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FLY AWAY HOME by Heidi
J. Hewett
Lulu-print: Coming soon!
Bonus content with character
pictures, background, and a scrumptious raspberry scone recipe:
Casey
Banks has the glamorous life she always dreamed of, flying planes all over the
world, until an unscheduled landing brings her charter flight to the small town
of Kerridge, Vermont, and face-to-face with her ex-husband, Elliot. When her
grounded passenger, the wealthy Ms. Landry, unexpectedly relocates her
daughter’s wedding to Kerridge and puts Casey in charge as unofficial wedding
planner, Casey finds herself thrown together with Elliot with three days to
pull off a miracle and wondering if maybe, after all her years of running, her
heart might be finally leading her home.
Situated
on the north side of the town square between a darkened bookstore and a vintage
clothing shop, the bakery stood out like a beacon in the cold, gray
early-morning drizzle. Casey glanced at the sign overhead: True Love Bakery & Coffee Shop.
“Oh,
please,” she said under her breath. Unless it was referring to chocolate
croissants. She thought she could make an exception for chocolate croissants.
She
pulled open the door and gave her umbrella a shake before entering. The
interior of the bakery was warm with buttery, polished knotty pine. Small round
tables with wooden chairs were set out in the cafe area. Further inside was the
counter and glass bakery case and overhead shelves stocked with bags of coffee
beans and canisters of flavored syrups.
Casey
took her place in line, ducking her head and pulling the collar of her coat a
little higher. She’d had her hair cut and after so many years, she was hoping
to make it in and out of Kerridge without attracting too much attention,
although clearly that hadn’t worked as well as she had hoped last night. She
glanced up at the menu, dimly aware of a girl of maybe eighteen or nineteen
with curly hair bound in a braid standing at the register, and the back of a
tall, lean, dark-haired man in a plaid shirt and apron, working the espresso
machine at the far end of the coffee bar.
“Excuse
me,” said a male voice next to her, and Casey looked up at the chiseled jawline
of a blond man. He had glasses and was dressed in a navy suit and tie. “The New York Times,” he explained. “May
I?”
Casey
colored in embarrassment and stepped aside so he could reach past her to the
newsstand.
“Thanks.”
He flashed a smile and took his place in line after her.
“Are
you—,” Casey started, turning around and giving him a confused, quizzical
smile. “Do you live around here?”
He
laughed. “Yes.”
“Should
I…know you?” she asked. “Because I don’t remember you at all.” Maybe her
unexpected layover in Kerridge wouldn’t be a complete bust after all.
“What
an interesting way you have of introducing yourself,” he commented as the line moved
forward. “I’m almost certain we’ve never met because I would definitely have
not forgotten. Do you begin all of your conversations with strangers like
this?”
Casey
blushed again. “I, just, grew up around here,” she stammered. “I thought I knew
everyone.”
“Well,
I’m new. New-ish,” he amended. “John Van der Waal. I took over Dr. Benton’s
practice.”
“Oh,
my God! Dr. Benton’s dead?” Casey exclaimed.
John
smiled. “Retired. South Beach.”
“Oh,
phew!” she said. “Of course I remember him. I’m Casey Banks.” She put her hand
on her chest and then dropped it. “I thought—oh! Hang on!” She craned her neck
to look at the chalkboard overhead. “Do you do breakfast here?” she asked.
“Yes,”
the man behind the register said.
“Great!
I need something like a bagel sandwich. Something like those ones they sell at
Panera. And can I get a medium coffee with room for cream, an Early Gray tea,
and a triple—shoot! What was that? Triple venti,” she tried again. “Wait! I got
it! Triple venti half-sweet, no-fat
caramel macchiato.” She looked down and locked on a pair of intensely dark
brown eyes. Her heart swooped and dived again. John Van der Waal had gone
completely out of her head.
Elliot’s
mouth was drawn into a thin line. “This isn’t a Starbucks,” he said shortly.
Casey
stared at him. Her brain froze. Mayday,
mayday!
“Half-sweet?” he repeated. “What the
hell is that?”
“It’s
not for me,” Casey said, finding her voice. “It’s the queen—my
client—passenger. She’s—could you make something sort of like that? Please?”
He
made a sound halfway between a snort and a sigh and started punching buttons on
the screen in front of him. “And a bagel sandwich?” he asked. “What do you want
on it?”
“You
know, something with egg and bacon and tomato and sprouts in the middle,” she
said. “I think if I can make her happy this morning, she might not have me
fired. Please, Elliot,” she begged, dropping her voice and leaning forward on
the counter.
“One
egg and bacon bagel sandwich capable of saving Casey Duran—sorry, Casey Banks’
career,” he said dryly. “Becca!”
Too
late, Casey realized she should have recognized the young woman who was
returning to the kitchen with empty cups from the tables she had been clearing,
but in Casey’s defense, Becca had been a ten-year-old girl when she had left
Kerridge behind.
Elliot
finished ringing up her order. He didn’t hold out his palm for the money. She
tried to keep her hands from shaking as she got out her wallet and put the
debit card down on the counter. He slid it toward him, and as he did she
noticed the gold band around his fourth finger. Her stomach flip-flopped as she
thought, My God, he’s married!
Elliot
seemed to notice her look because he self-consciously curled his hand. “Becca,
can you take over at the register?” he asked. He said to Casey, “It’s from
scratch, so your order will take, like, ten minutes,” adding, “Can you wait
that long?”
Casey
burned with embarrassment. Her heart was pounding. She nodded without being
able to meet his eyes.
“Dr.
Van der Waal?” Becca asked, giving Casey a dark look.
“Ah,
yes,” he said, and Casey stepped aside to let him order.
Elliot married! she thought. But why
shouldn’t he be? It had been years. They were divorced. He was free. Why
shouldn’t he have remarried? Unless…. It had looked so much like the gold band
he used to wear—but then, men’s rings usually looked alike. He wouldn’t have
re-used the same ring, would he? She blanched at the thought.
But
was it the same ring? She had to get
another, better look. Because if it was…. If it was the same ring, maybe, maybe
she still meant something to him. And then she wondered why it mattered to her.
Dr.
Van der Waal reached past her again for his coffee. “Pardon me. Again,” he said
with a smile. “It was nice to meet you, Ms. Banks. Maybe I’ll see you around
while you’re here.”
Casey
fumbled for something to say, but he hadn’t waited.
“Bagel
sandwich, coffee with room for cream, Earl Grey, and one very large coffee with
non-fat milk and half of a lot of sugar in it,” Elliot said as he set her order
out on the counter. It had all happened too quickly and she had been too
ashamed to look at him. She had missed her chance to get another look at his
ring and now his back was turned. Casey took the bag and the cardboard drink
holder and fled.
My Review
πππππ
Five stars for this lovely romantic novella. Casey is an
independent, strong woman with a career as pilot, while Elliot is a baker,
owner of the True Love Bakery & Coffee Shop.
When Casey is forced to land in a small village with her
eccentric customers, she has to deal with her ex-husband Elliot.
I fell in love with Casey and Elliot because they feel real,
and I just loved the undercurrent humour throughout the story.
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