Seth looked at her. “We’re not leaving Mara alone. Just fantasizing about what we might do if he’s foolish enough to come to Vermont.”
Ford swore again and plunked down beside Jolie to pull up his own phone.
Gray held up his. “I’ve got his social media. He’s as arrogant as you’d think from that picture. Every photo is of his face.”
Jolie grinned. “I’m looking at reviews of his bakery. Recent reviews are disappointing, to say the least. Several of the reviews mention the fact that the best baker no longer works at Anson Bakes.”
Amber nodded. “Looks like Mara was the main reason the bakery was so successful. Lots of people are wondering where she’s working now.”
Which would boost Mara’s confidence. He knew no one here on the farm would disclose her presence, but he hoped none of the guests would do it inadvertently.
He looked up at Gray, who had once worked for Cassidy Protection in Chicago. “While you were bodyguarding, did you learn to search police files? It would help to know if he’s been arrested or has a record.”
Gray nodded. “I’ve got contacts. Let me text Norm and see what he can find out.”
If the man didn’t have a record, it might mean he hadn’t been caught yet. Or it could tell them that he’d never gone further than he had with Mara. Seth doubted it was an isolated incident. Once a creep, always a creep.
Anger burned in his gut. At Anson Wells, sure, but also at himself.
He’d taken the joy out of the day for both Amber and Mara. He pushed to his feet. “Sorry for bringing it up today of all days. I didn’t mean to ruin anything for you, Amber.”
The quiet woman smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Mara’s safety is more important than anything else. Now that we’re all aware who to look for, we can do an even better job of ensuring she’s in no danger.”
She was right. They all had pictures, and they’d tell the others. Another layer of protection for Mara. He just wished he hadn’t sprung it on her without warning in front of the others.
He rose and turned to load the dishes into the dishwasher. The thought of Mara with a sink full of bubbles almost made him smile.
His Chaos Machine was pissed off at him.
He needed to fix things, but first he needed a strategy. Saying what had popped into his head hadn’t worked well earlier.
“Going to work on the chicken coop for a bit.” Pounding nails and stringing the hardware cloth would give him some thinking time. And get them closer to having their chickens.
Maybe getting the chickens would be the way to get her to forgive him.
In between prepping the inn, moving Amber, Gray, and Mara into their new rooms, Ford had been directing them in building the coop.
The coop itself was finished. Like Duckington Palace, there was a ramp leading from the ground up to the door. It would seal at night, keeping the birds safe from predators.
The coop was in an area shaded by trees, but they’d still covered the coop and the area that would be the chicken run with a tin roof, well ventilated to keep it cool in the summer and keep the hens safe from frostbite in the winter months.
The coop would be the back wall of the chicken yard. From there, they had the poles in the ground, spaced out for the enclosure’s walls. He’d thought they’d use chicken wire, but Kimi had suggested hardware cloth was better for protection. Seth had never heard of the stuff before. It looked similar to chicken wire, but with much smaller openings. It was more flexible and very tough. They needed lots of it to cover the sides and the top of the entire area, but it would keep their birds safe.
Working on it would let him vent some of his emotions before he went to find Mara. He edged around a stand of spruce trees and spotted her standing at the edge of the area, staring at the coop. For a moment, he considered giving her some space.
Instead, he followed his gut and the magnetic pull she had on him. “Hey.”
She whirled and spotted him. Her eyes were dry, but red. Had he made her cry?
He moved forward and wrapped his arms around her, relieved when she didn’t slap at him or move away. Her body was stiff and unrelenting, but she let him touch her.
“I’m an asshole.”
Mara huffed out a laugh. “Maybe just a little.”
He grinned into her hair as he rubbed his hands up and down her back. “Or a lot. I didn’t mean to spring that on you in front of an audience. And I sure as shit didn’t mean to suck the joy out of our opening day.”
Her body softened a bit. “Is Amber okay?”
