The Lost and Found (32 page)

Taking a deep breath, I waved off her apology. I knew she hadn’t meant anything by it. “Don’t worry about it, Gracie. I’m fine. Promise. Let’s go get coffee and breakfast.”

Relieved, she wrapped her arms around me. We quickly showered and changed then we unlocked the storage shed and pulled out two of the beachcomber bikes they kept stored there. I grabbed the powder blue one and Gracie grabbed the white one. Each bike had a basket mounted on the front.

Freaky Pete’s Coffee Shack was located about two miles up the Old Oregon Inlet Road. We’d been coming here for years — Pete loved us. He looked a little like a pirate, just somewhat more modern. Pete was tall with bushy red hair and a thick beard to match. He had tattoos covering his arms — he looked tough, but we knew he was more like a giant teddy bear. He ran Freaky Pete’s Coffee Shack with his wife of forty years and their three sons. In addition to the coffee, they had a fun little bistro that served various types of baked goods, sandwiches, and soups.

There were several patrons there that morning, and Pete was busy behind his counter slinging out the drinks. He looked up, a smile on his tanned face for the new arrivals. The smile only became bigger as he saw who it was.

“Gracie! Sage! My two favorite girls. Where’ve you been?” Pete came around the counter to wrap us in a big bear hug. He stepped back and looked us over and shook his head. “Ah, I’m detecting sadness… Are you well?”

“It’s been a hard year, Pete, but we’re hanging in there,” Gracie told him.

Pete hugged us again quickly and asked what we’d like. “It’s on the house, no arguments. We’ve missed you two.”

As Pete and Carol had no daughters, they’d always said they’d be adopting us and when we were in Nags Head, they basically had. Carol always had a special way of making us feel at home when we came to visit. Secretly I think they hoped maybe we’d each marry one of their sons who were all tall and strapping, like their dad, but it’d have been like marrying a brother for Gracie and me.

Cam was the oldest at twenty-six now, then there was Fynn who was twenty-three, and then Rafe, the baby, was twenty-one. As kids we’d played together for those weeks each summer. It was the boys who taught us to surf and swim. All three boys were big and manly. Cam and Rafe took more after Carol in coloring, having her dark brown curly hair and grey eyes. Fynn looked like a slightly smaller version of Pete. I swear each year we came they seemed bigger, more menacing. It was hard to get a date with them around. They tended to take the brother thing to extremes.

Carol was a bakery goddess; magic flowed from her hands and became decadent little pastries, rolls, breads, and doughnuts. So after our coffees were ready, she handed us a paper bag with several treats inside. We thanked them and said goodbye, promising to be back soon, before heading off to the pier to enjoy our breakfast. Pete said he’d see us around and that he’d let the boys know we were in town — they’d find us soon enough.

We were standing side by side, slowly eating and drinking our way through our haul from Pete’s, watching the fishermen as they tried to get one on the line, when suddenly we were both grabbed from behind. My screech quickly turned into laughter as I recognized Fynn’s arms around me.

“Gotcha!” he exclaimed as he kissed my cheek.

“Fynn!” I laughed as he picked me up and spun me around.

Cam stood by shaking his head like the responsible big brother he was, watching as Rafe soundly kissed Gracie.

“I’m practically a married woman, Rafe! Yeesh!” she laughed, holding up her left hand to show off her ring.

“I don’t see him here,” Rafe chuckled slyly looking around us.

“Yeah, you’re lucky he’s not,” she shot back.

“Tanner finally worked up the nerve, huh?” Cam asked as he pulled me in for a quick hug. Fynn still had an arm slung across my shoulders, so the hug was awkward, but somehow he managed.

“Yeah, he did.” She blushed happily.

Fynn looked me over. “You getting shorter, Sage?”

“No.”

“I think you are.”

“I am not. You’re just big.”

“Fynn’s right, you do seem shorter,” Rafe said as he stepped closer and placed his hand on my head, leveling an imaginary line to the center of his chest. I punched him in the shoulder and rolled my eyes.

“You guys off work?” I asked. Cam, Fynn, and Rafe were self-employed, running the 3 Boys Fishing Service, where they sold their catch to the local restaurants in addition to helping their mom and dad out at The Shack.

“Nah, just taking a break,” Cam said. I’d figured as much as they still had a fishy smell about them.

“Let’s do a bonfire tonight. We’ll bring the ‘dogs,” Rafe suggested. Everyone agreed and soon they were heading back to work with a promise to see us later.

Gracie and I finished up our breakfast, and then headed back to the beach house. We were sharing the loft bedroom at the top of the stairs; it had two full size beds in it and plenty of room for the both of us. We changed into our suits and while Gracie stepped into the bathroom, I took a minute to check my phone.

Ethan had texted, said he missed me. Billy had, too. They weren’t the only ones, though. Josiah had been texting me daily, several times a day, since I’d left, begging me to call him. I looked at today’s message and felt my heart clench. I wanted him so much. Wanted for everything to be fine between us. I swallowed back my tears as Gracie joined me. She pretended not to see. I grabbed my towel and a book and we headed out the door.

The fire snapped and popped; the smoke lifted lazily around us; the sound of the surf was a relaxing backdrop for the evening. I dug my toes into the sand and my hands firmly into my pockets. Fynn sat beside me to the right. Rafe sat between Gracie and me, and Cam sat across from us.

“Gracie filled us in, Sage.” Cam spoke across the flames; his voice was gentle. “Mom and Dad are heartbroken for you and The Kid. How’re you holding up?”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat and nodded at them. “I’m good, thanks.”

