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Baker's Law
Denise McDonald


Blue Collar BakerIn high school, Marissa Llewellyn had the hots for golden boy Jackson "Jax" Carlisles. So when he arrives at her bakery, yummier than ever, to investigate a series of break-ins, she can't help being reminded of the awkward girl she was. But that's not the reason she evades his questions….Silver Spoon SheriffJax grew up as part of the Fort Worth country club set, but as the new chief of police, that's all behind him, much to the chagrin of his family. Though he may not remember Marissa, he can't stop thinking about the woman she's become–and the secret she's obviously keeping from him.A Recipe for Romance…or Disaster?Marissa is determined to help the homeless teen she caught breaking into her shop, even if that means lying to Jax. And when the sparks between her and the sexy sheriff ignite into a passionate affair, Marissa will have to choose between following the rules he upholds, and her own sense of justice.







Blue Collar Baker

In high school, Marissa Llewellyn had the hots for golden boy Jackson “Jax” Carlisles. So when he arrives at her bakery, yummier than ever, to investigate a series of break-ins, she can’t help being reminded of the awkward girl she was. But that’s not the reason she evades his questions….

Silver Spoon Sheriff

Jax grew up as part of the Fort Worth country club set, but as the new chief of police, that’s all behind him, much to the chagrin of his family. Though he may not remember Marissa, he can’t stop thinking about the woman she’s become—and the secret she’s obviously keeping from him.

A Recipe for Romance…or Disaster?

Marissa is determined to help the homeless teen she caught breaking into her shop, even if that means lying to Jax. And when the sparks between her and the sexy sheriff ignite into a passionate affair, Marissa will have to choose between following the rules he upholds, and her own sense of justice.


Baker’s Law

Denise McDonald






Mills and Boon E Contemporary Romance

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


Dedication

To Alan, Collin, Aaron, Reed and Zac—I love you guys!


Acknowledgments

I want to thank Sandy Behr for always being there for me. Amie Stuart for always pushing me to keep at it. Nikole Berg for being a super cheering section.

Brenda Wood, Betty Brett and Carie McDonald for always being as excited as I am.

Jody Wood for bragging to everyone who will listen to you.

And Alissa Davis, my editor, for enjoying the book as much as I do!




Table of Contents


Chapter One (#u2b0860a2-01d7-552e-b539-d074662c2bcd)

Chapter Two (#ua1940299-bb78-5227-82f2-748df5609294)

Chapter Three (#ud87eff1e-ef94-5346-bb39-a7caba5947bd)

Chapter Four (#u864c4b51-f44d-5aed-9978-40c0ec92c35d)

Chapter Five (#u72ad613d-bbdd-5442-8b07-dde8c9c99d24)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)




Chapter One


A loud bang woke Marissa Llewellyn. She rubbed the grit from her eyes and felt the ledger shift across her chest. She’d fallen asleep in the back of her cupcake shop again, this time while going over the previous month’s pitiful financial statements and waiting to see if any cupcakes would go missing tonight.

Marissa sat up, let the ledger fall away. Something clanked in the kitchen again. She hadn’t imagined it. Someone was moving around in her shop.

Without taking her eyes off the open door separating her from the intruder, she edged her sock-covered feet off the sofa and pawed for the bat she kept for just this scenario. Her sister Marlie had told her it was a bad idea to try to catch whoever kept breaking into her bakery. Marissa couldn’t even prove there was a thief. Very little was missing, but twice in the morning when she’d come in, things were…off, out of place and she was always down a couple of cupcakes.

Water ran in the bathroom. She frowned. A robber who uses the restroom? She eased up off the sofa with the bat gripped tightly in one hand. In the other, she snatched up the cordless phone she’d left on the floor beside her. When the Oak Hollow 911-operator answered, she whispered, “This is Marissa Llewellyn at Sweets by Marissa. On Flower Tree. I need to report a break-in.”

“Are you in any danger, ma’am?”

“I don’t know. Please send someone quickly.” The operator was still talking when Marissa hung up the phone. She should have stayed on the line, but she needed both hands to swing the bat. She dropped the phone on the sofa. The police would hurry. The station was only a few blocks away.

The water in the bathroom shut off and she paused only a couple of feet from the door to her office. Her heart pounded heavily. A shadow danced over the threshold into the office as the intruder walked past it and back toward the kitchen. Marissa held her breath.

A moment later one of the kitchen stools squeaked.

She crept to the opened door and gave a quick peek. The after-hours lighting cast shadows throughout the back of the shop. She couldn’t see all the way into the belly of the kitchen, so she edged farther and farther out of her office. A tall, lanky man sat at the huge stainless steel table with books open in front of him. A discarded cupcake wrapper sat at his elbow. She shook her head. What the hell?

A siren sounded. The police had arrived. The man scrambled and shoved books into a backpack at his feet. He turned toward the back door and then froze when he saw her waving a bat at him.

She shifted the bat. “Don’t move.” It wasn’t a man—tall and lean, sure, but in the still-going-through-puberty way. “You’re a teenager! What are you doing in here?”

He looked like he wanted to bolt, but he stayed put. He was dressed like every other teenager in Oak Hollow, Texas. Baggy jeans hung from his skinny hips. His white T-shirt and open button-down plaid shirt looked tidy but worn. She didn’t know his name, but she’d seen him hanging around the shops.

“What are you doing here?” She eased a step closer to him.

The boy shrugged. There was no anger or menace coming off the kid. He looked more resigned than anything as he sighed and slumped his shoulders.

“I called the police,” she said, as if it wasn’t obvious enough with red and blue lights illuminating the front of the store. A heavy knock sounded. “Walk to the front.” She waggled the bat at him.

What if he wouldn’t? Fear tittered down her spine. He was a good head taller than she, well over six feet tall. He could easily overpower her and run out the back door. Luckily, the boy turned and headed to the front of the store. She flipped on the lights as she crossed through the kitchen behind him.

Once her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she motioned with the bat to one of the tall tables with three stools in the corner. “Sit.” He sat.

Another knock sounded, harder. “Oak Hollow police.”

A large man stood at the front door. He had on the Oak Hollow police uniform of dark slacks and shirt with a silver shield pinned to his chest and a tan Stetson hat. She glanced back over her shoulder. “Don’t even think about moving.” She finally let the bat fall to her side and dug in her pocket for the keys. The deadbolt was locked. How had the boy gotten in?

The police officer shifted when the door swung out. “Marissa Llewellyn?” When she nodded he continued, “Did you call about someone breaking and entering?”

Where had she heard that deep, raspy voice before?

“Ma’am?” He pushed the Stetson back farther on his head. A patch of reddish-brown hair fell over his forehead. “Did you call in?”

“Yes, officer—”

“Chief Carlisle,” he corrected her.

“Carlisle?” Her eyes widened. “Jax?” She took a step back and got a better look. He had to be well over six feet tall with the broadest shoulders she’d seen in a long time. He still had that dusting of freckles across his nose. He looked every bit as handsome and intimidating now as he had nearly twenty years earlier.

She’d gone to school with Jax Carlisle. He’d been two grades ahead of her, but everyone had known who he was. The captain of everything. Football, baseball, even the class president his senior year. The most popular guy at Oak Hollow High. Last she’d heard, he’d gone off to college and hadn’t come back since.

“You’re the new chief? Your mom must be…” She wanted to say pissed. Bunny Carlisle was nothing if not the epitome of upper-crust exclusivity. Her husband owned the country club across town and came from a long line of oilmen. Men who didn’t work for a living. “Does your mom know you’re the chief?”

He gave a quick nod and frowned at her. “Do I know you?”

“I doubt it.” She and Jax hadn’t run in any of the same circles. She hadn’t run in any circles. She’d done her best to blend into the walls once everyone hit puberty. She had escaped high school with nothing more than a horrible nickname. “I just can’t believe…” She shook herself, then waved him into the shop. “Sorry. I caught this young man—” She turned to the table where she’d left the teen. The seat was empty.

“Where’d he go?” She ran to the back of the store. The delivery door was closed but the empty crates next to it sat slightly askew.

Marissa stroked her hand through her bangs and turned to run smack-dab into Jax. “Sorry.” Damn, he was big. All hard muscles and sexy. She fought the urge to fan herself. He’d improved since high school. If that was even possible. Or fair.

“Stand back.” He pushed her behind him and drew his gun. He searched the stockroom, her office and the restroom. He came back to her side as he holstered his gun. “He’s gone.”

His comment almost pulled her from her hormone-laced assessment. Almost. She couldn’t stop staring. He would knock the wind out of someone with one lip-lock. Her nipples hardened under her T-shirt and thin bra. Rubbed uncomfortably as she shifted.

Marissa tore her gaze from Jax’s broad shoulders to find him staring at her breasts.

He cleared his throat. “Any signs of forced entry?”

She scrunched up her nose. “No.”

“Tell me what he looked like.” He removed a little notepad from his pocket.

Marissa described everything she could remember about the teen, right down to his bright backpack. “That’s all I can remember.” She shook her head and shrugged. “He…” She stifled a yawn and motioned for Jax to follow her back into the front of the shop. “He was here.” She walked over to the table. “I left him sitting right here.” She touched the tabletop.

“Did he hurt you?”

“Hurt me?” She shifted her gaze to her former classmate. “No.” She frowned. “I think he was doing his homework.”

“Homework? You called in a burglary.” He didn’t quite roll his eyes, but he might as well have. “Walk me through what happened.”

Marissa gave Jax—she couldn’t think of him as the new chief, not quite yet—a rundown of the recent break-ins to her shop, and why she’d stayed the night, up to when she found the young man sitting there.

Jax looked up from the notebook. “Do you know who he was?”

She shook her head. “I’ve seen him, but no.”

“Was anything missing?”

This was going to sound ridiculous. Why did she have to say it in front of Jax Carlisle? She bit her lip for a moment, then just blurted it out. “A cupcake.”

“A single cupcake?” Jax looked like he had better things to do than search for her cupcake thief.

“I don’t know where he went.” A huge yawn escaped before she could stop it. “What time is it?”

He glanced at his watch. “A little after three.”

