Page 134 of Delicate Escape

I scowled. “Did you come out here alone?”

She sent me a droll smile. “My deputy detail followed me to the drive to make sure I got here safe and sound.”

A little of my anxiety eased at that, but it was still risky. What if I hadn’t been here? What if Brendan had been watching, waiting? I struggled to let those fears go. She could see my vehicle and Anson’s from the road. She was being careful.

I crossed to Thea, dropping my head to give her a quick kiss. “Work go okay?”

She knew what I was asking. “Everything was good. Other than the fact that Luca was hanging with us today and ate his body weight in icing. He was bouncing off the walls when I left.”

I chuckled at the mental imagery of the seven-year-old pinballing around the bakery. “Sutton deserves a medal and a crown.”

“And a day at the spa,” Thea agreed, then turned her focus to the others present. “Hey, Mara. How are you?”

The woman’s answering smile was strained. “Good. Just got a tour of Shep’s new baby.” Her gaze came to me, going soft in a way that made me want to wince. “He’s doing such an amazing job, don’t you think?”

Thea stiffened slightly but kept an easy smile in place. “It’s pretty incredible.”

Mara’s eyes flicked back to me. “He’s always dreamed of fixing up one of these old, historic farmhouses. Love that it’s finally happening.”

Annoyance surged. Mara spoke as if she knew all my innermost dreams, but we’d never had that kind of connection.

Thea stayed quiet, not taking the bait, and her play worked. The silence had Mara shifting in place. “Well, I guess we’d better get the windows off the truck.”

Anson and I moved then, unfastening the tethers holding everything in place and setting the windows against the house.

Mara hovered for a moment, not getting into the truck. “Call me if you need anything else, Shep. I’ve got some days off if you need extra hands for anything.”

I ignored the offer. “Thanks for driving them out here.”

“Anything for you.” With that, she hopped into the rig, made a wide turn, and headed for the road.

Jaw tight, I shifted to look at Thea. “On a scale of one to ten, how pissed are you right now?”

51

THEA

The momentI’d seen Mara step out of Shep’s house, annoyance had settled in. But I’d swallowed the feeling down because Shep hadn’t done anything to suggest I couldn’t trust him.

But everything she’d said only had the annoyance digging deeper and shifting to anger. And now, her words echoed in my head on repeat.“Anything for you.”

I took a deep breath, struggling to keep my anger reined in as I focused on Shep.

“I’ll just be inside,” Anson muttered, making a quick escape.

As I really took Shep in, reading the uncertainty and concern in his expression, my anger melted a fraction. “I’m a three. I was a five, but seeing your face brought it back down.”

Shep pulled me into him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t ask her to make the delivery. She just did.”

“I know.” I burrowed into his hold, breathing in sawdust andcedar. That brought the three down to a one. “I don’t want to be like Brendan.”

Shep reared back, brow furrowing. “What are you talking about?”

My fingers fisted in Shep’s tee. “He used to hate me talking toanyguys. Even ones I worked with. I don’t want to be that person.”

“You’re not,” Shep assured me, brushing the hair away from my face. “You never could be.”

“I was jealous,” I admitted. “She’s known you for so much longer than I have.” I knew from Mara coming into the bakery that she’d been born and raised here. She and Shep had gone to school together from kindergarten on up. That was a history I wouldn’t ever share with him.

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