Page 11 of Bad Boy Bakers, Vol. 2

Chapter Six

Hadley had snuck out on him.

Okay, maybe that wasn’t entirely fair. She’d left a note, and he had been tied up on a conference call with part of his team for the better part of an hour.

But she’d made no effort to actually see him before she slipped out to go hang with Cayla.

Not that she needed to check in with him.

They’d come to Eden’s Ridge separately, regardless of the fact that she’d found her way back into his bed.

But something about her actions smacked of avoiding him.

After the intensity of last night, he didn’t like it.

As she had every right to spend time with her sister-in-law, Cash packed up his laptop and headed to Bad Boy Bakers.

He didn’t actually figure he’d get an opportunity to talk to Holt while he was at work, but the bakery was across the street from Cayla’s office, so he’d be able to tell when Hadley finished up there.

Because business seemed to be jumping this morning, Cash bypassed the line and secured one of the four-top tables.

None of them had a direct line of sight across the street, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

It wasn’t like he was conducting actual surveillance.

He was just pulling out his computer when Holt strode over.

“Using us as your office today?”

“Might as well. It’s a change of scenery from the inn.”

Holt winced. “I’m sorry we haven’t gotten to spend much time together since you got here.”

“Man, it’s fine. Your life is different now with the business and your family. You can’t just pick up and do shit anymore. That’s what I get for going with impulse instead of planning.”

“When do you have to head back to Baltimore?”

Cash mentally flipped through his schedule. “I definitely have to be back by Monday. I can work remotely in the meantime.”

“I’m kinda slammed this week, prepping for various events, but I’ll be done by dinner tomorrow. We’ll have a big family deal, and then I’m all yours on Saturday.”

He could sit on this news one more day if he had to. “Sounds good.”

“You had breakfast?”

“Like three hours ago.” Which, come to think of it, was wearing off.

“I’ll bring you something to tide you over.”

“Appreciate it.”

Cash had his laptop open and his own mobile network set up by the time Holt brought back a cup of coffee and an everything bagel smeared with cream cheese.

Taking a sip of the rich black brew, he nodded his thanks and immersed himself into computer code, building a virus his team would need for a mission next month.

Customers came and went, and the guys seemed to rotate out who was manning the front. Cash paid them little heed until he heard a deep voice.

“Actually, I’m looking for someone. Is Jonah Ferguson here?”

There was an authority in the tone that had him looking up, his instincts twanging.

The guy was dressed as a civilian, in jeans and boots, with broad shoulders filling out a leather jacket.

His hair was a mix of dark and silver, with a short, mostly silver beard highlighting what Cash could see of his face.

His stance was easy, but Cash recognized the self-possession of someone who could handle himself.

He’d lay money this guy was career military.

The kitchen door swung open, and Jonah stepped out, wiping his hands on a towel. “Hey, are we nearly out of something up here? Because I’ve got some—” His eyes landed on the stranger, and the towel fell from his fingers as he snapped to immediate attention, lifting his hand in a salute. “Sir.”

Well, that confirmed his assumption.

The man’s mouth twitched. “At ease, Sailor.”

Jonah skirted around the counter and offered a hand. The guy took it, pulling him into a back-slapping hug that proved he had some deeper relationship with Jonah than that of a superior.

Either way, it was clear he hadn’t been expected.

“Not that it isn’t good to see you, Captain. But what are you doing here?”

Captain. Ah. One of Jonah’s former commanding officers?

“Well, you’re not the only one who retired. I heard what you’d been up to and wanted to come check on you.” When Jonah didn’t immediately respond to that, the guy shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. “How are you doing?”

Jonah grinned. “I’m great. I’m getting married.”

“That’s wonderful.”

The two slipped into small talk, and Cash turned his focus back to his work. At least until the bell over the door jangled, and a woman’s voice rang out. “Hey, Baby. Do you have my order ready?”

Something in the air changed, sharpening Cash’s focus.

Jonah called out, “Sure, Mom. It’s in the back. I’ll get it in just a minute.”

The new guy turned toward Jonah’s mother, Rebecca. As she caught sight of him, her eyes widened and her mouth fell open.

