Page 43 of Obsessed Fox

"That's my boy! Never giving up. I've said it before but I'll say it again. You're my favorite."

I settled Maisie into her seat because that was what a gentleman did, even if he was a kidnapper. Then I turned to Bee and gave her a wink. "And you're my favorite girl."

"Should I leave the two of you alone?" Maisie hiked her brow when I took the seat next to her.

"I'm not sure I'm man enough to handle Bee."

Maisie laughed and the old woman proved she still had excellent hearing when she shouted back. "No, you're certainly not!" I joined in on the laughter.

The Crazy Fox was my favorite place in Willow Creek besides Maisie's bakery. Bee was a hoot and ran an excellent establishment. The food was amazing and the atmosphere was top-notch. If there was one place everyone came to congregate, it was here. More stories were shared in this place than anywhere else in town.

Bee's granddaughter, Jo, slid up to the table with a coffee pot and poured us each a cup. "So what will it be today?"

"Maisie here is going to need something sweet for her coffee. Preferably caramel, if you have it."

The woman in question shot daggers at me. "No need to get me anything special. Cream and sugar will be fine."

"I'm sure my grandmother has caramel in the back. I'll be happy to get you some. Do you know what you want to eat or do you need a few minutes?"

I waved to Maisie to go first.

"Waffles, please. How ever they want to make them is fine with me. I'm not picky when it comes to my toppings."

I shook my head. I don't think Maisie even realized how much of a people pleaser she still was some days.

"I'll have the same."

Jo nodded her head. "Coming right up."

Maisie waited until Jo walked away before she hissed at me. "I don't need special treatment. Yes, I like my coffee sweet, but I could easily go to the bakery to make it after."

"You'll never know if they have it if you don't ask."

"They don't need to have it."

This wasn't an argument either of us was going to win, so I changed the subject. "Are you going to the bakery after this or did you want to come to the office with me? I want to talk to Nolen about what Matthew said yesterday."

Maisie chewed on the side of her lip. "I think I'll go to work. Janie's been great about covering for me this past week but I need to get back into things. Work has always been a great distraction for me and I think now more than ever I need to be distracted."

I could think of much better ways to distract her but I kept my mouth shut. I could always show her those ways at night when she came home to me.

"Are you going to let her take over some more so that you aren't working twelve-plus hours a day?"

"Here you go." Jo plopped a carafe of caramel on the table before slipping away again. Maisie hollered a thank-you over her shoulder before turning back to me to continue our discussion.

"I'm going to sit down with her and talk about it. See what kind of schedule she wants. Anything would be better than what I'm doing now by opening and closing every day, so I'll be happy to let her pick her shifts."

Again with the people pleasing.

"It would be nice to get at least one morning a week to sleep in," I teased and Maisie rolled her eyes.

"I figured you would be used to early mornings from your days in the military."

"Marines," I corrected. "And yes I'm used to early mornings but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the fact that those days are behind me."

"The security company has made you soft," she teased back. "Or maybe it's just old age."

"Ouch." I clutched my chest and pretended her words hurt me. "I'm only fifteen years older than you."

---