Bev was in the cat room when she heard the front door slam later in the afternoon. Were they finally gone? She'd been avoiding the trio all day, her stomach like a sunken log. "Mack?"

She reached the window just in time to see Mack drive off with Whittle. He hadn't stopped in to say good-bye, as she would have expected. What did that mean?

The inspector was still loading up his van. Maybe he had some answers.

She made it to the parking lot just in time to jump in front of the battered gray truck, the beagle and Mac barking with excitement as she flagged him down. "Wait!"

He rolled down his window. "What?"

"How did the inspection go? Did the warehouse not pass?" As if she could be that lucky.

"Oh, no. It passed."

"Oh." She sighed, unable to hide her disappointment.

The inspector leaned on the window, his eyes gleaming. "Did you bust that pipe? I thought it was that fat dude, but was it you? Maybe hoping to keep the place from selling?"

"What?" She waved her hand at the dogs, trying to quiet them, so she could concentrate on what the man was saying.

"I thought the fat guy was just covering for himself when he blamed you, but it's making sense now. You got nowhere to take these dogs, do you?" He grinned, flashing a set of smoky yellow teeth at her. "Well, sweetheart, I hate to disappoint you, but he's still going to buy the place, and he told the big guy to get you arrested. Have a nice day."

Bev stood in the parking lot, her hands dangling by her sides. What was he talking about? The plumber hadn't said anything when he fixed the pipe last week.

She walked inside and squatted next to the repaired section of the pipe, running her fingers over the shiny new copper. She was no plumber, but it looked fine to her. Why did they think someone had broken it intentionally? Mac ran by her, chasing the beagle in a frenzied race, knocking into her knee.

"Mac!" She caught herself on the pipe just before she toppled over. Sharp pain shot through the palm of her hand, sharp metal slicing through her skin. "What the..."

It was then that she saw them. Long, narrow indentations in the pipe. As if someone had tried to break it open with an axe. "No way."

Bev closed her eyes and leaned back on her heels, holding her injured hand to her chest. Mack must have thought she'd done it. That's why he'd left. No! That couldn't be right. How could he not trust her? He loved her! Okay, so he hadn't admitted it, but it was true. What if he used the pipe incident as an excuse to get away from her, like she'd used the shelter incident to try to convince herself she wasn't falling in love with him?

No! This wasn't how it was supposed to end! Tears welled up in her eyes, refusing to be banished.

"Bev? Where are you?" Les's voice rang through the shelter, and she closed her eyes.

She was so not in the mood to deal with him.

While Mac and the beagle ran off to greet Les, Bev used her tee shirt to dry her eyes. By the time Les tracked her down, she was collected and calm, her bleeding hand hidden behind her back. No way could she deal with Les trying to administer to her wounds the way Mack had. "What's up, Les?"

He was standing near the door, the tail of his wrinkled shirt hanging out of his pants. "You found them?"

"Found what?"

"The marks."

"Marks?"

"Uh..." He turned red and started to back out of the room. "Never mind."

Suspicion flaring in Bev's mind, she jumped in front of the door, blocking Les's exit. "Les! What did you do?"

"Nothing." He stared at the ground, kicking at invisible dirt.

"Did you break the pipe? Was it you?"

He said nothing, sniffling loudly.

Bev took a deep breath and calmed her voice. "Les, you need to be honest with me. Please?"

Averting his eyes from her face, he shrugged. "I was trying to get your attention."

Bev let her breath out in a distressed whoosh. "You did break the pipe."

"It's not my fault! You were with him! You didn't notice me or need me anymore! I had to do something!" He was whining now, distress raising the decibels of his voice.

Recognition dawned. "You mean, I was with Mack?"

"Yes!" He finally looked at her, and the distress in his face nearly tore her heart. "I'm the one who cares about you. I do your chores around here. I hand out flyers. I'm the one who loves you."

Bev pursed her lips. "You turned me down for dinner, Les."

"Of course, I did! I wasn't prepared! If I was going to finally get to go to dinner with you, I would need time to prepare. If you'd given me more warning, I could have gone." He scowled. "And I never got another chance because he showed up."

Okay, so Josie had been right. Les was definitely not the man for her. She put her hand on his sweaty shoulder, surprised to feel him shaking. "Les, you and I weren't meant to be, even if Mack hadn't come into my life. You're like my brother."

He stared at her. "Your brother?"

"Yes," she said, trying to sound optimistic. "Which means you'll be in my life forever. People who are dating break up and never talk again. Can you imagine if that happened to us? If we never spoke again? Ever?"

Les blanched. "That would be horrible," he whispered.

Bev nodded. "But as my brother, we'll be friends forever. Isn't that better?"

He pursed his lips, then nodded his head slightly. "I guess..."

"Great." Bev patted him on the back, unable to cope with him any longer. "I think it's time for you to leave, Les. I need to do some stuff."

He pointed at the pipe. "Did the warehouse pass inspection?"

"It passed."

Les's mouth dropped open in dismay. "How could it have passed? This was going to make you realize you needed me," Les whined. "I was going to save your place, and then I'd be your hero."

Okay, so maybe Josie had been right that Les's adoration would be smothering. "I appreciate the effort, Les, but it wasn't a good idea." She needed to get away from him, needed to think.

"It should have worked." He was sulking now.

She bit her lip. "Les, I love you like my brother, remember? You don't need to do things like that, okay?" At his nod, she sighed. "I think you should leave."

He looked like he was going to protest, but only for an instant. Then his shoulders slumped and he slunk out the door.

Bev pressed her hand to her forehead. She could go tell Mack the truth, that Les had broken the pipe, but what would it solve? If he didn't want to believe her, there was nothing she could do.

Great. Two days until closing, and now she didn't even have someone to hug her at night. She lifted her chin. Maybe she was wrong about Mack. Maybe he wasn't blaming her at all. Maybe it was just Whittle getting on his nerves that had made him not say good-bye. Mack wouldn't walk away from her like that. Would he?

No, he wouldn't. She'd take care of her hand, finish up at the shelter and head home. Mack would call her before the sun set.