“The door was unlocked when I arrived. Stock is missing. The cash box is gone.”

“What?” Was that guilt or panic on his face? “I locked the door, Bryony. I remember locking the door.”

“Then how did somebody get in here?” Bryony hated how her voice sounded, hard, dead.

“How should I know?” His eyebrows knit together now, and his face reddened.

She had to cut to the chase before Lillian arrived. Bryony would do everything she could to help Todd, but he had to acknowledge either being irresponsible or committing theft. “Whatever happened, I will help you work it out,” she said, her voice softening a fraction of a decibel. “Tell me, Todd. Did you leave the door unlocked, or did you take the money and the new merchandise?”

“You think I stole that stuff?”

She forced herself to be calm. He would either admit to leaving the door unlocked or confess to stealing, show contrition, and return the goods and money. “You say you remember locking up, but when I arrived, the shop was unlocked, and we had been robbed.”

“So, you think I did it.”

“I think somebody did. Or you left the door unlocked. Which was it?” Focused on the only two possibilities that made sense, she needed to understand what he had done in order to help him.

He threw his hands up in the air. “That’s just great!”

Bryony froze. Something wasn’t right. He appeared anything but contrite.

“Screw you, Bryony. Screw you, and screw this place. I’m done.” Todd turned and stormed to the door. He struggled for a second to unlock the deadbolt before pulling the door open and walking out into the early morning darkness.

Lillian walked in behind him, her head turned, her arms full. “What’s wrong with Todd?” she asked as she unloaded bags onto the nearest table.

Bryony walked toward her. “Brace yourself. I have bad news.”

“What happened?” Lillian pulled off her gloves.

Bryony sighed hard. “When I arrived this morning, the door was unlocked. The cash box, holiday mugs, and thermoses were missing. When I asked Todd about it, he quit. Should we call the police?”

“I don’t think the police will be necessary, Bryony.”

“Good.” Bryony took a deep breath. “I’d much rather deal with this directly with Todd.”

“First, you’ll have to deal with me,” Lillian said. “I left the door unlocked this morning when I took the merchandise over to Berry’s Gifts. They’d had so many requests, I agreed to sell them over there, too.”

Bryony’s stomach clenched.

“And I moved the cash box to the bottom desk drawer after I replaced some petty cash I took out last week. I was in a hurry and didn’t want to get back up on the ladder. I planned to put the box back up on the shelf first thing this morning.”

“You did?” Bryony slumped into a chair.

“I did.”

Bryony blew out a long breath. “I really screwed up.”

“I take it Todd won’t be working today,” Lillian said.

“I think not.” Chances were, he wouldn’t be working today or any day after today. She didn’t blame him.

“You put on the coffee,” Lillian said, more Mom-voiced than ever before in their entire relationship. “I’ll start the bagels.”

“I have to call Todd first.” Bryony pulled out her cell phone. She had to at least try.

“He won’t answer,” Lillian said. “Teenagers don’t seem to know how to talk on the phone anymore. Text him. And don’t write a whole explanation. Just text, ‘So S-R-Y. I was W‑R‑N‑G.’”

“S-R-Y? W-R-N-G?” Bryony asked.

“When I text the grandkids’ babysitters, I take out the vowels and double letters. ‘I apologize’ should be conveyed in the first language of the one receiving the apology.”

“I should have started studying this when we hired him.”

“You should have investigated before jumping to conclusions.”

“Don’t rub it in.” What a royal mess she had managed to make.

“Go make it right,” Lillian said. “And don’t forget to start the coffee when you’re done texting him.”

Bryony texted Todd immediately. She thought about texting Cal, but she didn’t want to wreck the beginning of his Christmas vacation. Besides, Rachel might still be with him. If so, he would confide in her his great luck in dodging the small town bullet know as Bryony. The idea of them being together, talking about her, celebrating his escape, crushed her.

She flipped the coffee maker button to on.

Cal had said more than once he couldn’t forgive people who hurt his students. Bryony had never dreamed she would be one of the people on his list. Todd had been their initial reason for coming together. And now Todd would be the final blow to anything beyond a passing friendship. Cal would move back to Cleveland in June to be with Rachel. Bryony would open a pie shop, maybe, if Lillian would forgive her.

She checked her phone. Nothing back from Todd yet.

Maybe she should talk to Charity about her old job. People were not her strength. She would prefer to face down a long line of million dollar mistakes than to ever again be the reason for the look on Todd’s face when she had all but flat out accused him of theft or dereliction of duty.

For a brief moment, Bryony Green had found her place in the sun, but now she needed to retreat back to fluorescent lights and safe little spreadsheets. She’d never met a row of numbers she couldn’t whip into shape, and miscalculations were easily repaired because math errors weren’t devastated by her fallibility.

CAL CHOOSES WISELY THIS TIME

“Did you sleep okay?” Cal asked.

Rachel stood at the sink filling the electric tea pot. “I can sleep anywhere.”

“Thanks for last night.”

She turned around to offer a slightly sarcastic smile. “You’re welcome.”

“No, really,” Cal said as he stepped farther into the kitchen. “I am forever grateful for everything you’ve offered. Your understanding, your insight, not to mention how much you’ve helped my father.”

Turning away from him to shut off the faucet, Rachel shrugged her shoulders and said, “I knew you were too good to be true.”

“Now you’re making me feel really guilty.” Enervated by the previous night’s insomnia, Cal sat at the table and ran his fingers through his hair. He guessed she had not slept much either.