Free Always on My Mind by Jill Shalvis

Danica snatched her purse and sashayed her very fine body right out of the bar.
    Jack turned to the table where Luke and Ben were watching with great amusement. Ben offered him a silent toast with his beer.
    Luke just grinned. “Man,” he said to Jack, “she just went all cage-fighter on your ass.”
    At that, Ben actually let out a rare laugh.
    And happy as Jack was to hear it, he could only shake his head.
      
     
    That night, unable to sleep, Leah was in her grandma’s kitchen working on her cream puff recipe, determined to figure out a way to produce them faster. She had the ingredients spread out before her when her grandma appeared in the doorway looking pleasantly round and comfortable in a big, fluffy robe that nearly swallowed her up.
    “Oh,” Elsie said, sounding surprised to find Leah up. “My goodness, honey. You’re not still obsessing over making perfect cream puffs?”
    “Just a little. I need to figure out how to make a larger batch and have them look as good as those from a smaller one. I can’t seem to do it.”
    “But you’re not on TV now. It’s what’s on the inside , not the outside, that matters.”
    “Are we still talking about cream puffs?”
    Elsie smiled. “It’s a lovely night. Why aren’t you out?”
    Leah laughed. “It’s Lucky Harbor. Where would I go?”
    “I don’t know…the arcade, the Ferris wheel. Have a bonfire on the beach. Live a little!”
    “I’m not sixteen, so the arcade is out,” Leah said wryly. “And bonfires are illegal. It’s high fire season right now.”
    “It’s a sad state of affairs when a woman your age can’t find fun.”
    “Baking is fun.”
    “Hmm.”
    From the depths of Elsie’s purse on the table came the sound of her cell phone ringing. “I’ll get it,” Elsie said, and dove on it like a woman four decades younger, snatching the phone before Leah could get a look at the caller ID screen.
    “ Hola ,” Elsie sang sweetly, and then let out a big smile. “Why yes,” she said, sounding very happy. “Yes, it’s me.” She glanced at Leah and lowered her voice. “Call me back in five? Great.” She hung up with a sort of dreamy smile and then looked at Leah again. “You really should turn in, honey. It’s late.”
    “I’m not tired yet.”
    “Oh, okay. Well, then I’m going to turn in.”
    “Who was that?” Leah asked.
    “Hmm?”
    “On the phone. Who was that?”
    Elsie shook her head and pointed to her hearing aid. “Damn thing needs to be looked at, it’s not working right.” She turned away. “Night.”
    When she was gone, Leah just stared at the empty doorway for a long beat. Her grandma was keeping secrets.
    But then again, so was Leah. She understood the need for privacy, more than most. And until she’d left Lucky Harbor, she’d never had any privacy at all, unless she’d been here, with Elsie. Difficult as it was, Leah would give her grandma the same consideration.
    The night was quiet, and she moved about the house, cleaning up from dinner, straightening out some of her grandma’s bills, switching money around to rob Peter and pay Paul, and checking email.
    She had one from Rafe, offering her a “job opportunity that you can’t possibly turn down for when you’re done playing house in Mayberry.” He went on to outline what they wanted from her, which was to have her host her own reality show, following a group of fledgling pastry chefs in their final semester of school.
    Anxiety knotted in Leah’s chest. Hadn’t she needed exactly this, a reason to leave town soon, for when her grandma was all better?
    She hit REPLY and typed up her requirements. She wanted producing credit, and she wanted out of Lucky Harbor before the finale of Sweet Wars aired.
    She stared at the email for a long time before hitting SEND . Soon as she did, her phone beeped an incoming text from Aubrey.
    Holy smokes, Batgirl. Tonight’s bar incident is spreading faster than Lucille can work her phone. You do realize that you so