Then he asked her for a few details—rent payments, utilities, employee wages. Her answers were vague, as if she had no clear idea of those figures and no easily accessible way to check them. When he tried to get an estimate of monthly income, she was even more tentative and seemed to be tensing up.
He shifted gears. “What made you decide to go into this field?”
“Do you need that for your evaluation?”
“No, ma’am. I’m just curious.”
“My mom and I used to bake together all the time. She liked it but I loved it. In culinary school that was all I ever wanted to work on. After graduation, I got a job at a bakery in Rapid City.”
“That’s where you’re from?”
“Yep.”
“So why move here?”
“I didn’t want to compete with that bakery and I would have because this one’s modeled after it. I love the owner, and intentionally or not, I would have taken some of her customers. Maybe a big portion of them.”
“Judging from these cookies and the pastries I had at Christmas, I don’t doubt it.”
“Besides, after my folks died, I didn’t have much reason to stay.”
“Oh.” That’s where the inheritance had come from. He met her gaze. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s okay.” She reached over and touched his arm. “Don’t feel bad.”
Her touch was brief, but the effect lasted long after she’d moved her hand. He’d wanted her to leave it there. “How long ago?”
“Almost five years. Took me a while to settle the estate. Legalese and paperwork aren’t my long suit.”
Which meant she needed someone to teach her about those things. “Well, they’re mine.”
“I’m counting on it.” She hesitated. “So what do you think? Should we start working on my business plan today or do you want to take what you have and come back to me with recommendations?”
“That depends on you. I’m guessing you asked for this meeting because you’re worried about something. What is it?”
She looked down at her fingers as she laced and unlaced them several times. At last she glanced up at him. “That I’ll run out of money.”
“Is that a real possibility?”
“Yes. I get plenty of business, but every month I spend more than I make. I’ve been subsidizing from the money I had left over after buying all the equipment and remodeling the space. But that’s getting low. When it’s gone…” She shrugged. “I’ll be SOL.”
He took a deep breath. He’d been afraid of something like this. His job was to stay calm and offer suggestions. “Can you estimate how much longer you could go on at this rate?”
“Three months. Two if something unexpected crops up.”
“That gives us some time. Not much, but—”
“Thank you.”
“For what? I haven’t done anything.”
“Yes, you have. You said it gives us time. That’s huge. Now I don’t feel so alone.”
Just like that, the relationship turned personal. And warm. Happened fast, too. Made him want to touch her. He didn’t. “That’s because you’re not alone. I’ll do everything I can to keep you from going out of business.”
She smiled. “Just like you rescued a dog from the highway.”
“I consider that completely different.”
“I don’t. You see a person or an animal in trouble and you want to help.”
“Now I’m feeling like the Lone Ranger, which I’m not. I plan to bill you for my services.” Even if he’d do it for free. But he knew without asking that she wouldn’t allow that.
“It’ll be worth every penny if I can keep Pie in the Sky going. I haven’t wanted to face the possibility of losing the business, but I have, now, and I’ll fight to keep that from happening.”
“Good.” He’d fight beside her. “Let’s start with inventory. How much do you sell of each item each day?”
“I have no idea.”
“Seriously?” This was worse than he’d thought.
“Seriously. How am I supposed to keep track of it all?”
“On a computer, paper and pencil, whatever works. But you need to know how much you produce, what goes out the door, and what’s left at the end of the day. Your employees can help with counting what goes in the case. Deduct what’s left at the end of the day from your totals to figure out how much of each item you sold.”
“I guess I could do that.”
“That’s all I’m asking for now. I’ll come back on Saturday afternoon at four and we’ll evaluate.”
“You don’t want to draw up a business plan?”
“Not until we know what’s going out the door. We need that measurement before we proceed.”
“Like I said, paperwork is not my long suit.”
“I understand that. But it’s almost impossible to evaluate how a business is doing without some data. You could pay me to come in here for the rest of the week and collect it for you, but that would be very expensive.”
