by Leah Atwood
Nodding as he went over the figures, he cleared his throat. “Looks spot on.” He took another sip of coffee and clicked back to his inbox to see what else was pressing.
Seeing nothing that demanded immediate action, he took advantage of the fact that Jake was currently paying more attention to his maple bar than to his computer screen. “Hey, speaking of Cornerstone, I saw you signed up to help out tomorrow night. I’m going to need you. It’s not easy keeping that bunch wrangled all in one place.”
“There are only five of them.” Jake almost snorted. “How unruly can they be?”
“You’d be surprised. When they get worked up about something, they act like a bunch of wild fillies.”
“But they’ll do anything for Cowboy Chris.” Jake wiped a smudge of maple icing from his chin. “You’re lucky they love you so much.”
“Very funny.” Chris twisted a smile at his friend. This particular group of people held a special place in his heart, and his buddy loved to chide him about it. He really didn’t mind.
Knowing he was in for even more ribbing, Chris grabbed his satchel and started looking for his find from last night’s shopping spree. “I told their driver to drop them off by the carousel at four fifteen. We should get over there early. You know how crowded it’s going to be.” He checked the outer pocket of his bag. He had put it in there…hadn’t he?
“You lose something?” Wiping off his hands with a napkin, Jake gave him a squinty look.
“I don’t know. I thought I put it in here…” When had he last had it? He shook his head. “I must have left it at home.”
“What?”
Setting the satchel aside, he gritted his teeth and prepared for the inevitable. “I did my annual Christmas shopping last night.”
“Oh, right.” Jake leaned back in his chair. “The Christmas gifts.”
“I found these perfect, hand-painted Christmas bells. Isn’t that great?”
“Let me guess. Five of them?”
“You know it.” Chris nodded.
“You’re so predictable. Every year, it’s the same thing. The perfect gift in quintuplicate.”
Chris smiled. That was true. It had become a tradition, and his ladies had come to expect it. “I guess I’m just a sentimental guy.”
“Sentimental. Right.” Popping the last bite of doughnut into his mouth, Jake focused once again on his screen. “That must be why the ladies love you so much.”
Chris nodded, going along with the joke. Now if only the right lady would come along and feel that way about him.
Chapter Five
Standing behind the Streebecks counter, Shelby shifted her weight to ease the strain her second sixteen-hour day in a row had put on her feet. She’d kept herself going by dreaming up variations on her imagined second encounter with the guy with the amazing green eyes. In her mind, she managed to remain both clever and upright, and her scenarios always ended with him asking her to spend Christmas with him.
Now, as she wiped down the area next to the cash register, a vivid scene played in her mind. She could see the two of them sitting at her favorite table over in the corner next to the window. She imagined herself saying something witty and him throwing his head back in a laugh.
Leaning her elbows on the counter, she twirled her damp cleaning rag between her fingers. Yeah. He probably had a really great laugh.
“You’re a world away.”
Victoria’s throaty observation cut through the haze of Shelby’s daydream, and she blinked a couple of times to root herself back in the here and now. “Oh. Right. Well, it’s been a long day.”
“You’re telling me.” Victoria gave a little stretch, and an inadvertent reminder that the Streebecks uniform shirt hugged her frame, while it just hung on Shelby’s. “I hope you don’t mind if I do the floor while we still have customers.” She lowered her already-sultry voice to a near whisper. “Asking them to move their feet kind of gives them the hint, you know?”
“Fine.” Shelby gave a nod of consent. “The sooner we finish, the sooner I can get home to my Gerald.”
The stunned look on Victoria’s face caught Shelby off guard. Then it hit her how that must have sounded. She opened her mouth to explain, but Victoria had already retreated to the back to get the broom.
Shelby groaned. Whenever they worked together, Victoria spent so much time talking about all the guys she dated, that Shelby had probably never had a chance to mention the fact that she had a cat. Shaking her head, she made a mental note to clear up Victoria’s obvious misunderstanding of her statement sometime when she wasn’t so exhausted.
