by Iris Morland
When she didn’t respond, he touched her shoulder. “Megan.”
Her eyes widened. “No, no, I wasn’t here. I got here this morning and this was what it looked like.” She looked to see his hand resting on her arm.
He took his hand back and stood.
“Officer Gonzalez will be here to assist me. Do you want me to call anyone? Your sister?”
“No. Not yet.” She bent down and was about to start picking up the pieces of glass, but Caleb stopped her.
“We need to take photos of the crime first,” he explained gently. “And you don’t want to cut yourself. How about you go across the street to the Fainting Goat and get something to eat? I know they’re not open yet, but Trent will let us in—”
She stared at the ground, but after a moment, she shook herself. She rose, and Caleb was relieved to see a bit of color return to her face. “I’m not hungry. What can I do to help?”
There wasn’t a whole lot beyond cataloguing what had been taken, since she hadn’t been here to witness anything, but Caleb wasn’t about to tell her that. Officer Juan Gonzalez, a middle-aged man who’d been on the force for twenty years, got out of his car and whistled at the damage. With his large, dark mustache and short stature, people had a tendency to underestimate him—until they saw how fast he could run, and how he could bench-press as much as any guy twice his height.
“Ms. Flannigan,” Gonzalez said, “I’m sorry this has happened. Officer Thornton and I will be taking photos of the crime scene. Can you show us all the damage that you’ve noticed? And note anything missing?”
Megan seemed to come back to herself with something definite to do. Gonzalez escorted her inside, a fatherly air about him that usually calmed most people, with Caleb following behind.
Caleb’s mind went into what he liked to term Officer Mode. There had been two other robberies in the neighborhood lately, although Megan’s bakery had been the hardest hit, unfortunately. He grimaced as he took in the damage: the food scattered everywhere, the tipped-over and broken furniture, and the kitchen covered in flour and sugar and God knew what else. His boots crunched on glass, and he was glad to see that Megan wore thick shoes as well. If she’d been wearing her usual sandals, he wouldn’t have let her in here.
As if she would’ve let me keep her out, he thought wryly. Megan Flannigan had never had any interest in listening to what he had to say.
“Was anything stolen?” Gonzalez asked. “Money? Equipment?”
Megan frowned. “I didn’t see anything obvious stolen, but I haven’t gone through the entire kitchen yet. They tried to get into the safe I keep in my office, but they weren’t able to open it.”
“Anything in the cash register?” Caleb asked.
“No, I don’t keep money in the register over night, although Jubilee closed up last night. I need to call her…” Her voice trailed off as she gazed at a large smear of frosting on the display case. “Why would someone throw food around like this?”
“Megan—Ms. Flannigan,” Caleb said in a low voice, “is there anyone you think might have a grudge against you? Any enemies you believe would do something like this?”
She let out a startled laugh. “Enemies? No, not really. Well,” and her voice turned wry here, “only one, but I’m not sure he’s much for robbing bakeries.”
Caleb couldn’t stop his lips from quirking into a grin. When Gonzalez gave him a curious look, he flattened his lips into a neutral expression. “I see. How about you call Jubi to come down so we can talk to her, and anyone else you think might know something. Gonzalez, you have your camera, right?”
“Let me go get it.” Gonzalez looked at the pair of them but didn’t say anything else.
Standing in the middle of the bakery, the chaos of the robbery all around them, Caleb couldn’t help but think that Megan seemed so small amidst it all. Fragile, almost. He’d never in his life thought the words fragile and Megan in the same sentence, but there was a first time for everything.
“Hey, how are you holding up?”
She rubbed her arms before shrugging. “Fine. I mean, I’m not fine. I’m shocked, although I’m getting close to becoming angry. That’s good, right?”
“I’d prefer to see an angry Megan than a quiet one, I’ll admit.”
Her rose-bud lips turned into a small smile. “I’d have to agree. I don’t like feeling like this. Like I’m out of control…” She shrugged again. “Which is ironic, if you think about it.”
