Page 15 of A Chance for Candace

Wouldn’t they?

She almost felt as if she were working with Theodore again. His passion had been evident in everything he did when it came to chocolates. Jessie was the same way. She saw his eyes light up and the satisfaction on his face each time he pulled a cake from the oven.

Even if one of them lost in the end, and one of them would, she was sure they’d be able to work things out. What if they continued this way, splitting the store and the costs to do business? The town wasn’t all that wealthy and it would be a good while until more people showed up to live and work here. She knew they wouldn’t make a lot of money but at least the building was paid for and the cost of doing business wasn’t much.

She was a smart business woman and thought about every scenario before getting on that train to Last Chance. Even if there were slow weeks, she had enough saved to get through a rough period. Candace was pretty sure Jessie did too. She was starting to fall in love with this town. Was she starting to fall in love with her rival? That was impossible. Love didn’t happen this fast! Of course, she had no idea at all since she never loved anyone before. She had to get some sleep since the morning came early and they’d be handing out samples all day. She’d have to smile and didn’t want to be grumpy at all.

After another hour of tossing and turning and wondering how this would all come out in the end, Candace finally began to drift off to sleep.

The light through her window was brighter than the moon’s light and she knew it was morning and time to rise. She thanked God for giving her another day and got up to get dressed. After she fixed her hair in one long braid that hung down her back, she went downstairs to start the day.

Jessie was already there, placing the chocolate covered soft pretzels in a large basket. He gave her a sweet smile. “Good morning, Candace. I’m almost done then we can put your chocolates in the other basket over there. First, have some coffee.” He pointed to a large basket that hadn’t been there last night.

“Where did you get the baskets?” she asked.

“I was at the general store this morning and bought two.”

“Let me pay you for one.”

“It wasn’t much, really. Think of it as a gift.”

“I don’t care for gifts, Jessie. Besides, I account for every single purchase that’s made. So, before you buy anything for this business, please run it by me beforehand.”

He sighed. “Fine. If that’s how you want to do things, I’ll make a list. By the way, I spoke with the sheriff and he told me that we can borrow the chairs and tables from one of the closed businesses. He’s even having a young man load them up and bring them over here while we are out giving away samples.”

“Well, that’s something. Thank you for mentioning it to him.”

“Not a problem. Now, will you please take the basket as a gift?”

She smiled. “It’s a deal.” She didn’t want to owe him anything, but if he said it was a gift then she’d take it. After all, she hadn’t figured out how she was going to get the samples out to everyone in town. At least he was thinking ahead. She had the idea of placing them on trays and running back and forth to the shop. Now, having a basket would be much easier. He was a smart businessman, too. She wasn’t going to tell him though.

After she finished her coffee and filled her basket with the chocolate concoctions, she followed Jessie out the door, down the steps and began handing out her sweets the moment someone walked by. After that, she went into several businesses, offering a few chocolates and Jessie offered a taste of the delicious pretzels. By noon, both baskets were empty.

“That’s all we have,” she whispered to Jessie, not realizing she was standing so close. His warmth made her shiver. He gazed into her eyes.

“This was more fun than I had in ages,” he told her, moving even closer. They were standing out on the street at the edge of town, each holding an empty basket. Noone was around at the moment, but she took a step forward, almost wanting him to kiss her. They were both caught up in the excitement of the day and when he leaned towards her, she did the same.

Their lips met briefly, and she stepped back, surprised that she wanted him to kiss her again. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“I’m not,” he told her and dipped his head to kiss her again. If she had been braver, she’d have lifted her hand and ran it through his hair, but she didn’t. She was scared of the kiss and told him.

“Don’t be afraid of me,” he told her.

“I’m not afraid of you, but I think we shouldn’t kiss in public. I’m afraid of what is happening to the two of us. This is not good for business.”

He sighed and stepped back. “I think you’re right and yet it doesn’t feel wrong. I like to kiss you, Candace. You taste like chocolate and sweets and the perfume you wear is soft and gentle like when your lips touched mine.”

Oh dear! He was making her swoon. She had to get far away from him. This was not the plan. “I have to go.” She turned away and hurried down the street, back towards the store.

“Where do you have to go?” he called out, his footsteps behind her.

“I don’t know.” She got to the store and hurried inside, closing the door rather than letting it open for him. The tables and chairs were already there so she put the basket on the counter and went out to arrange them in the store. When he came inside, Jessie didn’t say a word. He continued into the kitchen, then turned back to her.

“We can’t let that happen again.”

She nodded. “I agree. I think we got caught up in the business and we have to be more adult about this business.”

Jessie nodded and went into the kitchen.

Candace felt her heart pounding. It wasn’t about to stop. She sat down on the chair in front of her and bent her head to her knees, taking in deep breaths. Dear Lord, what have I gotten into?

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