Page 9 of A Chance for Candace

Jessie frowned. He leaned forward on the chair. “What do you mean a traitor? I’m not a traitor!”

She leaned forward, no longer keeping quiet. “You are too. So is your father trying to buy the business from Theodore and steal his receipts!”

“Now hold on a minute! My father may have some bad ideas and he is stuck in the past on some issues, but he is not a thief. He’d never steal anything, not even from Theo! He was planning to pay whatever Theo wanted!”

The sheriff sighed. “I guess the two of you know each other?”

“In a way,” Candace told the sheriff. “His family bakery was right across the street from where I worked. His father was always trying to buy out the owner of the receipts I now have in my possession.” She quickly slapped a hand over her mouth, realizing what she just said.

Jessie had wondered what happened to the receipts. Now he knew. It was obvious those words she spoke were not to be spoken. Perhaps he had the upper hand after all. “Are you telling me the receipts that Margaret has been looking for are in your possession?”

She glared at him. If looks could kill! “The receipts were given to me by Theodore. He made me promise to start a new legacy. I swear to you that he made me promise to never let Margaret or anyone else get their hands on them.”

In a way, Jessie felt sorry for her. She had a huge secret she was carrying. “Did you ever think that Margaret may have had someone follow you? She wants those receipts. My father will give her the money she needs to get to New York City.”

“I’ll deny that I have them,” she whispered.

The sheriff took his knuckles and knocked on the desk three times. “Excuse me. I’m happy the two of you are having a reasonable conversation, but you just admitted to me that you committed a crime.” He looked at Candace, who looked back at him horrified.“I did not steal them or commit a crime. Besides Sheriff, that took place out of your jurisdiction if there had been a crime committed.”

“You’re right there, ma’am. Now, like I was saying before the two of you had that heated conversation, I’ve decided to make my own judgment for this case until we can find out what the law says about this whole situation. I don’t believe Last Chance has ever had a problem like this before.”

Jessie had to agree. If he ever saw that shyster McVey again, he’d ring him up by the neck.

“Until further ado, the two of you will share the storefront and the apartment above it.”

“What! Share it? How can I possibly share a building with this man?”

The sheriff shook his head. “It’s either that or no one gets to use it until a lawyer is found. That may be days, weeks or months.”

A head poked around the door. “What am I hearing about a bakery and a candy shop? I have an idea!”

The sheriff made a hard noise from his throat, almost like a growl. “Oh, for crying out loud Flynn, what are you doing minding my business again?”

The man stepped inside. “I just happened to stop by the courthouse to get an update on an article I’m working on and I heard the three of you discussing the old McVey building.”

The sheriff rolled his eyes. “There is no way you just overheard us talking. You were sneaking around trying to find out some worldly news for your paper! Now tell me your idea before I throw the likes of you out of here!”

The newspaper man smiled. “Well, since we don’t know when a lawyer is coming back and don’t rightfully know the law on such delicate matters such as this, I say we have a contest. Let the town vote and decide who has the best desserts! The winner gets to keep the business!”

“Seriously? You are going to decide who gets the storefront by having a contest? This is appalling and I disagree. The truth is, I was at McVey’s office first. He gave me the deed to this property before Mr. Logan got his hands on the fake one!”

Jessie had no intention of losing the storefront. Besides, this contest might give him inspiration to show this town that he was much better than anything that came from his family bakery. He had ideas that his father never allowed him to use. “I think a contest is a great idea. I’m in.”

Candace turned to him, her lips pursed and the devil in her eyes. “You, sir, are going to lose. I have no intention of going back to Chicago. I plan to keep my promise to Theodore and once the residents of this town get their hands on his concoctions, they won’t have any doubt who to vote for.” She turned and nodded to the sheriff. “I’m in, too.”

The sheriff stood, a satisfied look on his face. “The rules are simple. The two of you will have to work together in the store and if there are any shenanigans, the culprit will automatically forfeit to the other.”

“How can we possibly share the storefront? I haven’t even had a chance to take a look at what I own yet!’

Jessie spoke up. “There is enough room in the store for the both of us. The display in the front window has to be shared. I want the top shelf.”

“We will see about that, Mr. Logan. The sheriff said we have to share everything. That means the top shelf, too.”

“Very well. I suggest we call a truce and take a look at our new store.” He stood. Jessie was enjoying how uncomfortable she seemed. Was this getting to be too much for her? Would she get sick of the contest and high-tail it back to Chicago? Jessie had heard her say she had no intention of ever going back there. And yet, would she give up if things got too tough? He sure intended to find out.

There was no way Jessie planned to lose that contest.

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