The Cinnamon Bun Book Store: TikTok Made Me Buy It (Dream Harbor, Book 2)
The Cinnamon Bun Book Store: Chapter 10

Noah had insisted she leave all their beach-trip planning to him. So she found herself wandering down to the shore with a straw bag tucked under her arm and no real concept of what the day would hold. The weather had turned again and despite the bright August sun, the day was cool and breezy. Hazel wore her favorite hoodie over her tank top and had opted for hot tea in her mug over iced tea.

It was a Tuesday morning, her day off, and Noah was free too, so they’d agreed to follow the book clue today. He’d told her to meet him at the end of one of Dream Harbor’s many little side streets that ended up at the water’s edge. But this wasn’t the public beach with its sandy shoreline and snack stand. Hazel was standing next to the rocky edge before the sidewalk turned into coarse sand.

She hadn’t ever been to this part of the shoreline, although she knew plenty of kids in high school who had partied here on the weekends. Not surprisingly, she’d never joined them. But she could see why this was the big meet-up spot; once you got over the large rocks, the beach was mostly obscured from the street. It was quiet and secluded. On a Tuesday morning there were no partying teenagers in sight.

‘Hey, there you are.’ Noah’s head popped up over the rocks, the usual smile on his face.

‘Hi.’

‘Come this way, there’s more of a path.’ He led her to where there may have once been a path but was now more like crumbled concrete. She took his hand as he led her over the rough terrain.

‘You thought this was the spot to convince me to like the beach?’

He grinned at her. ‘Yep.’ He hadn’t let go of her hand and she liked the feeling of her fingers intertwined with his, so she didn’t pull it away. ‘It’s like our own private beach down here.’

Hazel frowned, glancing down the narrow strip of sand. About a hundred yards down a mother was building a sandcastle with her toddler. Every time she tipped the bucket over and dumped out a castle, the boy stomped it and giggled manically.

‘Well, mostly private.’ He led her to where he’d spread out a blanket. A cooler sat next to it and the flip flops he’d already discarded. ‘This is for you.’ He grabbed the large straw hat that sat on the blanket and placed it on her head with a flourish.

It was huge and flopped over one eye. ‘Why would I wear this?’

Noah peered under the brim. ‘To protect you from sunburn.’

She wanted to protest. The hat was big and ugly but … it was casting a nice wide shadow around her. There was no way the sun was getting through this thing. And then there was the way Noah was looking at her, waiting for her approval.

‘Do you like it?’

‘I like the shade it provides.’

‘Great!’ His smile grew as he tapped the hat further down on her head, adjusting the strap beneath her chin. ‘My grandfather always used to say, there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad equipment.’

Hazel huffed a small laugh. Only for her was a sunny day ‘bad weather’ but this big, dumb hat, did seem to be working.

‘Okay, next thing.’ He clapped his hands and started rummaging through a backpack he’d placed next to the cooler. He pulled out a spray can and shook it.

‘What’s that?’

‘Bug spray.’

‘You brought bug spray?’

‘Yep, close your mouth.’ She held her breath as he sprayed the bug repellent over her legs and arms. ‘I noticed you had a lot of bug bites.’

‘Uh, yeah…’

Pink had washed over Noah’s cheeks as he said it. He’d noticed her legs. He’d noticed an awful lot about her and he’d brought all these things to make her beach trip comfortable. A new sensation settled in Hazel’s stomach. It was warm and happy.

‘Thanks.’

‘Sure.’ He shrugged, tossing the canister back in the bag. ‘Okay, now for the fun part.’

Hazel raised an eyebrow although she was sure he couldn’t see it from under the brim of her hat. ‘The fun part?’

‘Well, there’s multiple fun parts, so I’ll let you pick what you want to do first.’

‘Okay.’ A smile was working its way across her face, the one she couldn’t seem to tamp down whenever Noah was around.

‘We can build a sandcastle.’

Hazel glanced down the beach at where the toddler was now crying because the waves had knocked his creation down. ‘Um, what else you got?’

‘We could play frisbee.’

She scoffed. ‘Do I look like a frisbee on the beach kinda girl?’

Noah laughed. ‘Okay, how about a treasure-hunting walk?’

‘Treasure hunting?’

