Finding Felicity (Gold Coast Retrievers Book 5)

by P. Creeden

  Still looking out the front of the vehicle, Felicity shook her head. “Not with Liz, no. Liz is my birth mother, but she gave me up for adoption pretty much as soon as I was born. I’m very close with my real mother—my adoptive parents are great.”

  “Oh,” he managed. That made sense now. The confusion of their first conversation became clear. “Do your parents live in Redwood Cove? Should we give them a call and let them know what’s going on? The support of family could be good when times are hard.”

  Her blue eyes met his. “I’ll call my dad once I identify the body for you. He’ll help me make arrangements for the funeral and fill out whatever paperwork I need.”

  “As far as I know, you’re the sole heir of your mother’s… I mean Elizabeth Collier’s estate. She’ll need you to settle that and see to her vineyard as well.”

  She blinked several times. “She owned the vineyard? I thought she just worked there.”

  Darren shrugged. “I don’t know all the specifics, but I’m pretty sure she owned it, as her name is on the sign leading to the vineyard. But you’ll have to see her lawyer to find out for certain.”

  Her eyes closed again, and she took several deep breaths and leaned back against the car seat. This was a lot to handle at once. Darren understood that. When she opened her eyes, she leaned forward and pulled on the door handle. “I’m ready.”

  Chapter Two

  “Yes, that’s Liz.” Felicity wrapped her arms around herself and turned around, away from the familiar face. The air conditioning was still up in the morgue, as if they needed to keep the place extra cool, like a refrigerator, for the bodies.

  The morbid thought gave her chills. She’d tried to look at Liz’s face as little as she could. Felicity didn’t want to remember her birth mother as the dead body that sat on the cold metal table in the morgue. Instead, she’d rather remember the woman who had an easy-going laugh, crooked bottom teeth that only showed when she smiled wide, and perfect hair, which never seemed to be out of place. The woman had been all-business each time that they met but seemed to open up to Felicity after they’d spent a little time together.

  Nothing about her mother had seemed overly emotional or depressed, but did she really know Liz well enough to judge? Felicity didn’t live with the woman and couldn’t really presume to know her like that. Still, it was a hard pill to swallow—ugh. No pun intended. Inwardly, Felicity kicked herself at the play on words.

  Detective Willis led her outside and next door to the police station and toward a row of desks in an open area. He guided her to the seat across from him and began pushing a few forms her direction. “I’m sorry, but I need for you to sign these so that we can release the body to the funeral home. And the few personal effects she had on her are in this small box.”

  Felicity took the box and found only Liz’s watch, a pair of earrings, and a set of house keys. She sighed, eyeing the digital fitness tracker that Liz used as a watch. On Felicity’s arm was a similar tracker. They’d been friends on the social media app attached to the tracker—and on Reel Life where they shared pictures with each other. Social media was how they stayed in touch for the most part. The tracker’s app showed her mother had consistently gotten over her ten-thousand steps each day. Liz usually tried for double, but that was her competitive nature. Her mother wouldn’t have steps recorded on those charts any longer. A little bit of emptiness would replace where she’d felt her mother interacted with her on a daily basis although they were on different sides of the county.

  She blinked up at the detective and found his maple brown eyes on hers. His smile was soft, and the slightest dimple appeared on the side of his mouth. She forced a smile. “Thank you so much for all your help. I’ll give my father a call and see if he can pick me up from here. I don’t want to put you through too much trouble, Detective Willis.”

  “No trouble. And you can call me Darren.”

  No way. Her heart skipped a beat. “Darren Willis?”

  He quirked an eyebrow at her. “That’s my name.”

  “Do you have a brother named Kent?” Now that she was looking at him, she could see the resemblance—the same dark skin, the same light in his eyes, the same square jaw and broad shoulders.

  His brow furrowed. “Yes, I have two younger brothers.”

  “Kent and Tony.”

  He laughed. “Redwood Cove is a small town.”

