by Mary Manners
“OK.” Adam crammed a bite of muffin into his mouth and cinnamon crumbles dusted his lips. “Then you’ll read ’em to me, right?”
“Right.” She smiled. The child was a breath of fresh air amid the chaos. “Now, drink all your milk. I have to frost a batch of cupcakes for a birthday party while you finish that. The customer will be here to pick them up soon.”
The bell above the shop door jangled as Kate’s youngest sister, Tessa, rushed in.
“Kate, have you heard?” She brushed rich walnut hair from her almond-shaped honey eyes. “Logan Daniels has designed a new library.”
“You’re two steps behind, as usual.” Mattie handed Tessa a pineapple-bran muffin. “Tell us something we don’t know.”
“OK. How about this?” Her eyes sparkled and danced like sunlight over water. “I overheard him telling Brent Peterson that seeing Kate again has made him doubt that he ever should have left here.”
“He said what?” Kate gaped. When Logan moved to California and the wedding was cancelled, Tessa had been too young to understand the heartache that had ensued. She’d never been in love, and had never had her most intimate hopes and dreams shattered by an unexpected change in circumstances and a man who failed to keep his promises. “What did Logan say?” Kate repeated.
Tessa spun on her heel and reached for an apron to cover her denim mini skirt. A year ago, Kate would have admonished her for wearing something so revealing. But by now, she knew it would do no good. Tessa was as hard-headed as a baby sister could be.
“You heard me, sis.” Tessa took a huge bite of the muffin, and crumbs fluttered down to litter the tile floor. “Clearly, the guy’s still got a thing for you. So what are you gonna do about it?”
2
The coffee maker had picked a fine time to go on the fritz—just before the morning rush was due. Kate bit her lip and jiggled the power button, hoping to coax it into action, but it refused to work. The coffee pot remained cold and lifeless, just like her heart felt.
“Need some help?”
Kate swung around to find Logan gazing at her from the other side of the counter. How had she missed the bell above the entrance door?
She gnawed her bottom lip and ordered her pulse to steady. Logan looked handsome in jeans paired with work boots and a white T-shirt layered with a long-sleeved navy thermal shirt. His dark hair was damp, and it curled around the collar of his shirt and spilled across his forehead. Kate averted her gaze and focused on the coffee maker. “It’s being…stubborn.”
“I know a thing or two about that.” He leaned against the counter and rubbed the shadow of stubble across his chin. “Let me have a go at it.”
Kate hesitated only a moment. She knew Logan had a knack for fixing things, and she was desperate. The breakfast crowd was due any moment, and with the library project slated to begin today, business was sure to be heavier than usual. She stepped aside and motioned to the offensive coffee maker.
“Work your magic.”
He hustled around the counter and eased past her. The clean scent of his soap mingled with a hint of aftershave. The familiar scent stirred a longing, and she closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head to chase it away.
She watched as he fiddled with this knob, wiggled that, and then adjusted the power cord that ran from the machine to the wall behind it. A red indicator light winked, and the traitorous machine stuttered and burped. A moment later, steaming water began to turn freshly-ground hazelnut coffee beans to a rich, dark brew.
“All fixed.” Logan brushed his palms along the thighs of his faded jeans. “It should work fine now.”
She blew out a breath. “How did you do that?”
He grinned and held up both hands, wiggling his fingers. “Magic.”
“Right.” She lowered her gaze as a splash of heat crawled up her neck. “I guess you’ll want a cup, then…of coffee, I mean.”
“With one of those blueberry muffins.” He motioned toward the pastry case. She’d just finished stocking it for the upcoming morning rush. “Are those cinnamon crumbles sprinkled on top?”
Kate nodded. “I made them myself, this morning.”
“This morning?” He glanced at his watch and then took the foam cup she’d filled with coffee and added a healthy splash of cream from a pitcher beside the coffeemaker. Beyond the shop’s front window that overlooked the length of Main Street, the sky was just beginning to pink with a hint of dawn. Blooming Bradford pear trees woke to dance in the cool morning breeze. “What time did you get here?”
