Breakfast for Two (Peakview series Book 2)

  Breakfast For Two

  By

  Jill Haymaker

  Smashwords Edition

  Copyright © 2015 by Jill Haymaker

  All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this work may be reproduced in any fashion without the express, written consent of the copyright holder.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed herein are fictitious and are not based on any real persons living or dead.

  This book is dedicated to everyone out there who believes that it is never too late to find a second chance at love.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Violet rolled over and tried to adjust her eyes to the darkness. She reached to stop the beep, beep, beep of her alarm. She grabbed her glasses from the night stand and clumsily stuck them on her face before looking over to see that her clock read 5 a.m.—as always.

  “Brrr,” she exclaimed out loud. She hastily jumped out of her warm bed into the frosty, December, Colorado morning. Scurrying across the room to turn up her thermostat, she glanced out the window onto the quiet street. Still snowing. Peakview, Colorado, population 200—give or take a few—had no street lights, so the scene below was only illuminated by the glow from the sparkling snow which blanketed everything in sight. At almost 9000 feet above sea level, it was a rare winter day when she didn’t see snow falling.

  Violet climbed into her shower and let the spray of warm water relax her aching muscles and revive her for the day ahead. At sixty-four, her muscles always seemed tight first thing in the morning, especially this time of year. Maybe those folks who retired to Arizona didn’t have such a bad idea.

  Drying off, she pulled on her jeans, a bright blue flannel shirt, and comfortable flat shoes for her day ahead. She only needed to add a cheerful apron when she got downstairs to complete her work outfit. This time of year it most likely one of her many holiday ones, with a jolly Santa, Christmas tree, or reindeer on the front. She even owned a couple aprons complete with blinking lights, although they could become annoying after a while. As she combed and dried her short gray hair, she found herself humming one of her favorite Christmas carols. Despite the cold, she loved this time of year.

  Violet made her way down the back staircase from her apartment into the kitchen of her café below. Not at all surprisingly, a light shone from the dining area, and she heard the drip of coffee brewing. She breathed in deeply, nothing like the aroma of fresh-perked coffee to start the day. Howard Crandall, local mechanic, stopped by so often for an early morning cup of coffee, she had finally caved in and given him a key. She had to admit that living alone as she did, it was nice having the lights and coffee on when she came down into the kitchen.

  “Good morning, Howard, I see you’re up early again.”

  “Morning, Violet. Yep, didn’t sleep much last night, arthritis flares up in this cold and damp weather. Besides, I needed to get some warm coffee inside me before I head out into the blizzard to shovel off your porch and walkway by 6:00 a.m.

  “Thanks. I hope you know how much I appreciate it. I’ll just stay here in the kitchen next to the warm stove. I’m going to whip up a big batch of warm biscuits. They’ll ready when you come back inside.”

  “That’s why I love you,” Howard joked. He pulled on his heavy coat, boots, hat and gloves and pushed his way out the front door, shutting it quickly behind him before too much cold air came inside.

  Howard had been her husband Stan’s best friend. She had to admit that she’d never quite understood what Stan saw in him. About their same age, Howard was already a fixture in Peakview that summer they arrived. He owned the garage next door to the café and lived alone in a small dilapidated cabin down by the river. He kept to himself—something of a hermit. No wife or kids. All these years, she’d never even seen him with a woman. But Stan and Howard inexplicably bonded and spent many hours together fishing and hunting.

  Her opinion of him changed, however, after Stan passed. For the last eight years, Howard self-appointed himself as her protector. He somehow miraculously showed up whenever there was a chore that needed doing. If she stopped to think about it, she wasn’t sure what she’d have done without him. She wouldn’t say that they were exactly friends, but they definitely had learned to depend on each other. She was grateful that God saw fit to put him in her life.

  Violet glanced at her watch—5 :30. She better get started. Only a half hour until her doors opened for the day. Although the population of Peakview was small especially without the summer tourists, the local residents and nearby ranchers got up early, no matter what the weather. A hardy bunch of people chose to live in this rugged country year- round. They depended on her for their morning coffee. She couldn’t have asked for a more loyal clientele, or nicer folks.

  Violet slid the last batch of biscuits into the heated oven, hearing the front door open and the stomp of Howard’s boots shaking off the snow. “The walkways are clear for now, but I’m not sure how long that will last if this snow keeps up. There must be two feet out there already.”

  Violet walked out into the main eating area and turned on the lights of the Christmas tree by the front door. “Everyone likes a white Christmas!” she said with a smile. In Peakview, people were used to snow. It never seemed to slow down her business too much.

  Howard slipped around the counter and helped himself to another cup of coffee while Violet turned the plastic door sign to OPEN. Soon her counter would be full of nearby ranchers.

  ***

  Violet sighed. Finally, the chance to sit down and rest her feet. She glanced over at the clock on the wall—almost 10:00. Busier than usual, the morning had flown by. Seemed everyone wanted something to warm to eat and drink before a day spent facing the winter elements. Violet hated to admit it, but her feet got sore quicker than they used to. Four hours of standing and she needed a break. She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat back down at the end of the counter.

