Chocolate Cherry Cheater Read online

  Um… Well…

  Fortunately, he continued before I had to reply. “You have a way of making people feel important, like they can go after what they want like you do. I know I’m in way over my head, and I’m not too proud to ask for your help. But I want you to know that you’re the one doing me a tremendous favor. Not the other way around.”

  What’s a girl supposed to say to that? On one hand, I wanted to deny everything Jake said and turn the focus of the conversation away from me by flipping it back to him. But he’d call me on it. Jake had developed the ability to read me, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. I mean, it’s every girl’s dream until she realizes that his insight into her soul included an unfiltered understanding of her flaws.

  Jake watched me like he expected an answer. I still wanted to correct his flattering opinion of me (a bit self-defeating, I know, but it sure beat the disappointment he’d feel when I failed to live up to his expectations.) But I knew my arguments would sound ungrateful, and it was kind of nice to hear all of my clumsy attempts to help my friends turned into a big compliment.

  So, I turned to humor to diffuse the situation. “Yeah, you’re a royal pain in the butt, Jake. But I’ll help you anyway.”

  My tension melted at the sound of Jake’s laughter, and I soon joined him.

  He motioned for me to join him on the hammock, saying, “So long as we’re on the same page, then, I’ll tell you why half the town hates me.” Sadness edged his humor.

  Softly, I asked, “What did she do to you?”

  He breathed deeply and began. “Christina and I continued dating after high school. She went to university in Quito. I’d just gotten hired at the tour agency, so I was busy traveling with groups when I wasn’t here helping Mom in the restaurant. Christina came home to visit every weekend and on vacations, and I saw her every time I passed through Quito. We talked about our future. She thought we could start a travel blog and our own tour business with me as the guide and her as the promoter. She studied communications and marketing, and I was making connections all over the country. We were a perfect fit. We planned a life of travel and adventure with Baños as our home base. We even had the page set up. We were partners in everything. I bought a ring.”

  My stomach clenched.

  Lady wedged her face between us, looking back and forth between Jake and me.

  After a few seconds of silence, Jake continued, “I thought things were fine. The whole town supported us.”

  “You really loved each other,” I commented. As involved as his heart was, Christina must have really done a number on Jake. I began to see why Abuelita hated this girl so much.

  He threw the tennis ball for Lady again. “I loved who I thought she was.”

  Loving an illusion. As a girl who had dreamed of falling in love with Gilbert Blythe, Mr. Darcy, and Captain Wentworth, I knew how lonely that felt. No matter how badly you wished them to be real, they forever evaded your grasp.

  Jake continued, “One day, a guy walked into the restaurant with a dozen roses. He was from Quito, and he asked for directions to Christina’s family’s place. I asked who he was looking for, and he said he was going to surprise his girlfriend.”

  I closed my eyes, my heart hurting for Jake. “He was there for Christina, wasn’t he?” I asked. Ouch, that must have hurt.

  Jake’s voice hardened. “Yep. I asked him how long he’d known her. Turns out, he worked for a news network and they’d been dating for over six months. It had gotten serious enough, he wanted to meet her family. He’d bought a ring, too.”

  I gasped. “He didn’t know anything about you? He had no clue who you were?”

  Jake shook his head. “No. And I didn’t tell him.”

  “What did you do?”

  “What any self-respecting man would do. I broke up with her. She wasn’t happy about it. She begged me not to tell anyone. She was Baños’ darling, and she couldn’t stand to have others see her as anything less than perfect. Like a fool, I listened.”

  I groaned. “The story gets worse, doesn’t it?”

  Jake continued. “Over the next few weeks, I noticed people change toward me. Folks I stopped and chatted with before would cross the street when they saw me coming their way. People I’d known my whole life brushed me off. Later, I found out that Christina had been telling everyone I had been the one to cheat on her. That I used my job traveling to charm girls all over the country.”

