That wasn’t the most concerning thing at the moment, however. “How can you tell us apart?” I asked, stopping with Imogen in the middle of the open space while she looked at the cupcakes from our location.
Katy stood up and walked toward us slowly like she didn’t want to frighten us away. “Oh, I can’t tell you apart, but I remember Imogen. Are you in the mood for cookies or cupcakes?” she asked, striding right past me and stopping at Imogen’s side.
She was much too close for comfort. I grabbed Imogen’s hand in mine and squeezed tightly, hoping she’d understand this was an important time and she shouldn’t leave me. But Katy looped her arm through Imogen’s and pulled her toward the cupcake display. Apparently, when it was a choice between me and sugar, I lost to chocolate.
“Cupcakes for sure,” Imogen said, not taking her eyes off the rows and rows of sugary treats.
There was no room for me in front of the display because the two women fanned out, looking at all the options. Katy leaned up against the glass and pointed at each type of cupcake explaining what they were. Everything from chocolate and chocolate to vanilla and strawberry frosting and even a special red velvet with sprinkles.
“In a couple of weeks, we’ll have the Labor Day special. It has sprinkles baked right into the cake parts and then a red and blue frosting. It’s one of my favorites.”
Imogen’s eyes were wide when she spoke. “I definitely need to stick around long enough for one of those.”
We most absolutely certainly would not be in Maine long enough to get a Labor Day cupcake. If Ridge didn’t have Bernard arrested by then, we would just go into hiding in some other part of the world. Somewhere far away with palm trees, not pines. You couldn’t spend too much time in Pelican Bay without getting sucked in.
“She definitely needs a red velvet,” Katy said, talking to the woman behind the counter. “It’s delicious,” she explained when she turned back to Imogen.
“Do you work here?” Imogen asked, and I hated the fact she engaged the enemy in conversation.
Katy sighed. “Not anymore. The bed-and-breakfast keeps me busy between running the place and overseeing the renovations. Vonnie picked up my hours to help. I try to stop by a few times a day to continue her training.”
Imogen glanced at Katy in an odd sort of way, but not one of fear like she should. “If you’re training, shouldn’t you be behind the counter?”
Katy laughed, and it sounded sweet and innocent, but I knew the truth. Many women had been sucked in by that noise. “Oh no, it’s not that kind of training. Vonnie is learning to be my assistant.”
The woman in question assembled the plate with four different cupcakes and then handed them over the counter to Imogen. She grabbed it like it was a newborn baby and she might drop one on the tile floor. “Your assistant for what?”
Katy led Imogen back to the table with only two chairs as I quickly whipped out my card for Vonnie to scan and pay.
I had one job coming to this bakery—not to let Imogen out of my sight and definitely not to let her get close to Katy. I was feeling tumultuous and couldn’t figure out how to get the cart attached to the horse again.
“That’s not important. What is really upsetting is the fact Vonnie and I were not included in any of the rescue work when it came to you and Cyrus. We hardly knew about it until you came to town. Nobody is talking.”
Imogen looked at me with her eyes wide. Finally, she understood the dire situation she walked into. They conned her with cupcakes and now she was too deep to see her way out.
“Can these cupcakes get a to-go box?” I asked Vonnie as she handed back my credit card.
Katy answered for her. “No, we don’t have anything small enough to hold them. Darn it. You’ll have to eat here. So sad.”
“Fine. Get me six. Add on two more and shove them in a box. I’m sure it will be fine.”
Katy shook her head. “No, no, no. There’s too much room in the box. They’ll fall over and the true artistry of Anessa’s work will be lost. Back to the story. Exactly how did the two of you find yourselves in Georgia?”
Imogen opened her mouth to answer, but I stepped over and handed her a cupcake. “I’m sure Ridge considers it a good thing you and Vonnie weren’t involved. Don’t you think?”
“Yes, well, Ridge is often incorrect in his assumptions. We’ll find out the story eventually, so you might as well give us a jumping off point.”
The only person who’d be doing any jumping would be me off the plank if I gave Katy anything to go off of, but I didn’t see another way out of our situation. They probably wouldn’t let us leaven until we gave them something to gossip about with the town.
The important part was to mitigate the damage. “We were both doing shopping in Georgia and accidentally misplaced our belongings. Ridge had to come and rescue us. You know how it is.”
Katy stared at me hard, and I swear if she had a way to attach lasers to her eyes, I would’ve been toast.
“It seems highly unlikely that a man of your… means, would find himself in Georgia with no shoes.”
“We had to leave our shoes at the truck stop because Cyrus thought they might have GPS trackers in them,” Imogen said after she finished her bite of cupcake.
I groaned and took a step back from the table, closing my eyes in frustration for a beat. Now that Katy learned pieces of what happened, she’d never give up until she figured out the entire story.
