Page 61 of Playing for Keeps
“We’ll handle it as quickly as possible. I don’t want you or any of the employees there until an officer arrives.”
He didn’t have a reason to believe the person behind this would physically harm Caroline, but they’d gone to great lengths to sabotage her business. He wasn’t about to take any chances when it came to her safety. The police department would bewatching this place and all the others nearby, even when Justin wasn’t on duty.
“I—I?—”
“Sweetheart, I’ll let you know as soon as we can clean it off, and you can file a report. We’ll get the security footage too.”
“Okay,” she said on a stuttering breath.
“I’m going to get to the bottom of this,” Justin promised.
She let out a whoosh of air and dragged her feet into the bakery.
Two hours later, Justin had gathered all of the evidence and cleaned the paint off the front window. Caroline and Skye had been allowed to return to work and open the business a little after seven. Mr. and Mrs. Burrows came to help catch up as the first customers arrived, oblivious to the chaotic morning.
With a hefty file of evidence and fairly clear images of the vandals, Justin stepped into The Cakery’s kitchen. Caroline pulled a tray of cupcakes from the industrial oven and reached for the next tray.
Her dark hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and her bright pink apron had a stripe of white flour dashed across the front. She’d cried off all her makeup, and a faint pink tinted the whites of her eyes.
She turned to him and slipped off her oven mitts. Without saying a word, she fell into his open arms.
The tightening in Justin’s chest was painful. Who would do this to Caroline? Everyone in town loved her and went out of their way to support The Cakery.
“They’re not going to get away with this,” Justin said. “We’re going to catch them, and all this will be over.”
Would it be too late? Christmas was right around the corner, and the bad press had already taken its toll on Caroline. The season had been anything but peaceful for her.
“Thank you for coming. I don’t know what to do.”
Justin pulled back and lifted her chin. “The only thing you can do is tell me more. How long have things like this been happening?”
Caroline hung her head. “A while.”
“How long is a while?”
She shrugged. “A couple of weeks.”
Weeks. She’d been dealing with this on her own, and she hadn’t thought to turn to him for help or comfort. How accurate was the list he’d been keeping? Building back her trust was slow and painful for both of them.
“Why didn’t you tell me? Some girls smashing cupcakes onto the window is one thing. This is more than that.”
Her eyes welled with tears as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. Turning it around, sheshowed him a message app. “I get messages too. They’re all anonymous. Some are threats.”
Justin grabbed the phone from her and scanned the messages. They were vague but brutal. Whoever was behind this definitely had a vendetta against Caroline. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about this.”
“It’s… it’s my problem, not yours. I didn’t want you to think you had to rescue me or take care of things for me.”
Justin looked up at her as tears welled in her eyes. “Are you serious? Caroline, I know you can take care of yourself, but I want to be on your team. I’m always here for you.” He held up the phone. “This is something you should have told me about sooner. I can help.”
“How can you help when I’m battling an invisible opponent?” she asked in broken words.
Justin wrapped his arms around her as the sobs began. “I’m sorry. That probably came out wrong, but what I meant to say was I’m here for you. No matter what it is, I’ll be standing by your side until the end. I can’t stand to watch someone hurt you.”
He’d left her to deal with the storms of life alone before, and he’d never do it again. “I should have been here for you.”
She shook her head against his chest. “We’re past that.”
“You say that, but I’m still kicking myself for leaving you. I’m so sorry.”
