TAKE A CHANCE (Chance Colorado Series) (31 page)

A timid, half-smile lifted the corners of the woman’s mouth and Odie resisted the urge to hug her again. Though Liz had only arrived in Chance a couple of weeks before, she and her young son were quickly becoming a part of the Flynn family. Having them living in the old garage apartment had reminded Odie of how much she enjoyed having little ones underfoot.

“I love the workmanship on the new bookshelves,” Liz said, as if needing to change the subject. “They fit in as if they were part of the original decor.”

“They did turn out good, didn’t they?” Between the new stock the girls had ordered and the books brought in by Allie’s newspaper appeal—and a little arm-twisting on Odie’s part—they’d ended up having to build new shelves to hold all the books. “Which reminds me, have you found someone to renovate your building yet?”

Liz’s smile vanished as she shook her head. “None that are going to work. Either their waiting list is as long as my arm or their prices for coming up the mountain are way beyond my budget. I’m beginning to think I might have made a mistake in not hiring the contractor before I finalized the purchase.”

“Nonsense,” Odie murmured, as a new idea began to take shape. “Have you considered hiring a local to do the work?”

Liz looked surprised. “I didn’t know there was anyone local who could do the job.”

“As it so happens, there is,” Odie assured her. “And he’s practically family, too, which makes it even better. Hold on. He was around here somewhere just a few minutes ago. There he is! Ryan!”

Odie waved her hand in the air until Ryan headed in her direction.

“Ryan, I want you to meet Elizabeth Levesque. She’s bought the old Cheevers Building next door and as it just so happens, she’s in need of a talented contractor.”

“Ryan O’Connor,” he said, reaching out to shake Liz’s hand. “I’d love to give you a bid on that project, Miss Levesque.”

“Liz,” she corrected quietly. “If you have some time this afternoon, perhaps we could meet to go through the building and discuss the changes I have in mind.”

“That works for me,” he said with a grin. “Around three okay?”

“Three it is,” she agreed, pulling her hand from his.

“If you two will excuse me, I need to refill my coffee,” Odie said, leaving Ryan and Liz to work out the details of their meeting.

With a fresh cup in her hand, she found herself an empty spot across the room, and studied the two people she’d just introduced. It was a good match. Ryan was just getting his business off the ground and Liz needed someone reliable.

“In more than one way,” she muttered to herself. “Not bad, Odie Flynn. Not bad at all.”

“What are you doing over here in the corner talking to yourself?” Dot O’Connor scooted in next to her, holding a cup of her own. “Isn’t it grand? All these people in one place, it almost feels like the old days. We’re making progress, Odie. Slow but sure, we’re making progress.”

Odie nodded, and sipped from her cup. They were making progress, but this was no time to slack off on their efforts. “We’ve still got plenty of work left ahead of us.”

“Well, of course we do,” Dot agreed. “For one thing, we’ve a wedding to plan.”

Yes, they did. And with her granddaughter marrying her best friend’s grandson, the sky was the limit.

“Among other things,” she murmured with a smile, glancing back across the room to the two people she’d left only moments before.

Yes, things were definitely beginning to come together.

* * *

“Thank you so much for coming. Please, take your time, look around, enjoy yourself!” Allie shook what felt like the millionth hand today and watched with pride as her latest customer wandered over to the bookshelves to browse through her grand opening selection.

“Can you believe this crowd?” Dulcie set a tray of freshly baked cookies on the counter next to Allie. “Everybody in town must be here. We can barely keep the coffee brewed ahead of them! Mama Odie was right on the mark with this one.”

“Mama Odie?” Allie looked across the room to spot her grandmother deep in conversation with Logan’s grandmother. No telling what mischief those two were cooking up. “What did she have to do with this?”

“It was all her suggestion,” Dulcie answered. “She started talking up the idea of having a bookshop tucked away in the back of the Hand long before you ever decided to come home. She said it would help business. Sometimes I almost believe that woman has the power to see into the future.”

