blessed with that gift. Unlike Kate’s parents, who had turned fighting into a daily habit, Nora doted on her husband, always had, she said, and always would.
Nora popped a bite of cupcake in her mouth then looked around the shop. “How are things going here?”
“Busy.”
“How’s the hunt for a second location?”
Kate shrugged. “I haven’t done much toward that yet.”
“You had plans—”
“That was before, Grandma. Before…” She shook her head.
Nora laid a hand on Kate’s shoulder. “I understand.”
When Andrew had been alive, buying and opening new locations had been part of their business plan. But ever since he’d died, she’d had to work at keeping to that plan. Months ago, she’d found a spot for a second location in Weymouth, but had yet to visit it or run the numbers, all signs that she wasn’t as enthused as she used to be.
Her grandmother smiled. “I like the idea of another Nora’s Sweet Shop, but I worry about you, honey. If you want to take some time off, I’d be glad to step in and help. Your grandpa, too.”
Kate looked at her eighty-three-year-old grandmother. She knew Nora would step in any time Kate asked her, but she wouldn’t expect or ask that of Nora. “I know you would, and I appreciate that but I’m okay. You guys do enough for me making the daytime deliveries.”
Nora waved that off. “It keeps us busy and gets us out of the house. You know we like tooling around town, stopping in to see the regular customers.”
“You two deserve to enjoy your golden years, not spend them working over a hot oven. Besides, I’m doing fine, Grandma.”
Nora brushed a strand of hair off Kate’s face. “No you’re not.”
Kate nodded, then shook her head, and cursed the tears that rushed to her eyes. “I just…miss him.”
She didn’t add that she regretted, to the depth of her being, ever encouraging her brother to join the military. Maybe if she’d pushed him in another direction, or dismissed the idea of the military, he’d be here today.
Tears shimmered in Nora’s eyes, too. She had doted on her grandson, and though she’d been proud of his military service, she had worried every minute of his deployment. “We all do. But he wouldn’t want you to be sitting around, missing him. If there was one thing your brother did well, it was live his life. Remember the time he went parachuting off that mountain?”
Despite the tears, Kate smiled. Her brother had been a wild child, from the second he was born. He approached life head on—and never looked back. “And the time he skydived for the first time. Oh, and that crazy swim with the sharks trip he took.” Kate shook her head. “He lived on the edge.”
“While the rest of us stayed close to terra firma.” Nora smiled. “But in the end, he always came back home.”
“His heart was here.”
“It was indeed,” Nora said. “And he would want you to be happy, to celebrate your life, not bury it in work.”
Before he left for Afghanistan, Andrew had tried to talk to her about the future. When he’d started on the what-ifs, she’d refused to listen, afraid of what might happen. Now, she regretted that choice. Maybe if she’d heard him out, she might have the secret to his risk taking. Something to urge her down the path they had planned for so long.
Andrew had soared the skies for the rest of them while the other Spencers offered caution, wisdom. She missed that about him, but knew she should also learn from him. Remember that life was short and to live every moment with gusto. Even if doing so seemed impossible some days. Kate swiped away the tears. “I’ll try to remember that.”
“Good.” Nora patted her granddaughter on the shoulder. Then her gaze shifted to the picture window at the front of the shop. She nodded toward the door. “Ooh. Handsome man alert. Did you put on your lipstick?”
Kate laughed. Leave it to Nora to be sure her granddaughter was primped and ready should Mr. Right stride on by. Her grandmother lived in perpetual hope for great grandchildren that she could spoil ten times more than she’d spoiled her grandchildren. “Grandma, I’m not interested in dating right now.”
“I think this guy will change your mind about that. Take a look.”
The door opened and Brody McKenna strode inside. Kate’s heart tripped a little. The doctor’s piercing blue eyes zeroed in on hers, and the world dropped away.
She cleared her throat. “Back for another basket, Doctor?”
Way to go, Kate, establish it as a business only relationship. In the end, the best choice. Hadn’t she watched her parents’ marriage, started on a whim, with major differences in goals and values, disintegrate? She wanted a steady, dependable base, not a man who made her heart race and erased her common sense, regardless of the way Brody’s lopsided smile and ocean blue eyes flipped a switch inside her.
“I just came by to thank you,” he said. “The basket was a big hit. My grandmother sends her regards and her gratitude for the cherry chocolates. Especially those. In fact, I’m under strict orders to buy some more.”
“Those are my favorites, too,” Nora said. She leaned over the counter and put out a hand. “I’m Nora Spencer.”
He smiled. “Ah, the famous Nora in Nora’s Sweet Shop.” He shook hands with her, and Kate swore she saw her eighty-three-year-old grandma blush. “Brody McKenna.”
Nora arched a brow. “You’re a doctor, you said?”
Kate wanted to elbow her grandmother but Nora had already stepped out of reach. Under the counter, she waved her hand, but Grandma ignored the hint.
“Yes, ma’am,” Brody said. “I own a family practice right down the street from here. I took over for Doc Watkins.”
“Oh, I remember him,” Nora said. “Nice guy. Except for when he was losing at golf. Then he was grumpy. Every Wednesday, he played, so I learned never to make an appointment for first thing Thursday morning.”
Brody chuckled. “Yep, you have him down to a tee.”
Kate and her grandmother laughed at the pun. Then Nora tapped her chin, and studied Brody. “Wait…McKenna. Aren’t you that doctor that volunteers all the time? Or something like that? I read about a charity your family heads up. Doctors and Borders or something like that.”
“Medicine Across Borders.” He shifted from foot to foot. “Yes, I’m involved in that. We travel the country and the world, providing volunteer medical help to people in need.”
The name of the organization sounded familiar to Kate, but she figured maybe because she’d seen something in the news about it. Brody McKenna, however, seemed unnerved by talking about the group. His gaze darted to the right, and his posture tensed. Maybe he was one of those men who didn’t like his charity work to be a big deal. A behind the scenes kind of guy.
Nora leaned in closer to him. “So tell me, Doctor
