A murmur rippled through the chairs.
Landon continued speaking. His voice carried strong and clear I noticed wryly, thinking of my own fear of public speaking and the struggle it had brought me weeks ago. It still felt like yesterday. I shuddered, relieved that it wasn’t me standing behind that podium with a microphone. I tuned back in to the words being spoken.
“I’ve spent years operating on my own, or in a small group with other members of Breaking Chains. The past few months, I’ve realized that one of the things missing from my life is one of the same things missing from the lives of so many victims. Connection. Roots. Somewhere to call home.”
Glancing at Sam, I saw that she was smiling and nodding. Reaching over, I squeezed her hand. She squeezed back. On the other side of her, BeeBee studied her fingernails. She remained attentive to Landon’s speech; I could tell by the slight angle of her head, ear up and to the front of the room. I imagined any reminder of her previous life was difficult. I nudged Sam and nodded my head toward BeeBee.
Sam took my hint. She clasped BeeBee’s hand and we sat there, linked together hand-to-hand, as we listened to Landon’s plans unfolding.
“I’m proud to say that I’ve found my own home, here in Seashell Bay. Not a house, mind you. I’m still looking for one of those; see me after church if you have a spare.” Everyone laughed as he pointed a finger out at the crowd of people. “But really, I found some great people. Connected with them. Am looking forward to coming to know the rest of you as well. I found a true home, at last. And so, I asked Breaking Chains if I could begin an extension of their relief and recovery division right here. They agreed and Pastor Dan graciously invited me to use this church and all of you, wonderful people, as the home base of operations. You will all be on the ground floor of building this ministry.”
A loud clapping sounded this time. BeeBee, Sam, and I broke hands and joined in.
“It is our goal with this ministry to provide that very same connection and spirit of togetherness that I found here to aid those who are rescued from various human trafficking situations, to help heal them emotionally and give them opportunities to thrive physically. I’m going to turn things back over to Pastor Dan now. We have pamphlets in the back for you to sign up if you would like to receive more information, volunteer time or resources, or make suggestions for ways you think this ministry could operate to meet those goals.”
CHAPTER 10
“Did you know?” Church let out early and I walked down the steps beside Sam.
“Know what? That Landon would be working at the church?”
I nodded.
“Nope,” she shrugged. “But maybe he had planned to tell me yesterday while I showed him different houses and apartments.”
“Maybe so.” I looked around. BeeBee and Landon were a few steps behind us.
I looked out at the ocean, close enough to be visible although the sound of the waves breaking was lost in the distance. The water showed signs of the storm; darker, rougher, and with spots too small to see in detail but that I imagined were little bits of debris and seaweed floating on the top.
Griff materialized at my right shoulder. “Did Sam tell you about lunch?”
“She did. Will I see you after?”
“You bet. Unless you want to come to lunch and see me now?”
“No way. I’m going to sit this one out,” I shook my head multiple times. “Deidra on a normal day, that I can handle. Deidra after the media smear I saw this morning, I’m not coming within two blocks of that ticking time bomb.”
Griff and Sam each grimaced. “Trust me,” Sam pushed hair behind her ears. “I’ve been trying to think of a way out all morning. Ever since that headline on TV.”
“I saw it. There is good news though.”
We had stopped walking, waiting for BeeBee and Landon to catch up. “And what would that good news be exactly?” Sam wanted to know.
“Your hair is lilac. She hasn’t seen it yet so that will distract her at least through to the dessert course.”
Griff burst out laughing. “Thanks, Sis. You’re always taking one for the team.” He play-tapped her on the chin.
Pursing her lips, Sam prepared a retort but Griff was saved from her barbs by BeeBee and Landon.
“Lunch?” Landon asked.
Sam shook her head. “Mother’s house.”
“Same.” Griff tipped his head at Landon, then BeeBee, then hugged me goodbye. He and Sam crossed the parking lot to their respective vehicles.
“That leaves you two.” Landon smiled.
“Bakery,” I shrugged.
