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“Good.” She pulled the front of her mailbox open, pulled her mail out and closed the door. As she walked toward her bakery, she saw the first letter on top. “Shi? I got an insurance check. Oh, I’m so happy.”
“That’s great Lara. We’ll celebrate that tonight too!”
“Sounds good. I better go and get some cookies in the oven. I’ll see you around six at your place. We’ll practice, then go back to your place and enjoy the outdoors.”
“Sounds like a plan. See you then Lara.”
She pocketed her phone and inhaled the fresh air before stepping inside.
Straightening the chairs at the tables, she looked around her bakery and a new sense of pride lifted her spirits. She was letting all this weigh her down. She’d stop that. She was fortunate in so many ways.
She slid more cookies in the oven, removed the cooled cookies from the baking sheet they rested on and bagged them up for freezing.
Her doorbell rang and she walked into the bakery to see a woman she’d never seen before. “Hello, how can I help you?”
The woman looked around the bakery. Her clothing was clean but unusual. Her hair was graying but tied back in a bun at her nape. Her eyes were light blue, close to the color of her father’s eyes. She looked older than her parents, maybe in her late fifties. No makeup. No jewelry.
“I just came in to see. I’ve not been here before.”
“Oh, feel free to look around. I have fresh banana muffins in the case. I still have two loaves of cinnamon bread at the end of the case. And, I still have two loaves of breakfast bread left.”
“What’s breakfast bread?”
“Oh...” Lara walked to the end of the case and pointed to the loaves. “It’s filled with a sausage blend and cheese, braided, and baked. It’s an entire breakfast baked together.”
The woman stared into the case for a long time. “It looks good.”
“Would you like one?”
She shook her head, then stood and stared into her eyes. “I’m only here to tell you I’m sorry. My boy helped wreck your place the other day and I’m very sorry for his behavior. He wasn’t supposed to do that. But those boys together are just no good.”
Chills ran the length of her body. Her throat dried and her stomach knotted. “You’re from Hickory Hills?”
“I am.” She smiled slightly. Nodding she turned and walked to the door. When she stepped outside, she waved and smiled.
Lara watched her walk across the parking lot and turn up the road. She stood frozen in place for a long time. The ringing in her ears grew to the point of deafening. Her arms and legs felt like lead when she locked her door.
Chapter21
Tate sat in the construction office while Baxter finished a call with a friend.
Baxter ended his call. “Okay. My friend will be bringing several shipping containers later today. We’ll situate them from the base of the hill, and across the entire expanse of open ground. We’ll leave enough room for the dump trucks to come in and leave, but when not in use, one of the excavation machines will be blocking the opening. He said he has enough containers that we can nearly surround the open areas. We’ll set them in front of the fencing and put them tightly together so they can’t be walked through.”
Baxter scratched his jaw. “I’m not opposed to putting electric fencing around the containers either. I’ve had enough of these BRR bastards. Today, that was the last straw.”
“I agree. Luckily, Spencer wasn’t hurt worse than he is. He’s bruised, nothing broken. But he’ll be on crutches for a while.”
“I thought Addy said his foot was broken.”
“She thought that. Turns out, his ankle was badly sprained. It was too swollen for her to confirm without X-rays. He’ll need to stay off it and therapy, but he’ll be fine.”
“Okay. So, moving forward, we’ll have the perimeter surrounded with shipping containers. What have you managed?”
“I’ve called my contact at the DoD. He’s authorized the capture of any of the BRR found on the base grounds. If we don’t get cooperation from the sheriff, we’ll need to construct a place to hold them until the DoD can get here to transport them to a military installation. I’m going to meet with the mayor in a few minutes, since I missed my meeting this morning. Then, I’m going up to speak with Everett once again.”
“You’ll take backup with you, correct?”
“Yes. Aidyn will come with me and I’ll have Henry and Maya on standby and close.”
