Rainbow Sprinkles

By D. V. Stone

Retired and widowed Gloriana Jones is forging on with the plans she and her late husband dreamed of—bringing joy and happiness, one ice cream cone at a time, to Lake Unami. But bad weather is drowning her dream.
A trip to Upstate NY is bittersweet for Nathan James. He is excited to see his first granddaughter but without his wife he's lonely. When his car breaks down, he heads to the only light he can see, an ice cream shop.
With aid from a heavenly source, electricity sparks, but will the two weather the summer storms and find love a second time? Or will their hopes and dreams melt away?

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
• Release date: Jul 8, 2020
• ISBN: 9781509231935

D. V. Stone

Born in Brooklyn, D.V. Stone has moved around a bit and even lived for a time on a dairy farm in Minnesota before moving back east. Throughout her wandering, she always considered herself a Jersey Girl. She met the love of her life and moved this time to Sussex County. Her husband, Pete, is a lifelong Sussex County man. They just adopted Hali, a mixed breed from the local shelter. Hali is still working things out with their cat Baby. A varied career path from working with the disabled led to becoming a volunteer EMT, which in turn led to working in hospital emergency rooms and then in a woman's state prison. After a few years, she took a break from medical and became the owner of Heavenly Brew, a specialty coffee shop in Sparta NJ, and small restaurant in Lafayette. Life handed some setbacks, and she ended up back to medical, but this time in a veterinary emergency hospital. During the poor economy, she was laid–off from a long time position she cared about. Devastated, D.V. wondered what to do with her life. Finding comfort in my love of reading, she realized it was now time to follow her dream of writing. It’s been a long road but worth every minute of it. Now a published author she also works in a people medical office again. “Thank you for taking the time to read about me. Each time you open the pages to one of my books I hope you’ll be swept away by the story and know, never in the real world give up on hope.” D.V. Stone

Book preview

Inc.

Do you mind if I wait here until the tow truck arrives? He plucked the wet shirt away from his chest with the long fingers of one tanned hand. It must be electrical. Even the radio stopped working.

You’re welcome to hang around as long as you need. Gloriana riffled through a cardboard box under the counter where she stored promotion material and pulled out an extra-large T-shirt. Here you go. She tossed it to him. The restroom is through there.

Mr. Gorgeous beamed a perfect toothy smile. Thanks. I’ll be right back.

When he disappeared into the hallway, and the door clicked shut, Gloriana fanned her face. What the hot fudge was wrong with her? Coffee. Make coffee.

Praise for D. V. Stone and RAINBOW SPRINKLES

The story has a great rhythm from beginning to end. I like the flow of the conversations and the succinctness of the explanatory passages between conversations. I was quickly on board as to whose story this is and where it is staged. I can relate to Gloriana’s wistfulness, uncertainty about the viability of her new business, and longing for some rainbow sparkle in her life. That time in life is often accompanied by similar concerns.

~Anonymous

~*~

"The characters are well developed. As I read I could see the author wasn’t just writing a story. She had some knowledge of the restaurant business and the medical field.

My biggest surprise was that D.V Stone allowed her characters to share their faith and trust in God without making the topic offensive to anyone. For me that made this book even better.

~myreadingjourneys.blogspot.com

Rainbow Sprinkles

by

D. V. Stone

One Scoop or Two

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

Rainbow Sprinkles

COPYRIGHT © 2020 by D. V. Stone

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Contact Information: [e-mail]

Cover Art by Tina Lynn Stout

The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

PO Box 708

Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

Publishing History

First Fantasy Rose Edition, 2020

Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-3193-5

One Scoop or Two

Published in the United States of America

Dedication

This story is dedicated to my sister,

who lost her husband at an early age.

I’m glad you never stopped looking for your rainbow.

Chapter 1

Whitecaps rocked the red-and-white buoys on Lake Unami, while moored sailboats, pontoons, and powerboats bobbed on the choppy surface. Wind howled like a banshee and rain sheeted down the front window of Rainbow Sprinkles Ice Cream Shop.

Gloriana Jones stared through the glass adorned with colorfully painted ice cream cones, cakes, and sundaes drifting through rainbows while silver stars twinkled above them. She had designed and painted the whimsical display.

A bright-orange patio umbrella pinwheeled past, then tangled in the rail of the boardwalk. She glared at the storm, willing it to blow over. If the same severe weather continued as it had the past two months, her dream of owning her own shop would melt away like last week’s ice cream. Insurance didn’t cover the loss of product when weather like that day’s caused a power failure. She massaged her temples.

Her best friend, Janet Florio, who had retired to Northern New Jersey three years earlier, sent her the newspaper clipping the previous fall.

Come enjoy Lake Unami in the northern hills of New Jersey. Become a part of a thriving tourist community. The town boardwalk’s popular and prosperous ice cream parlor is for sale.

Gloriana’s heart had nearly pounded out of her chest when she read the ad. As early retirement from her career in corrections loomed, she’d been wondering how to spend her time. Then she read the ad and couldn’t believe her eyes. Running an ice cream parlor had been a dream for as long as she could remember, one shared by her late husband, Frank.

Oh, Frank. She sniffled. I’m so sorry.

She didn’t want to lose the dream—like she’d lost him. More than twenty-five years ago, they’d met during correction officer training and married two years later. During all that time, they’d talked endlessly about what they would do when they retired.

We could bring joy and smiles to people. Frank said it so many times, it became their theme. One she enthusiastically shared. Until his heart attack. How could someone so fit, so healthy, so vibrant, die so young? It wasn’t fair! Afterward, she responded by throwing herself into her job, working her way up to sergeant, and getting past the pain—with the love, support, and friendship of her colleagues. But she’d given up hope of ever being in a happy relationship again.

Then Janet sent that ad.

Gloriana took a huge chance by retiring and putting everything she had into buying the shop and setting herself up in business. Without Frank. Even so, she’d been so