pumpkin spice café

She clutched the baseball bat tighter in her fist and crept down the rickety, back staircase.

Scritchy-scratchy type noises with the occasional clangy-bangy type noise.

Scritchy-scratchy type noises with the occasional clangy-bangy type noise.

At first, she'd tried to chalk it up to the wind,

an animal scurrinh thtough the back alley.

That banging was definitely not an armed robber, here to take the meager change her aunt kept in the cash register.

The quaint seaside town of Dream Harbor and its inhabitants knew nothing about her, and she planned to take full advantage of that.

And came face to face with a crate of small pumpkins.

Jeanie would not compromise her safety just because this man was the picture of autumnal bounty with his crate of vegetables and his worn, flannel shirt and thick beard.

So she could pick him out of a line-up, she reasoned.

She might need to know that above his beard was a long, straight nose and ruddy cheeks.

She wasn't really sure what to say to this strange man and he seemed to be equally at a loss.

She tried to channel Aunt Dot's free-spirit vibes even as she wished the woman had been slightly less laid-back and had actually left her more explicit directions.

There was no shortage of coffee shops in the city.

He had work to do, deliveries to make, and well-meaning townfolk to avoid.

Specifically, the large, handsome one currently darkening her doorstep.

Jeanie's apartment above the shop shared the same original hardwood floors, something Barb Sanders had raved about.

The bay window in the front was the perfect nook for two cozy chairs, worn down with age and use.

Shouldn't she feel different here? Away from the frenetic energy of Boston, the traffic, and the crowds?

'He ... uh ... we ... decided to do a stakeout.' 'A stakeout?' Hazel's eyes widened behind her glasses.

Jeanie glanced between him and the mayor, a bemused smile on her lips. She was having a good time.

'He has dreams, Logan blurted out. 'Uses them to make decisions.'

He'd brought Jeanie here to find a more plausible explanation for her noise problem, not to further support her ghost theory.

Jeanie's gaze snagged on Noah, captain of the SS Ginger, the town's one and only fishing tour company and Logan's other best friend. Lover of tall tales and beautiful women.

Oh, the crowd liked this little tidbit. Suddenly the room Was erupting in theories.

She was in over her head and, really, he was doing the town a favor. The Pumpkin Spice Café was the only decent coffee shop in town.

He stooped down and gave her a hug, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. 'If anything worth mentioning happens, you'll be the first to know.'

She straightened the avalanche of chip bags again.

She plopped into one of the overstuffed chairs by the front

For the past three days, those tables had been crowded with town locals from open to close. It had been hectic and busy and exhilarating.

knowing what that was seemed like the pinnacle of café ownership.

It also didn't help matters that good old Norman had told her the history of this building and about the family that had died here.

Oh, right, she needed to get her life back on track first. Figure out how to live in this tiny, odd town. Transform into the quintessential café owner.

Calm and cool, maybe a little quirky.

Jeanie blew out a sigh like he was being difficult. 'The rugged type, outdoorsy, flannel-y.'

That was him. Sturdy.

Even when her innocuous comments dredged up old insecurities.

I'm fully aware of how crazy all this is. I just wanted everything to be ... perfect here, for this new ... endeavor.

Every instinct in his body was clamoring at him to fix it, make it better.

Multiple days of a high fever, throwing up, the whole nine yards.'

She would have preferred if an angry ghost was here to steal her immortal soul. At least then she would be vindicated in her concern.