Undercover Cook

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“I’ll get it,” Nick said.

“You can just go to hell.” Marcus flipped a five onto the bar and then jammed his wallet back into his rear pocket before walking out.

“He’s off his rocker,” Daphne said when the door shut behind him and the other patrons turned their attention back to their drinks.

“But he’s part of the team,” Nick said darkly, picking up his beer again. “And he’d better not screw up my investigation by going rogue.”

GABE WAS COOKING eggs when Nick stopped by to see him on Sunday afternoon as usual.

“Want some?” he asked, holding up the pan. He had a towel tucked into the front of his baggy slacks as a makeshift apron, making him look very much as if he knew what he was doing.

“No,” Nick said, noticing that there wasn’t enough to share. “I just ate. You go ahead.”

Gabe slipped the eggs onto a plate and sat at his small table, the towel still in place. Nick sat opposite him.

“So you got something out of the lessons,” Nick said with a touch of I-told-you-so in his voice.

“Yeah and so did you.”

“Meaning?”

Gabe snorted. “You can continue to deny it, but you were watching the teacher.”

Nick’s mouth tightened. He hadn’t been looking at Eden for the reasons his grandfather seemed to think he was.

Besides, his granddad wasn’t around him enough to know whether or not he was looking at women. He’d looked. A few times. But he hadn’t felt ready to act.

“You don’t need to feel shifty about it,” Gabe said. “It’s been two years since Miri passed away.” During which time Nick had buried himself in his work.

“I don’t feel shifty about it.” Well, maybe he did, but not for the reasons Gabe thought.

His grandfather shoveled eggs into his mouth, then reached for the salt. Nick put his hand on the shaker first. “Remember what Lois says.”

“Screw Lois.” But Gabe abandoned his attempt to raise his blood pressure. “Hey, they’re planning the casino night. It’s on the fifteenth.”

“I’ll mark it on my calendar.” Nick had been to every one of the semiannual casino nights since Gabe had taken up residence in Candlewood. Family came and participated, and Nick was the only family Gabe had in town, since his son and wife, Nick’s parents, now lived in Las Vegas.

Gabe smiled in a predatory way. He loved to gamble. “I’m going to clean up, you know. Buy a new recliner.”

“You have enough money to buy a recliner now.”

“But it’s more fun to win the money gambling.” He cut his eyes sideways. “Which brings me to another issue.”

Nick raised his eyebrows. “An issue?”

“Yeah. My wallet disappeared. At the cooking lesson, I think.”

Nick stared at the old man for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on in his head. “This isn’t a ploy to get me talking to Eden Tremont, is it?”

“Hell, no. If you don’t have the balls to talk to her without an excuse—”

Nick raised his hand, interrupting. “Sorry. It’s just that…” I don’t believe you, you old coot. “I’ll see what I can do about your wallet. Did you have any cash in it?”

“A few bucks.”

“Credit cards?”

“Keep ’em in the strongbox.”

“ID?” His grandfather was no longer allowed to drive, and hated having an official ID card instead of a license.

“Strongbox.”

“Then all you lost was a couple bucks.”

“And the wallet, which I wouldn’t mind getting back. You see, my grandson gave it to me as a present.”

JUSTIN WAS ALREADY busy in the pastry room when Eden got to work the next morning. Patty would be late due to an appointment, so Eden started prepping for a brunch the following afternoon instead of making phone calls to purveyors and clients as usual. She got a good hour of work in before she finally abandoned her veggies and went back into the pastry area, where Justin was applying a base icing. “Hey, uh…”

He looked up. “What?”

“I found an envelope on my windshield last night when I left around six o’clock.”

“Just an envelope?” her brother asked patiently. “Or was there something in it?”

“I don’t know what was in it. I figured it was from Ian, and I dropped it on the ground, because I was really hoping he was watching me. Then curiosity got the better of me and I came back after babysitting Rosemary, and it was gone.”

Justin shifted his weight, holding the spatula in his hand in a way that made Eden think he could defend himself with it. “Has Ian been bothering you?”

“Haven’t seen him in over a week.”

“If he does…”

Yeah. Right. She was going to have Justin deal with Ian for her. Mmm-hmm. “I’ll let you know,” she said. It wasn’t as if her ex-boyfriend was dangerous. He was just hardheaded and hated to lose. He was determined to convince Eden the guest-bedroom grope had been a one-time thing, a fluke. Eden wasn’t buying it and didn’t like being lied to.

“I’m serious,” Justin called after her as she left the pastry cave.

“I know. And thank you,” she called back. But she did feel better knowing she had someone who’d watch out for her.

She went back to work prepping the veggies when the buzzer on the front door rang. Wiping her hands on a towel, she walked into the reception area, stopping in the doorway when she saw who was there. One tall, broad-shouldered, dark haired cooking student.

“Nick?”

“Hi.” He looked almost embarrassed as he said, “I was wondering…my granddad lost his wallet. I’m checking all the places he’s been. Which aren’t too many.”

“Black elk skin?” Eden asked as she reached beneath the counter and pulled out the wallet Patty had found tucked in a drawer that morning.

He nodded. “That’s the one.”

“Your grandfather lost his wallet in a drawer.”

Nick let out a long breath. “No doubt.” He fixed her with sea-green eyes and said, “Just to give you a heads-up…I think my grandfather did this on purpose so that I would come down here and talk to you.”

Eden laughed. “Enterprising.”

His smile was slow and charming, although she didn’t think he meant it to be.

“Are we the victims of geriatric matchmaking?” she asked, realizing that in spite of the Ian debacle, she didn’t mind. In fact, Nick Duncan was kind of a nice distraction.

He cleared his throat. “I think so.”

“What shall we do about that?” she asked innocently.

“Anything we can not to encourage him.”

Eden took a moment to process his answer, and decided that he wasn’t being insulting. No, he had nothing against her—he was trying to keep his grandfather in line. “Not in the dating market?”

“It’s not that, it’s just…”

“Hey,” she said. “None of my business.” Nick was interesting and she’d play this by ear. But there was something he could help her with. She tilted her head slightly and asked, “Would you mind giving me some security advice?”