Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 94585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
The lock wasn't tampered with.
The lock wasn't tampered with because the person who broke in had the keys.
No.
My phone rang. Royal's ringtone. I should answer, but my hands were covered in frosting, and if I answered the phone I'd have to take the gloves off, find a place to put this spatula…
I was avoiding him. My head was too messed up to talk to Royal. I'd call him later.
The phone fell silent, then started ringing again ten seconds later. Royal again. I looked down at the cake and decided I'd finish this up and call him back. Only a few more minutes. Then I'd be at a good stopping point. The phone fell silent, the kitchen quiet for a few too-short minutes.
I braced as the door to the front swung open. Grams walked in, the phone to her ear and a smile on her face. When she reached me, she said, “Here she is,” and held the phone to my ear.
“Hello?”
Royal's voice answered. “Hey, I tried your cell, but you didn't pick up.”
“Sorry, my hands are covered with frosting. Is everything okay?”
“I didn't mean to worry you. West stopped by with an update on the Forrest thing and said your place was cleared. I have a few staff in housekeeping who're coming off shift and wouldn't mind earning a few bucks to clean up a mess. Can I send them over to your place?”
My heart pinched in my chest, his sweetness almost painful. Tears sprung to my eyes. I was done with crying, but Royal was too much. “I can't afford—”
“Daisy. Let me help.”
What else could I say? Nothing, except, “Thank you. That would be great. I'll make it up to you.”
“Make me a mixed berry pie one of these days, and we'll call it even.”
“It's a deal,” I said and sniffed.
“You okay?” His voice was gentle, soothing the ragged tears in my soul.
Aware my grandmother was close enough to hear considering she was holding the phone to my ear, I said, “Sure. I'm fine. I'll go unlock the door upstairs as soon as I finish this frosting.”
“Come see me when you're done there. I'll be at The Inn all day. Griffen and Hope took the day off, and I have a pile of stuff to do here. I'll probably be late, but I want to see you.”
“Okay. As soon as I'm done.”
Grams pulled the phone away at my nod and clicked the button to end the call. “What's going on? Why did Royal need to talk to you so badly he couldn't wait for you to call back?”
“Someone broke into my place last night and made a huge mess. He's sending someone to clean it up for me.”
“Is that why Weston was here?” Grams narrowed her eyes at me, knowing I wasn't telling her everything.
“Yes. It's not a big deal.”
I couldn't remember ever feeling this awkward tension with Grams. Even when I was a teenager and we'd fight I never felt like this. There was a wall between us, and I didn't know how to tear it down. Didn't know if I wanted to.
Grams nodded, then hesitated. I braced. “Daisy,” she said slowly, “I talked to your father about the money you said you gave him. He said he didn't know what I was talking about. When I checked the account, it showed a transfer to you, but that was it.”
I just stared at her, puzzle pieces clicking into place inside my brain. “We had a contract. Of course, we had a contract. It's up in my apartment.”
My apartment that had been broken into. I went straight to the sink to strip off my gloves and wash my hands. Grams followed behind. I didn't want her to see the mess upstairs and worry more.
“I'll go get it and bring it back down,” I said, heading for the stairs.
Grams didn't follow, just watched me leave, her eyes sad.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Daisy
I was pretty sure what I would find when I opened my closet. I hadn't thought to check my file box earlier that morning. For the most part, it was full of bills, the paperwork on my car, and not much else. I'd forgotten about the contract.
The file box was shoved in the back of my closet since I didn't use it much. It was tipped on its side, papers strewn over the floor mixed with my shoes and the clothes that had been pulled off the hangers.
Everything else looked like it was there, but the contract was missing. Damn.
My mind raced. Now I had a suspect for the break-in. What was I supposed to do?
Call Royal. That was my first instinct.
Call West. Not something I wanted to do, but probably something I should do.
Think it over while you finish the cakes. That I could do.
I was mid-process on both and only an hour or two from finishing them. If my hunch was right and my dad had broken in to steal the contract, another hour or two wouldn't make a big difference. I wanted to go to Grams' house and check his room to see if the contract was there, but if I went rushing out my parents would be suspicious. Especially after I'd made such a big deal about finishing the cakes.