Page 49 of Lost and Found Cowboy
“Is it just me, or does this look like somebody might have tried to break into my shop last night?”
“That’s exactly what it looks like. And I’ll give you three guesses as to who that somebody might be.”
“I think I only need one.”
“Thank goodness he didn’t get in.” Mack studied the scratches around the lock. “Or do you think he did? Have you checked to make sure nothing is missing?”
“No, I haven’t checked anything. I just got here a few minutes ago and wanted to bring a dish of dog food out here for Mocha…uh…I mean, the stray dog.” She offered him a sheepish grin thenit disappeared as she turned back to the door. “I saw this as I was coming back inside.”
They checked on the dog, who was inside her crate and had already wolfed down the dog food Lorna had given her, then went in and checked the back office, the safe, and the dining area, but nothing seemed amiss.
“He must not have been able to break in,” Lorna said.
“I think we should call the police anyway. Do you still have Knox’s card?”
She nodded. “It’s in my purse.”
Lorna lockedup the coffee shop at exactly two that afternoon. It had been a busy day, probably made busier by everyone coming in and wanting to know why a deputy sheriff’s truck was parked in the alley behind the shop.
Thank goodness for Mack. He might not know the difference between acappuccino and afrappuccino, but he was great with people. He was attentive and funny and had the customers who were waiting in line laughing and joking around so much that no one complained that she was the only one fixing drinks or that it took her a bit longer to get their orders up.
For his part, Mack was a quick study and over the past few days had learned to make a few of the simpler drinks. He could pour black coffees, make espressos, froth milk, and do all the teas, plus heat up and plate the baked goods.
Selling over a hundred coffees that day was great for business, but hell on her back and feet, and all she wanted to do was go home and stand under a hot shower for an hour. But the school was having their end of year carnival that night, and she and Max were signed up to run a booth for an hour.
She might be able to close the coffee shop for the afternoon, but the duties of a mother never ended. And Max was so excited about the school carnival. He’d been talking about it for weeks.
Plus, it was hilarious that she even dreamed of standing in the shower for an hour. With her life, she was lucky to get five minutes. Although, since a certain hot cowboy had come back into her life, she had been taking a few extra minutes to keep her legs shaved.
“You ready?” Mack asked, untying the apron from his waist then folding it neatly and placing it on the edge of the counter to be ready for his shift in the morning. Funny how his was still clean while hers had gone in the hamper in her office because it was covered in coffee grounds and splashed syrups, whipped cream, and espresso.
It had been fun working with Mack that week. Maybe too fun.
She was starting to count on seeing him every day and looked forward to his texts and calls when they weren’t together. And not just seeing him but touching him as well. Their fake-dating ruse required them to occasionally hold hands or for Mack to put his arm around her or brush her cheek with a kiss, and she would be lying if she said she wasn’t enjoying that part of the scheme.
She prayed that Lyle would leave town and leave her alone, sooner rather than later, but then what reason would Mack have for pretending to be her boyfriend?
“Yes, just let me grab my purse,” she told him. “Check the fridge. I made us a couple of iced coffees to go.”
The weather was perfect for a walk, and they sipped their coffees and held hands while they meandered down to the grade school with the Colorado sunshine warming their faces.
They made it to the school a few minutes before the bell rang, so they sat on a bench outside and chatted easily about their day and their plans for that night. Mack offered to watch Izzy for thehour that she and Max ran the Ring Toss booth, and even though she readily agreed, she wondered if she shouldn’t start pulling back and quit counting on him for so much.
Her son’s face lit with excitement when he saw Mack waiting with her, and he hugged them both then talked nonstop the whole way back to the coffee shop where she’d left the minivan.
Mack was going back to the ranch for a few hours to catch up on chores but planned to pick them up around five so they could all go to the school together.
“Oh, shoot, I forgot to get cash for tonight,” she told Mack as they were loading the kids into the van. “Can you finish buckling and keep an eye on these two for a second while I run in real quick and raid the petty cash box?”
“Sure,” Mack told her, clicking Izzy into her seat.
She kept a metal box with a few hundred dollars in assorted small bills in the bottom drawer of her desk, just in case she needed it for deliveries or tips or if one of the employees had to run to the grocery store to grab an extra gallon of milk. Or, apparently, if she needed a couple of spare twenties for the school carnival.
Plopping down into the desk chair, she pulled out the small metal box, and terror seized her heart as she lifted the lid.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lorna stared into the box. It was empty, except for the bottom half of a piece of pink paper which had been torn from the notepad on her desk.
