Lost and Found (books 1-3): Small-Town Romantic Comedy

by Elizabeth Lynx

  “How’s Chloe?” Carter finally said more than one word to me.

  “Her foot still bothers her.”

  “And Mica’s in that sling, right? From the accident,” Olivia added.

  I nodded.

  “Who’s helping them with Shelby?” Olivia asked.

  “And Fire Lake Coffee? Someone has to make the coffee.” Carter appeared more upset than Olivia.

  Shit, I hadn’t thought of that. If I went back there, he wouldn’t let me in. And if I offered to help, that would probably make it worse. He’d most likely tell me that he didn’t need help from someone like me. I could almost hear him saying those exact words.

  “I’ll help like I promised the other day. I can go over and watch Shelby.” Olivia nodded.

  “Maybe in the afternoons, when I have some free time, I can help with the coffee,” Carter said.

  My eyes began to burn. They were family. With Carter, almost family. That’s what we did for each other.

  I was going to help, too. He may not let me back in the house, but I knew a way to help the Angrovs.

  “I’ll help, too.” I smiled, and my sister’s eyebrows came together.

  “Bea, what are you going to do?”

  I shrugged. “Nothing dangerous but totally unexpected. You know me, Olivia, I never take no for an answer.”

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Mica

  “I’m going to the grocery store. You need anything?” Chloe asked as I stared at the backdoor, willing it to fix itself.

  “A spare arm.”

  “How’s Carter working out?” She nodded toward the door, in the direction of the coffee barn.

  “Great. He figured it out right away. I think he’s enjoying himself. Carter even asked if I wanted to take a day and switch with him. He’d roast coffee and I’d tend to his sheep.”

  My sister frowned. “And you plan to do that?”

  “Oh no. Absolutely not. The smell alone would cause me to constantly gag. That’s the great thing about coffee—it smells wonderful.”

  “Okay, well, I need you to watch Shelby while I’m gone. If you need help, remember Olivia said she’s available.”

  I nodded and waved her off. After a moment, I heard the front door shut. Now it was just me, a hammer, and a broken door. Oh, and Shelby in the family room.

  I had tightened the doorknob as it was a little wobbly, but the glass in the door was still broken. I was thinking of cutting some wood and filling it in until I had time to order a new door. Something a little more secure than the thin plywood I had nailed up, which was letting in the chill.

  Even at the beginning of April, it was still around freezing most days.

  I stared at the hammer and began to chuckle as I wondered if Bea had ever seen one before. My laugh quickly died.

  I missed Bea. It had been two days, and I hadn’t stopped thinking about her. I was going around the house, uselessly attempting to fix things with a broken collarbone, in an attempt to distract myself.

  My sister was right. When I told her what had happened, she called me an idiot. A stubborn idiot.

  Part of me thought I was, but then I remembered what she said. Weekend sex. I was just some fun on the weekend. She couldn’t even say anything about me other than the fact that I loved coffee.

  Whoopie. Most people love coffee.

  I may not be much of a people person, but I would never use them like that. I cared about Bea. Heck, I think I loved her. But I wasn’t going to put up with someone who didn’t care about my thoughts and feelings. And then I thought about Shelby. She would grow up caring about Bea, all the while Bea wouldn’t break a sweat walking away and never seeing Shelby again.

  Growing up without her mother and father was hard enough. I wouldn’t let anyone be so flippant with Shelby’s heart.

  There was more than one heart at stake in the relationship with Bea, and I had to keep that in mind.

  Shelby needed people who cared for her, loved her, and would do anything to have her in their lives.

  I was surprised to see Carter and Olivia show up yesterday and offer to help. But once Carter explained that they felt bad about what had happened with Bea and wanted to make sure we knew they were our friends, I understood. That’s what people do when they care. They come to help and don’t require anything in return. Not just focus on their needs.

  That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to thank them. They had coffee for life from me. I even offered to sell them the coffee for half the price to their honeymoon cabins they recently opened on Carter’s land.

