Lost & Found

by E B Brooks

  “Can we let you know when we are ready?” he asked the sales guy.

  “Sure, I’ll be right over there. Let me know if you need anything.” He looked like he wanted to get the hell away from them.

  “Thank you.” Cody smiled quickly.

  Shit, what the hell was he going to do? He wasn’t known for his gentleness. He kept his hand on her arm and, with the other, lifted her face. With one finger, he brushed the hair away from her face.

  Her glazed over eyes focused on something only she could see, and she fought to get away from him, but he was stronger.

  “Dammit, Maddy, look at me,” he demands.

  All that accomplished was for her to start crying.

  He ran his hand through his hair, not sure what to do. She was scaring the shit out of him. The only thing he could think of was to hug her, even if she didn’t want him to. He did that once when Skylar was acting up; he grabbed him, pulled him to his chest, and held him there until he calmed down.

  Gentle but firm, Cody pulled Maddy against himself and wrapped his arms around her, hanging on when she fought.

  “Shh, little one, I won’t let anyone hurt you. You’re safe.” He kept repeating that as he ran his figures through her hair.

  Slowly, her body lost all that tension and stopped shaking. He relaxed a bit. Looking around, he saw a few sales reps looking at them with concern.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  “Don’t fuckin’ apologize. You scared the shit out of me.” He eased his hold on her.

  She surprised him by wrapping her arms around his waist, and they sat like that for a long while.

  “People are staring at us,” she said as she pulled away.

  He brought her face to his. “I don’t care. Are you all right? Do you want to talk about it?”

  “His aftershave triggered a bad memory.” She wiped her tears away. “I don’t want to talk about it here.”

  He clenched his jaw. He would kill whoever hurt her. But for now, he had to pocket that idea. “Do you want to continue, or should we come back another time?”

  “I don’t want to come back. We’re here now. Let’s finish.” Her lips curved, but it wasn’t her normal smile.

  He smiled back, searching for any emotion that told him she was lying. “If you’re sure. Do you want that bed frame?”

  To take her mind off what just happened, he pointed at the one she’d been looking at.

  She frowned. “I love it, but it’s way too expensive for just the frame. I have to buy all my furniture with what money I have.”

  “There’s a clearance section in the back. The items might have a scratch or dent. They’re not perfect, so they mark them down.” He shrugged. “It’s where we found most of our stuff.”

  Her face lit up. “Sounds good to me. Lead the way, big guy.”

  He led her to the back of the store and through an archway that opened into another large room filled with bed frames, couches, chairs, and other furniture pieces. He didn’t bring up the clearance section right away because most people didn’t want damaged items. They wanted a brand-new, perfect one. He and the guys didn’t care. They knew they would be rough on them, so why buy perfect? He wasn’t sure what Maddy would do, though. She surprised him at every turn.

  After some digging, Maddy found the frame she wanted, but in cream.

  “What’s wrong with it?” she questioned.

  He lifted the headboard and spotted the damage right away.

  “There’s a rip on the back.” He showed her how big with his hands.

  She came around to check out the damage. The tear was relatively large.

  “You can sew it up. It’s on the back, so no one will know,” he offered. That was what he did with his bed and many other pieces in their house.

  She looked at the price, which was marked down to half of the original price. “Damn, I’ll take it.”

  He should have known from the time he had spent with Maddy that she wasn’t one of those people who rejected things because they were damaged. She walked a little farther and found a cherry wood chest and a nightstand. This was easier than he thought.

  She whirled around. “Perfect. Now, all I need is a mattress.”

  “Why don’t you look at the couches before we head out to the main floor? Mattresses are out there. If they’re damaged, by law, they have to destroy them for sanitary reasons.”

  “You’re so smart. I’m glad I brought you, Cody.” She winked at him.

  He blushed. Damn, she stirred up feelings in him when her eyes lit up and she smiled at him. Aw man, she was good looking. When she smiled, she was drop-dead gorgeous.

