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  “Are you firing me because I wrecked your car?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t care about the car.”

  I’d care about the car. It cost eighty-two thousand dollars. How could he not care about the car? “Then why did you fire me?”

  “Because you were driving my car when someone tried to run you off the road.”

  “And shot at you,” Mateo added.

  “Wait.” I started calculating their arrival. Cade had arrived maybe a minute before Mateo, which meant that they’d probably ridden together…and got the 411 on their way to the scene from Mateo talking on the radio to the officers working the scene.

  Angels may as well have started singing and playing their trumpets. The moment of clarity I had was that illuminating.

  The two of them had planned and plotted how to handle me before they arrived. My lips pursed, and I was sure it wasn’t very attractive. I didn’t care. I looked at Mateo. “Did you tell him to fire me?” My question was more of an accusation that didn’t need a response. The truth was written all over their faces. It couldn’t have been clearer if it’d been printed in black Sharpie magic marker on their foreheads.

  “It was my decision,” Cade said.

  “Well, kiss my foot,” I told him then made sure they knew I wasn’t just talking to Cade. “Both of you.”

  I turned and started walking toward Dean’s tow truck that had just pulled up to the scene and was going to load the Tesla. If he couldn’t take me to Hazel Rock, then I’d use the card Dallas gave me and call him back.

  “Ms. Warren, my detectives still need to get a statement from you.” Mateo’s voice was smug. Like he had the last word.

  I wasn’t going to let him win. It wasn’t in my DNA. “I’m going to get my phone out of the car. If your officers want to stop me, they’re going to have to arrest me.”

  Because that wouldn’t stir up trouble. These two were going to know exactly who they were messing with. Nobody, but nobody, told me how to run my life.

  I heard footsteps behind me and was spun around facing Mateo before I knew it.

  I folded my arms across my chest. “What?”

  “You owe me dessert.”

  “I’ve lost my appetite.”

  “No, you haven’t.”

  “How do you know I haven’t?” Because really. The man couldn’t possibly see how much I wanted to be wrapped in his arms.

  “Because I’ve sat back and watched two men hold you in their arms and you looked about as uncomfortable as a cowboy in Central Park. You want dessert. You just don’t want Cade to know about it.”

  That was it. I’d had enough of the back and forth. If I didn’t know before, I knew the moment Cade hugged me, and I caught sight of Mateo walking up behind him. I’d just been too sidetracked by Cade firing me.

  “Do you really believe that?” I asked.

  Mateo didn’t say a word, but his eyes held a sadness I couldn’t fathom. He honestly didn’t know where my heart was. He nodded in response.

  I did the only thing I could. I kissed him in front of God and the whole world, Cade included. The heck with the onlookers. The deputies would get over it. Cade would survive and follow the only true love of his life, his career.

  I wanted something else entirely. I wanted the man who wore an ugly uniform and made it look good. I wanted the man who waited quietly for me to make up my mind. I wanted the man who put me first. I wanted the man I loved—Mateo—and I told him so. But the sheriff was in control and not about to create a scene. For a split second I didn’t think I’d gotten through to him. Until he took over and pulled me tight against his vest. Like me, he needed dessert and when this night was over, it was going to be the best meal of our day. Our week. No, our entire year.

  Chapter 20

  I rolled over and found the other side of my bed empty. I looked down at the floor, and Princess was missing from her bed. Then I smelled the heavenly scent of cinnamon rolls in the oven and grinned. I stretched and enjoyed the soft cotton sheets underneath me and remembered the events of the previous night. We’d gotten home late, but neither one of us had been tired.

  I smiled again as I got out of bed and wrapped myself in my robe.

  I knew the tasty treat was for me, and me alone. Mateo didn’t eat sugar unless it came from fruit. I snuck up behind him as he leaned over my counter eating a bowl of oatmeal. Princess was next to him, staring up and blinking through tired eyes for a handout. She didn’t normally get up until nine or ten.

  “I could hear you purring from in here,” he said before I reached around him and hugged him from behind. His hair was wet, and he smelled like he’d just stepped out of the shower. I breathed in his scent which was just as good as the rolls in the oven.

