by Devney Perry
He chuckled and held me tighter. “You’re not a clean freak.”
I kissed the top of his shoulder. “You’re not a slob.”
We stayed like that for a few moments, holding one another while Nazboo was off somewhere exploring the house. When she came back into the kitchen, Cole leaned back to meet my eyes.
“I’m sorry you tripped. I’ll work on the towel thing if you promise to work on the gum thing.”
“Gum thing?”
“You smack your gum. It drives me crazy.”
“What?” My eyes got wider. “I do not smack my gum.” Do I?
He grinned and kissed my forehead. “Do you still want to take a shower?”
“No.” I slumped against his chest. “I just want to go to bed.”
“All right.” He slid out and went to the towel drawer for a fresh washcloth. After he’d dampened it with warm water, he came back and cleaned me up. Then he scooped me up in his arms and carried me through the living room toward the stairs. Nazboo followed behind.
“We need to let her out.”
“I’ll do it.”
“Thanks.” I rested my head against his shoulder as he took me upstairs. Carefully setting me in bed, he went to the closet, coming back wearing a new pair of briefs and tossing me one of his T-shirts. I pulled it on and snuggled into bed while he went downstairs to take care of Nazboo and kennel her for the night.
When Cole returned, he brought all of our clothes with him, and I smiled as he dumped them into the hamper instead of on the floor of the walk-in closet. I kept my smile as he climbed into bed and tucked me against his naked chest.
“Do you want to tell me why you picked a fight with me tonight?”
I snuggled deeper. “My day went downhill after I left you at the courthouse.”
“I gathered that. What happened?”
As much as I hated to talk about other people while we were in bed, I also didn’t want to shut Cole out. I didn’t want him to think that he was the cause of my frustration, so I sighed and admitted why I’d been so upset. “Me and Molly kind of got into a fight.”
“Why?”
“Because I said something stupid. And because she and Finn aren’t getting back together.”
“Did you think they were?”
I nodded. “I had hope. Now it’s gone.”
“Sorry, beautiful.” He kissed my hair. “But don’t give up hope. They were right for one another at the time. They’ve got two awesome kids to prove it. It’s just, maybe the person they’ll be right for in the future is still to come.”
I closed my eyes and let out a breath as I contemplated his words.
Cole might be the most insightful person I’d ever met. It made him a great cop. A good man. The perfect one for me. And he was right. Just because Finn and Molly weren’t together, didn’t mean they wouldn’t find happiness with someone new. A happiness that would be the lasting kind, this time around.
Just like the kind of happiness I’d found with Cole.
I hadn’t understood it earlier at the restaurant—I’d been too upset to see things from Finn’s perspective—but now I understood why my brother wanted to date again. He knew he’d never get over Molly’s affair, and he didn’t want to spend his life alone.
He wanted to find love again too.
I snaked my arm across Cole’s waist and hugged him tight, breathing in the smell of his skin. “I’m glad you like to cuddle.”
“I don’t.”
I shot off his chest as my chin fell open. “What?”
“I don’t like to cuddle. Never have, not even with my mom when I was a kid.” He smiled at my wide eyes, then tugged me back down. “But I do like to cuddle with you.”
I collapsed back onto his chest. “Tonight has been . . . informative. Is there anything else I should know besides the gum smacking and cuddling?”
“I’ll keep you posted.”
“Thanks, Detective.” I patted his stomach, then began playing with the hairs on his chest. “How was your day?”
“Long,” he sighed, drawing circles on my hip. “But good.”
Cole had been working so hard lately. He’d get up just as early as I would and head into work while I went to the restaurant to bake before six. He was swamped with the drug task force and the other cases he had on his plate. But in these recent months, I’d avoided asking him about Jamie’s murder case.
I didn’t want him to think I didn’t have faith in his investigative skills. I didn’t want him to think I had false hope. But I was curious. I’d spent years getting updates from Detective Simmons—albeit the same update—every month. And though I trusted Cole to tell me if he’d learned anything, tonight, curiosity beat out patience.
“Have you, um, made any progress on the murder case?” I tensed as I waited for his response.
Cole’s hand on my hip froze. “There isn’t much I can share, but we’re doing our best. And we are working on it.”
“Okay.” His limited update was enough. “I’ve been thinking about something for a couple of weeks. I was wondering if you could do me a favor. A police kind of favor.”
“Okay,” he drawled.
“I want you to find the daughter of the woman that was killed with Jamie. The cashier.”
“Poppy—”
I lifted my head and cut him off. “I just want to know if she’s okay. I don’t need details or anything like that. Just a yes or no that she’s okay.”
His hand came to my face. “Why?”
I shrugged. “I’ve thought about her from time to time over the years. I’ve wondered where she was and how she dealt with the loss of her mother. I guess finishing Jamie’s list, letting go and getting on with my life has made me wonder if she’s found some closure too. I don’t have any power to find the man who killed them and make him pay, but I can at least make sure that her life hasn’t been ruined. Would you help me check on her?”
His thumb stroked my cheek. “In a heartbeat.”
48th Birthday: Buy a stranger a car
Poppy
“You two kiss like teenagers.”
