* * *
Kicking the door to Sam’s house closed, Molly Roberts called out, “I bring you donuts!”
“Oh my God, I love you!” Lina, her sister-in-law, came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a paper towel. A Manhattan socialite, she was as golden as Molly was dark, and wore a stylish jersey dress that came an inch above her knees and a pair of pretty flats. Molly had never seen her dressed poorly, but then, her upbringing probably made it impossible. Regardless, everyone liked her since she was so fun and easy to be around, without any of the snotty attitude Molly and her mother Patty had expected.
“Come and have some.” Lina gestured, her slim hand pointing at the platter of scrambled eggs and crispy bacon. “There’s plenty.”
“Mmm. My kind of breakfast.” Molly grinned as she placed a big box of donuts from Sprinkles on the dining table. Since Sam hadn’t been specific when he’d called that morning, she’d gotten one of everything…plus a couple of her favorite jelly-filled, chocolate-covered donuts with extra sprinkles. Life was always better with sprinkles.
“Coffee?” Sam offered. He was standing at the counter in a Harvard Law sweater and jeans, looking comfy and relaxed for a Saturday.
“Thanks.” Molly took the fresh java with a cream and two sugars. She liked hers on the sweet side. She and her brother had the same coloring—dark brown hair and gray eyes. With the sweeping foreheads and the brows they got from their mother, it was obvious they were siblings.
Molly and Sam sat down at the table. Lina soon joined them with a jar of pickles. “How’s business going?” she asked, eying Molly’s fitted shirt with its Molly’s Custom Jewelry logo and URL.
“Great so far, and thank you for being my first customer.” Molly reached into her purse and slid a pretty burgundy and gold box toward Lina. When her phone had buzzed earlier that morning with the order from Lina, Molly knew she had to come over in person. Maybe she was being superstitious, but she felt like the first customer would set the tone for the store.
“My pleasure. I loved everything I saw on the site. You’re so talented!” Lina opened the box and sighed. “Look at the garnets on the dragon. Just like real fire! Marvelous…”
Sam studied it. “That is really cool. Good thing you snagged it before somebody else did.”
“I know! I wanted something to show the new, confident me.” Lina grinned. “Thank you.”
Molly’s phone went buzzing again.
“More orders?” Lina asked.
“Yup. I’m trying not to look at it too much because it’ll drive me nuts…although that’s easier said than done.” Molly felt her phone buzz again. “Oh, all right. I give up.” She pulled the device out. “Ha! Five more sales!”
“Yay! That’s a great start, and you just opened. How’d you get all those people in?”
“Just some social media advertising and giveaways, nothing special. I told all the women out there that now that Halloween’s over, it’s time they treated themselves.”
“Clever.”
Molly grinned, then stared at the last message with her jaw hanging open. “Oh my gosh!”
“What is it?” Lina said.
“A custom order! It’s my first one. Okay, um…this guy…Eddie Rand…wants me to design a unique ring, necklace and earrings for his wife.” Molly blinked, then looked at Sam and Lina. “That’s crazy.”
“Not at all crazy. He recognized your awesomeness. Congratulations!” Sam said, beaming.
“Definitely! We need to celebrate…although I’m slightly peeved that I wasn’t your first custom design customer.” Lina pouted.
Molly laughed. “Nobody’ll ever take away the distinction of being my first customer from you, Lina.”
Her sister-in-law nodded. “They better not. I’m all about supporting my crowd, and you’re my people. My family.”
Sam squeezed Lina’s hand, and they shared a smile.
Molly grinned at their happiness, even though she felt a small pang of envy. She wished she could have what they have, but it didn’t seem like it was going to happen for her anytime soon, since the object of her love wasn’t even aware she existed.
Or, more precisely, he didn’t look at her the way a man looked at a woman.
“You know what, though?” Lina rested her chin in a hand. “I should commission something from you, so I can wear it around town along with the dragon pendant. Hopefully it’ll get you more buzz and business from locals.”
“You don’t have to.” Although Lina was independently wealthy, with a huge trust fund, Molly didn’t want to take advantage.
“I agree with Lina,” Sam said. “I think it’ll be a great way to showcase what you can do.”
“Exactly. It’s like getting paid to advertise.” Lina bit into a donut. “Besides, I think it’d be awesome to have a one-of-a-kind piece, especially one designed by my super-talented sister-in-law.”
Molly flushed.
“I think it’s amazing you got to study with some of the top designers in New York. I want to see what you come up with. Please?” Lina batted her eyelashes.
Molly laughed. “All right, all right. Who am I to turn down another commission?”
