Seaside Kisses: A Sweet Romance (The Seaside Hunters Book 4) (15 page)

BOOK: Seaside Kisses: A Sweet Romance (The Seaside Hunters Book 4)
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"I appreciate the concern, but we're fine. And we really want to help out. If Tiffany's feeling better, she wants to be there."

"She's been pretty sick, hasn't she?" Rafael asked. "Did the doctor say that's normal?"

"Not exactly, but he's not too concerned," Jake said. "She's just supposed to rest as much as possible, so I've made sure she hasn't had to come in here. Between Cruz and our employees, she hasn't had to."

"Oh, good." A little guilt pulled at him for not having done anything for them. "Well, if you guys need anything, just let me know."

"Thanks. Between Mom, Lana, and Jasmine, Tiffany has been well taken care of."

Rafael packed up his cameras. "You have my number."

Jake nodded and then glanced up at the wall where a clock had sat for decades. "If you really want to help, you can help me close."

"Sure thing," Rafael said. "Let's see how much I remember."

Jake laughed. "It's like riding a bike."

"I haven't done that in a while, either."

"Then we'll see if the saying is true." Jake grinned while opening the register. He gave Rafael a few instructions, and before long, they had the shop closed.

"I can't believe how
nothing
has changed," Rafael said as Jake locked the door.

"Good ol' Kittle Falls."

Rafael wasn't so sure it was still good—at least not some of the people he was dealing with. He and Jake wished each other goodnight, and Rafael headed back to his shop, parking in the tow away zone. He smirked at the empty bridal shop as he walked toward his shop.

He went inside his shop—no rat this time. Once unlocked, the door opened easily. He turned on the lights on one side, giving him just enough light to set it up by the window. After it was installed, he studied it to make sure it wasn't too noticeable. He probably wouldn't even see it unless he was looking for it.

"Now for the test," he muttered, pulling out his phone. He opened the app and scrolled around until he could see just outside his shop. It was dark, but he could make out details.

Rafael made sure it was recording before locking up to head back home. Before getting into his car, the candy shop caught his attention. He wished he'd had the chance to talk with Amara again earlier, but he would just have to make an extra effort the next day.

After he pulled into his driveway, he checked the app again. Everything looked good. He couldn't see every angle, but one more recorder would solve that.

He scanned his house. Nothing was out of place. But that wasn't too surprising—he'd already had the dead, frothing at the mouth rat to deal with earlier.

Rafael cut the engine, grabbed his things, and went outside, giving his house a closer look. Even in the dark, he could tell where his dad and he had fixed the garage door. He really wanted to replace the door, but that would have to wait until he had more money flowing in.

He made his way inside and set up the other device, starting to feel like a pro. In half the time it took at the shop, he had this one set up and recording. That night, he went to bed sleeping more soundly than he had in a while.

The next morning, he stopped in at the candy store before going into his own shop—after making sure no more vandalism had occurred. He didn't see either Amara or Alex in the shop when he came in. A chime sounded above the door announcing his arrival, but still no one came out.

"Hello?" he called.

No answer. He wandered around, noting the clever displays all around, but not finding anyone.

"Is someone here?" he called again.

Only silence. As he neared the back, he heard muffled conversation behind a door marked for employees only. He knocked, tempted to just go in.

The door opened, and Amara appeared. Her eyes were wide and her skin pale. She held a phone to her ear.

"Is everything okay?" Rafael asked.

She shook her head no.

His stomach sank, imagining the punks who'd been terrorizing him threatening her. "What's wrong?" he demanded, sounding harsher than he'd meant.

Amara put a finger up and then spoke into the phone. "No, Alex, don't worry about it. I'll manage. I've been thinking about hiring someone just for the month, anyway. Maybe I can find someone today."

Rafael sighed a breath of relief. At least it wasn't as bad as he'd imagined. But hopefully his old friend was okay.

"No, seriously, don't worry about it," Amara said into the phone. "I've got it covered today. Just take care of your family."

The ding from the front door sounded.

"I'll check on the customer," Rafael said. He turned around and made his way back to the front. "Hi there," he said to a lady he'd never seen before. That was unusual for this time of year. Maybe the Halloween tourist week was starting early this year.

The lady looked around the store. "I heard there's a candy shop that sells really nice chocolate jack-o-lanterns. Is this the one?"

"The one and only," Rafael said, sliding his jacket off. He set it on a chair behind the counter. "What size are you looking for?" When wandering around, he'd noticed three sizes.

She motioned with her hands. "About like this."

"Follow me." Rafael led her to the side of the shop where he'd seen the largest ones.

Her eyes lit up. "Oh, these are perfect. I'll take all of them. Will there be more coming in?"

"This time of year?" Rafael asked. "I'm sure if it." He helped her carry nearly a dozen large chocolate pumpkins to the counter and rang her up.

"I'm hosting a big Halloween party," she said as they waited for the credit card to be approved. "And I've been trying to find the most unique items possible, and someone mentioned these. I'm glad I made the trip."

Rafael handed her the slip to sign. "How far away?"

"Nearly forty minutes," she said, scribbling her signature.

He compared it to the one on the card and gave it back to her. "Do you want to give us your number so we can let you know when more arrive?"

"That would be perfect." She reached into her purse and handed him a business card.

Rafael wrote a note on it about the chocolates she wanted.

Amara came out, eyes widening to see Rafael behind the counter.

The lady smiled at Amara. "I appreciate the service here. I'll definitely tell my friends."

"Thanks," Amara said, raising an eyebrow at Rafael.

