Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32454 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32454 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
“What? Hell, no. I love working here, in case you didn’t notice. And with this place going up in smoke, I’m out of a job, Shae,” Leah said. She looked toward the car.
“Whoever did this had a key. You’re the only other person who had the key.”
“I got robbed,” Leah said. “I reported it to the sheriff, but he never came back to me. The keys were in my bag.” Leah ran fingers through her hair.
Shae didn’t like this. He had no reason to doubt Leah’s word. Running fingers through his hair, he was not in the best of moods.
“Okay, fine. I believe you.” And with that, he got to his truck, while sending a text to the sheriff that they needed to meet.
He drove Peyton back to the ranch. She was crying, and he reached over and placed a hand on her knee.
“You know, I don’t think I even care,” she said.
“You care.”
“No, I don’t. I was starting to hate that place and now it’s gone.” She laughed. “Maybe I did it. Maybe I left something on.”
He pulled up to the ranch, parked his truck, and turned toward her. “Stop it.”
Tears fell from her eyes. “You know I was starting to hate that place, and now I don’t know what I’m going to do. I can’t afford to rebuild. I can’t ... it’s too much.”
He reached over and gripped the back of her neck, forcing her to look at him. “Look at me, babe. It’s going to be okay. I am going to figure something out, and we’re going to work through this. You’ve got nothing to worry about. I promise you.”
“What am I going to do?”
“I’m going to take care of you.”
She shook her head. “I can’t let you do that.”
“Enough,” he said. “Tonight, you stop fucking thinking and let me handle everything. You understand? You’re not alone. You’ve got me.”
“Until you are done with me.”
He wanted to tell her he was never going to be done with her, but he didn’t know how much she could handle today. She had already been through so much, and right now he just wanted to give her time.
Chapter Ten
The following morning, Peyton was in the kitchen, fulfilling the orders her customers had paid for. At the same time, she was making breakfast for the ranchers. Shae was in his office with Sheriff Hyde, as they looked at the street footage from the security cameras.
He’d already checked the footage for the guy who had taken Leah’s bag from her. Now, they watched as not one but two people opened the door to the bakery and entered.
“Holy shit,” Sheriff Hyde said.
Shae didn’t need to see any more. There were no lights on inside the bakery. They snuck in, and within ten minutes, the damage was already done. They had gasoline and were setting fire to the place. They stepped out of the building, and Shae saw her—Lily-May, with a big old smile on her face—and a guy. The same guy wearing the exact same hoodie he had been wearing while snatching the bag from Leah. He didn’t need to know rocket science for this kind of shit. It was right there in black and white.
Lily-May had stolen the keys, let herself into the bakery, and then burned it down. Did she think there was going to be money on an insurance claim? Peyton didn’t own the building. He did. He would be the one who got any money.
“Are you all right?” Sheriff Hyde asked.
“Yeah, I’m good, but you need to do me a favor. Lose this,” he said, and pulled the tape out of the VCR.
“Fine,” Sheriff Hyde said. “But you’ve got to be the one to tell her what her sister did.”
Peyton was not happy this morning. She was going through the motions, of that he was certain. Leah had come to the house to help out. Peyton had called her.
“I will.”
He had a couple of ways to resolve this, and he didn’t know how Peyton was going to handle it.
They had gotten back into Fort without him realizing. He had figured Lily-May wouldn’t be that fucking stupid. It was fucking insane, and it pissed him off.
He shook the sheriff’s hand, then headed to the kitchen. Peyton’s hair was bound up at the back of her neck, and Leah was bustling around the kitchen, trying to keep up with Peyton. The counters were full of cupcakes. This was Halloween, one of the best nights of the year. And Peyton wasn’t going to be able to make a single cent because of what her sister had done.
“Peyton, babe, can I talk to you?” he asked.
She looked up from where she was putting the buttercream icing into bags.
“Uh, yeah, sure. Will you keep an eye on everything?”
“You got it,” Leah said.
She offered him a smile, but he put his hand at the base of Peyton’s back and walked her into his office, where he shut the door.