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That wouldn’t be a good thing. It meant Ari would probably have another stepmother at some point—and who could say how well she’d be able to get along with the next one? Ari wasn’t thrilled to have Glenda be part of her life, but the situation could always get worse. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Kelsey said goodbye. Then Patience shimmied between the pews to get close enough to speak to her daughter. “You ready to go?”
“Is Grandpa leaving soon?”
“No, he’ll probably be here for a few hours yet. You know him.”
“Then I’m ready,” she said and pulled away from her friends.
Unfortunately, Glenda hadn’t budged. Patience kept her gaze averted just in case she could slip out without being noticed. But she wasn’t that lucky.
“Hello, Ari!” Glenda called out. “You look beautiful today.”
When Ari thanked her, Patience knew she had to acknowledge Glenda, so she smiled and, apparently, that was the opening Glenda had been waiting for. She immediately pulled away from the Lawsons and approached. “Do you have a minute so we can talk?”
Patience didn’t see how she could say no. This was the woman who was helping to raise her daughter. Maybe Glenda wanted to discuss a school issue or something else pertaining to Ari. “Sure. Is something wrong?”
Glenda didn’t answer. “Would you mind taking Ari home and meeting me at the coffee shop in thirty minutes?” she asked instead.
Patience’s heart sank. What on earth would require a private conversation? “No problem,” she replied. It was the last thing she wanted to do, but after the check Jack had given her for the Christmas festival last night, she figured she owed it to him to see if she could smooth over whatever problems his help had caused. “See you soon.”
Chapter Four
Hoping to get the meeting with Glenda over with as soon as possible, Patience appeared at the coffee shop a little early. But Glenda wasn’t there yet. It was late enough in the day that there were only two other customers in the store—a couple standing by some shelves that displayed Buzzworthy Coffee merch, discussing whether to buy a mug.
Demin Davis was behind the counter. He and his husband, Nicholas, who was probably home with their two-year-old son, owned the store. They were participating in the Christmas festival and had the coffee shop decorated with evergreen boughs around the giant chalkboard menu on the wall.
Buzzworthy Coffee served a delicious gingerbread latte—but today the peppermint hot chocolate also appealed to Patience. A Christmas tree decorated with branded cups and gift cards stood in the corner and lights were strung from the high stamped-tin ceiling.
Demin and Nick had such good taste, which wasn’t something she could say for all the business owners in town. Harriet Hatfield owned a thrift store that was stacked to the ceiling with junk—members of the Chamber of Commerce complained about her all the time.
“Hey, Patience.” Demin gestured toward the Christmas tree. “What do you think?”
“Clever,” she replied. “The whole place looks great. But I had no doubt you and Nick would kill it on the decorating.”
“It’s all Nick,” he said. “He’s the one with an artist’s eye. I’m just the bean counter.”
She grinned. “No pun intended?”
He winked at her. “What can I get you?”
The bell rang above the door, and she turned, expecting it to be Glenda. It wasn’t. It was Kanon, of all people, carrying a laptop. He hesitated as if he was just as surprised to see her before letting the door swing shut and ambling closer to the counter with its glass case displaying what was left of the morning’s scones, muffins and cookies. “You’re done praying for the day?” he said.
Taken off guard that he would bother to speak to her, Patience blinked at him. “Yes. Since there’s no saving your soul, I didn’t think it’d be worth my time.”
Instead of being put off by this acerbic response, he chuckled as if he was proud of her for punching back, revealing a set of dimples she hadn’t noticed before and teeth that weren’t quite straight but somehow fit his smile so well it didn’t matter. “I’m touched to think you would care enough to even consider my soul.”
Demin cleared his throat. “You two know each other?”
Demin and Nick had moved to Hard Luck from Reno only a few years ago, when Demin’s grandfather passed away and left him the house as well as some money, which he used to open the coffee shop. Demin and his husband had most likely never met Kanon. But Patience could tell Demin was intrigued by the handsome stranger who’d just walked through his door. Kanon had his shortcomings but his appearance certainly wasn’t one of them.
“Not really,” she responded. “Kanon won’t let anyone know him. Isn’t that right, Kanon?”
Kanon studied her as if he was beginning to consider her a more worthy adversary. “I’d say you know me better than you think.”
The door opened and a gust of cold wind whipped through the place, carrying the sharp scent of winter and hair spray, as Glenda rushed in. “Hey! Sorry, I’m late. I got here as soon as I could.” She joined Patience in line. Then she must’ve realized who it was she’d cut in front of, because she turned to gawk at Kanon. “Wow, is it really you? The guy who set fire to the town Christmas tree when we were in high school?”
“That was an accident,” he pointed out.
