Always Room for Cupcakes (Cupcakes 1)

We stayed away from mentions of RVs and Carl for the rest of dinner, then Elena did the dishes and Elin took out the trash, before leaving me alone to check in on my computer and see if there were any new developments from Moose.

Moose had responded back to my shots of the cokehead and told me I’d gotten what he wanted. But, since this was the first actual illegal activity I’d captured, I didn’t feel right just leaving it at that. I should probably give copies to my friend, Bea.

Beatrice “Bea” Cooper was a local cop and my other best friend. She wasn’t in love with my new profession, but appreciated it when I kept her in the loop with stuff happening in Greenswood.

Moose had also sent me info on a new job, so it looked like tomorrow would be a full day. I’d have to stop by the police station on the way to Amy May’s, put in a few hours at the bakery, then head to the bank to try and get some dirt on one of the tellers.

This made me sigh … loudly, because The Douche was the Branch Manager at the bank I’d be staking out. Not only did I not want to be that close to him unless absolutely necessary, but he also didn’t know what I did to pick up extra money, and I didn’t want him to.

Not that I thought working with Moose put my kids in any danger, or affected them at all, but I worried that my ex might have other ideas. He may be a cheating bastard, but he was a great dad, and he might have objections about me following around the underbelly of Greenswood, The Heights, and the next three counties.

“Have you ever seen that guy anywhere before?” Bea asked after I told her everything I’d seen the day before.

“No,” I replied with a shake of my head. “And I’m sure I’d remember, he was pretty slimy.”

“Okay … I’ll talk to Clarice and see if she knows who he is,” Bea replied, then she cocked her head and looked at me seriously. “I need you to be careful, Lila. I’ve been pretty quiet about you working for Moose.” I almost snorted at that, because she’d made her feelings on the matter very clear. “But if this guy’s some sort of drug dealer or something from out of town, he probably won’t take too kindly to you taking pictures and talking to the cops.”

“I hear you; if I see him again, I’ll steer clear.”

“And give me a call.”

“And, give you a call,” I promised.

Bea may be petite, with a pixie cut and tiny features, but she could take down a man twice her size in minutes. I’d seen it happen, and it was awesome!

“I gotta get to Amy May’s,” I said, gathering my things as I stood. “You gonna stop by to get coffee this morning?”

“Nah, Shannon made me breakfast this morning and sent me with a to-go cup,” she replied, gesturing to her mug that said, I am woman, so back the fuck off.

“Nice,” I said with a laugh. “All right then, Bea, I’ll see ya later.”

“Bye, babe,” Bea said, then called out before I could get to the door, “Watch your back.”

I gave her a thumbs up, then exited the station and climbed in my van so I could get to work.

“You didn’t call me and you didn’t answer my texts,” Amy May accused before the door of the bakery had even closed behind me.

“I know, I’m sorry. I was busy with the kids, then work, and was just so wiped that I ended up going to sleep early. I knew I’d be here this morning, so I figured you’d be all right with me telling you in person.”

Amy May was quiet for a moment, then threw her hands up, exasperated.

“Well … Who was the sex god on the bike?”

Kidding around, I covered my ears at her screech and yelled, “Sheesh… don’t yell!”

My best friend rounded the corner, her finger wagging.

“Don’t play games with me, Delilah Horton, or I’ll tell Elena how you kissed Joey Miller on the lips under the bleachers when we were eleven. How old is she again?”

“Easy,” I replied throwing up my hands, knowing full well Amy May always followed through on her threats. “I’ll tell you…”

So I told her all of it: the cokehead, the slimy guy behind Clarice’s, and Cade pulling up next to me and helping me out of a bad situation. Then I told her about the date.

“You’re going to go out with him?” She made a point of looking me up and down and then repeated, “You?”

“Hey, what does that mean?”

“It means that bot