Page 5 of Fake It True

“Oh, right.” I hurried to grab it and almost spilled it.

After that cluster of customers left and we handled another group of tourists, there was a brief lull. I got busy reorganizing the display case and brought fresh baked goods to the front.

Janet was wiping down the counter. She didn’t even look my way when she said, “That Leo Massie is a cute one.”

My cheeks burned. Conveniently, my hands were full and I could play it off like I was only half paying attention. Janet knew me well enough by now that, if I looked her way, she would know I was crushing on Leo something fierce.

“I think that’s part of the job requirements for a hotshot firefighter,” I quipped as I finished organizing a row of cranberry orange muffins.

Janet chuckled. “Maybe so, but you only get flustered with Leo.”

I glanced over at her, narrowing my eyes as I straightened. “Janet.” With an empty baking tray held in one hand, I wagged a finger at her with the other. “Don’t you even with me.”

Her chuckle was sly. “You can have a crush on Leo,” she pointed out.

“Janet, I can’t have a crush on anyone.”

Just when I thought I had the conversation under my control, I went and did the stupid thing. “What do you know about him?”

She practically cackled. Although it was funny, the simple act of being interested in someone like Leo brought anxiety twistinginside of me. Sometimes you learned from your own mistakes and sometimes you learned from the mistakes others made. What happened to my sister taught me a brutal lesson. Youreallydidn’t know who you could trust, even when you thought you absolutely did.

Janet sobered and studied me. “Are you okay?”

I cleared my throat, striving for a light, teasing tone. “Yeah. Just feeling a little silly that maybe I admitted I had a crush on Leo to you.”

She shrugged. “That makes sense. Although Leo just moved back to town, he grew up here. His parents moved away—I think when he was in middle school.” She drummed her fingertips on the counter. “They went to Juneau to help take care of his mom’s parents. Since his grandparents both passed away, they’ve been here a lot more. Leo lives in a smaller house on their property that they used to rent out. There is one thing you should know though—” she began.

Before I could ask what she meant, a wall of customers came in. We didn’t have another lull in the pace until closing time. By that point, Janet and Luna had left for the day. I was still wondering what Janet thought I should know about Leo.

I was curious enough that I almost texted her but chickened out. I didn’t have the nerve to admit just how much I wanted to know.

Chapter Four

LEO

I opened the front door, automatically tossing my keys on the small table beside it and calling out, “Mom?”

She appeared at the end of the hallway, holding her finger over her lips. “She’s asleep,” my mom mouthed.

I chuckled, my heart tightening a little in my chest. “You know, Dora sleeps like the dead once she actually falls asleep,” I pointed out as my mom walked into the living room area.

My mom pressed her lips together. “I know, but sometimes she has trouble falling asleep.”

She stopped in front of me, clasping her hands together as she peered up at me. Her once blond hair was silvery white now. Her eyes were still bright blue.

“I am so proud of you for doing this,” she said.

“For being the father I should’ve been all along?” My tone was dry and laced with more than a little bitterness.

She let out a soft sigh. “You know what I mean. You couldn’t be a father to a child you didn’t know existed, Leo,” she said pointedly.

“I know.” I was working on the anger I felt toward my ex who never told me she got pregnant. I didn’t find out until I got a callfrom the state’s child welfare agency. My ex had given them my name when she was taken to the hospital after a drug overdose.

In a span of twenty-four hours, I went from having no idea I had a child to having a six-year-old daughter. It was an adjustment. An understatement if there ever was one. “Thanks to you and Dad, I can make this work.”

“You would find a way to make it work if it weren’t for us, but we’re so grateful we can help,” she replied.

I’d had to make choices on the fly when I found out about my daughter, Dora. I knew I couldn’t be a hotshot firefighter forever, but it was my job. My parents were my daycare and more.

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