Cam was looking directly at her. With barely any sleep he was feeling tired and a little irritable. He wasn’t used to his space being invaded this early in the morning and he wanted to be left alone with his own thoughts.
‘Why don’t you go back to bed for a while?’ he said, not wanting to make small talk.
But Bree ignored Cam’s question. ‘That yeast mix is getting pretty large, those bubbles mean it’s looking pretty good.’
Cam raised an eyebrow. ‘You know about bread?’
‘If you let that yeast eat for a little longer, you may need to add more flour.’
Taken by surprise, he asked again, ‘How do you know about bread?’ He stopped what he was doing.
‘My mother.’ Bree didn’t elaborate any further but turned and went back to bed, leaving Cam watching her disappear down the hallway.
A few hours later, Cam was standing in the shop looking at the fully stocked shelves and wiping his hands. Glancing up at the clock, he could hear movement upstairs then the sound of footsteps followed by the light being switched on in the hallway. Molly was up and he hoped once Bree had left this morning things could get back to normal.
‘Morning,’ Molly said as she appeared in the doorway. ‘Did you sleep okay?’
Cam hadn’t had a wink of sleep. ‘Not the best,’ he admitted.
‘Has anything been taken? I see we still have a TV, my laptop seems to still be in the kitchen, oh, and the iPad is still on the hall table.’
Cam was washing his hands under the tap. ‘Okay, so maybe she isn’t here to rip us off, but you can’t blame me for being wary of a stranger sleeping in our house when we have a child to consider. Did you manage to slip the purse back into her bag?’
‘Oh, I did that at about four a.m. when I was woken by the sound of talking. I took the chance then.’
Cam blew out a breath. ‘Thank you.’
‘I’d say you’re welcome but it still doesn’t sit right with me.’
‘I am sorry,’ replied Cam, looking directly at Molly. ‘I know it was wrong.’
‘And why was Bree up so early?’
Cam shrugged. ‘I’m assuming she couldn’t sleep. Maybe sleeping in a different place doesn’t help.’
‘I think Bree will be well used to that by now.’
Cam caught Molly’s eye. ‘Are we okay?’
‘I hope so,’ she replied, walking over towards him and leaning against the counter. She folded her arms. ‘I’ve got to ask you something though. Apart from the last twenty-four hours, is there something bothering you? I just sense there’s something not quite right.’
Cam was standing there, his hands in his apron pocket. This was the perfect opportunity to share his worries but he couldn’t. He took a breath. The whole situation was eating him up inside. But the longer he could keep her world free from worry, the better.
‘No, nothing at all,’ he lied, not meeting her gaze.
‘That’s good to hear. I keep telling myself that my hormones are throwing my woman’s intuition into overdrive and I’m worrying about nothing.’
Thankfully, she didn’t notice his face pale as she was now standing in the window looking out over the snowy green. ‘Doesn’t it look perfect,’ she murmured. ‘So romantic. I love this place in winter and I love this place in spring, summer and…’
‘That’s all seasons covered,’ said Cam with a smile, joining her at the window.
‘Do you remember the day Dixie gave you the keys to this place? It’s one of my fondest memories,’ she reminisced.
Cam cast his mind back; it was one of his fondest memories too. He remembered Dixie proudly presenting the keys to him, and how he was full of excitement yet trepidation. It had been snowing outside and he and Molly had cleaned the bakery from the top to bottom. At the time Cam had no clue how to bake a loaf, but Dixie and Molly believed in him every step of the way. This was his life and one he loved.
‘And the carpet picnic…’ she recalled.
Cam noticed that dreamy look in her eye. ‘And the burnt sausage rolls,’ he said, grinning.
