“Can I help you?” a young woman with a long dark ponytail, not more than twenty, asked him.

“I was looking for the chief.”

The woman pointed over her shoulder at a closed door. “He’s in his office. Go on back.”

“Thanks.” Ethan made his way to the door and knocked.

“Come in.” When Ethan opened the door, the chief looked up from a stack of papers on his desk. Chief Campbell got to his feet and moved out from behind the desk. “It’s good to see you again.” He held out his hand and gave Ethan another firm shake. “I wasn’t sure if you’d stop by again.”

Ethan glanced down at the paperwork on the man’s desk. “I hope I’m not bothering you.”

“Not at all.”

Ethan wasn’t sure exactly why he’d taken the chief up on his offer to visit. It wasn’t like he didn’t have his own station house back in New York. That’s where he should be working. But that would come soon enough.

And now that he’d struck up a deal with the beautiful baker, he was starting to feel more comfortable on Bluestar Island. Who knew that would happen? But there was something about this town—about Hannah—that drew him in.

Chapter Nine

“A great guy.”

“Very reliable.”

“Hard worker.”

The praises for Ethan were plentiful and appeared to be earnest.

The next afternoon, Hannah thanked the last man on Ethan’s list of references and disconnected the call. She’d spent the past half hour or so calling everyone on the list Ethan had given her. They were all friendly and chatty. According to Ethan’s sources, she couldn’t do any better than him. “The best of the best.”

At this moment, she needed all of the help she could get to finish the bakery on time or as close as possible. Yesterday’s meeting at the bank hadn’t gone well.

Penny-A-Day Savings & Loan was a small-town bank that was privately owned by William Penny. His family was one of the island’s original residents. She’d been informed that the bank felt awful about the incident, but there was no way they could extend or otherwise modify her loan payment. Hannah had pleaded but it had still been the same answer. Desperation seeped into her bones. She couldn’t lose her dream.

Feeling cooped up in her apartment, Hannah made her way downstairs to the bakery. It was abuzz with activity. And at last, she’d received some good news. The work on the front room was complete.

She rushed to the front of the bakery and came to an abrupt halt. Her definition of complete and theirs was quite different. The walls consisted of freshly hung drywall with crevices between each board. And the floor was nothing more than sheets of plywood screwed down. But the head of the restoration crew had given her the go-ahead to resume her renovations in the bakery showroom.

She glanced down at her notebook that held her drawings of how she’d envisioned the bakery when it was completed. Sadness enveloped her. She didn’t think any of those visions would come to life, but she’d be grateful if this place ever got to the point where it could open for business.