  I may have told Bea to leave, but I had hoped she would try to reach out to me. But I hadn’t heard or seen from her since.

  There was a knock at the door, and I wondered if my sister forgot her keys again. With the scare of when Chloe went missing and her current fear of bears, we kept the front door locked at all times—whether we were in the house or not.

  I made my way to the front door and saw Shelby playing with her word blocks on the floor by the coffee table.

  When I opened the door, a prickling anger quickly rose up the back of my neck.

  A man stood there with a short beard and a tan jacket that had the words Bailey Hardware and a hammer logo embroidered on the upper right.

  “What are you doing here?” I ground out as I stared at Shelby’s uncle, her father’s brother.

  I was both heartbroken and angered when I reached out to Keaghan’s parents right after Ellie died, about Shelby. But they wanted nothing to do with their new granddaughter. They cared about their son, the guy currently behind bars, and believed he’d never be with a girl so young.

  At that point, I knew Chloe and I were the only family Shelby had.

  “I was hired to fix your backdoor and whatever else you need fixing.” Kris, Keaghan’s older brother, said as he bowed his head.

  “Well, I didn’t hire you, and I’m pretty sure my sister’s wise enough never to contact your business to help us with anything.”

  “Look, we have already been paid. You can either take advantage of my services, or I can head back and get free money.”

  I studied Kris. Who would have hired someone from the family I despised? Now that Chloe was okay, I changed my mind about stepping foot back in Bailey Hardware. It wasn’t so bad driving almost an hour to the next town over for supplies.

  I’d make sure to stay as far away from anyone who didn’t care for me or my family as possible.

  “Fine. But—” And before I could tell him to walk around the outside of the house to the backdoor, he stepped past me.

  He was big. As big as Bea’s brother. But the way he gazed around the house with those green eyes . . . just like Shelby. My heart began to crack as I was bombarded with the similarities.

  How could they not want to know her?

  Right at that moment, Shelby giggled. Kris turned his head and those eyes of his widened. Had he not expected to see her? He knew me. He knew I took care of his niece. And yet his face grew pale as he froze in front of a little girl.

  I rubbed my neck, and after closing the door, I stepped forward, placing myself between Shelby and the man who blew her off.

  “She’s not your concern. Your parents made it quite clear that she was our responsibility.”

  If I could fold my arms and puff out my chest at the moment, I would. But all I could do was stare the man down.

  But something surprised me. When he looked up, there was heartbreak in his eyes.

  “Is that, uh . . . is that—”

  “Her name is Shelby. And she’s my niece,” I said and took a step closer to him. I was so close if I wanted to, I could headbutt him. I kept that in mind.

  “I guess I’m not allowed to say hi to my niece.”

  He had some nerve.

  “Your niece? Where were you on her first or second birthday? Where were you when she was up all night with colic when she was a baby? Or for the MRI she had a few days ago? Where were you at any point in her life?”

&
nbsp; He lowered his head in shame. That’s right. It was about time he admitted his family was filled with terrible people. And the only good thing to come out of that gene pool was Shelby.

  “I’m sorry. My brother lied to us. He, uh . . . he lied to a lot of people. My mother is still heartbroken about what he did. She wanted to reach out to you, we all did, but we felt ashamed. And what happened to your sister—”

  “You mean Shelby’s mother?” I jerked my head to the side and glared.

  “Yes, her mom.”

  “The mom she’ll never, ever, get to know. She’ll only ever get to hear stories about because of how your brother treated her.”

  He took a shaky breath. “He should have been there for her. We all should have. And when we got the phone call to come fix your door, I thought this was your way of reaching out. I came instantly. Even rearranged some other jobs, I had to come right away. I wanted to tell you how sorry I am and hoped to get a chance to meet my niece.”

  “But I didn’t call you. And I highly doubt my sister would have called you.”

  He scratched the back of his neck. “It was a woman, and when she gave her payment, it didn’t say Angrov. I figured Chloe had got married and changed her name.”

