LITMIR.BIZ

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already. She had plenty of time—down the road.

      There was a reason she worked so hard. A very important reason. And once she’d reached her goals, she’d take time off.

      She would.

      “I watched you earlier. And I’ve watched you as you’ve talked about this business. I can see the stars in your eyes,” he went on. “The Travelers’ magazine article has probably put the lofty idea in your head that you can become the next McDonald’s or Mrs. Fields Cookies.”

      “It hasn’t,” Sam leapt to say, then checked her defensive tone. “Well, maybe a little. Did you see those lines? It’s been that way nonstop for two weeks. I’m sure you’ve seen many businesses that became mega-successes after something like that. Don’t you think it’s possible for me to hit the big time?”

      “I have seen it happen,” he conceded. “And let me be the first to warn you to be careful what you wish for.”

      She leaned back in her chair and stared at him, incredulous. Ever since she’d met him, he’d been nothing but grouchy, and now here he was, trying to tell her how to run her own company. “Who put coal in your stocking this morning?”

      “I’m just being honest. I believe in calling the shots I see.”

      “So do I, Mr. MacGregor,” Sam said, rising. If she didn’t leave this table in the next five seconds, she’d be saying things to this man that she didn’t want to see in print. “And while we’re on the subject of our respective industries, I think yours has made you as jaded and as bitter as a bushel of lemons.” She gestured toward his still-full plate, and frustration surged inside her. With the busy day, with him, and especially with his refusal to try the very baked goods he was writing about yet already judging. “Maybe you should have started with the cookies first. A little sugar goes a long way toward making people happy. And you, sir, could use a lot of that.”

      CHAPTER THREE

      “WELL, I WAS WRONG.”

      Flynn bit back the urge to curse. “What do you mean, wrong?”

      “I replaced the air filter. And it turned out, that wasn’t it. That means, I was wrong.” Earl Klein shrugged. “It happens.” He put out his hands, as if that explained why Flynn’s car was sitting inside Earl’s Tire and Repair on a lift six feet off the ground, a jumble of parts scattered below.

      “Did you fix it?” Flynn asked. Of all the people to end up with, Earl would have been Flynn’s last choice. He had asked around once he left the bakery, and it turned out the hunting cap guy he’d seen earlier owned the closest garage to Flynn’s broken-down car. Although, given how circular a conversation with Earl was turning out to be, Flynn was beginning to regret his choice.

      Earl stared at Flynn like he had all the intelligence of a duck. “Does your car look fixed?”

      “Well, no, but I was hoping—”

      “Your fuel filter needs to be replaced. I usually have one for your model on hand, but used my last one yesterday. Damnedest thing, too. Paulie Lennox comes in here, his car was running fine, then all of a sudden—”

      “I don’t care about Paulie Lennox. I don’t even know him.”

      “Oh, you’d know him if you see him. He’s six foot seven. Tallest man in Riverbend. Sings in the church choir. Voice of an angel. Ain’t that weird for a guy that big? Must have organ pipes in his chest.”

      Flynn gritted his teeth. “How long?”

      “How long are his vocal cords? Damned if I know. I’m no doctor.”

      “No, I meant how long until my car is fixed?”

      “Oh, that.” Earl turned around and looked at the Lexus as if it might tell him. “Day. Maybe two. Gotta wait for the part. You know,’ cept for Paulie, we don’t get many of those fancy-dancy cars in here. If you’da come in here with a Ford, or Chevy pickup, I’d have you fixed up a couple minutes. But this, well, this requires what we call special treatment.”

      Flynn hoped like hell this guy would give the Lexus special treatment, considering what the car cost. “Did you order the part? Or can you go get it?”

      “I ordered it. Can’t go get it.”

      Flynn wanted to bang his head into a brick wall. He’d probably get further in the conversation if he did. This was like playing Ping-Pong by himself. “Why can’t you go get the part?”

      Earl leaned in closer to Flynn. “Have you looked outside, son? It’s snowing. Blizzard’s on its way into town, hell, it’s already here. Only an idiot would drive in this. And I’m no idiot.”

      Flynn would beg to differ. “It’s four days before Christmas.”

      “That don’t change the icy roads. Old Man Winter, he doesn’t have the same calendar as you and me.”

      Flynn dug deep for more patience. “Is there another garage in town?”

      Earl’s face frowned in offense. “Now, I’m going to pretend you didn’t even ask that, because you’re from out of town. My garage is the best one for miles, and the only one.”

      Of course. Flynn groaned. “I have some place I need to go. As soon as possible.”

      That was if he even decided to make that stop in southern Indiana. On the drive out here from Boston, it had seemed like a good idea, but the closer Flynn got to the Midwest, the more he began to second-guess his impromptu decision. That was why he had yet to make any promises he couldn’t keep. Better not to say a word. That way, no one was disappointed. Again.

      “Well, that ain’t happenin’, is it?” Earl grinned. “You best get down to Betsy’s Bed and Breakfast. She’ll put you up and feed you, too.” He patted his stomach. “That woman can cook. And she’s real pretty, too. But she’s spoken for. So don’t go thinking you can ask her out. Me and Betsy, we have an understanding.” Earl wiggled a shaggy gray brow. “Thanks to those cookies of Sam’s, which helped us out a lot. Brought me and Betsy together, they did.”

      Flynn put up his hands, hoping to ward off the mental picture that brought up. “I don’t want to know about it. Just point me in the general direction.”

      Thirty seconds later, Flynn was back outside, battling an increasingly more powerful wind. The snow had multiplied and six more inches of the thick wet stuff now coated the sidewalks. The earlier tourist crowds had apparently gotten the hint and left for their hotels or real cities. Traffic, what there was left in Riverbend, had slowed to a crawl. Within minutes, the damp snow had seeped through Flynn’s shoes and he was slogging through slush, ruining five-hundred-dollar dress shoes. Damn it. What he wouldn’t do for a sled dog team right now.

      “Do you need a ride?”

      He turned to see Samantha Barnett at the wheel of an older model Jeep Cherokee. Or what he thought was Samantha Barnett. She was bundled in a blue parka-type jacket that obscured most of her delicate features, the hood covering all of her blond hair. But the smile—that 100-watt smile he’d seen earlier in the bakery—that he could see.

      Only a fool would say no to that. And to the dry, warm vehicle.

      “Sure.” He opened the door and climbed inside. Holiday music pumped from the stereo, filling the interior of the Jeep like stuffing in a turkey. Again, Flynn got that Norman Rockwell feeling. “Is this town for real?” he asked as Sam put the Jeep in gear and they passed yet another decorated window display—this one complete with a moving Santa’s workshop.

      “What do you mean?”

      “It’s a bit too jolly, don’t you think? I mean, it’s almost nauseating.”

      “Nauseating? It’s Christmas. People are feeling…festive.”

      “Festive? In this?” He gestured out the window. “My feet are soaked, nearly frostbitten,

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