Marissa groaned. Normally, she’d come in to the shop at eight to start baking for the 10:00 a.m. opening. She would get next to no sleep tonight if she drove home all the way across town to then turn right back around and do it all over again a couple of hours later. “I’m sorry you had to come out this late for nothing.” Marissa started to wave him back toward the front of the shop but then stopped. “Hang on a sec,” she said before he pushed out the door.

She hurried back to the kitchen and boxed up a few day-old cupcakes. She usually took them over to her sister or their dad once Kya showed up for her shift. She found Jax standing where she’d left him near the front door. “Here.” She offered him the box when she reached him. “For coming out so late.” She frowned for a second. “Or early.”

He stared at the box. “I’m just doing my job.”

“Then as a welcome home.” She jiggled the box and gave him a tentative smile.

He took the box and stared at her for a long moment. “I do know you. We went to high school together. You’re Lulu.”

Her first instinct was to run and hide. It had been years since anyone had called her that. Lulu. The nickname had started when she was in the seventh grade and a little pudgy. Moo-Moo Llewellyn had stuck for a few months, then been shortened to simply Lulu. By her senior year, some of the kids hadn’t even known her actual name. Thankfully, after graduation it had died away. She’d never have guessed Jax Carlisle knew it or would remember it.

She wasn’t that awkward teen any longer, and she wasn’t going to let Chief McHottypants get to her. “My name is Marissa. And if there’s nothing else…” She pushed him out the door. “Good night.”

Jax moved aside to avoid getting hit by the door. Once Marissa locked it, she turned, headed back through the small shop and never looked back. The lights went out, leaving the bakery barely lit, and all the while he stood in front of the shop holding a box of desserts.

What had he said that had made her so mad, so quickly? And there was no doubt he’d upset her. He frowned. She had been one of the few students who hadn’t fallen over themselves to be near him. At the time he’d soaked up the attention, taken advantage of his godlike status.

It had made him cocky back then. Now he hoped no one remembered.

When the call had come in to the station, her name hadn’t immediately registered. He’d known several Llewellyns growing up. Two boys, both older than him, and two younger twin girls. They’d lived on the other side of the tracks. Literally. The railroad separated the tax brackets in Oak Hollow. His mom had never out-and-out forbade him to hang out with someone from “the other side,” but as they didn’t spin in her circle—and couldn’t pay the ridiculous annual club dues—she didn’t acknowledge them.

It was his mother’s narrow-mindedness that had kept him away for so many years. Partly because of how wrong it was and partly because his senior year of high school he’d started to buy into it all. When he’d gone off to the University of Texas he’d been a nobody. The school was huge and he’d melted into the crowd like every other freshman. At first it had grated on his over-inflated ego. Then he’d realized how hard it’d been to keep up the pretenses the Carlisles were “obligated” to foster.

Once he’d gotten out of school, Austin was as good as place as any to put down roots. He’d gotten a basic degree and wasn’t entirely sure where he wanted to go with his life once he graduated, but law enforcement ran in his blood. It was too blue-collar for his mother to ever acknowledge, but in the back of his mind he’d always entertained the idea of joining the force, so he decided to give it a try. Once he got out of the academy, he’d known it was a great fit for him and he’d settled into his job and his adopted town.

As the years went on, though, there were days when he longed for the familiarity of his hometown, his friends and, even if it was hard to admit, his family. He had stayed in touch with several of his true friends, the ones who had stuck around when his mother cut him off for not following in the long Carlisle steps.

Then when Otto Kendal had told Jax his father was set to retire as the Oak Hollow police chief, Jax immediately inquired about his replacement. It had taken several interviews, but the mayor had finally decided to go with someone who was familiar with the town rather than a couple of the other applicants with a slight experience advantage. Both of those men were from out of state and that had been Jax’s ace in the hole despite his mother’s objections. Had the mayor hired him just to spite Bunny Carlisle?

No surprise, he’d gotten a call not ten minutes after he’d signed the contract. His mother had heard the news before he’d had a chance to tell her. Not that she’d have been able to talk him out of the job. She hadn’t been able to get him to quit any of the years he’d spent on the Austin police force. She was happy that he’d moved back home, but in the weeks since his relocation, she’d been vocal about his choice of profession.

When he was a teen, he’d let her influence him. He’d long since broken that habit.

He shook his head. He’d expected frequent trips down memory lane while he settled back into the routine of life in Oak Hollow. He just hadn’t expected it to take up most of his waking thoughts. Especially when he’d been called to his old stomping grounds. He’d hung out on Flower Tree, the main street of Oak Hollow since its founding in the early nineteen hundreds. In high school, there’d been a burger chain, a donut shop and a florist. The florist was still there, but the two staples from his teens had been transformed into a chic woman’s boutique and the cupcake shop.

Jax had been up at the police station when the call came in from Marissa Llewellyn. Hell, he’d been up at the station late almost every night the past week. He hadn’t anticipated the amount of paperwork he had to do on a daily basis. Working as a detective in Austin for the last six years had prepared him to take over some aspects when Chief Kendal retired. It hadn’t prepared him for the mounds of paperwork that came along with it.

The department had a small staff. Six full-time officers and two reserve officers as well as two dispatchers. He and all the officers were on call even when they were off. One month into his term, he’d gone on several routine calls, mostly small-town non-emergencies. The crime rate in Oak Hollow was well below average, and this was the first B and E call for him here if you didn’t count the fact that the “suspect” snuck out before he could get so much as a look at him. And the fact that nothing appeared to be missing save a single cupcake…

He walked back to the old SUV cruiser he’d inherited with the job. He set the cupcakes on the seat beside him, then set his hat atop the box. Back in high school, he wouldn’t have been caught dead wearing a cowboy hat. Going off to college had changed so many things in his life—all for the better as far as he was concerned.

Another light went out in the shop, but no further movement. He scanned the lot. There were no other cars. He guessed Lulu— no, he’d better think of her as Marissa—had parked around back. He drove around to the back of the shop just as she was shoving a trash bag into the dumpster. She jumped when he neared her. He rolled down the window. “Didn’t mean to startle you. You heading home?”

She shook her head. The long dark ponytail swished over her shoulder. “I have to be back up here in a few hours anyway, so no point in wasting gas.”

Jax shifted the SUV into park. “I came to take a better look at the door. See how the guy might’ve got in.”

Marissa glanced between him and the door then back again. “Oh, sure.” She let the door swing shut. “Knock yourself out.”

Jax unclipped the flashlight from his belt and examined the door. He’d caught a glance of it as it swung shut. It was an ancient push handle exit, one small lock and a plain handle. He squatted. “How long has this hole been here?” He ran his finger over a small drilled hole just under the handle.

Marissa squinted and leaned over his shoulder. Her dark brown ponytail brushed the edge of his shoulder, she was so close. “No idea.” she said. “Why?”

Jax scanned the area around the door and found an umbrella skeleton. “Is the door locked right now?”

“Yeah.” Her warm breath feathered over his cheeks. He had to fight to keep his attitude professional. Having her lean over him like this was damn distracting. Not to mention her smell—all sweet and sugary.

She reached out and traced her finger over the hole. “It stays locked. Automatic. When it closes.” After a moment her eyes rounded and she stood away from him. “The hole means something?”

He nodded, then picked up the umbrella skeleton and shoved it through the hole. He gave it a little wiggle, then pulled. The door opened enough for him to get a hold of the edge and open it. The broken umbrella was open and pushed down the bar.

Marissa fisted her hands at her sides and let loose a low growl. “I’ll be damned.” She rubbed a hand over her crooked ponytail. Little strands of hair, loose from the band, stuck out every which way. “Wonder how much that’s going to cost me to repair or replace?”

Jax held the edge of the door until she came over and set her foot alongside the bottom, then he walked the umbrella over to the dumpster and dropped it inside. “On the upshot, if the kid had wanted to rob you, you’d be cleaned out by now. Ten times over, probably.”

“That makes me feel so much better.” She hugged her arms over her chest.

He tried not to look at the way her breasts mounded over her forearms. She’d already caught him all but leering at her once. No matter how hot she was, the woman was a citizen who’d called him for help. And at three in the morning, out behind a bakery was the last place he should let his mind run wild. His eyes strayed downward again. She had magnificent breasts.

She fidgeted, drawing his attention back up to her face. “Thanks again for coming out. ‘Night. Or morning or whatever.”

“I’d get that fixed as soon as you can. You going to be okay here by yourself?” He didn’t want to make it seem like he was making light of the burglary, but it wasn’t every day that someone broke into a shop to do their homework.

“Yeah. Enjoy the cupcakes.” She motioned to his vehicle. “Congratulations on the new job, Jax.” She walked back into the bakery and let the door shut behind her.

Jax tried the handle just to make sure it was truly locked. It didn’t budge. Why would a teen break in to simply eat and do homework? Trouble at home? Or could it be something more? A kid with no place to go. He hadn’t heard of there being any homeless kids in town. When he got back to the station, he’d ask around and see if any reports had been filed. Later.

Unlike Marissa, though, he needed to get some sleep. In his bed. He was getting too old to pull all-nighters.

Inside the SUV, he called the dispatcher.

“Ada, Sweets by Marissa is all clear. I’m headed home.”

“10-4, Chief.”

He clipped the mic back into place and drove slowly down the alley behind the bakery, keeping an eye out for the intruder. While he did believe Marissa Llewellyn, he hadn’t seen anyone in the shop but her when she came to the door thanks to the painted advertising on the front windows. But he wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t at least look for anyone hanging around and at three in the morning; folks didn’t just walk around Oak Hollow unless they were up to no good.

Jax snatched up the mic again. “Ada?”

“Yes, Chief?”

“Have one of the officers patrol Flower Tree first thing in the morning just to make sure all’s well.”

“Will do.”

It took less than ten minutes to get from the bakery to the house he’d bought—as far away from his mother’s estate as possible, even though it didn’t take long to get from any one place to another in Oak Hollow. Despite having a population of just over ten thousand, the town was laid out in a close community. A far cry from close to a million in Austin.

Jax was dog tired as he crossed through the kitchen to set down the cupcakes Marissa gave him, but the tantalizing smell made him hold off on bedtime just yet. He popped open the box and planned to sample only one treat. A few minutes later, he’d eaten two of them and was eyeing a third, but the twenty-hour day was creeping up on him. He shut the box to save the rest for breakfast.

