Baker’s Law (24 page)

Unfortunately her fiancé had died in a horrific car accident only three days before
the ceremony. Marissa has worried about her sister, but she’d pulled through, though
she hadn’t found—or tried to find—another man, but she’d managed to get on with her
life.

“And Saturday, please wear something dressy and preferably pastel. It’s not formal,
but you know how things go at the country club.” She tucked her leather folder into
her briefcase. “Any questions?”

“How’d I let you talk me into this?”

“Because you love me and I’m your favorite sister.”

“You’re my only sister, brat.” Marissa walked around the counter and gave her twin
a big bear hug. “I do love you.” She was once again reminded that despite the worries
she and Marlie had had growing up, they’d had it a million times easier than Hill
had. And even when there were bad times, she’d had Marlie to lean on.

“I love you, too.” Marlie gave her a quick squeeze. “What brought this on?”

Marissa needed to tell one of the Llewellyns what was going on in her life. She’d
never kept a secret this big from her family. She opened her mouth to tell her sister,
when the cell at her hip rang.

Marlie held up a slim finger. “This is Marlie.” She listened for a moment. “What do
you mean the flowers are all wilted?” She dug through her bag and found a small red
organizer. She tucked the phone at the crook of her neck as she pawed through the
small book. “They didn’t have back-up generators? Gaw.” She found the page she was
looking for and stuck her thumb in to hold the spot. She glanced over at her sister.
“I have to handle this. You’ll call me if you need anything?” She didn’t wait for
an answer, but turned and headed back out of the shop talking a mile a minute, making
plans.

Marissa’s shoulders sagged. She made a mental note to call her dad after work. It’d
been far too long since they’d had one of their heart-to-hearts. She could unload
about Hill and if she was particularly brave she might even tell him about Jax.

Jax. She rubbed her hand over her face. What would he think when he woke to find her
gone in the morning? If it had happened to her, she’d be hurt, angry. She’d run the
gamut of “Why aren’t I enough to make you stay the night?”

Jax knocked his shin against an open file cabinet drawer. “Dammit guys, close things
when you’re done with them.”

He slammed the drawer back closed. He’d slept well, better than he had probably since
he’d gotten to Oak Hollow, only to awaken to a cold, empty bed. At first he half-expected—or
at least hoped—Marissa would be in his kitchen, eating breakfast. But no such luck.
She’d snuck out some time before dawn and hadn’t even bothered to leave him a note.
Though he’d rolled over that one in his mind a million times. What was she supposed
to say?
Thanks for a great screw. See ya around.
Yeah, that wouldn’t have sat any better with him.

He’d glowered at Soldier all morning. The damn beast would bark at his own shadow
given the chance, but when Marissa had gotten up and left, the traitor hadn’t made
a peep. He didn’t want to think about his dog’s reaction to the lady. Soldier was
digging her as much as Jax was. Not that it mattered. It clearly wasn’t reciprocated,
otherwise she’d have stayed, right? They butted heads on every other subject but they
had chemistry. In bed they were damned good together. Do-it-all-over again and again,
good. Neither could deny that fact, but was that all it was to her?

He wanted to feel cheap and used, but it’d been too spectacular for that. Damn, he
was so confused.

It had put him in a foul mood all morning and set his day to a series of shitty and
shittier moments. First he’d dropped his coffee mug—full of coffee—on the kitchen
floor. It had shattered and spilled all over the terra-cotta tile, cracking the square
it landed on. Then he’d barked at Ada when he came into work, something he’d never
done before. He’d bent over backward apologizing to her, which she’d graciously accepted
with a slight smirk, like she knew what had put him in a foul mood.

Hell, he wasn’t even sure what’d put him in a foul mood because he couldn’t say for
sure that he’d asked Marissa to stay—so for him to get bent out of shape that she
didn’t… If the roles had been reversed, would he have stayed the night with her, stayed
to wake up with her in his arms?

“Chief?” Officer Garrett knocked on the door frame, interrupting his pity party.

“Yeah?”