  “Who was it?”

  “Love. Beatrice Love.”

  “What?”

  He repeated the name, but I couldn’t hear him. There was a whirring sound in my ears. My heart thudded in my chest.

  Bea.

  I had told her about Shelby’s father, but I had never told her that his family owned the hardware store. Chloe. She must have said something.

  Bea had not only reached out to help fix the house, but she was also trying to fix our family, too.

  I should be mad at her, but for the first time in days, I smiled. “Beatrice?”

  Maybe she did care? I rubbed my head when I realized I let my bias and anger get in the way. I didn’t listen to her. I just jumped to conclusions.

  “Uh, my mom would love to meet Shelby. She wanted to come too but didn’t want to push it.”

  He looked at me, waiting for something. Approval maybe.

  Too many mistakes and they hurt so many lives. All of them due to resentment, hate, and bias.

  My shoulders sagged. I was sick of it and all the pain it caused. Maybe it was time to stop that way of thinking.

  I wouldn’t say I was over how the Baileys treated my sister and Shelby, but I was willing to give them a chance.

  “Maybe she should come over.”

  His eyes widened as he grinned. “Really? Why don’t you, Chloe, and Shelby come over for dinner?”

  TWENTY-FIVE

  Bea

  “Bea, are you even listening?” my father asked as he sat up in his chair on the other side of his big mahogany desk.

  “Of course,” I answered.

  I wasn't listening. My thoughts were hundreds of miles away in Maine. The past several days has been brutal. I had hoped the pain would die down once I came home, but it only made it worse.

  Is this what love was like? Why did people say they always wanted to find love and write songs about it? It sucked.

  Usually, when I was feeling down, I would go shopping. But now, that was depressing. I tried Olivia’s tactic of eating her feelings, but nothing tasted good.

  I wanted Mica back and had no idea how to do that. When I called Olivia yesterday, she said Mica hadn’t mentioned me at all. I even reached out to Kris Bailey after I knew he went to Mica’s house. He was overly thankful for making that situation happen, but when I asked if he had mentioned me, he said only once.

  He told me that Mica had said my name but acted as if he didn’t know me.

  There it was. My proof that I screwed this thing I had with Mica up so badly that he was trying his best to forget about me, even pretending that he didn’t know me.

  My father finished his little speech and sat back with a proud grin. “What do you think?”

  “Sounds good. Let’s do it.”

  I had no idea what he said, but it didn’t matter what I thought anyway. If I disagreed with anything he said, he’d ignore me and do it anyway.

  “Since you’re going to take over, I’m going to plan to retire this summer. Take advantage of the nice weather and maybe take your mom to Europe.”

  My mouth fell open. I must have misheard him. Maybe I was taking over for a few weeks until Konrad ran things.

  “Wait. Why would I be taking over?”

  He groaned and pinched the ridge between his eyes. “I just told you, Bea. Konrad went north somewhere. Following in your sister’s footsteps of finding himself. If we’re not careful, we’ll be a family of farmers and mountain men.”

  “Olivia isn’t a farmer, she’s a vet . . . Oh, never mind. Konrad left?”

  “He quit. Came in here two days ago and handed in his resignation. What goes on up on that mountain? No one wants to come back after they visit there.”

  Maybe because the people are nice there and no one judges you if you aren’t wearing the right clothes or associated with the right people or making the right deals.

  And if you want to work with animals or coffee, no one looks at you funny like you had a breakdown and tells you about a great spa they went to that could help.

  “But I still have you.” My father tilted his head with a grin.

  I guess I suddenly became his favorite. It had been what I wanted since I was a little girl and snuck into his office to listen in on his business calls. I wanted to be just like him when I grew up.

  But now that I looked at him, really took a good look, I realized how much I refused to see about my father.

  He’s angry, stubborn, and not that good at business. The only reason Love Foods has been a success was because of people like me and Konrad. Like the other intelligent, hard workers at this company.

  “I don’t really think that’s true,” I said.