A few hours of sleep and Jax would be good. He didn’t even bother to undress, just laid on top of the comforter his sister had given him when he moved in. As soon as he woke, he was going to head back to Flower Tree, look around a little more and check in on Marissa. Maybe buy a few more of those cupcakes. He’d seen strawberry ones in the case. It would give him another excuse to see her again—unofficially.




Chapter Two


“That’s your fourth cup.” Kya set a batch of red velvet cupcakes into the display.

Marissa’s hands shook slightly from the caffeine. “It’s the only thing keeping me awake.”

“Go home.”

“Soon.” She’d gotten a little sleep after Jax Carlisle left. But not nearly enough. Inappropriate, yet delicious thoughts about the new chief of police had plagued her sleep. Just after daybreak, she’d given up and started baking.

When Kya had come in around noon, Marissa hurried home and got a couple more hours of sleep. She’d finally banished her wayward thoughts of Jax but she couldn’t stop thinking about the boy. Who snuck into a business to do homework? And like Jax said, the boy could have robbed her several times, but he hadn’t.

When she woke, she headed back to the shop just before the high school let out. Several kids usually came in and she wanted to try and spot the one from earlier that morning. Plus she had to meet her oldest brother. She’d called Duff to come look at the door and see if he could fix it. He’d promised to be by after he got off work.

Twenty minutes later, several girls came in giggling and whispering. Marissa recognized one of them from down the street. She was about to wave her over when a lanky frame across the street caught her eye. “It’s him.” She bolted from her perch behind the counter and raced out the front door, flour on her face and apron. “Hey. You!”

The teen turned. She saw the moment he realized who was yelling at him—his eyes widened and he darted between the dry cleaners and the animal hospital.

Traffic up Flower Tree was too heavy for her to run across on foot. She needed her SUV if she wanted to see where he ended up. Back in the shop, the girls looked up from the counter. One turned up her nose like Marissa had just walked out of the bathroom with her skirt tucked into her undies. The one from her neighborhood kept her back to her—like she’d never met Marissa before. Teenagers. They were a good portion of her patrons so she tried to ignore their lovely mood swings. And now she had to deal with them breaking into her shop.

Marissa snagged her purse and keys and was coming out to tell Kya she’d be back as the girls all received their orders. The lot of them headed back out the store. At the door, the one from Marissa’s neighborhood paused—they’d met at block parties several times over the past couple of years. “I forgot my book. I’ll catch up.” She waved her friends away and walked back toward the counter. She checked over her shoulder a couple of times until the other girls were out of eyeshot. “You live up the street, right?”

“Yeah.” Marissa leaned her hip against the display case, then waved her hand at herself. “Marissa.”

The teen’s eyes widened for a moment, then she glanced at the cup in her hand with the store logo on it. “Cool.” She gave a quick nod of approval. “I’m Lexi. Why were you running after that boy?”

“You know him?”

Lexi nodded, then took a long sip of her drink. “He goes by Hill. He’s a senior at my school. Why were you yelling at him?”

“He forgot his change,” Marissa lied easily. “Do you know where he lives?”

Lexi’s cheeks flushed. “He, um, I don’t know. I should go. My friends are waiting.” She hurried to the door.

“You forgot your book.” Marissa scanned the counter and the table they’d stopped at momentarily, but there was no book. By the time she turned back to Lexi, the girl was already out the door.

Marissa shook her head as she removed her apron. “Kya, I need to run out for a bit. I promise I’ll be back in time to meet with my brother for the door.”

“Okay, boss.” Kya came out of the back with the broom.

Marissa headed out to her SUV. Was she being silly to chase after a teenage boy—one she’d unsuccessfully tried to turn in to the police chief?

“Maybe it’s sleep deprivation,” she muttered as she slid behind the wheel. Lack of sleep or no, it didn’t stop her from driving the direction she’d seen the boy—Hill—go. She was being stupid. There were any number of places a boy could hide, not to mention he might have just gone home. She was crossing the bridge into one of the main neighborhoods in Oak Hollow as she shook her head.

“Might as well go back.” Her brother was due at her shop any minute. Marissa made a U-turn as soon as there was a break in traffic. As she was pulling into her lane, a flash of color caught her attention. Bright green and blue. Whatever it was, it hung from a tree branch next to the small creek that bisected the business end of town from the soccer fields. It caught her attention more when she remembered where she’d seen something similar before, on Hill—his backpack.

What in the world would the boy be doing next to the creek?

She gnawed her lip. Stop or not, she wasn’t sure, but since she’d been going on foolish impulse since grabbing her keys, she went ahead and pulled over to the side of the road and got out. The small area off to the side of the bridge was more cluttered than she might have expected for a town that boasted its civic pride on every posted sign.

“I must have lost my mind.” Marissa turned to head back to the SUV and the dirt under her foot gave way. She slid down the short embankment on her butt, squealing the entire way down until she hit the bottom. The air jerked out of her lungs. It took a moment to catch her breath, then she stood and scanned the area. Her heart hammered as much from her quick ride as it did from the realization of how isolated she was. So far off the road, no one would be able to see her unless they came down the embankment as she had. Nor would anyone know if she needed help.

Luckily, no one was lurking about.

She twisted and checked the back of her pants. No holes, but dirty. She shook her head and dusted off her butt.

For some reason she tiptoed as she crossed over to the small tree that held the backpack. She checked around her, feeling a little guilty and slightly exposed while snooping. When she was sure she was alone, she unzipped the largest of the compartments of the backpack. There were several schoolbooks and a notebook. She slid out the notebook. Paul Hillman was written across the front in small, precise black letters.

It was the boy’s backpack. But what did that mean?

Under the bridge overhang, Marissa found a clean sleeping bag. She studied it until a car horn honked. She looked at her watch. Time to get back to the shop to meet Duff.

She breathed a little easier once she was back in her car and headed back to work. All the while her mind tried to process a young man breaking into her shop, taking only a few day-old cupcakes and…doing homework. It made too much sense when she considered the backpack and the sleeping bag. She got a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.

When she arrived at the shop, she headed straight to the restroom to clean herself up before Duff got there. She didn’t want to explain what she’d been doing since she wasn’t entirely sure she could explain it. Just as she finished cleaning the last of the grit from her palms, Duff walked in.

“Hey, little sis.” He gave her a quick hug, then pushed her to arm’s length and frowned down at her. “You look like hell.” One of his blond eyebrows cocked upward as he grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a good onceover.

She elbowed her oldest brother in the ribs. “Well, you’re just a ray of sunshine, aren’t ya.”

“You love me anyway.” He gave her a quick noogie as she tried to swat him. “What do you need fixed?”

Marissa showed him the hole in the back door, then skirted the issue when he asked how she’d found it. He told her it had rust around the edges, so it was probably pretty old.

“I need to run up to the hardware store to get some supplies. Shouldn’t take me too long to get it done once I get back.”

“Thank you, big brother.” She reared up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek quickly.

Duff snorted. “None of that brother-sister kissy stuff. I want cupcakes.”

She chuckled. “Okay.” She hurried over to her desk and snagged a notepad. “Give me a list of flavors and I’ll have them ready for you when you’re done.” Duff’s sweet tooth was only surpassed by his wife’s. He and Libby were often two of her first tasters when she was working out new flavors for the shop.

After he finished the order, he left for the hardware store.

Marissa grabbed two Black Forest cupcakes, two of the vanilla bombs and four of the new orange crèmes. And for good measure she added in two of the new maple bacon and nestled them into the pink-and-white bakery box with a note atop for Duff to let her know what he and Libby thought of the new flavor. Then she took the rest of the quiet time in the back to get to work on the paperwork she’d fallen asleep over the night before. Her eyelids were again growing heavy as she scanned her employees’ time sheets. It shouldn’t be that difficult with one part-time employee and Kya working full-time, but the numbers kept swimming around the page.

Maybe if she took a quick break. She crossed her arms over the sheets and laid her head down.

The next moment, someone was tapping on her forehead. “Wake up, sleepyhead.”

Marissa lifted her head to find Duff standing over her.

“You’re lucky the only markers on your desk were permanent.” He tapped her forehead again. “You’d be sporting some wicked eyebrows and a ’stache.”

“Small favors, I guess, that you do have your standards for your sibling torture.” She leaned back in the chair and massaged a kink in her neck. “So how long do you think it will take you?”

Duff gave a quick snort. “Mar, I’ve already finished.”

Marissa’s eyes widened.

“You were sleeping like a rock.” Her brother gave her a long look. “What’s up with that? Are you having troubles?”

She debated telling him about the break-in, but what could he do about it other than worry? “No trouble. Just a lot of paperwork that seems to be interfering with my sleep.” She lifted the time sheets in front of her.

He looked like he didn’t believe her but didn’t comment further on the subject. “Come, let me show you what I did.” He motioned for her to follow him to the back door. “The patch will hold, but I would suggest you think about getting a new door altogether. And an alarm. This door’s not even wired for anything.”

She opened her mouth to complain about funds being low, but he raised his hand.

“I know they’re expensive. I’m just throwing that out there as an overprotective big brother.” They stopped at the door and he showed her the small panels he’d fastened on both sides of the door with some superglue. “And just in case someone gets the bright idea of prying the panel off, I filled the hole with caulk.”

“Thanks, Duff.” When he straightened he merely held out his hand and batted his eyelashes at her expectantly.

Marissa rolled her eyes. “Let me get your cupcakes. I’d tell you to go easy on them, but I think Libby will be lucky if there are any left by the time you get home.” She patted his belly. “And I threw in two of a new one I’m working on.”

He clapped his hands together. “What is it this time?

“Maple bacon.”

“Hmm.”

That was a noncommittal response if she ever heard one. “Trust me. You’ll love it.” She handed him the box. “You’ll be calling me begging for more. Just you wait and see.”

Once Duff left, Marissa finished the rest of the time sheets. Paying her employees was much more important than leaving a little early if she wanted to keep said employees.

Kya popped back into her office about an hour before close. “Boss, there’s a group of teens loitering outside the shop.”

Teenagers on their own weren’t that big a deal—their orders made up probably a third of her business—but for Kya to come back and bring it to her attention… The fine hairs on the back of her neck stood but she shook it off. It was probably nothing. Or it could be someone returning to the scene of the crime. Marissa sat up straighter in her chair. Would Hill be brazen enough to come back to the shop when she was open? She pushed back in her chair and followed Kya out to the front of the shop. “Where?”