He wanted to take her into his arms. It was a ridiculous impulse: she’d never shown anything but antipathy toward him, yet he had this feeling, in the deepest part of him, that her thorns merely protected a soft, vulnerable center. Right now, he caught more glimpses of that vulnerability than he had in years, and he wanted to protect her. To enfold her in his arms and tell her she didn’t have to be afraid, because he would keep her safe.
She blinked her blue eyes, her lashes sinfully long and dark. He watched as a slight flush rose on her cheeks. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but Gonzalez took that moment to return.
“Sorry, the camera was buried underneath my son’s soccer gear in the trunk. Caleb, let’s get started?”
Caleb tore his gaze from Megan, although it was a struggle. He and Gonzalez canvassed the entire bakery, taking photos of all of the damage. As more and more of the thief’s crime was revealed, he couldn’t stop a black anger from taking hold of his insides. Only the lowest of assholes would do this to a woman who’d worked so hard to get this bakery started and make it successful. He wanted to find the guy—or woman—and wring his neck. Make him apologize to Megan and clean up every bit of flour and every cracked egg and every piece of broken glass until The Rise and Shine did, in fact, shine again.
“Do you think this is the same person who committed the other recent robberies?” Caleb asked quietly. It would make the most sense, although the other two robberies hadn’t been nearly as destructive.
Gonzalez snapped a photo of an overturned vase of utensils. “Most likely. How many burglars are there in Fair Haven? Although it doesn’t seem like he actually stole anything of value. He just wanted to destroy things.” He frowned in thought. “That’s honestly more concerning than somebody stealing money.”
Caleb had to agree. This seemed to speak of some kind of grudge. Although Megan didn’t think she had any enemies, he wondered now. Perhaps someone connected to the Flannigans who wanted to hurt them? He needed to talk to Harrison, although he might just be overly paranoid. The thief had tried to steal money from the safe. He might have realized his failure on that score and taken it out on the bakery as a result.
They both heard the front door bell ring, and then Caleb heard someone gasp behind him. “Oh my God! When Megan said we’d been robbed, I thought maybe they’d stolen some cash from the register…”
He turned to see his little sister Jubilee standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He smiled grimly at her. “Hey Jubi.”
“This is terrible.” She didn’t even look at Caleb. “Poor Megan.” She brushed a finger in some flour that had been thrown across a counter. “How are we going to clean all of this up?”
“You won’t have to do it by yourselves.” When Jubilee raised her eyebrows at Caleb’s statement, he added gruffly, “Don’t give me that look.”
“What look? Am I looking at you somehow? Oh, hey, Juan. How are you? How’s Gretchen and the kids?”
Gonzalez smiled. “They’re great. Thanks for asking. Although you know my Joaquin? He twisted his ankle after the latest game and is out for the season. He’s not too happy about it.”
“That sucks. I’m sorry.” Jubilee began to pepper Gonzalez with questions, which Caleb couldn’t help but be grateful for. His little sister was better with people than he was, he thought wryly. Maybe she should have become a public servant instead of him.
“Do you think this person picked the bakery for a reason?” he heard Jubilee ask. “Or do you think it’s random?”
“We don’t have enough to go by right now, but given the extent of the damage, it’s hard to think this was random,” Gonzalez admitted. “Do you have any idea who could’ve done this? Somebody who’s come in and gotten upset?”
She frowned. “I mean, beyond Mrs. Patterson getting mad when I accidentally put cream in her coffee? Not that I can think of. Mrs. Patterson is a bit touchy, but I don’t think she’d break a window in revenge.”
Gonzalez laughed. “I won’t tell her you said that.”
The front door bell rang again, and when Caleb, Gonzalez, and Jubilee stepped out of the kitchen into the bakery, Caleb saw Harrison and Sara entering, shocked expressions on their faces. Harrison, Caleb’s older brother, had gotten engaged to Sara Flannigan—Megan’s older sister—only a few weeks prior. Caleb couldn’t help but notice the way his brother kept a hand on Sara’s lower back, like he could shield her from the destruction around her. Harrison and Caleb looked alike, although where Harrison was broad, Caleb was taller. They both had the Thornton green eyes and dark hair. Sara and Megan, though, didn’t look as much like sisters, although Caleb had noticed that they both shared similar expressions and mannerisms that marked them as related, if you paid attention. Sara was shorter and curvier with darker hair, whereas Megan was taller with deep red hair.
