Page 9 of Bear In A Boutique
Ryker joined his cousin in a small utility room where the scent of burning plastic was markedly stronger. Jett pointed to the fuse box. Sure enough, one of the ancient glass fuses had turned black and emitted an acrid aroma. The building was old and desperately needed updating. Rowan had bought the building as part of a multi-property deal and had gifted it to Cara upon her marriage to Jett. Despite plans to renovate the entire building, having a new baby had sidetracked the improvements.
“What’s plugged into this line? Something caused it to overheat.”
“The fancy industrial engraving machine Cara just bought. I unplugged it already.”
That made sense. Drawing too much power popped fuses, but also risked causing an arching fire that could travel through the walls along electrical lines. Taking out the thermal camera, he made a sweep of the walls and ceiling looking for heat signatures until he was confident nothing else was amiss.
After pulling the ruined fuse, he collected his things and met everyone outside. Jett had one arm around Cara and their tiny baby girl cradled in the other. Little Rose had a head of dark curly hair and her mother’s eyes. This little family had brought his cousin back to life and it was something to see. At least some members of this family knew how to put their pasts behind them. Him? Not so much.
He was the lone man out. All the Mitchells were partnered up now, including his mother who was about to marry Rowen, something Ryker was grateful for. His mom deserved a man like him, had waited over half her life to finally find the love of her life.
His father had almost ruined it. Ryker worked his jaw at the unwelcome reminder. He and Fox had been away at a conference right before Christmas when their father was released from prison and showed up in Estes Park. He nearly burned their mother’s house down and could have easily killed her if Rowan hadn’t shown up when he had.
The guilt for not being there to protect his mother ate at him for a long time after that, and just knowing his father had been inside the house, back in town, staining everything, ripped the past wide open. Since then, Ryker’s need to get the hell out of town was suffocating.
His gaze shifted to Olive. She tucked hair behind her ear, staring blankly into the distance.
“Thanks, Ryker. I’ll call an electrician today.”
It took him a second to realize Cara was speaking to him.
“Yeah… good idea.”
Something was wrong with Olive. Her face was noticeably pale, and her shoulders curved inward like she was protecting herself.
Maybe the pancakes were catching up with her. Would she even talk to him if he asked her what was wrong? Their entire interaction this morning had him all mixed up. He wanted to know her, but he didn’t and until he figured out what he was going to do, it was best to stay out of her business.
Ryker slapped Jett on the shoulder. “I’ll see you guys later.”
Cara snagged his wrist before he could get far. “Not so fast, buddy. I hear you have a date to plan.”
Olive’s head snapped up. Her eyebrows pinched together, and her expression was pained. Was the thought of going out with him really that distasteful, or was it something else?
“Is it okay to go inside now?”
Ryker’s pulse ticked up with concern. “Yeah.”
She didn’t acknowledge the remark about the date at all.
He and Cara looked at each other as Olive hurried inside and disappeared up the stairs.
Chapter Four
Olive carefully arranged necklaces inside a glass display case. The scent of fresh coffee filled the room from the paper cup on her desk and she was eagerly waiting for it to cool so she could have some. It would take a lot of caffeine to get through the day after a sleepless night.
Her life was turning into the beginning of a true crime episode, and she wasn’t sure what to do about it.
Tell your sister it was a misunderstanding. You need to fix this, Olive. This is your fault.
The harassing text messages had started a week after she’d returned from visiting her sister. They’d gotten more frequent and intimidating in the last week.
She surveyed the display and made some adjustments. There were thousands of dollars worth of jewelry in the case. There was a time when she wouldn’t have dreamed about working in a store filled with valuables like this and the infuriating text messages only reminded her of that.
She locked the case and slipped the key into her pocket. Cara trusted Olive to run her boutique honestly and efficiently, which she did. She loved this job and would never do anything to jeopardize it. Cara wasn’t just her boss. They’d become friends. But if she knew about Olive’s past, she might not have ever hired her, and she didn’t want to give Cara a reason to worry.
Which is why she hadn’t told her sister where she was living or given her any personal details. It was best that they kept their lives separate. Megan and her loser husband Kyle were still dabbling in things they shouldn’t be, and Olive wanted no part of it.
Their sisterly relationship had never been close or loving. Megan took off after their mom died and moved in with Kyle. She’d been seventeen. Olive had been eight and sent to live with their chronically ill grandmother for a while until her health failed. Then she survived two years in a shady foster home before running away.
