Chapter 12
“We’re going to solve this,” Emory said over her hot chai. “I’m tired of Chief Wolfe arresting you.”
The Saturday morning rush had died down, and the bakery was quiet for the first time all day. A couple of stragglers lingered near the window, but the counter was clear. Adeline leaned against it and took a sip of her own hot chai.
“I kind of like it,” she said, waggling her eyebrows at her best friend.
Emory nearly spit out her drink. “You what?”
“I don’t mind it either,” Princess Muffin Top said from her bed near the register. “It’s giving me street cred. Sadie Hawkins’ dragon just asked me out. He says he loves a bad little kitty.”
Adeline stared at her cat. “You’re dating a dragon now?”
“I’m considering my options. Don’t change the subject.” Princess Muffin Top stretched. “What are we going to do about the vandal?”
“A stakeout,” Emory said, her eyes lighting up. “We go out to the marsh tonight and catch whoever’s doing it.”
“I think that’s what Mason was doing last night,” Adeline said.
Emory’s chai stopped halfway to her mouth. “I’m sorry. Did you say Mason? When did this happen?”
Adeline slapped at Emory’s arm. “Stop it. He just said I could call him that if I wanted. Now, what time do you want to do this stakeout?”
Emory set down her cup and struck a dramatic pose. “We ride at dawn.” She paused. “Oh wait. No. We ride at eleven p.m.” She wrinkled her nose. “That doesn’t sound nearly as cool as ‘we ride at dawn.’”
Adeline laughed. “How do we get there? The Beetle Bus is too flashy. Ivan would spot it a mile away.”
They looked at each other.
“Moody!” they both shouted at the same time.
* * *
Miss Moody’s red-and-white convertible Isetta pulled up to Adeline’s cottage at exactly eleven o’clock. The tiny car sputtered to a stop with its top down.
“Y’all ready for some trouble?” Miss Moody asked.
Adeline, Emory, and Princess Muffin Top climbed in, and the spatial magic immediately happened, growing enough to make the convertible comfortable enough to seat them all.
Princess Muffin Top lowered the goggles she had perched on her head, purring loudly as her fur streamed behind her as the Isetta picked up speed.
“You look like a feline Amelia Earhart,” Adeline joked.
“I look fabulous!” Princess Muffin Top shouted into the wind.
They reached Drury Marsh in ten minutes. Miss Moody pulled over at the edge of the dirt path and left the Isetta running. “Y’all be careful out here now. I got a feeling somethin’ goin’ happen tonight, for true. Call me when you ready to come home.”
“Thanks, Miss Moody,” Adeline said as they climbed out.
Miss Moody waved and disappeared down the road in a trail of dust and taillights.
Adeline, Princess Muffin Top, and Emory carefully traipsed through the dark marsh, past the bulldozer and other equipment, and came to a stop by the squish-squids swimming around in murky water, their bioluminescent glow shining bright.
Emory started to unpack her Mary Poppins-like enchanted satchel. Out came a thick quilted blanket. A large thermos. A bag of kettle corn. A jar of mixed nuts. Two travel mugs. A piping bag of whipped cream. And a bottle of whiskey.
Princess Muffin Top watched the pile grow. “Are you out here to get drunk or to confront a vandal?”
“Both!” Adeline and Emory said in unison, then high-fived each other.
“I only see disaster coming from this,” Princess Muffin Top said.
They spread the blanket near the water’s edge, far enough from the construction equipment to stay hidden but close enough to see if anyone approached.
Emory poured her specialty...hot coffee spiked heavily with whiskey and then topped with homemade whipped cream that also had whiskey and whipped cream vodka mixed in. She handed Adeline a mug.
“Whew! This is mostly whiskey,” Adeline said after the first sip.
“You’re welcome,” Emory said.
Giggling, the girls sat back under the twinkling stars and waited...and drank. After an hour had passed, there was still no sign of anyone coming to vandalize the bulldozer. The marsh was quiet except for the hum of insects and the gentle lapping of water against the bank about twenty yards away.
