Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
“I honestly don’t know how you do it,” she said.
“It’s simple. I tell the truth and I don’t try to be tactful. Penelope wants to leave Lost Creek, but she wants to do so without having to work hard. That’s never a good sign, or a good ending. She is going to end up old, lonely, and possibly with a child or two who will feel unloved.” Martha shook her head. “I’ve seen it many times before.”
“Between the two of us, I don’t know why she wants to leave Lost Creek so much. It’s beautiful here.”
Martha agreed. “I put it down to those silly television shows. Always making the cities look appealing and small towns seemingly … weird.” She wrinkled her nose. “I have no time for them.”
Amy began to chuckle. She knew from personal experience that Martha was more of a sewer and knitter in her spare time. In fact, the last time she visited Martha at home, there hadn’t been a television as the older woman simply didn’t like the poison that was playing. She much preferred music, or just general peace and quiet.
Amy didn’t have a lot of time for television. She preferred a good book, and she had also picked up knitting. Her grandmother had taught her one winter. The boiler had konked out, and the plumber was waiting for some parts. The house was freezing cold, and to keep their fingers nimble, they knitted blankets. Her grandmother’s blanket looked perfect, with each different stitch on a square. Hers looked a mess, but that hadn’t stopped her from making them and loving it. She still had her knitted blanket, along with her grandmother’s.
In that moment, she couldn’t help but feel a loss because of her grandmother and her mother.
Martha patted her hand, and then left the kitchen. Amy was the one to cook the food on Saturdays, and she loved it. She rarely had to go into the main café to see or talk to anyone. After a night of dancing, she normally liked the solace, but she didn’t get her dance last night. It had been way too busy.
The orders started to come in, and Amy got stuck with the work, frying up the waffles as needed. She never liked to cook them ahead of time. With each order, she was able to forget her worries. Even Penelope became less of a problem, and the frown quickly turned into a smile, which could only mean one thing—she had seen another potential conquest. One day, she hoped her friend found love, or whatever she was missing.
There was a sudden clearing of a throat, and Amy looked toward the doorway to see Daniel there with Martha.
“You have a visitor, honey,” Martha said. “And there is no way I am letting this fine-looking man go away. You keep him here.”
Amy laughed, but then Martha left them alone. “Is everything okay?” she asked, concerned.
“That’s what I was going to ask you.”
“Me? Why me?” Amy frowned.
“After last night.”
She thought back to last night and then her mouth opened in an O. “Yeah, you know, I had totally, completely forgotten.” She nibbled her lip. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s not every day you get a guy determined to dance with you, but it does happen from time to time. I did keep it all in stride.” She tried to play it cool. The guy last night had been an irritation.
“Martha has also warned me you haven’t eaten.”
“Ah, has she?” Amy smiled. “I’ve not even gotten to lunch.”
“It’s past three,” Daniel said.
“What?” She’d been so focused on cooking and the constant flow of orders, and hadn’t noticed the time. “Holy crap, I didn’t even realize.”
He clicked his fingers and pointed toward a chair. “Sit. Any orders that come in, you can tell me what to do. You need to eat something before you pass out.”
“Okay, the pass-out thing was a one-time deal,” she said.
“Don’t care. You have proven one time too many that you don’t take care of yourself, so you need others to look out for you.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re being a pain in the ass. You do know that, right?”
He winked at her, and she didn’t want to think of him as sexy, but he did look sexy and hot. She watched as he put on an apron, as well as a hairnet. It shouldn’t look good on anyone, but then Daniel wasn’t just anyone. He never had been.
“Did you pack your lunch?” he asked.
“Yeah, it’s in the fridge.” She went to get to her feet, but Daniel was already there, holding out the lunch for her to take.
He clicked his fingers, pointed at the spot, and told her to eat lunch. Amy was completely taken aback by the fact she’d worked through lunch. Yes, she loved her job, but she always found time to eat. Only in rare circumstances did she not eat.