In from the Cold by J.T. Rogers

Author:J.T. Rogers [Rogers, J.T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay mystery suspense historical
ISBN: 978-1-63477-186-3
Publisher: DSP Publications
Published: 2016-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

December 24, 1957

THE BAKERY had been home for years, but Flynn found no comfort in its familiar routine that morning. A small fire had broken out in the kitchen in his absence and left an angry black burn on the floor, but Flynn carried on through the motions as though it wasn’t there. His head was still in Connecticut, but as Grant had so pointedly reminded him the night before, certain appearances still had to be met.

The plan was easy enough—just like all the other milk runs Grant had sent him on over the past few days. Flynn barely spared a thought for it, just let muscle memory carry him through the day. As the only bakery in the neighborhood open past noon, it was a busy day. He probably sold enough to make up for a full week of his absence. Not that Chester hadn’t done a good job, but Flynn noticed that sales were lower while he was away.

He couldn’t find the effort to really care, though.

Cakes, cookies, long ropes of bread—piles of boxes stuffed with them all, wrapped up and bundled out the door in the arms of more regular customers than Flynn’d realized he had. He smiled with them all and laughed about giving in to a long overdue vacation. Yes, the shop would be closed for the holidays; yes, it was good to see them too.

It was a long day. A few stragglers came in around five, bowled over that the bakery was open so late, and Flynn sent them off with extra loaves of bread and madeleines wrapped in paper by the dozen. No sense in letting what hadn’t sold, which wasn’t much, spoil when he left. The last man walked out with three cake boxes in his arms, and Flynn leaned back against the little desk behind the counter to relax for the first time in almost fifteen hours. It was the first time he’d felt a good kind of tired in a long while.

The bakery was almost emptied out; just one large white paper bag with a baguette, two pink boxes of cookies wrapped in twine, and four freshly made, carefully wrapped piecrusts remained. Flynn stared at the remnants, rubbed the back of his neck, and then pushed himself away from the desk and walked to the door to lock it and turn over the sign.

Only Teddy was visible in the window. He shouldered open the door, and the old bell chimed uselessly to signal his arrival. Snow dusted his shoulders and his hat, and his cheeks and the tip of his nose were flushed from the wind.

“Good, you’re still open—” Teddy was breathless with relief. He paused in the entrance, head tilted. “Flynn?”

Flynn, surprised by how jarring it was to see Teddy, stopped short. Other than today’s regulars, it had been two weeks since he’d seen anyone he knew outside of the Force and Grant’s skeleton crew.

And Wes.

By comparison, Teddy was a welcome sight. A safe haven, like he always had been.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.