Arms crossed, she frowned and stared into space. “I really do hate paperwork.”
“You don’t have to do it. No one’s forcing you.” But don’t quit on me before we even get started.
Her shoulders dropped. “I want you to work on this with me. I’ll gather the numbers for you.”
“Trust me, Abigail. Once you have a handle on how your business truly operates, you’ll be in a much stronger position.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“Please do.” Glancing at the time on his phone, he reluctantly shoved back his chair. “I should be on my way. I need to pick up the dog at Wild Creek Ranch.”
“Kendra’s watching her?”
“Yes, ma’am. When I told her about the dog she figured out I was a little worried about leaving the pup alone.”
“And she offered to dog-sit. That sounds like Kendra.” Abigail stood and he got to his feet, too. “I have a few brownies left in the case and she loves those.” Rounding the counter, she walked into the kitchen. “I’ll package them up.”
“Great idea.” He fetched his hat and jacket before returning to the display case. “Thanks for thinking of it.”
“I can’t help myself. Giving people what I’ve baked makes me happy.” She came back with two flattened boxes.
“But I’m paying for the brownies.” He reached for the wallet in his hip pocket.
“Put your money away. Consider it my contribution to your rescue efforts.” She quickly assembled one box and transferred the brownies into it.
“Well…thanks.” He understood the urge to help only too well. “But what’s the other box for?”
“The rest of your cookies.”
“For Kendra?”
“No, for you. Kendra prefers chocolate goodies.”
“Oh. But I’ve already eaten at least six, maybe seven.”
She paused to give him an amused glance. “Is that your limit?”
“No, ma’am, but—”
“I always intended to send the rest home with you. Please take them with my blessing.” She taped both boxes shut and handed them over the counter with a quick smile. “See you on Saturday afternoon.”
“Looking forward to it.” Understatement. Saturday couldn’t come soon enough.
Abigail was talented, hard-working and generous. With his guidance, her business would soon be operating in the black. He lived for challenges like this. The fact that she was extremely appealing was…he laughed at his own joke…icing on the cake.
Chapter Four
Abigail gathered up all the remaining pastries in the case, tucked them in an oversized box, and locked up the bakery. To access her apartment, she had to go out the front door and in through the door adjacent to it.
A steep set of stairs took her to the second floor. Hers was the largest apartment, with windows facing on the street. Ingrid and Roxanne’s apartments both looked out on a back alley, but they also had a view of the mountains.
&nb
sp; She texted her friends that she’d brought dessert from downstairs. When Roxanne ordered take-out, like she had tonight, they all shared the cost. They took turns providing wine.
Roxanne had initiated their first get-together a couple of weeks after she’d moved in. She claimed to enjoy the added energy in her apartment since she worked alone so much. Consequently, it had become their gathering place.
Before she changed into her sweats and long-sleeved T-shirt, Abigail put together a list on her computer of all the bakery goods they’d sell in the morning. She’d keep the list behind the counter and ask Yolanda and Doug to take a count before the bakery opened for business. Abigail would keep track of any items she or Ingrid added during the day and note which items were left when they closed.
Yolanda had a knack for detail and would think this was fun. She was taking online classes toward a pharmacy degree. Doug was a nice kid who was only twenty and still figuring out what he wanted from life. He wasn’t a self-starter, but he always did what she asked him to do.
By the time Abigail changed clothes and started out the door with the box of bakery goodies, she was starving. She might have missed lunch. She couldn’t remember eating anything so she probably hadn’t. A short walk down the hall brought her to Roxanne’s door. She gave it a quick couple of taps.
Typical Roxanne, she flung it open and pulled Abigail inside without bothering to close it again. “You have to see the new logo I made for Zane McGavin’s raptor rescue!” Roxanne had dark, curly hair that turned wild and crazy unless she secured it with a clip or a scrunchie. “I asked him if he wanted a redo and he was all over it. See what you think.”
