Her siblings tried to contain their laughter.
“Oh, so all the girls in town, except you, is that right?” Jack raised his eyebrows in question over the top of his coffee cup as he took a sip. “Ouch, man that’s hot today.” He pulled it back quickly, lifting his fingers to soothe his burned lip.
“Serves you right.” Emma ignored Bri’s laughter as she took a sip from her own cup.
“Well, anyway, it would appear the man you never had a crush on is moving here permanently. His uncle Chuck says he’s ready to hand over the reins of the local station, and Cooper is ready to bring some new ideas into the business. We’ve been lucky to have the station in town all these years, but it will be good to have things livened up a bit. He’s going to start playing more modern country music, and he says he has some other plans to bring it back to it’s old glory.”
The station had been stuck in the past with Chuck Levine, who’d opened it and ran it for almost thirty years. People still listened to it because it was familiar, but new people had never really found any interest. And, with the rise in satellite radio, and instant downloadable music, it had taken a hit over the years.
Emma had no doubt Cooper could bring some excitement to it. He’d followed in his uncle’s footsteps and worked in radio in Denver. She just hoped Silver Springs was ready for his on-air style. It was a much smaller town than the city he was coming from, and the people tended to be a bit more laid back and reserved.
“Well, I’m not going to lie. I admit I was one of the girls who had a bit of a crush on Cooper when he’d show up in town.” Bri was staring off into space as she remembered. “I was a lot younger than you all were, but I noticed him. He was just that forbidden boy who rode a motorcycle, flying into town now and then, leaving a trail of drooling girls behind him.”
Emma’s eyebrow went up as she stared at her younger sister in disgust. “Seriously Bri, you too?”
Bri just shrugged. “You can deny noticing him Emma, but everyone knows the truth.”
“Do you two have anything else to talk about this morning, or is it just going to be an ‘irritate Emma day’?”
“Calm down, sis. What’s got your back all up this morning? It can’t just be us mentioning your old crush.” Jack was now carefully sipping his coffee, making sure not to burn himself again.
Emma sighed and leaned back in her chair as she looked out the window at the sun coming up over the horizon. “I’m sorry, I really haven’t been getting much sleep. And, that man you’ve all been talking about isn’t helping, showing up on his loud Harley at all hours to work on fixing up the building. Of course, he parks it in the empty lot between us, and it’s right below my bedroom window.” Emma lived in a small apartment upstairs, which was perfect for her so she was never far from her coffee shop.
Bri wrinkled her eyebrows. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”
“Just worries, I guess. Since that new Starbucks opened in town, I’ve taken a bit of a hit. It’s hard to compete with a large chain like that.”
Jack laughed. “That place has nothing on you, and you know it. Your coffee is the best in Colorado, likely the entire United States. And, this shop has a small town, homegrown feel that people around here aren’t going to trade in for the fancy new player in town.”
“I have my regulars, and I know they’ll never leave. But, it’s hard to compete with what all they can offer to people who haven’t ever been to my shop. And, people like the convenience of a drive-thru, which is something I just don’t want to have. To me, it takes away from the homey feel of people actually coming in and talking to each other face to face.”
Emma had worked hard to build this coffee shop into what it was today. She loved to read, so she’d added a small little book store at the back for people to buy used books. She didn’t make a killing from it, but people loved being able to grab a book to read while having their coffee, curled up in one of the comfy chairs in the back.
“And, to top it off, I received a letter from the town the other day saying they were going to be selling off that empty lot beside me. They wanted to let me know so I could put a bid in if I wanted to. I would have liked to try, but now I worry how well my business will be doing over the next few months. I’d hate to lose that lot. Everyone parks there because there isn’t much for on street parking.”
She tipped her cup back all the way to finish the last of the coffee. “That’s not even the worst part. I’ve heard people talking that an ice cream franchise is trying to buy it. The same people who have opened the Starbucks. That would put me completely out of business, because we all know I do a lot of ice cream sales too.”
“Well, maybe you need to talk to Cooper and see about getting some advertising done on the radio? Get the word out about your shop for anyone who hasn’t heard about it yet.” Bri was standing up to leave. She was finished her morning run, so it was time for her to get to the B&B to prepare for the day.
“I’m not talking to Cooper. Besides, when he pulled in yesterday afternoon, I happened to look out the window and notice him carrying a Starbuck’s cup. So, I guess the city boy doesn’t appreciate the luxuries of a small town coffee shop. I have my doubts he’d be willing to help me out.”
Jack stood up too, but tipped his head to one side and looked at her for a minute. “I’m not so sure. I seem to remember hearing some rumors way back in the day that Cooper Levine had a bit of a crush on a certain Roberts girl.”
Emma groaned, standing up and shooing her siblings toward the doorway. “Seriously, you both just need to go find someone else to bother today.”
The door opened as Emma made her way behind the counter, so she lifted her eyes to see who was coming in before she opened. Her cousin Spike walked in.
“Hey, did you guys hear about who is back in town? Remember the guy all the girls used to call “Divine Levine”?”
Emma decided she wasn’t going to stand around listening to them all gush about Cooper Levine another minute, so she slammed her cup down on the counter and walked into the back to get her muffins out of the oven.
As she stormed away, she could hear Spike’s voice, mixed with Jack and Bri’s laughter. “Was it something I said?”
Available on Amazon on April 28!
About the Author
Cassie Hayes grew up pretending she was Laura Ingalls (before that pesky Almonzo arrived on the scene) in the middle of Oregon farm country. She lives with her husband and cat on the Pacific Ocean, and loves to hear from her readers.
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© 2017 Cassie Hayes
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Cover design by EDH Graphics
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Edited by CM Wright
The characters and events portrayed in this book are a work of fiction or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
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