“Exactly. If you do, I’m snatching the eggs and bacon from you.” Lina chortled, then pulled out a pickle from the jar and started munching on it, while still holding the donut.
“Ew, Lina. Donuts and pickles?” Molly made a face. “That’s gross.”
“It’s really good,” Lina mumbled. “You should try it.”
“No, thanks.”
“You’re missing out, girl.” She held out a spear.
Molly pulled back, eyeing the glistening pickle like it was a radioactive. “I’ll just take your word for it. I like my jelly and chocolate unsullied by pickles.” She took a big bite of her donut.
“She doesn’t like pickles,” Sam explained.
Molly snorted. She loved pickles. Just not with donuts. But if her brother wanted to fudge the truth to make his wife feel better, fine.
“That’s too bad,” Lina said. “It’s really an amazing combination of flavors.”
Molly gave her brother a look that said, “Really?” and he shrugged, returning a look that said, “I don’t argue with my wife, especially when she’s so happy.”
Well then. Guess she had to pop the question. “Lina, are you pregnant?”
Lina choked and sputtered. Sam patted her back, while shooting Molly a “great, look what you’ve done” look.
“What?” Molly said. “I was curious and thought maybe it hadn’t occurred to her for whatever reason.”
Lina gasped. “I’ve always loved pickles. I’m not pregnant. Trust me.”
Molly raised her eyebrows.
“We’re waiting,” Sam said. “We want to have some time to ourselves before we start thinking about kids.”
“Huh.”
Suddenly the door to Sam’s house opened with a small bang. Charlie Hackman, Sam’s best friend and Molly’s forever crush, walked in. His green eyes were rimmed red behind a pair of black glasses, and his short black hair stood up in spikes as though he’d been running his hands through it all night long. At least a day’s growth of beard covered his handsome face. His black shirt had a lime-green zombie on the chest with a conversation bubble that read, “I don’t eat braaaaain, just motherbooooards.” Something milky and yellowish had stained it, which was unusual—although he might not dress fancy, he always dressed neatly.
Still, stains or not, stubble or not, messy hair or not, Molly couldn’t help but think he was the most amazing-looking and incredible man in Silver Springs…possibly the entire state. He looked absolutely yummy in those black jeans. And then there was his sky-high intellect, too.
When had Sam’s house suddenly grown so hot? She had to restrain herself from fanning her face.
Charlie hefted something. “You gotta help me!”
Wait. Was that an infant’s car seat? Molly’s eyes widened when a small wail came from it.
<
br /> “See?”
Sam and Lina stared at him, and Molly immediately jumped to her feet and peered at the small thing. “Whose baby is that?”
“I don’t know!” Charlie let her take the baby and the seat.
The thing was tiny, bundled up in a pink blanket. She let out another needy wail, showing the inside of a toothless mouth, and waved her small fists around. Lina studied the child over Molly’s shoulder.
“She’s gorgeous,” Lina whispered. “How old is she?”
“I don’t know. Maybe four months?” Molly turned to Charlie. “Do you know?”
“No. Nothing. I’ve never even seen this”—he gestured furiously at the baby—“small being.”
“Then how’d you end up with…?” Sam asked.
“Somebody left her on my porch last night.”
Lina gaped at him. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. I went to the kitchen to grab a snack at, like, three a.m. And then it was, like, what the heck? Is that a baby crying?”
Molly gasped. “Three a.m.? How long was she outside?”
“Three and a half hours.” Charlie shoved a hand into his hair. “She could’ve died if last night hadn’t been so temperate.”
“No kidding. Did you get her checked by a doctor?”
A hint of wildness entered his eyes. “Uh…no. Should I have? Was I supposed to? Is she sick?”
Lina put a soothing hand on his shoulder. “No, it’s okay. She looks fine, all rosy and fat. We’ll take her after calling a pediatrician first. If it’s necessary.”
“Can’t believe somebody would leave a baby out like that this time of the year, though.” Sam frowned. “It’s criminal. Was there a note or anything?”
Charlie shook his head.
“Did you see who it was?” Molly asked, still shocked that somebody from Silver Springs would do such a thing.
“No. I think she—he—whoever it was did it during trick or treating,” Charlie said. “I had a lot of people come over because I could hear them from my office on the second floor.”
“What did you put out this year?” Sam asked.
Charlie always got some hard candies and left them out in a basket on his porch with a big warning: Take ONE or Else! Every kid honored the instruction, probably scared that Charlie might hack into their phone and share something embarrassing with the world. Charlie was known for his clandestine computer skills.
“Darth Vader lollipops.”