“Oh, Megan, this is awful.” Sara glanced around. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay? Please tell me you weren’t here when this happened. Why didn’t you call earlier?”
Megan took her sister’s hands. “Because I was dealing with the police, and besides, there wasn’t anything you could do right then.”
“I could’ve been with you!”
Megan looked like she wanted to argue that, but Harrison intervened smoothly, “Caleb, are you guys done so we can start cleaning up? Or do you need to take more photos?”
Gonzalez said, “We’re done with photos. We’ll be taking statements from here on. Caleb, how about you go talk the tenants next door, see if they saw anything. Megan and Jubilee, I’ll take your statements, if you please.”
Caleb wanted to argue—the last thing he wanted to do was leave Megan here—but he knew she had the support of her sister and his own siblings. As he walked out, though, he touched Megan’s elbow, drawing her away from the circle.
“I’ll be right next door if you need me.”
When she didn’t make her usual sassy remark, but instead just nodded, his chest tightened. He touched her arm once more before he stepped outside into the bright morning light.
When Megan saw her sister and Harrison coming into The Rise and Shine, a part of her wanted them to leave. Immediately. She knew it was out of pride; she didn’t want them to see how utterly she’d failed. Especially Sara, as the business had been Megan’s attempt to show Sara that she could take care of herself.
Now look at her. She’d been robbed, her bakery was a mess, and she didn’t know what to say or how to feel. She felt curiously numb about it all. Shouldn’t she be crying? Raging? Something?
She stood stiff as a board when Sara hugged her, and she hugged her back only because she knew Sara would expect it. Harrison placed a hand on her shoulder in solidarity, but he looked so much like Caleb that Megan had to look away.
Caleb. Of course he’d be the police officer called to the scene. Just her luck. Although she wanted to hate that Caleb was there, she also had been relieved to see him this morning. His presence had been surprisingly calm, which she attributed to his training as a police officer more than her reaction to him as a person. This was what she told herself, although a voice whispered in her mind that it had everything to with him as a person—and as a man.
“Megan, what do you want us to do?” Sara asked her. “Do you want us to help clean? Or should we call somebody? I’m not sure we can do all this on our own, especially with the glass everywhere.”
Megan blinked. Cleaning. Glass. “I need to call my insurance company.”
“I’ll go with you to your office. Harrison, do you know somebody who can help?”
He smiled. “Why is it I’m always the one calling people?”
“Because you know everybody and their dog in this town, and you’ve probably gotten beers with them, too.” Sara kissed his cheek before taking Megan’s elbow and leading her into the back.
Sara didn’t say anything, and for that, Megan was grateful. She didn’t want sympathy. She wanted…she didn’t know what she wanted. To find the person who did this and punch them? Run far away and never look back?
The task of calling her insurance company gave her something to do, and for that, she was grateful. She needed something concrete, something beyond thinking and worrying. Some of the feeling that had left her body slowly came back, and by the time she hung up the phone, she felt, if not renewed, at least not as numb as she had been.
Sara rubbed Megan’s arm before they left the office. “Hey, look at me,” she said in a soft voice. “We’ll figure this out. We’ll get the bakery cleaned up, and they’ll find the guy who did this.”
Megan wanted to tell her sister that there was no we. She had to do this one her own, but one look at Sara’s face and she bit her tongue. She just nodded instead.
Gonzalez interviewed Megan, and she told him everything she knew, which was actually very little. She couldn’t think who would’ve done this. She didn’t have enemies—not really. Sure, maybe her next-door neighbor didn’t love her that one time she accidentally left the hose on and flooded her yard, but Megan couldn’t see Nora Blakely robbing her bakery for that reason.
