Trapped in Tourist Town (9 page)

“Would you cut it out? Burke is not my boyfriend.” She slapped at the counter with a wet rag. “You want some coffee, or what?”

“You want to work in a coffee shop in the city? You need to work on your customer service skills, baby sis.” Chase slid onto a stool, taking off his cap and setting it on the counter beside him.

Knowing this exchange could go on indefinitely, Cady turned her back on her brother. She poured a mug of coffee and set it in front of him. Before he could reach for it, she sent the sugar dispenser sliding to the far end of the counter. Chase would have to get off his duff to go get it. Score two points for her!

“So we had a little excitement last night. A 911 call down at the rental cottages off Sandy Point.” The dramatic pause would have been comical, had she not known exactly who he was referring to.

“Oh my God! Is Burke okay? Is he hurt? What happened?” She was too concerned with what might have happened to let the triumphant look on Chase's face set her off.

“See! I knew there was something going on between you two.” He waggled a finger in the air.

“Damn it, Chase, did something really happen or not?”

She'd been warming a blueberry muffin for her brother and turned to see that the handful of customers in the bakery were eagerly hanging onto Chase's words. She hurried around the counter, and practically shoved the plate in his lap. Standing over her brother, lips pursed, hands wringing, she waited. He blinked, seeming surprised at her reaction. Okay, maybe he hadn't really meant to scare her.

“He called in an intruder, about two o'clock in the morning.”

Cady's eyes widened. Who on earth would break into one of the summer rentals in the middle of the night? Petty crime wasn't unheard of in Scallop Shores, but robbing a cottage that was occupied? It would have to be a very stupid crook, or—

Oh, poor Burke.

“Let me guess. The intruder wasn't human?” She cringed, hoping like crazy that she was wrong. The jubilant look on her brother's face told her otherwise.

“It was Mr. Masked Bandit himself. He helped himself to some food Burke had left on the grill. Hell, he was even washing it down with a brewski. Classic! I almost peed myself. There was Burke, a frying pan in one hand and a carving knife in the other. Ready to take down the perp in just his skivvies.”

“Oh, no,” Cady groaned. “He must have been so embarrassed.”

“Nope, the little guy looked quite content. He was polishing off a beer, eating a little late-night snack.”

“Shut up, Chase!” She cuffed her brother upside his head. “I imagine you had a ball, letting him know you were going to spread this all over town.”

“He did ask me not to say anything.” Chase nodded. “But he didn't try too hard. Maybe if he'd offered money—”

“God, you can be such a jerk sometimes!”

Cady closed her eyes, feeling awful for Burke. It was a common occurrence, the further from town you got, to receive late-night visits by wild animals. She should have warned him not to leave any food outside. Of course, that wouldn't stop raccoons from examining the contents of a trash can. The little guy had probably started with that, and then his keen sense of smell led him to the leftover barbeque on the back porch. Wait until Burke woke up to deer grazing on the flowering shrubs in his front yard. He was probably a little too close to shore for that, but Cady wouldn't rule it out entirely.

“I wouldn't worry about Romeo, sis. It's not like he's gonna live here permanently. We'll tease him for the summer and then he'll be on his way. By the time he gets back to the safety of the city, he'll have concocted a clever story about the rabid raccoon that attacked him in his sleep.” Chase smiled and nodded toward his audience as the bakery erupted in laughter.

“Go easy on him, Chase. He didn't know.”

“You should have heard the 911 call. The guy seriously thought someone was on their way into his house to kill him. He met me at the door with his badass kitchen weapons like he thought he was going to help me ‘take him down.' I couldn't have had an easier target.”

Okay, so the image of Burke trying to fend off a harmless raccoon with a butcher knife was pretty funny. Cady tried to hide her grin by scratching an imaginary itch on her nose. Chase caught her eye and winked. She lost it. Laughter bubbled up from her belly and the undignified snort she produced made her laugh even harder. Tears sprang to her eyes and she sat down hard on the stool beside her brother. Everyone in the place was laughing so hard, no one heard the bell over the door ring.

