Somebody's Baby by Annie Jones

Author:Annie Jones [Jones, Annie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance, General, Religious, Fiction
ISBN: 9780373874477
Google: Y3VLfFI08M4C
Amazon: 0373874472
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2007-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Josie stood back from the blackboard wall. She pulled the scrunchie from her ponytail and sighed in relief as the curls fell around her shoulders and the tightness eased from her scalp. She replayed her earlier phone conversation with Burke Burdett.

She had to whip up every last ounce of courage to make the call, partly because she knew Adam hadn’t wanted her to do it. But mostly because, of all the Burdett brothers, whose reputations were considerable in this town, Burke was the most…the biggest…the…well, he didn’t just like the nickname Top Dawg, the man lived it. He had to take the lead in every situation, every conversation and he had to come out on top of every transaction, deal or exchange. What chance did a girl like Josie stand with a man like that?

Pretty good, it turned out, once he’d learned that Adam had offered her money to not take the job. She hadn’t meant to tell him that. It had just slipped out. But after it had, the man had gone to great lengths to accommodate her.

She would have liked to tell him she had never known that kind of rivalry for a sibling who, while you worked and followed the narrow path, chased after their own interests and still ended up your parent’s darling while you went unnoticed. But she understood the feeling exactly and he knew it.

That fact had gone far to forming an unspoken bond between them. Burke wanted to get every last detail of this party right, and when she thought of Adam with that polished and poised businesswoman, she wanted that, too. It might be a party to commemorate Adam’s return, but it was going to give Josie and Burke each a chance to shine. Whatever good it would do them.

So Burke had been particularly open to her suggestions when she explained her plan to use her suppliers for the food and sundries and enlist the help of the locals to get the “fixin’s” to the tables.

Burke had told her he didn’t care how she did it. As their official caterer she just needed to get it done right. Still, she felt bad about not cooking everything herself. However, given the short notice and the number of pies they would need to feed the crowd, it was the only realistic solution. Besides, Josie loved the idea of the community showing the Burdetts just what they could do when they all pulled together.

“This just might work.” She studied the complex maze of columns, lines and arrows charting out how to supply enough food for the celebration.

“Oh, good. You’re not closed yet.” Adam came striding in with such confidence that she knew he couldn’t have imagined for one second that he’d find that door locked.

“Just sorting out some details before…” Somehow admitting where she was headed after closing felt like a bit of a betrayal. Only, Josie couldn’t say exactly who it was she thought she’d be letting down—Adam or Burke. Or herself. “Give me your honest opinion.

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.