  That was a low blow — to take something Jake loved, part of the future they’d planned together, and use it against him. “They believed her?” I asked incredulously, then kicked myself because the answer was so obvious.

  “She made sure they did. Nothing I said could convince them otherwise. I went to her family’s house, but Christina had told them she’d broken up with me months before and that I had become obsessed. That I had refused to let her go. She made me out to be a real creep — a stalker. Word spread, and every time I tried to defend myself, I always come out the loser.”

  “That’s awful.”

  “It was. Over the next few years, some town folks came around. Christina left Baños for the city and they saw how she charmed her way to the top. It’s hard to hide something like that in this digital age, and she wasn’t shy.”

  I’d seen enough pictures to know that what Jake said was true. The more I heard about Christina, the less I liked her. “She still had supporters? Her family still believes her story?”

  Jake sighed. “Christina was a better liar than me, and it was no use telling the truth when nobody would listen to it. It’s the same now. People have already decided I’m guilty. They’re not going to listen to me.”

  I wasn’t going to argue with Jake after what he’d been through. Leaning closer, I nudged Jake’s arm. “Well, I believe you. And I won’t stop until I find out who really killed Christina.”

  Jake nodded slowly. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed. “Thank you,” he said.

  Chapter 12

  Thanks to the deliveries made, yesterday hadn’t been a complete bust. Still, I adjusted my recipe to make less dough. Domenica would sell whatever we couldn’t.

  I cleaned things up while the dough rose, knowing Martha would arrive shortly.

  Lady and I hadn’t been on a hike since Lake Quilotoa, and I missed our daily strolls. Judging from how she ran back and forth across the terrace when she saw her leash, she had missed them too.

  The streets were quiet as we made our way across town. Except for the bakeries, Baños woke up a little later than most places, accepting the hours of the traveler enjoying the opportunity to sleep in on their vacation.

  Lady tugged against her leash and barked happily. I soon understood her reason for joy when I saw Jake jogging toward us on the other side of the street.

  His hair dripped sweat, and his shirt clung to his skin. I tried not to stare, but he really was very pleasant to look at.

  He crossed the street and stopped in front of us, catching his breath with amazing speed. “Are you taking Lady on a hike?” he asked.

  “I’d ask you to join us, but you must be exhausted,” I replied, trying to focus my vision on his face and finding it every bit as pleasant to look into his green eyes than to gawk at his six-pack abs.

  Lady jumped up on Jake.

  “Lady, down! I’m so sorry. It’s not like her to jump like that.” I tried to talk her down while Jake assured me it wasn’t a big deal. Was this what moms felt like when their kids had meltdowns at the grocery store? I promised myself I’d never judge again, and that I’d believe her when she said the screaming child was a little angel at home. Because, you know, dogs are just like kids.

  Sarcasm did nothing to calm either of us down, and before I could move, Lady began to run in circles around Jake and me. I tightened my grip around her leash, not knowing what she’d do next and seriously considering signing us up for classes at obedience school.

  With my death grip on Lady’s leash and her running hot
laps around our legs, I lost my balance when I tried to take a step back at the same time Jake tried to move.

  I landed on top of him, and Lady took advantage of our tumble to pounce on us and nudge our faces with her wet nose like she’d invented the best game ever.

  I was mortified. Everywhere I touched to get off of Jake brought me in closer contact to him.

  I tried to shove Lady off, but she seemed intent on keeping us tied together on the ground.

  What had been in her kibble that morning? Had Abuelita sneaked something into her food bowl? Had Tia Rosa given her lessons on how to awkwardly force Jake into my company?

  Wishing the ground would swallow me up, I was about to apologize for the tenth time when Jake started laughing — the kind of laugh that comes from your toenails and echoes in the valley.

  Only then did I think to let go of Lady’s leash, adding a heavy dose of estúpida to my embarrassment.

  After unwinding Lady’s leash and freeing our legs, Jake’s laughter was too contagious not to join in. Better to laugh than to grumble about the unfairness of life and why Jake always had to be around to witness my blunders. At least, this time, there were no spiders or news cameras involved.