“Hey, is there any way a dumb city guy could get a latte this morning? I didn't sleep very well last night.”

Burke's grumpy question was met with a fresh gale of guffaws. His green eyes narrowed to dark slits and he did not look amused. Cady coughed and dabbed at her eyes. She focused her attention on the floor as she rounded the counter. Another fit of giggles was just too close to the surface and she couldn't look him in the eye until the moment had safely passed.

Quickly, she fixed him a double shot soy latte and handed it across the counter. He took the cup, slipped a few dollar bills into her palm, and headed for the door. He was leaving? Good grief, he wasn't
that
thin-skinned, was he? Cady searched frantically for something to say.

“There's a big lobster bake at my parents' house tomorrow. Everyone will be there. You're welcome to come.” Burke paused, his hand still on the doorknob. “I'd like you to be there.”

He turned around slowly, eyeing the crowd of regulars before giving his full attention to her.

“I don't know. I'm awfully busy.”

Her disappointment must have been obvious, because it didn't take long for the petulant frown on his face to morph into a hesitant grin.

“Aw, why not! I'd love to hang out with your family. I would love to interview them, see how their view of Scallop Shores differs from yours. I can even bring some Coronas. I think I may have one or two my uninvited raccoon guest didn't drink.” He winked. Then he turned a devilish smile on Chase. “See you tomorrow, Officer.” Burke gave a mock salute and left the coffee shop.

“I do not like that guy. He thinks he's some smooth city slicker who can come into town and sweep my sister off her feet. You're smarter than to fall for the likes of him, right, Cady? Cady?”

She had been staring out the window, watching as Burke backed his car out of the space and pulled out onto the street. Blinking owlishly at the empty space in front of the store, Cady turned a guilty face to her brother. Seeing him roll his eyes was enough to set her off.

“Look, big bro, I'm a grown woman who is allowed to make grown-woman decisions. If I want to let that smooth city slicker sweep me off my feet, that's my choice to make. How do you know it's not the other way around? Maybe I'm going to sweep him off
his
feet!” She folded her arms across her chest and glared at Chase.

Her blush was deep and immediate as the bakery filled with hoots from the customers she'd conveniently forgotten about. That was the problem with small towns. No one respected private conversations. She sighed, picturing a coffee shop in the city, where folks were kind enough to at least pretend not to overhear something unless they were explicitly invited into a conversation.

“Don't you gentlemen have someplace you need to be this morning?” She glanced pointedly at the peanut gallery lining her bakery counter.

“Can't help it if you make things too dang entertainin' here!” Earl Duffy chortled.

“Well, by all means, stay and enjoy the entertainment.” She swept a grand bow. “But I'm charging five bucks a head.”

Cady laughed out loud when Old Man Feeney took out a five-dollar bill and slapped it on the counter. Okay, they were nosy cusses, but she loved these guys.

Part of him felt like he was giving in too easily, giving up a part of himself just to belong. He walked out of the cottage and strode to his car, the new jeans Cady had picked out feeling like an extension of his body. He slipped into the car, sliding a hand across his soft denim-clad thigh before chuckling to himself and putting the Lexus in gear. Maybe he was just being introduced to a better way of living.

If his parents could only see him now. His grin wide, he backed out onto the road and headed toward town. For years he'd just blocked out any thought of family responsibilities. It was something he'd deal with when the time came. And to be honest,
dealing with it
meant that he'd been resigned to his fate, putting it off as long as possible, making memories he could carry with him into the boardroom.

Cady made him want more. Or less, depending on how you looked at it. She knew he wanted to write—not magazine articles, but novels. She knew it and she didn't laugh it off. She encouraged him to pursue his dream. It meant he'd be broke—a situation he'd never had to deal with and one that, frankly, scared the crap out of him.

As scared as he was, Burke had never felt more alive in his life. While the little blond spitfire was showing him around town, she was also teaching him to let go of his insecurities, face his challenges, and go after what he wanted. And today she was inviting him to a family gathering. Did she know how much he wanted a family? He was only just starting to realize it himself. He couldn't wait to meet the people who shaped the woman he'd come to—what? Care for? Respect? Lust after? How to describe what he felt for Cady? It was a tangled bundle of Christmas lights, that's what it was.