Adeline’s phone chimed, and both girls’ eyes went wide. It was after midnight. Who would be texting her this late at night? Adeline picked up her phone and read the text. “Ugh. It’s Grandmother Lavinia. I’m being summoned to the estate for lunch tomorrow.”
“I hope they prepare tuna,” Princess Muffin Top said.
“I hope she doesn’t give me too much grief,” Adeline said.
Emory passed her the entire bottle of whiskey. “Here. Drink up. You’re gonna need it.”
Adeline laughed as she topped off her travel mug.
“Is that Herman?” Emory asked as she peered into the water.
Adeline watched as a cluster of squish-squids swam over to them. Sure enough, Herman slithered up onto a rock and blinked at her with his massive eyes.
“Hey, buddy,” she whispered.
Herman cooed then slithered back into the water.
“So,” Emory said, settling back against a fallen log and cradling her mug. “Chief Wolfe.”
“What about him?”
“You tell me. You’re the one calling him Mason now.”
Adeline smiled into her mug. “I don’t know, Em. He’s...not what I expected.”
“What did you expect?” Emory asked.
“Someone who had dog breath,” Princess Muffin Top said.
Adeline glared at her cat. “Someone like the last chief.” She took a sip. “But the more I get to know him, the more I see he actually cares. He’s fair. He doesn’t want to arrest me...I can see it on his face every time. But he does it anyway because it’s the right thing to do.”
“That’s an annoyingly attractive quality,” Emory said.
Adeline sighed. “I know.”
“What do you think his story is?” Emory asked. “The PADA stuff, the undercover work. That’s years of not having a real life. No home, no family, no one waiting for you.”
“Maybe he was running from something,” Adeline said.
“Bad relationship,” Princess Muffin Top said as she lazily waved her paw through the water, sending the squish-squids scattering. They immediately came right back, as though they were enjoying a ride. “I bet he’s damaged goods. Do you really want to take that on?”
Adeline watched the bioluminescent glow of the squish-squids pulse beneath the surface. “Yeah. I think I do.”
A car door slammed somewhere behind them.
All three jumped, and Emory grabbed Adeline’s arm.
“It’s the vandal,” Emory hissed. “What should we do?”
But before Adeline could say anything, Mason Wolfe stepped out of the tree line, a travel mug in his hand and an expression on his face that was equal parts amused and exasperated. “Good evening.” He made a point to look at his watch. “Or should I say good morning?”
“What are you doing out here?” Adeline demanded. “You scared us nearly to death!”
“I’ve been out here for a couple hours now. I saw Miss Moody drop you off.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” Adeline demanded.
“I wasn’t expecting your driver to take off so fast.” He glanced at the blanket, the thermos, the whiskey bottle, the whipped cream, the kettle corn. “Plus, I saw the picnic setup and figured you couldn’t do too much damage.”
“Rude!” Princess Muffin Top snapped.
Mason sighed. “You need to leave. You’ve made your point. You came out here, did your stakeout. But this is the window when the vandal’s been hitting. I don’t want you out here if something happens.”
Adeline sat down on the blanket and crossed her arms. “We’re not budging. You want us gone? Arrest us.”
“Yeah,” Emory said, dropping down beside her. “Arrest us.”
Mason stared down at them, and then he sighed and sat down next to Adeline, leaning back against the fallen log.
Princess Muffin Top scoffed. “You’re staying? Oh, wonderful. Now it’s a double date. Someone pass me that whiskey bottle.”
Mason reached for a handful of kettle corn but waved off the coffee when he leaned in close and smelled it. “I could smell the whiskey on you two before I even came out of the trees.” He laughed. “I’ll stick with my black coffee.”
“Thanks for not arresting us,” Adeline said quietly. “It might be hard to explain to my grandmother how I’ve been arrested every single day this week.”
He winked at her. “Don’t tempt me.”