  When he could speak, Jake said, “I’m so sorry, Jess. I’m a disgusting sweaty mess, and now it’s smeared all over you.” A blush crept up his neck and invaded his cheeks. He tried to hide it by scrubbing his hand over his face, but the realization that Jake was just as embarrassed as I was changed everything. He was still drool-inspiringly handsome. Nothing would change that. But he was real and imperfect and vulnerable and approachable … and a goofy dork, like me.

  Lady sat down calmly as if she hadn’t caused the whole ordeal, and I untangled the last of her leash from our limbs.

  I looked at her askance, saying, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

  Jake reached down and patted her. “Thank you, girl. I needed the laugh you gave me.”

  I knew what he meant. “She’s a smart girl.”

  “Good, because I’m talking to her like she understands me. Abuelita would call me estúpido, but I don’t care. Lady knows,” he said, cupping her face between his hands, “don’t you?”

  Jake helped me up, and we started walking in the direction Lady and I had been going before getting tangled.

  He nudged me in the arm. “How are you doing? It’s been stressful around here lately.”

  “You’re asking me? I should ask you.”

  “I’m good as long as I can stay busy. I made some calls yesterday. I have friends in Ambato who have worked with Daniel before. We were right not to trust him. He’s a real hothead who will step on anyone if it’ll help him get a leg up on the competition.”

  I smacked my palm against my forehead. Duh! Of course Jake would try to clear his own name. I would do the same in his situation.

  Jake raised an eyebrow at me.

  Lowering my hand, I tried to gloss over my gesture. “That’s the impression I got from looking over Daniel’s social media profiles and work history. You saved me from having to use my horrible Spanish to call and ask the questions I wanted to and hope I could understand them. I can’t thank you enough.”

  “You thought I’d be content to let you do all the work, weren’t you?”

  I blushed. “Not exactly. I guess I hadn’t thought about it.”

  “Then why are your cheeks pink?”

  With a groan, I pressed my fingers against my burning face. “I blush at everything.”

  He chortled. “I’ve noticed.”

  “It’s so embarrassing. Even a thought can set my cheeks on fire. My sisters used to use it against me to extract information.”

  “I think it’s charming.”

  “That’s because you don’t have to live with skin as telling as a lie detector.”

  “Secrets are overrated.”

  “Then why keep them?”

  Jake stopped, looking into my eyes. “I have none. Not anymore. While my past with Christina wasn’t exactly a secret when the whole town knew about it, I didn’t want you to know about it. Now that you know, I promise I won’t keep anything else from you.”

  “Good,” I said, liking this approachable Jake much more than the one I’d set up on the pedestal. “Then tell me what you found out so we can catch the bad guy.”

  Jake exhaled as if he’d been holding his breath. “I don’t normally care what people think about me, but it’s sure nice to hear that you don’t think I’m the bad guy.”

  “Daniel doesn’t think you did it either,” I pointed out. Jake had more friends than enemies, and I had to believe the truth would become clear with a little prodding.

  “That isn’t as reassuring coming from a fellow suspect. Daniel was fired from his previous job.”

  “Fired? That’s not how he’d made it sound on his social media. He worked at the other station Tia Rosa likes, didn’t he?”

  “SierraVista. He was the beat on the street. They canned him, and rumor is that Christina was the one who got him the job at AmbatoVision. More than a couple of my contacts suggested that he was riding on her shirttails.”

  Now that put a whole new spin on things. Thinking out loud, I said, “So, maybe he got tired of coming in second to Christina all the time. Maybe he resented his dependence on her?”

  “Christina wasn’t the kind to let a favor go unpaid. She would have held that over his head,” Jake agreed.

  “It’s a motive. But on the other side, why would he kill his means to move up the ladder? Of course, if he’s as full of himself as his impression inclines me to believe, he wouldn’t think he needed her help anymore…” My words trailed off as a thousand possibilities ran through my mind.

