Page 8 of Hold the Line

“Work on the roads. Maintenance and inspection.”

No wonder his cheeks were so ruddy. He worked outside, and the wind could be brutal. If I thought he’d be open to it, I would have given him a salve to protect his skin, but he wouldn’t take my pastries, so I doubted he would acceptthat.

“Do you do a lot of driving?”

“Yep.” He glanced behind him then peered back at me with a pinched expression. “We don’t need to do this. The whole neighborly thing, it doesn’t have to happen.”

“Oh.” That knocked me down at the knees. Here I was, interested in being friendly since he was living right on top of me and had made my little teenage heart go pitter-patter once upon a time, and he didn’t want any of it.

I couldn’t say my feelings weren’t a little hurt, but that was my fault, not his. I shot him my best, most gleaming smile. “Then I’m sorry for bothering you. I promise I get the hint. It won’t happen again. Have a good night, Deacon.”

I whirled around and started down the stairs, not even making it halfway before he closed his door with a firmness that struck me in my gut.

I didn’t think that could have possibly gone worse. Clearly, Deacon Slater wasn’t any more interested in knowing me now than he had been in high school. That was fine. I didn’t need to be told twice.

He’d go his way, and I’d go mine.

No big deal at all.

Chapter Five

Phoebe

Myolderbrother,Caleb,showed up at Sugar Rush near the end of the day with my nephew. Jesse was eleven, smart as a whip, and basically the light of my life.

He had the Kelly eyes—like the perfect cup of creamy hot chocolate—thick chestnut hair and feet too big for his gangly body. When he stood in front of my pastry case with his arms crossed, it was all I could do not to laugh at how damn cute the kid was. He’d told me more than once that sixth graders weren’t cute.

I rounded the counter to tousle his hair. “What’s up, Jess?”

His brows were pulled together in consternation. “No chocolate chip cookies?”

Caleb moved next to his son and sighed. “Kid…”

The two of them were a funny sight. While Caleb obviously hadn’t carried Jesse, Jesse had inherited one hundred percent of his dad’s DNA. Caleb’s ex, Shelby, had just been the incubator. Same eyes, same coloring, same smile, same expressions. Caleb was essentially Jesse on a massively multiplied scale, at least in looks. In attitude, they were night and day. Cay was laid back, as easygoing as they came, while Jesse’s mind spun a mile a minute.

Jesse turned toward his dad. “It’s basically torture to bring me here when I can’t eat my favorite thing. I should call the cops on both of you.”

I put one hand on my hip, keeping the other behind my back. “Have you ever known me to torture you?”

He peered up at me. “There’s a first time for everything.”

Caleb’s massive mitt landed on top of his son’s head. “Be good to Aunt Phe, and I bet she’ll be good to you.”

It was hard to believe Jesse and I were blood related. The kid didn’t like sweets, chocolate chips being the only exception. I’d tried to win him over with countless recipes, had even made my bakery nut-free so he could try anything he wanted without worrying about his allergy, but he’d refused all but my cookies.

“Good, like this?” I whipped a white paper bag from behind my back. I’d set a batch aside just for him. “I have all these chocolate chip cookies and no one to give them to. Do you know anyone who wants nut-free cookies?”

Jesse did a dance he’d learned from some video game then snatched the bag from me, gave me a quick hug, and ran to an empty table to demolish the cookies. If I were his mom, I’d probably tell them to save some for later, but as his aunt, I got to let his father deal with that.

Caleb draped his heavy arm over my shoulders. “Thanks, Phe-Phe. Kid’s spoiled.”

“He’s cute. He deserves it.”

His chuckle was like thunder rolling over prairies, deep and resonant. “I’d agree, except he has two aunts and an uncle who gives him everything he wants, and that’s just on my side. His mom’s not much better.”

“And yet, he’s the best boy in the world.” I ducked out from under his arm and faced him. “How’s Shelby?”

He lifted a shoulder. “We don’t have much cause to have deep conversations. Jess says she’s dating some new guy. Says he seems nice, but he doesn’t hang around the house, so Jess doesn’t know him too well.”

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