Trapped in Tourist Town by Jennifer Decuir

bakery better than anyone he’s likely to find as a replacement. The thought of having to train a new manager is probably giving him hives.
    “If giving me a hard time about my ‘fancy coffee’ gives him his jollies, more power to him. If he can dish it, I can take it. And it will give me that much more satisfaction when I do finally give my notice.”
    The stubborn jut to her chin told Burke she protested just a tad too much. She loved her espresso machine and the fancy drinks she got to make. Of course it was going to upset her when her boss attacked something that meant so much to her.
    “He pulls that machine out, he’s going to hear from this disgruntled former customer,” he grumbled.
    They parked at the nursing home and headed inside. Cady certainly was popular here. She stopped to say hi to an elderly gentleman shuffling slowly toward them. Burke hung back, waiting for Cady to take him to her aunt’s room. He yelped in surprise when a shaky hand grabbed a handful of his ass.
    “Doris! You need to behave yourself. And anyway, hands off—this one’s mine.” Cady shook her finger at the elderly woman. Her eyes danced with merriment.
    They continued to the end of the hall, Burke checking over his shoulder every few feet.
    “What the heck was that all about? They’ve got some randy old women here.”
    “It’s those sexy new jeans. Even the geriatric set can’t help but cop a feel.” Cady chuckled.
    “So ... I’m yours, huh?”
    “Of course not! I was just saving your butt—quite literally—and you’re welcome, by the way.” She blustered, refusing to make eye contact.
    “Her ears turn beet red when she’s lying, you know.”
    “Auntie!”
    They were standing in the doorway of the last patient room on the left. An old woman waited for them in a recliner by the window. A giant purse sat in her lap.
    “You must be him, then. The city man who has our Cady, and half the town of Scallop Shores, all aflutter.”
    “Burke Sanders. Nice to meet you.”
    “Cadence Eaton, the first. But you can call me Auntie.”
    If the rest of Cady’s family were anything like Auntie, this was going to be an interesting evening. Burke offered the woman his hand and helped her to her feet. Together they started back down the long hallway, and if he used the ladies Eaton to shield him from Doris Grabby Hands, so what? The old biddy scared him.
    • • •
    When they arrived at Cady’s parents’ house, Burke was met with an unusual sight: the women sitting out on the big deck while the men crowded the kitchen and stood over huge pots of boiling water.
    “We were wondering when you’d finally get here. Foster just put the lobsters in. Won’t be long now.”
    “Sorry, Mom. Burke was busy flirting with all the old ladies at Kittridge.”
    He shook his head, the urge to slap her on the ass for that remark only curbed by the fact that he would have proved her point. This teasing, the back and forth, it’s what Cady did with Chase too. Was this her way of welcoming him into the family? He didn’t know whether to be honored or embarrassed. He wanted to preen, but then he wondered if this was her way of saying she thought of him as a brother.
    “Let me guess. It was either Doris or Abigail?” Cady’s mother tapped a finger to her chin.
    “I believe Cady referred to her as Doris,” Burke confirmed.
    “Well, feel lucky she only grabbed your butt. Abigail stuck her hand in Chase’s front pocket one time.” The very pregnant woman seated before him must be Chase’s wife.
    All four women on the deck must have found his expression highly amusing, because they could barely breathe for all their laughing. Burke shook his head. The women he knew in the city were not this blunt.
    “I’m sorry, Burke. This is my mother, May, and my sister-in-law, Amanda.”
    May stood, and before Burke could hold out a hand in greeting, she wrapped him in a hug. Amanda was slower, struggling out of her plastic deck chair. She, too,