“Four-thirty.”
Logan choked, gagged. “That’s…unspeakable.” He splayed a hand across his chest, as if her words wounded him.
“I don’t think so.” Kate laughed. “I’m an early riser.”
“Yeah, I remember that about you…always so perky in the morning.” He sipped his coffee and gazed at her over the rim of the cup. “It should be illegal.”
“Better than grousing through the sunrise,” Kate said as she added a few apple-cranberry muffins to the display case, “and right on into noon.”
“Maybe I groused in the past.” Logan reached for one of the muffins and sniffed it, then took a generous bite. “Mmm…that’s good. But working full-time, away from the college life, I’ve…changed.”
“Have you?” The question held more than the obvious meaning. Kate drew a breath, waited.
“I have to get over to the work site. We break ground in a couple hours, and I need to make sure everything’s in place.” Logan grabbed a second muffin and nodded toward the cash register. “Put these on my tab.”
“Your tab? What tab?”
“The one I’m starting…now.” He hesitated, sipped his coffee. “Katie, I’d like it if…” He shifted feet and leveled a gaze at her. His eyes were as smoky-gray as the soaring cloud-covered mountains in the distance. “I mean, I’d like to have dinner with you later.”
“No.” She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head sharply. “I go to bed early, because I have to get up early. I don’t have much time for dinner…and things like that.” It sounded silly, she knew, but she stumbled on anyway. “So, no thank you, Logan.”
He laughed, and his gaze pierced hers. “You have to eat.”
“I don’t think it would be a good idea.” She turned from him to open a box of foam cups and busied herself restocking the shelf beside the coffeemaker. “I open the shop each morning at six o’clock sharp, so dinner with you just wouldn’t work. Forget it, Logan.”
“Why, Katie?” His voice was gentle, and soothed the butterflies that took flight in her belly. “What are you afraid of?”
She turned to him and lifted her chin in a challenge. “I’m not afraid.”
“Just dinner.” He tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear and the gesture, so familiar, made her shiver with longing. “I’ll pick you up at six-thirty.”
“Wait. I didn’t agree—”
The shop door swung open, and Mattie strode in. “Kate, I thought you said the coffeemaker was broken when you called this morning.”
“Good morning to you, too.” Kate returned to re-stocking the cups. She emptied one box and tore into another with a vengeance. “And it was broken. Logan fixed it.”
“Oh.” Mattie’s gaze swung from Kate to Logan and back again. Her dark eyes twinkled. “I see.”
“I’d better get going.” Logan reached for the coffee carafe that sat warming on the bottom burner of the machine and refilled his cup. “Start me that tab, Katie. I’ll be back for more coffee and one of those jelly-filled turnovers later.”
And then the shop door closed, and he was gone.
Mattie turned to her. “What’s going on, Kate?”
“I’m…not sure.” She grabbed one of the cup boxes she’d just emptied and tore the tape from the seam, then made quick work of breaking it down. “He asked me to dinner tonight.”
“And you said…?”
She tossed the box aside and reached for another. “I—�
��
The door flew open again before she had time to finish, and Grace rushed in. “I need coffee—strong and black—now.”
“Grace, what’s wrong?”
“Nightmares again.”
“Oh, poor, poor Grace.” Kate forgot about the dinner conversation as she gave her younger sister undivided attention. “Did you sleep at all?”
“Not a wink.” Charcoal smudges shadowed her eyes. “I can’t stand it anymore. I don’t think the nightmares will ever go away.”
Mattie handed her a cup of steaming brew. “Just try to breathe. Where’s Adam?”
“I took him to Tessa’s. She’s going to walk him over to the groundbreaking ceremony so he can watch the ‘trucks with ginormous teeth.’”
Kate handed Grace a bagel slathered in strawberry cream cheese. “Take a bite. You’ll feel better with a bit of food in your stomach.”
