Broken Barriers (Barriers Series Book 4) by Sara Shirley Page A

this was Wolfeboro. How much trouble could a small basket be?
    I slowly pulled open the cellophane and spotted a couple homemade muffins and a folded note inside.
    SOMETIMES ALL IT TAKES IS A SIMPLE GESTURE TO MAKE SOMEONE’S DAY THAT MUCH BETTER.
    MAY THIS TOKEN OF KINDNESS BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE.
    I flipped over the handwritten card and noticed there wasn’t a signature. The only thing I saw was some damask style design with a pink logo in the middle. No name, no return address. Just two muffins—blueberry if my sense of smell was accurate enough—and a kind note.
    I quickly scanned the area one last time, wondering why someone left a basket of muffins on the porch. It wasn’t as though I’d made any new friends lately. Well, unless I considered Everett as the one behind this. But, my guess was he wasn’t the muffin man.
    With a cautious turn, I walked back into the house. The screen door slammed shut behind me. I grabbed my phone and checked the time. It was nine in the morning, so I knew Josh was awake since he worked day shifts. I sent a quick text to him, asking if he was behind any muffin delivery this morning. My phone almost immediately alerted me of an incoming text.
    Josh: 9am on a Saturday and you are texting me about fuckin’ muffins?! R U serious?! Hell no it wasn’t me.
    Me: Oh STFU…I know you are awake at this hour.
    Josh: Well, I hope you haven’t pissed anyone off up there. Those muffins might be laced with arsenic.
    Me: Seriously?! Look at where I am…and you really have been on the police force way too long. Arsenic? Really?
    Josh: Good luck. If you die, I warned you about the muffins. Can I go back to screwing my wife now?
    Me: Dude…TMI…that’s my sister.
    Josh: Uh huh and it’s 9am on a Saturday…you’ll think of that next time you text me at this hour. Call later. Sam wants to talk to you.
    Me: Ok. Will do. Bye.
    I slid my phone onto the counter and started making my cup of coffee. The basket of muffins stared back at me next to my phone. I drummed my fingers on the counter, pondering my decision. What was the worst that could happen? I could die from food poisoning. But, I could have died in Afghanistan, too. So what was the bigger threat? Muffins or war? I went with war, considering the last convoy I was on.
    I heard the sound of the brewer finishing and grasped my steaming cup of caffeinated goodness. The sultry aroma filled the room as I leaned against the island with my cup in hand. I flipped the card in my fingers, my teeth clenched, and my lips curled. Bringing the cup to my lips, I inhaled before taking the first sip of hot coffee and then felt the burn flow down my throat.
    Fuck, that was hot!
    I released a hiss, trying to cool off my tongue and flipped the card in my fingers one more time. As if on cue, my stomach rumbled throughout the room, reminding me that I never ate last night. The last bit of food I had was a bag of beef jerky I picked up at the general store and some gummy snacks.
    With one more rumble coming from my stomach, I said screw it. Other than coffee, there weren’t any other options for breakfast foods here until I went to the grocery store. Otherwise, pancakes smothered in maple syrup and butter would already be cooking on the stove.
    I snatched a muffin and brought it to my lips. “Here goes nothing.” I eyed it with one last ounce of trepidation before biting into it. With just a few bites, my mouth watered as the blueberries literally melted with the crunchy sugarcoated top. The buttery moistness was like nothing I’d ever tasted before. If I didn’t know any better, I could have sworn my mouth just had an orgasm over a friggin’ muffin. Of course, it didn’t come close to having a hot sexy woman having an orgasm on my tongue, but this ranked right up there.
    And even better, I was not dead yet. Someone wasn’t out to kill me after all. Whoever this mystery muffin person was I somehow needed to find them and ensure I had these at my