CHAPTER FOUR
Bee
the time I was done cleaning the front of my store, I had a headache from the solvent. I'd probably need to come back in the daylight and make sure I didn't miss any spots, but right now I really needed to finish my baking.
I opened the back door to my kitchen to let out some of the heat and got to work, mixing and dividing and rolling out the dough for the honey buns. When I had six trays laid out I opened my shiny new industrial oven and closed my eyes against the blast of heat. I was getting much better at setting up my racks, and it was a little sad how proud I was when everything lined up right the first time.
I slammed the oven door shut, inhaling deeply, expecting to fill my lungs with the smell of my honey buns baking.
"Oh God, what's that?" I said aloud in my empty kitchen.
I sniffed again. The odor of reeking, rotting garbage was faint, but still overpowering enough to drown out the smell of the baking buns.
"Oh God," I sighed. "Not again."
I turned in a slow circle, taking in several things at once. The first thing was the overflowing garbage can in the corner of the store that I needed to take out before I opened.
And the second was the smell of the garbage wafting through the open back door.
The garbage in the dumpster that apparently hadn't been picked up for the second week in a row.
"Tonight can go fuck itself," I declared vehemently. For a moment, I just stood there paralyzed. Waiting. Waiting for someone to come swooping in to take care of me.
But there wasn't anyone, and I had no one to blame but myself.
"I can take care of myself," I said aloud. That's what I'd told Zach as I ripped the ring off my finger and flung it into the woods. I'd rather be alone than be with you.
I never realized being alone was so... lonely.
I sniffled, feeling sorry for myself, and when I did, the odor of garbage filled my nostrils again. When I contracted with the waste management company, they promised that they would do their pick up here at my bakery first, since I started work so early in the morning. But here it was, nearly 5 AM, and they still weren't here. And if what had happened last week was any indication, that meant they wouldn't be coming at all.
I leaned back on my heel, spinning a slow pirouette that would have made my mother proud, twisting in a circle of indecision. There was no way that I could have my garbage piled in the corner if and when people started walking into the shop, and I opened in an hour. I needed to do something with the morning's garbage, but a full dumpster would make that impossible.
I looked again out through the open backdoor. It opened to a black top alley, shared by all the new stores and restaurants that were popping up along the strip. Each plot was separated by nothing more than a low chain-link fence.
And on the other side of that fence from my shop was a giant, completely empty dumpster belonging to Finn's restaurant.
Did I dare?
Yeah, I dared.
The timer on my buns would go off in fifteen minutes. That should give me just enough time to pack up the garbage, and see if my fence jumping skills were still as good as they used to be back home. There was no one out and about at 5 AM in Reckless Falls to see me committing... wait, was garbage fraud even a thing?
It didn't matter. One bag? Finn would never even notice the difference. He didn't even know I existed.
That's what I told myself as I grabbed the full bag and tied it off. I slung it over my shoulder then rushed out the back door.
The stars still twinkled on the western horizon but in the east, a faint line of blue was gathering, a mirror image of the sunset I'd watched eight hours earlier. My eyes were scratchy with lack of sleep. Anxiety and stress buzzed in my veins like caffeine.
I stood at the fence, gathering up my courage for a second before tossing the bag over, and scaling the fence between our properties.
I landed with a thud on the other side of the fence, rolling my ankle. I hissed in pain, then hopped over to the dumpster. Praying that it wouldn't squeak, I lifted the lid carefully.
"And just what do you think you're doing?" came a low voice from the shadows.
I jumped like I been scalded, slamming the lid shut and dropping the bag of garbage to the ground where it flopped open, letting out the smell of rancid milk and butter way past its prime. Embarrassment thudded in my ears. Of all the ways I had imagined finally meeting Finn Walker, this was by far the worst of my nightmares.
I turned slowly to see a piece of shadow separate itself from the black mass. "My next-door neighbor is a thief?" the shadow drawled.
My nose twitched a little. Sure, Finn was handsome, but that didn't give him permission to be a dick.
I drew myself up standing taller. "You scared me," I called.
The shadow stepped into the light a little more, and I sucked in my breath to see dark eyes, full lips, and dark hair.
"You're not Finn!" I burst out and then snapped my mouth shut.
He gave a slow, easy grin that did something strange to my stomach. I took an involuntary step backwards, unable to keep myself from staring at him.
He was tall, probably a foot taller than me, with dark straight hair just a little too long for my tastes. It flopped into his eyes and he ran his fingers through it as he stared me down, like he wanted to make sure he had a clear view of my embarrassment.
I swallowed. He was dressed in chef's whites. So he must be a one of Finn's workers. But what the hell was he doing here so late? Or rather, so early? "You shouldn't be hanging around in the dark like a creeper," I finally managed to gasp.
"Well," he said, turning to the back step and grabbing a Styrofoam cup that was sitting there. He looked me up and down in a way that made my skin tingle at the same time it made my blood run cold as he took a slow sip. "At least I'm not trespassing," he finally drawled.
Red flashed across my vision, and my blood heated up. I felt my fists clench as my heart started to pound. A voice that sounded like my mother's echoed in my head, small and distant, watch that temper of yours, Beatrix Noelle, but it vanished as the full force of this shitty day hit me. "Don't be a fucking asshole!" I screeched. "I've had a bad fucking day and the sun hasn't even come up yet!"
Then I clapped my hand over my mouth. "Oh my god, oh my god I am so sorry," I said, burying my face in my hands and wishing like hell that the ground would just swallow me up.
"Don't be," he said. I opened my eyes to see that he was still grinning, but this time it seemed different. Like, less amused and more... impressed? "It's been a shitty day all around."
"I bet mine was worse," I grumbled petulantly.
"Yeah? Tell me why."
I looked back up again. The sky had lightened enough so that I could see the way his eyes were sliding down over my body. I flushed deep red and opened my mouth to shout at him again when the door opened.
"Jacky-boy? Where the fuck did you go?"
And if my face was red before, now it had to be deep purple. Because of course Finn Walker was peering out of the restaurant. And of course his eyes landed on me. Of course I now had two devastatingly gorgeous men staring at me while I stood there, breathless and sweaty, half covered in black spray paint, reeking of solvent and standing over stinking garbage.
Of course I did.
This day could definitely go fuck itself.