He grinned, and suddenly there was a touch of East Tennessee drawl in his voice. “Hey, Rebel. It’s good to see you.”

So much flickered over her face before she rushed over to wrap him in a hug. “Oh, my God. What are you doing here?”

He hugged her back, and Cash didn’t miss the old intimacy in the gesture. “I came to check on your boy, to see how he’s doing now that he’s retired.”

She pulled back, blinking in surprise. “You know my son?”

He seemed to consider his reply. “I was his commanding officer for a number of years.”

Rebecca paled.

Why should that be an issue?

“How did you know he was mine?”

The captain laughed. “It was impossible not to. You stamped yourself all over his face. And, of course, he’s a Ferguson.”

Jonah cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. What the hell is happening here? You two know each other?”

Cash could read the struggle between respect for his CO and the desire to protect his mother.

Rebecca laid a hand on the captain’s shoulder. “This is Grey.”

Jonah turned disbelieving eyes on Grey. “You? You used to be skinny as a rail and have a ponytail?”

Yeah, the man had military written all over him. Cash couldn’t see it either.

“He saw some pictures of us from back in high school recently,” Rebecca explained.

“I did have a life before the Navy.”

At the statement, she stiffened, her hand falling away. Some kind of history there. One Cash was banking that Jonah didn’t know.

Rebecca turned her attention back to her son. “Baby, if you can get my order. I really need to get going. I’m gonna be late.”

Jonah hesitated, clearly trying to decide what all this meant, but ultimately, he nodded and headed back into the kitchen.

A shield was up in his mother’s expression when she turned back to the visitor. “Well, it’s been great to see you, Grey. I’m glad to know you’re doing well.”

“I’m retired, actually.”

“Oh?” Jonah’s mom definitely didn’t need to play poker. A blind man could’ve seen the interest there. Or maybe that was just Cash, with all his training in how to read body language.

“Yeah.”

Jonah emerged, handing over a box. “Here you go.”

She kissed his cheek. “Thanks, sweetie.” Her eyes drifted back to Grey as she turned toward the door. “I’ve gotta go. You take care.”

“Will do. And I’ll be seeing you around, Rebel.”

Her steps stuttered at the unmistakable promise in his voice.

“I figure it’s high time I looked at moving home.”

Rebecca made her escape without another word.

Cash wondered if there was any popcorn in the back, because this was the most entertainment he’d had in a while. Clearly there was some kind of history between Jonah’s mom and his former CO. History that predated Jonah, if they’d gone to high school together.

All the warmth had left Jonah’s expression. “With all due respect, sir, how is it in all these years you never saw fit to mention you were from my hometown, and you knew my mother?”

Grey’s posture shifted. It was a subtle move, but one that unquestionably indicated he was back in the role of CO again. “It was need-to-know information, and you didn’t need to know. Glad you’re doing well, Ferguson. I’m sure I’ll see you again.”

He strode out without another word.

Immediately, the other patrons that had gone silent during the exchange pulled out phones and began to text. Whatever that was would be all over town by the end of business today.

“What the actual hell?” Jonah muttered.

Cash had suspicions, but before he could decide whether to share any of them, his phone vibrated with a text.

Hadley: Meet me back at the inn?

He fired off a quick reply that he was en route and packed up his stuff. Whatever was going on with Jonah’s shit could wait. Hadley was his priority.

Hadley paced the confines of their turret room at The Misfit Inn, feeling like a caged animal.

She’d gone over and over the whole thing in her head, trying to find the right words, the right way to admit this to Cash that wouldn’t destroy who they were to each other.

She’d gotten involved with him in the first place because she’d believed they could cross that line into more, then go back to being the friends they’d always been.

The idea of losing him had never entered her mind.

But it had taken root now and brought to light the thing she’d been in denial about for months.

She was in love with Cash.

Maybe a part of her always had been. But what she’d found with him was so much more than her na?ve teenaged self had imagined.

He accepted her for who she was, utterly and completely.

As someone who’d so often been told she was too much, being someone’s just right was an incredibly precious gift.

But that just right didn’t include an unplanned baby, and Hadley was absolutely terrified this would change how he looked at her.

That it would change who they were to each other.