Heart on Display

By Francesca Feray

Kinzie McTavish thinks she has it all: A dream job at an artisan cafe, a cozy apartment and a great group of friends. The only thing missing in her life is a great man. A bad relationship from years ago has left her scarred emotionally and it wasn't until recently that she realized she's ready to get back into the dating game. Now she has a choice to make: will it be the charming stranger who is new to town, the colorful rocker bartender or her best friend who has always been there for her?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Francesca Feray
• Release date: Jan 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311490483

Francesca Feray

Francesca Feray is a creative geeky woman who lives in Indiana with her family and Manx cat. She loves to create art in all of its various forms. Heart on Display is her debut novel. She looks forward to writing more enjoyable stories and to explore the depths of her imagination.

Book preview

Heart on Display

By Francesca Feray

Smashwords Edition

ISBN: 9781311490483

Copyright 2015 Francesca Feray

License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Brittany Weddle for all of her support, you are a great friend!

Chapter One

Before she flipped the open sign over on the front door to the shop, Kinzie McTavish decided to brew some coffee and tea for the potential customers that would soon wander in. She was glad that her boss, Joy Yerkes, had entrusted her with opening duties for the week. She really enjoyed walking around the shop dusting jewelry displays, sorting the colorful beads and gemstone strands. Bead and Read Cafe was a very successful small business in Chandler Village.

Chandler Village was a tourist town, filled with small artisan shops as well as restaurants and bakeries. Every summer thousands of tourists would flock to Chandler Village to shop, relax, eat and explore the surrounding woodlands filled with wildlife and stunning landscapes. Chandler Village was nestled in a small wooded area, a good thirty miles from the nearest city. It was a friendly town filled with skilled artisans, full of imaginative and talented people. The layout of the town was simple akin to a small grid; the main street was lined with small businesses, mostly styled in painted bricks, depending on the shop owner’s preference. Other streets were lined with colorful Victorian houses with either white picket fences or iron cast fences. Some of the houses contained shops on the first floor while the occupants’ living quarters were upstairs.

The Bead and Read Cafe was an exception; it was its own building, nestled at the corner of Main Street and Jefferson. A yellow painted brick, one story structure. The outside was landscaped, lined with a brick walkway with benches and an old-time clock. The inside of the structure was styled like a log cabin, beautiful light cherry wood paneled walls and wood plank floors. A few handmade rugs were strategically placed throughout the shop. Entering the front door, to the left was the cafe with a small dining area, the tables were styled with a dark marble pattern, and black leather bar stools. Behind the dining area was an open space with a couple of couches and chairs spread about with a raised platform in the corner, Indian style pottery and paintings as well as a vast amount of books lined the shelves and walls, this area was the stage for live music events on the weekends. To the right were glass display cases filled with handcrafted jewelry and jewelry making supplies. The walls behind and beside the display cases were lined with beautiful strands of beads, the expensive gemstone strands were hung behind the cash register. A couple shelving units held more beads, instructional jewelry books and tools. In Kinzie’s eyes, this was a jewelry maker’s paradise.

She wandered through the saloon style doors to the dish room and kitchen area. It was a small room with dark brown tiled floors and beige walls. Stainless steel appliances and oak overhead cabinets lined the walls. She turned on the scalding water squeezing a generous amount of dish soap and tossed a couple disinfectant tablets into the sink. Kinzie knew that Ryker would soon enter the shop to begin the daily dish duties, and afterwards bake the prepped pastries chilling in the refrigerator.

The back door to the kitchen suddenly rang out with a series of knocks and bangs. Thump thump thump. Kinize peaked through the white lace curtain, not seeing anyone. She was about to turn around to finish some of the prep work when a figure burst through the door. She grabbed a cast iron skillet hastily, and then let out a frustrated sigh as she recognized the figure.

Ryker! What the hell were you trying to do, give me a heart attack? Kinzie glared at Ryker as he laughed heartily while putting on a hairnet, beard net and gloves.

Come on, you know I was just kidding. I like to start the day off with a friendly scare. He gave her a wink before he turned to submerge his arms into the dishwater.

Ryker Torin was a young man that stood about six feet three inches. He was somewhat muscular with a slight golden tan. He had long wavy chocolate brown hair that fell past his shoulders which usually he had constrained by a ponytail. His eyes were a pale blue and always seemed to smile; he sported a well-manicured beard which he kept short. His usual attire was casual, a fitted shirt with faded jeans that were fraying along the bottom and his hide moccasins.

Kinzie ignored his comment and began to run through the daily duties, counting down on her fingers. "I am brewing up some beverages before we open, cookies are already chilled and placed on the baking sheets, the little personal cakes need to be frosted and decorated, Joy did not give any specific instructions on how to decorate them, she just said make them family friendly. When Flint comes in, he will be sorting through the book donations before manning the cafe side. I will be manning the jewelry side today. When you are done, you can assist me or Flint, whoever needs help at the time."

alrighty capi-tain. Ryker said with a mock salute, accidently flicking soap suds about.

Kinzie smirked before heading back through the saloon doors to the cafe side of the shop. She poured the hot tea over a mound of ice in the beautiful glass beverage dispenser. She kept the coffee in the stainless steel pots behind the register. She made sure the creamers and sugars were stocked on the little island bar for customers to dress up their drinks.