“We just got a call that there’s a ruckus up at the high school. Some boys are fighting
out past the football field.” He cleared his throat and stepped into the small office.
“You said you wanted to be notified if anything came up involving teenagers. This
seemed like a regular old fight, but I thought I’d tell you just the same.”

Jax rubbed his chin, hit the spot he’d cut shaving earlier and grimaced. “I’ll run
out there.” He checked his utility belt—he wasn’t even sure if he’d dressed properly
that morning. “Will you give Ada a head’s up on where I’m headed?”

Garrett snickered. “Still trying to avoid her evil eye? Teach you to yell at her,”
the officer said as he left Jax’s office.

Jax made the short drive to the high school in no time. There’d been very few scuffles
at the school since he’d been in office. It wasn’t unusual to have a few fights from
time to time, but in light of the possibility that the break-ins in the downtown area
might have been perpetrated by teens, he wanted to stay on top of any issues.

He pulled into the parking lot next to the football field. There weren’t any kids
around at all. If there’d been a fight, it had cleared out pretty quickly.

Swinging the cruiser around, he drove to the front of the school. It wouldn’t hurt
to go in and speak with the principal.

When he was buzzed in through the front door, a young woman with auburn hair was hurrying
toward him. She was small, couldn’t be much over five feet tall. She wore a no-nonsense
navy-blue skirt and a lighter blue top. Her short heels clicked on the linoleum floor.

“Chief Carlisle.” She outstretched her hand as she reached him. “How are you?” she
asked with a polite smile, but just as quickly her mouth turned down and she frowned.
“Is everything okay?”

Jax shook the petite woman’s hand. “Everything’s fine, I think. We got a call about
a fight. It looks like it’s broken up but I just wanted to check in with the principal
and make sure all was well in the school.”

The woman smiled. “That’d be me. Patti Head.”

Jax frowned. Why did that name sound so familiar?

“Callie and I were friends growing up.”

He nodded. “I remember you. The two of you would sneak into my room trying to spy
on me, but you both giggled so much you wouldn’t last more than a couple of minutes.”

“We’d never have made it as spies.” She waved away her comment. “Actually, Callie
and I are still friends. I’m in her bridal party. I was surprised I haven’t seen you
at any of the wedding events since you’re one of the groomsmen. I guess with all the
duties of being the chief, you’re pretty busy.”

“Right.” He took a deep breath. “Back to the fight…”

“We didn’t catch the kids fighting.” She shook her head. “No one would talk about
it when the teachers got out there and the cameras don’t capture that part of the
field. It doesn’t happen often.” She shrugged.

“If you hear anything about who it was, what it’s over, will you let me know?”

“Sure. But I have to say, these things are usually nothing more than a little dustup
that gets out of control for only a moment. Once the kids have time to think things
through, they usually work themselves out pretty quickly.”

Jax nodded. She was probably right. Were it not for the break-ins downtown, this wouldn’t
have even been on his radar. Sure, fights needed to be broken up, but the chief of
police didn’t need to come out and oversee anything.

“Okay, well…if anything comes up, you let me know.”

“Will do. And I’ll see you soon.”

Jax paused and frowned.

Patti’s auburn eyebrows rose. “At the wedding.”

“Right. Yes. See you then.” Jax turned and headed back out of the school. Even though
he’d gone in for his tux fitting he hadn’t given his sister’s wedding much thought.
It was the first wedding in his family in years. He was pretty sure his mother had
given up hope for him long ago, when he refused any and all of her attempts at matchmaking.

His step stumbled as he approached his cruiser. He’d need a date. Marissa popped into
his head. He could ask her. That was a big step, taking a woman to a family event—especially
one as dubious as a wedding. It screamed of commitment.

He stuffed the keys into the ignition. Would she even say yes? They were sleeping
together. But did they have a relationship beyond that?

Whatever they had, he realized as he pulled from the high school parking lot, he wanted
more. He wanted to take her to the wedding. He needed her beside him. To humanize
him in the sea of Carlisles and the likes. He wanted to take her to dinner and talk
over Sunday brunch. He wanted the day-to-day. Every damn thing he could get from her.