‘Yep.’ He winked. ‘Come on.’ He twined his fingers with hers again and tugged her along the sand.

‘So what kind of treasure are we looking for exactly?’ she asked as they strolled. The waves washed over her feet, the shock of the cold water leaving her toes numb. But in a way that she didn’t seem to mind.

Small rocks that lined the shore rolled in and out with the surf creating a soft shushing sound and even the squawking of sea birds in the distance was peaceful. Now that she was here it seemed rather insane that she didn’t come more often. How lucky that something so beautiful existed mere blocks from her house.

Her hand was still in Noah’s and he swung their arms gently as they walked. ‘We won’t know it’s treasure until we see it.’

‘Hmm.’ Hazel tugged him to a stop. ‘How about this?’ She squatted to pick up her replace. A tiny, pure white shell that she placed in the palm of her hand.

‘A bay scallop. One of my favorites.’

‘So … treasure?’

‘Definitely.’ He grinned and she tucked the shell into the pocket of her sweatshirt.

They kept walking with Noah stopping every few feet to pick up a ‘perfectly round rock’ or any pebble that looked like a jelly bean or the white shells with purple inside. She added it all to her pouch until it was sandy and damp and sagging. The shells and rocks clicked against each other as they walked.

‘I kinda thought the treasure was going to be like the experience of being here or something metaphorical like that.’

Noah glanced at her, a smirk teasing around his mouth. ‘I’m not that deep, Haze. And I like treasure.’

Hazel huffed a laugh and Noah’s smile grew. The day was slowly warming up but that wasn’t what had Hazel’s cheeks heating. It was him. It was that smile directed right at her. She dipped her head so the brim of her enormous hat blocked Noah from her view.

‘Look!’ The tiniest crab she’d ever seen had emerged from the wet sand and was scuttling past her feet. As soon as her shadow passed over it, it froze.

‘He thinks you’re going to eat him.’

Hazel scrunched up her nose. ‘You’re safe little guy.’ She moved to the side and once he was back in the sunlight the little crab skittered off between the rocks.

‘And too tiny for lunch, anyway,’ Noah said and Hazel could imagine him talking to his tour customers that way, too. Too small, guys. Throw it back.

‘Speaking of lunch…’

‘You hungry?’

‘Well, I am curious what you packed in that cooler but I’m still not trusting of these seagulls.’ She glanced up to replace several of the large birds circling overhead. Good thing her little crab friend had found shelter among the rocks.

Noah slung an arm over her shoulder as they turned back to the blanket. ‘Trust me. I promised you no harm would come to your lunch, remember?’

‘I remember. But they look ready to attack.’

Noah laughed. ‘I’m a man of my word, you’ll get to eat your lunch.’

Hazel let herself relax into his side on the way back to the blanket. He was warm and solid and her body seemed to melt against him regardless of how her brain felt about the situation. Her brain had no place here. Not during her fun, reckless adventures with Noah.

The water had begun its trek back to low tide and even more rocks and shells were exposed. Water ran in rivulets through the sand and out to the ocean. Hazel’s toes were used to the chill of the water now and she didn’t mind stepping in the little streams. She spotted more crabs but they didn’t stop to chat. All this salt air had made her hungry.

The cooler was waiting for them right where they’d left it and Hazel plopped down next to it on the blanket. She tossed her giant hat to the side.

‘Woah, playing a little fast and loose with the sun protection, Haze.’

She stuck out her tongue and Noah laughed. ‘I have sunscreen on. And I’m being a little reckless, remember?’

‘Oh, I remember.’ He said it like he remembered just how reckless that Ferris wheel kiss was and like he wanted to do it again. He held her gaze and for a second Hazel thought he might close the distance between them, but instead he turned and started rummaging through the cooler. ‘Turkey BLT or ham and cheese?’

She might have been disappointed that he didn’t initiate a repeat of their kiss if her stomach wasn’t grumbling. ‘BLT.’

‘Good call.’ He tossed her the sandwich, a very risky move on his part, but miraculously she caught it.

‘Did you make these?’

‘Nope. Got them from the deli next to Mac’s.’

