Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 91434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
I think everyone in town comes in to say hello, and there are lots of new faces from nearby towns because of the viral video. The day flies by, and by the time it hits 5:00 p.m., we have sold out of everything.
“I can’t believe we have nothing left,” I state, sitting down at the table next to Brock, who puts his arm across the back of my chair. Autumn and Charlie are sitting here also, with my mother beside them.
“Can we have pizza?” Saige asks from the chair beside him, and he looks at her.
“How many donuts did you have today?” he asks, and she shrugs.
“I was taste testing.” She looks at me. “That’s what Everleigh asked me to do.”
I look at Brock, folding my lips together as Oliver comes over and hands me a glass of champagne. He pulls a chair from the other table to sit next to my mother. “I don’t know about you guys, but this is what I call a success.” He grabs my mother’s hand and kisses her fingers.
The door to the bakery opens again, and I’m about to say we’re closed when I notice it’s one of the deputies. “Hey there,” he says, looking at us. “Sorry to intrude.”
“Nonsense,” my mother says. “I’d offer you a donut, but we’re all out.”
“That’s okay, Ms. Maddie,” he replies. “I’m here on official business anyway.” I put my glass of champagne down on the table, my mouth going dry as I wait for what he has to say. “We just arrested two men in connection with setting the fire,” he announces, and my mother gasps. “We picked them up a couple of hours ago.” His eyes go to Brock. “We got a call that they were hanging around your shop.” Brock gets up. “Gotta say, they aren’t too smart doing it today with all these people here. Someone made a call that they seemed suspicious, gave us the plate number, and we picked them up not long after.” His mouth goes tight. “They both turned on each other as soon as we sat down.”
“Oh my,” my mother murmurs.
“That’s not the kicker,” he adds. “They worked for the Cartwrights.”
Brock’s about to jump out of his chair, and I put my hand on his leg to stop him. “Thank you for letting us know,” I say, then turn to look over at Brock. “They don’t get to have one more second from us.” I put my hand on his cheek. “They took too much from us already.”
“But they—” I put my finger on his lips.
“We’re here,” I remind him, “together.” I look around the table. “We won.”
“She’s right,” Charlie agrees. “They will get what is coming to them. They have all the rope they need in order to hang themselves.”
He nods at Charlie before looking back at me. “You coming home with us?” he asks, and I look at Saige.
“You bet,” I confirm, right before he leans over and kisses me in front of everyone, and I kiss him right back.
Chapter Thirty-Five
BROCK
“Good morning,” Everleigh says, and I look over my shoulder at Saige, who saunters into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. I see it’s past nine thirty as she makes her way around the island toward me.
“Morning, baby girl,” I say, pouring two cups of coffee before turning and hugging her around her shoulders and kissing the top of her head. “Did you sleep all right?”
She nods, not saying a word before she moves over to the couch, sitting on it and grabbing the throw blanket from over the back to cover herself.
“I see someone is exactly like their father,” Everleigh mumbles from her seat on the stool. I walk over, trying not to laugh as I hand her one of the cups of coffee before bending down to kiss her lips. One of her hands comes up and holds my cheek as she kisses me, smiling at me, and fuck, does it ever feel good. I have never felt so content in my whole life. When we got home last night after the big bakery opening, I threw some steaks on the grill. She and Saige prepared the salad to go with it, and then Everleigh made her broccoli and cheddar rice, which was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten in my life. It felt like we’ve been doing it our whole lives. I wasn’t overly affectionate with Everleigh, but I didn’t shy away from kissing her if I wanted to. Saige has never seen me with a woman before, and I didn’t know how she would react. But it’s Everleigh—everyone who meets her falls in love with her. Everyone wants to be friends with her, and Saige is one of them. “Exactly like her dad.” She runs her fingernails through my beard, making me shiver.