She nodded. “Maybe I will.”
A little chime rang into the café as the first diners of the morning arrived. I quickly sat them down in a booth and got their coffee cups filled.
By the time Dwayne pulled up into the parking lot, I’d run through so many tables, and I was exhausted. But it was good because it didn’t let me think of anything else that had been going on.
Dwayne walked into the café and gave a quick wave in my direction. I smiled and waved back before scurrying over to another server to let her know I was going on my break. I motioned for Dwayne to follow me to the only isolated table in the place. We only used the tiny booth if we were utterly packed since it was tucked in a corner near the kitchen.
Even though Dwayne had been up all night, he looked as handsome as ever. His stubble had turned into a subtle shadow.
“Need some coffee?” I asked.
“I certainly wouldn’t turn it down.” He smiled, and I made my way to grab two cups of coffee.
My pulse started to climb as I thought about how I was going to approach everything. We’d barely started dating, and I didn’t want to come off as a complete mess right away. I preferred to save that reveal for later.
I slid a cup of coffee in front of Dwayne and slid in the booth across from him as he rubbed his eyes. I took a quick sip of coffee and waited for him to look up at me.
“I really enjoyed last night, as quick as it was,” he began.
“Me too. I’m sorry you got called out.”
He shrugged. “Hazards of the job.”
“I can only imagine.” I let out a deep breath and glanced across the café.
“Is it too much for you?” His voice softened. “I completely understand if—”
“No.” I shook my head. “Not at all.”
“Then what is it?” His head tilted, and he studied me. “I can tell something is bothering you.”
I straightened up in the booth and shook my head. “I don’t know how to tell you this—if I should tell you as if you’re just the town’s sheriff or if I should tell you as a man I have feelings for.”
“This sounds serious.” He let out a low whistle, which made me laugh.
“I hope it’s nothing. I pray it’s nothing.” I bit my lip and looked at the coffee cup I’d been clutching. “I have a crazy ex-husband.”
Relief spread through Dwayne’s gaze, and his smile grew. “Well, I can fight crazy with crazy.”
A nervous laugh rolled off my lips, and I shook my head. “He…umm…” I twisted my mouth into a pout. “He made the divorce very unpleasant for us. I was cut off from all our accounts. Could he legally do it? No. Did he do it? Yes.” I shrugged and took in a deep breath. “And when I moved out of the house, he started hiring PIs to follow me, intimidate me, and leave me notes.”
Dwayne’s expression hardened as he listened, and my stomach twisted into knots. I didn’t want to lose my shot with Dwayne before I even had it.
I kept my shoulders squared even though I felt like slouching in the booth and running from it all.
“I want to believe that the sports car the other day was just a tourist, but with Marvin’s history—”
“And Marvin is your ex?” Dwayne asked, and I nodded.
“With his history, I’m not so sure.” I ground my teeth into my bottom lip. “He doesn’t love me. Never did. I don’t think the man is actually capable of love.”
“What about his son?” Dwayne asked, taking a sip of coffee.
“It kills me to even utter these words.” My eyes teared up, and I blinked the moisture away. “Marvin could care less about his own son. He didn’t want…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. I refused to give those words power.
Dwayne nodded and reached for my hands.
“The night I got a flat tire, there was a note left on my door.”
Surprise etched into Dwayne’s features. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I let out a deep breath and shook my head. “I honestly don’t know.”
“Do you still have it?”
I nodded. “And last night, after you left, I got another note on my door. I planned on showing you once you got back.”
Dwayne squeezed my hands and nodded. “That helps explain things. I had some nutcase running me all around the island last night, phony emergencies, wanting me by name.”
“I’m so sorry.” I hung my head, and Dwayne squeezed my hands in his.
“You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for.”
“I think I was worried if I told you, I’d scare you off.” I moistened my lips, but they immediately turned dry. Every part of me was nervous about revealing so much about me.
“I had such grand plans to come to Fireweed and start over, not bring any of the baggage from my previous world into this one.” I shook my head and took a sip of coffee. “But now that seems to be purely fantasy.”
“Don’t.” Dwayne’s eyes stayed on mine. “Don’t change your plans. Don’t change your dreams. Fireweed is your fresh start. I’ll make sure of that.”
I nodded, wishing I didn’t feel absolutely ridiculous being in this situation. It wasn’t just anger at my ex-husband. It was confusion and embarrassment.
“Last night, when you said the sports car was from a rental outfit out of Portland, my heart fell.”
He nodded. “That’s where you used to live.”
“And I suppose denial is a powerful emotion.” I rubbed my temples and brought my gaze back to Dwayne’s. “I feel so bad putting you in harm’s way over—”
Dwayne shook his head. “I wasn’t in any danger.” He tapped his index finger on the table and nodded. “But I think things are starting to come together.”
“Really?” A little jolt of excitement dotted through me. “You think you might be able to get to the bottom of this?”
“It’s one thing to hire a PI. It’s another to use it an excuse to intimidate and essentially stalk someone.”
I slid the notes over to Dwayne. “These were what had been left on my door. I know he doesn’t want me back, but...”
