Page 101 of A Love Like Candle Light

“Really?” Henry asks, and takes a seat on one of the bar stools by the counter. “No offense, but you’re really out of it.”

“I'm okay, I promise. I just got some news I keep wrecking my brain over.” I take a sip of my coffee, ignoring how it burns my lips.

“Well, I know that feeling,” Caleb mumbles and flips a kitchen towel over his shoulder.

“I somehow doubt it.” Then again, not much is known about Wayward Hollow’s coffee shop owner apart from the fact he's a fantastic baker.

They're not wrong, though. I'm so scatterbrained even Jodie sent me home for the day, because I kept staring at the wall.

“I called in one of your many favors from when you picked up shifts for others,” she declared, not exactly giving me a choice. Knowing her, she knew more about what’s going on than I ever told her. “Go home, Erik.” As tough of a lady as she usually is, her edges softened. “You need a break. Go. I'll see you tomorrow.”

Then she basically kicked me out of the station.

And now I'm here at Caleb's, still trying wrap my head around this day. The mystery of the bones is solved. And so is the disappearance of my sister.

“You know you can talk to us? We're your friends, Erik. You know that, right?”

My friends? I blink at him, surprised. “Yeah, of course I know.” I drink another sip of my coffee, then turn the cup in my hands.

Do I know, though?

We might be friendly when we see each other around town, but is ‘friend’ the word I would have picked?

The more I think about it, the more I realize it is. At least since I started hanging out with Kylie and as a result, Nic and Lauren. The campfire definitely catapulted us out of acquaintances territory.

“I found my sister. A few hours ago.”

“What?” Henry shouts excitedly as he jumps up. I quickly put my index finger in front of my lips and pull him back into his seat.

“Shut the fuck up. I haven't told anyone about it yet. Only Kylie.” The two shoot each other a knowing look.

“Come to think of it,” suddenly Henry bursts into a chuckle and points from Caleb to me, “it's exactly the opposite for you two.”

“What do you mean?”

“You've been searching for your sister the whole time, and this guy here didn't even know he had one.”

“Yep.” Caleb sets a cinnamon roll down in front of me. “I didn't. Trust me. Eat. You need brain food.”

“You didn't know you had a sister?” I’m so confused.

“Yeah.” He glances around, making sure his other patrons are out of earshot. “Caught me by surprise when she told me, and I'm embarrassed to say I didn't have the best reaction.”

My face pulls into a grimace. “I guess that's one way meeting her might go.” I rub the back of my neck. “Like, how do I even approach this? Do I just drive over and tell her, ‘Hi, I'm your brother. You were kidnapped as a child; in case you didn't know. Oh and our dad is in jail, just fyi.’?”

“Yeah, trust me. Not the best approach.” Caleb shakes his head. I take a bite of his cinnamon roll and let out a deep sigh.

He's right. I needed brain food.

“Can you give me one more to go? I'm going to Kylie’s after this and she loves these.”

“Sure thing, boss man”

“But you will tell Molly about your sister, right? And your dad?” Henry’s expression turns worried.

“That's what I'm struggling with,” I admit and pinch the bridge of my nose. “What if she doesn't want anything to do with any of us? I think I'll pay her a visit first and see how it goes.”

“Sounds like a solid plan.” Caleb sets the to-go box on the counter.