Page 28 of Lost and Found Cowboy
“That guy was a douche,” Nick said. “Even my dog thought so, and she likes everyone.”
“She will be,” Mack told them, appreciating their concern.
“I didn’t realize you two were dating,” Judy said, reaching out to pat his hand. “But I’m glad she has you.”
Nick nodded. “Me too. Take care of her, dude. She’s a great person.”
“I will,” he told them, and meant it with every fiber of his being.
He locked up after them and finished wiping down the tables, then started to worry that Lorna hadn’t come back. Pushing through the back door, he was surprised to see a small patio area in the alleyway behind the shop. A seating area with a wrought-iron table, an umbrella, and two matching chairs was to the left as he walked out, and a stack of wooden pallets were lined up behind the door.
But instead of sitting in one of the chairs, Lorna was crouched on the ground by the pallets holding a dog biscuit out to a small scruffy brown and black dog. The dog gingerly took the biscuit then inched back into what Mack now saw was a small crate with a gray blanket tucked into it and a water dish in front of it.
“I didn’t know you had a dog,” Mack said, crouching down next to her.
“I don’t,” she said. “She’s just a stray. I found her behind the shop a few weeks ago, but she wouldn’t let me get close enough to pet her or take her to the shelter. I’ve been setting out food and water and trying to get her to trust me, but so far, no luck.”
“She’s a cute little bugger,” Mack said, tilting his head and holding his hand out toward the dog. But the animal only pulled further back into the crate. “What’s her name?”
“I told you, she’s not mine.”
“You put a blanket in a crate and you’re feeding her on a regular basis. In dog terms, she’s yours.”
She let out a huff. “I’ve been calling her Mocha. Because I found her behind the shop, I thought she needed a coffee-inspired name, and her coloring makes me think of creamed coffee and chocolate.”
“I like it.” He stood and gestured to the door. “I locked up and finished wiping down the tables. Anything else I can do to help?”
She shook her head as she stood too. Then she let out a heavy sigh and slumped down into one of the chairs. “I don’t know how, but he’s gonna get this place from me. I can feel it in my gut.”
He pulled the other chair around and sat down so he was facing her, their knees almost touching. “He might try, but he has no legal right to it. From what I remember you telling me, your grandmother left you this place after Lyle was gone. Was it included in the divorce settlement?”
She shook her head. “No. My grandma was smart. Smarter than me. She saw through Lyle’s bullshit, and she made sure that the building would only come to me. And all the legal transfer of ownership happened after the divorce had been finalized.”
“Damn. I’m amazed you got this place up and running while you were pregnant.”
“Me too. But I wanted it so bad. And I’ve never been afraid of hard work.” A sad smile played around the edges of her lips. “My grandma used to want to have tea parties with me, and I’d always turn it around, so I was the shop owner, and she had to come and order and buy the tea from me before we could sit down and drink it. It was all with pretend money, but I’ve justalways loved the idea of running a little shop that sold coffee and tea and croissants and tiny cakes.”
“And now you’re doing it.”
Her eyes got a far away look in them. “I built this place all by myself. And I’ve run it successfully for over a year now. It’s something that’s all mine. Thatheisn’t a part of and hasn’t tainted with insults about the shop or about how stupid I am or how I have no idea how to run a business. Sure, I’ve made some dumb mistakes, like not knowing how much milk to order when we first opened and getting the wrong kind of syrup, but I figured out how to fix them on my own and learn from them.”
“You don’t have to convince me. I’m in awe of what you’ve done here. You’ve built something that’s more than just a coffee shop, it’s a community.”
Her gaze swung back to him, and she stared at him for a moment, studying his face as if gauging the sincerity of his words, then she pushed out of her chair and landed in his lap, wrapping her hands around his head and pulling his face toward her as she pressed a hard kiss to his lips.
Surprise and shock gave way to need and passion as his arms wrapped around her back, pulling her closer as he tilted his head and deepened the kiss. She moaned against his mouth, a small kitten whimper that had him instantly rock hard, and one of his hands slid down to cup her perfectly round ass.
She shifted in his lap, pressing her center against the length of him, and his palm tightened the hold he had on her butt as his tongue slipped between her lips. She tasted like coffee and chocolate—and desire—and he couldn’t get enough of her.
One of her hands clutched his back while the other dug through his hair, gripping handfuls of it as she kissed him harder, deeper, with more intensity.
Everything else fell away. He was completely lost in her.
He wanted more,neededmore. He had to touch her, feel her skin.
His hand slid under her shirt, skimming over her waist. He caught her quick inhale of breath as his fingers stretched across her lower back and pulled her closer still.
The beep-beep of a horn from a car driving by in the alley had them pulling apart and Lorna pushed off his lap as if it had suddenly caught fire. Which, there was a strong chance that it had.
