Caramel Canvas Page 4

  “The truth is, I’m getting used to the hours, and Emma has been doing it with you all along,” Sharon said. “Besides, we thought you might like some company your first day back. We’re ready and waiting to pitch in. All you have to do is say the word, and we’ll get busy.”

  I didn’t know how I could graciously refuse their offer, but every time I’d imagined this moment during my recovery, I’d done it alone, and somehow, that was what I needed. “Would I be totally ungrateful if I thanked you, but said ‘no thanks’?” I asked them softly.

  “Of course not,” Emma said, patting my shoulder. “Whatever makes it easier for you is what we want. I get wanting to solo this morning on your first day back. Come on, Mom, let me buy your breakfast.”

  “It’s much too early to eat,” Sharon said.

  “Speak for yourself, John Alden,” she said with a grin. As they girded themselves up for the cold, Emma said, “If you change your mind, I’m just a phone call away.”

  “Thanks for everything,” I said as I walked them out the front door. “I can’t tell you how much it meant to me knowing that the shop was in such good hands.”

  “It was our pleasure,” Emma said, and her mother nodded in agreement.

  “Welcome back, Suzanne,” Sharon said.

  “We missed you,” Emma added.

  “I missed you, too,” I said.

  Once they were gone, I took a deep breath, and then I walked back into the kitchen where the last assault had originated. Emma and Sharon had rearranged things to their liking, but it took only a few minutes to get things back to my layout. There wasn’t anything wrong with what they’d done; it just wasn’t my way. I was glad they’d left things the way they’d been while I was gone. Moving the tools of my trade back to their rightful places gave me a sense of ownership of the space again. Soon I was churning out cake donuts again, back where I belonged at last.

  Chapter 5

  “Wow, I never expected to find a crowd out front waiting for me to open my doors,” I said as I saw that a great many of my dearest friends and oldest customers were waiting for me to open Donut Hearts when six a.m. rolled around. Making the donuts had been therapeutic for me, but seeing everyone waiting to see me was almost more than my heart could stand.

  “George, it’s so good to see you,” I said as I stood by the door and welcomed our mayor, and one of my best friends, inside first.

  “Suzanne, you’re looking well,” he said.

  “Have you lost weight, Mr. Mayor?” I asked him.

  “Nothing like you have,” he countered. “You’re practically wasting away, young lady.”

  “I’m sure it’s a temporary state of being,” I answered with a smile. “It’s tough keeping the pounds off in my line of work.”

  “I’m just so happy you came back to continue it,” George said.

  “Was there ever any doubt in your mind?” I asked him.

  “I knew you’d come back to us, but a few folks around town were beginning to wonder,” the mayor admitted.

  “April Springs is my home, no matter what,” I said, believing it to be true with all of my heart. After all, if an attempted homicide or two hadn’t been able to drive me away, what would? “Can I get you something?”

  “A dozen old-fashioned donuts and a cup of coffee,” he said.

  “Will that be for here?” I asked him with a grin. I knew that the mayor enjoyed my treats, but usually one or two at a time.

  “Sadly, no. I have a meeting this morning I have to prep for,” he said, “and I thought your goodies might help pave the way for some kind of accord.”

  I got him his treats to go, and after returning his change, I added, “You’re becoming more and more like a statesman every day.”

  “Take that back,” he said with the hint of a smile. Our mayor had certainly grown into his job, especially given how he’d been when he’d first been elected.

  “If that’s all you’re getting, Mr. Mayor, the rest of us are patiently waiting our turns,” Angelica DeAngelis said behind him. “After all, we’ve got a restaurant to open.”

  “By all means, ladies,” George said as he stepped aside, smiling broadly at her as he did so. Not only was Angelica there to see me, but so were all four of her daughters, each more beautiful than the last, but none of them able to hold a candle to their mother.

  “Hey, ladies,” I said as I smiled at Antonia, Maria, Tianna, and Sophia. “I can’t believe she let you all come.”

  “She really didn’t have much choice. If she hadn’t, we were going to all go out on strike,” Sophia said with a grin.

  Maria said, “Sophia, we agreed to be positive for Suzanne.”

  “How much more positive can I be than to tell her we were willing to lose our wages if it meant not being able to see her?” Sophia asked.

  I didn’t want the DeAngelis women clashing in my store, even if it was all generated from the love they clearly had for each other. “What will it be, ladies?”

  “Two dozen donuts to go, your choice,” Sophia said, and then she glanced at her mother for confirmation of her order.

  “Suzanne, I’m afraid my daughter misspoke,” Angelica said.

  “Mother, we agreed,” Sophia said sharply.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m overruling you all and making an executive decision.” She turned to me and added, “There are five of us. We would like five dozen donuts, please.”

  “Score,” Sophia said with a smile. “Way to go, Mom!”

  “What on earth are you going to do with five dozen donuts?” I asked her, laughing as I did so.

  “If any of them make it through the drive back to Union Square, they are going to be on the dessert menu today,” she said. “We wanted to be here to welcome you back, Suzanne. You’ve been sorely missed.”

