“Can’t help it,” This time it was Price, one of the younger officers on the force, who was always ready to stir the pot. “Everyone in town sees it. You stop in at Goldie’s every single shift. And even though she has a dozen different employees, it’s always her who takes your order and makes your food. Always with the same smile, and the same sweet charm of hers. If you don’t make a move soon, she’s going to give up hope, and someone else is going to move in.”
The group agreed, tossing names around as if they were betting on a horse race.
“Maybe Miller’s kid,” Shaw said, with a nod of his chin to where the guy in question sat on the front porch next to his dad. “He’s always stopping in to buy her sweets and then leaves themon the counter at Miller’s. He doesn’t even like them, which is a crime in itself, but he buys them every day, nonetheless.”
“Nah,” Price shrugged with a shake of his head, “She’s too sweet for that big hairy yeti, but what about Dr. Keene? He’s divorced, got money, I hear he likes to swing by for lunch in between patients.”
“Or,” Shaw drawled, “maybe she ends up with that dark-haired beauty from Station Eighty-Eight. What’s her name? Dalton? Long legs, hair for days that makes a man think about wrapping a fist into it,” He groaned, and the group scoffed at him. “I’m just saying, if she didn’t swing for chicks, I’d take a chance on her. But I know she’s been eyeing Goldie up for a while, so she might be the one to steal your girl, and you won’t even see it coming, which you should.”
I didn’t laugh with the others. Not because the ribbing bothered me, I was the youngest of five brothers, I could take a joke.
And a punch.
But the thought of someone else swooping in, sliding into that little sunbeam-filled space Goldie carved out in the middle of Cedar Bluff…
My stomach tightened.
“She’s not like that,” I said finally.
“Like what, exactly?” Shaw smirked, “She’s not dating? Having fun? She’s been here a year now, Brooks. She’s not the new girl anymore. You really think she’s just going to keep making bread and cinnamon rolls forever without noticing half the town drooling over her?”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. Because maybe they were right.
Goldie had been focused when she first moved into town from the city. She kept her head down, working herself to the bone to turn a run-down storefront into the warm and thriving Honey & Hearth.
But she had been off-limits, in a way that nobody wanted to distract her from her dream.
Lately, though,damn.
Shehadbeen smiling more. Laughing with customers and going out into the public for events and stuff. She even stayed out front at her bakery more often now, instead of hiding in the kitchen like she used to. Goldie belonged in Cedar Bluff now; she belonged to it. Maybe she was ready to find someone to share it all with after all.
And if I wasn’t careful, it wouldn’t be me. Because they were right, half the town wanted her. The other half wanted to be her.
Price elbowed me with a good-hearted grin, “Hey, don’t look so serious. We’re just saying you’ve got competition. Don’t let us show up one morning and see her baking muffins for someone else.”
The guys roared again as I shook my head, eating the rest of my sandwich as the thought lingered.
Goldie. With someone else.
I didn’t like it. Not one damn bit.
I walked away from the group and started doing the paperwork I’d been putting off all morning on the hood of my car as the tow truck worked on pulling the car away.
I made it five lines down on my arrest report when the hum of a loud diesel engine echoed around the corner behind me. A collective groan sounded from the guys, and I glanced over my shoulder as the firetruck from Station Eighty-Eight rolled to a stop behind my car.
“Who called the nozzle nuts?” I asked the guys as the fire crew started getting out of the truck.
“No one,” Price droned on unimpressed, “They’re probably on their way back from getting their nails done and are just being nosey.”
The sun gleamed off the red paint of the fire engine as one guy from the department yelled, “Careful, LEO’s, don’t strain yourselves with all of that paperwork. You might pull a muscle.”
My friends booed, and I smirked at one of the guys I graduated high school with, who was now with the fire department and nodded to him as he walked up to me. “What’s up, Thomas? Did you finish your grocery shopping early and decide to stop over to kill time before your group shower?”
He smirked and shook my hand, always up for some friendly ball-busting. “How are you doing, Brooks?”
“Good,” I nodded at my paperwork. “Living the dream.”
He snorted, leaning back on my squad car. “We just rescued a cat from a tree at the nursing home,” He chuckled, “I know what you mean.”