Hometown Courtship. Diann Hunt

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СКАЧАТЬ sighed. “I’m sorry I upset you, Brad. We’ll talk later. Callie starts Monday.”

      The line went dead and Brad snapped his cell phone shut. “Great, that’s just great.”

      He knew his brother meant well, but Brad wished that just once Ryan would let him run his own life.

      

      Monday morning came much too soon. Callie was thankful at least that Jessica Moore had agreed to work full-time at the salon until Callie was through “serving time.” Jessica was the other stylist at the salon. As a rule, Jessica worked part-time so she could take some classes and care for her mom, who had been through a major surgery. But her mom was getting better and her classes were coming to an end, so Jessica offered to help Callie out.

      Thunder boomed across the morning sky, causing Callie’s red VW to tremble slightly. She peered through her rain-pelted car window. “Oh, this is just perfect.”

      With a grunt she reached for her red-and-white polka-dotted umbrella, slammed the door of her car and ran into the Peaches & Cream Bakery.

      Though she was running late, of course, she wasn’t about to give up her coffee and peach scone. It had nothing to do with her aunt and uncle owning the place. The bakery was known across the county for its delicious peach pastries—hence, the name. It could be a bit confusing to tourists—they owned the Peaches & Cream Bakery, the Peaches & Cream Salon and the Peaches & Cream Ice Cream Parlor.

      Stopping for coffee and a peach scone was a breakfast routine that Callie couldn’t do without. Closing her umbrella, she shook off the excess droplets and headed for the counter. Where had she gone wrong this morning? When the alarm had gone off, she had gotten up right away—well, she’d only hit Snooze twice.

      The tune of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” came from her cell phone. She rifled through her bag. If only she could remember to stick her phone in that special compartment in her handbag, the one specifically for cell phones. After she removed the straw papers and gum wrappers, of course.

      “Hello?”

      “My pretrial hearing got cancelled, so if you want to meet for lunch today, I can do it,” Heather said.

      Shifting her keys to her phone hand, Callie’s free fingers searched her jacket pocket for money. “I’m a community servant today, remember? I’ll probably get bologna and water.”

      Heather laughed. “Oh, that’s right. I forgot.”

      “Great. I’m serving time and my attorney forgot. Maybe if my attorney had been a little more—”

      “I wouldn’t go there if I were you. It’s never a good idea to make your attorney mad.”

      Speaking of making her attorney mad, Callie hadn’t told Heather about the new parking ticket. No point in starting her week off on the wrong foot. Besides, she’d pay this ticket on time. It was right in her handbag. Somewhere.

      “Point taken. Listen, I’ve got to go or I’ll be late. Call you tonight.” While Callie stuffed her cell phone back into her handbag, her keys slipped from her fingers and crashed against the tile floor. Just as she reached down to pick them up, her hand fell upon another, much larger, stronger hand.

      “Oh,” she said in surprise. Straightening, she looked up, up, up, until she stared into eyes so inviting that she wanted to RSVP on the spot. “I’m so clumsy.”

      Tall, Dark and Handsome leaned closer, and she caught a whiff of citrus and peppermint.

      “It happens to me all the time.” He smiled, shifted on his leg and tucked his thumb into a belt loop on his jeans.

      Something about the way this man’s dark hair was combed told her nary a stray would be tolerated. He was precise. She liked that in a man.

      Just beyond him she could see the rain had quieted to a soft pattering against the windowpanes. The thunder murmured a romantic chant. Her insides whirled like a gentle breeze. If he lifted her on a white horse, she was so going with him.

      “You’re sure you’re all right?”

      The sincerity in his face and the compassion in his eyes caused her to hiccup. Her hand flew to her mouth, and she mumbled an apology.

      A quirky smile lit up his face, giving him an impish look. “You’d better get some peanut butter for that.”

      She nodded and whipped around. Hiccupping was a family curse from her mother’s side. Staccato hiccups punctuated almost every embarrassing moment. And nothing—not peanut butter or sugar or holding her breath—cured them.

      He tapped her shoulder and she turned back around. “You might want these.” The keys dangled between his fingers.

      The brush of his hand caused her pulse to stumble. Her mind drifted to a summer’s day in a park. She was wearing flowers in her hair and a long, flowing dress. He was pushing her on a swing. They were laughing together—

      “What can I get you today?”

      The nasally voice of the barista shook her loose from her dreaming. She wanted to thwack him. “I’ll take a mocha latte and a—” she started to order her usual peach scone but quickly changed her mind “—fat-free blueberry muffin, please.”

      Boring, no-taste muffin in hand, Callie edged over to wait on her coffee, feeling quite proud of her self-control. Hopefully, Tall, Dark and Handsome had noticed. Unfortunately, when she turned around, her knight in shining armor was gone.

      Maybe she’d exchange her muffin.

      Chapter Two

      Brad cranked up the engine of his old work truck. “You’d better get a grip on things, Brad, old boy, or Ryan will get his way.”

      Tail wagging, tongue hanging, Hammer, his yellow Lab, pranced across the seat. Brad scratched the top of the hound’s head.

      “She was a looker, Hammer.” Brad thought about how soft her golden hair looked against the nape of her slender neck, how the lights of the coffeehouse danced in her blue eyes. Yet there was something in those baby blues—something sobering. Oh, he was reading too much into it.

      “Yes, sir, she sure improved my morning.” The gears groaned and squeaked as Brad shifted them into place and pulled into traffic. Too bad he hadn’t gotten her number, but he’d hardly earned the privilege in that length of time. Besides, he didn’t want to get serious with anyone. Though a couple of dates might have been nice.

      Hammer nudged Brad’s arm.

      “We’ll be there in a minute.” Brad laughed. “It’s gonna be muddy today, though. Probably not a good idea to bring you to the work site.”

      The dog cocked his head sideways and let out a whine. Sometimes Brad wondered if Hammer really could understand him.

      “And to think I went back so I could have that strong espresso.” He sighed. “If only there’d been enough time. But I can’t be late for work, Hammer.”

      Even when it means walking away from a beautiful woman.

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