her feet. “Antony thinks he found our thief.” She stepped out of the way and Henry moved in to take her place. Antony also scooted sideways.
Bella watched with mounting anticipation as she saw Henry get down and push his baseball cap back off his forehead. “What do we have here?” he mused. “Mind telling me your name, son?”
“I’m not your son.”
Ooh, we’ve got a live one, Bella thought with a quiet chuckle. She threaded her arm through Emory’s and prepared to wait for more answers.
HANK’S HEART WAS BEING squeezed from the inside out. He recognized the obstinate but helpless look in the boy’s eyes. His thin frame was dwarfed by the black hoodie he wore, and he looked and smelled as if he hadn’t bathed in weeks. “That might be, but I’d still like to know your name,” Hank pressed.
The young teenager pinched his lips together, his dark eyes judging Hank. “Jim. And I already told that guy.” Jim thrust his chin toward Antony.
“Can you tell me where your parents are?” Hank asked as kindly as possible. He didn’t normally deal with runaways, but for this boy to be in this kind of shape, his home situation had to be bad.
“I don’t have any.”
“Everyone has parents, Jim, even if they don’t like them,” Hank said with a small smile. He kept hoping if he stayed calm the boy would relax a little, but so far it wasn’t working.
“Not everyone. Orphans don’t have parents,” Jim ground out.
“Are you an orphan?”
A mulish look crossed Jim’s face and he turned away, refusing to answer. Which meant that Hank had all the answers he needed. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. This was becoming more complicated than he’d expected.
A body crawled past him and Hank looked over, startled. “Bella,” he warned, watching her maneuver her way through the destroyed table Jim had taken refuge under.
“Lay off, big guy,” she snipped back. “This guy needs a hug, and I aim to give it to him.”
Jim’s eyes were wide, though Hank couldn’t help but see the hope in them. He climbed to his feet just as Bella’s arms surrounded the kid and hugged him tight. “I’m gonna kill her,” he muttered, rubbing the edge of his jaw. She was so stubborn. He glanced at the table. And yet so wonderful. What other woman of his acquaintance would be willing to crawl on the floor in a skirt and blouse, work their way through a destroyed table, and hug a smelly teenage boy just because he was struggling?
A headache began to form behind his eyes. Why do I have the feeling that my life will never be the same now? This tiny blip of a woman has completely upended me and I’m not running for the hills. I must be a glutton for punishment.
Only a few minutes later, Bella and Jim came crawling out.
“Emory?” Bella asked, completely ignoring Hank. “Jim here needs a cookie and a glass of milk.” Bella smiled and put her arm around his thin shoulders. “Think you can help us out?”
Emory seemed to be considering the situation for a moment before shaking her head. “No...” she started, causing Bella to shoot her a look. “I actually don’t have any warm cookies at the moment.” She smiled. “But I do have some scones. They’re chocolate chip,” she added.
Jim frowned. “What’s a scone?”
“You’ve never had a scone?” Bella asked in fake horror. She put a hand on her chest and began to walk the boy toward the kitchen door. “They’re only the best things ever!” She leaned in conspiratorially. “They’re like a mix between a biscuit and cookie.” Her voice trailed off as they disappeared into the kitchen.
Hank shook his head but didn’t follow. He needed a minute to get his head on straight. Bella’s compassion but fiery attitude was killing him. He needed to get her out of his head and put it back on the case. But how? She was everywhere. And now she had his suspect in the kitchen and was feeding him scones and milk.
He turned when Antony and Emory murmured to each other. Emory’s eyes were filled with tears, but she straightened her shoulders, thrust her chin in the air, and marched into the kitchen after her cousin.
Antony’s intense stare told Hank that the baker was just as involved with Emory as Hank was with Bella. Apparently this family raised impressive females. Emory’s entire display room for the festival had just been destroyed, and instead of being