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his embrace and allowed herself to get lost in her father’s familiar strength. “I will be.”
    â€œI’m sorry Aaron turned out to be such a jerk.”
    â€œMe, too. I wanted what you and Mom have.” Growing up, she hadn’t thought it was too much to ask. Now, looking back at her failed years with her ex-husband, she knew finding the right man wasn’t as easy as it looked.
    â€œYou’ll get there,” her dad told her. “But do me a favor, kid. This time fall for a Texas boy.”
    She grinned. “You think they’re that much better?”
    â€œI know they are.”
    â€œWhat if he’s an Aggie?” she asked in a mock whisper. Her father had gone to the University of Texas. Aggies—those who graduated from Texas A&M—were the enemy.
    â€œBetter an Aggie than someone from California.”
    She laughed. “I’ll do my best.”
    â€œThat’s my girl.” He kissed the top of her head and released her.
    She stepped back and watched him finish putting up her shelves.
    Maybe this wasn’t exactly where she’d thought she would be at nearly thirty-two, but she could still make it okay. She’d failed at her marriage. People did that and recovered. Many of them thrived. She could thrive, as well. She could figure out how to make starting over the best thing that ever happened to her.

Two
    V iolet parked in front of Jenna’s store and turned off her car engine. She still had a couple of sips left of her coffee. Based on the stacks of boxes she’d seen during her interview, she would need all the caffeine she could get to keep her energy going during the unpacking phase. Getting a store up and running was a lot of work.
    She could see someone moving around inside and guessed Jenna had arrived before her. Enthusiasm was important, she thought, wondering if she’d made a huge mistake, quitting a job she’d had for nearly two years to work for someone with no retail experience.
    The potential upside was that if the store was successful, and Violet made manager, she would enjoy being responsible for things running smoothly. The downside was Jenna didn’t have any experience and some of her ideas were a little strange.
    Still, Violet’s gut had told her this was a good move, andshe’d learned to listen to her gut. Except when it came to men, it had never let her down. On the guy front, her gut was a total failure, but she was okay with that. It wasn’t as if she was looking for a relationship. Career now, she told herself. Men, whenever.
    She swallowed the last of her coffee, then got out of her car and headed for the front door. Jenna straightened at her knock and hurried to let her in.
    â€œYou’re here. Thank God. I’m drowning in boxes. I made a diagram so we’d know where to put everything. What I didn’t count on was the packing material. How is it possible that after I empty a box, there’s more material to stuff in it than will fit? Is that a retail thing?” Jenna paused and laughed.
    â€œSorry,” she said and shook her head. “I’m a little wired. I’ve been here since four this morning and I’ve had the coffee to prove it. Let me start over. Hi. Welcome. How are things?”
    â€œGood. For what it’s worth, you’re right about the packing material. Somehow while it’s on the floor it multiplies or something.”
    â€œThat explains the mess.”
    Jenna gestured to what had been an open space the last time Violet had seen it. Now it was a maze of boxes and shelves. Whatever free floor space had been there before was now filled with open containers overflowing with paper and cardboard.
    By contrast, Jenna looked cool and unruffled. She wore a white chef’s coat over black pants. Black clogs covered her feet. She’d pulled her dark red hair back into a ponytail. Her green eyes were bright, her full mouth smiling, her skin