Bean Wishing for a Latte Love by Marlee Tia

Author:Marlee, Tia
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: A Novel Choice Press
Published: 2024-01-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter twelve

Lacey

I rush straight home after work to change and check on Flower. The borrowed crate from the vet’s office is the only reason my mom agreed to let her stay a few days. As soon as I hit the front door, my heart drops.

“Oh no,” I groan. The door has a gaping hole where the mail slot used to be. Tears prick the back of my eyes. “Flower,” I call as I open the door that my parents will definitely make me replace. “Flower, come here girl,” I cringe as I look around the house. It appears Flower has figured out how to get into the pantry. Crushed chips, a ripped-open bag of marshmallows, and a chewed up ... “Is that my shoe?” I shriek, and Flower dips back behind the arm of the couch where she’s clearly been hiding.

I take a deep breath and remind myself that Flower is a girl used to living on the streets. She can’t help that she ate my shoe and destroyed the house. The real question is, how did she escape the crate?

I do my best to clean up the mess while Flower spends some time in the backyard. Thankfully, it’s winter, so my mom’s prized flowers aren’t in bloom to be destroyed. Once the mess is mostly cleaned up, I move to the front door. Sighing, I grab the vacuum to suck up all the little wooden shards that Flower managed to tear off the door, then I get some cardboard from the recycle bin and tape it over the gaping hole.

I grab my phone out of my pocket and hit dial.

“Hello?” My brother’s deep voice is like a balm to my racing heart.

“Hey, bro,” I say in what I’m hoping is a nonchalant tone.

“What did you do?” he asks. Bryce is older than me by two years, but you’d think it was a decade the way he babies me.

“Nothing,” I stammer. “Okay, fine. So I may have rescued a dog. Who may have eaten some things from the pantry.”

“May have?” Bryce asks. “Seriously, Lacey. What were you thinking? You know Mom’s not a pet person.”

I sigh and rub my forehead where pressure is starting to build. “You don’t want a dog do you?”

He laughs. “Lace, you know I’ve always wanted a dog, but I can’t take that on right now. When we aren’t traveling, I’m at the practice facility training and skating.”

Bryce is a hockey player for the Denver Edge. As soon as he could skate and hold a stick, he knew what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. It took me a little longer to figure it out. While he’s traveling and living his dream, I’m here living with Mom.

“Lacey Marie Chambers!”

My shoulders reach for my ears in defense of my poor eardrums at the decibel of my mother’s voice. “I’m going to replace it,” I call out.

“Whoa, replace what?” Bryce asks, clearly catching on that there’s a bigger problem than some stolen pantry items. “Do you need money, Lacey? I can transfer some to you right now.

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