“I don’t think I can.”
“Nonsense. Bite.”
Grace did as she was told, and soon a shade of color kissed her cheeks and the dark smudges beneath her eyes faded a bit.
“I keep dreaming that Dan’s falling. I try to reach him and I just can’t. I hear him calling me, and I want to help. But in the dream, it’s like I’m paralyzed. I can’t move.” Tears filled her eyes. “It’s just awful.”
Kate had worried that the library’s construction might bring back Grace’s nightmares. Grace’s husband had fallen from scaffolding while working on the roof of a building last year, and though the doctors had tried to work a miracle, his injuries proved fatal. The loss left Grace badly shaken.
“It’ll be OK,” Kate soothed. “Just breathe, honey.”
“I wanted to take Adam to see the machines but I just…I couldn’t. What if someone gets hurt? I just can’t bear the thought.”
It didn’t help to assure Grace that construction accidents were rare. All that mattered was one had taken the life of a person she loved.
“I know.” Kate felt Grace tremble with tears. “Tessa will take care of Adam, and Mattie and I can handle things here. Why don’t you go home and get some rest?”
“No. You two have carried the burden long enough.” She swiped her eyes. “I’ll be OK. I need to keep busy.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Grace nodded for emphasis. “Where are the orders for today?”
“Right here.” Kate fanned the stack. It was heavier than usual. She saw that Logan had phoned in an order for a platter of her dark chocolate-cherry kisses yesterday afternoon, with a request for delivery to the construction site. “Let’s get started.”
3
Kate watched Logan cross the construction site as she ran her hand along the architectural poster display of the new library and sighed. The building was going to be beautiful—and spacious compared to the library she’d grown up with.
“You like it?” Logan sidled up to her. Warm spring air kissed her face and lifted wavy wisps of hair that had pulled loose from a long pony tail. She tucked a strand behind one ear.
“Oh, yes.” She gazed at the stately brick façade Logan had envisioned. The structure was highlighted by generous windows and a dome skylight. “It’s stunning.”
“It was fun to design once I got past the challenge of the lay of the property.” The land had been heavily wooded, with a fairly steep slope. Kate saw he’d taken great care to remove only the trees that absolutely needed to be displaced to accommodate the structure. A shallow creek ran along the far side and the Smoky Mountains rose up to frame the property like a majestic sentinel. “Think you could get lost in it?”
“For sure—yes.” She sighed, imagining all the books that would fill the shelves. She and Adam could easily spend hours inside.
“You’ll need a library card.”
“No problem.” She grinned. “I might have a connection in that department.”
“You think?”
“Your parents have always had a tender spot for me, Logan.”
His eyes softened. “I know.”
“It was generous of them to fund so much of this project. They’ve worked so hard all their lives, running their restaurant. They should enjoy their money.”
“They are enjoying it.”
“I guess so. I think your mom’s the only one I know—except for Adam—who likes books as much as I do.” Kate turned toward a row of tables set up behind them that held drink coolers and platters of sandwiches from the restaurant Logan’s parents owned. “I brought the cherry kisses you ordered. I think your dad’s already sampled a few.”
Logan laughed. “I see. I’d better get over to the table before he eats them all.”
“Wait,” Kate called after him. “About tonight—”
He turned to glance over his shoulder. “I’ll pick you up at six-thirty, and I promise not to keep you out too late. Don’t worry, because Mattie gave me directions to your place.”
“She…what?” Kate groaned inside. The traitor.
He winked. “See you later, Katie.”
****
Logan filled a paper cup with ice water from one of the coolers as he watched Kate talk with his mom. The two had always gotten along well, from the first time he brought Katie by the restaurant when they were in the fifth grade to share a platter of cheesy fries and lay the groundwork together for a science fair project. And, from what he understood, they still enjoyed each other’s company from time to time, whenever Kate stopped into the restaurant for a meal.
