Page 38 of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe
‘What was that?’ Jeanie’s eyes grew wide in the dark, her grip on his arms tightening.
Logan cleared his throat, shaking the feel of Jeanie’s body from his fingertips. ‘Probably just raccoons. I’ll go check.’
‘I’m coming with you.’ She grabbed his hand, letting him walk ahead as though she was afraid of what they might find.
They turned the corner to find the trash cans tipped, neatly tied garbage bags spilling out into the alley. Logan took out his phone and aimed the flashlight at the destruction. No raccoons.
‘Must have run off.’ He shrugged.
‘I don’t know...’
‘You don’t know what?’
Jeanie stepped around him, inspecting the trash bags. ‘This is the third night in a row they’ve been tipped.’
‘Okay, persistent raccoons.’
She shook her head. ‘But the bags are never torn open. Wouldn’t they tear open the bags to get to the food? Why would they just tip them over and then leave?’
Logan grabbed a bin and righted it. ‘That is strange. Could be neighborhood kids. Halloween mischief or something.’
‘It’s only the nineteenth. Kinda early for mischief, isn’t it?’
He tossed the garbage bags back in and slammed the lid. ‘Maybe it’s another ghost.’
Jeanie gave him a faint smile, but the worried crease lingered between her brows.
‘You don’t think Mac would do it, do you?’ she whispered the question like the man might hear them through the brick wall of the pub and the noise of the crowd inside.
‘Why the hell would Mac tip your trash bins?’
‘Annie thought—’
‘I’m gonna stop you right there. Any information about Mac from Annie is unreliable. Those two have had a weird vibe for years.’
‘She just thought maybe he was trying to scare me off. So he could buy the café and expand. It kinda makes sense.’ She looked small under the yellow light of the back door, defeated.
‘I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m pretty confident it’s not Mac. He wouldn’t do something like that.’
She shrugged. ‘Maybe not. I still just feel like...’ She let the thought trail off, forcing a smile onto her face again. ‘Never mind.’
‘You feel like what? What’s the matter?’Let me fix it.Those dangerous, tempting words tore through him. Those words got him into so much trouble before.Let me fix it. Let me convince you to stay. Let me fool us both into thinking you belong here.
‘No, it’s nothing.’ She smiled bigger, faker. ‘You’re probably right about the raccoons.’
‘Right, okay.’ He shifted on his feet. The moment had passed, the moment that had him pressing Jeanie up against a brick wall, desperate to get closer; and now he didn’t know what to do.
‘I should probably get some sleep,’ Jeanie said after another strained moment between them. ‘Early day tomorrow.’
‘Sure, of course.’
She reached up and planted a kiss on his cheek. ‘Thanks for investigating the noise.’
‘You gonna be okay tonight?’ he asked, wanting to reach for her again, but not knowing if he should anymore. ‘We can get Officer Dee to drive by tonight and keep an eye on things.’
‘Not necessary.’ She waved his idea away. ‘I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me and some silly raccoons or teens or whatever. No big deal.’ Every word out of her mouth only served to convince him that she wasn’t okay at all, but what else could he do? Demand she let him spend the night? Wasn’t that the exact thing he’d just been trying to avoid?
‘Call if you need me, okay?’ His voice was gruffer than he planned, his frustration at himself coming out in his words.