“Same.” BeeBee laughed. “Technically, it’s the flower shop for me.”
“Tell you what though. You can bring us lunch to the bakery.” I winked.
“That’s fine by me.” Landon agreed. “We can have whatever you want.”
“What about Victoria and Millie? Or Flo?” BeeBee looked to me.
“Maybe pizza for everyone?” Landon swiveled his head between us, gauging our reactions.
BeeBee grinned.
My stomach growled. “Sounds perfect! Get three or four mediums and bring them around back to the kitchen.”
“Deal.”
BeeBee and I hopped into my truck and made for the bakery. Flo and she would only be working in the back today, not open for customers.
“I’ll text you when the pizza gets here,” I told her as she hustled to the back door of Flo’s Flowers and I unlocked the kitchen door for the Ooey Gooey.
She gave a nod, then disappeared inside.
By the time I had my apron tied on, Victoria and Millie had arrived.
“Millie, would you mind opening up the front and running the register this afternoon?”
“Absolutely not,” Millie smiled. “Do you want me to take any cookies up to add to the display case?”
I pulled a couple of boxes from the counter, baked fresh yesterday evening. “These need to go in. Thank you.”
The swinging door barely whooshed closed behind Millie when Victoria started spewing ideas. “We need to have so many cookies. Or a cake. Can we have both? Oh! And we should totally invite Millie’s parents, too. Piper, how are we going to do all of the regular baking plus all of the extra baking, yet somehow keep it a secret?”
“Well, first, we don’t have a meltdown.” I interrupted, worried the girl would soon have herself hyperventilating. “Deep breaths.”
“Okay.” Victoria inhaled through her nose, closing her eyes. Before I could count to four, her eyes popped back open. “Drinks!” The word came out in a panicked whisper. “What will we do for drinks. The bakery just makes food. And coffee. But Millie doesn’t drink a whole ton of coffee you know.”
“Alright, you sit. I’ll bake.” I guided her to the island in the center of the kitchen. “And while you are sitting, I want you to fill out all the things on this list that you know. The ones you don’t know, you and I will brainstorm later.” I plopped the notebook in front of her. “And Victoria, we have a massively giant fridge. We will buy drinks.” I fished a pen from the junk drawer in the corner and handed it to her. “Now, get started. We will throw Millie an epic going away party, don’t you worry.” I laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
Throwing me a grateful look, Victoria got down to business. For a time, the scratching and scribbling noises of the pen competed with the sounds of ingredients being measured into bowls. Or not measured, as often happened to be the case when I baked. Sometimes, you just had to feel the right amounts.
A knock sounded at the back door. I hurried to unlock it. Landon entered. Pizza boxes were stacked up to his chin.
“Somebody order a pizza?” He raised his eyebrows.
“Get in here, you goofball. That’s a whole lot of pizza.” I steered him toward the island. Victoria, so engrossed in party planning notes that she didn’t hear him, jumped when five boxes of pizza dropped onto the table a few inches from her face.
“I’ll text BeeBee.” I reached f
or the notebook. “Let me hold this and you can grab Millie from up front if there are no customers.”
“What if there are customers?”
“I’ll go up front while Millie eats.” Landon moved toward the swinging door as he offered. “Then I get to eat all of the leftover pizza that y’all don’t finish.”
Victoria asked if he had any idea how much pizza teenage girls could consume in one sitting and I laughed out loud. Landon went up front, shaking his head; Millie joined us immediately. BeeBee and Flo came through the back door within a minute of my text. I passed around napkins and we all dug in with enthusiasm.
“Does anyone think we should leave some pizza for Landon?” BeeBee asked after ten minutes of chit-chat and pizza. Several boxes were getting bare.
“If you insist.” I winked and went to relieve Landon. Natural charm oozed from Landon; he had a whole cue of people in line along with a growing stack of cookies balanced on the counter beside him. I watched curiously as the next customers, a sweet married couple that spent an hour each Sunday afternoon together here at the Ooey Gooey Goodness Bakery, moved forward and pointed out their requests.
