by Iris Morland
She blinked. Her lips were red and kiss-bruised, and it only made him want her more.
“Okay.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
With a grunt, he stalked out of the bakery, not sure if he hated Jubilee more for interrupting them, or himself for not being able to give up on Megan Flannigan.
6
Megan felt Jubilee’s gaze on her as she returned to the bakery. She refused to blush, or act like anything had happened. So what that she caught Megan kissing Caleb? It wasn’t a crime. She could kiss whomever she wanted. She could kiss Caleb in her office and Jubilee couldn’t say anything that would embarrass her because it wasn’t a big deal.
“Jubilee, can you go finish cleaning up the kitchen for now, especially the oven? We don’t want a repeat of today.”
Jubilee gave her a look that spoke volumes, but since she was a smart girl, she kept her mouth shut. She did, however, give Megan an amused smile, which only made Megan scowl.
Megan served the customers for the next two hours until closing. Jubilee periodically came back to the front for something, although Megan wondered if she were just doing it to set her on edge.
I kissed Caleb. Again. It’s fine. I’m not freaking out.
She told herself that over and over again, but it didn’t convince her. She was freaking out. She was freaking out and she could barely concentrate on getting people baked goods and coffee without messing up. She accidentally made Maria Hepstein an iced latte instead of a hot one, and she gave Marcus Beecher a cinnamon roll instead of banana bread. She got someone’s change wrong in one instance, and she almost burned herself making a basic cup of tea for someone else. By the time it was time to close, she breathed a sigh of relief. If she weren’t careful, she really would burn this place down.
She rolled her eyes, mostly at herself. Get it together, Megan, she commanded herself. You don’t have time to mope over Caleb Thornton!
She flipped the open sign to closed and locked the front door before going into the back. Jubilee was rolling out bread dough for tomorrow, and some of Megan’s tension eased from her shoulders. Jubilee hadn’t had much—if any—experience when she’d started, but she’d become indispensable to the bakery within a short time. Megan appreciated that she did tasks without having to be reminded multiple times, including rolling out dough for the morning. It was a small thing, but for some stupid reason, her throat closed up like she was going to cry.
Jubilee finished with her dough, placing a tea towel over the bowl before she put it in the fridge. Brushing her hands off, she smiled at Megan.
“Did you clean out the oven?” Megan asked, only because she didn’t want Jubilee to ask her anything about Caleb.
“Yes, it’s sparkling clean. I think I got most of the smoke smell out of here. What happened, anyway? You never get the oven dirty enough to smoke like that.”
Megan sat on the counter, sighing. “I’ve been distracted. It was a stupid mistake, that’s all. But it’s a good reminder we should keep things in order. We can’t afford something else happening here.”
“True, which is why I created this checklist for us to make sure we get things like that done every day.” Jubilee handed her the list attached to a clipboard.
Megan looked it over, and she smiled at the thoroughness of it. Clean oven, wipe down counters, clean bathroom (morning, noon, evening), inventory ingredients, order supplies, and other tasks were all in a list and grouped by type. Those pesky tears threatened again, and she had to set the list aside to brush said tears away with a brisk wipe of her hand.
Jubilee hopped up onto the counter with her. Although only four years younger than Megan, Jubilee seemed younger in many ways. It wasn’t that she wasn’t responsible, but she had an innocence and naiveté to her that both amused and confounded Megan. Megan knew that Jubilee had been sheltered for much of her life. She hadn’t attended college or gone abroad or even lived in another town from her family like most young adults her age.
The elephant in the room only grew larger as the two women said nothing. Megan felt a blush creeping up her cheeks, and she swore inwardly.
“So…” Jubilee folded her hands in her lap. “What was that all about?”
Megan made a point to stare at the wall. “What about what?”
“Oh come on. Don’t act like you don’t know.” Jubilee bumped Megan’s shoulder. “You, my brother, kissing—”
Megan shushed her, even though there was no one else around. “It wasn’t—no. It was just—a thing. That happened. That won’t happen again. I don’t want to talk about it.” Her blush only increased.