Abigail studied the oval image on the computer screen. Roxanne had chosen to use a pair of eagles in flight above snow-covered mountains. “Beautiful.”
“His other logo only had one eagle on it, but a mated pair appealed to me.”
“Me, too. Have you shown it to him?”
“Yep! He loved it. And today I also got a commission from an excursion outfit in Antarctica and another one from an upscale hotel in Madrid. The internet is a beautiful thing.”
“It sure is for you.” Abigail handed her the box of goodies. “Where’s Ingrid?”
“Talking to that long-distance boyfriend of hers. I don’t get it. Either be together or don’t, but carrying on between Eagles Nest and Boston makes no sense to me. What happened with your appointment?”
“He wants me to keep track of everything I sell for the rest of the week.”
“You don’t normally?”
“I haven’t been. I figured all that mattered was what we made at the end of the day.”
“But if you don’t know how much inventory it took to get there…”
Abigail sighed. “Exactly. Luke is right about that.” And great to look at. “I just need to develop some new habits.”
“Never a fun process.”
“Nope. The thing is, I tend to concentrate on what I like doing—the baking—and forget the stuff I don’t—like paperwork.”
“Ugh, paperwork. I’d rather create ten designs than spend an hour entering data on a spreadsheet, but it’s gotta be done.”
Spreadsheet. Now there was a word to strike terror into her heart. She’d never met one she hadn’t loathed on sight, but evidently Roxanne was on speaking terms with the beast. Instead of admitting her aversion to her friend, she nodded. “Absolutely.”
Embarrassment had kept her from confiding her financial problems to either Roxanne or Ingrid, although Ingrid might suspect something wasn’t quite right. “Luke has a good grasp of how to run a business. I’m going to do my best to follow his recommendations.” If he’d create spreadsheets for her, she’d supply him with cookies for life.
“Is he cute?”
Abigail smiled, happy to focus on Luke instead of her sorry finances. “Yes.”
“That helps.”
“Hey, you guys!” Ingrid came through the open door. “I brought the one-and-a-half-liter bottle of wine this time.”
“Party, party!” Roxanne grinned. “Set it on the coffee table, girlfriend. I’ll get the opener and the glasses.” She hurried into her small kitchen.
Ingrid glanced at Abigail. “How did it go?”
“He wants us to keep track of everything we sell for the next four days. He needs data.”
“Probably a good idea. Did he flirt with you? Ask you out?”
“No, he did not.”
“Well, damn. Did you flirt?”
“No! This is about business.”
“What is?” Roxanne came back and started uncorking the wine.
“My meeting with Luke today. Ingrid’s trying to turn it into a hot date.”
“Well, you said he was cute.” Roxanne pulled the cork out with a loud pop.
“Is that all she said?” Ingrid rolled her eyes. “She didn’t mention the pecs, the abs or the ass on that cowboy?”
“A cowboy?” Roxanne poured wine into three glasses. “You didn’t say anything about that, girl.”
“Clearly you didn’t give Roxanne all the pertinent facts.” Ingrid picked up two glasses and handed one to Abigail.
“I didn’t think it was import—”
“It’s always important,” Roxanne said. “I was picturing him in a boring shirt and tie.”
“Hell, no.” Ingrid glanced at Roxanne. “He strolled in wearing boots, snug jeans, a sheepskin jacket and a Stetson. Six-feet-three inches of muscled yumminess.”
“If I’d known that, I’d have taken a break to wander down there. No wonder you’re not upset about having to count all those pastries.”
Abigail’s cheeks warmed. “It’s strictly business.”
“If you say so.” Roxanne raised her glass. “Here’s to mixing business with pleasure.” She winked at Abigail. “And if you haven’t considered it, you wouldn’t be blushing.”
