“He’s right, you know,” Jack said. “You could use some medical attention.”
I chuckled to cover my embarrassment. “If you think you’re getting me to the hospital for shots, you’re sadly mistaken.”
“I’m pretty familiar with your aversion to doctors. Come here.” He walked behind the counter to the kitchen doorway, though he didn’t cross the threshold, as if it were a sacred portal.
I walked to him, unable to say no. “It’s nothing serious.”
Jack studied me for a moment. “I think you’re right, though this,” he gently brushed a spot on my forehead, “could use some stitches.”
I shook my head. “That’s so not happening.”
He blew out a long-suffering sigh. “Fine. I have a first aid kit in my car. I think there are some butterfly bandages in there. At least let me have a closer look and make sure it’s cleaned up right. What happened to you?”
I knew he and Lenny would both freak when I told them, so I put it off. “Let me sit down first.”
Sadie looked at me in surprise when Jack led me into the front. “What happened? You have some owies.” She touched her cheek as if to reassure herself that it was just me who was hurt.
“Yes, I do,” I agreed. “Do you want to come upstairs and hold my hand while your daddy fixes them?” I noticed their desserts were only half finished.
“Yes. Do you have a doggie?” Her eyes brightened as she moved to the new topic. “I have a doggie. Her name is Gracie, and she’s so cute! I love to walk with her and play games and she licks my face.”
“Really?” I treated the news very seriously, loving her enthusiasm. “I wish I could have a doggie, but I can’t bring one to work, and she would get lonely upstairs in my house during the day. Especially since I don’t have a yard for her to play in.” I loved dogs, but getting one right now was definitely out of the question.
Sadie latched onto my hand, accompanying me out the front door, bumping it so the bell above it gave an extra tinkle. “Who keeps you from getting scared at night if you don’t have a doggie? Don’t you get lonely?”
I did mention that this little girl was seriously adorable, right? “I’m all grown up, so I don’t get scared very often anymore. But you’re lucky you have a daddy and grandparents to keep you safe.”
We stopped at Jack’s car and he opened the trunk, pulling out a huge navy blue bag with a medical symbol on the side.
Dread began climbing up my throat. “You planning to wrap me like a mummy? I don’t think doctors carried bags that big when they did house calls.”
“Doctors don’t do house calls anymore, and they don’t need all of this fun stuff when they take care of people. If they do, they take them to the hospital. Carrying around supplies is my job.” He latched a hand onto my elbow and led me around to the back of the building to my apartment stairwell. “So, what happened?”
Lenny came out the kitchen door in time to hear that. “That’s my question too.”
I looked at Lenny for a moment, then decided it would be easiest not to tell it three more times (because of course I was going to have to tell Honey later). “Fine. Lock up for a few minutes and come upstairs. But you have to hurry back down to reopen the shop instead of staying to lecture me.”
“Me? Lecture? Just don’t start without me.” He turned back into the store.
“Right, because he never tells me how to do things,” I muttered under my breath as we headed to my place.
“I thought you were the boss.” Amusement tinged Jack’s voice.
“Oh, I am. Except sometimes he gets it into his head to play protective brother.” I took the stairs easily enough, though I knew the next day I was going to be sore from the tension of dealing with everything. I missed my spa in Chicago. On the other hand, I couldn’t have afforded it anymore anyway. I managed not to sigh at the thought.
“Brother? He’s not actually related to you, is he? Because you don’t look at all alike.” Jack scrutinized my face when I turned back to him.
“No, but he might as well be.” I flipped on the living room light, since the drapes had been pulled the previous evening. There were still bowls and cups on the coffee table from the popcorn and ice cream we’d had last night while we watched some old horror flicks—the only genre Lenny and I both like. “For example, don’t brothers leave messes all over your living room?”
“Wait, he’s staying here?” Jack seemed surprised, which was odd because I thought Mary Ellen had done her utmost to spread the word that Lenny was bunking with me.
“It’s temporary.”