  I knew better than to argue with Angelica, so as I started boxing up the donuts, I turned to her for a moment and smiled. “I missed you all, too.”

  “When are you going to come see us?” Tianna asked. “And don’t forget to bring that handsome husband of yours.”

  “Soon, I hope,” I said, not wanting to get into Jake’s absence at the moment.

  “Ladies, Napoli’s awaits,” Angelica said as each woman took a box of donuts with her. I tried to give her a friends-and-family discount, but Angelica was too quick for me. “I’m paying the full price, Suzanne.”

  “Then I’m paying the menu prices at Napoli’s from now on, too,” I said just as directly.

  Angelica wavered for a moment, but then she finally relented. “Very well.”

  Sophia looked at her mother worriedly. “Are you feeling okay, Mom?”

  “I’m fine,” Angelica said curtly. “Why do you ask?”

  “I’ve just never seen you back down before,” her daughter said with a smile.

  All the matriarch could do was laugh, a sound that warmed me throughout.

  Once the DeAngelis women were gone, I could swear the place lost a bit of its light.

  Over the next three hours, there was a parade of old friends and regular customers, including, but not limited to: Paige Hill, the bookstore owner; chef extraordinaire Barton Gleason; For the Birds owner, Jenny Preston; Trish Granger, owner of the Boxcar Grill; and many more. It somehow felt as though it was my birthday, only everyone was buying donuts, too. I was nearly out of inventory by nine a.m. when the crowd finally slackened off. To my surprise, Alyssa Winchell, Annabeth’s mother, started to come in. Her hand was actually on the door, but then she changed her mind at the last second and headed off down the street. I wanted to stop her, but I was the only one working in the shop. Maybe I shouldn’t have sent Emma home after all. I was going to have to look Alyssa up later. I wanted to express my condolences for the loss of her daughter in person.

  I was pulled from my thoughts by someone else approaching, a friend in the br
oadest sense of the word, and one whose presence in my life was still a constant source of surprise to me.

  “Hi, Gabby. I’m afraid if you’ve come by the shop for donuts, my selection is pretty limited at the moment.”

  My business neighbor, owner and proprietress of the upscale used clothing store ReNEWed, frowned at me, her usual expression when she looked in my direction. “Suzanne, it appears in your absence that you’ve lost the ability to gauge your customers’ interest in your product line,” Gabby said a bit stiffly, though I knew that she was happy to see me as well.

  “Actually, I got a little carried away and made more than I thought I’d need. I just wasn’t expecting such a big turnout.”

  “Give them time,” she said dryly. “The tide will trickle away soon enough.”

  I wasn’t about to let her dampen my mood. “If you’re not here for donuts, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

  “It’s about this,” she said as she thrust a flyer into my hands. “STOP CRIME IN APRIL SPRINGS,” the banner said.

  Below it, I read a recap of the break-in at my shop, highly dramatized, and a few other clearly random acts of vandalism. At the very bottom, in bold letters again, the flyer ended, “JOIN BUSINESSES UNITED TOGETHER.”

  “BUT?” I asked her.

  “But what? Suzanne, you were a victim, whether you knew it or not at the time. I can’t believe that you of all people would hesitate in joining my efforts to keep this town safe.”

  “BUT,” I repeated.

  “But what?” she asked, clearly growing more and more irritated with me.

  “The acronym for your committee spells out B.U.T.,” I told her, doing my best to suppress my grin but just as clearly failing miserably at it.

  “Honestly, are you ever going to grow up?”

  “I sincerely hope not,” I told her. “Gabby, Emma and Sharon told me that it was probably just some random kids.”

  “And that justifies vandalism in your mind?” she asked me archly.

  “No, of course not, but I trust the police chief.”

  “I might as well, if he were actually here, but instead, we have two police officers that together fail to equal a tenth of their supervisor’s ability.”

  “Is that a compliment you are paying Stephen Grant?” Gabby had been rather vocal about our young police chief’s lack of experience in the past, so this was a surprise to me.

  “No,” she said emphatically. “It just shows how much less I think of his successors.”

  “They are temporary,” I reminded her. “The chief will be back next week.”

  “We’ll be lucky if any of our shops are still standing by then,” she said.

  There was only one way I was going to get rid of Gabby. “I’d be honored to join up. What do I have to do?”

  Gabby smiled smugly as she handed me the flyer she’d been waving around earlier. “Put this in your window, and keep an eye out on what’s happening in front of your shop on Springs Drive.”

  Those were two easy enough things to promise her. “Done and done,” I said.

  Gabby nodded her approval, and then she started for the door before she pivoted. When she looked at me again, I saw that her hardened expression had softened quite a bit. “It really is good to have you back. I missed you, Suzanne.”

  “I missed you too, Gabby,” I said, startling myself even as I’d said the words. It was true, in fact. Gabby was a part of April Springs, not necessarily always a lovely part, but a part of my life all the same.

