Page 47 of The Grump

“See, that’s why she likes him so much. He never blabs.”

I frowned. “Who does?”

Chad started to laugh. “That, brother, is something I won’t tell you. I do need my sources, after all.”

Right. Having a kid was clearly complicated. You wanted to give them the leeway but also wanted to know if they needed help or were in trouble. But Bella wasn’t in trouble, so I felt completely at ease with my decision not to share anything with them. “Have a good evening, you two.”

After I left their house and climbed into my car, I glanced at my phone.

I’d fought the impulse to text Bailey the whole evening. But now, I was alone and wanted to know how she was doing. Was she thinking about me as often as I was about her?

Xander: Home yet? My beignet date was a success. I just dropped Bella off at home, happy and smiling.

She didn’t reply, so I simply drove off. But on the way home, my phone lit up and I checked it.

Bailey: No, I’m still at the confectionery. We had a strong wind, and a branch fell from the tree right on top of the storage room.! It’s all a mess.

I instantly called her.

“Are you okay?” I asked as soon as she picked up. I couldn’t stand anything happening to her. My thoughts spiraled out of control just thinking about it. But she’d texted me and answered her phone. I took both those things as a good sign.

“Yes.”

“You weren’t hurt?”

“No, neither me nor anyone from the crew, thank goodness. We all heard a loud crack, so we got out of the building just in time.”

“Did you call the firemen?”

“Yes, they were here an hour ago. They’ve removed the branch. We’re just trying to see what we can salvage from all the boxes that were inside.” Her voice was trembling. “There’s also a lot of debris, so we need to clean that up first.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked her, starting to feel irrationally angry.

“Why would I?” she replied defensively.

It was a good question.

“I could’ve hired a team to help you.”

“There was no time, Xander. And anyway, my team is here. Listen, I have to go.”

“Sure.”

She hung up the next second.

Instead of driving home, I turned, heading in the direction of the confectionery. She had mentioned that her team was there, but clearly they were in over their heads. Without hesitating, I called Beckett.

“Hey, brother,” I greeted him.

“I gather your date with our favorite niece is over?”

“Yep.”

“Want to hang out, go to one of Julian’s bars?”

“No, listen. And before you interrupt me, let me finish what I have to say. There was an incident at the confectionery. A tree fell or something. Anyway, they need help cleaning up and seeing what part of the inventory can still be used. I’m going there to help. I haven’t been able to assess the situation myself yet, but I think they need all hands on deck. Do you have time to spare?”

“Man, that was a long-ass way to just say, ‘Can you come and lend us your muscle?’”

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