Chapter One
Piper Miller placed a Closed sign on the front door of the diner and locked up. She let out a heavy sigh as she rested her back against the frame and pressed her eyes shut. “No rest for the weary,” she muttered as she stood up straight and began walking around the place, making sure it was tidy for the morning rush. She’d been going full speed since 5:00 a.m. with no end in sight.
All she wanted to do at the moment was to head home and crawl under the covers where it was nice and warm. Sleep was the only time she ever got a break from all her troubles. Being the owner of the Snowy Owl Diner meant she bore the full responsibility of the establishment’s success or failure. At the moment there really wasn’t anything to cheer about. The restaurant was knee-deep in financial trouble, and it wouldn’t be much longer until she would be forced to close its doors. Everyone in her hometown would be disappointed in her.
It was a crushing feeling to know how badly she’d messed up her dad’s legacy.
She looked up and met her father’s gaze in the black-and-white photo she’d lovingly hung above the cash register. With his dark brown skin, wavy hair and dimples, Jack Miller had been a charismatic and unforgettable man. To her he’d been Papa. Father, friend, boss. She couldn’t quite escape the shame she felt in having failed to turn things around at the diner she’d solely inherited. After conducting a thorough review of the books, she’d discovered the diner had been bleeding money for quite some time. Shockingly, her father had kept it to himself.
If something drastic didn’t happen soon to increase revenue, she would have to close the place or sell it. Harboring this secret was stressful. She had confided in her best friend, Rachel Lawson, and her sister-in-law, Sage Crawford, about the financial strain she was under, but neither knew the severity. Both women had promised to keep her situation in confidence at her request. She wasn’t sure it had been fair to hold Sage to the vow now that she was married to her older brother, Hank.
Even though Piper was single, she knew married couples ought not to keep things from one another. Sadly, her father had kept everything hush-hush, not even confiding in his own wife. She didn’t have the heart to tell her mother or Hank the truth about the diner’s finances. The loyalty she felt toward her father prevented her from doing so. She didn’t want either of them to think less of him. Jack Miller had been such a proud, hardworking man. It seemed almost inconceivable he’d been struggling for years to keep the diner afloat. At the moment everything appeared to be bleak. Hopelessness wasn’t an emotion she had ever imagined experiencing during Christmas. This holiday season might prove to be the worst of her entire life. If she lost ownership of the diner, it would be a catastrophic blow, one she might never recover from.
Piper walked toward the kitchen and began collecting the trash to put out back. Normally it was her employee Jorge Vega’s job to do so, but with a pregnant wife ready to deliver their first child, Piper had sent him home hours ago. She felt a pang in her heart at the realization that she might have to let Jorge go if things at the diner didn’t improve. That would break both of their hearts. He was such an outstanding employee and an even better human being.
She pushed the back door open and lugged the plastic bag outside, then deposited it in the large metal container. The scent of pine and peppermint hung in the air. Every time she stepped outside it smelled like impending snow. Although the blessed holiday was weeks away, everyone was full of expectation. All the storefronts in town were gaily decorated with mini Christmas trees, tinsel and presents.
How she wished that she could be excited about the most sacred and wonderful time of the year. In Christmases past, Piper’s head had been filled with snowmen and sleigh bells, Christmas carols and nativity scenes. She wasn’t sure if she could even celebrate this year with so much hanging over her head.
A s
udden noise startled her, and she jumped as a dark figure appeared in the glow of the back door light. Who on earth would be lurking out here at night?
“Braden!” She raised a hand to her chest and let out a relieved sigh at the familiar sight of the brown-haired, green-eyed man. Although his hair had grown a bit too long and he looked like he hadn’t shaved in days, he still looked like her Braden North.
Well, he hadn’t exactly been her Braden for quite some time.
“Hey, Piper. I hope it’s not too late to stop by.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his booted heels. His hunter green parka—his favorite color—almost matched his extraordinary eye color. With his winter hat and jeans, he looked rugged and masculine. He was a welcome sight, considering how rarely she laid eyes on him.