“Right now they’re across the street but they’ve walked past the front of the shop at least three times.”

“Did they come in?”

The younger woman shook her head.

Under the guise of wiping down the tables, Marissa moved to the large window next to the door. A group of three guys stood next to a trash can on the opposite side of the street just as Kya said. It was hard to determine their ages, but they were dressed like typical teenagers. Hill was not with them. One of the guys, dressed in khaki pants and a loose button-down shirt, looked over at her. With his close-cropped blond hair, he didn’t stand out—he looked like any young man from the local high school—other than the way he kept eyeing her. When it looked like he might cross the street, an Oak Hollow officer drove slowly down the street. The boys walked in the opposite direction, not fast enough to look like they were running, but enough to see they didn’t want any part of the OH police force.

“They’re gone now,” Marissa said returning the rag back behind the counter. “But I’ll stay here with you ’til close just in case they decide to come in and cause trouble.”

The rest of the evening was thankfully uneventful. Marissa even managed to get the rest of her reordering done since she had the payroll out of the way. By closing time, they’d not seen the boys again and her jitters had tamped down considerably.

She and Kya went through the closing procedures in silent efficiency and said good-night in the parking lot. Marissa sat behind the wheel of her SUV, unsure where to go next. Her little power nap had energized her enough she wasn’t completely dead on her feet but wasn’t ready to head home. She’d promised her best friend since practically birth, Cherry Humphries, that she’d stop by at some point. Since it’d been at least two weeks, she might as well stop on her way home. And if she happened to pass by the bridge where she’d seen Hill’s backpack…who was to know?




Chapter Three


She drove over the bridge three times and saw no lights, nor any sign of life for that matter. And while she may have been crazy enough to go down there in the middle of the afternoon, after dark there was no way she’d pull over, much less scale the slick embankment.

She wasn’t sure what she expected, nor was she sure what she might have done had she found Hill there, but when her side trip came up nil, it swiped at her suddenly waning energy. At the next intersection—a four-way stop that to the right would take her home or to the left to her friend’s family restaurant—she merely sat. Contemplating.

Cherry or sleep. She waffled for a moment. When her SUV crept into the intersection, she hadn’t made up her mind, but at the last minute she made a left and headed out to the far edge of town to see her friend. Sleep was highly overrated.

Marissa’s stomach rumbled in happy relief as the scent of baked bread and grilled meat engulfed her the moment she stepped through the door of Calista’s Bistro. The young girl standing behind the host stand smiled brightly when she saw Marissa.

“Hey, sweetie.” Marissa enveloped Cherry’s youngest sister in a hug.

“My mom’s been wondering when you were coming by.” Violet made a notation in the book on the stand. “Come on back. How’ve you been?”

“Good. Busy. How are the desserts selling?” Once a week, Marissa sent over a few dozen cupcakes for the restaurant’s Sunday brunch. She was pretty sure that Mrs. Humphries only ordered them to help her business along. She wasn’t going to complain, though.

“Usually gone before we can sneak one.” Violet winked at her as she guided Marissa to the kitchen where the staff was bustling about. At the back of the kitchen, at a sturdy wooden door, Violet paused to rap her knuckles quickly, but didn’t wait for a response. “Knock, knock. Momma, look who I found out front.”

Mrs. Humphries and Cherry had their heads bent over a computer and looked up together. The two women smiled broadly and stood.

“Marissa.” Mrs. Humphries held open her arms for a hug. She smelled of Chanel No. 5 and bread. It was one of the most familiar scents from Marissa’s childhood.

Marissa’s own mother had run off when she and Marlie were only two years old. It was six months later that the Humphries moved in down the street. Glen Llewellyn, at his wit’s end trying to raise two boys and twin girls, had jumped at the chance to set playdates for his girls with the Humphries children. Mrs. Humphries hadn’t hesitated to give Marissa and her sister a mother’s love despite having three girls of her own. She and her husband Chuck had been surrogate parents when her father was bogged down with work.

Marissa and Cherry and Marlie had been glued at the hip all through grade school and even into junior high. Marissa was the one who kept them all grounded when Marlie and Cherry tried their best to get them into trouble. She had always wanted them to be good, so they didn’t end up like her mother.… Once they reached their teens, though, Marlie drifted off into her own little world of high school fashionistas and Marissa simply tried to blend into the woodwork with Cherry nudging her out of her social sequestering from time to time.

Still, over all the years not a week had gone by in which she hadn’t spoken to Cherry—more often than not in person. She gave her friend a little extra squeeze. Just seeing her friend released several knots of tension she hadn’t realized had built up in her shoulders.

When all the small talk was exhausted, Cherry finally pulled her aside. “We’re going to eat, Momma.” Cherry looped her arm with Marissa’s. “Sorry, my mom’s been on a family bent since Lily moved away.”

Marissa nodded. She remembered when her brother, Tanner, had moved away from Oak Hollow she’d cried for days. To this day, she still got a wobbly pull in the pit of her stomach at her brother all the way in Iowa.

Cherry gave her a quick pat on the arm before motioning to the family’s booth. “You look like crap.”

“You always know just what to say.” Marissa gave her a wan smile. “I’m just tired. Didn’t get much sleep last night.” She told her about the break-in and Hill but left off her growing suspicions about his living arrangements. “But I don’t think he was trying to steal anything.” Besides the smallest amount of food.

“Hon, why would someone break in without the intent to steal?”

“I don’t know.” She wiped her hand across her face. “I think my brain’s too tired. My judgment’s off. When I saw Hill this afternoon I ran after him down the street. Hell, I even got in my car and chased in the direction I thought he went.”

“Hill? You know who he is?” She frowned. “Why does that name sound familiar?” She waved her sister over after she seated a couple. “Vi, why do I know the name Hill? He’s a teenager?” She looked at Marissa, who nodded.

Vi tilted her head and tapped her index finger to her pursed lips. Finally she snapped her fingers. “There was a woman who worked here a few years back. Patricia Hillman. She had a son, I think. I think they called him Hill.”

Cherry nodded. “I remember her. She died, didn’t she? Seems like it was a car accident.”

“Aw man.” Marissa slumped back in her seat. “What about his dad?”

Her friend shrugged. “Sorry. Don’t know.” She sipped from the water the waitress set down in front of her. “Did you tell the police you know who it was?”

“I didn’t know ‘til later. Oh.” Marissa widened her eyes. “Do you know who the new police chief is?” She fanned herself and gave a low whistle.

“Do I know? He’s eaten here every night this week. I think he’s—” Cherry twisted around in her seat “—here right now. Yeah, there he is over near the bar.”

Jax Carlisle was sitting alone eating his dinner. He wasn’t dressed in his dark uniform, but had on jeans and boots and a tan button-down shirt. As if he knew they were talking about him, the new chief of police shifted his gaze in their direction. A quick smile spread across his mouth and he nodded hello.

“Well, isn’t that pretty interesting.” Cherry straightened in her seat and waggled her eyebrows. “When did you and Jax hook up?”

Marissa choked on her water. “Hook up? I’ve seen him exactly one time since he moved back. I didn’t even know he was back until he walked into the shop this morning.” She wouldn’t tell her friend how she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the man.

“Not a bad choice. You’ve had a long dry spell.”

“He’s not a ‘choice.’ He was just responding to my call.”

Cherry waggled her eyebrows again. “The guy was good-looking in school. Now he’s an outstandingly fine specimen. I wonder if I should have some sort of ‘emergency’ myself. See what his, um, response time is.” She laughed herself silly until the waitress approached, then sobered enough to order food for the both of them—a Cobb salad for her and the meatloaf special for Marissa, the same meal they’d eaten a thousand times before; there was something satisfying in routine, especially when Marissa’s day had started off as anything but.

Marissa glanced back over to Jax’s table several times and every time he caught her at it, he smiled. She had to make herself not look again and eventually managed to relax into the evening with her dearest friend. Halfway through dinner, though, Cherry was called to the back to deal with a vendor.

A moment later, Jax slid into the booth with her. “How are you?”

The bite of potatoes Marissa had just stuffed into her mouth threatened to choke her. Luckily she managed to swallow without gulping too loudly, or needing CPR, though mouth-to-mouth with the chief… She had to shake herself before she could answer. “Fine, Chief. Yourself?”

A slow smile quirked up the corner of his gorgeous mouth. “I’m off duty. You can call me Jax.”

Marissa dropped her fork onto the edge of the plate knowing there was no way she could take another bite in front of the man. What, was she sixteen again? She gave herself a quick pep talk. You’re a grown woman who owns her own business.He’s just a regular man.Talk to him like any old customer. She settled her arms on the edge of the table and leaned forward. “Are you really ever off duty?

Am I? Jax smiled wider at her question. “No, I guess not.” She hadn’t changed her clothes since he’d seen her earlier in the morning but her hair was down around her shoulders. For a brief moment he imagined that hair floating around his as she lay atop him. He shifted and cleared his throat. “Any other troubles at your shop?”

“Nothing worth mentioning. I saw a cruiser go by. Thanks for that.” She ran her finger over the edge of her water glass, and then tilted it toward herself.

He started to rise. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your dinner.”

She set the glass upright, reached out and set her hand on his forearm. “You’re not. Interrupting me, that is. Stay for a minute. I’m finished.” Just as quickly as she’d touched him, she pulled her hand back and pushed her plate to the side. “I bet your mom is glad to have you home.”

Jax shrugged. His mom dithered between giving him the cold shoulder to making so many demands of his time he had to screen his calls from her. “Bunny is Bunny.”

Marissa’s eyebrows lifted quickly. “I can only imagine. Did she throw you a big gala event for a homecoming?”

There was a hint of derision in her voice. Bunny rubbed many people the wrong way.

“Believe it or not, no big gala. For which I am grateful.” He drummed his fingers on the tabletop. “But I’ve also been crazy busy since I took over for Chief Kendal.”

“How has the change in jobs gone? Actually, I don’t know what you did before you came home. Maybe it’s not such a change.”

It was still weird to be “home,” but that wasn’t what she’d asked. “I was a detective in Austin. Same type of job more or less. Way more responsibilities now, though. And lots of paperwork. Probably easier than owning your own company.” He leaned his elbows onto the table. “Have you always baked?” What a stupid question. Jax all but groaned and wanted to kick himself in the ass.