  “I don’t purr.”

  Mateo looked down at Princess. “She says she doesn’t purr.”

  Princess snorted and walked away, her toenails clicking across the thick planked wood floors all the way to her bed in the bedroom. I liked the way he talked to my pet. He didn’t discount her, or act like she was a piece of furniture, but rather a part of my family.

  I kissed Mateo’s neck and looked at his breakfast. Plain, simple oatmeal. With a banana. And a glass of water. No jumpstart for Mateo Espinoza in the morning. No sweet tea. No coffee. No soda. Not even a glass of juice. I think I would die if I had to survive on his diet.

  The timer on my oven buzzed, and Mateo stood up to turn it off while I went to pour a glass of sweet tea.

  “I know I didn’t have a package of cinnamon rolls in my fridge. Did you make them from scratch?”

  “I cheated. I went to the bakery and Franz had some ready to go in the oven. He told me to put them in the oven at three hundred and seventy-five degrees for seventeen minutes, and he guaranteed you’d wake up.”

  I stopped pouring my tea with my glass half full. “You told him they were for me?”

  Mateo reached into the oven with my dish towel and pulled out a small, round cake pan stuffed with pillows of cinnamony goodness. “He was opening the bakery and saw me go out for my morning run. I asked him what you liked best and he gave me these.”

  “You asked Franz what I liked best?” My God, the entire town would know I was sleeping with the sheriff before noon.

  Mateo put the pan on top of the stove and looked at me, a masked expression on his face. “I’m sensing a problem with Franz knowing that I spent the night.”

  “It’s the first time!”

  He waited for me to explain something I wasn’t sure I could. I took a few deep breaths and tried not to show how panicked I was.

  Drat the man. Some things were just meant to be secret.

  “I just don’t think it would look good for us to flaunt our…our…” I waved my hand at my bedroom. “Activity to the whole town.”

  “The whole town, or Cade?” Mateo asked. Again, he looked distant, closed off from me.

  “I think our kiss in front of everyone should answer that.” I finished pouring my tea and put the pitcher back in the refrigerator before going over and looking him in the eye to show how sincere I was being. “Last night was incredible. The beginning of something special between us. I don’t want it tainted.”

  “You’d rather it was between us,” he clarified.

  I smiled. He got it. “Yes.”

  Mateo set down the blue-and-white dish towel on the counter. “I don’t kiss and tell, Charli. But I also don’t slink around in the middle of the night making booty calls. If what we have is that special, it’s time to put up or…” He kissed me on the cheek and turned toward his gym bag sitting on the bar stool on the other side of the counter.

  “Mateo…” I called after him.

  “I’ll see you at the meeting,” he said without looking back. The door to my apartment closed behind him, and I was left with the heavenly scent of ci
nnamon rolls cooling on my stove and the sound of Princess snoring in the bedroom. Once again, I’d screwed up.

  Fuzz buckets.

  I finished getting ready for work and ate a cinnamon roll. Unfortunately, it had lost some of its heavenly flavor when Mateo had left. Daddy called and said he would stop by the bakery for treats, and I made sweet tea for the Mystery Moms. By the time I went to unlock the doors, there was a small crowd waiting to get in.

  Everyone was so excited I could have put out cardboard cookies instead of the tray of gourmet treats Daddy had bought. They made their way to the loft, and Reba Sue was the woman of the hour. She was eating it up, and I prayed that Nathan Daniels showed up. Otherwise Reba Sue’s thunder would turn into a gully washer of tears.

  Scarlet arrived with Liza and her cameraman on her tail. I greeted Liza, but she made it clear she wasn’t there for the meeting; she was there to work. I wasn’t sure if she ever went anywhere without work on her mind.

  “That’s him!” Betty yelled, her blue hair bobbing as she tried to look out the front doors to see the author’s truck pulling his dinged-up trailer behind it. Nathan pull up in front of the Barn and parked. Luckily, Daddy had thought to block off several parking spots that extended to the corner for the large trailer. Nathan made his way toward the door while all the women from the loft poured downstairs.

