LITMIR.BIZ

       CHAPTER ONE

      ADDIE HAWKINS STOOD next to her car, letting the remaining heat of the day wash over her. The Someday Café’s parking lot was nearly full, and from here, she could see the lobby was overflowing. Standing room only. Hopefully, they weren’t violating any fire code.

      Addie was so proud of Tara. Her little sister had grown into a competent, beautiful young woman. Tara’s diner had nearly been destroyed in last month’s flooding. But she’d survived; she’d rebuilt, and tonight was the grand reopening.

      Taking a deep breath, Addie turned to grab the baker’s box from the backseat of her car. Her special chocolate chip peanut butter cookies were nestled inside. It was a peace offering as well as a grand opening—uh, reopening—gift.

      Tara had asked for the recipe, but Addie hadn’t been ready to share it then. She still wasn’t. This was a compromise.

      “Please tell me that box is for me.” Her brother DJ’s voice came from behind her.

      “Not a chance.” She smiled and almost took pity on him when she turned to face him and saw his smile fade. “These are Tara’s. You might be able to sweet-talk her out of one.”

      “One?” He grimaced. “That’s lame.”

      They walked toward the entrance together. “Where’s Tammie?” Her sister-in-law was in the last trimester of her pregnancy, and she hadn’t had an easy time of it.

      “She’s already inside. Tyler—” He grinned as he mentioned his son. “He was ready to come over around noon, so we compromised. They were here about an hour ago.” His grin was indulgent and satisfied. The man was head over heels in love with his wife, with his whole family, and Addie was pleased to see it. They’d been through a lot to be together. DJ hadn’t even known about Tyler until he was eight, and once they’d found each other, a madman had nearly stolen everything. But here they were now, happy and their family expanding.

      “Everything okay?”

      “Yeah. Doc says she’s right on schedule.” Was that a sweat breaking out on his brow? It was no secret that this whole having-a-baby thing was freaking out the former marine. Addie bit back a smile. The day they’d found out it was going to be a little girl, he’d nearly passed out in the doctor’s office. Tammie and Tyler still loved sharing that tidbit of information with everyone.

      DJ hurried ahead and opened the door. Voices, the sound of clattering dishes and the delicious aroma of Tara’s cooking flowed over them. “Do you see Tara?” she yelled over the din.

      DJ was taller than most everyone in the room, but he shook his head. “Wyatt and Emily are in the back corner. At the big table. Should be a little quieter over there,” he yelled and led the way through the crowd. Addie gripped the box, praying she wouldn’t drop it.

      Getting through the room was a challenge. Everyone knew Wyatt and, of course, Tara, so by association the rest of the family were part of the community, as well. “Hi, Addie,” “Hi, DJ,” rang out half a dozen times.

      As she moved, Addie glanced around. Everything looked great, just like it had before the flooding, before the raging river had torn through, destroying most of Tara’s hard work. Thankfully, they’d managed to save all the furniture.

      Tara

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