“All right, darlin’,” Brock said softly and my focus went back to him. “You’d had a tough night so you might have missed it but over Mexican, your girl bitched… at length… about her job. She’s in a bad place, hates what she’s doin’, and she’s been lookin’ around now for months and findin’ nothin’. You told me your income quadrupled over Christmas, and that isn’t slowing. Right now, you got the means to do this and you got someone you trust. Someone who knows you and your vision and understands the importance of it to you. Talk to Martha. Maybe she’ll be open to takin’ on a new gig. Even if you don’t expand, with how it is out there, you still could use someone doin’ what you do in here so you can get outta here and do what you prefer to do out there.”

Again, this idea held merit but this one held more. Like a lot more. Doable more.

“That’s a great idea, honey,” I whispered.

“It’s a selfish idea, baby,” he whispered back. “The more money you make, the more sexy nighties I get, and if you get help, I’ll maybe see you sometimes when you’re not flat out exhausted and trying to hide it.”

See? Totally could not pull shit over on Brock.

“I’ll talk to her tonight,” I told him.

“Good,” he said on an arm squeeze.

“So”—I tipped my head to the side—“did you come here to advise me on the future of my bakery?”

He shook his head and answered, “Nope, gotta go to work. Mom’s got plans to go see a movie with friends. Laura’s got a gaggle of girls over because Ellie had a slumber party last night. Jill and Fritz are up in the mountains snowshoeing. I don’t think dad’s up to it. Levi isn’t answering his phone and Kalie and Kellie are out there. ’Cause of that, I need to ask you to look after the boys. If I can get hold of Levi, I’ll give you a call and send him ’round to pick them up.”

It was then I noticed he wasn’t in a thermal, his leather jacket, and faded jeans but in a navy blue turtleneck (again, one I bought him for Christmas), his nice jeans, and his black overcoat.

Work attire.

“Someone get a cap busted in their ass?” I asked.

He grinned, shook his head in that way he did (that way I liked) when I knew he thought I was cute, and answered, “Yeah, and that someone was done exactly the way another someone who hit my desk last week was done. I gotta get to the crime scene and I gotta look into that shit.”

Not fun.

“Okay,” I agreed readily and his arms gave me another squeeze.

“They’ll be cool,” he told me.