The customer left and Rafael gave her a sheepish grin. "I hope that was okay. You seemed busy."

She slunk into a chair next to him. "You have no idea. Alex can't make it today, and it's going to be crazy. Every day closer to Halloween…"

"I can help," he said.

Her eyes widened. "I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking. I'm offering."

Sixteen

 

Rafael sat in the chair, exhausted. He felt like he'd had a challenging workout. His legs and arms ached and he wanted to sleep.

Amara stood on the other side of the counter, smiling. "I can't thank you enough for all your help. We've been slammed, and I couldn't have handled all that on my own."

He yawned. "It was my pleasure. I'm just glad there's finally a break," he admitted.

"It isn't going to last long," Amara said.

Rafael raised an eyebrow.

"We have a field trip scheduled in a half hour."

"What exactly does that mean?" he asked. He imagined a bunch of little kids breaking everything in sight.

"One of the fifth grade classes will be here, and we'll show them around," she said as if it was no big deal. "Don't worry. I'll do all the talking. All I really need you to do is to help the teachers make sure the kids stay where they're supposed to."

"That shouldn't be too hard, right?" he asked. "The kids are, what, eleven? They should know how to behave."

She nodded. "But at that age, they like to show off and be sneaky."

Rafael smiled, not sure he was up for the job. He'd seen Amara handle kids flawlessly, but he knew he didn't have her grace.

She leaned over the counter. "You'll do great. Usually, the teachers do a good job of keeping the kids in line. I think most of them threaten that the kids won't get to take home candy if they misbehave."

Rafael chuckled. "Smart move. So, when did you guys start the field trips? I can't remember ever coming here for one—and I know I would have loved it."

"I started the program after we graduated. I thought it would be fun, but my parents weren't so sure." She laughed. "But I think they ended up enjoying them more than me." She talked about the changes she'd brought to the store since working there until the next customer arrived.

Rafael stood and stretched, preparing himself for a group of twenty to thirty preteens. His phone sounded, alerting him that he had a new text. It was from Zachary.

Sorry I'm late. I lost track of time writing.

No prob
. Rafael responded.
Busy at candy shop.

Oh? Having fun with Amara?

2 busy.

Bummer. What do you want me to do?

Website. Page 4 grand opening. Ad 4 paper.

Consider it done. Anything else?

No. Thx.

No problem.

Rafael slid his phone back into his pocket. The front door opened and about five people came in. He welcomed them and asked if they needed help.

Before he knew it, the class of fifth graders arrived. His stomach twisted in knots. Having spent so little time with kids, he hardly knew what to do with them—especially that many.

Luckily, he didn't have to worry too much. Amara took charge as soon as they were all inside. She introduced herself and Rafael to the class and then led them around the shop, talking about various types of candy and the process of making chocolate. All the kids were too mesmerized to get into trouble, though Rafael kept his attention on a couple who looked like they would act up if given the chance.

Amara stopped in front of the large taffy machine, sharing its history. "It started out in the Kittle Family General Store over a hundred years ago."

A few kids gasped.

Rafael couldn't help smiling. He remembered when he was a kid—a hundred years sounded more like a thousand. Now, for some reason, it didn't seem all that long. Maybe because he was already a third of the way there, and those years seemed to have gone by in the blink of an eye.

Amara continued with the story of how the taffy machine ended up in their shop in the 1960s, keeping all the kids entertained the whole time. Then she walked around the large appliance, explaining how the various parts worked together to make taffy.

The kids watched and listened to her with intensity. Rafael couldn't blame them—she really was amazing.

After she was done talking, she turned it on, and with a few loud clinks, it started. A couple girls near the front grabbed onto each other, giggling. The contraption continued to whir and clunk while Amara entertained the kids with stories of watching it herself as a child with her brother.

The taffy machine made a chinking noise. Rafael stepped closer, concerned by the sound. He wasn't the mechanical genius that his dad or Cruz were, but he'd spent enough time with the both of them to know when something didn't sound right.

The ringing turned into a repetitive clinging. He glanced over at Amara, who didn't seem to notice anything unusual. She waved her arms, laughing as she shared a story about Alex getting his hair caught in it. Most of the kids giggled along with her.

The long bars pressed back and forth, pulling the taffy appeared okay. Not that he would really know if they weren't. They moved in the same motion over and over again. It was quite mesmerizing, and he had to pull his focus away and study the other parts of the large metallic apparatus.

Rafael wanted to pull off the front panel and examine what was going on inside.

"You guys have been wonderful," Amara said. "Who wants some saltwater taffy?"

The kids broke out into cheers, and then Rafael couldn't hear anything else.

Amara motioned him over, and handed him a box of little baggies filled with colorful candies. He passed them out to the kids as fast he could.

"Is it supposed to sound like that?" he asked.

She didn't hear him. Amara was too busy giving kids their candy and laughing with them. He motioned for the kids to move toward the door, and as he did, the clanging noises grew louder.

He went over and examined what he could, but most of the parts were behind the sheets of metal. If it wasn't pulling taffy, he might be able to reach in through the middle, but there was no way he could and avoid the sticky candy.

Now Amara was by the door, saying goodbye to the teachers and children. Rafael walked around, trying to see inside. The worrisome noises only continued growing louder. Maybe that was because the kids were going through the door, making the shop quieter.

He thought about turning it off, but he didn't know if that would ruin Amara's product—and that wasn't a risk he was willing to take. He didn't know if the sounds were normal for the machine that had been in Kittle Falls for so many years.

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