“One Snickerdoodle Surprise and one Oatmeal Raisin.” Landon pulled not one, but two of each cookie from the display case. One of each he bagged and handed across the counter to Ed and Mary. The other two he added to the leaning tower of cookies that were stacked dangerously close to his elbow.
After the line dwindled, I cleared my throat.
“I know you’re back there,” Landon turned. “And I’m guessing you’ve been wondering about this little stack of cookies.”
“It doesn’t look so little from here.” The stack wobbled precariously. I hoped nobody in the café sneezed; I feared the slightest breeze would send the stack cascading to the floor.
“You mind?” Landon handed me a large to-go bag. I took the bag and held it just below counter-level. In a giant swoop, he put all of the cookies inside.
“And what are these cookies for?”
“Everything everyone ordered sounded irresistible. I made the obvious choice and decided not to resist.” Landon shrugged. “Besides, now you can consider your debt for the pizza paid.”
“I got the better end of that deal.” Pizza was expensive, especially the ooey gooey stuffed crust pizza that Landon had bought.
“Sam and I didn’t know you were starting a branch of Breaking Chains here. Are you excited?”
“Definitely. I’ve got to tell you, Piper, I didn’t realize what I’d been missing out on until I reconnected with you and met all of your friends.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been so wrapped up in work that I didn’t take time to form relationships. I had buddies in our teams, of course. That was all I did though; spend my time in seedy places, seeing the worst of humanity, stressing myself out about fixing it.”
“It sounds like you were busy trying to take care of everyone but yourself.”
“Yeah.” He ran a hand across the back of his neck. “When I saw how close you and Sam, even Griff, all were I got a little jealous. Then, when you and Sam came to find Griff and I, it all clicked. You didn’t care that you put yourselves in danger. You had each other’s backs no matter what. I knew that I needed to make some changes in my life.”
“Getting to spend more time with Sam didn’t make the decision to uproot and move any harder did it?” I laughed at the sheepish look that crossed Landon’s face. “Go on to the kitchen. They may have eaten your pizza by now.”
~
“She’s infuriating!” Sam’s voice exploded into the relative silence of the bakery as she and Griff came through the front door a little before three in the afternoon. She brushed past Mina, the little palm swaying in the breeze of her wake.
I looked around. A few customers watched Sam, then dropped their gazes and spoke in whispers. Others merely glanced up in surprise and then munched happily on their snacks unfazed.
Sam dropped her voice to a harsh whisper as she approached the counter. “I need chocolate before I do something I regret.”
Opening the display case, I stepped out of her way. I raised my eyes to Griff in question and was surprised to find his countenance equally stormy as Sam’s tone. “Want to talk about it?”
Before either of them answered, the bell above the door jingled. “Griff, I’m so sorry.” The leggy woman rushed up to the counter, her knee length pink dress swishing around her knees. I’d only seen her from a distance before but I’d hazard a guess that this was Kendra.
“I had no idea your mother planned to ambush you like that, truly. I apologize and wanted to let you know that I will not be accepting any more invitations from her.” Kendra gathered herself, standing taller. “You left before I could explain.”
My head spun, trying to catch on to missed events. Sam continued to examine cookies. Griff rubbed both hands over his face like he was trying to wake up from a bad dream. Giving up on being brought into the loop, I extended a hand. “Hi, I’m Piper. Welcome to Ooey Gooey Goodness Bakery.”
“It’s so nice to meet you!” The woman gushed and shook my hand. “I’m Kendra. Thank you for sending those sweet flowers to dinner with Griff. I’ve been wanting to come and say hello but work has kept me tied up.”
“Hi, Kendra. Can I get you a cookie?”
Sam stood then. “Here, have one of the sandwich cookies.” She handed over a Sugar Cookie Sandwich with the Lemon Whipped Cream Filling.
I leaned down and pulled out a Triple Chip Chocolate Cookie and offered it to Griff. He smiled, tossing the whole cookie in his mouth at once.