  I sold my last donut at twenty minutes after nine. I knew that it was a good hour and forty minutes before I was due to close Donut Hearts, but not only was I completely out of inventory thanks to my friends and loyal customers, I was also exhausted. I was not used to making donuts and running the shop, let alone by myself, but there was an emotional toll the day had taken as well. I flipped the sign from OPEN to CLOSED and set about shutting the place down for the day. In twenty minutes the register balanced, the place was clean as a whistle, and I needed a nap, badly. After dropping off my deposit at the bank, one of the best financial days I’d ever had at Donut Hearts, I headed home for some much-needed rest.

  When I got there, though, a shot of adrenaline hit me. Someone was trying to break in through my front door, at least that was what it looked like to me! I blew the Jeep horn as I skidded around the corner, and whovever was there took off like a shot into the woods beside the cottage. There were many advantages to owning a place on the edge of a park, but visibility was not one of them. Whoever had been trying to get in had been wearing black sweats and a hoodie sweatshirt pulled down over their face. I couldn’t even swear if it was a man or a woman. I slammed the Jeep into my spot and got out, ready to pursue whoever had just been trying to pay me an unlawful visit.

  Then I heard a familiar voice behind me.

  “Grace, did you see that?” I asked her as I started to pursue my potential robber around the side of my cottage.

  “See what?” she asked as she joined in the chase. I loved that about her, that she was willing to risk life and limb simply on my say-so.

  “Someone was trying to break into the cottage just now,” I said as I looked around the park. The morning was still bitterly cold, which was appropriate weather for early in the year, but that meant that there were no witnesses to see who exactly might have been fleeing my premises. One thing was certain: whoever it had been was long gone now.

  She looked around the empty park. “I don’t see anybody.”

  “Neither do I, but someone was there,” I told her.

  “I believe you, but whoever it was is long gone now. What could they have wanted?”

  “I have no idea,” I admitted as we walked back to the house. After examining the lock and the frame around it, I said, “There are no signs of anyone trying to break in.”

  “Is it possible they were just here to see you?” Grace asked me.

  “Maybe, but if that was the case, why did they run when I came around the corner?” I asked her.

  “Well, you were driving like a madwoman, and you were blowing your horn like crazy, too,” Grace said. “Maybe you frightened them off.”

  “Me? They scared the daylights out of me,” I said as I let us both inside.

  “Are you going to call the police?” Grace asked me.

  I thought about it for a few seconds before shaking my head. “If Stephen were here, I probably would, but with Rick and Darby at the helm, I’m not sure I want to go through that.”

  “I get that,” Grace said. “If we just had some evidence, besides your word, I mean, it might be different.”

  “It does sound a little crazy, doesn’t it?” I conceded. “Why would anyone want to break in here? The donut shop I understand; to someone uninformed, they might think there was the possibility of finding money there, but here?”

  “Hang on a second,” Grace said. “Someone tried to break into Donut Hearts, too?”

  “Evidently. Emma and Sharon told me it was probably just vandals. Hey, what are you doing?”

  “I’m calling Rick and Darby,” she said. “One break-in I’m willing to swallow, but two?”

  I didn’t even fight her on it.

  She was probably right. Maybe it was time to bring the police in on this before things got even worse.

  Chapter 6

  “It was probably those kids in Hudson Creek again,” Rick said after looking around the place. “We heard about the donut shop, and it sounded like their doing, too.”

  Not to be outdone, Darby said, “They’ve been breaking into places and taking selfies for their photomat pages.”

  “That’s not what it’s called,” Rick said.

  “Who cares? The point is, it’s just vandalism, pure and simple.”

  “Probably,” Rick conceded.

  “Hang on.
That might explain the donut shop, but why would they hit Suzanne’s place?” Grace asked.

  “Maybe they are stepping up their game,” Darby said.

  “It’s possible,” Rick agreed.

  “The real question is, what are you two going to do about it?” Grace asked them as though she were their elementary school teacher.

  “We’ll step up the patrols out here,” Rick said.

  “That sounds good,” Darby agreed.

  “Do I need to call your boss?” she asked them in a scolding tone.

  “There’s no need to bring the chief in on this,” Rick said plaintively.

  “Yeah, there’s nothing he’d be able to do that we aren’t planning anyway. Do us a favor. Don’t call him, Grace.”

  Both men looked so uncomfortable by the prospect of having their boss brought in that I couldn’t bear being the cause of it. “Just keep your eyes open and we won’t call anyone yet,” I said. “I doubt whoever it was will come back after the way I scared them off, anyway.”

  “You should have called us first thing when you saw them trying to break in,” Darby scolded me.

  “If I’d waited for you, they would have already been inside,” I countered.

  “That’s not fair. After all, we got here two minutes after you called,” Rick reminded me.

  I couldn’t disagree with him, but it had still been time enough for whoever it was to get in and out again, if they knew what they were looking for. What could that have been, though?

  “If there’s nothing else, we have a meeting with the mayor in ten minutes,” Rick said as he glanced at his watch.

  “Yeah, he’s trying to give us advice we don’t need and haven’t asked for.”

  “Is he the only one doing that?” I asked, suddenly feeling sorry for the pair.