THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU (The Thorntons #2)

Chapter 2-1

2

When Caleb had gotten the call from dispatch that there’d been a robbery at The Rise and Shine, he didn’t consider why he’d driven like a madman to get there, or why the thought of Megan hurt and scared—had she been there when the robbery had occurred?—sent his thoughts into a tailspin.

He’d had to force his thoughts into the neat box of a police officer, not a concerned citizen. He had to exude calm and capability, even if everyone around him panicked.

It was easier said than done when he walked up to the bakery to see Megan sitting on a bench outside, looking as lost as when he’d arrested her.

“Megan, are you all right?”

He squatted down in front of her. He almost took her hands, but he wasn’t Caleb Thornton right now: he was Officer Thornton, and he needed to keep a professional distance from this woman. No matter how much it tore him up inside to do so.

She glanced up. Her eyes were wide, bright blue, and he was surprised to see that she wasn’t crying. She just looked shocked.

“Caleb…” She blinked. “What…? Oh. Yes. There was a burglary.”

He glanced at the shattered glass winking on the sidewalk, the broken window, and he could just make out the torn-up bakery inside. “Are you okay?” he asked in a firm voice. “Were you here when it happened? Should I take you to the hospital?”

When she didn’t respond, he touched her shoulder. “Megan.”

Her eyes widened. “No, no, I wasn’t here. I got here this morning and this was what it looked like.” She looked to see his hand resting on her arm.

He took his hand back and stood.

“Officer Gonzalez will be here to assist me. Do you want me to call anyone? Your sister?”

“No. Not yet.” She bent down and was about to start picking up the pieces of glass, but Caleb stopped her.

“We need to take photos of the crime first,” he explained gently. “And you don’t want to cut yourself. How about you go across the street to the Fainting Goat and get something to eat? I know they’re not open yet, but Trent will let us in—”

She stared at the ground, but after a moment, she shook herself. She rose, and Caleb was relieved to see a bit of color return to her face. “I’m not hungry. What can I do to help?”

There wasn’t a whole lot beyond cataloguing what had been taken, since she hadn’t been here to witness anything, but Caleb wasn’t about to tell her that. Officer Juan Gonzalez, a middle-aged man who’d been on the force for twenty years, got out of his car and whistled at the damage. With his large, dark mustache and short stature, people had a tendency to underestimate him—until they saw how fast he could run, and how he could bench-press as much as any guy twice his height.

“Ms. Flannigan,” Gonzalez said, “I’m sorry this has happened. Officer Thornton and I will be taking photos of the crime scene. Can you show us all the damage that you’ve noticed? And note anything missing?”

Megan seemed to come back to herself with something definite to do. Gonzalez escorted her inside, a fatherly air about him that usually calmed most people, with Caleb following behind.

Caleb’s mind went into what he liked to term Officer Mode. There had been two other robberies in the neighborhood lately, although Megan’s bakery had been the hardest hit, unfortunately. He grimaced as he took in the damage: the food scattered everywhere, the tipped-over and broken furniture, and the kitchen covered in flour and sugar and God knew what else. His boots crunched on glass, and he was glad to see that Megan wore thick shoes as well. If she’d been wearing her usual sandals, he wouldn’t have let her in here.

As if she would’ve let me keep her out, he thought wryly. Megan Flannigan had never had any interest in listening to what he had to say.

“Was anything stolen?” Gonzalez asked. “Money? Equipment?”

Megan frowned. “I didn’t see anything obvious stolen, but I haven’t gone through the entire kitchen yet. They tried to get into the safe I keep in my office, but they weren’t able to open it.”

“Anything in the cash register?” Caleb asked.

“No, I don’t keep money in the register over night, although Jubilee closed up last night. I need to call her…” Her voice trailed off as she gazed at a large smear of frosting on the display case. “Why would someone throw food around like this?”

“Megan—Ms. Flannigan,” Caleb said in a low voice, “is there anyone you think might have a grudge against you? Any enemies you believe would do something like this?”

She let out a startled laugh. “Enemies? No, not really. Well,” and her voice turned wry here, “only one, but I’m not sure he’s much for robbing bakeries.”

Caleb couldn’t stop his lips from quirking into a grin. When Gonzalez gave him a curious look, he flattened his lips into a neutral expression. “I see. How about you call Jubi to come down so we can talk to her, and anyone else you think might know something. Gonzalez, you have your camera, right?”

“Let me go get it.” Gonzalez looked at the pair of them but didn’t say anything else.

Standing in the middle of the bakery, the chaos of the robbery all around them, Caleb couldn’t help but think that Megan seemed so small amidst it all. Fragile, almost. He’d never in his life thought the words fragile and Megan in the same sentence, but there was a first time for everything.

“Hey, how are you holding up?”

She rubbed her arms before shrugging. “Fine. I mean, I’m not fine. I’m shocked, although I’m getting close to becoming angry. That’s good, right?”

“I’d prefer to see an angry Megan than a quiet one, I’ll admit.”

Her rose-bud lips turned into a small smile. “I’d have to agree. I don’t like feeling like this. Like I’m out of control…” She shrugged again. “Which is ironic, if you think about it.”

