Cattle Valley 28 - Second Chances by Carol Lynne

Author:Carol Lynne [Lynne, Carol]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-12-02T05:27:37+00:00

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Drake parked down the street from Grinders and walked to the coffee shop. He inhaled as he entered the quaint little store, taking in the blue and white gingham curtains and large display case stocked with baked goods. He imagined Kyle wasn’t too thrilled about the competition.

“Can I help you?” a petite, middle-aged woman asked.

“Coffee, black, please.”

“For here or to go?”

“Here.” Drake had no real plans to drink the coffee. It was too late in the day for him,

but he doubted he’d be able to get the woman to talk without it. Luckily they were alone in the shop. “Quiet day.” “Hmmm, yes. Don’t tell anyone, but my favourite time of the day is the lull in the afternoon, especially today. I’ve spent the last hour watching the snow and grinning from ear to ear.” She handed Drake his coffee. “My name is Julie, by the way.”

“I’m Drake,” he introduced himself, taking a seat in front of the window. Hell, if Julie liked to sit and stare at the snow, he couldn’t imagine a better place to pull her into a conversation. “Are you new to Cattle Valley?”

Julie nodded. “Born and raised in Miami. I needed a change, so I sold my house, quit my job and moved up here about three months ago.”

“Well, welcome to town.” Drake put on his friendly face, something most people in town had never witnessed. He looked around the shop and spotted a row of three desktop computers towards the back. “You have internet?”

“Sure do. I’ve found it keeps people in here longer if they can surf or answer emails while they drink.”

“Smart woman. So do you have to pay a fee to use them?”

Julie shook her head. “No, I haven’t had a problem with people staying on them too long. It’s usually a quick check of emails or updating their Facebook page.”

Drake needed to get Shane over to check out the history on all three machines. He had no doubt Shane could get around any passwords on the damn things.

“Do you work here in town?” Julie asked.

“Yes, over at Montgomery Enterprises.” Drake didn’t tell her what he did for them and hopefully she wouldn’t ask.

“How nice. A lot of your fellow employees come here for lunch.”

“You serve lunch?” Drake glanced at the display case again.

“Just soup, salads and sandwiches. I make fresh tuna, ham and chicken salad each morning.”

Drake perked up. “Soup? What kind?”

“Today it’s chicken and dumpling or vegetarian vegetable. All homemade, of course.”

Drake’s stomach growled. “Can I get a big bowl of each to go?”

“Sure.” Julie seemed pleased at the order.

If a single order made the woman that happy, Drake couldn’t imagine her jubilant attitude during a lunch-time rush. He found he liked it, like her.

She came back carrying a large paper sack. “I think I’m going to shut down for the day, so I gave you extra.”

Drake smiled. “I appreciate that.” It would be a nice change from the canned soup he’d eaten most of his life. He’d attempted to make it from scratch once, but it hadn’t turned out.

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