“We had no idea.” Fynn pulled me against him, tucking my head under his chin. “We need to stay in better touch. Can’t have stuff like this happening.”

“You couldn’t have done anything, Fynn,” I mumbled against his neck.

“Still. We should’ve known, should’ve been there for you.”

“S’all right. You’re here now.”

“We’ll always be here, Sage,” Rafe said. “For instance, what’s the story with your wolf?”

I sat up. “My… wolf?” I flashed a glance at Gracie who wasn’t the least bit ashamed. She met my gaze squarely.

“Yeah, you know,” Fynn said. “The dude who you’re heartbroken over.
That
wolf.”

“Who said he’s a wolf?”

“She did,” they said in unison, pointing at Gracie.

“I see. Well, since Gracie has opened her big mouth, let her tell you.”

“We’re asking you,” Cam said as he added another log to the flames.

I huffed my breath out in frustration and shot Gracie a dirty look.

“I’m just worried about you, Sage. And I’ve got to say it — it just doesn’t sound like something Josiah would do. That boy
loves
you. Scary loves you.”

“I saw the picture, Gracie. And he lied about it.”

“Is it possible the pic was a fake? I mean, people can do just about anything with their phones and cameras now.”

“Why would she fake something like that?” I asked, crushing the surge of hope that flashed up inside me.

“Oh, I don’t know… look where you are and where you are not. You left your man without a fight. She has an open field now.”

Was it possible that was all it was? Had I overreacted, and Josiah was innocent? He’d been adamant that he’d never slept with her. But I couldn’t get the image of him, his back, her nails raking across his skin, the look on her face, out of my mind. I swallowed, shaking my head, and shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it’s possible…”

“What’d he have to say about it, Sage?” Cam asked.

“Said he hadn’t slept with her. Said he wasn’t lying.”

“Has he lied to you before?” Fynn looked at me carefully.

“No, not that I know of,” I admitted, looking down at the sand as I moved my toes through it.

“Josiah worships her. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ll admit I was prepared to dislike him. And at first I didn’t trust him — I mean, he makes you boys look tame. But after seeing him with Sage, there was just no denying that that boy is madly, deeply,
insanely
in love with her.”

I squared my shoulders and said, “Well, it’s not like I can do anything about it from here. It’s not something I want to discuss over the phone. It needs to be face to face. I guess I’ll have to talk to him when I go back.”

“You’re going back?” Gracie asked me.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “If only to gather my things. I’ve got to go back at least for that. And if he still wants to talk and explain, I guess maybe I can give him a chance.”

“Not everyone leaves or lies, Sage. You’ve got to learn to trust. Josiah would die for you. Literally. Doesn’t that give him something?”

I didn’t know what to say to Gracie. I hated to think maybe I’d let my own fears play a role in my reaction. But in all honesty I had to consider the possibility. I did find it hard to trust. And I knew I’d felt unworthy of Josiah. Like he had so much more to offer than I did. Regardless, there was nothing I could do from where I was at. I’d be back in Idaho, at least temporarily, in another ten days. I’d see what happened then.

“Sage,” Rafe looked to me. “Has he tried to be in touch since you’ve been here?”

“Every single day,” Gracie replied before I could. I rolled my eyes at her and then nodded. It was true, he had. That had to count for something.

“You want us to talk to him, set him straight?” Fynn asked with a little too much enthusiasm.

“Definitely not. In fact, it’s best he doesn’t even know about you guys. I don’t think he’d understand our friendship, and he’d be highly irritated if he did,” I said, trying to imagine how Josiah would react to me sitting here with the guys.

Fynn slung his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close, placing a tender kiss at my temple. “Hey, we gotta work tomorrow night, but we have Friday off and Smokey’s is having their crab bake and dance out on the pier. How about you two join us? We’ll be your bodyguards, and we’ll have us some fun. Just like old times.” We all quickly agreed on the plan; we’d meet the boys at Smokey’s Friday about 5:30.

Josiah

JOSIAH WAS FURIOUS
. He was beyond furious — he was murderous and then some. If it weren’t for the fact that Red was seated beside him, and a table stood solidly between him and Charlene, he’d have his hands wrapped around her lying throat.

He’d finally been able to piece together what had happened. Charlene admitted to doctoring the picture she’d shown Crimson. And once Josiah had seen it, he couldn’t blame Crimson for her fears and accusations. The picture looked real. Charlene had used three other photos and overlapped, edited, and photo-shopped the images to create the one she’d shown to Crimson.

When asked her reasoning, Charlene just said she’d been having fun. Josiah had to hold himself in his chair to keep from launching himself at her. Red asked if he wanted to press charges. Josiah shook his head no — he just never wanted to see her again. Ever.

Now that he had the evidence of his innocence, he needed to talk to Crimson. Needed to see her, to show her, to hold her.

Stormy Weather

Crimson Sage

GRACIE AND I LEFT
the beach house a little after five o’clock on Friday night. We’d dressed up even though Smokey’s wasn’t really that kind of joint; any reason to dress up worked for us. She wore a deep red sundress with matching wedge sandals. Her hair was pulled up into a sleek bun — Gracie looked amazing — svelte and almost exotic. I opted for a deep blue maxi-skirt with a white crop top that was open at the back. It covered everything, but if I lifted my arms or a breeze blew it showed at least an inch or more of my torso. The skirt had slits up to the thigh on both legs. Seeing as we’d be with the brothers tonight we’d decided to just go ahead and have fun — they’d make sure we were safe and no one messed with us.