  Weaving their way over to the couches, she suddenly took off running and jumped on a light-brown sectional.

  “This is it! Oh, it’s so comfortable. Come try it!” She patted the seat beside her.

  What had gotten into her? He stood staring at her like she had completely lost it.

  She stood and pulled him over to the couch.

  “Humor me, please.” She pushed him down.

  He couldn’t help but chuckle. “You act like this is the first couch you ever sat on.”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, he wished he never said them. How could he forget where she grew up?

  A sad look crossed her face, and she looked down at her feet, kicking the couch with her heel. “Other than yours, it is. The couch we had at the home was from the seventies, with flowers all over. It was an ugly thing. My first year there, one of the big guys sat on it and broke it. They never fixed it, they just put the cushions back so it looked all right.” She paused for a long moment. “This is all new for me. I’ve never had anything to call my own, so I guess I’m getting a little excited.” She kicked the couch again with her heel.

  He scratched the side of his face then rubbed both of his hands down his legs. “Shit, Maddy, I don’t know what to say.”

  “Get that look off your face, Cody. I hate pity.” Crossing her arms, she bit her lower lip.

  Cody thought back to when she panicked earlier. Something bad happened to her in that group home. Then, his thoughts jumped to how the hell she got the money to pay for all this furniture. He hated that his mind went in that direction, but he wouldn’t think less of her for doing what she needed to, to survive.

  His train of thought must have shown on his face because she shook her head. “No, Cody, I’ve never sold my body, and I never will. I worked my ass off for the money I have.”

  What the hell? Did she just read my mind? “I wasn’t thinking that.”

  She gave him a look of disappointment. “Don’t start lying to me now.”

  “Fine, I thought it. But I wouldn’t care if you did. You’ll find out later when you talk to Ryder.”

  One eyebrow cocked up, but she didn’t say anything about Ryder. “Thank you for being honest. I’ve done some things to make it through that I’m not proud of, but that was one thing I would never do. I got my ass up early and worked at Crumb’s Bakery before school. After school, I worked at a very shady gas station until ten at night. Mrs. Jones, the owner of Crumb’s, became like a mother to me. I know she gave me more wages than what I earned. I saved every dime I could. I didn’t need many clothes.” She half-smiled. “I couldn’t keep any personal items, anyway. They got stolen too much.”

  As he listened to her, his feelings grew stronger. She was one of the most amazing people he’d ever known. He understood why everyone was falling head over heels for her. She’d been through some tough shit and came out stronger for it.

  “Well, we won’t get anything done by sitting here,” she said. “So, let’s go pick out a mattress, and then we can go.”

  21

  Maddy

  Maddy took a deep breath before she pulled herself up from the couch. She couldn’t believe she’d had a panic attack in the middle of the store. She’d only had one of those since Ben assaulted her.

  What did Cody think of her now?

  They
walked over to the mattress area, where there were about twenty bed options.

  She stood there just staring for a moment before she leaned over toward Cody. “What’s the difference between them?”

  A smile spread on his face. “It depends on what you like. Do you prefer a firm or soft mattress?”

  “I have no idea. For the last eighteen years, I’ve slept on a bed that was a board and a thin pad. Only other bed I’ve tried was Ryder’s.”

  By the time she finished talking, Cody was biting his cheek, and his hands clenched together. He was trying to not show how upset he was about her old living arrangements, but he wasn’t doing too well at hiding it.

  He motioned to the mattresses. “Well, go lay on a couple. That’s what they’re here for.” She followed him over to the right side, and he patted one. “These are the firmer mattresses.”

  She laid down, and it felt like she was back to laying on a board again. She wiggled, trying to get comfortable. Until last night, she might have chosen this one and been done. But after sleeping in Ryder’s bed, she now knew what she was missing out on all these years.

  Cody chuckled. “Okay, I guess firm is out.”