Marissa gazed at him for a long moment and didn’t answer at first. Then she said, “I’m sorry. It’s just a little surreal to be sitting here with you. Chatting.” She shook her head.

Jax chuckled. “Why?”

“I don’t know. We didn’t exactly know each other in school.” She ducked her head for a moment. “What did you ask me?” She waved off the trip down memory lane. “Have I always baked? For pleasure, sure. I didn’t get into the business end of it until just a few years ago. I was working in an office and it just wasn’t fun.” She shrugged. “I needed a change and voilà, my shop was born.”

The waitress came and cleared the table.

“That’s got to be scary.” Jax leaned closer. “Starting something from the ground up can’t be easy.”

“There were days when I didn’t think it would work. And days when I was so tired I didn’t know if it was worth it. But it’s gotten better and it’s all mine and I love doing it.” Marissa’s eyes lit up. “Now I can’t even imagine not baking every day.”

The waitress came back and set a single dish in the middle of the table with two spoons. It had a thick slice of chocolate cake with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Marissa picked up the spoon and scooped a bite, barely taking her eyes off him. “The best part is coming up with new recipes. I like experimenting and playing around with ingredients.” She licked a small speck from the spoon and waved it at Jax. “It’s fun to try new combinations or toppings. I like paring up flavors you might not think to use.”

“It doesn’t hurt—” he picked up a spoon and followed suit “—that the food tastes fantastic.”

A smile creased her mouth. “You tried the cupcakes I gave you?” She scooped up another bite and ate. “The orange one,” she said after she swallowed, “is new.” She scrunched up her nose. “I wasn’t sure at first.” She scooped half a spoonful of cake and half ice cream and took a bite.

His dick got hard as he watched her lips close over the spoon.

“It kept coming out way too sweet,” she said, snapping him from his fantasy of her savoring him the same way.

“What?” He shifted slightly to ease the constriction of his jeans.

She frowned for a moment. “The orange crème. When I first started working on it, it took me a while to get the right balance of orange and vanilla without it practically giving you cavities.”

“I think you found your balance. It was good. Reminded me of the orange-vanilla ice creams from when I was kid.”

She rewarded him with the biggest smile yet. “That’s what I was going for.” She tilted her head to the side. “Would you be interested in trying another flavor? I’ve been working on a maple and bacon cupcake. Something a little different for the men who come in.”

“Maple and bacon. In a cupcake?”

She laughed. She had a musical lilt to her voice when she laughed. It went straight to Jax’s gut.

“It’s not as gross as it probably sounds, I promise.”

Jax’s phone vibrated. He didn’t want to look at it, and he was off duty, but like Marissa had said, he was never truly off duty. If something came up, he had to go in. He glanced at the screen. Ada, the dispatcher, had texted him. One of the stores downtown had a break-in and the two other officers on duty were out on other calls.

“Thanks for letting me cut in on your dessert.” He waved his cell at her. “Unfortunately, duty calls.”

“Oh sure.” She licked at a bit of chocolate from the corner of her mouth.

Jax fought off a moan as he stood.

She waved the spoon at him. “Be safe.”

Marissa blinked several times at Jax’s departing back. “Be safe.” How stupid was that to say to a cop? The chief, no less. She looked down at the plate in front of her. She’d never even realized there was food in front of her. And she’d eaten half of it. In front of Jax.

Cherry slid back into her seat.

“Where the hell have you been?”

Cherry waggled her blond eyebrows. “I was giving you and the chief time to talk. You swear you haven’t hooked up with him?”

“Don’t you think I’d remember if I had?” Marissa set her spoon down. “Why’d you send this over? I looked like a pig eating all of it.”

“No you didn’t. And he was too busy staring into your eyes to worry about a little cake.”

“Shut up. He was not.” Marissa’s heart pounded. “Was he?”

“Swear to God.” Cherry held up her hand. “He looks just like he did in school but so much more. Bigger. Sturdier. I don’t know what else, just more.”

Marissa nodded. “Protective. Like it’s personal for him.”

“Exactly.” Cherry glanced at her watch. “I need to get back to work. Are we still on for the Blue Spur this weekend?”

“Absolutely.” Marissa smiled, but going out to a honky-tonk Saturday night was about the last thing she wanted to do. Jax’s face flashed in her mind. She would much rather sit and talk to Jax. Getting knocked into and hit on by a bunch of sweaty guys… It had taken her a while to be able to accept positive attention from men in a way she hadn’t in high school. The Blue Spur, however, wasn’t her favorite spot.

She shook her head. Jax hadn’t asked, and she wasn’t about to presume he would. Hell, she didn’t even know if he was single. Even if he was, she wondered if he had weekends to himself. He’d barely made it through dinner before he was called into work.

* * *

Jax was fastening his badge to his belt as he walked into the stationery store. He’d gone out back behind the building as soon as he’d gotten to the scene. He wanted to check and see if his hunch would pan out and it had. The back door had a hole similar to the one at Marissa’s shop. Just below the push bar. The stationery store hadn’t fared as well, though. Stock had been knocked off shelves. The registers were broken and several high-end gifts had been taken along with a small safe that had sat under the manager’s desk in the office.

At least the owners of the store had an alarm. When it’d gone off, the alarm company had alerted them, as well as the police department. One of his officers, Jeff Connors, had finished on his call and had met him at the store, but the thieves had already cut out.

“The owners are on the way. They were in Fort Worth at a show.” Jeff flipped through a little notepad. “They closed up about two hours ago. It’s the first time they’ve had a break-in since they’ve been open.”

Jax nodded. It was the same story he’d read in a month-old report from the dry cleaners a couple of blocks over. Hole in the door and everything. There was a pattern emerging. The only problem was, it didn’t jibe with Marissa’s break-in. Her shop, the suspect had stayed on the premises. He’d all but made himself at home from the sound of it. The cleaners and this store had been a “grab what you can and get out.” Granted, both of those places had alarm systems in place and Marissa’s didn’t.

He made a mental note to talk to her about installing something as soon as she could.

After three hours helping Jeff write up the report, then going over what the owners lost in the robbery, Jax was nearly as wiped out as he had been in the morning when he left Marissa’s. Chief Kendal had warned him there would be a rough transition period taking over an entire police department. He just hadn’t expected it to all hit in the span of a few days on next to no sleep.

The next morning he was running on coffee and carbs as he went through a pile of paperwork. Jeff had found him the file on a break-in at a clothing boutique that had happened before he’d taken over. That made three robberies on the strip downtown. There was no notation of there being a hole in the back door, so he was headed over to the boutique after lunch.

He filed the newest report and headed through the station looking for his daytime dispatcher, Chief Kendal’s granddaughter, Macey. She was Otto’s older brother’s kid. It was a little disconcerting to think kids he’d grown up with had kids old enough to vote or drink beer. Or work for him.

“Hey, Mace.”

Macey shifted one of the earpieces from her headset back. “Hey, Jax. I mean Chief.” She gave him a quick little salute. “What can I do for you?”

“Do you know that cupcake place over on Flower Tree?”

“Marissa’s.” She nodded. “Sure.”

“What was there before that went in? I know it’s been there less than a year.”

She tapped her manicured nail to her lip. “Um. It was a burger place. No, last it was a pizza place. For a couple of years. Before that it was a burger place. It lasted almost as long, I guess.” She settled her headset back into place. “Man, now I’m hungry,” she mumbled just as the phone lit up.

He made a mental note to look for reports for either business when he had a little more time. As it was, he barely had time to grab a quick lunch from a fast-food chain a block away from the station.

Jax drove out to the clothing boutique. The last time he’d been in town, nearly ten years earlier, the “business district” was an odd assortment of storefronts mixed with houses. Now it was all commerce with new storefronts mixed in with the businesses that had been around since he was a kid. The small, three-by-four street section of the town had been transformed into a mini shopping mecca. Flower Tree was on the far edge of the shopping center. Two of the burglaries had been there. The cleaners was two streets over and the boutique was on the opposite edge.

He parked his SUV cruiser three stores down from the clothing store. All the other spaces were filled with minivans and station wagons. He was glad to see the downtown area had picked up from when he was a kid. Back then the stores had been hard-pressed to get any customers on weekdays. Weekends were the main haul.

When he stepped from the cruiser he glanced up and down the street. Houses lined the backs of the business. A tree-lined alleyway separated the commerce district from the residential area. It gave a false sense of separation of the two, and made for easy access to cross through. He’d reread the report of the break-in of the clothing store. The alarm had tripped just before four in the morning. The small safe had been completely lifted from its spot under the manager’s desk. A few pieces of clothing had been stolen—nothing high end—and all the costume jewelry on display had been taken. Worse seemed to be the umpteen displays the thieves broke for no apparent reason than to cause additional damage. The department had responded within six minutes and by the time they got there, the store was empty. If there’d been a hole in the door it hadn’t been reported.

A bell tinkled above the door when Jax walked in. He removed his sunglasses while his eyes adjusted. Several startled females froze. The store catered solely to women. Dresses and blouses hung from the walls as displays. One corner had a variety of lingerie, the other had a small group of dressing rooms. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been in a store like it.

A tall blonde came from behind the register and hurried toward him. She was dressed in a form-fitting teal dress. Could she sit in it—and still breathe? Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt with her store logo—covered in flour—Marissa was more beautiful than this done-up woman and her scary high heels.

She stopped a few feet from him. A hesitant smile crossed her mouth. “Chief Carlisle. How are you? Was there something I can help you with?” She glanced over her shoulder and one of the patrons giggled.

“I was hoping to speak to the owner about the break-in the store had several months back.”

The blonde’s smile fell away as her brow pulled down slightly. “I’m the owner. Joan Barkley. Follow me. We’ll go to my office.” She motioned for him to follow. When they went into the stock room, she told a young sales girl to go out and watch the store.

Her office consisted of a little cubby in the back corner of the stockroom. A small desk sat with a computer atop it, as well as a couple of dainty, girlie chairs in front. There was a door that he presumed led outside and another door that looked like it might be a restroom. The rest of the stockroom was lined with shelves and racks loaded down with merchandise.

