They continued on and gossiped as Claire worked through the crowd. By the time I’d found out every detail of happenings in Holiday Hollow, she was rushing over to save me.
“I’m going to borrow Autumn, ladies, but make sure you hit up Tyler for a refill before you head out,” she said with a wink, taking my hand and pulling me around behind the counter and out the back door.
“Thanks for saving me,” I laughed as I took a deep breath. “I was about to lose my mind out there.”
“They’re sweet, but they can be a lot to handle,” she agreed. “Fran’s my grandma, she’s always like that. They all are.”
“Now that you say it, I can see the resemblance,” I said, pointing at her gorgeous, curly hair.
“She just keeps hers short now,” she agreed, gesturing to a patio table. This was clearly a private space to the cafe. She’d turned the backyard into a serene space. The yard was full of flower beds and a large oak tree grew up giving the patio shade. She had a comfortable patio set and the table already had two cups of coffee and a plate of goodies. “Take whatever you’d like.”
“Thanks,” I grinned, snatching a cookie as I took my chair. “And thanks for giving me a minute of your time.”
“Of course,” she said. “What’s on your mind?”
“Well I’ve been diving deep into the orchard and I want to branch out a bit more,” I explained, going through my plans with her. Her excitement grew with each one before she stood abruptly and ran inside. It was so sudden that I blinked at her empty seat, completely confused. She bounced out the door a few minutes later, a huge binder in hand. She sat it on the table with a loud thud.
“This is perfect. I’ve been working on some ideas over the past few years. Your grandpa and I actually had a similar talk several years ago, but obviously it didn’t come to fruition.” I nodded in understanding as she flipped through. “Here we go.”
She turned it and pushed it my way. My eyes widened as I scanned the page, jaw dropping by the time I got through it.
“You guys came up with all this?”
“Yup,” she agreed. “He was talking about the waste of apples at the end of season and what he could do differently. The cider only goes so far. I even touched base with a distributor that approached me for some of my goods to see if they'd be interested. I’ve got plans for apple jellies, pastries and muffins, and maybe a coffee or two. Who wouldn’t love an apple toffee crunch coffee that pairs with my turnovers? ”
I wiped at fake drool, making her laugh again. I loved that she was a genuinely happy person, it was infectious. “Sign me up, it sounds amazing,” I agreed. “I’m glad Adrien sent me over here.”
“What?” she asked. The confusion had me glancing up from the page. Her eyebrows were drawn and her cheeks flushed.
“Yeah, I swung by to see if he could use anything I can offer but he said no. Then as I was leaving he said I should come see you,” I explained.
“Am I being pranked?” she asked. The hurt in her tone had me fumbling out a reassurance. Hurting her feelings was definitely not my intention.
“No, he really said that,” I promised. “He was pretty curt otherwise, but as I left he made the suggestion. No joke. I don’t think he knows how, honestly.”
The tension drained from her and she took a drink of coffee as she processed my words.
“I’m completely and totally in shock. That man and I have a rivalry going, I was the first sweet shop in town. I don’t think he realizes there’s enough people with a sweet tooth around to keep us both going. Not to mention that our products areverydifferent,” she said with a chuckle. “Wow.”
“Well I’m glad he sent me here, it’s been fun and these ideas are amazing,” I said with a smile. She took the binder and closed it, patting it fondly.
“This is like a secret handshake, no one has ever seen the inside of this. My mind is a chaotic place and this is an extension of that chaos,” she joked. “But in all seriousness, I’d love to talk numbers when you gather up details.”
“Perfect, I’ll talk a bit with Riley and see what’s feasible and let you know,” I promised.
“When you do, tell my bestie ‘hi’ for me. It’s always hard to match up our schedules this time of year. Don’t rush out just yet,” she said, “I'm on break if you want to finish your coffee out here.”
“It’s so peaceful here,” I said as I leaned back in my chair.
“People don’t believe me but I always say this town has magic in it,” she said with a smile, glancing around her yard.
“I couldn’t agree more,” I said, holding up my cup. She clinked hers against it with a grin.
“We should go out.”
It was so matter of fact that I sputtered and her laughter filled the yard.
“I meant out on the town,” she snorted. “You’re gorgeous, but not my type,” she teased. “Plus, I think you’ve been spoken for.”