Читать книгу Finally, A Family - Callie Endicott - Страница 15
ОглавлениеTHE NEXT MORNING Logan wondered whether getting coffee would be awkward, but Jessica simply gave him an impersonal smile and went over to the coffee corner.
“What brew does Mr. Magellan Einstein Stanley want to explore today?” she asked.
Logan liked the modified nickname, though Einstein hadn’t been an explorer. “How about a latte? I missed breakfast this morning and at least it has milk.” He glanced at a glass case that hadn’t been there the day before. “I see you’ve expanded to an assortment of fresh food items.”
“Grams told me that customers have been asking for food besides candy, granola bars or potato chips. This is from a local bakery in the town where I live. They’ll package a selection for me and I’ll pick up the order on my way to the store every day. We’ve talked about me carrying a few of their sandwiches, but this morning I told them the idea is on hold.”
Ouch.
At a guess, Jessica had put the idea on hold because Moonlight Ventures wanted the Crystal Connection to move.
Feeling like slime, he took a bran muffin from the display case. “This looks tasty.”
“It’s supposed to be high in protein and fiber, but mostly it’s delicious. I’ve sampled everything I’ll be carrying. I didn’t want to stock anything I haven’t tried myself. My favorite is their cottage bread with jalapeño and cheddar, mostly because it’s savory instead of sweet.” She frowned at one of her insulated pots and ran her fingers over a brown stain on the bar towel beneath.
“I take it you don’t have a sweet tooth.”
Jessica lifted the pot and set it in the sink. “Not in the morning. After lunch I have to use all my resistance so I won’t turn into a basketball.”
Without thinking, he cast a swift glance down her well-formed figure. She wore a dress of soft fabric that flowed around her curves.
Logan reminded himself that their contacts were business-related and nothing else. Even if Jessica was available and interested, dating one of their tenants seemed a bad idea. Besides, call it old-fashioned, he’d pegged her as a forever type of woman. He might not be a properly warm and sensitive guy of the twenty-first century, but he knew better than to get involved with a woman who needed more than he was able to offer.
Once his coffee was shot with hot milk, she poured it into his cup and handed it to him. “Can I get you anything besides coffee and a muffin?”
“This is all. Have you checked with Penny to see if tomorrow evening will work for you?”
Her face tensed. “It’s fine. My grandmother is already planning a taco-and-jigsaw-puzzle evening.”
“She must enjoy having a young great-grandchild so close.”
Jessica nodded. “She’s thrilled. And it’s a relief for me since it gives my daughter a second adult to count on. When we lived back east my parents were too busy to spend time with her, so it’s mostly been just the two of us until I moved to Seattle last year.”
It sounded as if Cyndi’s father wasn’t in the picture and Logan wondered why. Jessica was intelligent, attractive and appeared to have a pleasant personality, though those qualities didn’t guarantee a successful relationship.
“That’s great,” he said. “I’ll be here at closing time, if that sounds good.”
“If you don’t mind, I could use a few minutes after closing. Sometimes I have late customers and then I need to deal with the daily receipts.”
“Then how about six?”
“That’s fine.” Her eyes had turned even more wary, a reminder that it would be a very sensitive discussion.
Moonlight Ventures didn’t want her business to be adversely affected, but they needed space. There must be a compromise that would work for them both.
* * *
LOGAN LEFT AND Jessica resisted sticking out her tongue at him. It was childish and wouldn’t change anything, but he annoyed her. How could he look so alert and well rested when she’d barely slept a wink?
Her cell phone rang and she saw it was one of the Flash Committee members. Regen Valley was a terrific town, outside the metropolitan area, yet within commuting distance. Jessica had always loved her summer visits there and made a lot of friends over the years, but now that she lived in the small town, she was acutely aware it lacked an urgent care facility. Having a daughter with severe childhood asthma changed everything, so she’d started the Flash Committee to raise money for a clinic. With land for it recently donated, they were making great progress.
“Hi, Chris,” she answered.
“I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be at the next meeting, after all. Also, you’ll be happy to hear we’ve already sold over a hundred and fifty tickets for the breakfast.”
“Wonderful.”
The Flash Committee’s next fund-raiser was a pancake breakfast at the community center. The ingredients and paper goods were being donated by local businesses, so 100 percent of the proceeds would go into the urgent care clinic fund.
After Chris said goodbye, she shoved the phone into her pocket, annoyed that she couldn’t relax and be happy at how well ticket sales were going. People were enthusiastically supporting the committee’s efforts, but her worry over the shop was competing for emotional dominance.
