Ben drove to the shop early in the morning, as usual, but this morning he saw that the fire hydrant on the corner had been painted pink, along with the fire curb. Ben shook his head and pulled into the parking lot behind the shop. Midwest Mayhem was at it again.

He opened the back door of the confectionery. He hung up his jacket in his usual spot, pulled on his chef coat, and washed his hands before getting to work. He pulled the powdered cocoa from the cabinet, along with sugar, spices, and a chocolate square tray and put them on the stainless-steel table in the middle of the kitchen.

He grabbed butter and heavy cream from the refrigerator and began to whip up his first batch of chocolate of the day. The coffee had already brewed and was ready and waiting in the pot as the butter melted slowly on the stove. He poured himself a cup and sipped, smelling the rich bite of coffee and the sweet tang of butter and chocolate wafting through the air.

This was his favorite time of day, early in the morning when no one had arrived yet. He could focus completely on his work of making chocolates, toffee, caramel, and taffy for the people of Fate Valley. He loved his customers and helping people find just the right confection, but nothing compared to the time he spent alone in the kitchen, making the sweet treats.

Ben set his coffee cup on a side counter and returned to the slowly melting butter in its large pot on the gas burning stove. With the butter melted, he added a carefully measured amount of sweet cream and stirred deliberately, bringing the mixture up to temperature. Once it was all warm, he measured in the powdered cocoa, carefully stirring until the cocoa was melted into the butter and cream. With the chocolate melted, he added the sugar and spices and checked the temperature to make sure it was just right.

When he was satisfied, he pulled the pot from the stove and poured it into a stainless-steel bowl where he then transferred it to piping bags to scoop into the chocolate molds. The chocolate molds were his biggest task of the day. They were used for every kind of chocolate, from raspberry cream filling to nut fillings to caramel. After filling dozens of chocolate molds, and using the last ounce of chocolate from his bowl, Ben put the trays on cooling racks and poured himself another cup of coffee.

Tilly would be arriving soon to open the store. He went out into the front of the shop to begin the opening routine. He filled the cash register with a fresh cash drawer, arranged items on the counter, and inspected the shop to make sure it was all clean and tidy. As he was passing the front window, he looked out onto the square in the early morning light. He did a double take at the sight before him and nearly dropped his coffee cup. He blinked several times, trying to conceive what he witnessed before him. It’s just didn’t make any sense.

Ben gulped and set his coffee cup on the café table and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket to dial the police.

“Hello, this is Ben Darling down at Fate Valley Confections. I need to report a crime.”

“What is the problem, Mr. Darling?” the officer asked.

“The new sculpture of the town’s founder seems to be missing.”

“Wait, let me get this straight. The statue of Ambrose Morgan is gone?” the officer asked. “How is that possible? That’s a two-thousand-pound stone statue.”

“I have no idea,” Ben said. “But it’s not there.”

“We have officers enroute right now,” the officer said. “Someone will come and speak to you.”

Ben hung up the phone and shoved it back in his pocket. He was aware that the whole thing sounded crazy, but his eyes were not playing tricks on him. At first, he was afraid the officer hadn’t believed him, but a few moments later, a patrol car pulled up in front of Fate Valley Confections, and two baffled police officers stepped out.

After grabbing his coat, Ben unlocked the front door and joined them on the sidewalk. They all looked at each other blankly. Without a word, they walked across the street to the town square and stared at the empty platform where the statue had been placed the day before.

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” the first officer said.

“How does someone steal a statue?” said the second officer.

“Well, it’s obviously missing,” Ben said. “Now it’s up to you two to figure out how and why.”

The two officers looked at each other dumbly and Ben sighed under his breath. He really couldn’t believe that it had happened, right under everyone’s noses. The town square was one of the busiest places in Fate Valley. How could it have gone unnoticed?

“This part of town is deserted at night, except for the hotel,” the first officer said. “Maybe we should question some of the guests.”

“Sounds like a good place to start,” the second officer said.

