  “She’s coming in for the wedding?”

  “With her fiancé,” Jax said. “Hopefully the guy is good enough for her. Otherwise . . .” He smiled. “I just might decide to try my hand at wooing the oldest Lamont sister. As for you, if you’re really interested, then you’ve got a long road ahead of you.”

  “I’m . . .” Not? That would be a lie, so he didn’t say it. “I’ve got a home and business in Seattle.”

  “I heard. Mr. Successful. The one Jefferson to break the mold.” Coming from anyone else, those would have been fighting words, but Jax knew more than anyone just what Sinclair’s family was. He’d stood by Sinclair anyway. Always.

  Funny how time and distance could make a person forget the things that were once important.

  “I broke the mold, and I’m not planning to come back to a town that was very happy to keep me pressed into it.”

  “Give me a break,” Jax said without heat. “You were a kid with a chip on your shoulder. The town, on the other hand, was always proud of you.”

  “Says who?”

  “Me. I spent most of our formative years trying to live up to your stellar-ness.”

  That made Sinclair laugh. The fact was, they’d been neck and neck for class valedictorian. They’d both worked multiple jobs, both played sports, both had been fighting their own battles in their own ways, and making an impression while they did it.

  “Is that laughter I hear in my office?” Janelle called, sashaying into the room with a broad smile and a little too much cheerfulness. “Sorry about the wait, gentlemen. I was meeting with another client.”

  She glanced at her watch. “My daughters will be in for the wedding this afternoon, and I need to get home and get their rooms ready, but I have a few minutes if you want to talk about May’s property.” She slapped a folder onto the desk, the photo of the three-story brownstone on the front of it.

  “I think you have the wrong idea about why we’re here,” he said, lifting the folder anyw
ay. The property was a nice one. Good location. Really nice example of the period architecture, the dormers on the top floor in excellent condition.

  “My secretary said you wanted to take a look at the interior of the building. She thought you might be planning on opening an office here. It’s a perfect location. Close to several historic areas that are desperate for restoration specialists.” Her smile didn’t falter, but she didn’t look quite as peppy as she had when she’d walked in.

  Jax interrupted. “Actually, Janelle, we want to see if the door that leads into Byron’s apartment is locked.”

  “That’s it?” She glanced at the folder, and Sinclair had the distinct impression she was thinking of ripping it from his hand. “Because I can assure you that it is. I walked through with May when she closed down the shop, and that’s one of the things we checked.”

  “How long has it been since you were in there?” Jax asked.

  “The last time I entered the property was the day I put the sign out front.” She frowned, the tiny lines on her forehead deepening. “Actually, that’s not true. I did two showings that first week. Both to people in town. Neither panned out, but that’s business. Anyway”—she sighed—“the door was never unlocked, so it couldn’t possibly be unlocked now.”

  “I’d like to check anyway,” Jax said gently. “For peace of mind more than anything.”

  “I really don’t have a lot of time.”

  “It won’t take long.”

  Unless they found something or someone.

  Sinclair kept silent. He wasn’t the deputy, and it wasn’t his job to convince Janelle to unlock the door.

  “I can call May,” Jax suggested. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind letting us in.”

  “Her wedding is a few days away.” Janelle grabbed a coat from a hook near the door, took her purse from a file cabinet. “If we’re going to do this, let’s do it.”

  She marched through the doorway like she was going to the gallows.

  Sinclair followed.

  He didn’t care that she was unhappy. He needed to get more sleep, and worrying about the damn door opening in the middle of the night was not helping him get it.

  Once he knew for sure that the thing was locked tight and that Byron’s place was inaccessible through it, maybe all the nightmares would stay away for a while.