Besides retrieving the dog and saying hello to his Appaloosa, Spot On, Luke had arranged to meet Badger, Ryker and Trevor at the ranch. They’d all agreed to help him renovate his house, although Badger had admitted he’d never so much as used a hammer before.
Luke had invited them over for pizza and beer so they could see the place and brainstorm ideas for remodeling it. They’d decided to meet at the barn and go over together.
For someone who’d only been in town a couple of weeks, he’d made rapid progress toward his goals. He could thank Badger, who’d likely be his brother-in-law eventually. Over Christmas Badger and Luke’s sister Hayley had engineered a fake engagement and now were together for real.
Hayley was still wrapping up her obligations in Denver and hadn’t moved to Eagles Nest yet. Badger had, though, and was now a full partner in Badger Air, a commuter airline started by Ryker McGavin.
That friendship between Ryker and Badger, forged when they were both fighter pilots in the Air Force, had provided Luke with a connection to the McGavin family. Because of it he’d had the inside track on a five-acre property adjacent to Wild Creek Ranch.
The house had stood vacant for a couple of years while the heirs had debated whether to sell or renovate. Luke’s offer of cash had convinced them to let it go.
Being neighbors with the McGavins had come with benefits. Kendra had advised him on the purchase of his Appaloosa and was giving him a good deal on boarding. She’d stabled the gelding in the old barn as if knowing Luke would enjoy having Spot On mixed in with the family’s horses. Clearly she considered Luke one of them, now, an honorary McGavin. That touched him.
Badger’s truck was already parked near the barn, so Luke drove through a patch of slush and pulled in next to it. The guy had insisted on a red one. The only child of wealthy parents in Atlanta, he’d owned several sports cars. Although he’d rejected that life when he’d enlisted, he still liked to make a splash now and then.
Luke’s truck was beige. He’d bought a dark blue vintage pickup in high school and he’d scoured the internet until he’d found one almost like it except for the col
or. He and Faith, Cody McGavin’s sweetheart, had bonded on the subject of classic trucks. She had one, too.
Everywhere he turned, the evidence was mounting that he’d made the right decision by leaving his urban life in Portland. Although he’d never lived in Eagles Nest, it felt like home.
A warm barn on a winter’s night was one of the coziest places he knew. When he walked in and slid the door shut, the fragrance of hay and horses greeted him, along with the dog he’d rescued. She’d been hanging out with Badger at the far end of the barn, but she made a beeline for Luke once she spotted him.
He crouched down to give her a hug and a rub behind the ears. “How’re you doing, pup? Been enjoying ranch life?”
“Kendra’s convinced she was a ranch dog.” Badger approached, his pace leisurely as always. “I showed up at feedin’ time, and she was down here with the dog, who seemed to be right at home.”
“Is that true, girl?” He gazed into the pup’s golden eyes. “Did you live on a ranch?”
The dog stared at him, her brow wrinkled.
“If only she could talk,” Badger said.
“She damn near can. Just now I got a definite yes from her.” Luke stood. “Is Kendra up at the house?”
“Yep. She got a call regardin’ a trail ride booking and had to go check somethin’ on the computer. I asked her to leave the dog with me. I like dogs.”
“Ever have one?”
“No.” Badger leaned down and ruffled the pup’s ears. “I was shipped off to school pretty early on. I wouldn’t mind havin’ one if Hayley’s okay with it. And a couple of horses once we get settled.”
“She should like all that. What do you hear from her?”
“She’s plannin’ on comin’ over in about ten days. Might stay a week this time.”
“Great. It’ll be good to see her. And speaking of horses, I’m gonna pay a visit to mine, if you’d like to walk down there with me.”
“I wouldn’t mind.” Badger fell into step beside him. The pup followed close behind.
“I appreciate that you signed on for this remodeling project.”
“Don’t thank me yet. Southern boys in my neighborhood didn’t build treehouses and such. If we wanted one, our folks hired an architect.”
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