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“Oh, right. I forgot a drink.” He leaned over to the cooler filled with various bottles of pop and water and snatched the largest bottle of water they sold. “This will do.”
“How was the food?”
Though the question came out with a smile, he sensed she had to force it out.
“Delicious, as always. Have you tried the food here yet?”
She shook her head, then rattled off the price.
He handed her a five and held out his hand for his change. The devil hidden inside him made sure her fingers grazed his hand once again. The short spark he had felt the first time ignited again. Her eyes rounded in large saucers as if she had felt the same electrical charge.
“Juliet is great about employees taking some of the leftover food that doesn’t sell home. Grab a tuna sandwich if there is any left. The rest she brings to the homeless shelter.”
The first real smile brightened her face. “That’s a wonderful thing to do. I’d rather the food go to them.”
He sensed she meant that. She might have secrets she didn’t want to share, but she had a kind soul. That’s all that mattered to him. She could keep her secrets—as long as it didn’t involve breaking the law.
He returned a gentle smile, grabbed his water, and said good-bye before heading to the back of the cafe. Juliet was rolling dough and singing to Rudolph that was blaring out of the speakers.
“So you hired the newbie in town?”
Juliet looked up from her worktable, her eyes sparkling with merry. “She’s great. Been working her butt off ever since I pulled her behind the counter. You said she seemed harmless.”
Griffin groaned. While he had chatted with Juliet briefly last night about his new neighbor, he didn’t think she’d take that as a glowing review to hire her. Not that Griffin thought it was a bad idea. As long as Juliet did her due diligence. Which he suspected she hadn’t.
“You at least called a reference or two?”
Juliet averted her eyes, putting more muscle into the rolling pin.
“Seriously, Jules.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Hey, I don’t nitpick how you do your job, so don’t do it to me. It’s all good. I like her. And if you had any suspicions about her you should’ve said so last night.”
“I don’t really.”
“But?” Juliet drawled.
“But nothing. She seems like a nice woman who just moved into town. With barely any belongings, skittish behavior, and too many fake smiles. She’s hiding something, and I want you to be aware of who you’re hiring. The last lady left without even a damn good-bye.”
The room went silent at that. Chip paused from taking some pies out of the oven, and Juliet froze with her arms outstretched with the rolling pin.
“Beth was flaky from the beginning. I should’ve known better than to hire her. I have a good feeling about Eve.” She rolled the pin back her way. Chip continued in his quest of the pies. “I know what you’re talking about. She also likes to keep her space from others. Classic signs of abuse. I should know.”
Griffin’s teeth clenched at the reminder. The bastard who had hurt Juliet was sitting in prison doing ten years. Not long enough in his opinion. What hurt more than knowing someone had hit her was knowing how long he had physically abused her. That Juliet let him do it one too many times. Though she hadn’t allowed it to the point he killed her, so there was that. His sister was one of the strongest women he knew. While it gutted him she hadn’t turned to him right away, she had eventually, that’s what counted.
If their suspicions were correct about Eve—because he agreed with Juliet’s assessment—then Griffin only had to be patient with Eve as well.
She’d tell him her secrets.
Because he wouldn’t have it any other way.
When someone moved to his town, they became part of his family, his community, and he took his job seriously. No one would harm her on his watch. It also didn’t hurt he found her very attractive. Those eyes of hers reeled him in with little effort.
“It’s going to take a while for her to open up about anything.”
Juliet cocked a brow. “And don’t go pushing her about it either. Leave her alone.”
Griffin held up his hands in an innocent gesture. “I would never. You know that. But keep your eyes peeled for anything odd. You see something suspicious, I want to know. She’s here and that makes her part of our community.”