“I take it that lunch was less enjoyable than expected?” I raised my eyebrows.
Sam wiped her mouth with a napkin. “You could say that. You could also say having your fingernails removed one at a time isn’t the best way to get a manicure.” She crumpled the napkin up into a tiny ball.
“There’s pizza in the back. Landon brought it.”
The words weren’t long out of my mouth before Sam escaped to the kitchen. I turned back to Griff and Kendra. “Well. Which of you would like to fill in the blanks?” I gestured to an empty tabletop next to the counter. I would be able to hop up and help customers if needed, but until then curiosity chewed at my insides like Bugs Bunny on a carrot.
“Mother,” Griff’s lips curled in distaste, “didn’t invite only Sam and I to lunch. She also invited Kendra and Garrett.”
“Garrett?” I tilted my head. The name sounded familiar. “You mean Garrett like hospital-flowers-sending Garrett? The one Sam is supposed to go to the mayoral dinner shindig with?”
“The one and the same,” Kendra nodded. “And Deidra made it sound like I would be a part of that day too – as Griff’s date.” She held up a hand as my mouth dropped. “Griff and I made it very clear that would not be happening, that we would not be seeing each other. Deidra invited me to lunch on the pretense that she and Mayor Lowe were interested in my new business.”
“Let me guess, somehow the business never came up?”
Kendra nodded. “You got it.”
Griff sighed. “That isn’t the craziest part of it.”
“Shoot.” I noticed Grandpa Rex making his way toward the counter, two grandkids in tow. “Save that thought.” I joined the trio and asked Timmy and Tommy if they had been playing in the mud puddles.
“No m’m,” the freckle-faced one answered glumly.
“Can’t get our Sunday clothes messy.” His brother frowned. “Momma doesn’t like messy.”
“I have to agree with your mom on that one.” I ruffled their hair. “Now, tell me what you two would like today.”
After bagging up several Domino Doubles, I waved goodbye to the cheery family and sat back down with Griff and Kendra. “Where were we? That’s right, as always, you said things were even worse than the surprise dining companions.” Where Deidra was concerned, worse than imagined seemed to be the common theme.
“She also insisted on a wa
rdrobe fitting.”
“A what?” I sputtered.
“A wardrobe fitting.” Sam spoke from behind me, having come out from the kitchen without my notice. She pulled up another chair. We all scooted round to make more space. “Mother ordered outfits and hired a tailor to come after lunch today and take measurements so that the clothes could be fitted and fixed before Thursday.”
“The dinner is this Thursday?” I wouldn’t touch the subject of matching outfits yet. No way.
“Yes. And, obviously, since I declined Deidra’s less than courteous insistence that I be present, you still have to schedule your own fitting.” Kendra delivered the news with a somber expression.
I wanted to laugh. One look at Griff and Sam confirmed the truth of it though. Griff would take me as his date, but I would have to conform to Deidra’s version of presentable. “I’ll get more chocolate.” At this rate, if another bit of bad news came our way, I’d have to close the Ooey Gooey due to us eating all the stock.
“I should really get going.” Kendra stood, smoothing down her skirt. “Piper, how much do I owe you for the cookie?”
“Nothing.” I waved off her cash.
“Fine. But when I get my business up and going, I would love for you and Sam to cater dessert at the grand opening.”
I smiled.
Sam nodded. “We would love to. What is your business going to be?”
“A seafood and burger joint on the outskirts of town. I’m signing the papers this week to take over ownership.” Kendra’s entire face brightened. She waved her hands around as she described her vision. “The plan is to shut it down for a month, renovate, and reopen under a new name: The Seawitch’s Seafood & Pool.”
“That’s why you saw me with Kendra at that seafood and burger place.” Griff explained. “She asked me to give it a look before she made an offer, see what work would need to be done to bring it up to code. We looked at the lot behind it too, to make sure a small pool and splash pad zone could be added.”
“But Deidra?” Confusion lingered over how and why Deidra had become involved.
Ooey Gooey Bakery Mystery Box Set Page 51
