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