As the bell over the door signaled the departure of another customer, Shelby allowed one more look at the corner table, but the magic was gone. Was she really so lonely and pathetic that she was clinging to some fantasy of a guy she hadn’t even officially met?
A stream of cheerful, noisy shoppers flowed past the window, and she held her breath, waiting to see if any of them might come in.
Yes. Apparently she was that lonely and pathetic.
She checked her watch. It had been right about this time last night when this whole thing had started. She glanced down at the white bag still sitting in the lost and found bin under the counter. Mr. Gorgeous hadn’t come by, but neither had anyone else come to claim it.
There was still hope.
She expelled a breath. Hope of exactly what, Shelby? She might as well face that he wasn’t coming back before they closed up shop.
With a resigned sigh, she checked her list of closing tasks and planted her feet firmly back in reality.
“I’m heading home.” Kim leaned into the doorway of Chris’ office, her voice snapping his attention from his computer screen. “You two are the last ones here, so don’t forget to lock up.”
Chris nodded, taking the interruption as a reminder that he should get up and stretch his legs. He looked at Jake, who had barely even moved his eyes from his screen, and walked over to the window.
Even though he knew the days were short this time of year, he was kind of startled to see that darkness had fallen since the last time he’d looked outside. He checked the time on the Mr. Coffee. “Oh, man.”
“Huh?” Jake grunted but didn’t look at him.
“It’s past eight thirty.” Crossing back to his desk, he ran his hand through his hair. “No wonder I’m starved. We worked right through dinner.”
“Oh yeah.” Jake pointed to a column of numbers on his screen. “I’ve been playing with different ways of presenting our assets. What do you think about this?”
“Looks good.” Chris glanced at the screen, but his mind was elsewhere. “Hey, why don’t we go grab a late dinner and you can fill me in on the details.”
“Yeah…sure.” Looking like he had only half heard Chris’ suggestion, Jake took a couple more swipes at his keyboard and made no move to stand.
Now that he thought about how long it had been since he’d stopped to eat, impatience started a slow brew in Chris’ chest. “Where do you want to go?” He grabbed his jacket, hoping Jake would take the hint.
“Not much open this late.” Jake hit a key on his computer and the printer made a series of waking-up sounds. “It’s all the same to me as long as we don’t break the bank.”
“Right.” Taking another glance at the time, Chris rolled over an idea in his mind. They still had some work to get done before they called it a night. Since they had to spend money on food anyway, what was wrong with grabbing a late cup of coffee at the same time to keep them alert?
Just as Shelby dipped down to grab the bottle of glass cleaner from under the counter, the bell on the front door jingled. She popped back up to see Kendra enter with Jeremy, both of them dressed to the nines and looking deliriously happy.
Stuffing her disappointment behind an earnest smile, Shelby grabbed the cleaner and a rag, then walked around to the front of the pastry case and gave it a spray.
“Wow, don’t you guys look great.” Victoria emerged from t
he back room, toting the broom and dustpan. She eyed them—mostly Jeremy—appreciatively as she started work on the floor.
Jeremy spun Kendra under his arm like they were still on the dance floor. She emerged from the twirl holding out the skirt of the burgundy midi dress that she’d gotten for half price at the Nordstrom Rack.
Smiling at their spontaneous little performance, Shelby noted that the black pumps she’d loaned her friend were a perfect match with the dress. At least they’d made it out of the closet on someone’s feet this holiday season.
As the giddy couple two-stepped toward her, Shelby started to wipe down the glass. “Don’t tell me the party’s over already?”
“Nope.” Kendra breathlessly reached for the support of the counter. “But it’s a weeknight, and Jeremy has to get home.” The pair exchanged a lovey-dovey glance. “We had so much fun.”
“We really did.” The normally staid Jeremy looked more unrestrained than Shelby had ever seen him.
Kendra laughed. “I had no idea that Jeremy could dance. He’s a regular Mark Ballas.”