“For you? It’s never a bad time,” she said lamely, trying not to sound awkward.
On impulse she threw herself against his chest and wrapped her arms around him. No matter what had gone wrong in their friendship, Braden was still her best friend. They had been besties since preschool. She felt his body tense up before he broke away from her, then watched as he took a step backward. Hurt washed over her. It pained her deeply to have such a rift between herself and someone she cared so much about.
“Come on inside,” she said, beckoning him to enter through the back door. Braden followed behind her, reaching for the door and holding it open as she walked through it.
Once they were inside, Piper flipped the lights back on above the booths. Now that Braden was here, she wouldn’t be leaving for a bit. She had something pretty heavy to discuss with him—her predicament regarding the diner. Truthfully, she wasn’t feeling very confident about sharing her troubles with him, considering the fact that he hadn’t been interacting with her in any meaningful way in a very long time.
There was a reason she had reached out to him a few days ago. Hadn’t she always been able to lean on him when she was afraid or troubled? After her father’s death, Braden had been a rock, until he’d abruptly left town to chase danger all over the world as an adventure junkie. It still didn’t make sense to her. Braden had always loved Owl Creek, Alaska. He’d said time and again there was no finer place to live. But then he’d disappeared and stayed gone for the last three and a half years. It had broken her heart to lose her best friend. And even though he was back in Owl Creek, he still didn’t feel present. Things between them were tense.
It was all so strange, especially when she had no idea what she’d done to make him so cold and aloof toward her. Perhaps their friendship had just run its course and Braden didn’t have the heart to tell her. Instead, he’d been giving her the brush-off for years.
“I got your message. Sorry it’s taken me so long to get over here,” he said, sounding sheepish.
“It’s all right. I know you must be getting readjusted to life here in town, not to mention spending time with Sage.”
Recently, Sage Crawford, now her sister-in-law, had arrived in Owl Creek harboring a huge secret. She had been stolen at three months old from Braden’s family, the Norths. After Sage had recently been reunited with the North family, Braden had returned to Alaska to celebrate the good news and to connect with his long-lost sister. Although he’d been back in town for weeks after being gone for such an extended period of time, he hadn’t done a single thing to reconnect with Piper.
“So, what’s up? It sounded pretty important.” He wasn’t quite looking her in the eye, she realized. He seemed fidgety. She stuffed down the hurt. It was important to focus on the matter at hand—telling Braden about her predicament with the diner.
“Why don’t we sit? I’ve been on my feet all day.” Being a restaurant owner meant she was in a constant whirl of motion, which took a toll on her legs and feet.
Braden nodded and went toward the nearest booth. She sat down across from him, letting out a sigh of relief. She watched as he removed his hat, then ran his hand through his shoulder-length hair. It looked good on him in a way most men couldn’t get away with. But he’d always been easy on the eyes, the guy most likely for all the other girls in their class to have a crush on.
For Piper, he’d always been more than a good-looking guy. He’d been home, her soft place to fall. She would give almost anything to go back to those carefree days when they had been able to finish each other’s sentences.
“I’ll cut to the chase,” she said, locking eyes with him. “I wanted to ask for your help. It’s about the diner.” Although she was trying to keep her composure, her voice cracked. “It’s in big trouble, Braden. If I don’t do something very soon, I’m going to have to close the Snowy Owl.”
* * *
Braden North wasn’t sure he quite understood what Piper was telling him. The expression stamped on her face was one of intensity. And panic. With her tawny-colored skin and wide-set eyes, Piper was adorable. Most would say beautiful, but it was hard for him to think of her in those terms. For so long now, she’d been his closest friend. Until he’d ruined everything.
He prayed he was misunderstanding the situation with the diner. It meant everything to her. And her family. Not to mention the residents of Owl Creek.
He knit his brows together. “Close it? Are you saying the diner is at risk of shutting down?”
His gut tightened at the look of utter devastation on her face. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” She choked back tears. “The diner is in bad shape financially, and I—I’m afraid there’s no way to rein it back in before the bottom falls out.”
“Piper. Slow down. What happened?”
