Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

F or the fifth time in an hour, Jordan flopped into Bailey's lap, where she was sitting on the floor, and leaned his head back against her chest. The poor kid was bored, and she couldn't blame him. At the same time, she needed to get as much done as possible before lunch.

She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a cuddle. "Why don't you go choose a toy or puzzle out of the toy bin? Since we don't have any customers today, you can even drive your Hot Wheels cars around the front of the store." She pointed to the plastic bin on the floor near the little table.

Jordan had brought a book and an action figure with him today, but he'd gotten bored with them quickly. He shook his head and didn't move from her lap. She looked at the stack of greeting cards and envelopes beside her.

The guy who'd broken into the place had knocked the entire display over. Thankfully, with the exception of a few dirty envelopes, most of them could be saved. Now, she had to separate them by style and get them back on the display .

"You've been working hard for hours anyway," Rachel said from her spot on the other side of the room. She'd been sweeping up broken glass from several shattered mugs. "It'd do you good to take a break."

Jordan leaned his head back and looked at her as if to say, "Yeah, Mom."

"Maybe when Nate gets back, we can go out somewhere for lunch. Just to do something different."

Her suggestion was met with cheers from both boys.

"Can we get cheeseburgers?" The question came from Seth.

"We'll see."

With that news, Jordan scrambled from Bailey's lap and went to see what his brother was doing.

"You're welcome to join us, Rachel, if you'd like."

"I appreciate the invitation, but I'll probably go home for lunch. I'm happy to come back afterward if you need me." Rachel glanced around the store. "There's still a lot to do."

"Yeah, there is. But I've come to the realization that we're not going to be ready to open by Friday. In which case, there's no hurry. So feel free to call it done when you're ready to leave for lunch."

"All right, but only if you're sure." The older woman shook her head. "I'll never understand why someone would go to all this effort. I mean, seriously. Didn't they have anything better to do?"

"Apparently not." Bailey grimaced. "I guess it gives me an excuse to look for some new inventory, though. I'll have to get to that once I've found someone to level that old barn."

Rachel looked up in surprise. "You're finally going to demolish it?"

"I figured it was about time. It would be the perfect spot for a huge pumpkin patch next fall. Don't you think?"

"I think it'd be great. People love that kind of thing in the fall." Rachel ran a hand through her short, gray hair. "You might be able to find someone willing to keep materials and knock it down at a cheaper rate. Surely, there's something in there worth salvaging. It'd be worth asking about, anyway."

"I'll have to do that. Thanks for the suggestion."

Bailey no sooner heard an engine out front than Seth ran to the door.

"Nate's back!"

"Nate!" Jordan ran from his spot and practically jumped at Nate the moment the poor guy walked in.

He easily swooped the boy into his arms, chuckling. "Wow, that's quite a welcome. I didn't know you guys missed me so much."

"We're going to go get cheeseburgers now that you're back," Seth declared proudly.

"I see how it is. That's okay. Cheeseburgers are pretty high on my priority list, too." He tickled Jordan and set him down before looking at Bailey.

When he smiled at her, Bailey's stomach did a little flip. She chided herself as she smiled back. "The boys were getting restless. I thought going out for lunch might help."

"That sounds great. Count me in." He turned his attention to Seth. "What are you working on, buddy? Need help finishing it before we go eat?" The duo moved away with Jordan trailing them.

Rachel drifted closer to Bailey and lowered her voice. "What's going on with the two of you?"

Bailey's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

The older woman grinned. "There's something different about the way you're interacting with each other. For the record, I think it's a good idea."

With her cheeks on fire, Bailey put a stack of cards on the display and tried to ignore the sensation. "Well, I'm not so sure."

She glanced at Nate, who was helping Seth sweep up some debris.

"You just need to have an open mind. I'm pretty sure he's already crazy about you." Rachel reached out and gave Bailey's arm a squeeze. "You guys enjoy lunch, and I'll touch base with you all tomorrow."

"Sounds good. Thanks again, Rachel."

With a wave and some quick hugs for the boys, Rachel retrieved her purse and left.

Bailey replaced the rest of the greeting cards and nodded in satisfaction. It was one step closer to being able to open to the public again.

"It looks good." Nate's voice came from near her right elbow.

"Thanks. Slowly but surely getting there, right?"

"Progress is progress, and you're getting things knocked out one by one."

Bailey nodded her agreement. "How'd it go at the station? Was it weird being back?"

"A little. I thought it would bother me more than it did." His voice trailed off. "Detective Paris encouraged me to come back, and the chief said my job was waiting if I ever made that decision."

"That's pretty cool. Nice to know, regardless of what the future holds."

"Yeah, it is." He shifted his weight. "I handed over the evidence. Paris said they'll run the DNA through the system. If there's a match, we should know in a few hours. He promised to call when they have something."

"So now we wait."

He gave her elbow a gentle nudge with his own. "I need to run over and let Minnie outside for a few minutes. Then will you be ready to eat?"

"Absolutely. I'm starving."

Nate's suggestion to eat at The Corner Café proved to be an excellent one. Bailey and Jordan were sitting on the bench on one side of the table, while Nate and Seth were sitting in chairs on the other.

Seth and Jordan split a large cheeseburger and scarfed it down in no time. Now they were across from each other and using french fries and ketchup to paint a roadway on the paper place mat between them. She ought to scold them about the mess, but they weren't getting ketchup on the table, and it was keeping them entertained. Plus, they were playing together, which was always nice to see.

Seth looked up from his handiwork. "Can we take Minnie some french fries? I bet she's sad that she couldn't come here with us."

With a grin, Nate tipped his basket to show a small pile of fries that'd been left on one side. "Way ahead of you. Good dogs should always get some french fries."

That made Seth happy, and he went back to his ketchup art.

Nate's phone pinged, and he glanced at the screen. His brow furrowed.

"What is it? "

"Just heard back from Paris. They already got the DNA results back."

"That was fast. Is it unusual to get results so quickly?"

"Not if Paris put a rush on it." He glanced at Seth and then moved around the table to sit on the bench next to Bailey. He held the phone out so she could read the text.

"DNA results are in. Our suspect is a man, but there were no matches in the system."

Bailey tried to squelch her disappointment, but it wasn't working. "So we're back to square one again."

Nate leaned closer, his arm pressing against hers. "The good news is, now his DNA is in the system. If he messes up in the future, it'll get matched to your case, and Paris will be alerted. It's another step in the right direction. He messed up when he let you see him and again when he left evidence behind. It won't be long before he makes an even bigger mistake. We're going to catch him."

She nodded, drawing reassurance and strength from him. She couldn't help wondering, though, why their suspect wasn't in the system. Maybe it was a good sign, and the guy wasn't a hardened criminal.

Or was it only because he hadn't been caught yet?