  “I went to high school with Kent. We were both freshman when you were a senior.” And she used to have the biggest crush on Darren, but she wouldn’t admit to that part. Not in a million years. She would have thought that time would have helped her get over her schoolgirl crush, but her heart had other plans as it sped up from just the fact he was so close to her.

  He nodded. “You did look a bit familiar. You and Kent were friends?”

  “I was best friends with his girlfriend, Monique.”

  He laughed. “I remember you. Glasses and braces, right?”

  Her nose scrunched, and she really wished he didn’t remember that part.

  “But wait. I thought Monique’s friend’s name was Felicia.”

  Blood rushed to her face, and prickles ran across the skin of her arms. He had made that mistake when they’d first met, calling her Felicia. And she’d never corrected him. For nearly a year before he went to off to college, he called her the wrong name, and the one time that Monique noticed, she’d picked on Felicity so hard for her letting him slide without correction. She shook her head slightly. “It’s always been Felicity.”

  He laughed, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her appreciatively. “Well, you’re all grown up now.”

  The blush in her skin deepened. She needed to change the subject before her heart exploded. “So how is Kent?”

  Everything in the room seemed out of focus except for Darren’s smiling face. Her heart ached when she eyed that dimple again. A few moments before, when she didn’t know who he was, she’d appreciated that he was a very handsome man, but now that she knew, she couldn’t get her emotions under control.

  “Married to Monique. They are expecting their second child here in about a month.”

  She blinked and shook her head. “Wow.”

  “I guess you didn’t keep in touch with Monique?”

  She scratched her head a bit. “Well, we went different ways after high school. I haven’t really talked to anyone from back in those days.”

  He nodded. “Makes sense. It’s not like I have much to do with the crowd I ran with back then either.”

  “Yeah. That’s true.” Not that she really knew, but it felt like the right thing to say. She really needed to get away. Too much blood had been rushing to her face for too long, and suddenly the air in the room didn’t seem so cold anymore. “Do you mind if I leave this box here a moment? And can you point me in the direction of the restroom?”

  He stood and gestured in the direction of a sign that named the Ladies’ room. “Right over there.”

  She shuffled toward the door, tripping over nothing and catching herself on the side of his desk. He’d reached out his hands to help steady her, but she pulled back from his touch. “I’m fine. Thanks.”

  Nothing could stop her from getting to that room of respite and escape from the fool she was making of herself. Once she’d slipped into the bathroom and shut the door, she let out a long breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. She panted for a moment. What was wrong with her? How could her heart be pining over her first love… her first crush, just because she’d run into him at the worst possible moment? Liz was dead. Felicity had an estate to settle. And right now, she didn’t have time for schoolgirl crushes. She needed to get home and away from Darren before she lost all sense of herself.

  With a deep breath, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed her father’s cell phone number.

  Darren shook his head and laughed. Little Felicia grew up—make that Felicity. Why on Earth did she never correct him if he was saying her name wrong? He remembered the shy girl wh
o came over a few times to hang out with Monique and Kent. She’d hardly make eye contact with him back then. She giggled a lot. Looking at the woman in front of him now, he could see a vague resemblance, especially in her blush, but she’d certainly blossomed into a beautiful woman. That much was for sure.

  When she walked out of the bathroom, her blue eyes were focused at the white tile flooring of the police station while her brows knitted together. He stood and met her halfway. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  Her brow softened as her gaze rose to meet his. Confident, strong. Not the shy mouse she’d been in high school. She smiled self-deprecatingly. “My parents are out of town on a business trip—in Korea. They told me about their plans a month ago, and I forgot. It’ll be two more weeks before they get back in town. My mom offered to leave on the first flight back and come help me, but I told her to stay. They almost never get to travel, and the last thing I want to do is ruin their trip.”

  Darren nodded. “I understand that… How about you let me help you? I can drive you over to the vineyard now. I have the number of your mother’s lawyer. I can call him and have him meet us over at the vineyard.”