She grinned back. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Emory stood suddenly and brushed off her pants. “I’m going to take a walk. Stretch my legs. Princess Muffin Top, come with me.”
Princess Muffin Top didn’t move. “I’m perfectly comfortable right here, Fairy.”
“Come. With. Me.” Emory reached down and grabbed the enormous cat and hoisted her into her arms.
“This is assault!” Princess Muffin Top hissed. “Adeline, tell her to put me down this instant! I am being kittynapped against my will!”
“We’ll be fine,” Emory called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the tree line, Princess Muffin Top still protesting loudly.
“Should I do something?” Mason mused.
Adeline smiled. “Nope. They’ll be fine.”
“Good enough for me,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee.
Adeline and Mason sat in silence as they leaned back against the log. The moonlight caught the water, and the squish-squids pulsed beneath the surface, and somewhere in the distance, a night heron called out.
“It’s beautiful out here,” he said.
“It is.” She looked at him. “This is why I fight so hard for it.”
He paused, then nodded. “I get it. I do.”
She believed him. And something about the way he said it made the tightness in her chest loosen. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Why PADA? Why undercover work? That’s years of your life with no roots, no home.”
He was quiet for a long time. Long enough that she thought he wasn’t going to answer.
“I wanted to make a difference. Take down the bad guys and protect the innocent.” He took a sip of his coffee.
“But the truth is, I think I was hiding. It’s easy to disappear when that’s literally your job description.
You don’t have to build anything permanent. You don’t have to stay.”
“And now?”
He smiled ruefully. “Now I find myself thinking about a certain kitchen witch who likes to get arrested a lot.” He reached over and brushed his hand across hers.
“Now I’m sitting in a marsh at midnight with said kitchen witch, her equally quirky friend, and a talking cat.
Oh, and I also have a goldfish waiting for me at home.
” He turned his head and looked into her eyes. “I’d say I’m done hiding.”
For a second, she forgot to breathe. His words were still floating around in her head.
What was he saying? Was he saying he wanted a relationship of some kind with her?
She didn’t plan what happened next. She just closed her eyes and leaned forward.
She felt his warm hand cup her cheek before she felt his lips on hers.
The kiss was soft at first. Gentle, even. Like he was just as afraid of the kiss as she was. Taking the initiative, she wound her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She felt his hand slide into her hair as he deepened the kiss.
When they finally pulled apart, she was breathing hard.
“Baby, you’re a firework!” Princess Muffin Top’s voice rang out from somewhere in the trees.
Mason blinked. “Is that ‘Firework’ by Katy Perry?”
Adeline dropped her head against his shoulder and laughed. “She listens to whatever I listen to. Human music is a guilty pleasure of mine.”
He chuckled, causing her head to thump against his chest. “Good to know.” He lifted her face and gave her a quick kiss. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”
“What about the stakeout?”
“I can always come back later.”
“It’s technically Sunday,” she said. “I don’t open the bakery on Sundays. I could stay out later.”
He smiled. “Good to know that as a grown woman, you don’t have a curfew.” He stood and offered her his hand. She took it, and he pulled her to her feet. “Maybe another time we can stay out a little later. Tonight, I’m ready to call it a night.”
They packed up the blanket, the thermos, the snacks, and booze. Emory emerged from the trees with Princess Muffin Top trotting smugly beside her.
“How was the walk?” Adeline asked, unable to keep the grin off her face.
“Very informative,” Emory said, eyes sparkling. “I heard fireworks.”
“You heard Katy Perry,” Princess Muffin Top corrected.
Once the area was packed away, they said goodnight to the squish-quids and piled into Mason’s Tahoe—Emory and Princess Muffin Top in the back, Adeline in the front passenger seat.
“You know,” Adeline said. “This is the first time I’ve ridden in your vehicle without being under arrest.”
He chuckled. “Feels good, right?”
“I don’t like it,” Princess Muffin Top said. “Makes me feel like I’m cheating somehow.”