Page 10 of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe
‘Oh, my gosh, what is all this?’ Jeanie asked as they piled them up in front of her. She had to peer over the top of the tower to see them.
‘For your grand reopening tomorrow!’ Annie organized the boxes in a steadier stack. ‘The order isn’t usually this big, but I figure you’ll have a pretty big turnout for the first weekend back. People are very excited.’
Jeanie’s stomach swooped with nerves. ‘They are?’
‘Definitely. Didn’t you see them last night? They need their caffeine fix.’
Hazel opened a box and pulled out a scone. ‘Are you ready?’
I ... uh ... I guess.’ Jeanie grabbed a scone, too, and nibbled at the corner. ‘Norman’s been a big help. Thankfully, he knows all the ins and outs of the café.’
Annie shut the box. ‘Save some for the paying customers!’
‘Honestly, I’m surprised Norman is still here,’ Hazel said, propping an elbow on the counter.
‘Really, why?’
Hazel shrugged, her brown curls bouncing on her shoulders. ‘I always thought there was something going on between him and your aunt.’
Annie laughed. ‘Ignore Hazel. She likes to pair off everyone in the town.’
‘Laugh all you want. I saw the way Norman looked at Dot. Something was going on there.’
‘Well, I saw the way you were eyeing Noah at the town meeting last night. What’s going on there?’
‘Nothing,’ Hazel mumbled, around her mouthful of scone. Her face had turned red up to her hair. Jeanie bit down on a smile. She’d thought the fisherman who supported her ghost theory was cute, too, but she didn’t know these women well enough to join in on their teasing. She could picture it, though. She could imagine herself being friends with them, fitting in here. It was her new favorite fantasy when she couldn’t sleep at night.
‘So, why have we never seen you around town?’ Annie asked, changing the subject. ‘Dot used to talk about you and your brother all the time.’
‘Oh, yeah...’ Guilt, sharp and sudden, settled in her gut. She’d neglected a lot of things when she’d been so busy at work. Her Aunt Dot was one of them. ‘We came to visit a few times as kids. I used to love it here, actually. Spending time in her café. But then, I don’t know ... my brother moved to California and life got busy, I guess.’
Annie studied her like she was trying to piece things together, trying to figure her out. Jeanie wondered what she saw. Was she pulling it off? Cool, calm, café owner? Or could Annie tell she was a frazzled ball of nerves inside, totally afraid of failing the first time she’d done anything for herself? Running this café would be the first time she wasn’t working her butt off to make things happen for another person. This was all for her. Which frankly made it that much more terrifying.
‘What do you think of Logan?’ Hazel blurted out, pulling Annie and Jeanie’s gaze to her.
‘Just dive right in, Haze,’ Annie hissed, nudging her friend with her elbow.
‘I think he’s very ... uh ... nice.’ Jeanie fidgeted under their intense inspection. ‘It’s nice of him to help me figure out the noise problem.’
‘How is he helping with that exactly?’ Annie asked, her face a mask of innocence.
‘He ... uh ... we ... decided to do a stakeout.’
‘A stakeout?’ Hazel’s eyes widened behind her glasses.
‘Yeah, like on police dramas. We’ll stay up and try to catch whoever, or whatever, is making the noise.’
‘And Logan agreed to this?’ Annie asked.
‘Yes, it was his idea. We’re doing it Monday night.’ In fact, Jeanie had waited until most of the meeting hall had emptied out before finding Logan waiting for her by the door. She’d intended to tell him he was off the hook, but instead, he’d told her his plan to come by on Monday to see if he could hear the noises for himself. Although if she was being honest, he’d never called it a ‘stakeout’. That had been all her.
She warmed at the memory of his amused smile when she’d said it. She liked making the quiet farmer smile.
Hazel let out a small moan. ‘Oh, no. It’s worse than we thought.’
‘What is?’ Jeanie broke off another piece of scone and popped it into her mouth afraid of saying the wrong thing.
‘Here’s the thing, Jeanie,’ Annie said, fiddling with the bakery boxes again. ‘Logan tends to fall pretty hard and his last relationship—’
