CHAPTER 16

Angel tugged at herleash as Cassie walked barefoot toward the beachside pavilion with a towel, blanket, bag of tortilla chips, and jar of salsa cradled in her arms. She stopped at the picnic table, already crammed with food, and made space, setting down the bag of chips.

“Don’t even think about it,” Cassie warned as Angel looked poised to jump up on the bench seat to investigate the delicious smells wafting down.

Angel met her eyes and hesitated for a moment, then apparently decided to obey and sat down on her little haunches. She was such a well-trained dog, Cassie found it hard to believe that as of yet, nobody had responded to claim her.

Cassie looked around as she unscrewed the salsa lid. It was just as she’d suspected, Ani’s beach party was basically comprised of teens from her school.

“Hey, Cassie!” a voice called out from across the expanse of green lawn behind the pavilion. She turned to see Patricio waving at her with one hand while he continued flipping burgers on the grill with the other.

She waved back. “Where’s Ani?”

He pointed the spatula toward the beach. She looked and saw Ani against the backdrop of Lake Michigan’s cobalt waves, playing beach volleyball with a group of kids in one of the sand courts. She smiled to see Ani laughing with her friends.

As she opened the chip bag and placed the salsa jar beside it, she heard the sound of a familiar voice from behind.

“Fancy meeting you here.”

She turned in surprise to see Hugo and Wade approaching.

Her mind instantly flashed to that moment in the police department hallway with Wade. She was sure he’d been about to kiss her. And to her shock, she’d been about to let him. But she tamped the thought down and said in a casual tone, “You guys were invited, too?”

Hugo nodded with a grin and dropped his own bag of chips and salsa on the table. “Great minds think alike, eh?” he said, indicating their matching contributions to the spread of food. He wore a pair of bright floral swim trunks along with a mismatched Hawaiian print shirt.

“Yeah, well, I don’t really cook,” Cassie said with a shrug.

“Lucky for everyone we have Wade,” Hugo said, his grin growing even wider.

Wade was carefully opening up two large plastic containers on the seat of the picnic table. “I couldn’t decide between bringing something sweet or savory,” he said. “So, I brought both. These recipes are from The Great British Bake Off Big Book of Baking,” he said with obvious pride.

Angel got up and edged closer, sniffing with interest, while Wade eyed the dog with suspicion.

“Uh...is that supposed to mean something to me?” Cassie asked.

Wade shifted his gaze to her, giving her a look that didn’t even attempt to hide how disappointed he was in her lack of baking knowledge. Then he pointed to the container on his left. It held intricately woven pastries baked golden brown and sprinkled with sesame seeds. “These are Paul’s Mini Sausage Plaits. They’re made with a puff pastry and the filling is a mixture of sausage with chestnut mushrooms and fresh thyme leaves. And over here,” he pointed to the container on his right, “we have raspberry-and-lemon cream horns.” Cassie looked at the flaky horn-shaped confections oozing a whipped cream-colored filling that was sprinkled with fresh raspberries. Despite herself, her mouth began to water.

“Those look delicious,” she said.

“Help yourself,” Wade said.

She reached for one of the horns, took a bite, and closed her eyes, chewing slowly as the delicate crust gave way to flavors of lemon curd and sweet cream mingled with the tart bite of raspberry. She swallowed. “Oh. My. Gosh. That was incredible!” she said. And while he tried to keep his expression noncommittal, she could tell Wade was pleased with the compliment.

Angel, aware that treats were clearly being dispersed, began pawing at Cassie’s bare leg. So, she broke off a small piece for the dog and watched her gobble it up.

Hugo surveyed the crowd. “Looks like we’re on the upper end of the age spectrum for guests at this fiesta.”

“With some more upper than others, eh, Grandpa?” Wade said, making Hugo laugh.

“Actually,” Hugo confessed, “I figured that would be the case, but I didn’t want to let Ani down.”

