Page 25 of This Moment

I laughed.

The light knock on the door had us both turning to look at it. “Come in.”

Cadie peeked in. “Would you like me to lock up and turn off the lights?”

Opal stood. “No, you go on home; I’ll take care of locking up.”

Smiling, Cadie replied, “Sounds good.” Her gaze met mine. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Kian.”

“You as well, Cadie, with a C.”

“And a D.” Frowning, she laughed. “I spell my name C-A-D-I-E.”

“Wow, that’s different.”

“I guess my mother liked to be different.”

As if realizing she said something personal, the mask quickly came back down. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”

She turned and left. Once we heard the back door shut, Opal turned to look at me. “That was the first time she mentioned her mother or any family member. Maybe it was your charm!”

“Or maybe she isn’t hiding her past, and everyone is reading into it too much. I must admit, I got caught up in all the gossip and started asking her questions.”

Opal shook her head. “The moment that young woman stepped into this bakery, I knew she was lying.”

“Lying?” I asked in a shocked voice.

With a nod, she said, “Lying, indeed!”

I watched as my aunt left her office. Why would my aunt hire someone she was suspicious of to work for her? And why in the world would Cadie be lying, and what was she lying about?

Cadie

I was staying at the Moose Village Inn while trying to decide if this was where I would stay. Some part of me said to keep moving on, but I would get tired of the constant upheaval at some point. The other part of me said I was safe here. And if I was being honest, I really liked this little town. I just knew in my heart that no one would come looking for me in a town called Moose Village. At least, that was what I was hoping for anyway.

My phone buzzed and I picked it up to see it was the local realtor I had contacted about finding a place. I wasn’t sure if I should rent or buy. Maybe it would look better if I bought something, but having a large sum of money to purchase a house outright surely would cause red flags.

“Rent, it is,” I said as I stood, slipped my phone into my purse, and walked to the door. Once outside, I saw Nic waiting outside of his Subaru.

“Good morning, Cadie,” he said with a wide smile. He’d asked me out the first time I met him. When I politely declined, he didn’t act like an asshole, which was good. I had heard he was a great realtor and was banking on the fact thatthe business side would outweigh any feelings of awkwardness.

“Morning, Nic.”

“Ready to look at some places? I pulled some for sale and some for rent.”

I stopped before him as he opened the passenger door for me. “I think I’ve decided to rent. I need a bit more time in Moose Village to decide if I want to put roots down just yet.”

He winked. “Totally understandable. I’ve got more rentals pulled than for sales. I’m not sure what your employment plan is, but you’d have to get prequalified, and you mentioned you weren’t interested in doing that, and I’m not sure if you make enough at the bakery.”

I pulled my face back. “How do you know that? I could have savings and be paying cash.”

His eyes lit up. “Do you?”

Ignoring him, I looked at his car and then stepped back. “I’m going to follow you.”

A look of instant regret appeared on his face. “I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable, Cadie.”

I gently squeezed his arm. “No, not at all. I’d rather follow, if you don’t mind.”

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