Total pages in book: 14
Estimated words: 12204 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 61(@200wpm)___ 49(@250wpm)___ 41(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 12204 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 61(@200wpm)___ 49(@250wpm)___ 41(@300wpm)
The girl in the bakery sent me to the dress shop on Main Street, but when I got there, it was closed. I ended up eating lunch at the diner so I could keep an eye on it. Afterwards I went back, but there’s still no sign of Caroline.
Frustrated, I decide to walk back to the inn and keep an eye out there. Most of the people in Troping seem to pass through at some point in the day. Either for the free cider, to look at the gingerbread houses on display, or to say hello to the locals. It’s probably my best bet on finding her besides standing in the street and screaming her name. Which is plan B.
I was close to doing it earlier, but the town deputy has kept a close eye on me. After the second time I went to the dress shop, I caught her glaring at me from inside her car. I don’t want to cause any trouble; all I want is to find my girl and make her fall in love with me. That shouldn’t be too hard.
When I walk into the inn, the receptionist gives me a friendly wave before she texts something on her phone. It feels like she’s watching me too as I go to the bar and take a seat. From this vantage point, I can see everyone that walks in or out of that door, and I don’t plan on moving until I see my Caroline.
A few minutes after I sit down, I see the deputy come in, followed closely by the person I think is the owner of the inn. There was a photo of him with a few of the staff in the lounge area. I stared at it for a long time, making sure Caroline wasn’t in it.
“More cider?” one of the staff says as she comes over and glances down at my empty cup.
“Yes please,” I say and then reach into my wallet and pull out a hundred-dollar bill. “And I’d like a little information too, if you’ve got some.”
Chapter Three
CAROLINE
“I’ve got cupcakes and sugar cookies,” Frostie sing-songs through my door, giving away the fact that she’s up to something. It’s not abnormal for her to bring me sweets, more so now that I’m pregnant and had a small scare last week. The suspicious part is that she was here two hours ago. My small dining room table is still filled with the last batch she dropped off.
This time it’s a hard knock on the door, and I know who it’s going to be before she utters a word.
“The police, open up!” Tins shouts.
“Don’t scare her; she'll go into labor,” Frostie snaps.
“She can’t go into labor, it's too soon.”
“You cheated off me in biology. You have no clue about anything,” Frostie hisses back at Tinsel.
“Yeah, I cheated off you and still got a C, so you don’t know shit either.”
“I’m coming, you dork balls. Stop bickering.” I turn off my alarm and open the door to my tiny cottage that’s close to downtown. Tins’s patrol car sits out front, and I shake my head.
My place is close enough that I can walk to the dress shop. I moved here a month ago, knowing the little apartment I had over the dress shop wouldn’t be enough space for me and a baby. It was barely enough room for me because I filled the space with fabric. I swear every day I get more and more orders, and I can’t keep up. I had to put a hold on orders for the time being, but I’m glad that my new place has two bedrooms.
The second I see the two of them, Tinsel is walking right on in. “We need to talk.” She walks over to the dining table and inspects the desserts. I don’t think she gets her fill of Frostie’s treats as much as she once did now that she doesn't live over the bakery and has moved in with her fiancé.
“Is that a paperclip in your hair?” I ask her. She feels around for a second before pulling it out. “Desk sex,” she mutters and tosses it on the table.
“You don’t have cupcakes or cookies,” I point out to Frostie as she comes in behind Tinsel. I don’t know what I would do without these two. Since the moment I found out I was pregnant, they’ve been my support team.
They don’t even push about who the father might be, though I think they’ve already narrowed it down to not being someone who lives in our little town. That wasn’t a hard one to figure out, though. Hell, we’d all been shocked when those two little lines showed up. Tinsel and Frostie were because they didn’t know I’d been with anyone and me because what are the freaking odds?! I spent one night with the man, but apparently that’s all it took.