Page 30 of Flare
She mentioned the other thing that had been bothering her since her arrival.“I don’t know what to do with the information I have about Andrew and his family. Elle said I should go to law enforcement—I guess there’s an investigation into the Brunborns—but…”
“But you’re scared,” Maggie finished for her.
“Yeah. What if I have to testify? Face him in court? Right now, all I want to do is disappear and hope he forgets about me.”
Maggie’s expression hardened slightly.“Andrew Brunborn bonded with you. You’re his lifetime mate. Hecan’tforget you. Or move on.”
“Oh, shit.” This was even worse than Emily had feared.“What do I do? I had no idea about this mate thing!” Her heart began pounding again.
“There’s nothing you can do about it, so try not to worry,” Maggie said unhelpfully.“As for the legal stuff… you don’t have to decide anything right now.”
“I guess,” Emily agreed.“I need time to figure things out.” She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.
“Speaking of which, how long are you planning to stay here?” Maggie asked, trying and failing to sound casual.
Emily shrugged.“I’m not sure. It depends if I can find a job.”
Maggie’s face brightened.“Oh, I’m sure that won’t be a problem. The town is booming these days. Ever since my Uncle Ash and Aunt Nika opened the medical center for shifters downtown, we’ve had a steady stream of shifters coming through year-round. There aren’t many healthcare options that are safe for our kind… especially with things like DNA tests being so common now.”
“That makes sense,” Emily said.“Growing up, I always wondered why the medical center was always so busy and why so many people came from out of town to go there.”
“As for jobs,” Maggie continued,“I could really use your help at Cinnamon + Sugar.”
Emily raised her eyebrows.“Doing what? I’m a decent cook, but I suck at baking.”
“But you have a business degree,” Maggie said eagerly.“With a toddler who skipped crawling and went straight to running, a bunch of contracts to supply breakfast pastries to hotels and B&Bs in the area, and summer tourist season traffic coming soon…” She shook her head.“I’m drowning in paperwork, and I’m so far behind with my bookkeeping, it’s not funny. Mom’s offered to help, but I don’t want her to come back to work now that she and Dad finally have time to travel and enjoy their retirement.”
The offer sounded almost too good to be true.“I’d love to work with you. It would be amazing.”
Maggie’s face lit up.“Really? I’m heading there after I drop D.A. off at Jodie’s daycare.” She wrinkled up her nose.“Mondays are my‘deep cleaning and paperwork’days and honestly, I’d be happy to skip the paperwork part and stick with deep cleaning.”
Emily laughed.“Lucky for us, paperwork is my superpower. You bake the scones, I’ll handle the spreadsheets.”
∞∞∞
Cinnamon + Sugar
Downtown Bearpaw Ridge
Monday, May 11
The little brass bell above the Cinnamon + Sugar’s entrance gave a cheery jingle as Emily followed Maggie inside.
The bakery was dim and quiet, with the scents of bread, cinnamon, and vanilla lingering in the air like a fond memory.
Maggie flipped on the lights, and led her behind the counter and through a door to the bakery in the back of the building.
“Monday’s the only peace I get around here,” Maggie said, flipping on the overhead lights.“Though it’s not really a day off.”
The bakery looked immaculate, with a spotless tiled floor and shining stainless steel counters. Several large mixers stood at attention along one wall, and a rack of baking sheets waited empty beside a giant oven.
“Wow, I’m not sure what’s left to clean. You could perform surgery in here,” Emily commented, impressed.
Maggie laughed.“Oh, believe me, there are always plenty of surprises hiding under the equipment by the end of the week.”
She stopped in front of another door.“And now, prepare yourself for the complete opposite of organization.”
She pushed open the door. Emily blinked.My walk-in closet at Andrew’s McMansion was bigger than this office!