  “What? About the weather in Europe? Perhaps you’re right. Maybe somewhere a little warmer like Egypt—”

  “No, I meant you don’t have me. You’ve never had me.”

  “What?” His head went back.

  I refused to roll my eyes. I’d add naïve to the list of my father’s bad qualities.

  “You can’t be serious. You’ve told me since I could walk that women weren’t meant to work outside the home. I work here because I snuck around your back and got the job without your knowledge. The only reason you hire women at all is because of the Equal Rights Amendment. You still grumble about that, as you put it, terrible amendment.”

  “Beatrice Christina Lotus Love, now you see here—” He began to stand but I beat him to it.

  “Don’t do that. You may be my father, but you rarely had a hand in raising me. My old nanny, Selina, and then later, Jacqueline, helped shape me more than you did. For years I busted my butt to impress you. Worked harder than you ever did, and you barely noticed. Now, you want me to take over? And only because your perfect sons, who wised up and walked away from this, wants nothing to do with running your company. That right there should tell you everything you need to know about you as a father and a businessman. Blame them, blame me, blame the world for your problems. But you’ll only end up angry and alone.”

  I turned my back on the man I thought cared for me. Finally, realizing that if he cared, he would have lifted at least one finger for me at some point in my life. He never did a thing for me, for my sister, yet expected us to jump through hoops for him.

  Just as I got to the door, I jumped back as it flew open. My heart thundered in my chest. A smile so big grew on my face that I didn’t care if my red lipstick smeared all over my teeth.

  “Bea, thank God I found you,” Mica said a little out of breath.

  “What’s wrong? Is it Shelby?” I asked and worried something happened to that adorable little girl. “Did you find out from the doctor that she has some illness? Is that why she can’t walk?”

  He shook his head. “No, it’s cerebral palsy
like they thought. I met with the doctor yesterday afternoon for the results. She is going to see a physical medicine doctor next week. She’s with her grandparents right now.” He smiled.

  It worked. Oh, I was so thankful. I had no idea if that would help or make everything worse when I contacted Bailey Hardware. Shelby should be loved by as many people as possible. I knew family was important to him. I glanced back at my dad for a moment, who stood with his mouth wide open.

  Family was important. But family that loved and cared. That didn’t always come from blood relatives.

  “I’m so glad she’s with them,” I said and held my breath.

  He didn’t know it was me who arranged that. I had to play dumb.

  “I know you did that, Bea. I know you hired them to come fix the house.”

  Okay, so he knew. I didn’t give my name. How did they . . . Oh, wait. I had to use my name for the payment. Yup, I wasn’t as sly as I thought.

  “Are you mad?” I frowned. “If you came all the way down here to chew me out, then I’ll take it. I don’t regret what I did, Mica. That little girl deserves to meet her family . . . all her family. And I trust—”

  He stepped forward and threw his one good arm around me and kissed me on the cheek. “Thank you,” he whispered, and a shudder went down my back.

  “Who are you?” my father finally asked.

  Mica pulled back and looked over at my dad. He stepped around me and held out his hand to my dad. “I don’t mean to interrupt, sir. I’m the man who plans to steal this intelligent, hardworking, and amazingly creative woman from you. Whisk her up to Maine where she can make me rich,” he said with a smirk.

  “Maine! That damn state. What is going on, Bea?”

  I giggled and stepped to Mica’s side, wrapping my arm around his.

  “It looks like I’m being headhunted, Dad. Mica’s the one who owns Fire Lake Coffee, and I just landed him a three-hundred-thousand-dollar deal. Apparently, it just took one thing for me to do for him to realize I was a good worker.”

  “Yes, of course.” My father shook his head. “And it took me years to realize it. I get it. Did my daughter pay you to come in here? If so, you’ve done your job. I am sorry I didn’t realize how good you were earlier, Bea. I let my old-fashioned way of thinking get in the way. Now, can we all go back to what we were doing?” He waved his hand around, expecting us to scatter.