“You might not want to talk about, but I do. Not that I’m dying to know about my brother kissing anyone, you know, but considering you two act like you hate each other and then I catch you kissing…” Jubilee shrugged. “Even I can put two and two together.”
“It’s not going to happen again,” Megan replied firmly. At Jubilee’s raised eyebrow, she added, “It won’t. It was a mistake. I was upset about the oven, it happened, that was it.”
“You keep saying that, and yet, I don't believe you at all. I know people think that I don’t know how things work, or that I’ve been so sheltered that I can’t understand love and romance and even lust. The funny thing is that when you’ve been sheltered like me, it also gives you the chance to watch other people, since you haven’t been allowed to live your own life. You live it through others.” Jubilee played with a string that had come loose on her jeans. “And let me say that I’ve watched my brother—and all of my siblings—live life. And do things that I haven’t. And I know Caleb well enough to know that I have never seen him look at someone the way he looks at you.”
Megan’s throat closed. She felt like there wasn’t enough air in the room, and she covered her gasp for air with a cough.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said grimly. “We aren’t good for each other. We never have been. There are things you don’t know about, Jubi.”
Jubilee shrugged again. “Maybe. But I’ll just say this: if a guy looked at me the way Caleb looks at you? I wouldn’t let that go so easily.”
Megan didn’t say anything, but only knotted her fingers in her lap, wishing her heart didn’t hurt as much as it did right then.
Caleb knew that murder was illegal, but that didn’t stop him from imagining it in all its gory detail that night at the Thornton family dinner.
Family dinner had become a much smaller affair ever since Lisa, the Thornton siblings’ mother, had tried to keep Harrison and his now fiancée Sara apart. Lisa had since tried to apologize to the both of them, but Harrison was still angry. Caleb couldn’t blame him. Lisa had gone behind Harrison’s back to convince Sara that she should give him up, and if Harrison hadn’t fought like hell to get Sara back, they wouldn’t be engaged.
Right now, the only Thornton siblings attending family dinner were Caleb, Jubilee, and the third eldest sibling, Mark. Mark Thornton rarely attended these dinners, as he owned and ran a ranch some one hour south of Fair Haven, and he preferred his own company for the most part. With his taciturn demeanor, dark looks, and tendency toward overt bluntness, he usually came to odds with their parents, who weren’t the biggest fans of their son running a ranch. Ranches were for a different kind of people, Lisa would say, which would inevitably anger Mark and cause a fight.
Tonight, though, Lisa was on her best behavior. If Caleb didn’t know better, he’d say his mother was genuinely sorry for what she’d done. She wasn’t a bad person, but she had her own prejudices that she’d yet to overcome. Ironically enough, she’d been in a similar position as Sara and Harrison when she’d gone against the Thorntons to marry Dave Thornton, yet for whatever reason, the suffering she’d experienced had caused her to be more against Harrison marrying Sara.
The meal was quiet. Even Jubilee, who was normally chatty, kept quiet. Then again, she had walked in on Caleb and Megan kissing. Caleb scowled at his chicken. That entire situation was a mess, wasn’t it? He kept fucking u
p, yet he still didn’t know where he stood with Megan. He had a feeling she’d avoid him even more, which just made him groan inwardly.
“Have you seen Harrison lately?” Lisa asked in a casual voice. She cut her chicken one piece at a time, setting her knife down between each bite. “It’s a shame he couldn’t come tonight.”
Mark grunted, which was his usual response to things. Caleb almost rolled his eyes. Jubilee decided to jump in before her brothers did.
“I saw him and Sara. They’re doing great. They’re talking about getting married next summer.”
Lisa didn’t even flinch at the mention of their marriage. “How nice. Summer is always a good time for a wedding up here in Washington.”
Caleb sawed at his chicken with more gusto than necessary. He didn’t know if he were more irritated at his mother for being her usual self or more frustrated with himself for not being able to avoid Megan.
