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Chapter 1
“Sugar, are you tying utensils on that Christmas tree?”
Undeterred by the Girl, you crazy tone, Hannah Wheeler finished attaching the dessert fork to a branch with a short piece of jute and glanced over her shoulder at Omar Buckley, official e of the ainst the counter and watched her with undisguised bafflement
“You can’t judge until I’m done Trustwould be cute, kitchy, and scream “diner” It was just the first phase in her holiday plan to introduce Wishful to the skills she had besides carting trays and taking orders The phase that would hopefully prove to them—and to herself—that she had the chops to pursue the rest of her revised dream
Janelle Duncan, the other waitress on duty, as a lotback’s body than in Hannah’s efforts at decorating, sidled over to him with a conspiratorial head shake “If we ever run out of flypaper, we can always use that tree It’s at least twice as tacky Bless her heart”
The lack of cheerleading didn’t concern Hannah overmuch In her previous life, she’d had far h in the end People usually didn’t have any vision until soh vision for all of them
Grabbing a spoon and more jute, she turned back to the tree and jolted Ainside Hannah could hardly see his eyes past the scruff of a beard and the oily, ainst the unseasonably cold weather, and no wonder The thin denim jacket—worn and stained—was hardly sufficient for the early Decereen duffle over his shoulder, her heart softened She had a particular weakness for down-on-their-luck veterans Offering a friendly smile, she waved for him to come inside
He blinked at her, expression unchanging, still standing there with a totally unnatural stillness that said he’d been a soldier Hannah pointed at hi from a cup of coffee She hoped he took it for the invitation it was and not as so up the smile, she waited She’d yet to meet the man who could turn away from that smile Certainly, it had worked to keep her daddy wrapped around her little finger froh
The stranger was no exception He strode to the door and ca the rooed all the exits; had noted her, Omar, and Janelle, as well as the two other patrons; and probably knehere any weapons were likely to be Or maybe she’d just watched the Bourne movies too many times
Hannah rose from her crouch beside the tree and held out a hand in welco a few steps closer to gesture toward the corner booth that had the best visibility in the place, she noted the powerful smell of unwashed body
He must be hoh when she’d lived in Atlanta, but here in Wishful, it was all but unheard of Keeping the smile firmly in place as he sat, back to the wall, she asked, “What can I get you?”
“Just coffee,” he rasped in a voice that sounded rusty with disuse
“Coht up” With practiced efficiency, Hannah retrieved the coffee pot and turned over the waiting cerah that there was roouy like him would probably drink it black