  Every scenario led to the same end — the end Jake said. “If Daniel was at the lake that day, he could have done it. He had a motive.”

  I stopped worrying my bottom lip enough to say, “We should call AmbatoVision to find out where he was. It doesn’t make sense for them to send two reporters out to the lagoon.”

  I’d been so wrapped up in our conversation, I hadn’t realized we’d walked to the waterfall until we stood under it. Its spray cooled my skin. Every time I saw the cascade at the edge of town, I was amazed that I lived in such a beautiful place. I could have stayed there standing in front of nature’s water feature all day, but there was a lot to do.

  Lady trotted happily on our way back to the apartment. She didn’t try to tangle us again, but she was too smart to try the same trick twice. I was on to her, and she knew it.

  Jake walked us to our door. Leaning against the building, he said, “I don’t know about you, but I’m famished. Meet you for breakfast at Mom’s restaurant?”

  I smiled. “Sure.” I ate there every day, my skills in the kitchen being limited to the oven and the fryer. The stove top and I had a love-hate relationship. I loved to eat, but it hated me.

  Running up to my apartment, I fed Lady and jumped into the shower to get ready for the long day ahead, my thoughts full of Christina la Cabra, Daniel, and Jake. Agent Sanchez made an appearance, but since I couldn’t think of anything nice, I promptly dismissed her from my mind.

  By the time I’d rinsed the coconut conditioner out of my hair, I was ready. The worst had already happened. Things could only improve from here. Right?

  Chapter 13

  Abuelita and Tia Rosa sat in the back corner of the restaurant with their noses close to the screen of a laptop. From the oohs and aahs proceeding from their table, I suspected they were watching the slideshow I’d made for them of Jake and Adi’s baby pictures.

  I joined Jake and Adi by the window overlooking the street. Sylvia came out, bringing glasses of juice which she placed around our table. Her eyes were red and puffy. I was about to ask how she was, but Adi pinched her lips shut and shook her head at me.

  As soon as Sylvia left, Adi explained, “Mom got into it with Washo last night. She’d called him several times, and he didn’t return her call until late.
”

  Jake said, “Strike one.”

  Adi continued, “Then, he defended Agent Sanchez when Mom told him how unimpressed we were with her.”

  Jake winced as if he could feel their pain. “Strike two.”

  “And then, he had the nerve to tell her he hadn’t been able to find anything about Christina’s murder because he’s been too wrapped up in the case he was assigned,” Adi said with a heaving sigh.

  “Which is no doubt the work of General Bolivar. He knew Washo would try to help, so he’s keeping him on a tight leash,” I grumbled.

  “Justifiable, but still strike three.” Jake rested his forehead in his hands.

  My mouth gaped open. “Is Washo out?” I asked, keeping with Jake’s baseball analogy.

  Adi looked at the door separating us from the kitchen, then whispered, “I think she might have broken up with him.”

  My heart hurt for Sylvia. “No wonder she’s been crying,” I said, pressing my hand against my chest.

  Adi traced a pattern into the condensation on the glass of juice she had yet to drink. “It’s best to keep our distance today. Mom’s snappy and unpredictable. One minute, she’s dabbing her eyes with a tissue, and the next, she’s chopping vegetables like a madwoman.”

  Jake bunched his hands into fists. “I hate this. It’s all my fault.”

  The first of the protesters arrived, marching outside. Some carried signs in favor of Christina, and a brief few waved Miss Patty’s signs in support of Jake. Each side tried to outshout the other.

  Jake squeezed his fingers against his temples. “This whole town is torn apart. It’ll tear my family apart if we let it.”

  “We won’t let it. That’s all there is to it. We’ve got some promising leads. We can figure this out.” The confidence in my voice sounded like it came from another person, but it pushed my doubts aside. I didn’t have room for them when my friends’ lives were crumbling around me.

  Jake’s phone rang, and I could see from the stormy look on his face that more bad news was on the way. It was a short call.