“I can see that.” Shelby nodded appreciatively. “Now I know who can coach me if I decide to audition for So You Think You Can Dance.”
“You know it.” Jeremy smirked. “We could work up a whole routine.”
He offered his hand, and Shelby sputtered out a little laugh, then looked at Kendra. She shrugged and swept her palm in front of her as if giving permission.
Shelby set the cleaning rag on top of the pastry case and assumed a swing dance position with Jeremy, feeling a little too aware that the few customers they had left were all watching with interest. She followed as he started a basic side step with a turn, then swung her out the full length of his arm and reeled her back in.
She giggled. It might have been her delirium from too much work and too little sleep, but this was actually kind of fun.
“Hey, Fred and Ginger.” Running the broom under the rim along the bottom of the counter, Victoria rolled her eyes. “You want to move to the left so I can sweep up your dance floor?”
Jeremy spun Shelby again, this time with a little more gusto than poise, sending her careening toward one of their freestanding display units. She caught herself just in time to avoid knocking over a pyramid of coffee gift packs.
Regaining her footing, she thanked God that she hadn’t needed a hand getting up off the floor for the second night in a row. And that this time Mr. Gorgeous hadn’t been there to witness her clumsiness.
“So we need a little practice.” Jeremy came over to rescue a bag of cinnamon almonds that she’d bumped to the edge of the shelf.
“You two can practice.” Shelby wagged a finger between Jeremy and Kendra. “I need to retire my dancing shoes and stick to plain old walking.” Retrieving her cleaning paraphernalia, she nodded at Kendra’s feet. “I don’t know how you managed to be graceful in those heels.”
“Who said I was graceful?” Kendra reached out for Jeremy’s arm. “Would you mind snagging that table by the window? I’ll go make us a couple of decaf lattes.”
Jeremy kissed her hand, then moved to follow her instructions.
Kendra went behind the counter and grabbed two white cups and matching saucers. She gave Shelby a quizzical look. “What’s the matter, Shelb? Did you have a rough night?”
“No, the night was fine.” Realizing that she was letting her disappointment show on her face, Shelby blinked and finished wiping the glass. She crossed behind the counter and took the bag from the lost and found. “It’s just that… no one came back to claim this.”
“Oh.” Kendra eyed the bag, her forehead crinkling as she bent to grab a jug of milk out of the fridge. “Well, people leave things all the time. It’s nothing to lose sleep over.”
“But what if they don’t realize they left it here?” Shelby tried to keep the urgency out of her tone, but it sloshed back in. “It looks like it might be important.”
Kendra frowned at her. “If it’s really that important, they’ll retrace their steps.” She poured milk into a steamer cup. “Shelb, things get left behind. It happens.”
“I know.” Remembering that she still had more work to do, Shelby knelt down to retrieve one of the plastic containers from underneath the pastry case. “But I feel like I should at least try to find the owner.” She lifted one shoulder in a casual shrug. “Maybe do a little detective work.”
Kendra gave her a narrow-eyed look as she put the milk jug away. “There’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?”
“What do you mean?” She grabbed the tongs and started placing the pastries in the container.
“I mean,” Momentarily abandoning her lattes, Kendra took a couple of steps closer to her and planted a fist on her hip. “Even Nancy Drew needed a motivation for taking on a case.”
Shelby twisted her mouth in contemplation. She was a hopeless romantic. How pathetic would it sound if she just came right out and said it?
Glancing over her shoulder, she made sure that Victoria was out of earshot. “Okay. I’m just kind of hoping I know who left it, that’s all.”
“Really?” Kendra’s eyes lit up and she scooted in even closer. “Who?”
Picking up a slice of gingerbread, Shelby shrugged. “There was this guy who came in last night—”
“A guy!” Kendra slapped a palm against the counter. “I knew it.”
“Shh. It’s not a big deal.”
“What did he look like? If he’s a regular, maybe I know who he is.”
“Dark brown hair and…” Shelby caved to the relief of finally sharing this with her best friend. “…magnetic green eyes.”
