One Little Thing by Kimberly Lang

LAST
    Available from Signet Eclipse in January 2016

Chapter 1
    It’s nearly impossible to keep a secret in a small town.
    But
nearly
impossible means it is still possible. It was just damn hard to do it.
    Molly Richards felt like she knew most of the secrets in this particular small town. She wasn’t a therapist, preacher, bartender, or even a hairdresser, but running a coffee shop—the
only
coffee shop in Magnolia Beach, Alabama—had to come close. People didn’t have to tell her secrets. She overheard them at Latte Dah—whether she wanted to or not.
    But she wasn’t a gossip. She never repeated what she heard, never even dropped hints, because everyone had something they’d rather other people not know.
    But she also never forgot those overheard tidbits, either, and it gave her a more complete picture of this town and its people than most folks who’d lived there a lot longer than the two and a half years she had.
    In a way, it made her love Magnolia Beach all the more. Not only did she know
what
was going on, she also knew the
why
, the
who
, and often the
whoa-you-won’t-believe-this
. It was a quirky little place, and the key to appreciating it fully was understanding it.
    The buzz today was all about the engagement of Sophie Cooper and Quinn Haslett, but that was
news
, not gossip—literal news as Quinn had announced it himself on the front page of
The Clarion
.
    That’s one benefit of owning the paper,
Molly thought with a giggle.
    There were sighs over the romance, speculations over the timing—they’d been together less than a year, after all—and a bit of jealousy from the younger, single set that Quinn had been taken off the market, but it made Molly smile all the same.
    It was spring and love was in the air. And she was a sucker for a love story. She’d once thought that her own failed marriage would—or at least
should
—sour her on all relationships, turning her into one of those crotchety types grumbling at romance. She’d even gotten a cat in preparation for that day, but it never happened.
    Even after everything, she still believed that everyone deserved a happily-ever-after. And she got to see lots of relationships start, grow—and occasionally end, too—over cups of coffee in the overstuffed chairs of Latte Dah.
    Jane, who’d been with her from almost the day she’d opened her doors, blew her blue-streaked bangs out of her eyes as she passed carrying a tray full of dirty coffee cups.
    â€œThere are three applications under the register. Hire someone, or I’m going to quit.”
    â€œI will,” Molly promised. In addition to Jane, Molly had two part-timers, but they were high school kids, so the hours they could work were limited. And while it was very nice to be busy enough to need another employee, she was enjoying the security of the extra cash after two years of just making ends meet. Right now, she was in a good position—she’d invested in the shop and padded her savings a little bit—but that cushion could deflate quickly. She couldn’t risk losing Jane, though, and they’d only get busier once the summer season started. She tugged the envelope with the applications out and opened it as she followed Jane into the kitchen. “Any of these you particularly like?”
    Jane didn’t look up from loading the dishwasher, but Molly saw the triumphant smirk. “Samantha Harris or Connie Williams. Patrice is a little flighty.”
    Molly knew
of
both Samantha and Connie, even if she didn’t know them personally—Magnolia Beach was pretty small, after all—and she didn’t have a strong feeling either way. “I’ll call them both back for interviews, and if they’re good, I’ll see who can start next week.”
    â€œ
This
week,” Jane insisted. “I’d like to have a life, too.”
    Molly sighed. “Fine. Can you call them and