Chapter Twenty-One

Peaches did her best not to take anything for granted, not in her work and not in her personal life. But she knew she was getting perilously close to settling into the relationship with Colin. Being with him seemed comfortable. Natural. Right.

No. Not right or wrong. Don’t make that mistake. She knew better than to make plans with anyone. She’d made plans with Jerry, and that had been a disaster. The relationship with Colin was working, for now at least. They were enjoying themselves. That should be enough.

But she found herself looking for him on Monday morning as she unlocked the Goat. Usually, he came down for breakfast with her, but when she stepped inside, the kitchen was cold and dark. She checked the coffee pot, but it didn’t appear to have been used since Tug had washed it on Saturday. Colin wasn’t there, and it didn’t look like he’d been there on Sunday, either.

Normally, the two of them spent at least part of Sunday together while the restaurant was closed. But she hadn’t seen him that Sunday or that Saturday, either, which was a half day at the Goat. She’d been busy all weekend herself, putting together the new menu for spring and figuring out a tentative budget, one of her least favorite activities. It hadn’t occurred to her to call Colin, maybe because he usually called her first.

But he hadn’t called her. And she was pretty sure he wasn’t upstairs, either. The Goat felt profoundly empty.

She paused, trying to remember if he’d said anything about being away on the weekend. He’d been at her house Friday night, but she hadn’t seen him since. Could he have told her he was going somewhere without it registering? She didn’t think so.

It wasn’t like she needed to keep tabs on him. She wasn’t his parole officer. Then again, she was used to seeing him around. It seemed a little odd that he was suddenly missing.

She heard the back door open and stepped into the deli, expecting to see Colin striding across the room. Instead, Ruth was hanging her coat on the rack at the side. “Morning,” she called. “What have you got today? I didn’t have time to eat at home, and I’m starving.”

Peaches sighed, redirecting her thoughts onto work, and headed back toward the kitchen. “I’ve got cinnamon buns ready to go into the oven. Or you can warm some of the leftover crumb cake in the microwave if you don’t want to wait.”

“I can always wait for cinnamon buns, believe me.” Ruth pulled down her coffee cup from the shelf. “Where’s Colin?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe the brewery?” It was barely possible that he was doing a brew run. Peaches would hold on to that possibility anyway.

“When you see him, ask him if we need any cleaning supplies. I’m getting ready to do an order.”

“Will do.” If I see him. When I see him, she corrected herself quickly.

Alicia arrived at ten, as usual, looking irritated, as usual. “Have you seen my bracelet?”

Peaches shook her head. “The one you usually wear? Why? Is it missing?”

“I thought I left it here on Saturday, but I don’t see it. I thought maybe you picked it up.”

“Nope. Haven’t seen it. Maybe you left it at your place.” Peaches went back to chopping onions for lunch.

Alicia sighed. “What’s the main dish?”

“Lasagna. It’s on the whiteboard.” Alicia still refused to check the whiteboard, but Peaches figured she needed to keep pointing out its existence anyway.

“Your lasagna or mine?” Alicia raised a questioning eyebrow, although they both knew the answer already.

“Mine. You can do your mushroom mac and cheese later in the week.”

“Fine.” Alicia grabbed her apron, wrapping it around her waist.

The next couple of hours passed quickly, although Peaches still found herself checking for Colin. He didn’t usually come over for lunch, but maybe he’d make an exception, since they hadn’t seen each other since Friday.

Calm down. Everything’s okay. You know it is. She did, but she couldn’t help the slightly anxious feeling in her gut.

What do you think has happened? Do you think he’s gone without telling you? Of course not. He had no reason to go. Not like before when his uncle got sick.

Lunch passed quickly. The lasagna sold out, as usual. They got rid of the crumb cake by serving it with cinnamon ice cream. Peaches had time to work on the desserts for the evening rush while Alicia was doing sandwiches and salads.

A perfectly normal day, except for the slight tickle of unease at the back of her mind, the stiffness in her shoulders. She still hadn’t heard from Colin.