  They walked down the row and stopped at the next set of beds.

  Cody gestured to one. “Try this mattress. It’s what we all have.”

  She laid down, and it felt like she was floating on a cloud. She let out a moan. This was like Ryder’s bed.

  “I guess that’s the one you want?” Cody questioned, trying to keep a straight face.

  “Yeah, come wake me up in hundred years,” she mumbled.

  “Come on, little one. Let’s go pay. Then, you can sleep the rest of the day.”

  When he reached down and dragged her out of the bed, she whined, “Meany.”

  They found the sales guy who helped them earlier, and Cody told him what items she wanted.

  When the rep rang up the price, Maddy almost fell over.

  Cody talked him down on the bed frame and couch, wheedling the purchase down to a price she felt comfortable paying. He was one hell of a negotiator. Either that or the rep thought she would have another panic attack.

  “You can get an extra twenty percent off if you sign up for our credit card,” the rep said as he typed into the computer.

  When he started going into a scripted sales pitch, she stopped him. “I’m paying for this with cash.”

  “When will you be able to pick the items up?” the sales rep asked.

  “I would like to have it delivered, please,” she said flatly.

  “I’m sorry, miss, but because you took items from the clearance section, they can’t be delivered.”

  “Shit, I forgot about that,” Cody said. “We had to make a ton of trips back and forth when we bought our stuff.” Cody rubbed the back of his neck. “We’ll take it with us. Can we get some help loading it into my truck?”

  “Oh, of course, sir. Just pull around to the dock, and they’ll help you.”

  “I’ll go pull around.” He looked down at Maddy. “Will you be okay paying?”

  She rolled her eyes, and Cody headed out of the store.

  The sales rep finished ringing her up, and she paid, then followed his directions to the loading area to find Cody.

  With help, Cody had the frame, dresser, nightstand, end tables, coffee table, and mattress in the back of the truck by the time Maddy made it to the loading dock.

  “I’ll be back for the rest,” Cody told the guy helping him.

  Maddy jumped into the truck.

  Cody climbed behind the steering wheel, starting the truck up before he grabbed his phone, punched in a number, and lifted it to his ear. “Hey, I need your help. Stop bitching. Get the tools and be outside in twenty minutes.”

  Cody closed his phone and pulled out of the store parking lot.

  “Thank you for everything, Cody. I don’t think I could ever repay you for all your help today.”

  “Don’t worry about. That’s what friends are for, little one.”

  Wait, what friends? Was that what they were? He never really said, but after last night and this morning, she thought they were more… There he went again, confusing her.

  She gave up thinking about it and let out a sigh.

  A few minutes later, they pulled up outside of the guys’ house, and Cody honked the horn.

  Ryder, looking sexy as hell, strolled out with a toolbox in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. As he placed the toolbox in the back, Maddy scooted over to the middle of the bench seat. Ryder opened the door and paused for a minute when he saw her.

  A big, lopsided smile spread over his face as he hopped in and shut the door. “So, you’re the reason I had to get up to do manual labor after a long night spent helping someone who drank too much. Shame on you, Silk.”

  Maddy winced. “Thank you for everything you did last night, and I’m sorry I made you get up early.”

  “Was the house empty?” Cody asked.

  “Yes. No one came home, and no one called me.”

  It was like these two had code that they spoke in.

  Ryder lifted his cup and took a drink as his eyes roamed over her.

  She pretended not to see. Instead, she stared at the blue sky through the windshield, biting her thumbnail as her face grew hot. She tried not to feel guilty about Skylar’s disappearance, but it was hard not to. He’d left while still drunk, and she didn’t want him to be hurt somewhere.

  When they pulled up in front of Cascade Apartments, Ryder’s mouth dropped open in shock before he looked at Cody. “She lives here? Is she nuts?”

  Maddy rolled her eyes at his reaction. “Um, hello? I’m sitting right here.”