  Where had all the years gone? Had it really been almost forty years since she came to this place, a newlywed pursuing her new husband, Stan’s, dream of opening a restaurant in a quaint, little mountain town. What fun they had together, living above the restaurant in the apartment that she now occupied. A few years later they moved into their beautiful log home down by the river. Right before the birth of their only son, Justin. Violet spent thirty wonderful years in that home. After Justin moved away and Stan died suddenly of a heart attack, she just couldn’t bear going to their home alone. Too many memories. Besides, it became much more convenient to live at the café. So she put the home on the market, sold most of her belongings, and moved back here to the familiar space. That had been eight years ago, and she was content with her life the way it was now. The townspeople of Peakview had become her family now.

  “Hey, Violet!” Jeff Walker, a local rancher, shoved the door shut against the wind. “Quite the storm we’ve got going on out there.”

  “Hey JW!” She reluctantly slid off her stool.

  “Please don’t get up. I know my way to the coffee pot.”

  “How’s that new wife of yours? Surviving her first Colorado winter?”

  Just the mention of June caused Jeff’s face to light up brighter than the Christmas tree behind him. Four weeks of marriage and he still glowed. “She’s wonderful. She loves the snow.” Jeff took off his thick, wool gloves and took a seat at the counter. “How’s business?”

  “Busy first thing this morning, but as you can see everyone had come and gone. People will most likely call it an early day and head home to the warmth of their homes if the snow keeps up. That’s fine with me. I’ve got some Christmas wrapping and baking I can occupy my time with. I may
close down early.”

  Jeff and Violet chatted for a few minutes while he downed his coffee. He headed back out into the storm, and Violet was once again alone in the café. She went about fixing a big pot of homemade vegetable soup and got it simmering for the lunch special. Grabbing a pad and pencil, she started a “to do before Christmas” checklist. How could it be December 10th already? Only fifteen more days until Christmas, and only ten days before Justin and his lovely wife, Sarah, arrived for their visit along with the cutest grandkids in the world: seven-year-old Haley and five-year-old Chase.

  Violet loved having little ones around for Christmas morning. Her small upstairs apartment was too cramped for company, so Violet rented one of the few winterized vacation rental cabins down by the river for Justin and his family. Fortunately for her, the landlord was none other than Howard Crandall. Since he owed her a favor or two, not the least of which being free coffee each and every morning, he allowed her access to the cabin a few days ahead of their arrival, so she could put up some decorations so that the rental looked homey and festive when her family arrived. Violet planned to stay there on Christmas Eve and enjoy the excitement of Santa Claus with the children bright and early on Christmas morning.

  She would close the café at 5:00 p.m. on the 23rd and not reopen until the morning of the 27th . The town gladly accepted her Christmas holiday every year. Most of them spent the time home with their families anyway.

  Violet’s lunch crowd came and went, while the wind and snow continued to howl outside the door. Suddenly the front door banged open with the wind, startling her from her thoughts.

  “It’s turning into a doozy of a blizzard,” Howard said as he followed the wind into the café. “Can’t even see where I shoveled this morning. You’re not going to get much more business in this weather. If I was you, I’d close down and call it a day.”

  “Join me for a cup of hot coffee?” Violet turned around, wiping her hands on her apron. Without waiting for an answer, she walked around to the front of the counter and set down two steaming mugs. “Here you go.” Howard never turned down a cup of coffee. “What are you up to today? Any business next door at the garage?”

  “Not one person. But I’ve kept myself busy with my snowplow, clearing several driveways and helping pull old Mr. Hamilton’s truck out of a ditch he managed to end up in this morning. The State of Colorado should really stop renewing his license. He’s a danger to everyone on the road. Silly old goat doesn’t even have enough sense to stay home on a day like this.”

  Violet and Howard both laughed.

  “I’m about to head out to the cabin.”

  “Special today is my homemade vegetable soup. Can I get you like a bowl before you head out?”

  “Don’t mind if I do. I’m not really in a cooking mood.”

  Judging by how many times each week he ate at her counter, Violet doubted that he was ever in a cooking mood. “Here you go. I’ll put some in a to-go container also, in case you get hungry later.”

  “Violet, you take too good of care of me! If you weren’t here, I swear I’d be fifty pounds lighter!”

  CHAPTER TWO

  When Howard retreated back out into the howling blizzard, Violet finished her clean-up, turned on the outside Christmas lights as she shut off the lights in the café, and trudged back up the narrow staircase to her apartment. She smiled. Her cat, Lucky, jumped up from his warm spot on the old recliner to greet her. She always counted on Lucky to welcome her home, whether the cat was glad for the company or just knew it was dinner time, Violet craved being needed.

  Shortly after she moved back to the small apartment, she had been taking out the trash one frigid winter morning, when she heard a rustling behind the dumpster. Violet remembered grabbing a broom to scare off the likely raccoon or other marauder, but when she walked around the edge of the bin, there huddled against the building wad the tiniest kitten she had ever seen. Its entire little body shook, peering up at her with its huge green eyes. The kitten let out a feeble hiss and shrunk back against the wall. Violet reached down and scooped him up.

