Page 64 of Family Bonds- Kelsey & Van

She sighed. “I will.”

She put the flowers in the front by the reception area. They were pretty and would cheer the room up some, but she didn’t want them in her office.

Her first thought was to toss them, but she figured this wouldn’t hurt anyone either.

When she was back in her office, she looked up the number to the local florist on the island and called.

“Amore Island Florist, how may I help you?”

“Hi, this is Kelsey Raymond calling. I received a beautiful arrangement of flowers not that long ago. Just stunning. But the funny thing is, I have no idea who they are from and can’t thank them properly if I don’t get a name. Is there any way you can let me know?”

“There was no card with it?” the woman on the other line said. “We always put a card on it.”

“Sorry,” she said. “Maybe it fell off.” She didn’t like fibbing, but if she said there was one there they might not give her the answer.

“Let me look in our system. Please hold.”

She waited on hold drumming her fingers for a full minute. “Hi, I’m still here,” she said cheerfully when the woman came back. She wanted to start dropping swear words like lightning in the sky during a storm.

“We found your order. The note on the card stated that they couldn’t wait to meet you.”

“Hmm,” she said sweetly. “That doesn’t tell me who it is though.”

“I’m sorry. You don’t have any idea?”

“No,” she said. “And you see, my father, being Kyle Raymond and all, he’s liable to get worried and call the chief of police. You do know Mac and I are related, right? I wouldn’t want him to get worried about it, but you know how fathers can be.”

There was some silence on the other end. “Hold for a minute.”

She started to drum her fingers even faster on the desk. She hoped the last part got her the answer she wanted.

“Hello,” she said. “Still waiting.”

“Thank you. This is Cora Baxter, the owner. I understand you’re concerned about receiving flowers from a secret admirer.”

“Yes, I am. In this day and age, it’s not a good thing. I’d like to know who they are from if you can let me know.”

“I’m sorry. It was purchased with a prepaid VISA card. People can put any name they want for something like that. It says, Mr. J. Doe.”

Her shoulders dropped. “Urgh.”

“Yeah. Unless you do know someone with that name,” Cora said, “I can’t be of much help.”

“No,” she said. “I don’t. I appreciate you trying though.”

“Not a problem,” Cora said. “Tell your mother hi.”

Kelsey frowned. Guess the only reason she got the information was because her mother knew the owner. Not any surprise to her.

“How did you make out?” her mother asked when she walked in five minutes later.

“Zero. Zilch. Nada. Paid with a prepaid credit card and put his name in as J. Doe.”

“Not very original,” her mother said. “Which of course would mean that no one else is going to be able to get that information either.”

“Exactly,” she said. “No reason to call Mac or Griffin. Tell Dad that. I know you’re going to let him know about the flowers anyway.”

“I will,” her mother said. “And you better tell Van, because if you don’t, your father might let it slip when he meets with Van next.”

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