“Nope,” Desi interjected as she sidled up next to her sister. “No special powers. She’s just the smartest woman on the face of the planet. Remember when we were little and she would—” Desi’s words cut off abruptly and her eyes rounded. “Oh. My. God. You won’t believe who’s coming up our sidewalk.”

Allie turned to look out the window in time to see Helen Reilly headed toward the Hand, accompanied by Rio Hyatt, the chef who had captured Desi’s interest.

“He called yesterday,” Desi whispered excitedly. “He wanted to arrange a time to talk about the possibility of getting our baked goods into his restaurant. He doesn’t know it yet, but I am so going out with that guy.”

Before Allie could respond to her cousin, the door opened and the new arrivals stepped inside.

“Welcome to our bookstore’s grand opening,” Allie greeted. “I was hoping I’d get the opportunity to thank you in person for all the books you sent over, Mrs. Reilly.” There had been hundreds, some of them looking as if they’d never been opened.

“As long as you remember our bargain, my dear, that’s thanks enough for me,” Helen said. “By the way, is Odetta here?”

Surprised that Helen would ask specifically for her grandmother, Allie took a moment to answer. “She is. Last time I saw her, she was over in the dining room with Dot O’Connor. If you head through that way, you can’t miss her.”

“In that case, I’ll be back in bit, Rio,” Helen said, already walking away.

Desi’s elbow to Allie’s side forced her attention back to her cousins and the chef. From the look on Desi’s face, an introduction was clearly in order.

“Chef Hyatt, these are my cousins, the owners of The Hand of Chance Coffee Emporium.”

“I’m Desi,” her cousin said, moving closer to the handsome chef. “We spoke on the phone yesterday.”

“Yes, we did,” Rio said, lifting a cookie to his nose and sniffing before turning to Desi. “You baked these?”

“That would be Dulcie,” Allie said, turning to her cousin who had moved behind the counter to stand beside her.

Dulcie lifted a hand to acknowledge the introduction.

“Plating these individually would make for a better presentation,” Rio said. “Perhaps with a sprig of mint.” He spoke quietly, almost as if he were busy envisioning how he thought the cookies would look best.

“It’s just a tray of cookies,” Dulcie said, her voice tighter than normal. “A little help-yourself, welcome munchie.”

“I have an idea.” Desi tucked her arm through Rio’s and smiled brightly, her worried eyes connecting with Allie’s for an instant. “How about you and I saunter on over to the other side and I treat you to one of our wonderful coffees?”

Rio nodded his agreement absently, still intent on sniffing the cookie in his hand, before taking a small bite. “Butter. Shortening delivers a crisper texture.” He took another bite and his brow wrinkled. “What did you use to sweeten this? Too dark for granulated sugar. Honey, maybe?”

“Coffee, first,” Desi said, pulling him away. “Then we’ll talk baking.”

Dulcie stared after the pair, her eyes narrowing. “What a complete and total—”

“Careful,” Allie interrupted, doing her best to keep any sign of a smile off her face. “Desi thinks she likes the guy. So, who knows? He could end up being your—”

“Worst nightmare?” Dulcie finished for her. “Whatever. Not my problem. And I doubt he’ll be Desi’s for long. I’m pretty sure it’ll take more than a pair of bedroom eyes to keep her interest.”

“Hey, ladies,” Logan said as he approached the counter. “I hate to tell you, Dulcie, but the coffee pot’s empty and you have some grumbling customers over there.”

“Oh, criminey,” Dulcie said, “And here I am acting like I don’t have a thing in the world to do. I gotta go.”

Logan came around the counter to take the spot Dulcie had just vacated. “Here’s your coffee, love.” He handed her a steaming cup of pure energy and leaned in to nuzzle her ear. “I probably shouldn’t tell your cousin that I’m the one who emptied the pot.”

“Maybe not,” she agreed, smiling up at him.

