Chapter 13 Lost and Found #2
“You’re new here,” the man deadpanned, which was kind of funny, since the guy wasn’t a regular, according to Amy.
“I’m just filling in. Temporary help. Still in training.” Shane bobbed his chin and pivoted away. Amy caught his eye-roll when he thought the customer couldn’t see him, and she nearly burst out with a laugh.
She elbowed him as he joined her behind the counter. “I saw that eye-roll for the grumpy guy.”
His eyes went wide. “That eye-roll was for me, not him. I keep screwing up orders. This is tougher than it looks. You’re probably going to fire me.”
“It’s okay, Deputy. It’s not like I actually hired you. You’re not on the payroll.”
It had just been the two of them since Amy had returned, and his “on-the-job training” had gotten off to a shaky start.
Shane had been all fumble fingers and confusion as she’d tried to get him up to speed on the equipment as a late rush of customers had streamed through the door.
It didn’t help that she had been operating with a brain too exhausted to sort things quickly.
But she wasn’t complaining about her “help.” Simply being around Shane had a way of calming her jangled nerves, and it had started as they’d driven away from the house she had shared with Micky—the moment Shane had used the word “we.” “We’ll get it worked out, one problem at a time.
” Those two simple letters had warmed and soothed her in ways she didn’t fully comprehend.
Maybe because by uttering them, he’d made her feel less alone in this nightmare she now found herself.
She had someone in her corner, fighting beside her, for her, even though this was no one’s battle but her own.
Every time Mountain Coffee’s front door opened, she expected Micky to come blazing through. Knowing Shane had her back allowed her to ride the tidal wave of emotions roiling inside her without drowning beneath their weight.
Was it any surprise then, when she caught herself staring at him with star stuff in her eyes?
He was unflappable, fearless, with a quiet power simmering just below his surface that she’d never really appreciated before.
She’d always known he was a good guy, but now it was as if blinders had been ripped from her face, and she saw the man standing before her for what he truly was. Heroic. Strong. Solid.
Sexy as sin.
Do not go there.
In her sleep-deprived brain, she pictured him as a knight charging to her rescue, raising his sword to slay a dragon ten times his size.
Okay, comparing Micky to an enormous dragon was downright stupid.
Too far-fetched even for fantasy. But Shane defending her, hustling her away from potential danger with his take-charge presence, did belong in some kind of epic rescue romance.
Who could blame her for falling half in love with him?
Wait. What?
What was wrong with her? She was hallucinating, that’s what was wrong with her. She shook out her limbs and rolled her neck to get control of herself again.
Reece waltzed through the door, with Charlie on his heels.
A handful of customers sat at tables, but otherwise the coffee shop was mostly empty.
The brothers stopped and grinned at Shane, who, if one didn’t know better, could have been mistaken for the fourth Hunnicutt brother.
Not because of any physical similarities, but in the way they all seemed to communicate through facial expressions and gestures alone.
“You look good in an apron, O’Brien,” Charlie chortled. “It’d be better with some ruffles on it though.”
Without looking up, Shane slid his middle finger alongside his nose, and Charlie hooted a laugh.
Amy couldn’t hold back a grin. “We don’t do ruffles in this establishment, but if we did, you can be sure he’d be ruffled up.”
Easy smiles on their faces, the two men strolled to the counter. Reece tilted his head toward Shane, keeping his eyes fixed to Amy’s. “How many dishes has the new guy broken?”
She leaned her hip against the counter, folded her arms across her chest, and ran her gaze over “the new guy.” “No dishes have been harmed in the training of this barista.”
Shane’s head whipped up, and his tawny eyes met hers. Surprise, mixed with a dash of guilt, danced in them. “What about that mug I chipped?”
“That old thing?” She flapped a hand at him. “It was probably on the verge of chipping anyway. You simply helped it along.”
“He’s slow as molasses in January when it comes to serving coffee,” the grumpy guy chimed in. He was one of the few patrons occupying a table.
“Sorry about that, sir,” she called out. He grunted, and she shrugged, turning slightly to face Reece and Charlie. “What can I get you gentlemen?”
“The usual for me.” Charlie pointed at the display case. “And two chocolate croissants to go. I’m surprised you still have any left.”