As the sun rose in the sky, a crowd gathered around the statue platform. Business owners, early-morning joggers, and hotel guests all gathered, chatting with each other and taking turns speaking to the two police officers on site. Ben returned to the confectionery to open for the day. He and Tilly couldn’t stop staring out the front window at the scene unfolding before them.

“I just can’t believe it,” Tilly said. “How could anyone steal a statue? Why would anyone steal a statue?”

“I don’t understand it. I don’t think anyone understands it,” said Ben

Then he saw his mate walking out of the hotel lobby as the sun broke out from behind a cloud and lit up the whole day. He grabbed his coat and ran outside, leaving Tilly with the few customers in the shop.

He felt like he was walking in a dream as he charged across the street and stood amongst the gossiping town folk. He watched her slowly inch toward him. Their eyes locked. This time, she didn’t run away. He gulped, his throat suddenly dry and tight. His heart whacked in his chest, buzzing in his ears. The smell of her filled his nose and made his head swim.

She was bundled in a white jacket with a fur lined hood that she had up over her head. She wore pink fuzzy gloves and tan boots with fur lining over thick tights. She walked over to where he stood like a statue himself. She glanced down at the ground shyly before looking up into his eyes. She bit her lip, her hands shoved in her pockets, and tilted back and forth on her feet before shrugging.

“Hi, Ben,” she said.

“History Buff,” he said, his voice little more than a dry whisper.

“That’s me, Samantha Cooper,” she said, pulling her hand from her pocket and resting it on her chest. She looked around nervously and then back at him. “It’s weird that the statue’s missing. Isn’t it nuts?”

“Totally nuts.”

“Wasn’t that statue about two thousand pounds?” she asked.

“At least,” he said. “But I think there’s something more important we need to talk about.”

“I know,” she said, kicking a stone with the tip of her boot.

“We’re fated mates,” he blurted out.

“All I know is that the website matched us and then Debbie over at the Fate Valley Diner told me I better not break your heart, or your shifter friends would be after me.”

Ben chuckled. “She would say that.”

“Is that true?”

“Is what true?”

“That if I don’t mate with you shifters will come after me?”

“Of course not! I’m going to have to talk to Debbie about saying stuff like that to human women.”

“What a relief,” she said, her shoulders relaxing.

“Neither my friends nor I would ever do anything to hurt you in any way. I hope you believe me.”

“I do. I got kind of scared. But maybe I just overreacted. Sorry I didn’t respond to your text.”

“That’s perfectly understandable. What brought you to town?”

“I came here to do historical research for an article I’m writing for the Historic Times.”

“It’s cool you work for the Historic Times,” he said. “Is the article about Ambrose Morgan?”

“Yes. It’s an important article and it will bring national attention to the uniqueness of the Lake of the Fates. The magazine is distributed across the country to middle schools, high schools and libraries. The story of Ambrose Morgan is quite an interesting case.”

“I’m proud to live in this town. It’s a great place,” he said, smiling and looking around the square. “I want to apologize again for what Debbie said.”

“I should have known she was just teasing. I guess I got overwhelmed when I got matched so quickly and then you were right there.”

“I can imagine. I know this is sudden and there’s a lot going on,” Ben said, “but I would love to take you to dinner if you’d let me.”

“Sure,” she said. “You seem like a nice guy. Just don’t send your buddies after me if I can’t commit to you forever and ever.”

“I just want to take you out for dinner and dancing. Maybe some wine. I promise not to call my posse of shifters on you.” He winked and she laughed.

“It sounds lovely, really. I can’t tell you the last time I actually went out on a date.”

“I’ll pick you up at the hotel at six and take you to the Fate Valley Resort for a delicious dinner.”

“Were you staying at the hotel last night?” one of the officers asked Samantha.

“I was,” she replied, turning to him.

“We are going to need to ask you a few questions.”

“I’ll see you tonight then,” she said to Ben.

He nodded and smiled before turning back to the confectionery. His heart was light, and his head was buzzing. He wanted her for life. But for now, she’d agreed to go on a date with him. Ben couldn’t be happier.