Lenny’s feet pounded up the stairs behind us as Jack helped me sit on the sofa, as if I were some fragile flower who couldn’t manage on her own. “I’m fine, really,” I reassured him, but he didn’t look convinced.
“Okay, what happened? You’re missing a window in your Outlander,” Lenny said when the door slapped closed behind him.
“I’d really appreciate it if you cleaned up after yourself. Look at this mess,” I said, not wanting to start yet. I was still trying to deal with being shot at and didn’t need any histrionics.
“The mess is half yours, and you’re not putting me off. What happened?” Lenny crossed his arms over his chest and gave me the stink eye.
Since I wasn’t going to be able to put them off any longer, I told them what happened, which caused much silent mouthing of swear words (once I reminded Lenny not to swear because Sadie was listening) and grim frowns from Jack. I tried to use soft phrasing that wouldn’t alarm Sadie, but she put on a puckered frown too.
When I finished, I ordered Lenny back downstairs to open the shop again, despite his fervent protests. Sadie sat by me, squeezing my hand while Jack softly cleaned my cuts and put butterfly bandages on the worst of them. His touch was gentle and his voice soft, but I could hear the note of tension in his tone.
“How long do I need to leave these on?” I asked, feeling the brush of Jack’s fingers against my forehead. Goose bumps rose along my neck and spine. It made me feel funny, and had me bursting with longing and the wonder of what if.
I looked at him and caught his gaze as he pressed the last bandage beside my left eyebrow. “Leave these a day or so, until the injuries seal themselves.” The light scent of blueberries on his breath mixed with his aftershave and made a lump grow in my chest. The air seemed to thin and I sucked in dizzily, swallowing when his blue eyes fixed on mine with something more than professional concern. Was it my imagination?
“Daddy, can we finish our treats now?” Sadie asked, interrupting the moment she probably didn’t even notice, though my whole being was wrapped in it.
Jolted back to reality, I looked away and Jack started cleaning up the empty Band-Aid wrappers.
“You might as well go down now, if everything’s okay,” I answered when he didn’t speak right off. “I’ll just comb my hair and check my makeup.”
“You look fine. You always look fine,” Jack said as he stood, his knees knocking against mine. He slid away, not meeting my gaze, and held out his hand to his little girl. “Let’s go downstairs and finish.”
I felt an odd sense of loss when I realized he’d emotionally pulled back again. “Thanks, Jack. I appreciate the TLC.”
He nodded and slid the bag strap over his shoulder, heading for the stairs. Before he reached the door he glanced back at me. “You’re welcome. Anytime.”
I felt a fluttering in my stomach at the intense way he looked at me. I’d been telling myself I wasn’t ready for another relationship yet, but maybe I was wrong.
The next day I was full of aches and pains and intensely aware of the tender cuts on my face. No matter how I tried, makeup didn’t quite cover them. Exhaustion dragged at me as well, since I’d woken several times in the night, reliving what had happened the previous day. I made Lenny handle the customers while I hid in the kitchen, baking. He wasn’t too happy about it, but it was a relief not to have to explain my war wounds every five minutes.
We’d had a regul
ar flow of customers, but with plenty of lulls between—I was seriously going to have to cut back Lenny’s hours if we didn’t get more big jobs soon. I hoped having him here didn’t break me.
I was frosting some chocolate cupcakes when the bell rang again, so I subtly shifted further out of sight. Two low male voices rumbled in the background as I mulled over the case, but the one that wasn’t Lenny’s caught my attention and perked up my ears. Did I know that voice or was I imagining things?
“Tess, a guy wants to talk to you,” Lenny called back.
I heard the swinging of the Dutch door as I put down my pastry bag and Shawn Plumber walked in, his hazel eyes shining, a grin on his lips and his chiseled jaw making my heart flutter in the moment before I fully registered that, yes, it really was him.
When he took two long steps and scooped me into his arms, I wrapped mine around him, surprised and happy and confused at his presence all at once. My sore muscles ached, but I ignored them. “What are you doing here?” I asked, holding on tight.
