Harlequin Love Inspired March 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 Patrice Lewis (i read book txt) 📖

there had been sorrow as well. None of them had ever fully recovered from the loss until Sage’s recent return to the fold. Now he should be completely over it, but he wasn’t. He still harbored a lot of anger. The woman who’d abducted his sister had been visiting town as one of the leaders of a youth group. No one had ever suspected her of wrongdoing or been suspicious of her actions. Over the years, people had sought to take advantage of his family by pretending to have information about his sister’s whereabouts. A few women had even presented themselves as the missing North family member, which had only added to their pain. It showed him that people couldn’t always be trusted. A person always had to be on guard.

“Good morning, my dear. How was your breakfast with the boys?” Beulah’s voice rang out as he walked toward the executive offices. When he turned around, his grandmother was walking toward him with the vigor of someone half her age. As always, Beulah North was dressed in a suit jacket and matching skirt, with her signature pearls draped around her neck. She believed in dressing to impress as the CEO of the North Star Chocolate Company.

Connor pressed a kiss on her cheek after she caught up to him. “Morning. It was delicious. And I just met our new hire at the diner.”

“Which one? We’ve hired several in the past few weeks.”

“Ella Perez,” he said.

“Oh, yes. She starts tomorrow at the chocolate shop. I’m going to be there to greet her in the morning. What was your impression? Her résumé and telephone interview were impressive.”

Connor hesitated a moment before speaking. He didn’t want Beulah to think he was being hard on their new hire. “Are you sure she’s right for the job? There was something about her that didn’t really gel with Owl Creek or the manager position.”

Beulah frowned at him. “Whatever do you mean?”

Connor shrugged. “I don’t know. She fumbled a bit when we were talking. I’m not sure how to explain it without sounding paranoid, but I just got the feeling she wasn’t being fully transparent. It was like she was hiding something.”

Beulah stared at him without speaking. Her eyes began to blink like an owl, which served as a sure sign that his grandmother was gathering her words. “You’ve just met her, Connor. Why don’t you extend her a measure of grace rather than being suspicious?” She reached out and touched his cheek. “You have to stop focusing on the worst parts of humanity, especially since there are so many good people in the world. What happened to our family all those years ago was horrific, but God brought our sweet girl home so we could heal. I’m worried you’re still stuck in the past, Connor.”

His grandmother’s words served as a punch to his gut. He hated the notion that he was stuck in the past, especially since everyone else seemed to be doing fine. Connor had tried to find closure with Sage’s return to Owl Creek, but he still harbored feelings of resentment for all the years that had been stolen from them.

“I’ll try to do better,” he vowed, wishing the words resonated more within him. He felt a sense of powerlessness. Connor knew he hadn’t been able to conquer this issue no matter how hard he’d tried. But he couldn’t admit that to his grandmother. She was counting on him to be the future of the chocolate company.

“That’s all I’ll ever ask of you,” Beulah said, tears pooling in her eyes. “I count on you more than you realize. You’re my North Star. No pun intended,” she said, letting out a cackle. The corners of her eyes crinkled up.

Leave it to Beulah to make him laugh when two seconds ago he’d been feeling badly about himself. She was an incredible woman. He wished that he could be as resilient as Beulah. She was the strongest member of their family.

Connor looked at his watch. “I’m going to get prepped for our meeting with the distributors.”

“Good idea. I’ll see you in the conference room. I can’t wait to taste the new white chocolate hot cocoa.” Beulah rubbed her hands together and grinned. As the driving force behind the company, she still felt enthusiastic about her work. It was one of the main reasons for the success of North Star Chocolates. Passion combined with heartfelt dedication.

“I think we might have another hit on our hands,” Connor drawled, feeling proud of the collaboration between himself, Sage and Braden. Creating new products was one of the best aspects of his job. Working with his siblings on this special project had been so much fun, particularly since it rarely happened. It had almost made up for the fact that Braden wouldn’t be working alongside him at the company. It was reassuring to know their bond was still tight.

Connor made his way to his office. Just looking around the room made him grin. He’d decorated it with a fun vibe in mind. Since he spent so much time at work, he’d wanted it to be comfortable yet functional. The bubble gum machine served as a colorful reminder that he was still a kid at heart.

Connor sat down at his desk and logged on to his computer. Even though he was trying to focus on the upcoming meeting, thoughts of the mysterious newcomer refused to completely fade away. There was something about her that caused curiosity to well up inside him. Although he knew his grandmother had given him sound advice, he couldn’t stop wondering about Ella Perez.

He imagined she knew very little about Alaskan living. He had only been to Arizona a few times on business, but it was clear to him how vastly different it was from Owl Creek. He couldn’t imagine it would be easy for Ella to get her bearings while navigating a new job. She didn’t know a soul here in town and she’d probably left family and friends