Once they were alone, she offered him one of the small chairs. “No thanks.” He was afraid it might break under his weight.

He ran her name through his head. It was so strange coming back to town. So many people knew who he was thanks to the Oak Hollow Country Club or school. He’d been told all the rumors skittering around when he’d been hired, his name on everyone’s lips. Some speculated he was a bad cop who’d been ousted from his job in Austin and was coming home with his tail tucked between his legs. Others said he was leaving behind a scorned woman whose husband had threatened to kill him. If only his life had been half as interesting.

Now he was running across people, wondering, when they knew immediately who he was, if he’d forgotten some long-lost connection to them. Most he found knew of him, but didn’t actually know him. Joan Barkley didn’t ring any mental bells so he stated his business. “I was hoping you could walk me through what happened after your break-in.”

Joan hugged her arms around herself. She replayed the story as it had been in the report.

“How did they get in?”

Joan shrugged. “Don’t know. We were never quite sure. Nothing looked disturbed. They ran out the back door, though. A scarf was hung up on it when the police got here.”

“This door?” Jax moved over to the large metal door.

“Yes.”

He squatted and examined the door. There wasn’t a hole in it like at the other locations.

“Well, yes, but no.”

He swiveled to look up at Joan. “Beg pardon?”

“We had to replace that door. A delivery truck backed into it a couple of months ago. The kid was talking on his phone.” She waved her hand. “He took out the door and the A/C unit. I lost a week of business. It was too hot without the A/C.”

Jax stood and nodded. The door could have had a similar hole at the time of the robbery. They’d never know for sure. “Have you had any other trouble since then? Any other robberies?”

“No. Why all the questions now? The officers who took my statements back in September got all the information.”

Jax didn’t want to panic the business owners. Definitely an emerging pattern, though he didn’t have enough info yet. So he said, “I’m just going over some of the unsolved crimes.” That was true enough, even though there weren’t all that many crimes in Oak Hollow that went unsolved. Nestled far north of Fort Worth, it wasn’t like they had a lot of carryover crime from the “big city.”

The blonde morphed before his eyes. Gone was the worried store owner, in her place was a smiling, flirty female. She shifted her stance, stuck out her hip. “That’s very kind of you, Chief. To be so conscientious.”

He nodded slowly. “It’s my job.”

“Oh sure.” She lifted one thin eyebrow. “How have you adjusted to town? I’ve heard you’ve been eating all alone every night. That’s no fun.” She took a few steps toward Jax.

“It’s okay.” He backed up and suddenly the small stockroom seemed to shrink by half as she cornered him. In high school, he would have loved flirtation like this. He’d have soaked it up. Hell, when he’d first come back to town, he might have been flattered, and responsive to a degree, but his mind zipped to Marissa. He wasn’t the least bit interested in Joan Barkley.

“Aw, now, that can’t be true.” She tilted her head and battered her eyelashes. “You know, if you’re free Friday night, I’d be more than happy to have dinner with you, help you get reacquainted with Oak Hollow.”

“That’s awful kind of you, ma’am.” He backed up another step and his back bumped a stack of boxes next to the wall. The only way to get out of there was to push past Joan. He wasn’t quite that desperate…yet. “But I have a pretty busy schedule with my new job and all.”

“They obviously let you out to eat. No point in doing it all by your lonesome.”

He nodded. “Something to consider.” He took a step closer to her. “Tell you what. Let me check what’s going on and I’ll get back to you.”

The shy smile he’d seen when he’d first walked into her store was nowhere near the thousand-watt gleam he got in response to that noncommittal answer.

Joan stepped aside. “I look forward to hearing from you. Welcome home, Chief.”

Back out on the street, Jax only glanced back at the store once. The way the ladies had giggled when he left, there would be new gossip going around town about him before he could even get back to his vehicle. He shook his head. “Welcome home.”




Chapter Four


For the rest of the week, Marissa went through her regular routine. No one had broken in again as far as she could tell—she’d rigged up a theft detector every night like flour on the floor and spoons precariously balanced on crates by the door. Everything was as-is when she returned to work in the morning. It didn’t, however, make her worry any less for Hill. She hadn’t seen him again. She’d even considered going up to the high school to follow him and see where he went. Cherry had talked her out of it.

She hadn’t seen Jax, either. She’d expected him to come in and try the new cupcake she’d been telling him about. Or even just to see her. They had hit it off, hadn’t they? Or was he just being polite at the restaurant the other night? He was a busy man. Had an entire town to protect. The last thing he needed to preoccupy himself with was some girl he’d gone to school with years and years ago.

The end of the week—the last Friday of March—Lexi came back in with her friends. Marissa hadn’t seen her since she’d asked about Hill. Lexi gave a sly wave behind one of the other girl’s backs, then acted as if she’d never spoken to Marissa by completely ignoring her.

Marissa sighed. There were days she longed for a family, wanted so badly to be a mom, but she often worried she wasn’t cut out to parent. Her mother hadn’t been. And unfortunately, unlike her siblings, she favored her runaway mother with her almost khaki eyes and brown hair so much it was scary. She’d catch her father staring at her every now and again with a wistful expression. Marissa had always wondered if that was why she was the serious, responsible one in the family. She had a deep-seated need to make up for the flighty woman who bore them all.

Both her brothers were married with kids, though. They made a family and made it work. How hard could it be? At least that was what she asked herself until the kids from the school would come by and she was glad she didn’t have to deal with the mess of raging hormones. Every now and again she’d babysit for Duff. He and his wife didn’t go out much, but when they did, they liked to leave their two-year-old, Meg, with family. Usually it was with their dad. They’d never leave her with Marlie, who was so absorbed in her new business she rarely had time for herself much less family. More often than not, Marlie was so busy with new clients she was frazzled and half-crazy—not a good combo to go with a precocious two-year-old.

Marissa shook herself and went back to going over the orders she had to get ready for the weekend. She had three birthday parties and a baby shower all to get ready by Sunday morning for pick up.

She’d just finished the paperwork and closed a folder when a shadow fell over her. Lexi stood with her bright pink backpack looped over her shoulders and small soda in her hand.

“Yes?”

“You didn’t turn Hill in.” Lexi tilted her head sideways. “Why?”

Marissa linked her fingers together and arched an eyebrow. “Turn him in for?”

“He told me you caught him here one night.” She shifted from one foot to the other. “Then when you found out his name, you didn’t bust him. You could have gone up to the school and told them, but you didn’t.”

Marissa sat staring at the girl. She didn’t know what to say.

Lexi glanced back over her shoulder. Her friends were packing up to leave. “Will you be here later? Like after six?”

“I’ll be here ‘til we close at seven.”

Lexi gave a quick nod and turned without another word.

“What was that all about?” Kya tucked a rag into the pocket on the front of her apron.

“I have no idea.”

As the girls were leaving, Marlie came barreling through the door. “Mar, you will never in a million years believe who I spoke to today.” She was dressed in a bright yellow sheath dress with tan high heels. Her blond hair was pulled up in a loose bun at the back of her head, and she had a large Coach tote bag slung over her shoulder.

“I can’t believe you two are twins,” Kya whispered before she headed toward the kitchen. “I’m outta here, boss. See ya tomorrow.” She waved over her head.

Marissa smiled at Kya’s departing back, then looked at her sister. “Who?”

Marlie beamed. “I was just sitting at my desk looking over the latest bridal catalog. I wouldn’t even think she knew my name much less my phone number.” She pointed at an orange crème cupcake. “Can I?”

Marissa took the cupcake from the case. “Who was it, Lee?” She used her sister’s nickname hoping it would spur on her tale. When they were little, with such similar names, she’d been designated Mar and her sister Lee. Too many times Marissa’d been unsure if she was in trouble when their father would yell Mar-Lee. Was it the both of them, or just her sister? After a while, though, she was too well behaved to be doing anything wrong, so she’d been able to ignore him.

Her sister had the same mischievous glint in her eye now as she had back when they were little and she was up to something.

“Who, Lee?” Her sister’s excitement was infectious.

Marlie bit into the cupcake. “This is so good.”

“If you don’t tell me who you spoke to…”

“Relax,” she said around a mouthful of cake. When she swallowed she said, “Before I tell you, though, I need you to do me a huge favor. You have to promise me.”

Marissa frowned. Her sister had asked her for many favors over the years, none with such a hazy preface. “What’s the favor?”

Marlie picked at the wrapped edge of the cupcake. “I have a new client and I need some help. Will you act as my assistant? It won’t be all that time-consuming, but I need an extra set of hands. Not to mention it will make my business look better if I have an ‘assistant.’”

“I guess.” Weddings were months and months of planning. She’d be able to schedule her employees around the wedding activities and the times she had to prepare for parties.

“You have to promise. Say, ‘I pinky swear’.” Marlie bounced on the balls of her feet.

“You’re calling out the pinky swear?” Since they were six and hatched a scheme to sneak out Duff’s favorite cassette tape so they could play it—and promptly broke it—they’d pinky swore every time one needed the other to cover for them. They’d never broken a pinky swear. And Duff never found out they were the ones who destroyed his copy of Van Halen.

“Yes, it’s that big of a deal.”

Marissa leaned over the counter and held out her pinky to her sister. “I pinky swear, I’ll be your assistant.”

Marlie squealed and latched on her finger for their elaborate handshake.

“Now tell me.” Marissa grabbed a cupcake for herself and sat with her sister at the closest table. “Who called you?” She took a bite of the black cherry cupcake.

“None other than Bunny Carlisle.”

Marissa didn’t even taste the food as she chewed. It had been almost a full week since she’d seen Jax Carlisle and that was after nearly twenty years. Why hearing he was getting married sat so heavily with her… Probably because the moments she did sleep over the past week, she’d done nothing but fantasize about the man. “That’s…great.”

“It’s more than great. It’s going to be the wedding of the year.” Marlie dragged her finger across the top of the icing and scooped some up. “There’s only one catch.”

Marissa frowned around another bite of her food. There was always a catch. Her mouth was too full to ask, but she didn’t need to—Marlie plowed right on anyway.

“It’s a less than a month away.” Her sister swiped at her mouth with a paper napkin and folded it neatly on the table.

