Mad About Matt (A Red Maple Falls Novel #1) Page 8

  He had a feeling Shay wouldn’t be so easily deflected.

  “I decided I wanted something different,” he finally said. “I wanted to give back to the town that had given so much to me.”

  “That makes sense. It suits you.”

  “You think so?”

  “I do. It’s like you’re the big brother of the entire town, and you can tell them what to do and watch over them like you’ve always done with your siblings. Now you just get paid to be a pain in the ass.”

  “She’s got jokes,” he said, poking her in the side and causing her to squeak out a laugh.

  “Jokes, facts… call them as you like.”

  Before he could poke her again, she jumped out of his arms and started walking backward, her eyes glued on his.

  “What about the farm? I know your parents still own it, but one day they’ll have to retire.”

  “I still help out when I can, but Hadley is there every day. If anyone is going to take over Basil Hill, it’ll be her. She’s earned it. Deserves it. And she’d be perfect for it. Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if she built a place to foster dogs.”

  “I love how every time I see her she has a new dog with her. One cuter than the last. I’m always tempted to adopt them, but with my schedule that’d be impossible.”

  “You can always bring them to work with you.”

  “I have a feeling having a dog hanging out at a bakery wouldn’t go over well with the Board of Health.”

  “Good point.”

  They came to a stop in front of Sweet Dreams Bakery, and Shay hitched a finger over her shoulder. “This is me.”

  He didn’t want to walk away; he wasn’t ready for the night to end when it felt like it was just beginning.

  She pulled out her keys and unlocked the shop doors. She pushed the door open and stood just outside.

  “No alarm?”

  “I knew I was coming back so I didn’t set it.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re going to go work now.”

  Shay shook her head with a laugh. “No. I have to grab my laptop. Thank you for walking me back.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Shay stepped away from the door and lifted up on tiptoes, pressing a kiss to Matt’s cheek. “Tonight was nice.” Her breath was warm on his face, and when she pulled away their eyes met. Want and desire rushed through him like a tidal wave, but as he reached out to her a loud noise came from inside.

  Shay jumped back, her eyes wide with fear. Matt quickly pushed her behind him, shielding her with his body. “Stay here,” he growled as he moved swiftly into the shop.

  He reached for his gun that rested beneath his shirt and made his way toward the counter. He didn’t expect anyone to be armed and dangerous, but since he didn’t know who he was dealing with, he didn’t want to take any chances. It was better to be safe than sorry.

  The clanging sound of metal hitting metal rang out from the kitchen. Whoever was here must’ve slid in through the back. Why the hell didn’t she set the damn alarm?

  He got to the kitchen, holding his gun out in front of him as he inspected the area.

  Pans were scattered across the counter and baking chocolate spilled from a bag onto the floor. The mess wasn’t nearly as big as the last one, but he assumed it was only because the trespasser heard them and took off.

  After scanning the area and deeming it clear, he moved toward the back door. The door was locked, which he wasn’t expecting. He opened the lock and slipped out into the dark. He kept his gun in front of him, his eyes scanning from one edge to the other as he made his way around the building.

  He heard the snap of a branch, and he turned toward the noise. “Freeze,” he yelled.

  Shay’s hands flew up in the air, her face stricken with terror as she stared down the barrel of the gun in his hands.

  “Shit!” he exclaimed as he holstered his gun and ran over to her. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Looking to see what was going on.”

  “Didn’t I tell you to stay put?”

  “What do you think I am? A dog?”

  “No, a dog has more common sense.”

  “You did not just say that.”

  “You bet your ass I did. How the hell am I supposed to do my job if I’m worrying about you?”

  “Because little ol’ me isn’t capable of taking care of herself, is that it?”

  “I didn’t say that, but we don’t know what the hell we’re dealing with here either. Unless you know something you’re not telling me.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “Is it? Because you seem a little too eager to see what was going on.”

