An Alaskan Wedding. Belle Calhoune

a home there,” Sophie said, her voice sounding wistful.

      Hmm. Grace supposed she had her answer right there. Sophie’s heart was looking for a home, and she’d come to Love in pursuit of it. Not surprisingly, Sophie’s motives were way more noble than her own. She brushed that thought aside. There was no way she was going to let that knowledge eat at her.

      After joining Hazel for blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs at the Lodge, they headed to work at the Moose Café, with Hazel again at the wheel. It had snowed overnight, and as Grace looked around at her surroundings, she felt as if she was living in a true winter wonderland.

      They’d barely stepped through the café’s door before Cameron was handing out schedules and giving them each an additional uniform. Grace raised an eyebrow at the image of two moose kissing surrounded by a big red heart. She didn’t know what vibe Cameron was aiming for, but this T-shirt resembled something a teenager might wear.

      Cameron rubbed his hands together. He looked as if he was about to jump out of his skin. “Okay. Let’s hit the ground running today.” He looked back and forth between them. “Sophie, why don’t you take the orders and act as hostess while Grace makes the drinks? Some customers just come in for regular coffee and pastries, so be ready to fill up cups, Sophie. Grace, we already have a customer looking for a mochaccino. I’ll head back to the kitchen with Hazel and prepare the food.”

      “Yes, indeed. Sounds like a plan,” Grace said, trying to make her voice sound as upbeat as Sophie’s. Fake it till you make it. That was her motto.

      “Here, Grace.” Cameron handed her two slips of paper. “Hank comes in early for drinks to bring over to the firehouse. Extra whip on ’em, okay?”

      “Got it!” Grace said, looking down at the slips for confirmation of the orders. One mochaccino. Four iced caramel macchiatos. Extra whipped cream.

      She let out a sigh. It could have been much worse. At least it was the same drink times four. All she had to do was make two batches of caramel macchiato and serve ’em up in to-go cups. Then one batch of the mocha. There was a cheat sheet on the counter detailing all the ingredients in the most popular drinks. Thank You, God.

      Everything stilled around her for a moment. It had been a long time since she’d thanked God for something. Matter of fact, before arriving in Love, she hadn’t thought about God at all for a very long time. They were at a stalemate. In her darkest hours He hadn’t answered her prayers, so she’d decided to ignore Him in return.

      “You can do this, Grace,” she said out loud, deciding on positive affirmations to get her through this situation.

      One by one she assembled the items and placed them in the blender. Grace stared at the contents she’d placed inside. Okay, this wasn’t so bad after all. It had never been her strong suit, but it wasn’t rocket science. She might be a little slow putting all the ingredients together, but this was looking good. Chewing her lip, she considered all the buttons on the blender, finally deciding to push the biggest one. Nothing. She waited a few beats and pressed again. Why wasn’t this thing working?

      She bit her lip as she studied the machine. It wasn’t that different from the ones she’d used at Java Giant. Maybe a few more bells and whistles, but it had been four years since she’d worked for them. No doubt technology had advanced since then.

      “Everything okay back here?”

      The sound of Boone’s husky voice swept over her like a strong gust of wind. She wanted to let out a loud groan. Of course! It would have to be Boone of all people to discover her in a state of utter confusion. What was he doing here anyway? The crime rate must be pretty low in this town if he could hang out so regularly at his brother’s establishment.