Gingerbread Wishes

-Chapter Three-

  With a satisfied smile, Jordan turned to the computer in his home office, his gaze skimming over the inbox of emails. His assistant was at the printers, and the wheels of the campaign were officially set in motion. All that was up in the air was if he could count on the help from the good people of Dorado, Texas. From the conversations he’d been in and from what he’d observed on his three visits to the bakery, he held out high hopes for gaining the needed community support.

  Not normally one to rush into action, he couldn’t explain his compulsion to keep Tora in town, maybe even delay her decision to sell the bakery. The moment their gazes connected at the cooking lesson, he’d felt a stirring of attraction that he’d thought had died in that car crash months ago.

  The chair squeaked as he leaned back and stared at the almost bare oak tree in his side yard. Sugar & Spice had always been there—providing fresh-baked treats to start out the day or creating a showcase creation for a birthday party.

  He remembered the cake Raina made for his ninth birthday—a football field with every ten-yard line marked on the green field, black licorice goal posts standing in an end zone iced in chocolate. She’d even added plastic players and the name of his flag football team, the Stingers. All his buddies thought the cake was the coolest they’d ever seen.

  The desk phone rang. “A Sporting Chance, Dawson speaking.”

  “Dawson, my buddy.” A gravelly voice boomed through the phone.

  “Hey, Tank, so glad you returned my call.” He pictured the wide, split-toothed grin of the high school team’s former football center. “Where are you calling from? Are you in Dorado?”

  “Yeah, at my folks’ ranch for the holidays.”

  Touchdown. “Great, tell them I said hello.” He leaned back in the office chair and ran a hand over his hair. “Need your help, buddy.”

  “You know I got your back, bro.”

  “Have you heard the Sugar & Spice bakery is up for sale?” The image of Tora’s honey-blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes came into his mind. She was the first woman who had sparked his interest since his wife’s passing, and he aimed to do what he could to keep her in town. “Here’s what I’d like you to do.”