  “Did you expect this kind of reaction?” Scarlet asked.

  “Not for one minute. I don’t think Mateo did either. He hasn’t made it here yet.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Sugar added. She was dressed in a jean skirt and a figure-hugging T-shirt that read Eat Your Heart Out.

  I looked at her shirt. “Is there a message there?”

  “Dean insisted I wear it. I agreed if he promised to stay away. I don’t want him going back to jail.” Sugar smiled mischievously. “I didn’t tell him I planned to wear it all along.”

  Scarlet and I laughed. I started to go toward the door, but Sugar stopped me.

  “I need y’all’s help.”

  Scarlet stopped smiling immediately, and we both leaned in to form a small circle. “What’s wrong?” Scarlet asked.

  “Princess, I need to know if I can use the Barn the day after tomorrow.”

  I didn’t hesitate. “Of course. Is it one of the kids’ birthdays? We can have it in the loft—”

  “Dean and I want to get married in the tearoom.”

  Scarlet squealed. Some of the women looked at us, but we ignored them. Especially Liza who moved closer to see if she could hear our conversation. We closed ranks.

  “The tearoom still has a bunch of Cade’s campaign stuff, and I’m not sure if I can get it all moved out in two days.”

  Scarlet wasn’t daunted. “The girls and I will help, and I will be all over Cade Calloway like honey on a biscuit. That man won’t know what hit him.”

  “There’s one more thing.”

  I looked at her encouragingly, but I was really thinking what else could there possibly be? A wedding was as big as it got.

  “I’d like for the two of you to be my bridesmaids.” Sugar looked as if she thought we would deny her request. Her hesitation disappeared with Scarlet’s squeal.

  “Absolutely.” Scarlet beamed. “We’d be honored.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” I said as I gave her a hug. “What do you want us to wear?”

  “Betty’s making the dresses.”

  “Betty? As in Betty from Bluebonnet Quilts, Betty?” I asked. I could just imagine a quilted gown that looked like a bedspread.

  “Yup. She said she knew exactly what to make, and she and I are meeting in just a bit to finalize the plans.”

  “Is she making your dress as well?”

  Sugar laughed as if the question was funny. I didn’t think it was funny. If she trusted her with our dresses, why wouldn’t she trust Betty with hers? “No, silly. I’ve had mine picked out for a long time. I went and bought it this morning.”

  I knew some women looked at wedding dresses and loved all the pageantry surrounding it, but I couldn’t imagine knowing what my wedding dress looked like before a man asked me to marry him.

  “Betty will have the dresses made for the final fitting that morning. It will work out just fine.”

  I looked at Scarlet. There was a vast difference between my shape and hers and Sugar was like a combination of our best assets put together in one package. These dresses were going to be a nightmare.

  “Is Franz doing the cake?” Scarlet asked.

  Sugar glowed. It was like she felt no stress whatsoever. I’d be going bonkers in her place. “He is.”

  “What about decorations. Do you know what you want?” I asked, because really, I didn’t have a clue.

  “I hadn’t really thought about it—”

  Scarlet cut in. “I got this. Don’t worry. Charli, you worry about that new job of yours, and I’ll worry about the wedding.”

  I didn’t have the guts to say I’d already been fired. If I did, they’d rely on me to decorate the Barn, and I really couldn’t see that turning into anything but a disaster.

  The crowd started getting anxious for Nathan Daniels to come inside and pushed toward the entrance.

  “Congrats, Sugar. I’m so happy for y’all.” I gave her a hug and excused myself as Nathan Daniels walked in with a calm, confident demeanor, but I could have sworn I’d seen a glint of pleasure in his eyes when he saw the number of women present and the camera there to record it all. I walked up and introduced myself.

  “Welcome to the Book Barn Princess. I’m Charli Rae Warren. My daddy, Bobby Ray, and I own the store.” Nathan shook my hand and then my daddy’s. “We have a place set up in the loft for you to talk to our Mystery Moms Book Club, if that’s okay?”