Maybe I could call him. She could. But somehow she didn’t want to. What if she couldn’t reach him? What if he didn’t take her call?

She was putting the cheesecakes in the oven, getting ready for the afternoon rush after lunch had finished, when Alicia stalked through the kitchen door. “I thought you’d left for the day.”

“I did leave, but I still can’t find my bracelet. I’m sure I left it here Saturday morning. Or maybe Friday. Anyway, I left it here. I remember I took it off when I was cleaning out the salad spinner.”

Peaches managed not to point out that wearing a gold bracelet in the kitchen was a lousy idea in the first place. “Where did you leave it?”

“On the ledge next to the sink. It’s not there now.”

Peaches did a quick visual check. “No, it’s not. If you left it here on Friday, Colin might have found it when he cleaned up.”

Alicia straightened. “Did he say anything about it?”

“No…” She was reluctant to admit she hadn’t seen Colin all weekend.

“Where is he, anyway?” Great, she’d noticed. “He’s usually around in the morning.”

“I haven’t seen him. He normally gets here in the afternoon around five thirty or so. I’ll ask him if he’s seen your bracelet.” Peaches turned back to the oven, hoping devoutly that Alicia would go home. For reasons she couldn’t entirely define, she really wanted to see Colin on her own, preferably before Alicia saw him.

Alicia propped her hip against the nearest counter. “When did you see him last?”

“Colin? I saw him on Friday. Why?” Peaches worked on keeping her voice neutral. The last thing she wanted was to let Alicia know she was worried.

“So he’s been gone all weekend?”

“He doesn’t clean on the weekend.” But she usually saw him whether he cleaned or not. Stop it. There’s no problem here. Everything’s fine.

Alicia stared at her for a long moment, as if she was working something out in her mind. Then her mouth curved down in a grimace. “What if he took my bracelet and left?”

And there it is. “That’s absurd. You can’t just accuse somebody of a crime for no reason.”

“There’s every reason. That bracelet is worth a lot of money. And he’s got nothing. He’s living over the deli, for God’s sake.”

Peaches’s shoulders tightened. She turned, hands on her hips. “Just because someone is living on a shoestring, that doesn’t mean they’re a thief. You have no reason to say that and no reason to suspect him of anything.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not exactly unbiased when it comes to him, are you? My bracelet’s gone, and so is he.” Alicia’s eyes were blazing. “I should call the cops. Maybe I will.”

“You can’t do that. You’ve got no proof your bracelet has been stolen.”

“It’s gone. He’s gone.” Alicia shrugged. “Let the cops sort it out.”

“Don’t do that. You’re going to cause a shit-ton of trouble for no reason.”

“I’ve got every reason, damn it. You just won’t admit it. Where is he, Peaches? Where did he go? If he’s innocent, why isn’t he around?” Alicia leaned forward, taking advantage of the couple of inches in height she had over Peaches.

“I don’t know where he is,” Peaches shouted. “It’s not my business to know.”

“Where who is?”

Colin stood in the doorway to the kitchen, unwinding his scarf. He was staring at the two of them, forehead creased.

The load of anxiety Peaches had been carrying transformed into a load of irritation. “Where were you?” she blurted.

Colin turned toward her. “I went to Grand Junction to pick up a couple of used wine barrels. I was supposed to get back last night, but they closed the pass because of a storm. I spent the night in a McDonald’s, waiting for the roads to clear.” He studied her for a moment. “What’s wrong?”

“Where’s my bracelet?” Alicia raised her chin, folding her arms across her chest. “It was here Friday, and now it’s gone.”

Colin looked back at her. “I haven’t seen it. Where did you leave it?”

“On the shelf beside the sink.” Alicia gestured toward the place where she’d supposedly left her wretched bracelet.

Peaches took a deep breath and blew it out, trying to get her emotions under control. “She’s not sure whether she left it there Friday or Saturday.”

“It was Friday,” Alicia snapped. “I know it was Friday.”

Colin stepped to the sink, moving aside the bowls Peaches had piled there after she’d finished the cheesecake. “I don’t see it.”

