Chapter 5
5
H anna watched Quinn and Jared saunter over to a table and sit down.
She couldn't help but notice that Quinn's long legs under the table looked out of place. His presence in her little bakery made it feel impossibly small.
He was handsome, and he had a cute little grin. The way he stared at her, well, it kind of reminded her of her high school days when the boys wanted to get to know her a little more. They grinned, their cheeks were pink, and sometimes the tips of their ears were too. They were cute and unassuming, she would say.
Taking a deep breath and hauling her tray of cinnamon rolls to the display case, she quickly unloaded them onto the decorative tray in the case and took her dirty one back to the kitchen.
She rotated her head on her shoulders. She'd been tense. Actually, all night last night and up until just now. It was a relief to feel the tension subside. Maybe it was Jared and his little smile or his dad and his cute grin. Whatever it was, she was grateful for it .
Yesterday after calling the bank, she'd found out that her ex, Isaac, had sweet-talked a clerk into getting him access to her bank account.
That was the problem with him. He could be deadly with his charisma. It's what had nailed her, and that's a fact. Luckily, they didn't have children, though she'd love to have a sweet little one to hold.
But having a child with Isaac would have been horrible. He was a terrible person. Her parents seemed to know it from the start, but she wouldn't listen to them. She'd been so besotted by that ass.
Anyway, after finding out he sweet-talked the clerk, she was worried that anybody else could be taken in by him, too. She asked the bank what their controls were as far as moving forward and that no matter who he sweet-talked or tried to get to; he did not have permission to access her account, or anyone else's for that matter.
The bank assured her they'd taken steps to secure accounts and were doing a full forensic audit of the banks' accounts now that they'd uncovered this breach.
The clerk had been fired, and they were retraining employees at this moment on protocols. That helped ease her mind a little bit, but it didn't help the fact that he had still done it. And she wanted her money back. The bank had replaced the money Isaac had taken this last time. She now wondered if he'd done it before in smaller amounts and she hadn't noticed. She was so busy at the bakery every day, and working on her little house at night, that she didn't have time to check her accounts. Maybe her dad would take that on, too. Oh, she dreaded the conversation they'd have over this.
For the time being though, she needed to make this bakery her cash cow. Her grandmother started the bakery, and her mother ran it for years. And while it hadn't made them millionaires, the bakery had always provided their families with a certain amount of security.
She hadn't intended to come back and run the bakery, but her mom's hands couldn't handle the workload anymore, and she begged Hanna to come back to Blossom Springs to keep the family bakery going. Since she was getting un married, the timing was perfect.
Her grandmother, Mae, had named the bakery after herself: Mae's Bakery. And Hanna was determined now, more than ever, to make sure that it was successful.
Luckily, years ago when she had married Isaac, her parents had demanded that everything that was in her name remain in her name. They'd kept things separate, including the bakery bank account. Her father demanded Isaac never have access to that account. She'd been mad at first. Oh, she loved him. He'd never hurt her. And why were they being so cruel?
And now, as she thought back on it, she really owed her parents an apology and a big thank you for keeping at least this part of her security safe from him.
She picked up a tray of cookies that had been cooling and walked them out to the bakery. The second she walked out of the kitchen door, her eyes met Quinn's.
She smiled and felt the heat rise up her chest and her cheeks. And it actually made her feel a little giddy. The last thing she needed to be was giddy.
She transferred her cookies to the more decorative tray in the display case and then wiped the crumbs that had fallen. She couldn't help but glance over at Quinn now and then. And it always seemed when she looked at him, he was looking at her.
Picking up her dirty cookie tray, she moved back to the kitchen, set the tray on the counter, and leaned forward with her palms on the steel table. Taking a few deep breaths, she told herself to straighten up. It was just a cute little flirtation. And goodness, it felt wonderful.
She didn't need to dwell on that now, good Lord. She was just getting rid of Isaac and hadn't even done that completely, the way he continued to interrupt her life.
The last thing she needed was another man.
Her phone rang. She deftly reached back and pulled her phone from her back pocket.
"Hello, this is Hanna."
The female voice on the other end of the phone sent a chill right through her.
"Hanna Valentine, you owe me twenty-three thousand, five hundred and eighty-two dollars."
Her heart beat so fast she had a hard time catching her breath. "Excuse me?"
The voice came back. "You heard me. You owe me money."
"I don't even know who you are."
"Well, let me tell you who I am. I'm Imogen Cunningham. Your husband, Isaac Annen, has stolen money from me."
Hanna's voice was small, her throat was dry. Her heartbeat wouldn't settle. And now she was finding it difficult to breathe. Moving across the kitchen to the wall, she leaned her back against it and dropped her head back to fully support herself.
"I don't know how he stole money from you, but that has nothing to do with me."
Imogen was pissed. Her voice sounded tense and every word that came out of her mouth was clipped. "Your husband, and I use that term loosely because clearly you don't know what he's up to." She took a shaky breath. "He catfished me. He promised he was coming to marry me. He asked for money to start up his new business. He asked for money to travel to come and live with me and said the whole time that you kept taking that money, which is why he had to keep asking. Now I tell you, I want my money back."
Hanna closed her eyes for a moment. This couldn't be happening. My God, what next? This man was unbelievable. Isaac Annen was nothing but a piece of shit. How could she not have seen that all these years? And, how on earth did this woman track her down after she’d gone back to her maiden name after the divorce? She wasn’t going to ask that right now.
Her hand shook as she held the phone to her face. She took in a deep breath. It was important to sound strong when she could finally respond.
Fear was the last thing she wanted to impress upon Imogen, but good God, she was afraid.
"Look, Imogen, I'm very sorry if Isaac has duped you. Believe me, he's duped everyone in his life. I've never stolen a thing from Isaac. As a matter of fact, just last night, he stole money out of my bank account. He sweet-talked a clerk into giving him money. My money. So I'm here to tell you now, I don't owe you anything. Isaac and I are divorced. I've never gotten any money from you. He has. You'll need to sue him, not me."
Imogen was quiet for a minute on the phone. Hanna could hear her breathing, which was a miracle because her heart beat so hard it was all she could hear in her own ears.
She felt pity for this woman. Lord Isaac had put her through so much, now he was doing it to another woman. Geez, would he never cease to amaze her at what he was willing to do to others.
Imogen finally said, "I will find a way to get my money back. But I do believe you are somewhat responsible for that theft. I'm going to find a lawyer that will agree to that, one way or another. Either you or Isaac or both of you are going to give me my money back."
The call ended with a little beep. And not for the hundredth time since she'd been dealing with Isaac, Hanna so wished the old-fashioned phones were still in existence so she could slam the receiver down.
Instead, she was left with tapping her end call and closing out her phone app. She tucked her phone in her pocket just as the bell over the door signaled another customer.
She swallowed, and brushed her fingertips over her forehead to try to smooth the lines she knew had just formed there from her confusion, frustration, anger, and irritation, all the things that Isaac signaled in her.
She inhaled a deep cleansing breath, plastered on a fake smile, and stepped out to the bakery.
Yes, Quinn's eyes were on her. Hers met his. She tried to smile. She knew it looked fake. The way he sat back quickly told her she was not an actress and should certainly keep her day job.
She turned her attention on the older lady standing at the display counter.
"Good afternoon, Miriam. How can I help you?" She faked.