  “Because this is my bakery. My life. Whoever this is, I want to catch them just as badly as you do, if not more.”

  “Grab your laptop and go home.”

  She planted her feet firmly into the ground, her hands defiantly resting on her hips. “I will go home when I damn well please and definitely not before I go inside and make sure everything is okay.”

  “There’s a few pans knocked over on the counter. Some baking chocolate on the floor. Nothing like before.”

  “Then if you’ll excuse me, I have to go clean up the mess.”

  She turned and Matt grabbed her wrist, spinning her back to him, long hair whipping around her as she came to a stop in front of him. “I’m giving you one last chance. If you know something tell me now.”

  Her stare hardened to solid stone as she glared at him, her chin tilting up in defiance. “There’s nothing to tell,” she all but growled.

  He stepped closer, his annoyance and anger fighting to come forth. He looked down at her, his jaw ticking with each jagged breath she took. “Get the damn cameras,” he barked before letting go of her wrist and watching her march off inside.

  Chapter 9

  On Matt’s lunch break, he took a ride to his grandparents’ house up on Cherry Valley Lane. Their house was an old Shaker style with sage green siding and many yellow windowpanes—that Matt painstakingly helped paint—as well as the door. Rows of stacked rocks outlined his grandmother’s flower beds that surrounded the house. It was only a matter of time before the tulips would be in full bloom.

  He thought of how the pink flowers brightened the yard then his mind immediately shifted to Shay and how she brightened any room she walked into. He smiled, thinking of their conversation the night before. The slight crimson that started at her neck and spread across her cheeks, the way her eyes bore into his, making his pants tighten and his brain think of all the ways he wanted to touch her, remembering how she once reacted so easily to his touch.

  Then his smile faltered, remembering how the night ended. She was so damn stubborn and it drove him nuts. If she would have set the alarm before going to the theater or if she would just put up cameras it all could have ended. Instead, he was on edge, hoping and praying that she wasn’t being targeted and if she was by who? What did it all mean? And was this intruder done with the games or just getting started? Was a few knocked over chairs and a dozen destroyed cupcakes as far as they would take it? Or were they more dangerous than that? Matt wasn’t stepping away until he had answers.

  He raised his hand to knock on his grandparent’s door when he heard mumbled profanities coming from behind the house. With a laugh, Matt changed direction and found his grandfather having an argument with a tractor.

  “You stupid, good for nothing—”

  “Need some help?” Matt asked as he walked toward his grandfather.

  “Only if you have a tow truck and you can get this hunk of metal off my lawn.”

  His grandfather was getting cranky in his old age. He used to love to tinker, but when things didn’t go the way he hoped, he quickly got agitated and gave up. Four months ago, it was a fifteen-foot fishing boat that he swore he would trailer to Lake Winnipesaukee when the weather got warmer. Instead, after a month of not being able to figure out what was wrong with it, he sold it to the Larson kid down the road for fifty bucks.

  Matt and the rest of the family were actually relieved. To think of his eighty-two-year-old grandfather out in the middle of the lake by himself, worried them all. What if something happened? The man was notorious for his hate of cell phones, and if he was on the water Matt wouldn’t be able to reach him as easily as he normally could if something went wrong. No, Matt preferred his grandfather on solid land where he’d be able to get to him if there was ever an emergency.

  “Why don’t you let me take a look,” Matt said before agreeing with his grandfather to throw in the towel. Growing up on a farm, Matt knew a thing or five about tractors. He knew how they were built, how they ran, and what was usually wrong with them if they broke down.

  This one, however, was older than Matt. Basically an antique in its own right. Probably should’ve been in some fancy showroom in a museum if it was cleaned up and restored.

  Nobody understood why Harold was so insistent on having this piece of machinery, but Matt did. This tractor reminded him of his prime when he worked his own crops and could do as he pleased without his body or mind stopping him. It was a way for him to try to recapture the youth that had slipped away from him quickly and unexpectedly.

