The Devine Doughnut Shop(39)

“Well, I think it’s a crazy idea—but then, it might prove to be lucrative. This is really thinking outside the box,” Calvin said.

“We pay a whole floor of people to do our thinking for us on new ideas, so let’s do that taste-test thing in the morning and see what they think,” Delores answered and slipped her phone out from her jacket pocket. “I’ll call down to Lucy and tell her what we need. Shall we set up conference room two for the taste test? I’ll tell my intern to bring in milk and juice and make a pot of coffee.”

“Whichever room you think is best.” Travis took another sip of his coffee.

“I’ll whip up some forms to track the taste test, too. And one more question: What will we do with all the leftovers?” Calvin asked.

“Put them in the lobby kitchen for the rest of the employees. They’ll enjoy having doughnuts to snack on all day,” Travis said as he pushed back his chair and stood up.

“Hey,” Calvin called out as Travis headed for the door. “Before we get started with business and I get into trouble at home, Maggie wants you to come to dinner Friday night. She’s invited a friend over, and she doesn’t want her to feel like a third wheel. I’ll grill some steaks, and we’ll play cards after dinner.”

Travis chuckled. “Tell Maggie I love her, but no thanks. I can see right through what she’s doing, and I’m not ready to date.”

His grandfather’s voice popped into his head: Not even this Grace lady that you keep thinking about? Admit it, you are attracted to her.

“Ready or not, she’s pretty persistent.” Calvin laughed with him. “You could just come by some evening. The girls miss their Uncle Travis.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Travis said.

“I understand they’re both driving now. Does that make you feel old?” Delores teased.

“Yep, it does,” Calvin admitted. “Maggie is happy that they’re both driving so she doesn’t have to be constantly taking them to classes. When we were kids, Travis and I just ran all over our grandparents’ ranches and made our own fun. Nowadays, kids have to take piano lessons, dance lessons, tennis lessons, and God only knows what else to fill up every minute of their time.”

“Statistics say that keeps them out of trouble,” Delores said. “Or so my granddaughter tells me when I fuss about all the classes that she has her two kids enrolled in.”

Calvin shook his head slowly. “Kids is spelled T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Trouble finds them, and they welcome it with open arms.”

“You wouldn’t take anything for those girls,” Travis told him. “But if they’re that much trouble, then why are you trying to talk me into a relationship that would lead to kids?”

“You are right. I wouldn’t take a million bucks for each of them, but I wouldn’t give a plug nickel for two more just like ’em. And maybe I want my partner to have the same problems I do,” Calvin answered.



Travis had trouble sleeping that night. He kept trying to figure out whether he really wanted to go ahead with the bakery idea or if he just wanted to see Grace again. Maybe he wanted to prove to himself that everything and everyone had a price, and she was no different.

Walking six flights down would be a good morning workout that would justify a couple of Grace Dalton’s doughnuts on the drive back to San Antonio, he reasoned with himself. He whistled on the way down to the underground parking garage and used his key fob to unlock his SUV.

His grandfather’s voice popped into his head again as he slid in behind the wheel and started the engine. Why are you going after this? Grace told you no. Is it the challenge, or do you really want to own a commercial bakery?

“I have struggled with those questions all night and still don’t have an answer, but something tells me that I need to pursue this,” he answered as he drove out of the garage and onto the highway.

I’m glad that you are taking your promise serious about helping the town of Devine, but what I want to know today is if she is pretty.

“She’s short, has mossy green eyes; blonde hair that was up in a net but looked like it might hang to her shoulders; curvy figure,” Travis answered.

What if she doubles down again on not selling her place, no matter what you offer? Are you going to admit that you just want to get to know her better? his grandfather asked.

“It’s not a romantic thing,” Travis protested, and then wondered if he was fooling himself. Was that little zing he’d felt when her hand brushed against his a real attraction?

His mind drifted back to his first impression of Grace. If his ability to judge a character hadn’t failed him, he would say that she was sure of herself, determined, a hard worker, and she didn’t take sass from anyone. A lot like Erica, only not as edgy as his ex-wife had been just before she decided that she didn’t love him anymore. He didn’t know if she’d changed in the past ten years or not. Maybe she had lost that sharp tongue since she married Ronald.

He and Erica had grown apart during their ten-year marriage, and he had attributed that to the fact that they had both been working hard and spending far too little time together. Then she had met Ronald, the CEO of a marketing firm based in London, at an oil conference she had attended for the corporation that she worked for. Ronald had offered her one of those jobs that meant twice as much money, but she had to move to London. She didn’t think twice about taking the job—or about discussing it with Travis before she did. She had been sure that they could manage a long-distance relationship, but she had been dead wrong. Three months later, her lawyer had served him with divorce papers.