  More than one emotion flickered across Felicity’s face. Her cheeks colored, and she looked away shyly for a moment. “I can’t take you away from your work like that. I’m sure you must be busy.”

  The shy girl had returned. He kind of liked the dichotomy of what she’d become and what she used to be. And the way they intermingled now made him respect her and want to protect her at the same time. “It’s no trouble. Your mother’s case hasn’t quite been closed yet, so until it is, it’s my priority.”

  She looked up at him and smiled. “If you’re sure?”

  “I’m sure.” He smiled back at her and sat back down at his desk, fishing through the paperwork to find the lawyer’s business card. His gaze slipped over toward his lieutenant, who was on the phone with his back turned toward them. It would be best if Darren hurried with this phone call and got out the door before the lieutenant asked him where he was going. This was supposed to be an open and shut case of suicide, and the police lieutenant wouldn’t like for it to take Darren all day.

  But right now, every part of him wanted to help Felicity in her time of need—not just because he knew who she was, but because this was his first case and he wanted to be as thorough as possible. At least that’s what he told himself as he glanced over at her pretty blue eyes once more.

  Chapter Three

  Beautiful rows of grapevines decorated both sides of the long driveway into Dorma Valley Winery. The sun had already lowered toward the horizon, coloring the sky a lighter shade of purple, contrasting with the dark color of the grapes. Felicity sighed. She’d only been to the winery once on invitation when she’d first turned twenty-one.

  Her birthday had been near the end of the summer leading into her senior year in college. Because Felicity had never been to a wine tasting, and was finally of age to do it, Liz had invited her over on her birthday. Dorma Valley wine did tastings several times a month, and her birth mother had planned one specifically on her birthday. Which, in theory, was very sweet. But in practice, it was another matter.

  The woman had been so busy running the winery that day, Felicity and Liz had barely greeted each other at the beginning of the tour and tasting and didn’t even say goodbye at the end. Felicity had eaten cheese and drank a few glasses of wine, left with the tour group on the bus, and then taken a cab home to her parents’ house. The best part about that day was when she got home, her parents had a Golden Retriever puppy waiting for her—Jay.

  Felicity turned in her seat to pat Jay on the head at the memory. It had broken her heart back then that the same woman who’d been too busy to raise her as a baby couldn’t even take the time to celebrate a birthday with her as an adult. Before that time, Felicity’s adoptive parents had asked her to invite Liz to all their holiday gatherings, but Liz had never made the time to attend. After that day, even though her parents had continued to ask her to invite the woman, Felicity had stopped bothering her. In fact, most of their lunch dates had happened before that birthday… Felicity wasn’t sure if they’d had another one after.

  Gravel crunched under the tires of the unmarked police sedan as they drove up into the lot of the vineyard. Two other cars sat parked side by side up against the main store area, where Felicity had been the one time for the tour. The large sign on the store declared it “Dorma Valley Wine, established 1992,” and a small sign at the bottom said, “Elizabeth Collier, proprietor.” The smaller sign seemed somewhat newer and hadn’t been there the last time Felicity had been. Jay whined in the backseat.

  Although she wasn’t sure if dogs were allowed at the winery, there was an open field between the store and the main house that seemed the perfect place to let Jay out to stretch his legs. Felicity felt for the leash in her pocket, and when Darren hopped out of the vehicle, she did the same, opening the back door and letting the three-year-old Golden out and pointed him toward the field in front of them.

  His burst of joy was like sunlight on clouds of sadness and bitterness that had overwhelmed Felicity on the drive up—at the memories she had of Liz, the insecurities of being abandoned by the woman, and the fact that there would never be any real relationship between them. Jay ran circles around the field as though he’d never been to such an open place with so many new smells.

  “Excuse me. You can’t have that dog here,” a skinny, older gentleman with glasses said as he came up toward them. He gave her a stern look, and his pale pallor reminded her of Mr. Jordan’s.

