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think those are great, wait until you try the mushrooms. You’ll die. I’m serious. They’re fabulous. We don’t have the recipes printed up yet. New store glitch. But by the end of the week, we’ll have the recipe cards ready. And Jenna, the brilliant chef and owner, is doing a whole class on appetizers. So come back and get the recipe cards, then sign up for the classes.”
    Jenna felt anything but brilliant. Regardless of what she’d been in the rest of her life, she’d always felt good in the kitchen. Now she didn’t know what to do there.
    She watched as potential customers swarmed around the tarts. Soon the tray was empty. She’d already put another batch in the oven. At least they liked the food. That was something.
    While she answered questions about getting the crust right, Violet rang up several purchases. The idea about the recipe cards was a good one. Maybe they could offer different recipes every week. Although Violet had made an excellent point when she’d said that people needed something to buy on a regular basis. Maybe she could come up with recipes that used different gadgets or something.
    â€œJenna? Is that you?”
    She turned toward the speaker and saw two women her own age had entered the shop. They were both tall, exquisitely dressed, with perfect hair and makeup. Kimberly was as dark as Caitlin was fair. They were beautiful and familiar.
    Jenna smiled. “What are you two doing here?”
    â€œBeth called our moms,” Kimberly said with a smile, as she hurried toward Jenna and hugged her. “Why didn’t you tell us you were back? You’re opening a store! It’s darling.” She stepped back. “Look at you, all cheflike.”
    Caitlin gave her a hug, too, along with a double air-kiss. Her white-blond hair swung in around her face before falling back into place.
    â€œI was so worried about you,” Caitlin said, resting her long, pink-tipped nails on Jenna’s arm. “We heard about Aaron,” she added in a low, sympathetic voice. “So sad, but you’re obviously just peachy. The store is to die for. Really. I love it.”
    â€œWe should get together,” Kimberly said. “Call Jolene and go out. The four of us. It’ll be like it was in high school.”
    Affection surged through Jenna. “I’d like that,” she admitted. Hanging out with friends would be good, she thought. A reminder that life could be normal.
    â€œMe, too,” Caitlin said. “Soon.”
    â€œHow about dinner?” Jenna asked. “Sometime this week.”
    The two other women exchanged glances, then turned back to Jenna.
    â€œGod, no,” Caitlin said with a laugh. “If you could see my schedule.”
    â€œMine, too,” Kimberly told her. “I thought once the twins were in school, my life would finally slow down. But not at all. And keeping a decent housekeeper is practically a full-time job. But maybe we could get together for coffee. You know, some morning.”
    Caitlin nodded. “I can do coffee. I’ll call Jolene and see if she has an hour free.”
    An hour. Jenna forced a smile. “Sure. Let me know.” Shepulled a business card out of her pocket and wrote her cell on the back. “Give me a call.”
    â€œWill do,” Caitlin promised as they headed for the door. “We love your little store.”
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    The afternoon went pretty much like the morning. A few customers drifted in, there were a handful of sales, mostly driven by the coupons Violet had printed. Jenna made more trays of appetizers, which brought in people, but when they found out she didn’t have recipes, they drifted away.
    By five, Jenna felt tired and discouraged. She looked around at the full shelves, the carefully planned stock she’d been so proud of, and realized operating a successful business was more complicated than she’d ever thought. She needed a plan and some