He pulled back and looked me over. His smile dimmed. “I heard you ran into some trouble yesterday, and I had some free time.” He touched my cheek, running a gentle finger over the little cuts. “Tingey didn’t mention you were hurt, just that the shooter made a mess of your window. He probably didn’t want to freak me out.”
Someone cleared their throat in the background and I realized Lenny watched us from the doorway. He leaned against the jamb, his arms crossed over his chest, making his chef’s jacket bunch oddly. “Care to introduce us?”
I felt my face grow hot and suddenly became nervous, like I was introducing a boyfriend to the family for the first time—only Lenny wasn’t really family, and Shawn wasn’t my boyfriend. We’d had a few dates the previous spring, sure, and we’d kept in touch, but that’s not the same thing at all. With some reluctance, I shifted out of his embrace and turned toward Lenny.
“This is Shawn Plumber. We knew each other when we were kids. That first wedding I did when I moved out here was for his sister.” I turned to Shawn. “Lenny is my assistant from the restaurant in Chicago. He just relocated to work for me here.”
I could see Shawn sizing up Lenny, and vice versa as the testosterone levels rose in the little shop. “Nice to meet you, Lenny.” Shawn offered him a handshake. “You must really like working for Tess if you’re willing to move cross-country to live here.”
Lenny shrugged, defensiveness in his eyes. “I needed a change and she needed someone she could count on. It worked out for us.”
I knew what Shawn was getting at—he thought there was something romantic between Lenny and me, but he couldn’t be further from the truth. “We all need an annoying little brother, of sorts, to push around. He’s mine.” I hoped that would make it clear, though it didn’t seem to ease the tension between them.
The bell chimed again as a neighbor woman entered, and after a hard look at Shawn, Lenny turned to take care of her.
Shawn studied me for a minute, “So there’s nothing going on between you two?”
“Not even remotely. His girlfriend would probably claw out my eyes if she thought there was—and she’s the most easy-going person I know.” I studied Shawn for another moment, so surprised to see him, happy he was there and wanting to soak it all in. “So you really just happened to have some time off?” I wasn’t sure I was buying it. If that had been the case, wouldn’t he have made arrangements to visit?
“Yes.” His hands slid into mine, enveloping them with warmth.
“And how long are you staying?” I’d missed having him around, and a nice visit would be much appreciated.
The way he shifted on his feet said he wasn’t comfortable with the answer. “A few days, maybe a week or so. You know, however long.”
I lifted my brows as doubt began to creep in. Border Patrol wasn’t the kind of job where you came and went at will. I gave him what I hoped was a piercing stare. “Really? And you just happened to have a flexible number of days off right now—at my hour of need?”
His gaze was direct, but his jaw twitched. “I had a few days off and some leave coming. I thought I’d take it now. Luckily my sergeant said he could spare me, and some guys were willing to swap shifts.”
I considered that, as I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. “Huh. And Tingey calls you every time someone around here gets a few scratches?”
“You want me to give it to you straight?” He shifted his shoulders back as if bracing for my reaction. “You know I keep in touch with Tingey. I happened to call to see how he was doing yesterday and asked about you. He said you’d been in a bit of trouble and filled me in.” He sucked in a breath, but didn’t look away. “I was worried when I heard someone was trying to kill you. I haven’t been able to forget our time together last spring.”
Those little flutters I’d felt when he first arrived—yeah, they turned into huge, super-flapping butterflies. My mouth went dry when I realized he’d rearranged everything to watch over me. I was both irritated that he thought I couldn’t take care of myself, and intensely flattered that he felt so strongly about me. Okay, and I was relieved, too, since I was pretty unnerved about being alone in my place once Lenny moved out again, and having Shawn only a phone call and a few minutes away was reassuring. Despite the security improvements I’d made in the past few months, being alone was a risk.
“No response to that?” he asked me after a moment.
“I’m trying to decide how I feel about it,” I admitted. “I think I’m going to settle for flattered and a little relieved because yesterday was really scary.”