“I know she’ll be super happy that you guys came,” Cassie said. “She’s had a pretty rough year, and I think hanging out with friends has become even more important to her.” Cassie looked directly at Hugo then. “You, in particular, seem to have become a very good friend to her.”

“She’s a great kid,” Hugo said, sitting down on the picnic bench.

Cassie no longer held Angel’s leash and now the dog jumped onto Hugo’s lap, to his great delight. He scratched her back and gave her a small bite of the mini sausage plait he’d just selected. Her fluffy tail thumped against his thigh.

He took a bite for himself and swallowed. “These are good too, man!” he said, waving the remainder of the pastry in his hand.

Wade smiled.

“Ever since Elena died, I only get treats like this when Wade bakes,” he said to Cassie.

“Elena?” Cassie said.

Hugo’s expression changed. “Elena, mí corazon...my wife. We were married for thirty years.” Unshed tears pooled in his dark eyes. “Cancer took her away from me a year and a half ago.”

“I’m so sorry,” Cassie said.

He looked out toward the teens playing volleyball on the beach. “We always wanted to have children, but it just never happened for us. I know Elena would have loved Ani. In a way, my time with Ani is filling some of the void Elena left in my life. She certainly makes me laugh,” he said with his usual quick smile.

Wade chose a sausage plait for himself. “Yeah, and the social media challenges she keeps giving you make me laugh.” He looked at Cassie. “I can’t tell you how many times during our shift I catch him trying to post a cool selfie of himself.”

“Hey!” Hugo said, pausing in the process of licking his fingers. “I’m getting good at it!”

Wade rolled his eyes and Cassie laughed.

Hugo’s expression grew serious again. “Can I back up a minute to something you said earlier, Cassie?”

“Sure, what?”

“What did you mean by saying Ani has had a rough year?”

Cassie hesitated, debating how much to share. But there was something about Hugo, an honesty. And the genuine caring she’d seen in his eyes when he looked at Ani made her feel that maybe she could trust him a little. She also hadn’t forgotten what Ani had said about him growing up in the system as well.

“About a year ago, Ani was taken in by the fosters she’s living with right now, Mack and Lila Daugherty. Quite frankly, they’re terrible foster parents,” she said. Hugo’s eyes widened and she added quickly, “Oh, they don’t beat her or anything. But...” She pulled her gaze from Hugo’s and looked out over the water. “I’m sure you know the type. They’re in it for the money. They’re both alcoholics and they’re bad about keeping food in the house. They use the money they’re supposed to spend on Ani to buy booze. Their punishments usually involve groundings for ridiculously long periods and missing meals.” Her gaze swung back to Hugo’s. “Plus, it’s just...it’s the same problem a lot of fosters have. She’s growing up without love in her life, you know?”

Hugo nodded in understanding, his normally ready smile absent.

“Why hasn’t she told her case worker?” Wade asked.

“It’s complicated,” Cassie said. “I’ve suggested the same thing. I even offered to apply to foster her myself, but I don’t meet the requirements. And Ani refuses to let me drop out of school and find a place that can accommodate her.” She sighed. “I know this is going to sound shallow to you, but the main reason she doesn’t say anything is because of her friends. She’s made some really special friendships at her school, and she doesn’t want to lose them.”

Hugo nodded again. “I get it.” He took a bite of another sausage plait and swallowed.

“I don’t!” said Wade. “Why put up with such miserable conditions when you don’t have to?”

Hugo looked at Wade. “Even if Ani says something and gets a new placement, there’s no guarantee it will be better. And it’s likely they’ll move her to a different city completely. It’s a total crap shoot, man. And now, at least she’s got good friends in her life.” He popped a cream horn into his mouth and made a small groan of delight after he swallowed it. He let Angel lick his fingers, then set her on the ground as he stood. “Let’s go meet these friends of hers and see if they’re worth it,” he said, his normal smile returning to his face.