He opened them up and silently read each of them, concern outlining his features. Dwayne brought his gaze to mine and lowered his voice as he read the note from last night aloud.
You keep playing with the sheriff, and I’ll keep playing with you.
“I think he couldn’t help himself and sent someone to spy on me, and once he realized I saw you, he wanted to—”
“Threaten and belittle you.” His jaw ground shut.
I nodded. “You just summed up my marriage.”
“It’s not gonna fly in this town or any other.” Dwayne shook his head. “But it gives me a good lead. I think the PI is having a little too much fun and is skirting the law. My hunch is he’s still on the island, so be careful.”
I nodded. “I don’t think he’d do anything.”
“I’ve never been a person who likes to take chances like that.”
“Good point.”
“I’ll get to the bottom of this, and we’ll do what needs to be done to keep you two safe.” He finished his coffee. “Mind if I take these?”
“Please do. I didn’t want Colby to get ahold of them.”
Dwayne stood. “I’ll let you know if I find out anything more today.”
“Aren’t you going to get some sleep?” I asked.
He shook his head. “There’s no way I could fall asleep.”
Dwayne leaned down and gave me a kiss on my cheek.
“Thank you,” I whispered, looking up into his beautiful eyes.
“Don’t thank me yet.” Dwayne winked and spun around, leaving the café with just a few quick strides.
And for the first time in weeks, I felt like I could take a deep breath and let it all out.
Chapter Twelve
“Good news.” Dwayne’s energetic voice boomed over my cell phone speaker.
It had been days since I’d seen Dwayne, and I hadn’t heard much from him, which kind of worried
me that I’d scared him away.
I quickly turned my phone off speaker and mouthed to Maddie from the tea shop that I’d be right back before darting outside.
“Yeah?” I asked, feeling the chill of October hit my bones.
“There are two brothers, both PIs, who Marvin hired. He paid them handsomely.”
“I’d imagine so.” I let out a sigh of relief that Dwayne at least knew who’d been trying to scare me to death.
“I’ve given them warnings, explained to them how they’re skating the laws and could lose their licenses.” He paused, and I heard him sigh. “And I asked them to take a message to Marvin.”
I froze. “What kind of message?”
“One I’d rather not repeat over the phone.”
I hated to even admit this, but I’d never felt safe having a man in my life. I never depended on that sort of reassurance because honestly, the one man I had in my life, Marvin, wasn’t a man who made me feel anything but scared.
But Dwayne’s words calmed me like I’d never been before. It was like I wasn’t so alone in the world, and I wasn’t even sure how he could make me feel so secure.
“Thank you,” I whispered into the phone. “Really, thank you.”
“I’m not promising it’s over, but I’m promising that I’ll help in any way I can.”
“And that’s all I could even dream of.” A gust of wind funneled down the sidewalk.
“Are you outside?” Dwayne asked.
“Yeah. I just ducked out of the tea shop. Maddie’s refilling some of my tins.”
“That place is addicting. I’m not even into tea, but I am with Maddie’s stuff.”
I laughed. “Exactly.”
“Well, get back inside. I just wanted to tell you where we’re at with everything. We can talk more when we get together.”
“Speaking of…”
“Yeah?”
“Colby wants me to make him a costume, and I thought we could do it together.”
“Sounds fun.” Dwayne laughed. “Although I’m not sure I’m that great with a glue gun or sparkles.”
“Practice makes perfect. Besides, I’m not sure the boys would be thrilled with too much glitter.”
“True enough. How about you come over to my place, and I’ll cook us all some mean chicken tetrazzini?”
“I’d like that.”
“How about tomorrow night?” he asked, and giddiness fluttered through me.
“Great.” I smiled, glancing into the tea shop as Maddie finished up my order. “I’d better go back inside, or I might freeze to death.”
Dwayne laughed, and even though I didn’t want to hang up, I did.
When I walked back inside the store, the warmth wrapped around me like a scarf right out of the dryer.
“I was worried you’d turn into an icicle out there.” Maddie smiled, moving my tins to the side of the counter. “I think your cheeks even got chapped.”
I laughed. “Sorry. Ex-husband stuff I would never make anyone endure.”
Maddie scowled. “Ugh and ick.”
“Precisely my thoughts.”
Maddie giggled and tallied up the total. “You have a little boy, right?”
I nodded. “He’s six.”
“Does he like hot cocoa?”
“He loves anything to do with chocolate.”
“My treat.” She grabbed a pumpkin tin and plopped it on top of the bag of teas for me. “This is my caramel hot chocolate.”
I groaned. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to get it to Colby. Mama might drink it first.”
Maddie chuckled. “And I’d never tell a soul.”
I giggled and reached for the bag.
“Hey, would you and your son be into going to the library’s Halloween costume party?”
I smiled and nodded. “Jewels invited us when we were signing up for our cards. It sounds like a lot of fun.”
“Oh, it is,” she gushed. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. My brother-in-law, Jake, gets absolutely crazy with—”
“Your brother-in-law is Jake Harlen?”
“Mmm-hmm.” Maddie nodded her head. “I married his brother, Chance. We split our time between here and Hound Island.”
