Page 51 of Scorched

“Good. You girls be good for your mom.”

“We’re always good,” Jessie quipped.

Denise laughed. “That’s debatable. We’ll talk to you later. Bye.”

Macy, Declan, and Maggie all waved, and Declan touched the screen to end the call.

“You have other siblings?” Maggie said as soon as the screen went dark.

“Yeah. It about knocked me on my ass when Denise told me. Dad’s been living a life we knew nothing about. Although, I can’t call it much of a life. She said he’s been in prison more than out of it.” Which wasn’t any different from what he and Macy experienced with him as a dad.

“But still, two kids?”

“Three. There’s a nineteen-year-old boy living out of state.”

Maggie blinked. “Whoa.”

“Tell me about it. Are you done for the day? I need to get out of here and clear my head.”

“Mostly, yes. I have a few things to finish up, but I can do them later.”

“Good.” He took her arm and led her toward the front of the café. “Macy, we’ll see you later.”

“Oh, sure. Drop bombshell number two and run away. Mmm-hmm.”

He tossed her a grin as she followed behind. “At least this time it was a positive one.”

“Still no less mind-blowing. I’m going to drown myself in coffee and London’s macarons.”

“Oooh. London made macarons for you to sell?” Maggie dug in her heels.

Declan tugged on her hand, ready to get out of town for a while. She pulled free, and he sighed, tipping his head back. “What is it with women and these cookies?”

“Oh, whatever,” Macy said. “I seem to remember you hiding a container full of them from me a few months ago after you fixed London’s hot water heater.”

He frowned. Dammit, she would remember that. “Well, that was different. I was afraid I wouldn’t get any at all if I didn’t hide them.”

“Okay, sure. For lying, you don’t get any now.” She walked over to the display case and bent over to slide open the back. She took out a macaron and handed it to Maggie. “Make sure you let him know just how delicious that is when you eat it.”

Maggie giggled. “I will.” She opened her purse to take out her wallet.

Declan waved her off and handed Macy his credit card. “Can I at least have some coffee?”

She took his card with a saucy smile. “Yes.”

“Thank you.”

It didn’t take long for her to ring them up and pour him a cup of coffee. As soon as he had the coffee in his hand, he ushered Maggie out the door. They ran through the rain to her car.

“Yuck!” She brushed raindrops off her face. “Is it ever going to stop pouring today? I thought it was supposed to change to snow.”

“I don’t know. And I guess it stayed too warm for a changeover.” For once, Declan was glad he wasn’t on duty. There were probably going to be several water rescues tonight. Slogging through floodwaters in all his gear was not his idea of fun.

“I guess I should eat this before we go anywhere.” Maggie lifted the macaron to her mouth and took a bite. The crunch filled the car. Little pieces flaked off as she bit down, and she cupped her hand beneath her chin to catch them. “Mmm… yum.” A smile quirked her mouth as she chewed.

He laughed. “That was pathetic. It must not be as tasty as you thought it would be.”

She rolled her eyes and giggled. “I’m going to tell London you said that.”

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