Holt blew out a breath. “What we’re not gonna do is tell my wife. Not yet. If she sees this level of damage, she’s going to freak out, and she’s already worried enough. So right now, let’s get the ball rolling, report fraud on all these false accounts. We’ll contact Cash, get him to do whatever he can do. Get any information he can that will aid our cause. It’s gonna take time to unravel. I want to know what we’re doing about it before I tell her what’s happening.”
Jonah nodded. “Makes sense.”
Brax looked skeptical. “I get where you’re coming from, but is that the best course of action?”
“What’s an extra day gonna hurt? We can take one day and figure our shit out, so when I tell her, a plan will already be in place. I’ll tell her tomorrow.”
He just hoped he had more positive news to share when he did.
* * *
“You heardabout the break-in up at Bad Boy Bakers, didn’t you?”
Cayla’s hands tightened on the cart handle as she made her way through Garden of Eden for her weekly grocery run.
“No! What happened?”
“Another middle-of-the-night break-in. Smashed the front all to pieces, I heard.”
“Those poor boys. They’ve been working so hard to make a go of it.”
“You really have to wonder if the location’s cursed. I mean, given the questionable clientele The Right Attitude used to have.”
“That’s just silly. Why would any of that have anything to do with them? They’re good boys and the bakery is a wonderful addition to the Eden’s Ridge. Have you tried their coffeecake.? It is to die for.”
In the two days since the break-in, Cayla had been hearing more of the same all over town. Everybody was abuzz, and in the absence of factual information, people were plenty happy to manufacture some. Not wanting to engage, she kept her head down and finished up her shopping.
From behind the register, Ina Hanes flashed her a sympathetic smile as she began loading her items onto the belt. “Hey, Cayla.”
“Ina.”
“How’s that sweet girl of yours?”
“Growing like a weed and counting the days until summer vacation.”
“That’s always the way. What about that handsome hubby of yours? I heard they had a spot of trouble up at the bakery.”
Knowing better than to feed the gossip beast, Cayla just smiled. “Nothing they can’t handle. Did you know Marisol Sanz just got engaged to Shayne McDermott?”
Ina took the conversational bone and ran with it. “I did. I heard all about it from Peggy Wheaton.”
Cayla made it out of the grocery store with the full account of the proposal and a plan to check in with Marisol next week to see if she’d begun thinking about engagement parties or the wedding itself. She just needed to swing by the bank before heading home to drop these groceries.
The lobby was mostly empty this time of day. Too late for lunch, too early for the after-school crowd. She stopped by the counter in the middle of the lobby and began to fill out a deposit slip.
“Hey, Cayla!”
She looked up to find Brandy Brighton, one of the customer service representatives, whom she’d gone to high school with what felt like a hundred years ago. “Hey Brandy.”
“I just wanted to pop over and say again how much my sister enjoyed that baby shower you organized back in the spring.”
“It was my pleasure. Babies are such blessings.”
“Aren’t they, though? And my new nephew is just the cutest thing ever.” She promptly pulled out her phone and flashed pictures of the newborn.
Cayla made the appropriate noises of admiration and finished filling out her deposit slip.
“Anyway, I was really sorry the bank wasn’t able to extend a line of credit to the guys to help—you know—make up for things after this latest… unpleasantness.”
“I’m sorry?”
Brandy’s round cheeks pinked as she realized Cayla had no idea what she was talking about. “I… oh. I misspoke.”
“I don’t think you did. My husband and his partners were in here for a line of credit?”
“I, um, think that’s something you’ll need to discuss with your husband.” She began backing away. “It was good to see you.”
Holt had said nothing about going to the bank. Nothing about needing a line of credit to replace the cases destroyed at the bakery. She’d assumed insurance would cover it. Which meant he was keeping things from her. It wasn’t the same as with Arthur. She knew that. She knew Holt wasn’t that kind of man. But it didn’t stop the sick, oily feeling from churning in her gut. She was willing to put up with him not sharing a lot about his past, understanding that kind of trust would take time to build. But she sure as hell wouldn’t stand for being kept in the dark about something that was clearly related to the threat they were supposed to be facing together.
Stuffing the deposit slip into her purse, she marched out of the bank and drove straight to the bakery. He was serving a customer when she came in and offered her a little smile and a wave. Temper still simmering, she hung back by the door, taking in the temporary displays they’d arranged in baskets on a few card tables until they got new refrigerated cases. Beyond the pass-thru, she spotted Jonah and Brax working. Good. She wanted to talk to them, too.
As soon as the customer departed, she flipped the sign from open to closed and locked the door.
Holt was around the counter in a flash, brow creased with concern. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
Not bothering to hide the temper, she stepped around him before he could touch her and shoved her way into the kitchen. Brax and Jonah looked up in surprise.
She divided a narrow-eyed gaze between them all. “Do y’all have something you want to tell me?”
Jonah and Brax looked at each other and pointed directly at Holt.
“What’s the matter?” he demanded.
She propped her fists on her hips and glared at him. “I just ran into Brandy Brighton at the bank, who tells me that, for whatever reason, they couldn’t extend y’all a line of credit for what shouldn’t amount to that much of a business loan to deal with the new bakery cases.”
Though his expression didn’t change, he shifted on his feet, a sure sign he was uncomfortable. “Yeah.”
“Have y’all all checked your credit reports?”
Again, Brax and Jonah looked at Holt.