Page 20 of Hard Knock Hero

Scarlett’s mouth turned down sympathetically. “Of course not. You shouldn’t give up.”

“If Hart-Made has my baked goods dominating the shelves, wouldn’t that make it more likely that somebody will ask about your new supplier?”

“I can sweet-talk Sawyer. I talked him into hiring me, didn’t I? And I don’t care what Dale Rigsby or his caveman sons think. They can kiss my sugary butt.”

I held back a smile. Scarlett was around my age, twenty-seven, but she talked like a quirky grandma in a small-town movie. Yet she was also an avid outdoorswoman, fishing in summer, off-roading in her Jeep Wrangler during mud season and scouting the best spots for back-country skiing in winter.

“You don’t want that attention,” I said. “Trust me.”

“Speaking of the Rigsbys.” Scarlett drummed her fingers on the counter. “I heard there was a dust-up at your diner last night. Involving Chester and Mitch?”

Of course she’d heard about it. “Who told you?”

“People who were at the bar. Sheriff Owen marched you and some mystery guy outside to question you. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” My pulse kicked up. I had to lie to her, and it was my own fault. “My, um, brother was there. He’s the mystery guy.”

“Oh? I remembered you said he was on his way, but I was worried the storm put a wrench in his travel.”

It definitely had. I’d gotten a text from the real Trace that morning, saying he was still trying to get a new flight after his was canceled.

“He managed to sneak through,” I said sheepishly.

“Good timing, then.” Scarlett lowered her voice, as if we were in a crowd and not alone in the sweet shop. “Jeremy will be back any day. I’m sure the storm and the bridge are making it harder for him to get back, but I’m glad your brother beat him here.”

“Me too. I’m just hoping that with Trace around, I can ride this out and somehow Jeremy and his family will forget how much they hate me. But my brother beating up Chester isn’t likely to help defuse things.”

Scarlett probably thought the same. But then she surprised me. Her kind smile turned devious. “Maybe not. But if you have to go out, better to go out swinging. You’ve always seemed like the fighting type to me.”

“You’re right, I am.” Even if I sometimes took a leap without checking how far I was from the ground.

“So,” Scarlett said. “When do I get to meet this brother?”

I glanced at the window to the street at that exact moment, and guess who was sauntering down the sidewalk? “Sooner than you might think,” I muttered.

I crossed to the door and pushed it open. “Trace!” I yelled. Aiden continued to walk away from me on the opposite side of the street. Had he already forgotten his fake name? “Hey!”

Finally, he glanced over and paused when he saw me.

It was still frigid out, but the sun had a broken through the clouds, making all the snow on the nearby rooftops glitter. Aiden had a beanie over his hair, a bag slung over his shoulder, which I assumed he’d gotten out of his car. His mouth quirked slightly as he crossed the street toward me. I went out to meet him.

“You took off with my keys,” I said. “I had places to go, and I was nearly locked in.”

“Yet you obviously used the spare key that I assumed you would have. I couldn’t leave your doors unlocked with you asleep.” He tossed me my keys, which I barely managed to catch.

I should’ve thanked him for cleaning up my kitchen. And thanked himagainfor the way he had helped me last night. But that wasn’t what came out of my mouth.

“Where have you been?” I demanded.

“Busy,” he said in his rumbly, stoic voice. “Have you had breakfast yet?”

“That’s hardly an answer to my question.”

“Do you have a snow shovel? If you haven’t cleared your sidewalks yet, I can take care of it. I finished the other things on my to-do list.”

To-do list?I moved in closer, glancing up and down the street. “Aiden,” I whispered. “You’re supposed to be my brother, but you disappeared this morning without leaving me a note or your phone number or anything. I had no way to reach you. What if somebody had grabbed you and dumped you off a cliff into a ravine?”

He shifted toward me, and I could feel his warmth even through our layers of clothing. Aiden’s dark brown irises had tiny flecks of gold in them. “You were worried about me?”

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