Angel Lane (Heart Lake, 3)

Angel Lane (Heart Lake, 3)

With irresistible humor, warmth, and affection, author Sheila Roberts serves up a generous, open-hearted story about the friendships we make, the chances we take, and the lives we touch every day. Keep the heart in Heart Lake. That's exactly what three small-town shop owners hope to do when they launch their "Have a Heart" campaign-asking neighbors to commit one random act of kindness every day. Emma, Sarah, and Jamie love their lakeside community, but the little town is growing too big too fast, and doing a good deed never hurt anyone. Or so they thought... "Readers will laugh and cry with the women lovingly portrayed in this heartwarming story."- RT Book Reviews When Emma slashes prices at her quilt shop, she almost stitches her way into bankruptcy. Sarah's free cooking class boils down to a hotbed of crime when some punk kid swipes her favorite heirloom. And at Jamie's chocolate shop, things take a bittersweet turn when a local policeman starts giving her grief, stirring up feelings she's tried to forget-and slowly melts away her defenses... "Will doubtless warm more than a few hearts."- Publishers Weekly “Roberts' book of small-town life is as sweet as ginger cookies and as homey as raisin pie (recipes included). Readers will laugh and cry with the women lovingly portrayed in this heartwarming story that explores the joys of friendship and the power of good deeds.” ― RT Book Reviews “... will doubtless warm more than a few hearts.” ― Publishers Weekly “Angel Lane is a feel-good book that shouldn't be missed and is a perfect read for the upcoming Christmas holiday season.” ― Romancing the Book Sheila Roberts is the author of On Strike for Christmas, Small Change, The Snow Globe, Bikini Season , and other bestselling books. Before settling into her writing life, Roberts did lots of other things, including owning a singing telegram company and playing in a band. Now, when she’s not speaking to women’s groups or at conferences, she can be found writing about the things near and dear to women’s hearts: family, friends, and chocolate. She lives on a lake in Washington. Angel Lane By Sheila Roberts St. Martin's Press Copyright © 2009 Sheila Rabe All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-312-38482-1 CHAPTER 1 Another day in Mayberry, Jamie Moore thought as she waved the last two customers of the day out the door of the Chocolate Bar. A gust of autumn wind slipped in as the old women left, tickling the chime hanging in the window: little chocolates nesting in pretend paper cups dangling from a pink, heart-shaped chocolate box. They looked good enough to eat, just like the vast array of temptation Jamie kept on trays behind the glass counters. Except Jamie's truffles and fudge and other chocolate concoctions weren't simply good enough, they were great, to die for. That was what all her customers said anyway. Jamie watched through the window as the two women started their snail-paced progress down the sidewalk, the late October wind whistling under their skirts. On the other side of the street another gust playfully stripped blushing leaves from the big maple on the corner. They danced off, swirling onto the sidewalk. The swirling leaves made Jamie think of fairies, and that made her smile, something she'd done a lot lately. Maybe it was Heart Lake, maybe it was the magic of chocolate — whatever it was that she'd found here, it had given Jamie back her smile. Her struggles in L.A. were behind her now and she had a new business and a new life. She had come home, stepped back in time, and found herself again. Jamie hadn't found a fortune, though, at least not yet, so that meant only part-time help, low-rent living, and a beater car. But the low rent was on a lakefront cabin that her aunt, Sarah Goodwin, had found for her. And the beater was a Toyota that gave her pretty good gas mileage. So it was all good. She turned the sign on the door to CLOSED, then hurried through her closing chores, cleaning the espresso machine, wiping down counters, and washing dishes. Her final chore was to jot down her grocery list. She bought her chocolate from a supplier in Seattle who had it shipped from France, but for her other supplies she shopped locally. Tonight she needed to get cream, a necessary staple for really good truffles. She also needed some more strawberry liqueur, which Tony DeSoto at Bere Vino was holding for her. Tomorrow she'd be in the shop by five, making truffles. Her part-time help would join her at ten and man the counter. Wednesdays were always busy thanks to a walking group, the local MOPS moms who came in after their weekly meeting, and Lakeside Realty, who always bought truffles to serve at their realtors' open houses every Wednesday. And that was only the morning customers. Just thinking about tomorrow made her tired, but that was nothing compared to how tired she felt when she thought of Fridays, when half of Heart Lake came in searching for hostess gifts, shower presents, and a