  The boat was the same thing. Matt still remembered long days out on the lake with his grandfather when Matt was just a boy before his brothers were born. How Grandma would pack a cooler full of food and drinks and lather him repeatedly with sunscreen. Matt would jump off the bow of the boat and swim for hours. Other times it was just the boys. He, his grandfather, and his dad would go out for a day of fishing while Mom and Grandma spent the day doing things with Kate and Hadley. The summer days out on his grandfather’s boat were some of his fondest memories. So, while the others might not have grasped the bigger picture
to their grandfather’s crazy obsession with fixing the old, Matt did, and it was something he could appreciate.

  “What seems to be the problem?” Matt asked.

  “The dang thing won’t start.”

  “Does it have gas in it?”

  Harold narrowed his eyes and looked like he might smack Matt upside the head. “I’m old not an idiot.”

  Matt held his hands up. “You’d be surprised at how often that is the problem. There might be gas in there, but if there isn’t enough it’s not going to do you any good.”

  “I filled it this morning. Try again, Einstein.”

  “Let’s make sure it has spark. Do you have a volt tester?”

  “Yes, and I did that already.”

  “Can you just humor me?” Matt was sure his grandfather checked all the basics, but it didn’t hurt to check again in case he missed something.

  His grandfather turned around to a makeshift table made out of old crates and firewood and handed Matt what he had asked for. Matt hooked it up to the ground connection of the battery, then checked to make sure the points in the distributor were opening and closing properly. “Do me a favor and turn the key and when I tell you press the starter.”

  Harold turned the key and the tool lit up.

  “Okay hit the starter.” The light flashed which was exactly what should happen.

  Matt continued to troubleshoot while Harold stood over his shoulder. Every time Matt would do something Harold would chime in with, “I already did that.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Matt determined it was the coil. “You can go down to Charlie’s Garage and see if he can order you one. I’ll put it in when you get it,” Matt said.

  “I can handle it,” Harold grumbled.

  “Then I’ll come over and assist.” Harold might have been capable once upon a time, but Matt wasn’t so sure anymore. The older his grandfather got the more forgetful he became. The simplest things turned into projects, and while it broke Matt’s heart to see his once vibrant, smart as a tack grandfather deteriorating, he was happy he got to spend as much time with him as he could.

  The only regret Matt had was that his children, if he was ever lucky enough to have them, might not ever meet the man who helped raise him. The man who helped teach him all the things he knew about tractors, boats, fishing, cars and girls, taught him kindness and respect, and helped turn a boy into a man.

  A vision of a boy and a girl running through his grandmother’s tulips popped into his head. He smiled at the image of the little guy with the trademark Hayes boy’s shade of green eyes. His were darker, almost brown like his brother Mason’s. The little girl’s dark brown hair was braided into two pigtails. Her hazel eyes sat perfectly symmetrical above a cute little nose. She looked just like Shay.

  The thought completely threw Matt. He had always wanted kids, and back when he and Shay were young and naïve they talked about having a family together, but that was ages ago. Things had changed. She’d left. He’d stayed. But she was back now. Things could easily change again if she was willing to take a risk on a small-town Sheriff, who could never give her the fancy city life she was used to, but who would love her with every ounce of his being. Who would stay up late helping her frost cupcakes so she didn’t miss a deadline. Carry her to bed when her feet hurt from being on them all day. Who would wipe her tears when she was sad and laugh with her for no reason. Protect her from any harm and always be there for her until their dying day.

  She had left New York and come back. Maybe this was their second chance. Maybe she didn’t need all the luxuries of that life anymore. Maybe she would be content sitting on the porch of his log cabin and looking out to the quaint lake behind his house while sipping a glass of wine, wrapped in his arms.

  Maybe being with him would be enough this time.

  Matt’s radio went off, and Martha’s voice boomed across the quiet afternoon. “Smoke detected down at the abandoned barn on Chestnut.

