Iris in Bloom: Take a Chance, Book 2 Read Free Page A

basil.”
    “Don't kill this one,” Marguerite ordered. Iris was sadly aware that she had killed the last two basil plants her sister brought her. “Thought I might trade them for some green tea, a veggie sandwich and,” Marguerite breathed deeply. “Oh, tell me that’s your wicked brownies I’m smelling?”
    “It is. And it’s a good trade.” Marguerite was magic in the garden and absolutely useless in the kitchen while Iris was the exact opposite. Marguerite grew her herbs for her and kept her small garden tended, while she made sure her younger sister got fed. It worked.
    The coffee shop wasn’t too busy. A few teenagers who’d come in after school lounged in comfy chairs sipping fancy coffees and goofing around.
    An older couple sat at a table with a road map in front of them. She suspected they’d come in to use the washroom on a long road trip and then bought coffees because they felt bad. The fact that they’d ended up having paninis and two of her wicked brownies for dessert she put down to her talent in writing up her food descriptions, cooking same, and displaying it all to advantage.
    Other than that, there was a quiet guy named Eric in the corner with his laptop. Eric was a budding screenwriter who worked in the horror genre. So far all he’d experienced was rejection but he’d told Iris repeatedly that he felt like the energy in her coffee shop was really creative.
    He’d also taken to pouring out his troubles, both creative and personal, whenever he got the opportunity.
    “What are you bringing Sunday night?” Marguerite asked, bringing her back to earth.
    “Sunday night? Oh, don’t tell me it’s a family dinner I’ve forgotten.”
    “No. It’s the vegan potluck and it’s at my house.”
    “But I’m not a vegan.”
    “So what. You’re my sister and I need you there.” She paused to sip her tea. “I also need your pot luck dish. You know I can’t cook.”
    She eyed the pots sitting on the table between them. “I’ll make you a vegan dish. Probably containing fresh basil. But I can’t face all that tie-dye and hemp.”
    “Be nice about our parents.” She grinned. “It’ll be fun. Scott Beatty will be there. And maybe some other single guys.”
    “There are no decent single guys in this town.”
    “There’s a new teacher at the high school. He’s coming.”
    Now her interest was caught. “Geoff McLeod is coming to the vegan potluck?”
    Marguerite put her cup down with a snap. “You know him?”
    “No. He came in this morning and grabbed some coffees and muffins.”
    “And?”
    “And nothing. He seemed nice. He also seemed married.”
    “I don't think so. Nobody mentioned a wife.”
    “Maybe she’s, I don’t know, packing up the house or something and coming out later.”
    “You can ask him all about his wife at the potluck. Sunday.”
    The trouble with owning a coffee shop was that everyone in town knew where to find her. And, even if she tried to shut herself away in her kitchen at the back it didn’t matter. The number of people who felt they had the right to barge back here astonished her.
    Her mother being the worst offender.
    “Hi, darling,” Daphne Chance said, appearing at Iris’s side while she cooked up an experimental vegan dish in her kitchen. “I didn’t see you out front so I thought I’d sneak back here and see how you’re doing.”
    “I’m doing fine, Mom. Trying out a new recipe for brownies made with beets. For the vegan potluck.”
    “Oh, that sounds delicious. I can’t wait to try them.”
    Actually, neither could Iris. She liked adding new menu items and seeing how they went over. There were enough vegans and food sensitive types in the area that she thought she might try selling the beet brownies if they turned out okay.
    She also made a dish of brown rice with garbanzo beans and coconut milk and various spices (including fresh basil) that was quite delicious. At least she wouldn’t be too hungry.
    When Sunday night came, she