He wanted to take her into his arms. It was a ridiculous impulse: she’d never shown anything but antipathy toward him, yet he had this feeling, in the deepest part of him, that her thorns merely protected a soft, vulnerable center. Right now, he caught more glimpses of that vulnerability than he had in years, and he wanted to protect her. To enfold her in his arms and tell her she didn’t have to be afraid, because he would keep her safe.

She blinked her blue eyes, her lashes sinfully long and dark. He watched as a slight flush rose on her cheeks. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but Gonzalez took that moment to return.

“Sorry, the camera was buried underneath my son’s soccer gear in the trunk. Caleb, let’s get started?”

Caleb tore his gaze from Megan, although it was a struggle. He and Gonzalez canvassed the entire bakery, taking photos of all of the damage. As more and more of the thief’s crime was revealed, he couldn’t stop a black anger from taking hold of his insides. Only the lowest of assholes would do this to a woman who’d worked so hard to get this bakery started and make it successful. He wanted to find the guy—or woman—and wring his neck. Make him apologize to Megan and clean up every bit of flour and every cracked egg and every piece of broken glass until The Rise and Shine did, in fact, shine again.

“Do you think this is the same person who committed the other recent robberies?” Caleb asked quietly. It would make the most sense, although the other two robberies hadn’t been nearly as destructive.

Gonzalez snapped a photo of an overturned vase of utensils. “Most likely. How many burglars are there in Fair Haven? Although it doesn’t seem like he actually stole anything of value. He just wanted to destroy things.” He frowned in thought. “That’s honestly more concerning than somebody stealing money.”

Caleb had to agree. This seemed to speak of some kind of grudge. Although Megan didn’t think she had any enemies, he wondered now. Perhaps someone connected to the Flannigans who wanted to hurt them? He needed to talk to Harrison, although he might just be overly paranoid. The thief had tried to steal money from the safe. He might have realized his failure on that score and taken it out on the bakery as a result.

They both heard the front door bell ring, and then Caleb heard someone gasp behind him. “Oh my God! When Megan said we’d been robbed, I thought maybe they’d stolen some cash from the register…”

He turned to see his little sister Jubilee standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He smiled grimly at her. “Hey Jubi.”

“This is terrible.” She didn’t even look at Caleb. “Poor Megan.” She brushed a finger in some flour that had been thrown across a counter. “How are we going to clean all of this up?”

“You won’t have to do it by yourselves.” When Jubilee raised her eyebrows at Caleb’s statement, he added gruffly, “Don’t give me that look.”

“What look? Am I looking at you somehow? Oh, hey, Juan. How are you? How’s Gretchen and the kids?”

Gonzalez smiled. “They’re great. Thanks for asking. Although you know my Joaquin? He twisted his ankle after the latest game and is out for the season. He’s not too happy about it.”

“That sucks. I’m sorry.” Jubilee began to pepper Gonzalez with questions, which Caleb couldn’t help but be grateful for. His little sister was better with people than he was, he thought wryly. Maybe she should have become a public servant instead of him.

“Do you think this person picked the bakery for a reason?” he heard Jubilee ask. “Or do you think it’s random?”

“We don’t have enough to go by right now, but given the extent of the damage, it’s hard to think this was random,” Gonzalez admitted. “Do you have any idea who could’ve done this? Somebody who’s come in and gotten upset?”

She frowned. “I mean, beyond Mrs. Patterson getting mad when I accidentally put cream in her coffee? Not that I can think of. Mrs. Patterson is a bit touchy, but I don’t think she’d break a window in revenge.”

Gonzalez laughed. “I won’t tell her you said that.”

The front door bell rang again, and when Caleb, Gonzalez, and Jubilee stepped out of the kitchen into the bakery, Caleb saw Harrison and Sara entering, shocked expressions on their faces. Harrison, Caleb’s older brother, had gotten engaged to Sara Flannigan—Megan’s older sister—only a few weeks prior. Caleb couldn’t help but notice the way his brother kept a hand on Sara’s lower back, like he could shield her from the destruction around her. Harrison and Caleb looked alike, although where Harrison was broad, Caleb was taller. They both had the Thornton green eyes and dark hair. Sara and Megan, though, didn’t look as much like sisters, although Caleb had noticed that they both shared similar expressions and mannerisms that marked them as related, if you paid attention. Sara was shorter and curvier with darker hair, whereas Megan was taller with deep red hair.

“Oh, Megan, this is awful.” Sara glanced around. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay? Please tell me you weren’t here when this happened. Why didn’t you call earlier?”

Megan took her sister’s hands. “Because I was dealing with the police, and besides, there wasn’t anything you could do right then.”

“I could’ve been with you!”

Megan looked like she wanted to argue that, but Harrison intervened smoothly, “Caleb, are you guys done so we can start cleaning up? Or do you need to take more photos?”

Gonzalez said, “We’re done with photos. We’ll be taking statements from here on. Caleb, how about you go talk to the tenants next door, see if they saw anything. Megan and Jubilee, I’ll take your statements, if you please.”

Caleb wanted to argue—the last thing he wanted to do was leave Megan here—but he knew she had the support of her sister and his own siblings. As he walked out, though, he touched Megan’s elbow, drawing her away from the circle.

“I’ll be right next door if you need me.”

When she didn’t make her usual sassy remark, but instead just nodded, his chest tightened. He touched her arm once more before he stepped outside into the bright morning light.