Lost and Found: (A Ripple Effect Romance Novella) (14 page)

Lydia unfolded the first thought bubble and stapled it above the face. It read, “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them. Walt Disney.”

The second bubble said, “Creativity takes courage. Henri Matisse.“

The third made Lydia smile. She must have been thinking of her summer in Charlotte when she was preparing this bulletin board. “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. Anais Nin.”

That was certainly true. The entire summer seemed small and anemic, while the last three days of her trip had been robust and bursting with feelings and energy and emotions. Her life had expanded when she’d decided to take a chance and do something adventurous.

She thought about Blake—his smile, his dimple, but mostly, his thoughtfulness. She’d stayed in Charlotte those two extra days to help him find the box, and even though that was their goal, he’d arranged the skydiving and the Segway tour. He hadn’t selfishly made the days all about him. He’d thought of her. When he’d seen Francie suffering because of the loss of her grandmother’s belongings, he’d arranged to return them to her.

There were qualities more important than absurdly good looks or the ability to stir the hummingbirds in her stomach into a reckless fit. She’d witnessed his love for his grandfather, his patience with clients and coworkers, as well as his kindness and generosity.

She had to do something. She was a senseless coward if she didn’t let Blake know how she felt.

Lydia stepped off the stool and retrieved her cell phone from her purse. She sat down at her desk and looked at the Walt Disney thought bubble again. “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” Maybe Walt knew what he was talking about. Lydia pulled up Blake’s number, pressed the talk button, and held the phone to her ear.

Her stomach was folding in on itself, and she felt oddly winded.

After a moment, the call connected and Lydia heard the first ring in her ear. Three seconds later it rang again. Strange. It sounded louder. Another three seconds, and she heard it ring in her ear… and outside her door. It didn’t ring a fourth time.

“Hello,” Blake said. He was standing in the doorway, holding his phone to his ear.

Lydia stood up from her desk so quickly, her chair slid into the wall behind her. She pushed the end button on her phone and slowly lowered it from her ear.

“Hi Lydia. Did I just miss a call from you?” Blake said.

If breathing had been difficult before the phone call, it was nearly impossible now.
Breathe. You don’t want to pass out and miss this moment.
“What are you doing here?” Lydia asked.

“I came to see if you need any help getting your room ready for school.” Blake stuck his phone in his pocket.

“You did?”

“Yes. But that wasn’t the only reason I came. I really wanted to see you.”

“Really?”
What an idiotic thing to say. You’d think someone who had read dozens of romances would be able to come up with something clever or flirty to say.

Blake smiled. “Really.”

“What about work?”

“Work will be there tomorrow.”

Lydia put her hand to her heart to try to calm its frenzied hammering.

“You were calling me. Did you need something?”

Lydia took a deep breath. It was still scary to tell him how she felt, but he’d just made it easier. He’d just left work, driven to Fort Collins, found her school and even found her classroom. “How did you find my classroom?”

Blake laughed. “That’s not what you were calling me about, but I passed a teacher by the front doors. He told me where you were.” Blake stepped up to Lydia’s desk. “You were calling?”

Be brave. Don’t blow it again.
Lydia stepped around the desk, and Blake turned to face her. “I just had something I wanted to tell you,” she said.

“Okay.” Blake sat down on the edge of her desk and folded his arms in front of him. “Should I be nervous?”

“Maybe. I know I am.” Lydia shoved her hands into her pockets and bit her bottom lip, taking a moment to give herself a little internal pep talk. “I’ve been beating myself up for the way I said goodbye yesterday. Blake, I didn’t want to shake your hand.”

“You didn’t?” Blake’s mouth quirked up at the side.

“No. I wanted to be brave.”

“What would the brave Lydia have done?” His voice was teasing, and suddenly Lydia wasn’t nervous at all.

“She’d have done this.” The atmosphere wasn’t perfect. The fluorescent lights were too bright, a vacuum cleaner or floor polisher was humming from somewhere down the hall, and her hair was up in a high, messy ponytail. But Lydia didn’t care. Blake was here and that was all that really mattered.

When she’d pictured this moment in her mind, she’d had to stand on her tiptoes, but with Blake leaning on her desk, they were almost exactly the same height. Lydia moved closer and gently pressed her lips to Blake’s, briefly at first, but then again, a little longer. He leaned toward her as she pulled away, prolonging the kiss.

“That’s what I wanted to do at the airport,” she said softly. “But I was too afraid.”

Blake’s arm circled Lydia’s waist and pulled her close. “And this is what I wanted to do at the airport,” he said. His arm held her against him as his free hand came up and pulled her to his lips, his thumb on her jaw and his fingers on the nape of her neck. The kiss was long and slow and soft as his thumb moved along her jaw before he moved his hand to her waist. Lydia put her arms around his neck and touched the soft hair at his collar. His lips moved against hers until they were both breathless and in need of air. “This is much better than shaking hands,” he whispered in her ear and then nuzzled into her neck.

Lydia didn’t want to move. If a genie had granted her one wish in that moment, it would have been that they could stay here, suspended in time, his warm arms forever around her, his cheek touching hers, his breath on her neck.

“So now I know why you were calling me,” he said, not letting her go. “But I need to tell you why I came to see you.” Lydia pulled back and looked into his eyes. “I want to share my grandpa’s letter with you.”