  She was about to apologize and call Jay over when behind him the door to the store opened again, and a shorter, squatter man with a mustache came out. “Curtis, she’s fine. This is the woman I was just telling you about. Felicity, right?”

  A frown tugged down on her lips, but she did her best to force it back into a smile, at least a little bit of one. “Yes, that’s me.”

  The man with a mustache nodded, hooking his thumbs into his belt loops. “I figured as much. And this must be Detective Willis. I spoke to you on the phone, detective.” He reached out a hand for Darren to shake. “I’m Lucian Wright, the lawyer.” He gestured toward the tall, pale man who still continued to frown at Felicity. “This is Curtis Page. He’s the supervisor of the winery.”

  Darren shook hands with the lawyer and then offered a hand toward Mr. Page, but Mr. Page didn’t even glance Darren’s direction. He was still too busy scowling at Jay. With a lift of his eyebrow, Darren withdrew his hand and put it in the pocket of his jeans. “Nice to meet you both.”

  “Could you please put that animal on a leash?” Mr. Page huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

  Felicity whistled, and Jay stopped in his tracks and lifted his head to look at her but stood stock still. “Come on, Jay!”

  He took a moment to think about whether he wanted to come. Felicity swallowed. Although Jay was one of the best-behaved dogs she knew, it was times like this, when he’d felt he hadn’t run enough, or played enough at the dog park, when she’d call him, and he needed to take a moment to consider whether he wanted to come or not. It made him seem less well-behaved than he actually was. She patted her leg. “Come on!”

  Jay broke through his statuesque moment and came running straight toward her. When he was younger, his brakes weren’t as good, and he’d nearly bent back her knee when he’d run into her legs. Now she’d taken the habit of widening her stance to allow the Golden to run between her legs and come back around to her as he did now. He panted up at her as she snapped the leash onto his collar.

  Mr. Wright slapped his hands together and offered her a smile. “Well, why don’t we step inside and get this paperwork filled out so I can release the estate into your capable hands, young lady?”

  The taller man’s scowl deepened. “We can’t have that animal in the store. It’s a health code violation.”

  “Of course, it is.” Mr. Wright rolled his eyes. “Just
wait at one of the tables out here on the covered porch. I’ll head inside and bring the paperwork out to you.”

  Darren stayed right with Felicity as she walked across the lot, keeping himself between her and Mr. Page, who hadn’t stopped scowling at her and Jay since they’d arrived. Once they reached the table, Darren pulled out a chair for her and then sat in the one immediately next to her at the round table. Jay lay down next to the chair where she sat.

  Mr. Wright came right back out with a clipboard and several papers. “Your mother was the sole proprietor of the winery. Her vice-president, Heath Anderson, is on his way back from a business trip in Napa now. Her will states that everything she owned, including the winery, was to go to you upon her death. Your mother had no debts, and the winery itself is in the black. So, this is quite a fortuitous day for you, young lady.”

  Felicity frowned. “Fortuitous?”

  Mr. Wright’s mouth twisted between a frown and a smile and then he shrugged but didn’t say another word.

  After closing her eyes a moment and taking a deep breath, she looked down at the papers in front of her. For a few seconds, the letters in front of her looked like a jumbled mass of unrecognizable words. She felt like a grade-schooler again, where her dyslexia had control of her instead of the other way around. Her emotions had seized her and taken her in a direction she didn’t want to go. She didn’t want to break down in front of all these men.

  This day was far from fortuitous. She didn’t want to be here. She didn’t want to own the winery or deal with Liz’s estate. When she’d woken up this morning, this wasn’t what she’d planned to do with her day. How could things have turned out like this? Tears made her vision blurry, but she swiped at her eyes to get them out of her way. She needed to focus so that she could make sense out of the contracts that she had in front of her. There was no way that her father would want her to sign anything without reading it first.