Read Carolina Dreaming: A Dare Island Novel for Free Online

and furniture, some paint, some stain. Not that he was criticizing. He was looking a little weather-worn himself. But it wouldn’t take much to put the yard in order, just a rake and some time.
    He spotted the rake, leaning up against the cedar shake siding. And God knew he had the time.
    Maybe he’d found a way to thank her after all.
    *   *   *
     
    J ANE ARRAN GED THE glistening pastries in the bakery case, rows of cheese Danish and chocolate brioche, cinnamon buns and lemon-glazed scones, muffins studded with chocolate chips and bursting with berries.
    She loved baking, all the scents and textures. The smell of vanilla, the squish of dough between her fingers, satisfied something deep inside her. She loved the way you could take a few simple fixings, flour, sugar, butter, and make something satisfying and sustaining—a wedding cake, a loaf of bread, a life.
    Who would have guessed that after Travis left her broken flat, she would turn her line cook experience and a few community college classes in cake decorating and small business management into running her own bakery?
    In her kitchen, she was in control. She could trust her taste and her judgment. When she was baking, she had the confidence to be creative, to take risks, to add chilis to chocolate in a cupcake or combine lemon and thyme in a scone. As long as she kept the right balance of ingredients, everything would turn out fine.
    Because baking never let you down. Even if you screwed up, you could always throw everything out and start again.
    Unlike life.
    The silver bells over the door chimed, signaling her first morning customer.
    Lauren Patterson entered the bakery, her dark hair bundled in a messy knot, a silver cuff twining around one ear. “God, it smells good in here. I’ll take one of everything.”
    Jane smiled and pulled out a bakery box. “Do you have a staff meeting or are you just really hungry?”
    Lauren laughed. “I thought I’d sprinkle muffins around the faculty break room. Buy a little goodwill.”
    “In that case, I’d get a dozen blueberry mini muffins, a dozen caramel mocha mini cupcakes, and a half-dozen brownies.”
    “Brownies? At seven in the morning?”
    “Everybody loves chocolate,” Jane said.
    “So true. Oh, maybe one of those big cheese Danish for Lois Howell?”
    School boards and principals came and went, but Lois Howell, the raspy-voiced, orange-haired school secretary, had run the place since before Jane was born.
    “How about a red velvet cupcake?” Jane suggested. “Those are her favorite.”
    “Perfect. Thanks. She’s been filling me in on everything I need to know about the island families.” Lauren smiled lopsidedly. “Which is pretty much everything.”
    Uh-oh
. Jane’s gaze flickered to Lauren’s face, trying to see beyond the bright tone, the crooked smile. Lauren was always so outgoing, so optimistic. She was two years older than Jane, but her cheerful energy always made Jane feel ancient—or at least very, very tired. It was hard to imagine Lauren needing Jane’s reassurance.
    But then, Jane couldn’t imagine doing what Lauren had done, leaving everything safe and familiar behind to make a new life among strangers. That kind of courage deserved a deeper response than a cookie.
    “You’ll catch on quick enough,” she said reassuringly. “Everybody talks to everybody here.”
    “Within limits. I’m still a dingbatter.”
Dingbatter
being the downeasterners’ term for Yankees, vacationers, or anyone from Away.
    “They’ll come around. The kids like you.” Aidan liked her. She really should talk to Lauren about Aidan.
    Lauren’s face lit up. “I love working with the kids. One of the things that’s so great in a community like this is the age range of the students I see. I’m dealing with everything from gum in girls’ hair to college applications.”
    “What about fighting?” Jane asked.
    Lauren grinned. “You mean developing communication and conflict resolution skills?