New Beginnings at Promise Lodge by Charlotte Hubbard

Author:Charlotte Hubbard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zebra Books
Published: 2019-08-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Allen sat at his new kitchen table Thursday afternoon, jotting down the details of the next two tiny homes he would build. An English fellow who lived near Forest Grove had brought along a friend, and by the time they’d examined Allen’s home and had studied the three different floor plans he’d shown them, they were reaching for their checkbooks.

Gazing at the two checks he’d received as down payments, Allen felt giddy. It was a day to celebrate, and he knew just how he wanted to do it. He glanced at his handwritten contracts, thinking he probably needed a more official-looking order form. This time, however, the two fellows’ checks had sealed the deals, and they’d been satisfied with the handwritten spec sheets he’d signed for them.

He had money, he had materials to order, he had work to do—and his business was off and running. For a few moments, Allen sat at his table grinning like a kid who’d won the grand prize at the county fair.

As he headed across the lawn toward the little bakery, he was bubbling with the news he wanted to share with Phoebe before anyone else heard about it. Aromas of pastry and sweet fruit filled the air. The bakery windows were open, so he could hear Irene and Phoebe talking.

“What about that gal who left her number with Elvin at the bulk store?” Irene was asking. “If we say yes, we’ll be baking another two dozen pies tomorrow.”

“Or, we could make an exception to our schedule and whip them up early on Saturday morning,” Phoebe responded. “It’s a one-time event—and maybe we should allow for special orders.”

“Maybe we need to ask your sister or Deborah to help when we take on more baking than we’d planned,” Irene fired back.

Allen smiled as he grasped the handle of the screen door. It sounded as though Promise Lodge Pies was already more of a success than its proprietors had bargained for.

“We can ask them, if you’d like,” Phoebe replied. “Or, if you don’t want to work on Saturday morning, I could bake them myself—but it won’t be the same without you to make the fillings.”

“Jah, but even if you do the baking, we’re also talking about another delivery.”

As Allen stepped inside, Irene was sweeping the floor behind the counter while Phoebe placed plastic domes over the pies that covered the big worktable out front. “I’ll be heading into town on Saturday,” he put in. “If I can use your new shelves to take the pies in my wagon, you won’t have to drive, Irene.”

“Allen! You’re just in time to pick out your pie,” Phoebe said with a lilt in her voice.

“You want to join me on that trip to town Saturday?” he asked quickly. “I uh, sold two tiny homes today, so I’ve got some celebrating to do.”

“Two of them?” Phoebe rushed over to hug him. “You’ve had a wonderful-gut day!”

“Congratulations, Allen!” Irene called out. When she came out from behind the counter she was beaming at him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.