Chapter one
Thea
Thea’slifeflashedbeforeher eyes as she stumbled toward the oven.She threw a hand out to try to catch herself, narrowly avoiding slamming her face into the burning hot bricks.
Ginger.
That infernal cat.
Ginger was not one to get in the way most of the time, but when she decided to get underfoot, she made it her particular goal to try to ruin Thea’s life.
The tray of berry tarts in her hand had nearly fallen as Thea stumbled, but fortunately, although the pastries slid, they didn’t hit the ground.
Thank goodness.She didn’t have time to make a new batch today.
She’d been up since the early morning preparing the baked goods to sell.It was going to be a busy day—the sewing group was going to take over the café this afternoon.
She didn’t mind.It was nice to have regular business.
But if she did not have berry tarts, however, there would be a riot, because the sewing ladies loved them.
They’d asked for cinnamon rolls…but those had too many memories in them for her to make them.They had to be content with berry tarts and gingersnaps.
She glared at the cat, who sprawled out at her feet, completely unrepentant.
“What are you doing?”she asked, scowling at the fluffy orange cat.“You know better.”
Ginger offered a meow and stretched out further on her back, as if asking to be petted.
“I’m not petting you,” Thea said, frowning at her.“You just tried to kill me.”
She hurried to the counter and placed the berry tarts down before Ginger could retaliate for the lack of attention and trip her again.
If only she could put the cat to work.She could use the help.It had been a couple of years since she’d started the café, and her popularity had grown in leaps and bounds.
It was a far cry from the early days when Roan tried to stop her from opening.While he still didn’t like the café, he was no longer incredibly opposed to it, because as far as she could tell, he was actually getting more business now.Between the library and the café, the women who lived around the region had more reason than ever to come into town—and they were more likely to let their husbands come, too.
Thea glanced at the door—she hadn’t opened it yet.She looked around in satisfaction, taking in the cozy, neat room, and the mouthwatering assembly on the counter.
It was time for another good day.
She unlocked the door, and it was only a moment before her first customer of the day arrived.
It was good that she’d been prepared this morning, because after that, Thea was lost in a daze.Recently she’d become so busy that she barely had time to think, much less get something to eat or drink herself.
She shoveled a blueberry muffin into her mouth as she walked around and wiped down tables in one moment where there was no one waiting at the counter.
Perhaps it was time to hire someone if she could barely keep the counters clean.
Maybe she could put out some feelers.There had to be someone looking for a job who would be able to keep to her strict standards.
If there was one thing her father had taught her, it was that a place that served food had to have high standards.
Her heart ached at the thought of her father.If only he could see what she had done here in the Northlands.He would be proud.She knew that deep down, but part of her wished to see it herself, to see his face when he saw what she had built.
And she had built it all by herself.
But maybe it was time to no longer do it all herself.
