Inventory was low.
Her stomach clenched.
Typical for this time of day, but she had no one to send across the street to Lawson’s Bakery for refills. Taryn, the owner, would be at the meeting, and her staff wouldn’t have time to deliver if Raine called in an order.
Customers would have to order something else or walk across the street to Lawson’s.
It is what it ishad become Raine’s catchphrase.
Be careful what you wish forwas a close second.
She poured a cup of French roast and set it next to the muffin. “Mr. Hurley.”
She wiped her hands on the front of her apron and made a cappuccino. As her fingers touched a knob on the espresso machine, she let them linger.
Love this place.
Despite the staffing issues, Raine loved the business she’d created, pouring her heart, soul, and inheritance into Tea Leaves and Coffee Beans after working half her life for every type of coffee shop imaginable, from big franchises to mom-and-pop shops. She’d left Seattle and moved to Silver Falls to make her dream come true.
When she met the man she thought she’d marry, her future had been so clear in her mind. It was a good one. She’d not only gotten a boyfriend but also found a new family with his. Until Emmett, who’d grown up in Silver Falls, decided small-town life wasn’t for him in January. They’d dated long distance. Broke up in February. Tried a long-distance relationship again. Then in April, he’d decided Raine wasn’t for him either. They’d broken up for good that time.
Still worth it.
Even on days like today when things didn’t go as well as she’d hoped, Raine kept telling herself that.
Worth it.
All she had to do was keep going.
Shewouldfind more reliable employees like Timmy. The shop would continue to thrive. She just knew it.
The only question was…how long would that take?
*
Forget dead week.The Scandinavian Studies department had never been this quiet in the lead-up to finals. Assistant Professor Keaton Andrews even left the door to his office open when it wasn’t office hours. Might as well enjoy the peace until the students arrived in a couple of weeks.
Living on the edge.
He grinned, even though the only edge in his life was on his desk where he sat. Sometimes pens fell off when he wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings, which wasn’t often. Callie, his younger sister, called him the brainy professor. That was better than an absent-minded one.
The syllabus for Introduction to Norwegian Folklore filled his computer screen.
The class always received stellar reviews, but he’d spent the summer revamping the content. He wanted students to fall in love with the subject the way he had as a college freshman. That meant ensuring the lessons ignited a fire inside the young women and men who’d registered for the class. Which was why he was working so hard to make the curriculum as close to perfect as he could.
He laughed.
Overachievers R Us.
A family trait except for the baby of the family, Callie, who’d followed her heart, and she was by far the happiest of them all. Though Garrett had slowed down, too, and had no complaints.
Keaton might want to rethink his goal. Trying to capture his entire class roster wasslightlyambitious. A more reasonable goal should be one.
If one student discovered a new passion, Keaton would be satisfied. Now to make the class better. He had time to reach perfection or close to it.
Colleges with semesters were in session. Keaton’s university followed the quarter system. That meant courses didn’t begin until September 26th, less than three weeks from now.
He had a feeling the entire fall quarter would drag.