“What is?” she asked when she finally swallowed. “The wedding?” Marissa’s easy schedule was quickly flying out the window. “Why so fast?” Why such a speedy wedding after he’d just moved to town? Not to mention, why was Bunny involved? The last she’d heard they weren’t on the best of terms. Was it an olive branch to get back in his mother’s good graces? Though, that was a hell of an olive branch. “Can you get a wedding done under a month?”

Marlie pouted, as if Marissa had insulted her, then she said, “I can get it done. Most of the details are in place. Bunny has already fired the three previous wedding planners.” She leaned closer. “Actually I think I heard the last one walked out and forfeited her fee. Anyway, it’s more or less overseeing the finishing touches.”

For the next two hours, Marlie ran over the details that were already in place from the previous planners. Most of the details were already set in motion. Why couldn’t the Carlisles just proceed on their own? When she wasn’t helping her customers, she made notes of what Marlie needed her to do.

“I have a face-to-face with Callie and Bunny first thing tomorrow morning. Do you think you could tag along?”

“Where is it?”

Marlie looked away briefly and mumbled, “At the country club.”

Marissa’s stomach pitched. It was bad enough she’d agreed to help her sister with the Carlisle wedding. To have to go to the Oak Hollow Country Club was almost too much. She’d worked there in high school, not fancy or rich enough to become a member. But she’d been good enough to wash towels and table linens. “You’d go back there? After what they did?”

Their father had worked at the club for nearly twenty years, the last five as the head mechanic. Marissa and Marlie’s senior year in school, all the white towels and linens had turned up pink. Marissa had been the last one on duty, and though they were white and in the closet when she’d left, she’d been promptly fired. As had her father. They said if he didn’t agree to it, they’d press charges against her for property damages.

Even though her father believed in her innocence, he didn’t want to chance that the incident would adversely affect her and her chances in college.

“That was nearly seventeen years ago. Dad got over it, why can’t you?” Marlie crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. “You pinky swore, so you’re going. It’s one wedding, a wedding that can really put my name out there. It won’t be that bad.”

The bell over the door chimed. Marissa gave her sister one last lingering “how could you” look then turned to greet her customer. “Speak of the devil. There’s your groom now.” Marissa nodded her head toward Jax.

Marlie swiveled in her seat. “Where?”

“At the door?”

“No.” Marlie jiggled the pen in her hand. “Who’s that?”

Marissa leaned into her sister and whispered, “Who’s the wedding for?”

“Bunny’s daughter, Callie. You remember her, don’t you? She was a few years behind us in school.”

Relief washed through Marissa with so much force she swayed a little on her feet—though she had no reason for it.

She did remember Callie. As a matter of fact, she’d always suspected Callie was the one who’d turned all the linens pink. She’d seen the girl lurking in the back hallways of the club the night of the incident, but it wasn’t as if Marissa could accuse her of doing it. And she’d only been eleven or twelve at the time. She’d been a spoiled, rich brat, but not deliberately malicious.… Marissa gave a mental shrug. Given that Callie Carlisle had gone through three wedding planners already, it sounded as if things hadn’t changed much.

She turned her attention to Jax. “Good evening, Chief.”

Jax removed his hat and nodded to Marissa and her sister. He sure did make that OH uniform look good. Marissa gaped a moment, worried he could read her mind as he held her gaze. She fought off the urge to fan herself.

“Ladies.” He interrupted her thoughts. “I came to check on how you’re doing. Any more break-ins?”

“Break-ins?” Marlie’s head whipped around and she pinned Marissa with her narrowed, blue gaze. “When did you have break-ins? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Behind her, Jax shifted and his eyebrows rose.

“It was no big deal. I didn’t want to worry you.” Marissa moved around her sister and turned her attention to the chief. “All’s well. My brother came out and fixed the door.”

“Duff came over here? You told one of the guys but not me?” Marlie stood, then slammed her hands on her hips.

“Like I said, I didn’t want to worry you. And I was a little afraid you might overreact. Silly me.” She rolled her eyes. “Marlie, you remember Jax Carlisle from high school. He’s the new police chief.” That cooled her sister’s jets.

“I heard you were moving back.” Marlie morphed from freaked out, concerned sister to businesswoman—emphasis on woman—and went to shake Jax’s hand. “Congratulations on the job.”

He gave her a quick, polite shake, but his gaze didn’t linger on Marlie. A fact that gave Marissa even more relief than when she’d heard he wasn’t the intended groom. Though, that might be totally premature. She didn’t know a thing about him. She normally swore by her instincts about people, but he could be getting ready to celebrate his twentieth wedding anniversary and have half a dozen kids at home. His mother was tightlipped about the foal she couldn’t keep corralled.

“How does it feel to move back to Oak Hollow? Have you gotten settled in yet?” Marlie peppered him with questions. “Must be a rough move for a household.” Leave it to her to ask the questions Marissa had been wondering.

Jax gave a quick chuckle. “It’s good to be home. Settled just fine and moving me and my dog wasn’t all too traumatic.”

He was single.

Marlie turned her back on Jax for a brief moment and gave a quick brow waggle. And all Marissa’s hopes dashed. Not too many men were immune to her sister’s charm and beauty when she turned it up.

As Marlie asked Jax another barrage of questions, Marissa glanced at her watch. It was about an hour until closing time. “If y’all will excuse me…” She hurried behind the counter and plucked out the unsold cupcakes she’d take over to her dad later. She’d just finished packing up the box when Jax came over to the counter.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been by sooner to check on your shop. I did beef up patrol and have them coming by more frequently.”

Marissa nodded. “I’ve seen them. Thanks.”

“Would you mind if I check out your door?”

“My brother did a good job on it. But I don’t mind.” She waved him around the counter. “Marlie, will you keep an eye on the front for a sec?”

When her sister nodded, Marissa ushered Jax to the back to look at the door. “My brother said it looked a little too intricate for a teenager to have drilled through the layers of the door. But he also said the hole looked pretty old. I’ve been here less than a year, so who knows how long the shop’s been vulnerable.”

Jax didn’t comment, just squatted before the door and ran his fingers across the repair job. Finally he stood. “Looks good.” For a long moment he looked her over.

Marissa had to fight not to squirm under the scrutiny.

“I want to apologize.”

She frowned. “For?”

“The other night, calling you by your high school nickname.”

* * *

Jax had gone and done it again. The moment he’d brought up her nickname all the color fled from her cheeks and the smile in her eyes fell flat. The first time he’d said it, he hadn’t known why it’d warranted such an extreme response. Midweek, he’d run into Otto Kendal and later gone out and had a beer after work. They’d played catch up and gone over some of the people, Jax’d run into since moving back to town. When he’d mentioned Marissa’s name Otto had laughed.

“She didn’t slug you for calling her that?”

Jax picked at the label on the bottle. “Why would she?”

“She hated that name.” Otto downed the rest of his beer and leaned back in his chair.

“How do you know?”

“Come on, Jax. She was fat, with braces and glasses. Some of the guys would walk behind her mooing. They called her Moo-Moo Llewellyn and it finally just got shortened to Lulu.”

Jax’s gut had twisted. Then he’d asked, “How do you remember that? She was grades behind us.”

He shrugged. “I heard it a couple of times when she’d follow her dad around at work up at the club.”

Jax had forgotten all about her father. Mr. Llewellyn had been employed at the club for years. Marissa’d worked there eventually, too. After he’d moved to Austin, he’d heard they’d both gotten fired, but he never knew why.

“Who knew she’d end up not half-bad,” Otto had commented.

Not half-bad? She was so much more than not half-bad. She was a beauty. Even back in school, while, yeah she might have been how Otto described her, half the kids in school looked like that at one time or another. She’d been cute if a little awkward at times. And he would never have classified her as fat. She’d had burgeoning curves as a fifteen-year-old—that now, even under her jeans, a T-shirt and an apron, he could tell had developed quite nicely. In school, she’d always had a smile on her face and been ready to help out if someone needed it. He was surprised he remembered so much about her. It wasn’t like he’d paid that much attention. But in a school full of followers and hangers-on, she’d stood out by being neither.

After he’d left Otto that night, he’d felt like such an ass. He would never have used her nickname if he’d known how or why it got started.

Marissa fidgeted with the edge of the little apron she had tied around her waist.

Jax had said what he needed to for his apologies. He didn’t want to watch her squirm any more. He slapped his hat back on his head. “Have you given much thought to getting a security system?”

“Thoughts, sure. All the time.”

“You might want to consider getting something installed. I can ask around for a recommendation.” His cell phone vibrated on his hip, but he kept his gaze pinned to hers. “There have been some other break-ins around town.”

Her dark eyebrows pulled down. “Other break-ins?” She took a step closer to him. “Where? Who? What was taken?”

He named off a few of the local companies that had been burglarized over the past few months. “It was in the paper.”

She shifted her gaze from his for a moment. “I’ve been working almost nonstop for months on end. I…it’s easy to lose track of what’s going on around you.”

“The other shops lost money and merchandise. You got off pretty lucky.”

The V of her eyebrows pulled down farther and she shook her head slowly. “I don’t think it was the same guy.”

“You can’t know that.” He shifted. “Two of the other stores had holes in their doors just like yours.”

“That doesn’t mean he did it. That just shows how he got in. Assuming that’s how.”

The two locked eyes, neither saying anything.

“Mar, there’s someone up here to see.” Her sister Marlie poked her head into the back.

“Coming.” Marissa said without taking her eyes off Jax. “I appreciate you coming out. I think you’re wrong about the young man who was here and I will see what I can do about getting better security.” She waved him toward the front of the store.

He was dismissed.

There was only so much he could say and do as the police chief. If Marissa didn’t take his concerns seriously… He’d send the extra patrols around when he could. He’d check up on her, too. Past that, he’d almost have to wait for her to have a break-in.

His cell phone vibrated. He unclipped it from his hip. It was his mother. For someone who’d decided he wasn’t her son anymore, she sure did call a lot. “Do you mind if I answer this here?”

“Go right ahead.” She headed out to the front of the store.

Jax put the phone to his ear. “Chief Carlisle.”

“Jackson, I have been calling you all afternoon. Why haven’t you answered my calls?” His mother’s shrill voice echoed through the phone.

He rolled his eyes. “I’m working.”

“What if I had an emergency?”

“Then you should call in to the station like everyone else.” Even though she was “humiliated” by his new job, Bunny Carlisle still wanted preferential treatment. Typical.

