Page 1 of A Cup of Autumn
Chapter One
On most days,customers filling every seat at Tea Leaves and Coffee Beans thrilled Raine Hanover. Today, the eighth of September, wasn’t one of those days. She leaned her head to the right and then to the left, trying to relieve the tension in her neck, spine, and shoulders.
The stretching didn’t help. Her muscles tightened more.
Not surprising.
She’d been running nonstop since she unlocked the doors at twenty-three minutes after six.
Twenty-three minutes late.
Raine blew out a breath. That was better than releasing a long, drawn-out sigh and filling her coffee shop with way too much carbon dioxide.
Keep going.
She was trying. Okay, maybe not as hard as she should, but todaywassupposed to be her day off. The same as Saturday. And the Wednesday before that.
But nope.
Raine had worked thirteen days in a row. Not that she was counting.
She placed a hazelnut latte on the counter. “Beth.”
Okay, Raine was totally counting.
She returned to the espresso machine to prepare the next order—a double espresso for Mrs. Jones, who must be taking the drink to her husband, who owned the hardware store. Mrs. Jones’s favorite beverage was a chai latte, and she came in twice a week for them, sometimes three times.
Focus.
Raine couldn’t afford to let customer service and satisfaction slip. Making sure Tea Leaves and Coffee Beans remained profitable was her top priority.
But she was tired.
Bone-weary, caffeine-no-longer-helped, running-on-fumes tired.
Close-to-giving-up tired?
Nope, and she wouldn’t allow herself to get that way.
The coffee shop was her lifeline—her everything.
No pets, plants, parents, or partner.
Only this place.
It was more than enough.
Suck it up.
That was what she needed to do.
Small business owners worked long hours. She was used to that. The difference this time was the staffing issues. They were the worst they’d ever been. But unfortunately, she was stuck.
If Raine could get rid of Heather, a part-time employee who was supposed to open this morning, she would. She’d dreamed about letting Heather go most nights for the past two weeks. Nightmares, however, fluctuated with pleasant dreams, leaving Raine even more tired. Her subconscious must be working overtime.
Unlike Heather.
But Raine couldn’t fire the woman.
