Page 3 of Unspoken Passions

“You’re welcome.”

Ella watched as Mick, Newnan’s impressive, hot, drool-worthy sheriff, left her coffee shop. She could see the increased energy in his step and knew that Mick felt better. But why was the man so damn stubborn? She knew that he was interested in her. So why hadn’t he just asked her out?

Sighing, she knew the answer. Turning away from the delectable man of her dreams, she forced herself to concentrate on her pre-closing routine. A half hour later, she looked around with her usual sense of pride. Her coffee shop was a resounding success. Most mornings, there was a line of customers eagerly ordering a range of special coffees, some traditional and others that were particular to her little shop. Two years ago, she’d expanded to food offerings for breakfast and lunch, as well as desserts that people stopped by for in the late afternoon and evenings.

She’d done it. She’d accomplished her goal despite everyone telling her that she wouldn’t make it. Her family would be proud of her.

If they were still alive.

Sighing, she pushed the pain of their loss away.

“Go home!” Loretta urged. “I’ve got this.”

Ella frowned, looked out at the customers that were lingering over tiramisu or a slice of chocolate-cherry cheesecake. Tomorrow, she was going to experiment with a lavender lemon cheesecake. Did Mick like lavender? She’d been trying various flavors over the past two years, trying to tempt him. If she couldn’t have him as a lover, then she wanted to find a dessert to tempt him.

Groaning silently, she turned away from the front of her shop, untying her apron. She needed to move on. Obviously, Mick wasn’t going to give in and ask her out. He had his reasons and she understood, but it still hurt. Maybe if she stopped trying to tempt him, she could focus on other men. Perhaps there was another guy that might be more interesting than Mick.

Probably not. Ella knew that she’d had it bad for the guy since she was twelve years old. Thirteen years later, nothing had changed. Except that she’d gotten older. And she was still alone.

Ella was really tired of being alone.

“Go home,” Loretta urged. “You’ve been here for over twelve hours. Go do something fun!”

Ella forced a smile as she tossed her apron into the wash bag, then grabbed the bag filled with rags and aprons that her other staff members had used during the day. “I’m outta here!” she called out, tossing the bag over her shoulder. “See you tomorrow!”

“I better not! You’re off tomorrow, remember? Tomorrow is Nancy’s day to open and I’m closing again. And Nancy is great, so you’re going to relax for the next two days! Got it?”

Ella laughed. Loretta was in her sixties with three kids and seven grandkids. She didn’t need to work, but she loved being around people. She was smart, savvy, and eager to please the customers. She was the ideal employee and Ella was truly grateful for such a loyal staff.

“Thanks, Loretta. I’ll do my best.”

The woman chuckled as Ella walked out the back door. It was still hot and sunny outside. The sun wouldn’t set for another couple of hours, so the heat hadn’t diminished much. Summers in Georgia were brutal. But probably just about every state could say the same thing. After her mother, father, and older brother had died in a horrific car crash, Ella had considered relocating to some other place that might have cooler summers. But as she’d researched various cities around the United States, she was shocked to discover that Montana summers heated well into the triple digits on a regular basis! Vermont had been a possibility, but Ella knew that her southern blood wouldn’t be able to endure the winters there. In fact, all of the states had summers that were equally hot and humid, they just didn’t last as long as in the southern states. So, she’d stayed.

She even still lived in her old house. The house that was right across the street from Mick’s home. His parents had retired to New Mexico and sold their home to Mick. So nothing, absolutely nothing, had changed in her life. She still lived in Newnan, Georgia, still lived in the same house she’d grown up in, and still mooned after the man next door who would never see her as anything other than the baby sister to his best friend.

Pulling into her driveway, she parked in the garage and forced her eyes to keep looking straight forward. No glancing over at Mick’s house! She wasn’t going to look because he wasn’t home. He was out searching for something. And there were several other law enforcement types in the area as well. Oh, they tried to blend in, tried to pretend they were locals. But Ella had lived here too long. Plus, she’d been watching Mick all her life and knew the arrogant saunter of a law enforcement officer. This new group of strangers had a similar swagger and a way of watching the world without letting anyone know that they were being observed.

It was fascinating, actually, she thought as she dumped the rags into the washing machine, added bleach and detergent, then set the dials. The same ritual she’d done every night since she’d started her coffee shop. Moving towards her kitchen, she didn’t bother to open the fridge. There wasn’t anything enticing inside, so why bother?

Her stomach grumbled in protest, but she ignored the sensation and moved into the family room. But there was nothing interesting there either.

Deciding that she’d work on her cheesecake recipe, Ella headed into the kitchen. For the next three hours, she experimented, looking for the right touch of lavender and hints of lemon. By midnight, Ella thought that she got it perfect.

That’s also when she noticed Mick pulling into his driveway. He’d been exhausted earlier. Now he looked like death warmed over. Her heart ached for the man. But he didn’t even glance at her house as he walked inside. No lights went on and she imagined him walking up the stairs and stripping down to nothing. Her imagination was pretty good at putting the pieces of his body together. She’d seen him at the community pool when she’d been younger. Mick and her brother, Dan, had been on the football team together and had spent their summers relaxing by the pool when they weren’t working or practicing. Ella and her friends had spent hours at the pool not-so-surreptitiously watching them.

Turning away from the window, Ella flipped off the lights in her kitchen and headed upstairs. She’d wash the dishes tomorrow, too tired today to deal with them now.

Chapter 2

Ella smiled as she handed the steaming cup of coffee to the law enforcement officer that was attempting to masquerade as a local. There were six of them today. Last week, there had only been three.

That couldn’t be good, she thought.

“Who are they?” Loretta whispered.

There were no other customers currently in the shop so it was a good moment to take a breather.

“I don’t know,” she replied, reaching for a clean rag.

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