“A cleaning crew is coming within the hour, and Officer Gonzalez has gone back to the station,” Harrison announced. “But we can get started cleaning. Megan, where do you keep your trash bags and cleaning supplies?”
She showed him, and she, Sara, Harrison, and Jubilee began the clean up. As she began to rifle through her bakery’s things, the anger she’d been waiting for bloomed in her chest. A hot flush crawled up from her chest to her cheeks, and she clenched her jaw so tightly that she knew she’d have a headache later from it.
Fuck whoever did this. I’d love to take them out back and break their kneecaps.
When she picked up a piece of glass and accidentally cut herself—a light scratch—she cursed. “Fuck whoever did this!” she yelled. “Who would be this big of an asshole?”
Her question wasn’t directed to anyone in particular, but she saw Sara open her mouth to answer. But before her sister could say anything, Jubilee interjected, “Clearly it was somebody who has a very sad life. He probably sits at home watching soap operas and losing bidding wars on eBay, because he collects Smurfs figurines and has an entire room dedicated to them. And when he lost out on a rare one a week ago, he decided to go robbing.”
The trio stared at Jubilee. Then Harrison started laughing, which in turn caused both Megan and Sara to laugh.
“Bless you, Jubi,” Sara said as she hugged the girl. “I think we all needed that.”
“And I’m not sure why you think I’m not serious,” Jubilee replied solemnly.
That only set off more peals of laughter, which was how Caleb found them when he returned after interviewing people next door.
“Should I ask why you’re laughing?”
Megan saw him, and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. She shook her head. “Don’t ask.”
“I probably shouldn’t.” The gleam in his eyes dimmed slightly when he added in a quiet voice, “Megan, can I talk to you privately?”
A shiver raced up her spine at his voice. She let him take her to the back and into her office, as the cleaning crew had just arrived and had begun working on the kitchen. Caleb shut the door and turned to face her.
“I wasn’t sure if you were aware, but this is the third robbery this month here in town. Unfortunately, you were hit the hardest by far.” He folded his arms, grimacing. “You’re lucky nothing was really stolen.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to refute the idea that she was at all lucky, but sh
e refused to let him bait her right now. When he didn't say anything, she asked, “Is that all you needed to tell me?”
His mouth twisted. “Not exactly. Due to the rash of robberies in this area, my boss wants someone to keep an eye on this block. Specifically, he wants me to watch your store, as he thinks the perpetrator will return. Since he didn’t steal anything the first time around.”
“You’re telling me you’re going to guard my bakery?” She scoffed. “Is that really how the police are going to use their time?”
He frowned. “I had a feeling you wouldn’t be happy about this, but this isn’t some random thing. We’re trying to keep this area—and you—safe. Keeping watch here will make the perpetrator wary. He won’t do something this brash again if he knows the police are onto his movements.”
“I get that.” She rubbed her arms. She knew why she was agitated: this meant that Caleb would be around. A lot. Even more than usual. Would he be outside her very door for days? Weeks? Her heart raced, and she didn’t know if it was from fear or excitement.
Maybe a little of both.
“You know what? Do whatever you think you need to do,” she said, exhaustion lacing her words. “I’m not going to like having you skulking around, but if it helps catch this guy, fine.” She pushed past him, her shoulder bumping into his. “Just don’t think I’m going to bring you coffee and a donut every morning as you sit outside my door, okay?”
He grinned that grin, the one that made her stomach flip. “Why would I expect Megan Flannigan to be nice to me? I’m not totally insane.”
They stared at each other, their bodies brushing. Megan refused to acknowledge she was trembling, or that she could see golden flecks in Caleb’s eyes. Or that he smelled like cedar and vetiver, and she wanted to inhale those scents until she was dizzy from them.
“Don’t get in my way.” She was annoyed to hear how breathy her voice was.
“And don’t get in my way.” He leaned down, his hot breath fanning her cheek. “Unless you want to,” he said in a low voice.
She inhaled. Their gazes collided. And then before she could make another huge mistake, Megan darted from the room.