‘Yum.’ Hazel loved that deli, especially the pasta fagioli soup in the winter time. She unwrapped her sandwich and they ate in peace for a while, forgetting about the imminent threat of sea-bird excrement.

Or at least Hazel had put it completely out of her mind until Noah leapt up and darted away from the blanket.

‘Noah, what⁠—’

He was gone before she could finish her sentence, running down the beach, sending a group of seagulls squawking angrily into the air. Hazel clapped a hand over her mouth. He was chasing birds for her. He ran, kicking up sand and waving his arms until the birds were a satisfactory distance from their spot. She held in the unhinged giggles that threatened to spill out.

Noah returned out of breath and with a triumphant gleam in his eye. ‘Got ’em.’ He sat down again, sprawling out with his sandwich on his lap. ‘They won’t be bothering you anytime soon.’

Hazel couldn’t bring herself to tell him that the birds had already begun inching closer again. She was too busy grinning like an idiot, as though Noah had slayed dragons for her instead of chasing away some pesky birds.

It was the thought that counted, right?

‘Thanks. I feel much better.’

He squinted up at her, using a hand to block the sun. ‘Do you like the beach yet?’

With you, I do. ‘I’m warming up to it.’ She plopped the giant hat on his head. ‘I think it’s your turn for the hat.’

‘Thanks,’ he said, taking another big bite of sandwich. ‘So, I’ve been thinking about the clues.’

‘Oh?’

‘About suspects.’

‘Really? Who do you think’s doing it?’ Hazel had forgotten that she even cared who was doing it, but it was cute that Noah had been thinking about it.

Noah stretched his legs out in front of him. ‘What about Annie?’

‘Annie? No, I don’t think so.’

‘She’s in the bookstore all the time. And she knows you the best. She would know what clues to leave.’

‘Hm. Yeah, I guess so.’ Would Annie leave her a scavenger hunt of clues? Maybe. But Annie was also terrible at keeping secrets. ‘I just don’t think she could pull it off without me knowing.’

‘Okay, what about your dads?’

Hazel paused, considering that idea, too. ‘Neither of them have been in the shop in a while.’

‘So who do you think is doing it, then?’ Noah asked, folding up his empty sandwich wrapper and tucking it back in the cooler.

‘I don’t know. I thought maybe it could be Alex. They have the access but not the motive.’

Noah laughed. ‘The motive, huh? This is getting serious.’

Hazel threw her balled-up sandwich wrapper at his head, but he caught it before it hit him. ‘Of course it’s serious.’

‘Right, very serious,’ he said with a teasing smile. He pulled out a bag of chips and Hazel was really starting to like this whole beach picnic situation.

‘Well, whoever it is, this clue wasn’t the worst idea.’

Noah’s shoulder bumped lightly against hers. ‘Phew. I’d hate for your beach day to be the worst.’

She let herself lean into his body. Definitely not the worst. When she did figure out who left the clues, she’d have to remember to thank them.

They finished eating with no further attack from the local shorebirds. Hazel dug her toes into the sand beyond the blanket and let the sun warm her face. A cool breeze came in off the water and made the day comfortable instead of hot and Hazel could almost feel fall heading her way.

Change was coming soon.

Hazel breathed in the briny air and felt just the tiniest bit unstuck. Here she was, on the beach in the middle of a Tuesday with a pocket full of treasure. Not a bad HANSOF day.

‘Hey, did you read that book? The one with the beach clue?’ she asked.

Noah grinned up at her from where he was now laid out on the blanket. The giant hat was covering his eyes and he didn’t bother to move it so Hazel was free to watch his mouth as he spoke. It was a good mouth. Soft and sweet. Quick to smile. Hazel had become quite fond of it. In a casual way of course.

‘I sure did.’

‘And?’

‘And it was a good one.’ His smile grew. ‘Very educational, just as I thought it would be.’

It was good the top half of his face was still covered so he couldn’t see Hazel’s face turn pink, as she was sure it was. She shouldn’t have brought up the book but before she could admonish herself for that, Noah tugged her down beside him.

‘Now we nap,’ he murmured, his deep voice doing things to her that were not at all sleep-inducing. ‘Beach naps are the best naps.’

It was impossible to argue with that, so Hazel closed her eyes and let Noah’s breathing and the sound of the waves lull her to sleep.