He drained the cup, turned to refill it, and nearly stumbled into Tessa.
“Fancy meeting you here.” She reached for a chocolate kiss, tossed it into her mouth and gave him a sidelong glance. “I thought you hated Mount Ridge.”
“Hey, Tess.” He guzzled the water as she gathered her hair and twisted it into a knot, then secured it with an elastic band. Tessa had never been one to mince words. Being the youngest of the four sisters, he knew she was used to getting her way, and she made no bones concerning what she wanted. “Hate’s a strong word.”
“So you say.” She shrugged and a few strands of hair fluttered around her neck. “But you sure high-tailed it from here like your pants were on fire—hurt my sister bad, you know.”
Logan turned to face her, and was surprised to find she now reached his shoulder. Of course, the spike-heeled sandals added quite a bit of height. What had happened to the scrawny, pig-tailed kid who ran around in faded blue jeans and T-shirts, without a care in the world or hint of makeup?
He nodded and answered quietly, “I know.”
“You’re not gonna deny it, huh?”
He shook his head. “Why should I?”
“Points for you, then, I guess.” She kept a close eye on the towheaded kid at her side as she spoke. He scrambled along the dirt with a toy dump truck, mimicking the sounds of the heavy equipment. “Did Kate hurt you, too?”
The question took him by surprise. He nodded and sucked down a breath as the memory jolted. “Yes, she did.”
“Thought so. That’s usually how it goes. I don’t know why, but adults always seem to mess up a good thing somehow. I guess I’ll find out why, since I’m about to enter that realm.” She turned. “Hey, Adam, don’t wander too far. And get out of the dirt unless you want to take another bath.”
“Cute kid.” Logan reached for one of the cherries. “He’s not yours, is he?”
“No way. I haven’t even finished high school yet,” she sputtered, and then laughed. “A kid’s certainly not on my agenda. That little guy belongs to Grace. She had a rough night, so I’m picking up the slack. Goes with the territory.”
“Rough night?” Concern flooded him. “Why? Is everything OK?”
Her honey gaze leveled with his and she lifted one shoulder in a flippant little shrug. “Boy, you really are out of the loop. So what are you doing back here in Mount Ridge…besides overseeing the library project, I mean?”
“Isn’t that enough?”
“You tell me.”
He shrugged. Maybe she’d grown up on the outside, but she was still the nosy and pretty much annoying kid sister he remembered. “I’m not sure I get your meaning.”
“You still have a thing for Kate, don’t you?”
“I don’t think that’s any of your business, Tess.”
“Maybe not…unless you hurt her again.” She propped a hand on her hip and lifted her chin in a defiant pout. “Then it becomes my business—fast. Get my drift?”
“Got it.” Inside he grinned. She wasn’t even eighteen, yet she seemed to have no qualms about going toe to toe with him. He had to admire her spunk—and her family loyalty. Loyalty—and a sense of duty— always did run strong and deep among the Spencer girls. “Friends?” He offered her a hand.
“Maybe.” She took it grudgingly, gave it a slight shake. “We’ll see.”
“Good.” He laughed and crumpled the paper cup before tossing it into a trash can. “Fair enough.”
“So, what’s it like on the outside…away from here?”
“Not what you’d think.” He shook his head, because he saw the wandering gleam in her eyes, same as he’d seen in his own at that age, every time he looked in the mirror. “But you’ll have to find that out for yourself, when the time comes.”
“I guess so.” Tessa reached for another kiss. “Boy, these things are good. Just one more and I guess it’s time to herd the kid, scrape the dirt off him, and run him home for a nap. I’ll see you around, then?”
“Count on it.”
****
That evening, Logan surprised Kate with her favorite flowers…daylilies accented by lavender tulips, tied with a shimmery pale pink bow.
“You remembered.” She pressed her face to the blooms and inhaled their springtime-sweet fragrance.
“Of course. You used to pick them by the bushel in the fields when we took long walks together.”