“I’ll take flattered and relieved.” He leaned back against the stainless steel counter, hooking his fingers under the edge.
My first thought was that I was going to have to sanitize the counter again before I used it next. On its heels was the recognition that he still had really terrific shoulders and biceps. Seriously, the man was packed with muscles. I reminded myself not to drool. “So, if you’re planning on hanging out to take care of me, you’re going to be super bored. I have some cupcakes to finish here, and several other things to take care of and if you don’t have a food handler’s permit, you’re going to end up doing a whole lot of watching and not much else.”
“That’s okay. I like to watch you.” His smile turned that light compliment into something more heated, but I chose to ignore it as I picked up my pastry bag again, waiting until my back was turned to him to bite my lip in excitement at having him here again, even if only for a few days.
I couldn’t wait to tell Honey about this.
At one that afternoon, I headed up to my place to change for my appointment with Anise Xochictl. Shawn trailed me upstairs, and I was glad that Lenny had cleaned up the dishes so it looked presentable this time, unlike with Jack. The thought of Jack made me feel momentarily guilty, but the fact that something had passed between us didn’t mean anything. We weren’t dating, and Shawn would only be here for a few days.
“You’ve done some redecorating since I was here last,” he said when he came into the living room.
“Some new paint, a few pieces of furniture from Chicago, nothing much.” I headed for my room—formerly my grandma’s room—to look for something to wear for my business meeting. I left the door open so we could talk.
“And when did you become the big computer geek with special equipment?” He came to my door, leaning against the jam as he watched me pick through my wardrobe.
“Oh, that’s Lenny’s. He’s staying here for a few days and he couldn’t live without his computer that long. He’s such an electronics nerd.” I pulled out the red dress suit that flattered me so well. I’d only worn it once since moving to Silver Springs; there wasn’t that much opportunity when I worked so many hours.
“He’s living here?” There was an odd note in Shawn’s voice.
It occurred to me that he was jealous, which pleased me. “He signed a contract for a place a couple of nights ago. He finally got some furniture, so h
e’s going to move his stuff over there later today. It’s all a matter of timing.” I shifted to my jewelry armoire and started poking through it, trying to decide whether to go for funky or classic.
“How long has he been staying here?”
I picked out jewelry while I filled him in on the bare basics of the situation between Lenny and Kat—circling around the more private details.
My eyes fell on my favorite pair of red Ferragamo heels and I snatched them up, thrilled to have an excuse to wear them. “That’s what I was looking for.” I turned to him, holding them to his view.
“Are you dressing to kill?” he asked, looking at everything I’d tossed on my bed.
“Of course. And I need to change.”
After shooting me a curious look, he closed the bedroom door, giving me privacy.
Marge’s brilliant idea for getting in to speak with Anise Xochictl was all business. Apparently there was a big, annual party coming up. Since Nova Cosmetics now had well over two-hundred employees and spouses were invited, that was a lot of cakes and cookies and fun treats for me to make.
If I could manage to wrangle a contract.
Against his protests, I left Shawn in the foyer downstairs, and made my way up the lavish elevator to the executive level, smiling brightly as I walked through the deep-pile carpets and up to the reception desk, which was topped with granite. I wondered what the receptionist thought about the cold stone and if it ever made his arms cold.
“Hi, I’m here to speak with Ms. Xochictl,” I said, extending a business card to the sharply dressed young man.
He glanced at it and smiled. “Yes, of course, Ms. Crawford. I’m pleased to meet you. Let me tell her you’re here.” He lifted his phone and made a quick call, then stood and moved toward the door. “Go on through.” He opened the door for me, and I passed into the office, which was even more opulent than what I’d seen in the rest of the building. Apparently Anise believed in taking care of herself in every way, not just cosmetically.
Besides dressing to the nines, I had checked my make-up twice before leaving the car, wanting to look perfect. I put on my most confident look. I’d long ago learned that all of these trappings weren’t that important in most situations, but there were times it came in handy.
Pistols & Pies (Sweet Bites Book 2) (Sweet Bites Mysteries) Page 11