  Cody just shook his head and climbed out of the truck.

  Ryder got out, too, but waited for her at the door.

  She scooted over and jumped out the door. “This place isn’t too bad. Especially once the guy across the hall stopped banging on my door at all hours of the night.”

  He ran his hand through his black hair. “This is a major drug area, and you’re planning to walk home at night after work.”

  Maddy got a warm fuzzy at his obvious concern.

  “Are you going to make goo-goo eyes at her all day or help me?” Cody yelled from the back of the truck.

  “I’d rather look at her all day, but you can’t do anything right without me, so I guess I’ll help you.” Ryder walked to the back of the truck to help with the first piece.

  Laughing, Maddy took the toolbox and walked up the stairs in front of them. Ryder held one end of the dresser and Cody had the other.

  On the way, they commented on the smell in the stairwell, and Maddy tried not to be embarrassed. She had no control over that.

  Maddy unlocked her door, and they made their way into her living room, where Ryder stopped and stared at the mural.

  “Wow, who’s painting that?” he asked in amazement, motioning Cody to put the dresser down.

  That was right. Jace had told her Ryder liked to paint, but she’d forgotten about that.

  As he walked over to the mural to take a closer look, she chewed on her bottom lip. “I am.”

  He gave her a look like she’d grown another head. “You painted this?”

  She barely nodded. Was it that bad?

  “That’s really good, little one,” Cody piped up.

  He relaxed a bit. “Thanks, Cody. I love to paint; it relaxes me.”

  Ryder stayed silent, running his hand over her painting, and it felt like he ran his hand over her very soul.

  Finally, he turned to give her a coy smile. “You have some talent here, Silk. We need to get together and talk art sometime.” He then pointed to Cody. “But, right now, I better help Cody before he gets grouchy.”

  Cody flipped him off as Ryder walked back and picked up his end of the dresser. “Where’s the bedroom?”

  “First door on the left.” She followed behind them down the hall, directing the guys to where she wanted the dresser.r />
  She set down the toolbox and touched her face. It felt like it was on fire. Ryder liked her art and wanted to talk to her about it. She had no idea why it was so important for him to like it.

  Shaking her head, she walked back out to the truck and grabbed one of the end tables.

  She was at the main door when Ryder and Cody stepped out of the building.

  Cody held his arms out. “Here, let me get that for you.”

  When he tried to take the table, she pulled it away. “No, I can handle it. I’m not a weakling. I used to pick up fifty-pound sacks of flour. I’m fine.”

  Cody raised his hands and went off to get another item, but Ryder stayed behind.

  “Silk, are we okay?” He tilted his head, eyes searching her face.

  She set down the table and put her hands on her hips. “What happened to Slugger? Why am I Silk now?”

  He took a step closer, his tongue peeking out to moisten his bottom lip. “After touching your silky hair and your silky skin, how could I go back to Slugger? It just doesn’t fit you, anymore.”

  Her heart beat wildly, and she tried her best to sound cool and calm. “Always the Player. I don’t think I’ll ever drink again. But thank you for taking care of me.” She kissed him on his cheek.

  “I would do anything for you, Maddy. Even have you get sick all over me again. Sometime soon, I’d like to spend some time with you. I need to talk to you about something.” He kissed her head and took off toward the truck.

  She just about swooned. These guys were going to kill her.

  After two more trips, they had everything out of the truck.

  “With Ryder here, and the guys at the store, we should be able to get the rest of your furniture brought back. Why don’t you stay here and put the bed frame together so it’s ready for the mattress?” Cody suggested.

  “Sounds good.” She tossed him her apartment keys so they could get back in, then followed them to her door. “I’ll see you soon.”

  Locking the door behind them, she walked back to her bedroom.

  Looking at the pieces of what was her bed frame laying on the floor, she decided it shouldn’t be too hard to put together. There were only four pieces. She screwed the two sides into the headboard where they belonged, then put the bottom on.