Sophia's Magic Beans
By D. V. Stone
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About this ebook
Luke O’Brian confronts his boss and mentor after discovering his law firm’s involvement with a crooked politician and is reminded of the non-disclosure agreement he’d signed. He can’t break it without evidence—evidence that he can’t access after he’s escorted out of the building by security. Devastated, he reluctantly returns to his hometown to regroup.
Lake Unami in Northern New Jersey is a magical place. Rainbows and unexplained coincidences seem more normal than not. Guardian angels, bookstore owners, and an endearing cast of characters all come together to bring happiness and love to Calliope, Sophia, and Luke.
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
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Sophia's Magic Beans - D. V. Stone
Calliope puffed air through pursed lips.
Those must be some deep thoughts to release so much air.
Mrs. Booker, who owned Boardwalk Books, a used bookstore a few doors down with her husband Peter, stood with a broom in hand, ready to tidy up the welcome mat and surrounding planks.
Calliope tried not to smile at the woman who resembled a jolly old apple-face doll. Kids and their fantasies. Life is so simple and straightforward to them.
They need childhood.
The elder woman’s nose lifted, causing more and deeper wrinkles. Can’t let life take that away from them. Kids grow up too fast with so much adult information instead of how to play and pretend. It’s a shame.
A gust of cool air caused dry leaves, leftover from last fall, and dust to swirl like a fairy dancing at her words.
I wish I could play make-believe and pretend, but bills and business are calling. Have a sweet afternoon, Mrs. Booker.
You too, dear.
The woman returned down the boardwalk and attacked the mat with a gusto Calliope only wished she had the energy for.
She sighed again, then pasted on a smile before reentering the shop. It was time to play at being a business owner and pretending she wasn’t a big-mouth mom.
Praise for D.V. Stone
D.V. Stone is a genre-hopping maven who writes unforgettable characters that leap from the page and into your heart. Whether your reading jam is middle-grade or romance, D.V. Stone is your next binge-read author.
~ N. N. Light’s Book Heaven
Award-winning, multi-genre author D. V. Stone is the real deal. Stone’s values of honesty and the importance of family and friends are the foundation of her writing. Her sense of humor softens the difficult things that her characters must face.
~ Holly Schwartz reader and loyal fan
D.V. Stone’s contemporary romances are fun and heartwarming. Her cleverly-crafted characters and familiar, real-world settings always make me feel at home.
~ Jessica Lauryn Bestselling
Author of Romance Books
Sophia’s Magic Beans
by
D. V. Stone
Jelly Beans and Spring Things Series
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.
Sophia’s Magic Beans
COPYRIGHT © 2022 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: info@thewildrosepress.com
Cover Art by The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
PO Box 708
Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708
Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com
Publishing History
First Edition, 2023
Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-4681-6
Jelly Beans and Spring Things Series
Published in the United States of America
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all the single parents trying to do their best. I hope you get your fairytale ending.
And to my husband Peter who would give me all his cherry-flavored jelly beans and take away all my licorice ones.
And to my son RJ who survived this single mom’s upbringing. I’m proud of the man you’ve become.
Chapter 1
Plunk. Click. Debit.
Plunk. Click. Debit.
Plunk. Click. Debit.
With each drop of a black jelly bean into the large glass jar and click of the mechanical tally counter, Calliope Novak’s usually cheerful mood soured like the Sour Flower candy the kids were crazy for.
What was the fascination with them? Candy and love should be sweet and fun.
Plunk. Click. Debit.
The stupid rent was due again, and her divorce settlement was running low.
Most of the money went to renovating the small candy shop.
Lake Unami, New Jersey, had been home all her life. Owning a candy store here was one of her dreams.
During her honeymoon with Ryan Baylor, the idea solidified. They’d visited an old-fashioned shop in Dublin, and the dream of Calliope’s Candy took wings. Too bad it outlasted her marriage to Ryan.
The death knell of her short marriage sounded the moment they walked into the fancy party his boss hosted. She realized they were doomed.
Ryan understood it too. The next day he tried to convince her to get a makeover. His friend could take her.
Was he kidding?
How fast he’d turned on her. "My parents hate you. Why can’t you be more like Elise? She’d make an effort to help her husband succeed.
Plunk. Click. Cheater.
Plunk. Click. Divorce.
Soon after the divorce was final, a small storefront became available at the end of the lake’s boardwalk.
He got a new wife named Elise.
She got a new life and the shop she’d dreamed of. Focused on starting the business, she didn’t even realize she was pregnant until she was about four months along. At least she’d rented the whole building, and it included a small apartment on the second floor.
Calliope glanced up when a yellow school bus hissed to a stop out front.
The long arms with red stop signs swung from the chassis.
Time to smile and pretend everything is sunshine and unicorns.
The bangle bracelet jingled as she patted the giant, pink, Easter bunny on the way past.
The doorbell rang with the bubble-gum pop song about desiring some candy.
Calliope began singing as she walked out the door. Her long, flowery skirt whirled around the granny boots she’d tied on that morning.
Speaking of sunshine, she looked up—April in New Jersey could be fickle.
Nope, clear sky. Cotton-candy clouds.
Mama!
Sophia jumped off the bottom step of the bus and ran toward her.
Her daughter’s chestnut-colored ponytail hung loose, most of the hair escaping and blowing across her face. But those green eyes, so much like Ryan’s, pierced through. I missed you.
When she wrapped her arms around this tiny miracle, Calliope’s heart galloped. How would she’ve gotten through the past five years without her honeymoon baby? Was your day as beautiful as you?
Sophia pulled out of the embrace and grinned. It was great.