“When you see Harrison again, could you please invite him to family dinner next week?” Lisa asked. “I’ve called him, but he won’t return my calls.”
“I wonder why,” Caleb said wryly.
Jubilee kicked him under the table, and he grunted.
“Mark, how’s the ranch?” Dave asked. “Anything new there?”
Mark drank his beer, not answering right away. He was brawnier than Harrison and Caleb, and due to his work in the sun, he was also much tanner. He had a roughness to him that tended to ruffle feathers in politer circles, which was why Mark hated the social circles that their parents were apart of. He liked his horses, and his cows, and that was about it.
Caleb had never really understood his younger brother. While Caleb and Harrison had been close growing up, Mark had been on his own for the most part. Lizzie and Seth—the twins—had had each other, and then Jubilee had had everyone wrapped around her little finger. Mark had been quiet with only a handful of friends at one time, and when he’d graduated from high school, he’d left Fair Haven without a look back. Caleb had tried to talk to Mark from time to time, but he’d gotten so busy with his own life and job that he hadn’t made much of an effort lately. Seeing the dark circles underneath Mark’s eyes, Caleb knew he needed to try harder to reconnect with Mark, if only to understand what was going on in his life.
“It’s good. My best filly Georgia just dropped a foal, a pretty little chestnut,” Mark replied, his voice low and gravelly. “I’m looking to expand into keeping goats, actually, but we’ll see.”
“Goats? Why goats?” Jubilee asked. “Aren’t they mean?”
Mark smiled, but it was a tiny smile. A smile he only ever gave his younger sister. “They can be, but there’s a huge market for goat’s milk right now. I’m all about taking advantage of big markets.”
“Don’t they eat everything?” Caleb couldn’t help but ask. “Like tin cans?”
Mark replied, “Yes. And they faint when scared.”
“Sounds like fun.” Caleb laughed at Lisa’s expression. “Sorry, Mom. We won’t keep talking about livestock at the table.”
“I’d prefer that you didn’t.” She sniffed, her chin lifted slightly. “Mark, why don’t you consider relocating here? We never see you. You’re so involved with your cows and horses and pigs—“
“I don’t have pigs.”
“—that I’m afraid you’ll lose all of your social skills.” Lisa frowned. “Why do all of my children have to go away?”
Caleb opened his mouth to explain, but once again, Jubilee kicked him. He glared at her.
“Mom, Mark never had social skills,” Caleb said, which just made Mark shrug in pseudo-agreement. “Wouldn’t you rather he stay around his horses so he doesn’t terrify people?”
“He’s not that bad,” Jubilee argued.
Dave just ate in silence, never one to jump into arguments unless absolutely necessary.
Once finished with dinner, the family moved to the sitting room, which Caleb thought was one of the more pretentious things his family did. At least Lisa didn’t insist on the men going in first to smoke cigars and drink port, with the women following later, like some nineteenth-century novel. He sat down next to Mark, and to his great joy, Lisa settled in the chair across from them.
“Caleb, I wanted to speak with you about something,” she said. “I’ve heard about what happened at that bakery downtown, and that you’ve been spending time with Sara’s sister lately.”
Caleb’s defenses instantly went up. He gritted his teeth to keep from saying something he’d regret. Mark sensed the tension, but he only raised his eyebrows slightly. He was aware of what had happened between Harrison and Lisa, although he hadn’t been witness to it.
“I just wanted to advise you to be careful. People like to talk, that’s all. What with Harrison and Sara getting engaged, you now getting close to the sister…”
“Mom, I wouldn’t recommend continuing with that statement,” Caleb said in a low voice.
“I’m not trying to interfere.” At his skeptical look, she added, “I’m not. I’ve learned my lesson. Just don’t do anything you may regret, that’s all.”