  Nathan nodded and began to speak but a rumble from outside the store drowned out whatever he’d begun to say. The noise grew louder as the Barn doors suddenly opened, and a motorcycle came through. Several women screamed as everyone scrambled to get out of the way. Nathan Daniels, however, stayed rooted to his spot. Daddy and I immediately jumped in front of him to protect him from whatever was going to happen next.

  The rider roared the engine, filling the barn with noxious fumes, before he came to a stop just feet from where we stood with our backs to him as we held our arms out as a protective barrier. What we thought our arms would do against a man on a bike that size, I have no idea. It just came instinctually to us to protect our guest. The engine growled one more time before Tiny Greer turned it off and put down the kickstand in one fell swoop as he dismounted. He was madder than I’d ever seen him, and that was saying something.

  “You no-good, yellow-bellied sapsucker! I’m going to tear you limb from limb!” Tiny growled as he stalked toward Nathan. I turned my back to Nathan hoping Tiny would realize he’d have to go through me and Daddy first.

  Daddy said, “Tiny, I understand you’re upset—”

  “Upset? He killed my sister! Upset doesn’t begin to describe what I’m feelin’!”

  Dressed in a leather vest with patches covering most of the front, I saw that Tiny had added something since the last time I’d seen him. Under his left eye was a tattoo of an outline of a teardrop that was a little puffy and red. It was brand new, and I wondered if he got it for Maddie. Yet didn’t a tear drop tattoo mean the bearer had killed someone?

  Tiny yelled at Nathan Daniels who was content to stay right where he was behind Daddy and me. “That was your plan, wasn’t it?” He accused. “That whole time I was feeding you information about the people, the politics, and the history of this town dating back to my great-uncle Captain Jedediah Greer in the Civil War, you never said anything about killing off my sister and getting rich off it!”

  I looked at Daddy. Were we protecting a murderer?

  Tiny took advantage of our momentary dist
raction. He grabbed Nathan by his grungy Rolling Stones T-shirt and pulled him out from behind us. A look of pure panic crossed Nathan’s face as Tiny wrapped the Rolling Stones logo of Nathan’s T-shirt around one fist, as the other reared back to punch him in the face. The room filled with so much noise, I couldn’t tell who was screaming, who was cussing, or who was grunting. Daddy pushed Tiny as I grabbed Nathan and pulled with all my strength. His shirt ripped from his body, and Tiny was left off balance with a T-shirt in his hands. But he didn’t stop. He was ready to pulverize Nathan Daniels, and nothing was going to stop him.

  Tiny moved faster than I thought possible. He came at Nathan like a freight train and swung again. His fist came so fast I didn’t think anyone could defend it. Nathan saw it and did the only thing possible. He leaned back into me to avoid the roundhouse punch, and I stumbled away from him. Tiny missed his target, but I felt the air swoosh by my face.

  A pink blur at Tiny’s feet sent a panic through me. “Princess!”

  Tiny saw my pet and tried to step around her, but the force of his swing hitting air spun him around, and he fell against Nathan with the force of well over three hundred pounds behind it. They crashed to the floor, and Nathan disappeared from sight.

  A hush fell across the store.

  Princess walked to her bed behind the register as if nothing had happened. I couldn’t fathom her calm. She’d almost ended up at the bottom of that pile. As it was, I couldn’t see one piece of Nathan. It was as if his body disappeared into the floor.

  “Where is he?” Reba Sue screamed.

  “I think he’s under Tiny,” Sugar said.

  Liza was giving play by play to her cameraman who zoomed in on Tiny’s face as he lay flat on his back with his arms splayed wide.

  Reba Sue was in a panic. “Get off him!” She ran up to Tiny and pulled on his arm. Tiny blinked as if he was in shock as he looked up at the ceiling of the Barn. “There’s a loft up there,” he said. Then he wiggled his body and drew his eyebrows down as he tried to figure out why he was so uncomfortable on a floor that was lumpy, not smooth.

  “Nathan Daniels is underneath you…you, you big oaf!” Reba Sue wasn’t the least bit concerned about Tiny hitting her.