Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Daniel walked into the café, and Amy didn’t want to appear weak, so she pulled away from Penelope and swiped at her cheeks. Taking a step away from the group, she forced a smile to her lips. “I better start getting cleaned up.”
She didn’t wait for anyone to protest or offer help, or even provide excuses to not help. Amy went straight to the back, going to her cleaning supplies. She reached for the brush and bucket, pulling them out, only to come to a stop when Daniel wrapped his arms around her.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“You’re lying.”
She sighed. “Seriously, do you really need to ask me that question?” She pressed her lips together and spun around. More tears had started to fall and it was like her eyes were doing the opposite of what she wanted them to do. She clenched her hand into a fist and tried to take a deep breath to calm her nerves. “I’m sorry.”
“No, I get it. You’re upset.”
“Wouldn’t you be if someone did this to your bar?”
“Yes,” Daniel said.
She tilted her head to the side and tried to smile. “But, everything else is fine. I’ll clean up the mess … handle the windows, and then, you know, I’ll fix it all, and it will be good as new.”
Daniel stopped her as she tried to walk past him. “Talk to me.”
“There is nothing more to be said. I have work to do.”
He folded his arms across his chest, and at first the view of his arms distracted her. Shaking her head at her own wayward thoughts, she had to remember to clean up.
“Talk to me,” he said again.
Amy looked past his shoulder toward the main dining room of the café, but she couldn’t see it. The mess was ingrained on her mind, though. The glass. She dropped her gaze to the floor and then lifted her head to look at him.
“Someone did that,” Amy said. “One window could be deemed an accident. Two, kids messing around, but all the windows, including the glass in the door … you and I both know this was an attack on my café. Someone has a problem with me, and I don’t know who it is. It can’t be a local. I would know if I upset someone, and besides, we all know when someone has a problem, they let you know.”
He agreed.
“Which means it might be a tourist, but again, we have so many, and I’ve had amazing reviews, so I don’t know. That is the part that scares me. I don’t know why or who did this, and that is freaking me out.”
Daniel reached for the brush and bucket and put them to the side, then took her hands. His hands looked clean now. There was still slight bruising but the cuts had already healed. She had done a good job for him.
“I can promise you, Amy, you don’t have to worry about this, at all. I’m going to handle it.”
Amy sighed and tried to pull her hands away, but he wouldn’t let her go. “Daniel, you have no way of knowing who did this, or why they did this.”
“But I will find out.”
Amy sighed and then she pressed her lips together. “And in the meantime?”
“In the meantime, everyone loves coming to this café to eat, and if you go outside and look, there are a lot of people already here to help.”
She frowned and then pulled out of his hold to make her way to the front of the café. Daniel wasn’t wrong. Several of the locals were in the shop, helping to pick up. Fred, the main builder in town, was already measuring for new windows.
“We don’t need the frames, Amy, I can get the glass here within a few days,” Fred said, giving her a wink.
Daniel pulled her in close.
“You did this,” she said.
“No, you did this. By taking care of everyone, no one wants to see you hurt or upset.” He kissed the top of her head. “And everyone is willing to do whatever it takes to make you happy.”
****
The windows were replaced before the main fair opened. With the help of August and several of the guys, getting the word out that Amy Flynn needed help had been easy. Daniel knew people would come to help, because that was what Lost Creek was all about. They banded together to help their own. It was why they were still thriving. Even when life got hard, someone was there to have your back.
Daniel looked over the security footage with Billy and George as they tried to find who would break the windows of the café. The problem was, someone had decided to leave their post and as they did, turn off the security cameras at exactly the right time that Amy’s café had been targeted. At first, the tape had been lost, but Billy had been able to locate the tape.