My jaw nearly dropped to the floor. “This really is a small town.”
“Indeed, it is. In fact, no secret is ever safe.” She winked at me, and I chuckled. “So, how is it going between you and the sheriff?”
I giggled and shook my head. “I see what you mean.”
“Exactly.” She handed me the bag of tea and hot chocolate. “I’m looking forward to seeing you at the Halloween party.”
“Thanks. We’re looking forward to attending.”
“Oh, and Hildie was serious about you and Colby making your way to Hound Island. The lodge she has is amazing, and the restaurant over there is out of this world, if I do say so myself.” Maddie chuckled. “My husband is the chef and owner, but I wouldn’t mislead you.”
“There really is no safe secret.” I grinned, loving this new town of mine. I didn’t know what all Hildie, Jewels, or Jake mentioned to Maddie, but it actually made me happy that anyone mentioned me at all. “See you around.”
“Absolutely.” Maddie waved as I made my way outside and to my car.
Once I slid back against the passenger seat, I called Becca to see how she was doing. It had been oddly quiet.
“Hey, girl,” she greeted me.
“How’s it going?” I asked.
“Pretty okay,” she revealed. “Just seeing a guy who rocks my world.”
I giggled. “Of course, you are.”
“How about you?” she asked. “Did you talk to the sheriff about everything? Have you gone on more dates? Did you think of me when you were smoosh-facing?”
“First of all, Dwayne—”
“Oh, Dwayne, now.” She laughed.
“I didn’t and don’t think of you when kissing Dwayne.”
“So, you have kissed him.” She sounded in awe. “What about—”
“You’re so nosy.” I shook my head, even though she couldn’t see it.
“Sounds like you’re starting to really settle in there.” She sighed. “I’m guessing that means you won’t be hightailing it out of Fireweed and coming back to Portland anytime soon?”
“Afraid not.” I let out a happy sigh.
“You don’t have to sound that happy about it,” she teased.
“I can’t help myself.”
“Has anything more come of the notes?”
“Yes and no.” I drew a deep breath. “I did tell Dwayne about the notes, and some other weird stuff started happening. You know when you were out here, and I still felt like I was being watched?”
She groaned. “Yeah.”
“Well, I probably was being watched. Dwayne tracked down two PIs who were being paid by Marvin.”
“Why won’t the guy move on?”
“I hope he will soon. Dwayne threatened the PIs about losing their licenses, and who knows what else, and sent them back to Portland with a message for Marvin.”
“I’m just so sorry you even have to deal with this any longer.”
“Hopefully, soon, it will be a thing of the past.”
“Yeah.”
A man’s voice echoed into the room, and Becca laughed. “I should probably get going.”
“Your man of the hour has arrived?” I teased, and she laughed.
“Pretty much.”
“Okay, talk soon, and I love you.”
“Love you too, and squeeze my little man for me.”
“I will.”
I hung up the phone and felt bliss weave through my bones. I never needed a lot to be happy. From a young age, I knew how to keep myself amused, and it was a skill I still treasured today. When I saw that Colby had that same trait, I was so excited.
I glanced at the clock and decided to make my way to Colby’s school.
When I arrived, I found a place to park and absentmindedly scanned the parking
lot for the men who were no longer supposed to be here.
As the double-doors flung open, the gaggle of kids ran toward the buses and parking lot. I spotted Aaron and Colby running with the pack, and I giggled.
Colby spotted me and waved as Aaron made his way to the bus. I hopped out of the car and helped Colby get situated.
“Aaron said his uncle has a surprise for us.” Colby beamed.
“Really.” My brows shot up. “Any hints?”
Colby shook his head. “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I knew something about it.”
“True.” I laughed, knowing I had my own surprise on Halloween with outbidding all the women trying to seduce the sheriff. “Do you think he bought us an alpaca?”
“No.” Colby laughed.
“How about—”
“Nooo.” He laughed. “No guesses. I want it to be a surprise.”
I chuckled, realizing I had no idea what Dwayne could have up his sleeve.
“Did you know we’re going to go over to Aaron’s house tomorrow to make your costumes?” I asked.
Colby’s eyes widened. “We are?”
“Yup.”
“That’s so cool.” He smiled, and I chuckled, wondering how long the cool stage might last.
“Let’s go to the craft store and get some of the supplies we need.”
“Okay.”
After a couple of wrong turns, I found the craft store and immediately knew I was in trouble. Colby barreled inside and found about thirty different options from his original costume idea.
“You still want to be a policeman?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
Thank goodness for small favors since I’d already picked up the basic outfit of blue trousers and a blue shirt.
“What’s Aaron going to be?”
“A dinosaur,” he informed me.
We wandered down the aisles, searching for items to make the badge and weapons.
By the time we got up to pay, I was exhausted and ready to slide into some pajamas when we got home.
“What smells so good?” Colby asked as we climbed back in the car.
“Oh, I stopped by Maddie’s Tea Shop and refilled my tins, and guess what?”
“What?” he asked, smiling.
“She gave you a tin shaped like a pumpkin filled with caramel hot chocolate.”
Discovering Love on Cranberry Lane (Island County Book 11) Page 10