  “Sam is on his way. He’s about ten minutes out.”

  Dread landed deep in Matt’s gut. The last time he was at the barn, he was escorting kids out of the decrepit structure, and he never did go back and replace the lock. He hoped like hell there was nobody there. Matt took a deep breath, clearing his mind and focusing on his next move.

  “Tell Sam I’m on my way,” Matt said into his radio. “Have to go, Grandpa. Call me when you get the part.”

  His grandfather nodded. “Be safe.”

  “Always am.”

  “And watch out for Sam.” Sam was Matt’s best friend since grade school and was also Red Maple Falls fire chief. Growing up, Sam practically lived at the Hayes’ house, avoiding his shitty home life and becoming as much a part of the Hayes’ family as a blood relative.

  “Always do.” Matt jumped into his car. Matt was about eight minutes away and would probably get there at the same time as Sam.

  Matt continued down the dirt road his grandparents lived on and took the first right that would bring him toward Chestnut. As he got closer, he could see ugly, dark smoke rising into the blue sky. Definitely a fire. He hoped like hell that the place was currently vacant.

  The air grew thicker with smoke the closer he got, and by the time he pulled up he could see flames shooting out the right side of the structure.

  He scanned the property, and spotted Carrie Fleming off to the side, but still way too close for comfort, bent over and coughing in uncontrollable fits.

  He got to her side, resting his hand on her back. “Are you okay?” he asked, taking in the black soot on her face, the sweat beaded across her forehead.

  She looked up, her eyes bloodshot and frantic as she grabbed Matt’s arm. “He’s still in there. Please you have to help him!”

  “Who?” Matt asked, keeping his voice calm so not to contribute to her panic.

  “Jake. He’s still in there. Please. You have to do something.” Desperation and heartache consumed her tone, but Matt pushed aside the emotions and focused on what he needed to do.

  He looked to the barn, flames shot out the roof, but it looked like it was contained to the right side. If that was the case, then there was hope.

  “I need you to go stand by my car,” he said. “Help is on the way.” He went to run and Carrie grabbed his arm, her nails digging into his flesh.

  Her hands trembled as she looked him straight in the eyes. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “You need to save him. You can’t let him die in there.”

  “I won’t,” Matt assured her and took off, praying he didn’t just make a promise he wouldn’t be able to keep.

  Matt ran back to the barn and looked to see if he could find an entry point that wouldn’t put him in immediate danger. The broken lock sitting at his feet was an awful reminder that he never replaced it. He ignored the guilt, bubbling inside him and was about to enter the barn when a loud explosion caused him to dive to the ground. Flames shot out a broken window and Carrie let out a blood curdling scream.

  The explosion could have been anything, but if Matt had to guess it would be an old gas can that had been left behind. The smoke grew thicker, his throat and eyes burned.

  Just then the Red Maple Falls fire truck pulled onto the property, and Sam and his crew jumped out. Sam pulled on his fire coat and yelled to his crew to get the hoses ready.

  “What do you got?” Sam asked as he ran toward Matt.

  Matt rubbed at his eyes. “There’s a kid in there. Jake Johns. Seventeen.”

  Sam didn’t hesitate. He took off into the barn without a second’s pause before Matt could even say another word. Crazy bastard. Matt understood it was their job to protect, and he would always honor that commitment, but he’d also protect himself in the process.

  Matt’s heart slammed against his chest as he let the fireman takeover, and he prayed like crazy that if Sam did have a death wish, this wasn’t the time to cash it in. Time moved like molasses dripping from a tree, slow and thick.

  A loud bang followed by a crackle echoed through the air. The smoke wrapped around the barn like a black death grip as the flames became larger and more terrifying.

  There weren’t many fires in Red Maple Falls, but when there was it never got easier for Matt when Sam disappeared into the darkness. He was afraid that one day he wouldn’t come out with that stupid smirk on his face and that no big deal attitude.