He clenched his fists. He couldn’t help but see the flash of judgment in Lisa’s eyes, for the accident that had caused her to look at Caleb differently. How she’d pushed everything under the rug to maintain the Thorntons’ status in Fair Haven. Caleb didn’t know how she could think she could say anything about his relationship with Megan, but then again, Lisa never failed to do what you’d least expect.
“The only regret I have is that I’m stuck in this goddamn family.” Caleb uttered the words before he realized he’d said them, but he refused to let himself feel guilty. Rising from the couch, he said tightly, “I should go. Mark, I’ll call you. Juju-bee, see you tomorrow.”
Caleb stalked out of the house, but not before Dave followed him. His father took him by the shoulder, rather like when Caleb was a kid doing something naughty.
“You do not get to speak to your mother like that,” he said. Caleb turned to see the pain and anger on Dave’s face. “She’s been through enough. She just wants to help you kids, don’t you see that?”
“How can you say that when she keeps hurting people?” Caleb shook his head in disgust. “I don’t know how you defend her.”
“Because she’s my wife, and I love her. She’s made mistakes—but so have I. So have we all.” Dave lowered his voice. “She truly wants to make things right with Harrison, and she wants you to be happy, too. She wants all of you to be happy. Don’t push her away so quickly, Caleb. She’s the only mother you’ll have.”
Caleb didn’t say anything, but only nodded tightly.
As he drove home, he got a call from the station. “This is Officer Thornton,” he said automatically.
“Officer Thornton, there’s been a call from 111 Third Ave S. The woman says a man followed her home, and she’s afraid he’s trying to get into the house.”
“Copy that. Who’s the woman?”
“It’s Megan Flannigan.”
Caleb’s blood turned to ice. Turning his siren on, he raced across town, praying he would reach Megan in time.
7
Megan looked over her shoulder for the third time as she walked home. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she told herself she was imagining things. It didn’t help that she was alone and already on edge. Walking faster, she urged her pounding heart to calm itself. Why would somebody be following you in a place like Fair Haven? she asked herself. This town was safety incarnate. Crime rarely happened, and Megan walked home by herself all the time.
Then again, robberies were once uncommon, until recently.
She walked faster. When she heard a rustle in a nearby shrub, she almost jumped out of her skin before seeing a skinny cat dart across the street. She inhaled a deep breath.
But the feeling that someone was following her only continued as she walked home. When she heard footsteps behind her, she whirled around, but nobody was there. She peered into a nearby yard, but she could on
ly see the usual types of things in anybody’s front yard: pots for gardening, children’s toys left strewn across the grass, a kinked garden hose.
That was when she heard a noise: movement that was decidedly human in nature. Footsteps against concrete. If someone were just walking the same path as her, wouldn’t she have seen that person already? She started walking faster until she practically ran all the way home. Every tree, every bush, every shadowy corner between houses seemed to be filled with threats and terrors. Although she wanted to believe she was just anxious for no reason, her gut told her otherwise.
She clutched her keys in her hand as she finally got to her front door, but her hands trembled so much that it seemed an eternity before she could unlock her door. When she burst inside and slammed the door shut, she locked the door and then proceeded to bar the door with a coffee table and chair. She didn’t care if she were overreacting. Better safe than sorry, she told her panicked thoughts.
Her cat Gary sensed her anxiety, and his fur stood on end as Megan turned her house into some kind of bunker. He paced nearby before running to hide underneath the couch when Megan almost tripped over him in her haste.
“You’re okay,” she kept muttering to herself. “It’s nothing. You were just freaking out. You’re okay.” Going to the living room window, she was about to pull the curtains closed when she saw somebody only feet from her window. He was dressed all in black, although she could just make out the upper half of his face underneath what looked like a black ski mask.
She screamed, and yanking the curtains closed, she ducked down to the floor. She pulled her phone from her purse to call 911, but her fingers felt like they were frozen. It took her multiple tries to punch in the right numbers, and by the time she was connected to an operator, she was close to sobbing.
“A man followed me home,” she gasped out. “I just saw him outside my window.”