I ached to hug her again, feeling the pain in her voice, knowing that it would take her a long time to heal. That what she’d endured would impact all of her future relationships.

“You have a lot of people in this town who will stand up for you,” I told her, motioning to where Tina and Fiona were standing. “And your family.” My eyes dashed to her brother who was now staring at Fiona. That almost made me want to smile.

Almost.

There were things I wanted to say to Lori. A whole bunch of things. I wanted to tell her that this wasn’t her fault because I could see the blame and guilt painting her face. I wanted to tell her that Ronnie was a weak coward, and that she’d find a man who deserved her, would treasure and protect her.

But it wasn’t the time. Not in the crowded bakery with eyes on her. What had happened wasn’t a secret. Yes, our close-knit town would come together to support her, but they would also give her attention that she did not want right then.

“Why don’t you go and grab some cake to bring home with you?” I offered. “Nothing seems quite as bad after a big slice of cake.” I gave her a wink, and she smiled weakly back at me, nodding then walking to the counter where Fiona was waiting for her with an easy, warm smile.

I watched them interact with hope. With faith that Lori would recover, that she would make it through this… because she had to and because she had the strength inside her. Women did. They conquered the demons that men summoned, and they did it every day.

When the door to the bakery opened, my eyes flitted over to see who had entered.

Finn, our police chief. He was young for the position. Had to be around my age, if not a little older. His father had been chief before him and had retired when he was diagnosed with cancer three years ago.

He beat the cancer but stayed retired, Finn doing very well at keeping the peace in our small town. Not that peace was hard to keep. Our crime levels were relatively low, most of them committed by bored teenagers or drunk tourists.

Finn was amongst Rowan and Kip as the most eligible bachelors in this town. His dark hair was always kept neat and short, same with the beard that did really great things for his face. He had dark ebony skin and dark brown eyes that made women melt. He was tall, muscular and ruggedly handsome. And he did wear the shit out of that uniform.

It struck me that I was staring at our police chief, almost checking him out when I was technically spoken for. Not that I felt anything while I was checking him out; I was doing so objectively. Every man I looked at now was measured against Rowan. And even though the chief was attractive in all ways, he didn’t do anything for me. Because he wasn’t Rowan.