  “Where did you come from little fellow? You’re going to freeze to death out here.”

  Violet carried the small visitor inside and put him in a box lined with towels by the stove. She looked in the pantry and prepared a small bowl of thin, warm oatmeal and milk and set it beside her guest. Immediately the small kitten began to purr and devour the oatmeal like he had not eaten in quite a while.

  “I guess you were hungry,” Violet laughed.

  That had been six years ago now, and Lucky, aptly named since he might have frozen to death if Violet hadn’t found him that morning, was the love of her life ever since.

  Violet settled in the recliner in front of her wood stove with a good romance novel. Purring, Lucky curled up on her lap. Yep, her life was good. There she remained until she fell into bed some time later and set her alarm for 5 a.m. to start another day.

  ***

  The next ten days passed in a blur of activity for the upcoming holiday. On top of her usual baking and cooking for the café, Violet stayed down in the kitchen late into the night baking cookies, fudge, caramels, and other Christmas goodies for the annual church bake sale and for her family once they arrived. Two evenings that week she spent delivering baskets of food to the more needy families in their community. Howard, as always, had generously agreed to drive her in his big four-wheel-drive truck to the outlying homes.

  Howard was blessed with such a big heart. Violet often wondered why he had no family of his own, why he seemed content to live alone. Other than his sister and her family from Pennsylvania, who sometimes visited in the summer, he appeared to have no one. She really didn’t know much about his background. A typical male, he just didn’t talk about personal stuff.

  ***

  At 5:00 p.m. on the 23rd and Violet was busy putting away food and closing things up tight for her short holiday. All of her regular customers had gone home to their families. What a fun-filled day. She handed out her famous melt in your mouth Christmas sugar cookies to all who entered the café and wished everyone in town a Merry Christmas. Many of her regulars brought her small gifts, although she always begged them not to go to the trouble. She hated to admit it, but the fact that they cared meant a lot to her. Violet told Justin to come to the café when they got to town so they could all drive out to the cabin together. She smiled. Her precious grandchildren should be here any minute!

  In the kitchen wiping down the stove, she heard the bell tinkle signaling the front door opening. Hurriedly wiping her hands on her apron, she turned around to greet her children. Startled, she stopped in her tracks. Not Justin and family, but rather a thin, unfamiliar, young blond woman, with an equally blond teenager in tow—both of them bundled up against the cold.

  “I’m sorry, I saw your lights on. Are you closed?”

  “No need to be sorry. I’m about ready to close up for the holiday, but come on in. You look like you could use a warm cup of coffee or hot chocolate.”

  “We’d love that, if it’s not too much trouble. I’ll take some coffee and my daughter some hot chocolate.”

  “No trouble at all. We don’t get many strangers through here this time of year,” Violet said, putting the steaming cups on the counter in front of them. “Where you headed? Do you have family near here?”

  The young woman hesitated, “No, just passing through. Actually, I was looking for Howard at the garage, but it seems all shut down.”

  Violet smiled, “He doesn’t work too late this time of year, not much business except keeping the roads plowed. He may not reopen until after Christmas.”

  The woman’s face fell. She looked down into her coffee.

  “I’m Violet, by the way. And you are?”

  “Melanie,” she replied softly. “And this is my daughter, Sophie.

  Well, Melanie and Sophie, it’s nice to meet you. Are you friends of Howard’s? I can tell him you stopped by. If you want to leave him a not
e, I’ll make sure he gets it.”

  There was a pause as Melanie seemed deep in thought. “Thanks, but he doesn’t know me. Is there a motel nearby where we might get a room for a few nights?”

  “Unfortunately, there’s nothing here in Peakview. The closest motel is in Aspen Ridge—about 20 miles on down the road. It’s nothing fancy, but it’d be a roof over your head.”

  Violet’s motherly heart ached for this young woman and her child, seemingly alone in the world at Christmas time. “Do you have someone to be with for Christmas?”

  “I’m not really religious. It’s just another day. Besides my mom passed away this time last year. We don’t feel much like celebrating. Thanks for the coffee. We’ll just get out of your way, so that you can finish closing up. How much do I owe you?” She stood up and buttoned her coat.

  Violet reached over the counter to touch Melanie’s hand. “It’s on the house. I was getting ready to throw that pot out if you hadn’t come in. Here, have a plate of Christmas cookies to take with you.”

  Melanie looked at Violet with tears starting to form in her pale blue eyes. “Thanks, we need to get going, want to get to that motel before it gets too late.”

  “Wait. If you don’t have anywhere to go for Christmas dinner, you’re welcome to join my family.” Violet grabbed a napkin and drew a rough map from the café to the cabin where they’d be staying. “Here’s directions. It’s not hard to find.” She held it out.

  Melanie grabbed the napkin and shoved it in her purse as she took hold of her daughter’s hand and headed out the door.

  “Merry Christmas,” Violet said to their backs. The door clanged shut in the dark. Hmm, she wondered. Why was this young woman looking for Howard? Whatever their situation was, it was sad that the two of them might be alone in a shabby motel room for Christmas. She hoped that they would take her up on her offer to join her family.