Page 93 of Building What's Meant to Be

A crestfallen sigh escapes because I wanted to celebrate this moment with Aiden. We did it, finished our community service and Bubba’s. However, he’s not back yet. Brave and I get a ride into town with Mae and Taylor.

Mae points to the second floor over the bookstore. “Looks like the light in his office is on.”

“Maybe something happened to the cat and that’s why he had to leave suddenly.” My shoulders knot with nervousness as I thank them for the ride.

Brave and I rush upstairs to Aiden’s second-floor office. We burst inside and instead of some kind ofcatastrophe, I find Aiden seated at his desk with Cindy Clawford in his lap, looking at images of...cute cats.

Instead of swooping, my belly tightens. He ran off the worksite to browse pictures of cats...with a cat? Something about this is fishy and it’s not the smell of the food in the dish by the door.

Chapter Twenty

AIDEN

Tinsley stands in the doorway, staring at me with a mixture of curiosity and concern. Brave stands by her side, eyes locked on the cat.

I close my laptop and swivel in my chair, petting Cindy Clawford’s head. “If you think I’m an evil mastermind, you’re sorely mistaken,” I say in my best supervillain voice.

She laughs lightly. “Good to know, but what happened? You left Bubba’s so abruptly.”

“Sorry, I had a call. Work stuff. Sometimes I forget that I have a job.” I don’t, but it’s easy to get caught up in Tinsley and ignore the pressing matter of the case.

“Is everything okay?”

“As right as rain.” I glance out the window.

She gazes at her hands and then says, “My thirty days are up. Done. I’m free.”

The cat hops off my lap, and Brave trails it.

“Sniffing only. No touching,” Tinsley says to her dog.

I get to my feet. “Congratulations, by the way. You survived.”

“Did my duty. Now...”

“Now, we should celebrate. I have a meeting with Officer Henley in ten minutes. I’m meeting him at Doughnut Dollies.Shall we end the way we began?” I joke, recalling the jail cell doughnuts.

“Yeah. Sure,” Tinsley says, lacking enthusiasm.

I grip her upper arms. “Sorry, I’m preoccupied. Getting a doughnut probably isn’t the most exciting way to celebrate.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s what you do around here, right?”

“Small town life. I could take you on a horse ride in a field, a drive through the country, to the coast...”

Tinsley rocks on her feet a little. I can’t quite read her other than she seems disappointed. I’ll make it up to her because not only is Bubba’s done, the house is nearly there too and I am itching to share it with her.

We risk leaving the cat and the dog alone in the office, we go down to Doughnut Dollies.

Henley sits at the counter, halfway into a glazed old-fashioned doughnut. “Ah, the woman of the hour. You almost don’t look like the same girl who wandered into our town illegally.”

“I’ve been hearing that a lot lately—the looking different part. Promise not to break the law again.”

Henley claps his hands. “Your service is officially complete.”

Tinsley bumps me with her hip. “Couldn’t have done it without this guy.”

“You two make quite the team. Could give the Designed to Last crew a run for their money.”

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