She hadn’t confided in her grandmother about Moonlight Ventures’ request, or the need to keep “Penelope Parrish” on the lease. The night before she’d simply explained that she had a business meeting with one of the owners. Grams’s eyes had gleamed when she learned the meeting was with Logan Kensington. She was obviously hopeful something more than business was involved. Jessica had nearly told her the truth, only to stop, reluctant to share upsetting news before she had additional information. But she would have to do it soon, or risk Grams finding out another way.
Jessica pressed a hand to her midriff to quell the flutters. She and Cyndi would be fine. She’d started over more than once, including the time she was pregnant and her brief marriage had collapsed. If necessary, she’d do it again.
Maybe she was borrowing trouble, but while the lease issue could be handled by keeping Grams’s name on the paperwork, there were plenty of ways that Moonlight Ventures could make it difficult for her to stay in business. For one, several of the shop’s best customers were connected to the talent agency, either as tenants or clients. Would they feel comfortable patronizing the Crystal Connection if Logan and his partners were unhappy with her?
It would be hard to stop thinking about the problem since Logan and his partners came in for coffee several times a day. They were going to be constant reminders that the shop was no longer welcome in the building, in this part of it, at any rate. As if in response to her thoughts, Adam Wilding showed up a few minutes later.
“Good morning, Jessica.”
Her stomach tensed again. “Hey, Adam. Southwest Twist?”
“Yup.” He held out his mug and she took it to the coffee corner.
Behave naturally, she reminded herself. Logan Kensington had promised he would be the only one speaking to her about moving the store. She needed to pretend everything was normal when dealing with the others, no matter what her private feelings might be. She filled Adam’s mug and put it on the narrow bar. Perhaps it was her imagination, but he didn’t seem anxious to meet her gaze. Instead, he was peering into the new display case filled with baked goods.
“Thanks,” he said. “I talked to Logan on the walk over and he mentioned you’d just started carrying bakery items. What do you recommend?”
“The blackberry coffee cake is the bakery’s specialty.”
“Sold.” Adam opened the case and selected a square of the pastry. “See you later.”
He left and Jessica sighed as she entered the sales information into his account. It would be nice if she could have enjoyed owning the Crystal Connection without added complications. At least for a while. Thinking of which...she went to examine the insulated pot she’d put in the sink. She didn’t see how it could be leaking, so she checked and found it to be an issue with the spout and pump mechanism. A minor adjustment corrected the problem.
She put it back with the other pots, wishing all of her problems were so easily solved. It wasn’t as if she didn’t understand Moonlight Ventures’ position. They wanted more space and she was in the way. But their timing was lousy. She’d quit a good management job to take over the store. If she’d known something big was in the offing, she might have waited and negotiated with the new owners of Moonlight Ventures until a resolution was reached. Grams would have been happy to continue running the Crystal Connection in the interim.
The situation was seriously messing with Jessica’s business plan and with the modest security her grandparents had hoped to give her.
* * *
GRAMS CAME BY at noon. “I thought I’d help out with the store until I go pick up Cyndi from her playdate.”
“Don’t tell me you’re bored already with retirement,” Jessica teased lightly.
“Not bored, but still getting used to it.”
Jessica didn’t need to be told her grandmother was also still getting used to being alone. It had only been eight months. And she and Granddad had spent all of their time together; they’d shared a sweet, beautiful love story.
“I’ve been thinking about Logan Kensington,” Grams said during a lull between customers.
“Oh?” Jessica asked warily.
“He’s a fine-looking man. You could do worse.”
“I agree, except I’m not interested. We have a business connection, that’s all.” Jessica kept her voice calm.
“Presentable single men are never just business,” Penny returned with a grin. “Besides, you can’t deny he’s hot.”
Jessica snickered. “I refuse to discuss something like that with my grandmother.”
“Poppycock. We’re both women. It’s too bad Logan is a little too young for me. If he was ten years older, I’d make a move on him myself.”
“Grams!”
Penny grinned. “Your grandfather and I both promised that if either of us ended up alone, we’d keep living to the fullest.”
Jessica’s grandparents had lived their lives to the fullest. Until her dad was in his later teens, they’d roamed the world while Granddad researched various cultures. The anthropology books he’d written during their travels were respected, but they were hardly a financial success. He hadn’t cared. Learning had been more important to him, along with the friendships they’d made—Grams still corresponded with dozens of people in other countries.