Surprisingly, there was an empty spot right in front of Logan's Bakery. Burke parked, sat for a moment, and then wondered if he should go in and let Cady know he was there to pick her up. They still had to stop by the nursing home. They were bringing her elderly aunt to the festivities. Would Cady have locked the door? Couldn't hurt to try.

The closed sign was up but the door to the bakery was unlocked. Burke let himself in, hoping the jangling bell over the door would alert Cady to his presence. He could hear voices in the back. As they weren't getting any closer, he figured they must not have heard him come in. He shuffled closer.

“... waste of damned money. Nobody wants your stupid fancy drinks with that fancy espresso machine. It's taking up my counter space.”

“I spent my own money on that espresso machine, in the hopes of drawing in a bigger crowd for you. I bought the syrups and all the supplies. I don't ask anyone else to take it apart and clean it. It's on me.”

“Well, it needs to leave. We're a simple town. We don't need cappuccinos, lattes, and soy-anything. We cater to fishermen and teachers, moms, and postal workers. No one is asking for the fancy crap.”

“Respectfully, Mr. Logan, the tourists ask for it all the time. And I have talked a few of those teachers, moms, and postal workers into trying something new.”

“If you have to talk someone into trying something, it ain't worth it. This is my bakery and I won't have my customers feeling like they're being browbeaten into ordering something they don't really want.”

“I'm not browbeating anyone! This is the twenty-first century. You're treating this bakery like it's a '50s diner. I feel like I should throw on a pair of roller skates and chew bubblegum while I serve up my drip coffee.”

“Mind who you're talking to, Missy! I've let you have the run of this place while I've been busy, but you take too many liberties. There are going to be changes around here. My changes. Not yours.”

A door slammed in the back, presumably to the outside. A moment of silence and then Cady's frustrated yell carried into the front of the store. Burke backed up until he was nearly at the door. Did he have time to sneak out? She stalked through the doorway from the back area, swiping angrily at her eyes. Nope.

“Stupid ignorant, old-fashioned ...” She looked up sharply when she realized Burke was in the bakery. “Awesome. You heard that, then?” Blowing out a long sigh, she whipped off her apron and threw it on the counter. “Come on, let's go. I'm ready to have some fun.”

Cady eyed the display case, and pulled out a tray of brownies and a strawberry pie. She handed the pie to Burke and fixed a quick box of macaroons to go. At his raised brow she shrugged.

“My sister-in-law is pregnant. Can't have enough sweets. And heaven help us if we don't have the right choices on hand.”

Burke nodded, shifting the pie to one hand and picking up the tray of brownies with the other.

Cady held the door open and locked it shut behind them.

“Don't you need to set an alarm? Fiddle with some fancy keypad?”

“Pull down the big iron portcullis?” She giggled. “It's Scallop Shores, silly. Who's going to break in? A raccoon?”

He could tell how hard she was trying to keep from laughing. Her lips were folded in over her teeth and she wasn't breathing. He cocked a brow and waited. Sure enough, a belly laugh erupted from deep in Cady's gut. She slapped at her leg with her free hand and stopped to draw in a few lungfuls of breath.

“Whew. Couldn't resist. I'm sorry.”

“No, you aren't. But you needed to smile so I'm taking one for the team.” He set the pan of brownies and then the pie in the backseat of his rental car.

“Oh, you mean that little kerfuffle with Mr. Logan? We have that same argument every time he waltzes back into town. He just wants to make sure I don't get too comfortable in my managerial position.”

“Does he know you plan to leave town soon?”

They were on the road and headed to the nursing home, Kittredge Manor, where Cady's aunt lived.

“I don't flaunt it. He knows, but he's in denial. I run that bakery better than anyone he's likely to find as a replacement. The thought of having to train a new manager is probably giving him hives.

“If giving me a hard time about my ‘fancy coffee' gives him his jollies, more power to him. If he can dish it, I can take it. And it will give me that much more satisfaction when I do finally give my notice.”