“The one he wrote you?”

“Yes. I should have shared it with you in Charlotte, but I didn’t know what it would say, and after the letters we’d read… Well, I was afraid it might say something that would scare you away.” Lydia touched Blake’s cheek softly. “But when I thought about you today, I knew I wanted you to hear it.”

Lydia leaned forward and kissed him again. “Do you have it with you?” She asked between kisses.

He rested his forehead against hers. “It’s in my car. Let’s finish what you need to do in here then we’ll go somewhere and read it.”

It was difficult to concentrate on work with Blake’s warm arms and soft lips so close, but they managed to finish the two bulletin boards and organize the bookshelf. All Lydia had left to do was assemble the beginning-of-the-year papers for the parents, but that could wait until tomorrow. Less than an hour later, Lydia turned off the light and they walked out of the school holding hands.

The sun had slipped behind the mountains in the distance, leaving the peaks silhouetted against the dark, purple sky. They left Lydia’s car in the parking lot and drove to Cicero’s Pizza where they sat kitty-corner at a table in the back and ordered a pizza. Blake had brought the letter in, and as soon as they’d placed their order, he took it out of the envelope.

Lydia turned toward him, her chin in her hand. Blake wanted to kiss her again. He would after he read her the letter. He unfolded the pages then reached down and held her hand in her lap and started quietly reading.

Blake read the entire letter before he looked up. When he’d finished, he pulled his hand away long enough to fold it and put it back in the envelope. He reached for her hand again.

“Thank you for sharing that with me,” Lydia said. Blake gave a short nod. “It isn’t scaring me away.” How did she know he needed to hear those words? Lydia pulled him close and kissed his dimple. His breath caught and he turned to brush her lips with his.

He looked down at her hands and played with her fingers. “I left work today because I’ve made some decisions. I don’t know what’s going to happen with my job. I know that if I follow Grandpa’s advice, I’ll never become a partner at Collins, Strider and Van Wagoner, and I don’t know if they’ll even want me there if I’m not willing to put in those hours. And I know it’s too soon for us to know what will happen here.” He waved his hand back and forth between them. “But I know I want to find out.” He pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed her fingers.

They ate pizza and talked about Blake’s meeting with Mary Challis. Lydia told Blake about her meetings and her lack of concentration.

When the pizza was gone, Blake drove Lydia back to the empty parking lot at Juniper Heights Elementary. At the door of her car, he took her in his arms again and held her close, kissing her again. “I wish I could have met your grandpa,” Lydia said. “I’d like to tell him thanks for sending you on that little treasure hunt.”

“He’d feel pretty smug if he knew he was responsible for me meeting you.”

“Maybe he does know,” Lydia said.

“I hope he does.” Blake held her door open, and Lydia got in her car. He leaned in and kissed her goodbye. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said as he closed the door.

Six Months Later

“Knock, knock.” Lydia pushed open the door of the small house on Lincoln Street.

“Hey Lydia, come on in.” Blake’s new partner, Paul, was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall, looking at something on his cell phone. “Blake stopped by the management company’s office to get the paperwork. He should be here any minute.”

Lydia looked around the room. “This looks nice. Wasn’t this an accounting firm before?”

“Yeah, they moved to a bigger place downtown.”

Lydia wandered around, giving herself a tour. The interior didn’t look like a house anymore. The entry was wide and open enough to make a comfortable waiting room with a reception desk. Off to one side was a large office that looked out at the street. A doorway at the back of the room led to another spacious office. A narrow hallway led to restrooms and a small kitchen.

“What do you think?” Blake asked, peeking his head through the kitchen door.

Lydia smiled. “It’s perfect.”

“I thought you’d like it.” He placed a file folder on the counter and took her in his arms. Her fingers slid behind his neck, and she pulled him down and kissed him. “Mmm,” he said against her lips. “I’ve missed you.”

“I hope so. It’s been two whole days.”

“All right, you two. We’ve got paperwork to sign,” Paul said, coming into the kitchen. Blake stepped back but put his arm around her shoulder.

“Did Jemma come with you?” Lydia asked.

“She’s not feeling very well. Whoever called it morning sickness got it all wrong. She’s pretty sick all day.” Jemma was four months pregnant with their first baby.

“Tell her I hope she feels better.”

“Thanks. I will.”

Lydia turned back to Blake. “This definitely gets my stamp of approval.”

“Good,” Blake said. “Now that you and Jemma have both signed off on it, we can make it official.”

“I’ll leave you guys to the paperwork,” said Lydia. “I’m going to run over to the school and grade some papers.”

“I’ll come get you when we’re finished.” Blake kissed her forehead.

The school was less than three miles from what would soon be Hansen and Knowles, Attorneys at Law. Lydia liked the proximity. She also liked Paul and Jemma.

Blake had been disappointed, but not surprised when Pryce had named Andy as the new partner, but just three weeks later, Blake had run into Paul at an alumni reception. They’d taken a few classes together in law school, and before the evening was over, they were making plans to open a small firm in Fort Collins.

Lydia graded essays on the Revolutionary War until her phone rang. “Hey, Lyd. I’m locked out of the school.”

“I’ll be right out.”

Lydia couldn’t help smiling when she saw Blake leaning against his car. He looked so good in a gray stocking cap and navy wool coat. When he pushed himself off the car and walked toward her, her insides melted.