I scowled at Molly from behind the office desk. “We do not.”
“Really?” She leaned a hip against the doorframe. “Then why are you always putting on lip balm? Your lips are chapped because you’re always making out with your hot cop boyfriend. Not that I blame you. If he were mine, I’d kiss him all the time too.”
Cole had just left the restaurant after coming here for lunch, and just like he always did when he visited, he’d given me a long kiss when he’d arrived and another before he’d left. And twice in between, just because.
Okay, maybe we were as bad as teenagers.
“My lips are chapped because of the weather,” I lied. “It’s dry this time of year.” I looked down at the paperwork on my desk and rubbed my lips together. They were still puffy from Cole’s kiss. “Though, he is a great kisser.”
Cole and I had been together for two months now, and things between us were as hot as ever. We did kiss all the time. And the sex? We were going at it like rock stars. In fact, he’d fucked me right here in this office after I’d closed down the restaurant last night. Not that I’d be sharing that little detail with Molly.
“What are you working on?” Molly stepped farther into the office, taking the chair across the desk.
Our positions were switched from our normal office conversations. Usually she was the one sitting on this side of the desk, working on payroll or bookkeeping, while I was in the guest chair.
“I was just looking at those new income projections you put together.”
She smiled. “Things are going so well. Better than I’d ever expected.”
Sales at The Maysen Jar were just as high now as they’d been when we’d opened. In the five months I’d been in business, I’d learned a lot. I was better at ordering bulk supplies without getting too much or too little. I had refined the menu so it only included items that sold consistently. And much to Molly’s delight, I’
d learned to delegate and trust my small staff to run the place when I wasn’t around. My days off weren’t limited to once a month but once a week, and I’d figured out an evening schedule that let me spend quality time with Cole and Nazboo.
Molly pulled the draft schedule from the desk and glanced over the chart. “I think I’m going to ask Helen to come in and work on Saturday with me. She’s looking for more hours to save up for the holidays.”
“You’re sure you don’t mind working this weekend?” Molly normally took Saturday and Sunday off to spend time with the kids, but Cole and I had plans next weekend to do another list item, so she was covering the restaurant.
“Not at all. You haven’t taken off a whole weekend since your Glacier trip. You deserve the break. Besides, since Finn has the kids this weekend, I’ll be bored out of my mind at home. I’m glad I can come to work.”
“Thank you.”
She put down the schedule and leaned her elbows on the desk. “You’re almost done with the list. How are you feeling about finishing it?”
How was I feeling? “I’m . . . okay. I guess I’m just at peace with it all.”
“Good. Then you got what you wanted.”
I smiled. “Yeah, I did.”
Soon, I’d mark the last few check boxes from Jamie’s journal and put it away. Jamie would always be a part of my heart, but going through his birthday list had given me an outlet to say good-bye.
“Have you decided who gets a free car?” Molly asked.
“No.” I slumped onto the desk. Why Jamie had wanted to buy a stranger a car, I had no clue. “How do you pick a stranger and buy them a car? If I walk up to someone and say, ‘Hey you! I want to buy you a car,’ they’ll think I’m crazy.”
“I’ll do it.”
I sat up. “You will? Really?”
She shrugged. “Sure, I’ll pick someone.”
“That would be great. I’m too chicken.”
“How do you want to pay for it? You’re not going to just hand over a wad of cash, are you?”
I shook my head. “No, I want to make sure the person gets a car. I was planning on just financing with the dealership. Then once I sell the house, I can pay it back.”
“Any progress on finding a rental?”
I sighed. “No. Honestly, I haven’t even looked lately.” I’d been spending so much time at Cole’s house, moving had stalled. But I needed to resume my rental search again.
Jamie and I had been smart when we’d bought our house so the mortgage wasn’t much, but I could use the money from the equity I’d built up over the years. I still needed to reimburse Cole for what he’d spent on Jamie’s truck and soon I’d have a car payment for a car that I wouldn’t be driving. Since my house sat empty most of the time, downsizing to a smaller apartment made sense.
Except what I really wanted to do was just live at Cole’s.
These last two months, it had become home. Most of my clothes were already hanging in his closet, my kitchen appliances had all migrated to his cupboards instead of my own, and his bed was my bed. I doubted I’d even be able to sleep in my old room now.
“I don’t know why you won’t just move in with Cole,” Molly muttered.
I sighed. “Because he hasn’t asked.” I wanted him to ask me, not feel pressured because I wanted to offload my house.
“Asked what?”
My eyes shot to the door as Cole walked into the office. “Nothing!” I shot Molly a don’t you dare look.
She rolled her eyes and mouthed, Fine.
“What are you doing here?” I stood from the desk. “Did you forget something at lunch?”
He grinned. “I have a surprise for you. Grab your coat and come out front.”
Molly and I both rushed to the coat hooks by the door, then followed Cole through the kitchen.
Helen was behind the counter this afternoon—studying, since we didn’t have many customers. When she saw us come through the swinging door on Cole’s heels, she slammed her textbook shut and jogged around the counter to catch up. Judging by the huge smile on her face, she must have been clued into Cole’s surprise.