They had croissants “left” because, in today’s chaos, Amy had forgotten to unpack one of the pastry deliveries. “Joy must be hungry this afternoon.” She put his order into the system.
“Joy and Estelle.”
Estelle. Amy had forgotten about Joy’s assistant, and she suppressed the surge of …
She wasn’t sure how to label the emotion.
Dislike? But Amy remembered liking her when they’d first met.
At worst, Estelle had impressed Amy in a boringly neutral way.
So was it possessiveness? Jealousy? The feelings were foreign, and Amy wrote off her befuddlement to exhaustion.
She’d sort through the tangle of emotions later—if they were even worth the effort.
Charlie directed his next comment to Shane. “Think you can handle bagging those up, big guy?”
Shane cursed under his breath as he snapped open a white paper pastry bag and tonged two fat croissants.
Amy got to work on Charlie’s latte and threw a look over her shoulder at Reece. “And for you, Chief?” She’d taken to calling him that since he’d become the head of Search and Rescue. It suited him, and he didn’t seem to mind.
“That foamy milk stuff Neve likes, and a tall black coffee for me. What time are you closing, Amy?”
Surprised, she turned toward him. “The usual time? Two o’clock.” She tipped her wrist. “Ten minutes from now.”
“What would you say about us moving stuff from your storage loft into your new place after you close so we don’t disrupt business?”
Amy’s jaw dropped. “How did you know?”
Reece’s eyes darted toward Shane and back to Amy’s. “A big birdie told us. Charlie and I are here to move whatever you want moved from upstairs, as soon as you’re ready.”
Amy was trying to wrap her head around what these guys were planning to do for her. “I don’t know if that’s going to work. I need to do final clean-up and prep for tomorrow.”
Reece shook his head. “Already taken care of. Luanne’s on her way over.”
Amy’s mouth swung open as her gaze bounced between the three of them.
Shane placed his hand beside his mouth and whisper-shouted, “Is there an EMT in the house? I think our proprietor is going into shock.” Handing Charlie his pastries with one hand, Shane then placed his free index finger under Amy’s chin and closed her mouth.
“Who’s going to give Neve her milk?” she sputtered stupidly.
“You are.” Reece jabbed a finger over his shoulder at the same Neve poked her head in, as if they’d choreographed the moment.
“Hi, Amy,” Neve called cheerfully. She came fully inside, closing the door and making the little bell above it tinkle. She pulled off her beanie, letting her blond curls bounce free. “Hailey’s busy with the bookstore today, but I’m available to help you get your new place set up.”
“But you’re sick!”
Neve beamed her a smile. “Not today.”
A knot formed in Amy’s throat, and she muscled it down so she could speak. She gawped at Shane. “You did all this?”
“No. I just made a call. Everything else fell into place from there.”
Neve made her way to Reece’s side. He draped an arm casually around her shoulders and dropped a kiss on her crown. “I ordered your milk, sweetheart.”
She thanked him and snaked her arm around his waist. “Don’t look so surprised, Amy. You’re family, and we take care of our own. You know that.”
“B-but Micky’s a local, and I wasn’t born here!” she protested.
“Doesn’t matter,” Charlie chirped. “We adopted you and disowned him. He’s officially been kicked out of the family.”
Reece shrugged. “He was never really in the family.”
“He was more like that weird third cousin no one invites to family get-togethers,” Charlie agreed.
“We permanently barred him, whichever way you slice it,” Reece added.
“Oh!” Remorse filled her. This was all wrong.
Neve seemed to read her every thought. “Don’t you dare make excuses for him, Amy. This has been a long time coming, and we’re just glad to see you getting away from a toxic situation. We’re here to help any way we can.”
Reece nodded. “After we get your stuff moved from upstairs, we’ll head over to Micky’s and grab what’s left there.”
Amy pressed her hand to her chest. “I’m so, so grateful.” She swallowed. “Also totally … overwhelmed by all of this.” Once again, the people who mattered most to her were circling the wagons. She could barely withstand the rush of emotions welling inside her. “I don’t know what to say.”
Shane’s fingers pressed her arm gently, commanding her attention. “You don’t need to say anything, but you do have people waiting on drink orders … unless you want me to try and fill them.” His mouth twitched with a smile.
“Oh Lord, no!” she blurted out, and everyone laughed. The sound cracked her chest open and released some of the tension that had been coiling there.