“I’m glad you aren’t giving up on living,” Jessica said. “But my meeting with Mr. Kensington is purely business.”
Penny waved her hand dismissively. “Ridiculous. There’s nothing extensive to deal with as our landlord, so he must have personal reasons for asking you out.”
Oh, great.
Jessica decided she’d have to explain so Grams would stop building castles in romantic fantasyland. “The thing is,” she said slowly, “he wants to discuss whether the store can move to another section of the building, or even out of the building altogether.”
* * *
PENNY STARED AT her granddaughter in shock. “What section?”
“Around the back. It’s okay, nothing has been decided. He just wants to discuss the possibility, so I said we could talk.”
Penny tried to keep her chin from quivering. When Eric had died, she’d determinedly held herself together. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t known she would spend years alone; her husband had been almost eighteen years her senior. But now... She touched the sales counter Eric had made when they were opening the Crystal Connection.
She gulped down a knot in her throat. “We worked together for so long. Right here. I have countless memories in this place.”
“I know.” Jessica gave her a hug. “I think of Granddad all the time when I’m here. But remember, the building doesn’t belong to us. As it is, your name will need to stay on the lease because I’ve been told it isn’t transferable. We can work out a sublease arrangement.”
“That’s fine, but Kevin always said we could stay as long as we wanted.”
Jessica took a deep breath. “That was my first thought, too, except Uncle Kevin doesn’t own the building any longer and the new owners have a right to consider their needs.”
“What needs?”
“They want to expand and because we’re next door, this is where Moonlight Ventures needs to go.”
“I see.”
Penny glanced around the shop. Despite the changes her granddaughter had made, it was still the place where she’d spent years with Eric. With every step it was as if she was crossing paths with her husband’s spirit. Sometimes she could sense him next to her or hear his voice and laughter.
How could the Crystal Connection move?
They’d poured themselves into creating a place that reflected their travels. Most of their stock came directly from friends in South America, Africa, the South Seas and Asia. With the shop they’d helped open up markets and create cottage industries for people they cared about.
“Nothing has been decided, Grams.”
Penny tried to slow her racing thoughts. This might be hard for her, but it was also tough on her granddaughter.
“Please don’t make any promises or commitments until we’ve discussed everything,” she urged. “That is, the Crystal Connection is yours now, but I hope you’ll talk with me first.”
“I will,” Jessica promised. “But please don’t worry about it. And remember that no matter where the store is, Grandpa’s counter goes with us.”
Penny let out a choked laugh. “Good. You know, we could probably get his DNA off that thing. Eric cut himself and skinned his knuckles more times than I could count when he was cutting and polishing the wood.”
“So when you used to say there was blood, sweat and tears in this place, you weren’t kidding, right?”
“Right. Now I’d better go pick up Cyndi.”
* * *
JESSICA’S HEART ACHED as her grandmother left, seeming more lonely and lost than she’d ever seen her. For the first time Penny looked her age.
As a rule, no one would guess she was seventy-two years old. With few wrinkles and brown hair barely streaked with gray, she could pass for fifty or younger. Granddad had been more than a decade older than her, but he hadn’t looked his age, either.
Grams’s first thought had been about losing the place where she’d worked with her husband, and it bothered Jessica that she hadn’t considered that before. Was she more consumed by business success than she’d believed?
Swell. Now she had something else to keep her awake at night.
* * *
AT HOME THAT EVENING, Jessica tried to conceal her churning thoughts as she tidied the house. Her side of the duplex was roomier than their apartment back east had been, and it even had a small backyard.
A healthy dish her daughter actually liked was pasta primavera, probably because of the noodles, so after vacuuming, she cut up chicken and vegetables.
“Momma, do you think Logan would show me how to take pictures?” Cyndi wanted to know as they ate at the dinner table.
Jessica’s first instinct was to say no and to tell her daughter not to ask. But it was a selfish reaction and she didn’t want to discourage Cyndi from being excited about new things.
“I suppose it’s possible,” she answered. “But he might not have time. He’s very busy.”
“I was hoping he could help me get a hobby badge. Photography can be a hobby, right?” Cyndi had just joined a girl rangers’ troop and was determined to earn every single badge they offered.
“Uh, yes.”
Jessica had a sweet vision of siccing the entire group of giggling girl rangers on Logan. It might partially even the score for his having ruined a night’s sleep for her. On the other hand, a few of the older kids had already developed romantic natures and they might get a crush on the handsome photographer. Then she’d have to listen to a steady diet of lovelorn commentary about a man she’d rather forget ever meeting.