As we walked through the restaurant, Cole reached back and took my hand. His huge smile was infectious as he pulled me outside and around the corner of the building.
My free hand covered my gasp when I spotted the surprise.
Jamie’s truck—gleaming, midnight blue and accented with polished chrome—was parked in the lot.
“It’s done?”
Cole handed me a set of keys. “It’s done. What do you think?”
“It’s perfect.” I was awestruck that he’d transformed an old yellow heap into this beautiful classic. I grabbed Cole’s face with both hands and yanked it down for a hard, fast kiss. “Thank you.”
He smiled against my mouth. “You’re welcome. Go check it out.”
A squeak escaped my lips as I jogged to the driver’s side. I climbed in, filling my lungs with the clean, new smell. My hands stroked the buttery leather of the new cream bench seat before gripping the matching steering wheel. I ran my fingers across the dashboard and down to the new radio. The floor, the door panels, the ceiling—everything was new.
Cole had even replaced the old plastic visors.
I flipped one down, surprised when a photo fell onto my lap. It was the one Cole had found months ago. Cole had kept Jamie in his truck. I smiled at the picture and put it back into the visor just as the passenger door opened.
“Well?” Cole asked.
“It’s incredible. Thank you.”
“It was fun.” He ran his hand over the seat, inspecting his work. “And it didn’t take as much work as I’d thought. The engine was in good shape. My buddy at the body shop did a lot. Mostly I just put in new parts.”
“You’re not giving yourself enough credit. This truck has taken a lot of your evenings lately.”
He shrugged. “I enjoyed it. It made me realize I need to find a hobby. Something to get my mind off work.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll find another old car and fix it up.”
“Can I pick the color?”
He grinned. “Of course.”
I ran my hands over the steering wheel again. “I pick black.” It was his favorite color.
Cole climbed into the truck and took out his phone, aiming the camera my way. “There. Now you’ve got your picture for the day.” A picture of me in Jamie’s truck was far better than the selfie I’d attempted this morning. “How about a quick drive?”
“Where to?”
He shrugged. “Anywhere.”
I turned the key and smiled, then I drove us around the block and parked behind the restaurant.
When Cole gave me a funny look, I just shut off the truck and slid across the bench seat, showing him with my lips how much I appreciated his work on this project.
By the time we broke apart, I needed more lip balm.
Not long after Cole went back to work, Molly left the restaurant to run some errands before she had to pick up Kali and Max from daycare. It was just me and Helen for the rest of the afternoon and evening, so while she managed the counter, I was in the kitchen, chopping vegetables for my chicken noodle soup.
It was supposed to get cold tonight and I thought soup would be a hit with the dinner crowd. Plus, it was one of Cole’s favorites. He was coming back here for dinner and I wanted to do something special for him, given all he’d done to fix up Jamie’s truck—which was parked out back.
Cole had taken my car back to the station so I could drive Jamie’s truck home tonight. As soon as we closed up The Maysen Jar, I was planning on driving around for a bit, listening to Jamie’s favorite country station, then finding a spot to park and cross that item off his list.
“Hey, Poppy?” Helen poked her head into the kitchen.
“What’s up?” I didn’t look up from the carrots on my cutting board.
“That girl is back.”
I dropped my knif
e and wiped my hands on my apron as I hurried to the door, peeking around Helen.
Sitting in the same seat she always did—tucked into the far back corner of the room—was a young girl who’d been coming into the restaurant regularly for the past few weeks. She always came at the same time, around three in the afternoon, and always wore the same clothes, faded black leggings and an olive-green coat that was two sizes too big and hung to her knees. On her feet were scuffed black ballet flats.
But even though her clothes were old and worn, she’d put effort into her appearance. Her face didn’t need much makeup—her light brown skin was flawless—but she’d dusted her cheeks with a bit of pink to match the shadow she’d used to highlight her large caramel eyes. Her long hair hung nearly to her waist, and she’d added some product to tame the frizz from her ash-brown curls.
“Did she order anything?”
Helen shook her head. “No. She just took one of the free cookies and asked for a glass of water.”
I frowned. The girl never ordered anything. Instead, she came and sat in that corner, attempting to blend into the wall as she read the same tattered book or worked on homework.
I didn’t care that she wasn’t a paying customer. I cared that she was young—probably only sixteen—and she seemed to be surviving on my free cookies alone. She’d gotten visibly thinner in just the time she’d been coming to The Maysen Jar.
But whenever any of us would approach and offer her something, she’d politely decline and leave the restaurant. So yesterday, Molly and I had told our staff to tell us immediately the next time the girl came in.
“Do me a favor,” I told Helen. “Go put a chicken potpie and apple pie in the toaster oven, then make a vanilla latte. I’m going to get this soup on the stove and then I’ll be out.”
While Helen went to prepare the food, I hurried to finish my chopping and toss the veggies into my chicken stock. With the burner set to simmer, I washed my hands and untied my apron. When I came out front, Helen had everything on a tray.
“Thank you.” I took the tray. “Wish me luck.”
She crossed her fingers and smiled.