“I need you to come by the club tomorrow morning.”

“I don’t know that I can.” He’d been by his parents’ home once since he’d been back in town. And that was only to see Callie. On a day when his mother was in the middle of one of her social obligations. He’d been avoiding the club.

“Your sister is getting married and we need to coordinate with you as one of the groomsmen.”

Had his mother asked him to be in the wedding party, he’d have turned her down flat, but when Callie asked… He’d never been good at denying his baby sister anything. “I’ll see what I can do.” He hit the end button on his phone before she could make any more demands. He was walking through the kitchen when he overheard Marissa.

“… he breaks into my shop and you want me to give him a job?”




Chapter Five


Marissa stared at Lexi. The girl had dragged Hill—and it was clear he didn’t want to be there—into her shop. Through Lexi, Hill admitted that he’d broken in, taken cupcakes and who knew what else but now he was sorry and wanted to make up for it. By working it off. Lexi wanted her to give him a job.

When Lexi and Hill had come in, the girl had bought them each a drink and a cupcake. Hill was partial to the red velvet, she’d learned from the wrapper he’d left on the table the other night. While Hill ate, Lexi had pulled Marissa aside and dropped her little bomb. But there was more.

“I know he broke into your store. But it was only on nights when it was too chilly or he had homework.” The teen worried the edge of her shirt.

“I don’t understand.”

Lexi leaned in. “He has no place to go. Like nowhere.”

There were few things in the world that could make the bottom drop out of Marissa’s stomach; homelessness was one of them. Many years after her mother left, Marissa, Marlie and their brothers had been in downtown Fort Worth with their father at the big library. It had been such an adventure when she’d entered the grand building with its white columns. Her dad had helped her get her first ever library card. She was so proud, checked out three books all by herself. As they were leaving, Duff pointed at a woman up the street. She was wearing tattered clothing, pushing a shopping cart. It was all her father could do to stop him from running down the street.

Marissa could remember Duff’s contorted face as he looked up at their dad and said, “But it’s Mom.”

Marissa had wanted to get a closer look. She barely remembered what her mother looked like. But the dirty woman, the one who was talking to herself, looked nothing like the image she’d formed from a few aging photos.

Glen Llewellyn had gathered up his children, shuttled them back to their van and driven away without so much as a comment. Later that night, Marissa had overheard him talking to Mr. Humphries. Their mother had a drug problem. When she’d run off it was to avoid going into rehab—she’d chosen God knows what over getting the help Glen was offering her. Apparently she’d come back from time to time to ask for money, and the last time Glen had refused. He’d told her no, and until that day at the library it’d been three years since he’d seen her.

Her father was devastated and so confused. Marissa had been mad at the woman for upsetting him. They’d never gone back to that library—as a family. When Marissa was old enough, she’d gone looking for her mom. She’d wanted nothing more than to find her mom, help her, get her off the streets, but no matter how many times she’d gone back to that library she’d never found her mom. She always feared her mother had finally succumbed to either being on the streets or drugs themselves.

Marissa lowered her voice as her stomach continued to pitch. “He’s homeless?” Her voice carried and the young man’s cheeks turned red.

Hill set down the drink he’d just pulled up to his mouth and gulped heavily.

A deep throat cleared from behind Marissa and she jumped. “Oh, Chief, hey.”

Hill stood suddenly as Lexi gasped. “We’ve gotta…”

“No.” Marissa held her hand up. “You’re not going anywhere.” She turned to Jax. “Was there something else you needed?”

He opened his mouth, but the cell at his hip chirped again. When he looked at the screen, he shook his head. “I’ve got to go.” He glanced back up at Marissa, then to Hill. “Will you be here a little later? I think you and I need to talk.”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever.” Marissa hurried Jax to the door. “I’m here ‘bout another hour.” Once she got him out of the shop, she turned to face the two teens.

“What’s going on?” Marlie stood behind the counter, her gaze volleying between the three.

Marissa turned to her sister but decided not to tell her who Hill was. Not until she could figure out what to do. “Don’t you have an appointment at the club?”

Marlie jumped and checked her watch. “Oh, I do. I’ll call you later with the details for the wedding—”

“I don’t know.”

“You promised you’d do it,” she said in a singsong voice as she waggled her pinky and gave Marissa the sisterly you-owe-me stare.

“We’ll see…” Marissa tried to get the words out before her sister made it out the front door, but she blew past so fast, she wasn’t sure Marlie had heard her. She had pinky sworn, though, so even though Marlie had tricked her, she couldn’t wiggle out of it.

When she turned back to the teens, they were quietly arguing over the half-eaten cupcakes. “Okay, so let’s talk.”

The pair jumped apart, both wide-eyed. And suddenly mute.

Marissa smashed her hands on her hips. “Which one of you is going to go first?” She waggled her finger between the two.

Both teens looked at their feet.

“Lexi, you seem to be the one with all the ideas and plans. You go first.” Marissa pulled out a stool and leaned up against it, then slid the one across from her out with her foot. “Sit. Start over from the beginning.”

Lexi walked over to the stool and only glanced back over her shoulder at Hill once. She hopped her five-foot frame up on the tall stool, took a deep breath and the words tumbled out of her. “You see, it’s like this. Hill’s mom passed away a few years ago. He was living with his dad. Who is a real loser. Sorry, Hill—” she looked back at him for a moment “—but he is. One day, his dad up and leaves.” She held Marissa’s gaze without blinking once. “No one seemed to notice there was this kid living all by himself. Hill’s a good student so it didn’t affect school or anything. But a few months later the bank forecloses on the house. He didn’t have a way to float a mortgage on top of school and his part-time job. He did have a job.” She said it so earnestly, as if to score a few extra points in Hill’s favor. “But the company folded and everyone lost their jobs.”

Lexi took a long breath and continued. “He lived with friends here and there. And no one asked questions or seemed to notice he had nowhere to go.” She gave a quick little growl of disapproval. “I’d totally let him stay with me, but my mom’s so provincial I can’t. He’ll be eighteen in two months and then it won’t matter, but until then…” She shrugged. “He needs a little help here and there.”

Hill shifted. He hadn’t said a word. Just let his friend Lexi plead his case.

“So like I told you, he only snuck in here when it was too cold or he had a lot of homework. He didn’t really hurt anything or anyone by doing it.” She folded her hands in her lap and straightened her shoulders. She’d said her piece.

For a moment, all Marissa could do was try to catch her breath. She glanced at Hill. He stood next to the other table, his food and drink still half-finished. He’d turned three shades of red under his tan complexion and looked ready to bolt at any moment.

Marissa’s head swam with the information. The most she could muster up at the moment was a simple question. “Is that all true?”

“Yes ma’am.”

It was the first time he’d spoken. He had a deep, smooth voice that while polite held an edge of mistrust.

There were so many people who’d failed him. She didn’t know the first thing about where or how to help, but there were also services and organizations for that. None of which had come to take care of him when he needed it the most. He could have gone to them, but he was still a kid. He’d been taking care of himself any way he could. Until he’d gotten caught.

And what had she done?

Sure, she’d called the police initially, but when he’d run and she could have identified him, she hadn’t. Was she as guilty as the others? Even when Jax had come face-to-face with Hill, she hadn’t turned and pointed to him. She’d kept quiet. Now the teens trusted her for it and were asking for her help. Sort of. It wasn’t like they were necessarily asking her to help him into the system, though. They wanted her to overlook the fact that he’d broken into her shop—several times—and helped himself to her food.

Food that was going to go to waste, a little voice in the back of her head whispered.

She shook herself and asked, “And somehow all this parlays into a job offer from me to him?”

Lexi’s face brightened. “Yes. You could let Hill work here. He could clean up and maybe you could let him sleep on the sofa in your office. It’s not all that comfortable, but it beats under the bridge on the far side of town.”

Marissa let that sink in. It sucked that she’d been right. It sucked worse that Hill had been basically tossed aside and made to fend for himself. What must it be like for a teenager—whether he was soon to be eighteen or not—to be completely on his own? She’d never been alone since the moment of conception. She’d always had Marlie, her older brothers and her dad. Not to mention a slew of extended family all over Texas and beyond. She’d never once worried about being alone.

Lexi wasn’t done yet. “If you agree, it will give you an added layer of security having a warm body here at night. So no one can break in.”

“No one else can break in, you mean,” Marissa pointed out.

If Hill’s face had been red before, now it was about-to-stroke-out red. He rolled his head back and stared up at the ceiling.

“How many times have you…” Marissa motioned to the back of the shop.

“Not that many,” Lexi said at the same time as Hill lowered his head and said, “a dozen or so.”

Marissa pinched the bridge of her nose. A dozen times someone had broken into her shop. A dozen times a lone, teenage boy had slept in her office, on her sofa, to keep from sleeping under a bridge. She’d only noticed a couple of times when things seemed off, and only once was it obvious that food had been taken.

The bell over the door clanged as a woman with three little girls came in chattering away.

“How are y’all?” Marissa stood. “I’ll be right with you.” When they passed and made their way up to the counter, she turned to the teens. “I’m not done talking with you two. Sit. Finish your snack and I’ll be right back.”

She wasn’t entirely sure they’d listen to her. She half-expected them to be gone when she finished with her customers. But Lexi and Hill were at the table. Hill had finished his cupcake and Lexi sat picking at hers. Marissa grabbed another red velvet from the case and headed back over to the teens. She set the cupcake in front of Hill. He stared at it for a long moment, then peeled back the paper and took a bite.

There were so many things she could do. The least of which was nothing and tell the kids to skedaddle. One thing that played over and again in her head was the fact that Hill had admittedly sneaked into the shop so many times and—other than the food—he hadn’t taken a single thing. He could have cleaned out the money from the cash register. Not that she kept more than a few dollars in the drawer when the store was closed. Not to mention, there were any number of pawnable items in the shop and on her desk and he’d never once filched anything. That should count for something. And while she did want to help him out, she wasn’t ready to invite him to her small two-bedroom townhome. Nor was she ready to thrust him upon a system that as of yet hadn’t even noticed he needed help.

“If I say yes, there will be some strict ground rules.”

Lexi squealed at an ear-piercing decibel, then launched herself from the stool to give Marissa a bone-crushing bear hug.




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