Page 38 of A Love Like Candle Light

"Oh, all is wonderful." Bobby grins and takes a bite of what appears to be the last cinnamon roll, wiping icing all over his thick moustache.

Damn. I wanted one of those.

"Don't worry," Caleb says gruffly upon seeing my crestfallen expression. "I’ve got a new batch in the oven. Give it another..." He checks his wrist. "Three minutes and I'll get you a fresh one."

"You're the best," I say very seriously with a thankful nod.

"Hey!" Bobby exclaims. "Why didn't you tell me you had some in the oven?"

"Because you, let me quote, wanted a cinnamon roll ‘pronto.’" Without waiting for further complaints, he turns around to start my cappuccino. I lean my elbow against the counter, playing with one of the decorative acorns placed all over it.

"So, how's the investigation going?" Bobby asks, eyes drilling into the side of my head as if he’s trying to read my thoughts. “Caught the serial killer yet?”

"Who said it was a serial killer? You know better than to believe in rumors, Bobby." I give him a nudge with my elbow, then spin the acorn with a flick. "So, ongoing investigation and all, I can't tell you much."

Yesterday, Rick finally signed the case over to me officially. He sounded very eager to hand the case off to me. I, for one, am glad I don’t have to work on it with him. Logan might have called and popped a champagne bottle in his office to celebrate. Meanwhile, I was given the joyful opportunity of a handover meeting, which ran the entire morning and is the reason my mood is down the drain.

"Was it murder?"

I shrug. "Honestly, I don't know yet. I’m still waiting on a bunch of tests and people to have a look. Wait, what the hell are those for?" I eye two glasses on Caleb's counter.

"For the record, I have nothing to do with this. It was Lauren's idea," Caleb grumbles and sets a to-go cup down in front of me. A timer goes off and he disappears into the back.

"Half the town is taking part in a betting pool," Bobby explains with a chuckle and points at the glasses. "You write down your name and either put it in the ‘murder’ or ‘not a murder’ glass. Winning party gets a free coffee."

Huh. Now that I’m taking a closer look, the glasses have "murder" and "not a murder" written on them in swirly handwriting. I didn’t even notice.

"There are some smaller betting pools among those who are convinced it was murder. They’re betting on how it happened. You know, poison, gunshot..."

"That is so morbid." I roll my eyes and take the lid off the to-go cup to let the coffee cool while I’m waiting for my cinnamon roll.

"To be fair, not much more is happening here. This is the most exciting thing to happen in Wayward Hollow in a while, isn't it? Last year we had Nic's ex and sister hanging about, causing an uproar. And this year, it's some bones." He claps his hands together. "Exciting! Can we build some more mansions? The entertainment they’re bringing is worth all the complaints we had before they were built."

"Hopefully this is not exciting at all, once I find out it was a natural death and nothing horrible happened here."

Bobby opens his mouth to object but is rudely interrupted by his former protégé.

"Here you go, Erik." Caleb returns with a still steaming cinnamon roll, puts it in one of his to-go containers that he doesn't quite close so the steam can escape, and hands it over in a paper bag.

"Perfect." I take a sip of my drink, burning my tongue, but I don't care. "Thanks, Caleb."

"You'll let us know once you find out, right?" Bobby shouts after me, but I pretend to not hear him over the sound of the bell above Caleb’s door.

I stop at my cruiser and put my coffee and pastry on the roof.

"Erik!"

I freeze, staring ahead. Why the hell is all of Wayward Hollow out and about today and wants to talk to me?

All irritation dissipates the moment I realize it’s Kylie. And Lauren. I turn around and find them grinning at me from the main square. They’re sitting on the lawn, a blanket spread over the fallen leaves, enjoying the sunshine.

"Are you on your break?" Lauren shouts, and I nod. "Cool! Come hang out with us."

Kylie nudges her with her elbow, and as drained as my social battery is, the temptation to spend time with Kylie is stronger. So I grab my cinnamon roll off the car roof and head over to them.

Halfway across the street, I notice the entire clique is there. Henry and Nic sit on a bench by the gazebo, Henry's husky, lies at their feet and is having a nap. Kieran and Dick are a bit further away, playing catch with a frisbee, and Abby seems hellbent on grabbing the disc before Dick can.

"Are you kidding me? He has fresh cinnamon rolls and he didn't tell me?" Lauren crosses her arms in front of her chest and purses her lips in a pout. "Some girlfriend privileges I have."