Page 21 of Cursed Fox (Willow Creek Security #4)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Lex

We walked out of the service station and headed back toward Wickedly Delicious.

"Do you think he’ll find out where Thomas is?" I asked once we were out of earshot of the place.

"If anyone can, it's Senior. He's the male version of Bee. I swear those two were cut from the same cloth when it comes to finding out information."

"I don't think there's anyone in this town who doesn't gossip," I mumbled under my breath.

Nancy laughed. "It's always been that way. It was one of the reasons I had to leave after Thomas cheated on me. The last thing I wanted to be was the topic of the gossip chain."

I put my arm around her shoulder and pulled her into my side. "You don't have to worry about that with me." I would make sure she never had to deal with any negative gossip again.

A minute later, we walked into Wickedly Delicious and Nancy stopped dead.

"Wow," was all she said, and I tried looking at the shop from a newcomer's point of view. Most bakeries were soft and inviting colors, but Maisie's place was nothing like that. The woman lived for Halloween, and, based on the décor, it was evident she carried that love into her shop.

Black and dark purples were the main colors. Even the cookies leaned toward a horror movie as they were knife cutouts.

"I'm in love with this place already," Nancy whispered. "And I haven't even met the owner."

"Well, you're about to meet one of her employees, and fair warning, she's the complete opposite of this place."

"Welcome to Wickedly Delicious!" Janie's bubbly voice hit us as soon as we got closer. "Oh, hey, Lex. Maisie saved some orange scones for you in the back. I think she planned to drop them off at the office later, but you're here now, so let me just go grab them."

Janie skipped into the back room—and yes, I mean skipped. The young woman was always full of energy.

"Orange scones saved special for you?" Nancy crossed her arms and popped one brow.

I had to hide a laugh at the little green monster of jealousy she was trying not so successfully to hide.

"Yeah, it's the only thing from here I pretty much eat. When I was helping Maisie and Hendrix with Olivia, Maisie quickly discovered they were my favorite and would bring them over."

I could tell the moment what I said sank in. "You were there to help Olivia."

"Every day. For a while I was the only one she would talk to, and that was rare. Most of the time we just sat in silence."

"I bet you loved that." Nancy bumped my side with her shoulder in a teasing way.

"More like I understood her need to do it. I was the same way after my parents died. I didn't want to talk to anyone, but everyone insisted I should. The more they pushed, the quieter I became, until I barely ever spoke. It drove everyone crazy. I didn't want that for Olivia."

"And your silence helped her more than talking ever could," Maisie interrupted from the other side of the counter.

I turned to the one woman in town I actually considered a friend. "Hey, Maisie."

"Hey, Lex. It's good to see you. I was starting to think you skipped town?" I didn't miss the disapproving look on her face.

"I almost did," I told her honestly.

"Did Olivia know?" When I nodded my head yes, Maisie just shook hers. "Of course she did. If there was anyone you would tell, it's my niece."

"Hi, I'm Maisie. You must be Nancy. I've heard at least a dozen people in here today talking about how you're back in town." Nancy groaned and Maisie chuckled. "I know the feeling."

"How bad was it?" Nancy asked.

"I mean, I'm not sure what drove you out of town, but everything I heard today was good things.

People are excited you're back. I will warn you though that most of the talk was about you and Lex.

" Maisie wiggled her eyebrows, and from the corner of my eye I could see the faintest of pink tinge Nancy's cheeks.

"So much for not having to worry about that with you," Nancy threw my words back at me.

I was quick to clarify though. "I just meant no negative gossip. I can't help with the rest. This town seems to thrive on other people's love lives."

Maisie leaned on the glass case. "Don't I know it. I found the best way to deal with it is to control the narrative. When I started banging Hendrix, I made sure to go straight to the gossip queen herself and give all the juicy details."

Nancy laughed so hard she had to double over and clutch her sides. It took a few moments before she was able to control it enough to speak, and even then she wiped a tear from her eye. "Oh my God! I never would've thought to do that. It's genius."

"Believe me, it took some time for me to realize I could do that, but I was sick of all the talk in town about what I did."

I expected Nancy to ask what that was, but she proved she didn't care to join in on the gossip. That, or she would ask me later when it was just the two of us.

