[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

her hand a gentle squeeze and a kiss on her cheek when they both knew that it was
impossible. They had too many employees counting on them, not to mention all the
loyal customers that counted on them to provide them with fresh muffins, donuts and
hot coffee in the morning to help start their day.
 You know that I can t, she said, appreciating the offer.
 You ll take it easy? he asked as he released her, but they both knew it was more of a
reminder that he d put her over his knee and spank her into the next century if she
didn t take it easy, something that she may have a problem with, what with being a
workaholic and all.
 I promise, she said truthfully since she planned on taking it easy and working her
regular hours even though she knew that she would probably end up working double
shifts and over doing it.
 Good, he said, leaning down and giving her another kiss on the cheek before he said
one final goodbye, got into his SUV and drove away, leaving her standing on the front
porch with only the motion lights to help her see through the early dark morning.
She looked down at her watch and sighed. She still had thirty minutes to kill before
she needed to get down to the bakery and start prepping for the day, but she didn t see
any reason to stand around waiting. Careful of the ice, she made her way to the van
and climbed in, immediately regretting not getting the luxury package that included
heated seats and a remote start.
Next year, she told herself even though she knew that she would never spend the
money on something as unnecessary as heated seats when there was so much that
they could do for the bakery with the extra money. She had plans to expand the
bakery with more space, bigger and better equipment, ovens and an expanded menu.
She would do it, but it was going to take time and money that they didn t have right
now.
Starting the van, she tripled checked the rearview mirrors as well as the side mirrors
and just because of her unfortunate tendencies to run over the poor man next door
who d been going the extra mile to avoid her since Thanksgiving night, she triple-
checked the mirrors again and even opened her door so that she could peek out and
make sure that his truck was still parked in its customary spot and that he wasn t
walking towards it.
When she made sure the coast was clear, she breathed a sigh of relief, put the van in
reverse and slowly backed out of the driveway. It wasn t until she pressed the break
all the way down to the ground and it didn t stop that she realized that things were
about to go bad.
She didn t yell, scream for help or panic, because sadly, she d been through worse.
What she did was throw the emergency break on, press down harder on the break and
braced herself for impact. Twenty seconds later it came. As far as accidents went, it
wasn t that bad, she mused as her seatbelt tightened around her, the van jostled just a
bit and she sighed with relief when she realized that the old diseased apple tree that
the Richmonds refused to cut down had stopped her.
Well, maybe the van had managed to knock it down, she thought hopefully as she
carefully climbed out of the van and slowly walked towards the back to see the
damage. Just a few small scratches and a slight dent that was barely noticeable. Not
even worth bothering her grandfather about, she decided as she carefully turned
around and slowly made her way back to the driver s side door so that she could throw
her hazard lights on and call triple A.
Man, it was cold, she thought with a shiver as she rubbed her hands together and
reached for her phone when she heard it, the loud cracking sound that she knew was
about to make her morning a lot more interesting.
And possibly more painful.
When the second crack came, she would admit that she became a tad bit concerned,
but when she realized where the sound was coming from, she decided that it
warranted a hysterical scream, a dive out of her van and an attempt to break a world
record for the fifty yard dash.
Unfortunately for her, she forgot a few minor details, like the ice and snow covering
the road and the fact that she wasn t much of a runner.
Something that she swore that she would work on just as soon as she was able to
climb out from beneath the large tree pinning her to the ground.
*-*-*-*
 Shit! he snarled, throwing the front door open and jumped over the banister,
uncaring that he was only wearing his boxers and that it was below freezing out. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]