“Wow. Every kid in town must’ve come by,” Molly said. She couldn’t imagine any child being able to resist that. “Maybe one of them saw something.”
“Doubtful. I checked my security feed, and the person left the baby at eleven thirty—way past bedtime for the little ones. Took the last lollipop, too.”
Lina gaped at him. “You have a security feed at your house?”
“Yeah. How else am I going to know if somebody’s cheating on the candy? Besides, it’s good to have one just in case.”
“Like this time,” Sam mused out loud. “Do you have your laptop with you?”
Charlie rolled his eyes. “Do rabbits like carrots?” He unzipped his messenger bag and pulled out a small laptop. He set it on the living room table, opened it and tapped a few keys. “Watch.”
Molly leaned forward. A black-and-white video played, showing somebody dressed in a huge, shape-disguising black robe and a mask. A big scythe was strapped to the back. The time stamp on the bottom showed eleven thirty on October thirty-first. The person left the baby on the porch, then took a candy from the basket.
“Of course it had to be Halloween,” Charlie said. “You can’t even tell if it’s a woman or a man.”
“Yeah.” Molly couldn’t imagine who it could be. “But that’s awfully small for a man, isn’t it?”
“Maybe we can ask if anybody knows someone who was dressed like the Grim Reaper yesterday,” Lina said.
“We could, but it might not be somebody from town,” Sam pointed out.
“But this person knew exactly which house to pick.”
“It’s no secret what you do on Halloween,” Lina added. “Or is it?”
Charlie shook his head. “No. Everyone knows.”
“So maybe she—or he—picked yours out, thinking it wouldn’t seem that weird if somebody was seen lurking around your porch.”
The baby let out a soft wail again.
“She’s been doing that intermittently all night long,” Charlie said. “Not sure why.”
“Have you fed her?” Lina peered at the baby. “Maybe she’s hungry.”
“Yeah…” Molly leaned closer over the child, then wrinkled her nose. “Um. Charlie? Have you changed the diaper?”
He gave her the look of confusion and terror. “Huh?”
She sighed, then pulled the blanket down. The diaper was so full, it was a miracle it hadn’t leaked. At least the baby hadn’t pooped. Another small miracle.
Molly covered the baby and straightened up. “Maybe she’s unhappy because you haven’t fed her or changed her diaper. It’s amazing she isn’t crying her lungs out, Charlie.”
“I have some leftover milk at home…”
She shook her head. “For a smart guy, you’re completely clueless. She needs formula, not cow’s milk. And some fresh diapers.”
“She does?” He raked his hair, looking around helplessly. “So…where do I buy those?”
“At a store? Come on.” Molly grabbed her car keys, eager to help—and spend some time with the guy she had a never-ending crush on. “Let me show you how it’s done.”
Roberts of Silver Springs Series
1 - Rocky Mountain Mornings – www.amazon.com/dp/B06X9V6XQJ
2 - Rocky Mountain Hero – www.amazon.com/dp/B06XCVBDPX
3 - Rocky Mountain Soul – www.amazon.com/dp/B06XHL8NSR
4 – Rocky Mountain Bride – www.amazon.com/dp/B06XPVL222
5 - Rocky Mountain Promise – www.amazon.com/dp/B06XT4T5MF
6 - Rocky Mountain Nights – www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y3R7BBF
7 - Rocky Mountain Home – www.amazon.com/dp/B071D6XZ2Z
8 - Rocky Mountain Heart – April 28
9 - Rocky Mountain Baby – May 5
10 - Rocky Mountain Faith – May 12
You can see the entire series of books as they are released by following our series page on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Roberts-of-Silver-Springs/e/B06XB5SQ55
About the Author
Kay P. Dawson is a stay at home mom of two girls, who always dreamed of being a writer. After a breast cancer diagnosis in 2011, she decided it was time to follow her dream.
Years of reading historical romance, combined with her love for all history related to the old west and pioneer times, she knew that writing in the western historical genre was her calling.
She writes sweet romance, believing a good love story doesn’t need to give all of the juicy details - a true love story shows so much more.
**I have a Facebook fan group set up for anyone who enjoys my books, and reading in the sweet western romance genre - and I would love to have you join us! There are special giveaways and fun events just for members…and a place just to hang out with others :)
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Also by Kay P. Dawson
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**My 13 year old daughter has tried her hand at writing western romance…if you’d like to take a look at the books she has written - both of which have received amazing reviews - professionally edited and formatted (but left entirely in her 13 year old voice and views).
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sp; Click here to learn more about The Wagon and The Barn by Morgan Dawson…
Copyright © 2017 by Kay P. Dawson
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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