"So what brings you into my shop today? Just browsing or . . ."

"Your scones,” Nancy offered. “Maverick brought me some the other day and they were so delicious I just had to stop in and see what else you had."

"Maverick, huh?"

I shook my head and Maisie got the message, because she changed the subject quick. "So which ones are your favorite? I know Lex here loves the orange, but how about you?"

"The blueberry."

"Coming right up."

I watched as Maisie packed up the scones, plus a few other desserts I was sure Nancy might love. By the time it was all said and done, we were leaving with two big boxes of stuff.

"It was nice to meet you, Maisie."

"Nice to meet you too. We’ll have to get together sometime outside of this place."

"I'd like that." And based on Nancy's smile, it was a genuine response.

Once we were back out on the sidewalk, Nancy looked down at the boxes. "I can't wait to try all this stuff. No wonder my ass is so big."

I placed a hand on her arm, stopping her from walking any further. "You say that like it's a bad thing. I happen to like that ass of yours."

Nancy flushed but didn't have a response, so I took pity on her and changed the subject. "Would you like to meet the rest of my friends?"

"As long as I don't have to share those." She pointed to the boxes in my hand.

"Absolutely not. They can get their own." I winked at her and started walking back toward the Jeep, where I hid the boxes in the backseat before taking her hand and leading her into my office.

"Hey, Lex. Hi, Nancy." Annalee greeted us as soon as we walked through the door.

Nancy groaned. "Does everyone in town know I'm here?"

Annalee answered before I could. "Sorry! Something similar happened to me when I came to town. People I didn't know were using my name. It was a bit strange. I swore I wouldn't become like them, and yet here I am, doing the same."

"It's okay." Nancy sighed. "I actually know who you are as well. Maverick likes to keep Wes apprised of everything going on, so I heard about you when you got hired."

"All good things I hope."

"Yes, all good things. I believe the term Maverick used was ‘godsend.’"

Annalee laughed. "I can see that. You would swear having to answer the phone and greet people was a form of torture the way these guys described it."

Nancy looked over at me but I held up my hands. "Don't look at me. I wasn't here when Maverick started the place. I came to town the same time as Annalee."

And thank heavens for that, because there was no way I would have acted as a secretary. Not even for a minute.

"Is everyone in the back?" I asked Annalee.

"They are. And probably watching us right now."

The glass behind Annalee's desk was a one-way mirror. Those back there could see out, but people in the reception area couldn't see in. I didn't have the slightest idea how Annalee worked like that every day. It would've driven me crazy. "Maverick really needs to replace that already."

"I don't think Owen will let him. He likes knowing I'm safely within his line of sight."

I didn't blame my friend. Not after what happened to her. It was just a good thing Maisie was there to kill the man who went after Annalee.

I grabbed Nancy's hand and escorted her into the back room. Sure enough, all six of my friends were watching the interaction out in the lobby.

"Don't you all have something better to do?"

Owen was the first to answer. "Nope. I could stare at Annalee all day."

I shook my head and made the introductions. By the time I was all done, Nancy looked a little nervous.

"Nice to meet you all." Nancy’s voice was much softer than normal and even cracked a little when she spoke.

I couldn't even begin to understand what that was all about. I hadn't seen Nancy nervous in all the time since I’d met her. I was about to ask her what was going on, but Nolen spoke up.

"How did your conversation with the townsfolk go in regards to Thomas?"

I should've known Maverick would bring them in eventually. "Good. According to Tim Senior down at the service station, Thomas was last known to be in Oklahoma."

"I can work with that." Nolen turned back to his computer and started typing feverishly. The rest of us left him to his work.

"Did you get to talk to anyone else?" Maverick asked.

"Shirley over at the antique shop. We were really good friends in high school and I felt comfortable asking her. She's the one who directed us to Tim Senior."

Maverick nodded at Nancy's explanation. "I thought for sure you would've gone straight to Bee."

"That was my first guess, but I let Nancy take the lead. Besides, if I asked Bee, the rumor mill would've gone into full effect, and I wasn't sure I was ready to deal with that."

"Ain't that the truth," Easton grumbled. He would know better than anyone how quickly the gossip train could leave the station in this town.

"I'll keep her in mind as a last resort,” I advised them, “but in the meantime, we’re going home."