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“Weren’t you though?” Brianna asked, a sparkle of enthusiasm lighting her eyes.
“I still had the best photo in the yearbook competition,” Jimmy said with a wink.
She pressed her lips together. “Maybe, but I wrote the best article for the newspaper.”
“Case in point,” Owen said with a nod.
“Okay, maybe you’re right,” Roni admitted. “I guess I’m a wee bit competitive.”
They all laughed as Brianna pressed her thumb and forefinger together. “Just a wee bit.”
Jimmy turned to her. “Whatever happened to you being a journalist? Did you follow through on that at all?”
Roni felt an old pain stab through her. More than anything she wanted to be a journalist or work for the State Department. Either way, she wanted to travel the world and see everything. She took a deep breath. “I wanted to, but as you know, after Grandma died, I stayed behind to help my mom at the coffee shop and with Jenni.”
“Yeah, but that was just that first year. Weren’t you ever able to go to school, even the community college here in town?” Jimmy asked.
“No. I got busy and time just got away from me.”
“Sounds to me like you both are caretakers, putting your own lives on hold to take care of those you love. And that’s why we love you.” Brianna reached across the table and gave her hand a squeeze.
“Thanks, Brianna,” Roni said, feeling better.
“Whatever happened to your mom?” Jimmy asked, sounding genuinely curious.
Maybe she and Jimmy were more alike than she realized. “She met a guy, got married, and moved to Virginia.”
Jimmy’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding? And left you with the shop?”
“You make it sound like a bad thing, but it wasn’t. She gave me a business I love, and the best part is I get to continue my grandmother’s legacy.” She softened her words, trying to help him understand. “Jenni ended up a schoolteacher, but last year she quit to run her rescue foundation. So, it’s all mine now.”
“I’m happy for you, Roni. I really am. You, all of you, have created great lives for yourselves. You know exactly what you want and where you want to be. I envy that,” Jimmy admitted.
“Well, buddy, maybe all you need to do is come home where you belong,” Owen said, and Brianna held up her glass. Smiling, Roni followed suit.
“Here, here,” she and Brianna said, and they all clinked glasses.
“I’m seriously thinking about it.” Jimmy turned and met Roni’s eyes, and her heart thumped loudly in her chest.
She sucked in a deep breath. Don’t get your hopes up. Play it cool.
“You know,” Jimmy started, “my dad always loved your grandmother’s gingerbread cookies. He said they were the best he’s ever had.”
Roni’s heart warmed and melted like one of the cookies. “He did? That’s so sweet.”
“Roni still makes them,” Brianna said. “Every now and then.”
Excitement sparked in Jimmy’s expression. “You do? Can I order a few dozen for him?”
“Of course,” Roni said, thinking she’d completely forgotten about making them this year.
“Do you still sell them in those Christmas tins? My dad used to save them. He said they’re collector’s items.”
She smiled with pride. “He’s right. They’re antiques. I lost my source a long time ago, so now I just sell them in boxes.”
“Oh.”
He looked so disappointed, Roni knew right then and there she was going to find another antique tin for Jimmy’s dad.