“No shit,” Alicia snarled.

Colin looked slightly bemused, as if he didn’t understand why Alicia was so angry. Peaches considered telling him, but it seemed so absurd. Didn’t it?

Of course it is. It’s absurd.

After another moment, he knelt down, opening the cabinet door under the sink. Alicia huffed her impatience, folding her arms on her chest. Peaches wasn’t sure what she expected. Probably a full confession.

Colin stretched inside the cabinet, reaching for the back, brushing his hand carefully along the bottom. He paused then stretched farther, almost climbing into the space. After a moment, he sat back on his heels, pulling out his hand. He stretched his arm up toward Alicia’s sullen face. “Is this it?”

Light reflected off the metal, bright gold. Colin stood, dusting off his hands and handing the bracelet to Alicia. She reached for it slowly, her eyes narrowing. “How did you know it was there?”

Right, because of course he hid it there earlier. Peaches gritted her teeth to keep from saying anything out loud.

Colin was expressionless. “There’s a space between the wall and the back of the sink. Other stuff has dropped back there. I’ll get some caulking one of these days and fill it in.”

Alicia stared at him in silence. She looked as if she was trying very hard to find something to object to. Finally, she said, “Thank you.”

He nodded. “Sure.”

It was the most grudging thank-you Peaches had ever heard. But at least the danger had passed.

Some of the danger, anyway.

“See you tomorrow.” Alicia walked away without looking back, closing the door firmly behind her.

Colin watched her, his face blank. After a long moment, he turned back to Peaches. “Did she think I stole her bracelet?”

Peaches bit her lip. It wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have, but she knew she had to. “Yeah. She leaped to conclusions. I told her that was stupid.”

Silence spread between them. Then he said what she knew he was going to say. “Did you think so, too?” He stood very still, watching her.

She shook her head, hard. “No. I did not. I told her she couldn’t accuse you without a reason.”

Except somewhere at the back of your mind, maybe you did think it. Maybe you thought he’d taken it and headed off without a word, just like he did before.

“But you weren’t sure, were you?” His lips twisted slightly.

Peaches took a deep breath, trying to sort through all her contrary emotions. “I was sure you hadn’t taken anything. But I didn’t know where you were.”

Colin stared at her blankly. “I thought I’d told you where I was going. I guess I forgot. Was that a problem?”

“Well…yeah.”

“Why?” He shook his head. “You knew I’d be around. What did you think?”

She gazed at him, trying to come up with something to say that didn’t sound awful. And failing.

Colin’s shoulders stiffened. “Did you think I’d taken off, like last time? Not telling you or anybody?”

Peaches’s irritation began to edge back again. This wasn’t her fault, damn it! “I didn’t know what to think. I just knew I hadn’t seen you since Friday, and I didn’t know where you’d gone.”

“You could have called me if you were worried. Or texted,” he said slowly.

“Yeah.” She took another breath. “Of course, you could have called me, too.”

“I didn’t know I was supposed to.” He drew himself up, unsmiling. “It didn’t occur to me that you’d be suspicious.”

“I wasn’t suspicious.” She clenched her teeth. Because, of course, she had been suspicious. She just hadn’t admitted it to herself. Not exactly.

“Come on, Peaches,” he chided. “At least admit it. You didn’t trust me. I guess you still don’t.”

Her jaw tightened. This isn’t my fault. Except maybe it was. She needed time to work it out.

Time he wasn’t going to give her. He grabbed his jacket from the rack, pulling it on. “I need to talk to Liam, tell him I got the barrels. I’ll be back at five.” He paused. “If that’s okay with you, ma’am.”

Peaches’s irritation came roaring back like a red tide. She’d done nothing wrong. She’d stood up for him. And now he was being an ass. “You can do whatever you goddamn please,” she snapped, turning back to her oven to pull out the cheesecake.

She heard the door swish shut behind him as he left. Apparently, the conversation was over.

And maybe that wasn’t the only thing that had ended.