Gingerbread Wishes Read online

-Chapter Two-

  Two minutes later, the entry bells jangled. Tora hurried to deliver Jordan’s order before turning her attention to the other customers. With most of them, she handled their orders with automatic movements and often-repeated greetings and comments. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harve, owner of Preston Feed & Seed, pull up a chair to Jordan’s table. She rearranged pastries and muffins on their trays, wiped an already spotless counter, and strained to hear the men’s conversation.

  “Hey, Tora!”

  At the call, she jumped and almost dropped a stack of coffee filters. Harve was on the town council and loved calling meetings to order with his booming voice. Looking over her shoulder, she saw he’d approached the counter. “What can I do for you, Harve?”

  “Pass over the coffee and a mug. I’ll help myself and then pour Jordan a refill. Hey, did you know he’s bought the old Chesterfield place?”

  “I didn’t know.” That lovely old Victorian at the end of Maple Street with citrus trees. The one that starred in her childhood dreams of a residence away from the family’s apartment upstairs. She reached under the counter for a dry towel to set under the coffee carafe. So Jordan wasn’t just passing through like the majority of strangers that stopped in Dorado. Since he gazed at her with eyebrows raised, she sensed Harve expected more of an answer. “That place has been empty far too long.”

  “And come spring, he’s opening a sporting goods store. That is just what Dorado needs. New blood and new business. Like I’ve always said, if we waited long enough, the young folks who left would find their way back.” A retired business executive who helped out at his son’s store, Harve kept his finger on the town’s happenings.

  A house and a business? Jordan was putting down roots, just as she was yanking up hers. She forced a smile. “I have heard you say that a time or two.”

  “I see the sign’s up again. Is that the same one your mama taped up and tore down at least once every year?” Harve lifted the carafe and mug then leaned close, cutting a glance over his shoulder. “I saved the best news for last. He’s single and seems like quite a catch. Keep plying him with fritters, and you might have the inside edge.” He wriggled his eyebrows before sauntering back to the table.

  The word single made her heart race, but she bristled at the hint of matchmaking in Harve’s voice. She had no intention of taking advantage of the man’s sweet tooth, or any other part of his body. A shiver ran over her skin. No matter how tempting that sounded. Her future was in the world outside the Dorado city limits, and she intended to go exploring.