She flicked on the small light in the bakery display, placing paper dollies down to make the display more appealing. She put on her eggplant apron which read Bead and Read Cafe in white cursive letters. She adored working at the cafe, out of all of the jobs she ever had, working at The Bead and Read Cafe was her favorite.

Kinzie looked at her wrist watched and realized the time, 9am, it was time to open the shop. She unlocked the doors and flipped the wooden sign to open. As soon as she flipped the sign, Flint barged in, his fire red hair blazing in the sunlight.

Flint flashed Kinzie a goofy grin before tying a dark blue apron around his waist. So, where am I stationed today? Beading barracks or the cafe compound?

Kinzie shook her head at his comment. Flint and Ryker were two peas in a pod when it came to jokes. We have some book donations in the back that need to be sorted by genre, priced then alphabetized on the shelves. Then you will man the cafe compound. Until then I will be on the bead side unless we have customers wandering over to the cafe.

Flint Underhill nodded before heading through the saloon doors. There was a small stock room off to the side of the kitchen where they kept general supplies as well as new shipments of jewelry. He let out a sigh of relief when he found only one box of books to go through. He didn’t mind working at The Bead and Read Cafe, he just despised pricing the book donations. He had to rate the condition of the book and look at the year it was printed before he could begin pricing the books. Joy had made a chart of conditions, year of publication dates and how books should be priced accordingly. Anything that was thought to be a rare find, he was supposed to keep the book in the stock room for Joy to assess at a later time.

Kinzie decided to try on a pendant that caught her eye. It was handmade from the glass artisan in town. Violet with swirls of silver glitter and teal, it was right up her alley. The pendant fell lightly on the hallow of her throat. She admired the beautiful pendant in the mirror thinking of ways to alter the chain. She thought a lace style choker would be more fitting for the pendant. She took off the pendant and looked at the price, forty-five dollars. Her heart sank, I would have to start a fund and save up for this pendant, she thought to herself.

The door opened with a slight chime from the bell. Kinzie turned around to greet the customer, only to see her dear friend, Allyson Arnett.

Hey Girl! Allyson’s voice rang out as she greeted Kinzie. The girls ran to one another and wrapped their arms around each other in a friendly embrace.

Aren’t you working at the shop today? Kinzie asked, curious as to why Allyson would be in the cafe this early in the morning.

Yeah, Girl. I am working with Chonda today. I get to slice and package the new soaps we made them a few days ago. They are going to blow your senses out of the water and hydrate your skin like nothing else!

Allyson Arnett’s family owned a small shop on Main Street called Seaside Soap Company. Though the shop was quite a distance from a body of water, let alone a sea or ocean, it offered sea themed products that any person could desire. The shop has been opened for over fifty years, generating customers from all over the world, especially since they decided to allow international shipping on their website. All of the soaps, lotions, fizzy balls and bath salts were created by her family for generations. Allyson, her sister, Chonda, and her mother had decided long ago to start decorating the soaps with beautiful designs, and casting special molds to have interesting shapes that have become a trademark of their company.

Allyson was wearing a pale blue sundress with a cream apron embroidered with small lavender seashells, starfish and seahorses, and her favorite canvas tennis shoes. With Allyson’s mocha skin tone and slender build, her outfit looked absolutely stunning on her despite the simplicity of her attire. Kinzie envied her friend’s fashion, knowing if she would wear the same thing, she could never pull it off.

I wanted to say hi, and grab a cup of oh-so-awakeness… And to see my Flinty-Flirt. Allyson said as she touched the midnight curls that framed the sides of her face.

Okie dokie, just let me slip behind the counter. Espresso shots with vanilla? She began to apply the necessary pressure to the espresso beans before placing the discus into the machine. She didn’t wait for Allyson to answer because she knew what her friend craved in the morning.

Is it OK if I slip into the back to see Flinty? Allyson asked, attempting to shoot Kinzie an innocent smile.

Kinzie nodded as she began to pour the dark roast into a lavender to-go cup.

Allyson peaked into the kitchen, only to find Ryker. He’s in the stock room. Ryker called to her as he was taking some cookies out of the oven.

As she turned to head for the stock room Flint appeared with his hands filled with books. Hey there, Boo-Boo Bear. He greeted Allyson with a smile on his face that also reflected in his honey colored eyes.

Let me help you, Allyson offered, holding her hands out to accept a few of the books. And good morning, my Flinty-Flirt.

Flint nodded, gladly handing her a couple of the paperback books. These need to go on the shelf by the first leather couch.

They barged through the saloon style doors veering off to the book shelves. Kinzie was putting the finishing touches on Allyson’s custom oh-so-awakeness brew, stirring in three shots of espresso and a generous helping of vanilla syrup. Allyson skipped to the island bar graciously accepting the cup. She popped off the lid to add a couple packets of pure sugar, stirring with a silver tone spoon. Allyson gave the thumbs up after taking a sip of her custom brew, handing Kinzie a couple dollars for the drink and a tip. Kinzie began to protest, trying to hand the tip money back.

Girl, you keep that tip! You deserve it, you are one amazing barista. You keep doin’ what you’re doin’ all right? Allyson said, giving her a little attitude.

Kinzie let out a sigh and held up her hands in surrender, knowing that she could never win with Allyson. Fine, but you don’t have to tip; I get paid to do this.

So? We all deserve a little tip-age once in a while. Allyson said, giving Kinzie a wink.

She