The thought of doing those things without Marissa, and the loneliness that engulfed
him then, was enough to know he wanted her there with him. Always. He was definitely
further gone than he might have admitted even yesterday. He loved her. Loved her so
much it had practically short-circuited his brain. But now that he’d acknowledged
it, he was damned determined to make sure to do everything in his power to make it
happen. Marissa might not be prepared, but she would be his soon enough.

* * *

Once Marissa found her rhythm, she worked the rest of the afternoon on Callie’s order.
Every time the phone rang, though, she half-expected it to be the bride calling to
cancel her order.

The call, however, never came, so she chugged away on the extra cupcakes. Marissa
had made a huge dent in the order by the time lunch rolled around. Thankfully, Kya
had agreed to put in a little extra work so Marissa could focus on that order alone.

By the time she was ready to call it an afternoon her back and feet ached like a son
of a bitch and she’d gotten two full flavors finished and half of the third. By this
time tomorrow she should be able to complete the order. Then it would be smooth sailing
the rest of the week.

“Boss, I need to go.” Kya was wiping her hands on her apron.

“What time is it?” Marissa rolled her neck and glanced at the small clock on her desk.
It was half past four. She frowned. “Did Hill come in? I didn’t hear him.”

“I haven’t seen him. I thought maybe you gave him another day off.”

The weird hum in her shoulder changed to a stinging prickle. “I’m sure he’s just running
behind after missing school yesterday.” She said the words, but she couldn’t make
herself believe it. Lexi had brought all his work so there would be no need to be
late today.

“Do you want me stay?” Kya paused in removing her apron.

“No, you go ahead.” Marissa stood and followed her employee from her office. “I’ll
see you tomorrow.” She waved as Kya shouldered her purse and headed out of the shop.

Marissa took inventory of the front case, then wiped down all the counters to busy
herself so she wouldn’t worry. Just before closing, Cherry came in to pick up an extra
order for the Bistro. On her way out the door, she said, “I can’t believe you’re dating
the captain of the football team.”

“I’m not ‘dating’ the captain.”

“You’re not
not
dating him.”

Marissa shook her head and laughed. “Whatever. Jax is not that kid anymore. He’s grown
up.”

“And you’re not Lulu anymore. You’re a grown woman who has her own business and who
has taken on the responsibility for all the homeless teenagers in the town.”

“One. One homeless teenager.”

“In Oak Hollow, that’s all of them.” Cherry headed toward the door. “If Captain Football
can outgrow his high-school persona and be better for it, so can you, Lulu. Love it,
own it. It made you who you are now.” The door closed behind Cherry before Marissa
could comment.

It gave her something to stew on other than the fact that Hill hadn’t shown up for
his shift. Her relationship with Jax, she couldn’t pin down, but it was easy to focus
on Hill.

By the time she closed the shop at eight, she still hadn’t seen him. The teen didn’t
have a phone—she made a mental note to get him one so she’d have a way to get in touch
with him. Up until now, it hadn’t been an issue. She sped through her evening routine
to hurry home and see if he was there. She hadn’t given him a key, so it was a long
shot at best. No one was waiting on her stoop when she got home. She did a mad dash
through the house and backyard to no avail, then she called Lexi.

“Hey, have you seen Hill?”

“Not since lunch. His classes are down the senior wing. Why?”

She didn’t want to alarm the girl. “I just missed him at the shop. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
She said her good-nights and hung up.

Marissa bit her lip. Should she worry? Hill had been living on the street for over
a year. Maybe she was crowding him. But she didn’t think so, especially after their
conversation the night before. Should she call Jax and give him a reason to put Hill
on his radar? No. Not yet. Not until she knew what was going on.

Where would Hill go?

The only place she could think of was the clearing next to the road. She scooped up
her keys and headed out that way. Her stomach knotted more and more every mile she
got closer. For a moment, she hesitated parking her car on the side of the road since
darkness had already fallen. But once she got close enough she’d be able to tell pretty
quickly if he was there or not. She parked her SUV and slid down the side. It was
darker in among the trees so she couldn’t see as easily as she’d hoped. Finally down
the embankment, she walked to where she’d seen his belongings before he’d come to
stay with her.