“Looks like everyone in town is doing their best to make your dream come true,” he said, his arm coming to rest around her shoulders to pull her close beside him.

“They’re certainly working on part of it.”

The bookstore was only a part of her dream. The other part, the best part, was standing right next to her, his warm breath sending ripples of excitement coursing down her body every time he dipped his head close to hers.

“Only a part?” he asked, his finger brushing over the small diamond on her left hand.

“Only a part,” she confirmed, smiling up at him. “Because you already made the rest of it come true when you asked me to marry you.”

The lopsided grin spreading over his face carried a special happiness with it.

“Asking you to marry me was just the beginning. We’ve got dreams we haven’t even dreamed yet ahead of us.” He kissed her then, right in front of everyone, and, with a wink and a grin, he nodded toward the spot where their grandmothers stood, heads bent together like two top-secret conspirators. “You sure you don’t want to reconsider eloping? Those two are only the tip of the iceberg. There’s still our mothers, your cousins, and, Lord help us, my sister.”

“I’m fine with whatever they plan,” she said, biting back a giggle at his skeptical expression. “I spent too many years denying how important family is to me. Now that I’ve reclaimed that part of my life, I’m in it for the long haul. Good, bad, and everything in between.”

Over the past few months, Allie had faced her own weaknesses and learned to stand up for all that was important to her. In the process, she’d made her peace with the past. From now on, she didn’t intend to run from anything, ever again. Life ahead of her was a bright, shiny fruit, ripe for the taking and, with Logan at her side, she planned on taking it all.

EPILOGUE

What were the chances that things could have turned out so very differently from what Allie had expected when she’d turned off the highway to move back home seven months ago? She couldn’t even begin to calculate the odds, but she knew they had to be astronomical.

“Anyway,” she said aloud, staring out the window as the snow began quietly falling again. “I hate math.”

“Oh yeah?” Desi said, her head bent to study her feet. “You know what I hate? I hate these shoes. But I’m wearing them just for you. I want you to remember this. You owe me. When I get married—”

“
If
you get married,” Dulcie corrected.

“
When
I get married,” Desi continued, sending a grimace in her sister’s direction, “you have to promise you’ll go barefoot for my ceremony.”

“Deal,” Allie agreed. “Though I really do hope it’s a summer wedding.”

“Goes without saying,” Desi muttered. “I am, after all, a total summer solstice kind of gal.”

The door opened and Katie breezed in, a triumphant smile on her face. “I’ve got them right here. Your something borrowed and your something blue. See? I borrowed Nana Dot’s lace hankie and this I bought just for the occasion.”

Allie took the box Katie offered and slipped off the lid to reveal a blue satin and lace garter.

“It’s lovely.”

“I know,” Katie said with a grin. “And look at the little ornament on there. Am I the perfect maid of honor or what?”

Allie turned the garter over in her hand, laughing out loud when she saw the little silver hand that had been added to the lace flower. It was an exact match to the earrings Desi had made for her something new.

Dulcie ran a finger over the little metal hand and smiled. “A fitting tribute to our wonderful business venture together.”

“Do you have the pearls or do I?” Desi asked as both she and her sister scrambled to dig through their purses.

“Can I just say again how much I appreciate your asking me to be your maid of honor?” Katie said, a twinkle in her eye. “As best man, Tanner will be forced to dance at least once with me!”

“It was my pleasure,” Allie assured her.

Asking Logan’s sister had been the perfect solution, since there was no way she could have chosen between her cousins.

“Your something old,” Dulcie announced, fixing their grandmother’s pearl necklace around Allie’s neck. “Now you’re all ready. And you’re so beautiful!”

A quick knock at the door and Matt’s voice sounded on the other side. “It’s show time, ladies.”

While her bridesmaids lined up at the head of the stairs, Allie linked her arm through her brother’s, waiting for her turn to march down to the parlor below.

“Nervous?” Matt asked, fidgeting with his tie as the first strains of music drifted to Allie’s ears.