Choosing Fate

By Curtis A. Cooper

Samuel Misner is in a slow downward spiral and has been for the last four years since his wife and son died. Turned bitter by his grief, he maintains an emotional distance from family, friends, and especially customers of his bakery.

Carrie, his assistant of eight years, leaves him at the beginning of the Christmas holiday after he threatens a young boy with the police for stealing a couple doughnuts from his shop. He feels her loss more than he thought possible and devises a scheme to win her back.

Will Carrie scoff at his attempt to change, or will she give him a Happy New Year?

• Language: English
• Publisher: eXtasy Books Inc
• Release date: Jan 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9781487427368

Book preview

An embittered shopkeeper hires a juvenile delinquent over the holiday season and gets more than he bargained for.

Samuel Misner is in a slow downward spiral and has been for the last four years since his wife and son died. Turned bitter by his grief, he maintains an emotional distance from family, friends, and especially customers of his bakery.

Carrie, his assistant of eight years, leaves him at the beginning of the Christmas holiday after he threatens a young boy with the police for stealing a couple doughnuts from his shop. He feels her loss more than he thought possible and devises a scheme to win her back.

Will Carrie scoff at his attempt to change, or will she give him a Happy New Year?

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Choosing Fate

Copyright © 2019 Curtis A. Cooper

ISBN: 978-1-4874-2736-8

Cover art by Martine Jardin

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by eXtasy Books Inc or

Devine Destinies, an imprint of eXtasy Books Inc

Look for us online at:

www.eXtasybooks.com or www.devinedestinies.com

Smashwords Edition

Choosing Fate

By

Curtis A. Cooper

Chapter One

Carrie had just returned to the front of the shop in time to hear her boss, Sam Misner, grumble at the woman standing outside the front door

We’re closed, Sam said through the glass.

Please? It’s my daughter’s birthday party, and I got stuck in traffic. I believe you have a cake ready for me. The woman looked utterly panicked.

I don’t make exceptions. If I make one for you, pretty soon I have everyone waiting ‘til closing. He turned around and walked into the back room.

Carrie stuck her forefinger up as soon as he was out of sight. She removed the only personalized decorated cake that hadn’t been picked up and opened the box to reveal Happy 12th Birthday Rebecca. She tilted the cake slightly so the woman could see.

The woman nodded.

She brought it to the door and turned the knob on the lock. Then she opened the door and handed the cake to the woman.

The woman paid in cash and murmured, Thank you so much. Keep the change.

"Thank you." Carrie smiled as the woman walked away. She closed and locked the door, then turned to find her boss standing with hands