Sweeter Temptation (Kimani Hotties) Read Free

gym teacher blowing the whistle she wore on a cord around her neck.
    “For God’s sake, I didn’t come out in this dreadful weather to listen to you all gripe,” Amy Miller said. “Pipe down and let Nia finish. This isn’t her fight, but she stayed on here to help us. The least we can do is listen.”
    The heckler’s face flushed a chastened pink underneath his cap. “Sorry,” he muttered.
    Nia nodded a silent thanks to her childhood friend Amy. These were good people, she reminded herself, but they were scared. And who could blame them?
    Christmas season profits, vital to a company that produced only peppermint bark, were abysmal, and its new parent company had been silent for months. If the hundred-year-old Peppermint Lane Candy Factory shut down it would leave most of the people in the room unemployed and the town named for it in serious jeopardy.
    “No apology necessary,” Nia said, feeling a twinge of guilt over her earlier thoughts of abandoning them. “You’re right. I’ve searched every inch of my grandmother’s place, and unfortunately, I haven’t found any clues to what her plans were to revive the factory.”
    She paused and cleared her throat. “However, I’m working with the mayor and the city council on another plan. One we believe will finally put the Peppermint Lane factory and the town of Candy on Ellison Industries’ radar.”
    A cell phone belted out a tune, and the mayor motioned for Nia to continue as he walked outside the auditorium to take the call.
    “We’re putting the finishing touches on a proposal we’ll present to you all next week in a special town-hall meeting,” Nia said. “It includes—”
    “Excuse me, Nia,” the mayor, who’d returned to the auditorium, interrupted. He turned his attention to the audience. “Folks, I’m afraid I have to adjourn the meeting. The weather forecast of several inches of snow has been upgraded to a full-blown blizzard.”
    Grumbles rippled through the crowd. Again, Nia couldn’t blame them. According to the calendar, spring had officially sprung more than a week ago. However, it seemed to have skipped western Ohio. Now, even the most hard-core winter lovers were past ready to retire their ice scrapers and shovels for the season.
    “We’d all best head home while we still can,” the mayor said.
    Nia shrugged on her goose-down parka and pulled a wool hat over her recently shorn head. She should have held off until spring had gotten a foothold before getting rid of her relaxer with “the big chop,” she thought, jamming her hands into mittens. She stuffed her notes back inside her tote bag and looked through the crowd for Amy, spotting her friend already walking in her direction.
    While the majority of people at tonight’s meeting lived in town and didn’t have far to go, Nia’s late grandmother’s and Amy’s farmhouses were located in the county’s outskirts.
    “You two are welcome to stay at my house,” the mayor offered. “The wife and I’d be glad to have you.”
    Nia appreciated the kindness of the man, who the town had selected to finish her grandmother’s second mayoral term after she’d died late last year. However, she preferred to ride out the storm in her own space, relaxing in a much-anticipated bubble bath.
    “Thanks, but I promised Matt I’d deliver Amy home to him.”
    “It’s pretty nasty out,” the mayor said.
    “Certainly is.” A voice from behind them concurred, and Nia groaned inwardly.
    “Evening, Deputy,” she said, as the sheriff’s deputy joined the conversation.
    “How many times do I have to tell you to call me Don?” he asked.
    Nia knew the deputy had been summoning up the courage to ask her out again, and she’d managed to dodge him earlier. He was a nice guy, and she didn’t like hurting his feelings, but she simply wasn’t interested.
    “I’d be happy to give you ladies a lift or follow you in the squad car to make sure you both get home safely.”
    “Thank you, Deputy