Page 4 of Lucky in Love

“Sure thing,” Delaney says, spinning around and maneuvering her way back through the maze of tables.

“She seems nice.”

“She is super sweet. We’re in kind of an alliance, being the only female restaurant owners in town. Occasionally, if a napkin delivery runs late or one of us runs out of cooking oil, we’ll help each other out.”

“Gotta love a small town.”

“Her husband passed away several years ago,” Fiona says, lowering her voice.

“Oh, that’s terrible. She doesn’t look much older than us and she’s already a widow?”

“Yep. She was in her late twenties when he died. He was in the military.”

“That’s too bad,” I say with a frown. I can’t imagine having that kind of loss at such a young age.

A tap on the glass distracts me from my reverie. A woman with light brown hair is staring at us through the glass smiling and Fiona waves at her and motions for her to come in.

“This is Ginger,” Fiona says when the woman plops down in the empty chair at our table. “We’ve been friends since we were little bitty. Ginger, this is my cousin Paige.”

“Oh, the new vet in town.”

“That’s right.”

“Well, I need to make an appointment with you soon. It’s about time for my beagle’s vaccinations.”

“We can set that up. I’ll start seeing patients on Monday. But I need to hire a receptionist as soon as possible to keep track of my appointments. I have no idea how Grandpa functioned without one.”

“It was a lot of leaving messages on an old-school answering machine and hoping he called you back,” Ginger replied, laughing.

“Yikes,” I say, rubbing my forehead. It’s going to take a lot more than paint to move the clinic into the 21st century.

“Is there an employment website for Evergreen Mountain that I could post the job on? Or maybe a staffing agency?”

Fiona and Ginger exchange glances and then burst out laughing.

“Ok, I get it. This is not a bustling metropolis. How do I spread the word that I have a job opening in this town?”

“Print up a description of what you’re looking for and put it on some of the bulletin boards around town,” Fiona says. Another thing to add to the to-do list.

“I’ll put it on the information superhighway, too,” Ginger says.

“Information superhighway?” I say, eyebrow raised.

“She means she’ll tell the ladies at the Beauty Nest. They spread gossip faster than a viral TikTok,” Fiona says, hand on hip.

We’re still giggling when Delaney shows up with our coffee and food.

“I’ll let you two eat,” Ginger says, standing up. “Don’t be a stranger, Paige. I expect to see you at the next girl’s night.”

“Sounds fun. It was nice to meet you!” I call out, as she works her way to the door, greeting people as she goes.

I pop a piece of sweet pastry into my mouth and feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven. “Best cinnamon roll ever,” I moan, my mouth full of gooey sweet goodness.

???

Back at the clinic, Fiona and I sip to-go coffees and try to wake ourselves up from our cinnamon roll comas.

“Wow, you did get a lot done yesterday,” she says, looking around at the sparkling clean surfaces and blue painter’s tape outlining the trim and baseboards. “It already looks way better.”

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