From Scratch by C.E. Hilbert

know.”
    He slumped deeper into his chair, stretching his legs under the table. “Gee, thanks. I’m glad all of that time as a detective paid off.”
    “Don’t get all twisted up about it.” Millie grinned. “With everything else in your life, you’re a medieval castle with a fifty foot moat keeping guard, but when it comes to your heart you’ve always been wide open spaces. That’s why we would never have worked. Even in the fifth grade. I would have chewed you up and spit you out like yesterday’s daily special.”
    “Again, thank you. My ego is feeling so full I will barely be able to live with myself.”
    Jane squeezed his fingers. “Sean, you know we both love you. And, although Millie has never been one for tact, she is right. Your heart rests solidly on your sleeve. It has since you were little and there’s nothing wrong with that. More men should be so transparent with their feelings.”
    He was mildly comforted by the generosity he saw in the depths of her gaze. But no self-respecting male wanted to be thought of as ‘transparent’ with his feelings.
    “I wish I had acted on my feelings for Lindy sooner,” Jane said. “Everything worked out for us, but it could have easily turned a different corner. I know this isn’t even remotely the same situation, but if you really like Maggie as much as your face says you do, then do something about it. Don’t let responsibility or expectation or what your brothers will say stop you from experiencing something life-changing.”
    “Thank you, friend. I do feel something for her…man this feels weird. Dudes totally don’t talk about stuff like this.”
    Millie dropped her hand on top of their still-connected fingers. “I didn’t think you were a surfer.”
    Jane’s brow drew to a tight line. “Millie, we are having a moment. Don’t go all Millie over it.”
    “Whatever.” Rolling her eyes, Millie lifted her chin towards the front window. “New subject…what happened to your cute little police station? I didn’t think there was crime in this town.”
    The flame of anger Sean had been keeping on a slow boil roared to a bonfire. “There was an explosion last night.”
    “What?” Jane’s hand plastered across her wide mouth.
    “Is everyone OK? Were you in the station? Who would do something like that in Gibson’s Run?” Millie questions tripped over each other in their jostle to free themselves from her lips.
    His heart melted into a puddle. He loved these women. In the midst of treating him like a character dissection in their favorite love story, their minds collectively shifted with whiplash speed to concern over his well-being.
    “No one was hurt. I was actually here at Only the Basics when the pipe-bomb shattered the window.”
    Millie lifted a single eyebrow as she leaned back in her chair. “What were you doing over here, Mr. We’re-just-friends?”
    Jane pursed her lips. “Clearly that is not important right now, Mills.” Jane frowned. “Was Alvin or one of the part-timers on duty? No one in town was hurt, or my mom would’ve called. The trail of Bitsy Grey’s gossip contacts spreads wide. I’m sure the news would have made it to Charleston by now if someone was injured.”
    “Thankfully, no one was hurt. The station was empty. Beyond the fire department and Maggie, hardly anyone in town was bothered. Of course, Sissy Jenkins called me at home this morning to ask about it.”
    “Wow, if Sis waited until this morning, it must not have been a big deal,” Millie said.
    “That’s what doesn’t make any sense. No one knows anything and there doesn’t seem to be a reasonable explanation for why someone would want to blow a hole through the side of the station,” Sean replied.
    “Did you ask Jamison? As the high school principal, he might know if one of the kids was looking to pull an epic prank,” Millie offered.
    “Spoke with him this morning, but I don’t think it’s a bored student looking for a step up from