‘She’s gone. She must have heard you.’ Molly let out a sigh of frustration. ‘Her coat would have still been damp. And where is she going to go in this weather?’
Cam didn’t want to fight anymore and tried to reassure his frantic wife. ‘She will know where to go. I’m putting the kettle on – do you want a drink?’ he asked, as he threw some more logs on the fire.
Molly didn’t answer. She’d hurried towards the kitchen window and looked out over the green but Bree was nowhere in sight.
‘Okay, ignoring me isn’t going to help.’ Walking back into the bakery Cam took refuge in the kitchen where he made himself a drink and tied his apron around his waist. Taking a moment, he breathed deeply and placed his hands in the pockets of his apron, the letter still there reminding him to hold everything together for a little while longer.
Sipping his tea once it had brewed, he saw no customers in sight as he stood in the window of The Old Bakehouse. He stared out over the snowy green. Dixie was in the distance shuffling along the snowy ground pulling the sledge with Darling sitting proudly on top of it. Even though Cam was feeling a little emotional, the sight of Darling lording it up on the sledge brought a smile to his face. His eccentric grandmother was full of character and treated that dog like it was royalty. She even usually dressed it for Sunday lunch with a brightly coloured bandana. He was in no doubt that Darling loved the attention.
Dixie was heading towards the shop and he knew the second she stepped inside she would sense the tense atmosphere between Molly and him, and, being Dixie, questions would be asked. Usually, Dixie could sense something before it had even happened and more often than not was correct in her premonitions. Dixie noticed Cam standing in the window and waved above her head, pointing to Bumblebee Cottage, then back at The Old Bakehouse. He put his thumb up in the air, knowing that the strange hand movements were code to communicate she would drop Darling and the sledge back at home before she came in for a drink.
Pulling out the order book ready for tomorrow, Cam glanced over the orders, but his mind was on other things. He didn’t like fighting with Molly and hated that she would be thinking he was unkind . . . but that wasn’t it at all. All he wanted to do was hold his own family close and keep the rest of the world at a distance until he knew what exactly the scan would reveal.
With the weather as it was, Cam had offered to make deliveries again tomorrow to the villagers so he noted it in the book. He then noticed there had been an extra order in the diary from Starcross Manor and decided to give the hotel a quick ring to double-check it was still needed, because, according to the weather forecast, the snow would still be falling over the next couple of days and it was possible potential guests would find it difficult to travel. He slapped his trouser pockets with his hand but his mobile wasn’t there. Then he remembered leaving it on the counter. But it wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Thinking Molly might have slipped it in the drawer for safe keeping he checked, but it wasn’t there either. Puzzled, he walked back down the hallway and took a swift look around the living room. He could hear Molly still pottering around the kitchen. ‘Mol, have you seen my mobile?’
‘It’s on the counter in the bakery, where you left it.’
‘I can’t seem to see it.’
Molly appeared in the doorway, drying her hands on a towel. ‘Honestly, you’re worse than George, it’s like having another child in the house.’ She rolled her eyes as she walked past him and headed towards the bakery.
Cam followed Molly, relieved that her mood had lifted somewhat and everything felt a little less tense. As he stepped into the shop there was a blast of cold air as the door swung open and Dixie stamped her snowy boots on the mat. She beamed. ‘George has been dropped safely at school and I’m reporting for duty. Even though a cup of tea would be a great start and maybe a warm croissant. The joys of your grandson owning a bakery.’
‘Starting work? It’s nearly taken you two hours to do the school run,’ teased Cam. ‘Help yourself to a croissant, there’s plenty. With the weather like this, you may as well have the day off. I don’t think we are going to be run off our feet.’
Dixie had already reached behind the counter and selected a croissant from the basket. ‘And Molly, we’ve got a girls’ night planned. A little short notice, I know. Martha is whipping out her crystal ball as she’s got a feeling something is brewing in the village of Heartcross.’
‘Er, a snowstorm?’ Cam suggested, cocking an eyebrow. ‘You don’t need to be psychic to work that out.’
Cam grinned as Dixie leant forward and swiped his arm with her glove. ‘Now there is no need for your sarcasm. Actually, she means a scandal. There’s some sort of scandal about to come to light. She’s adamant.’
‘You lot are bonkers. You’ll make any excuse for a bunch of old women—’
‘Less of the old,’ Dixie cut in, pretending to be hurt.
‘Gossiping about everyone and anyone’s business,’ added Cam with a glint in his eye as he teased his grandmother.
‘Martha is a fantastic clairvoyant; she’s had the gift for years.’
‘The gift of meddling,’ continued Cam.
Dixie waved her hand, dismissing Cam’s words. ‘You boys just don’t understand. And you don’t like it because you might be talked about. That crystal ball doesn’t lie. You men usually have something to hide.’
‘Don’t tar us all with the same brush,’ Cam said with a laugh but Dixie was looking at him in a way that unnerved him. He gave himself a little shake. There was no way that Martha could uncover what was going on in his world … surely? He hadn’t told a soul but with that thought etched on his mind he began to feel a little jittery.
‘It’s a good job Molly has a sensible head on her shoulders and isn’t drawn into all of that nonsense,’ he said.
‘You’ll be up for it though, won’t you, Molly?’ questioned Dixie.
But Molly didn’t answer. She was too busy bending down and searching frantically under the counter. Cam was right, the phone wasn’t anywhere to be seen. She stood up and looked over at Cam. ‘It was here, it was definitely here.’
‘What’s up with you? You look like you’ve lost a pound and found a penny,’ said Dixie, unravelling her scarf and taking off her coat.
Cam and Molly stared at each other. They each knew what the other was thinking.
‘She would not have taken your phone,’ stated Molly. ‘She wouldn’t.’
‘Who wouldn’t have taken his phone?’ asked Dixie, immediately sensing the sudden atmosphere between them both.