“Magnetic, huh? Sounds great, but…” Kendra gave Shelby’s elbow a light punch as she nodded toward the bag. “It doesn’t ring a bell.”
Shelby twisted her a look.
“Sorry.” She stepped back toward the Beast and continued to make the lattes. “So, do you know for sure that he’s the one who left the bag?”
“It’s just a suspicion.” Shelby lifted a shoulder. “He was the last customer—the one I thought was the shelter guy—and I didn’t see the bag earlier when I cleaned.”
“Good deduction.” Kendra nodded. “Did you ask his name? You know…to write on his cup?”
“No.” Shelby felt her lower lip protrude. “I don’t normally do that if there’s not a line. And I wasn’t thinking.” If she had been thinking, she would have looked closer at that logo on his jacket. The name of some organization was in the center, and that could have offered a clue. As sleuthing went, she wouldn’t even rank amateur status. “If he doesn’t come back, how am I going to find him?”
“Well, maybe we can figure it out.” Kendra wiped coffee grounds off her hands, then took the bag and looked inside. She pulled out the receipt. “Did you look at this? We can see where it came from, and maybe that’ll give us a clue.”
Shelby sidled up to her and looked at the paper. “Made to Inspire. Where’s that?”
“Oh, it’s a cute little gift shop up on Sixth. They sell locally made things. Super popular at Christmastime.”
“These bells are unique enough that the clerk might remember who she sold them to.”
“Says they were sold by ‘sales associate number one’.” Kendra returned the receipt to the bag. “Should be easy enough to find out.”
“Well,” Shelby said. “If no one has claimed the bag by the end of my shift tomorrow afternoon, I’ll just take it to the gift shop when I get off work. It’s worth a shot.”
“The Mystery of the Lost Bells.” Kendra smirked. “Good luck, Nancy Drew.” Laughing, she checked her watch. “Hey, it’s just about nine. The shelter guy should be here any time.”
“Oh, right” Shelby’s heart sank as she glanced around at the few remaining patrons still finishing their drinks. She grabbed the container of pastries and started for the back room. “Time sure flies.”
Chapter Six
By the time Chris managed to get Jake out the do
or of the office building, it was almost nine. He took a right, and Jake, who was focused on talking about the adjustments he’d been making to the next day’s presentation, followed his lead without questioning their destination.
“So if we’re going to have a prayer of winning this grant,” Jake barely paused to take a breath. “I think we need to mainly focus on the program in our ministry that’s most compelling and has the greatest need.”
“That makes sense.” Chris had done the best he could to stay with the conversation, but as they made their way up the block, that got progressively harder. He craned his neck to check the windows of the Streebecks up ahead on the corner. They were still lit with twinkling Christmas lights, but he couldn’t tell from this distance if the place was still open.
“Of course it goes without saying that both of the shelters need more funding…”
“Right,” Chris picked up his pace. “We should go with that.”
“…and the school for homeless kids—”
“Great. I agree.” Seeing that the ‘open’ sign next to the door still glowed, Chris was about to suggest they go in.
“Chris, you’re not even listening.” Jake stopped walking and backhanded Chris’ arm.
“Yeah, I am.” Annoyed, Chris stopped and turned to Jake. He lifted his arm to point to the Streebecks. “I was just thinking, maybe—”
“—I was thinking we need to put our main focus on Cornerstone.”
Chris shut his mouth, allowing that to sink in. “Wha…? Really?”
“Yeah.” Jake shrugged. “It’s what you know best, and when you start talking about that place, I swear you could talk a bird out of his feathers. That’s our best bet.”
Feeling a smile tugging at his mouth, Chris nodded. He’d been so certain that Impact’s board of directors considered Cornerstone to be less vital to the community than the two shelters, the school for homeless kids, and the clinic, that he had been truly worried about its future. Having Jake—speaking not just as his friend but as Impact’s director of finance—acknowledge its importance meant the world to him. “Sounds like a plan.”