Before Leona even walked into the main part of her store, she brewed a cup of tea, eyed the two half-eaten cookies, and then checked the temperature. April still carried coolness in the morning, but the store seemed chillier than normal.
The thermostat was set to sixty-five, and would usually be adjusted throughout the day depending on the number of people in the store. Today, though, the furnace hadn’t kicked on to keep the temperature current, and it was reading fifty-nine.
She carried her mug to the front counter and noticed the Ford Fix It truck out front. So, Jon Ford was a man of his word. He said he’d come by and he had.
Though she felt bad for the comment about fix-it people in general, she’d found that statement to be more than true. When something was fixed, it was usually never checked on after.
Perhaps she could convince him to look into the furnace while he was there.
The moment she sat down at the front counter to check her emails, she noticed Jon climb from his truck and head toward her store.
She stood and crossed to the front door, unlocking it as he approached.
“I didn’t actually expect to see you so early,” she said as she opened the door.
“Yeah, I’m waiting on the plumber. There’s more work to do upstairs than the owner let us tend to yesterday.”
Leona stepped back so Jon could walk in. “He’s a cheapskate. Bare minimum.”
Jon growled. “Yeah. But he thinks I’m screwing with him when I make suggestions. So what do you do?”
Leona frowned. “I’ve often thought of buying the whole building,” she said and heat rose up her neck because the conversation had been had many times. “Then I could renovate it the way I’d like to.”
She watched Jon’s eyes flash dark, but then the corner of his mouth curled up.
“What?” she asked.
“I thought the same thing last night. It kept me awake. Well, that and sleeping on my mother’s couch.”
“You slept on your mother’s couch? What’s wrong with your house?”
He chewed his bottom lip. “Nothing.” He looked around the dark and quiet store. “It’s cold in here.”
Leona blinked hard. “Yes. I was going to ask you about that. Would you look at the furnace? It’s set to sixty-five, but it says it’s fifty-nine in here.”
Jon nodded. “I’d be happy to. You got coffee in the back?”
Leona nodded. “I’ll make you some.”
“I’d appreciate it.”
Leona walked to the back room and Jon followed.
As he looked at the furnace, she brewed a single cup of coffee for him, and then stood with her back pressed to the doorjamb and watched him.
“Your pilot light is out. Give me ten minutes, and I’ll have you up and running,” he said as he stood and moved toward the door to pass her.
She didn’t move to allow him the space, and she wasn’t sure why.
There was something about the broody, dark, and handsome stranger that ignited something deep inside her.
“Can I get through?” he asked, his voice low as he stood right in front of her smelling of nothing but soap.
“Sorry,” she managed as she stepped out of the way.
By the time he’d returned from his truck, she had his coffee on the small table in the center of the room, along with the other half of his cookie. Leona nibbled on her cookie and sipped on her tea.
“Nothing better than cookies for breakfast,” Jon teased as he walked to the furnace and knelt down in front of it.
“I didn’t want you to forget it was here.”
“Oh, I didn’t forget,” he said as he pushed a button on the furnace and flicked the lighter in his hand.
Leona held her breath as he lit the pilot light. It always made her nervous to see that happen, and yet nothing ever went wrong.
“You’re all set,” Jon said.
“I appreciate it. The girls will too.”
“My pleasure.” He rose to his feet and then moved to pick up the coffee mug that waited for him.
“Let me know what I owe you.”
He watched her over the top of his coffee mug. “When do you close on Saturday?”
Leona narrowed her eyes on him. “Five-thirty.”
He nodded slowly to her response.
“Why?”
“Dinner?”
Her chest tightened and there was a flutter in her belly, but then she thought about the dinner they’d had the night before.
“Don’t you already have plans?” she asked as he picked up his cookie and took a bite.
He chewed slowly. “I didn’t say I had plans.”
“You have plans with Amber.”
Jon ran his tongue over his teeth, then sipped his coffee. “If that’s what you think—”
“I’m wrong?”
“You’re wrong,” he said. “But I’ll let you think on it.” He picked up his cookie. “Can I bring back the mug?”
Leona nodded.
“Thanks. I’ll catch ya later then,” Jon said as he moved by her and out of the store.
Leona watched as he stood outside the building drinking the coffee from her mug, and looking up at the building. She couldn’t help but wonder if he really saw the potential in the building, just as she did.
When the plumbing truck pulled up behind his truck, Jon opened the passenger door, put the mug on the dashboard, and walked upstairs with the plumber in tow.