Batter Up (Bachelors of Buttermilk Falls Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

warm greeting as she walked in the door. He looked down from his bifocals. “My, you get prettier and prettier every week.”
    “Mel, you’re such a charmer.” She laughed. She loved this place. With its fun fifties-style décor, it was the cutest establishment in Buttermilk Falls, besides the Sugar Spoon, of course. Having brunch here was just as much a part of her Sunday ritual as sitting on her deck and watching the sun rise over the lake.
    She’d been coming to this diner every Sunday since she was thirteen. She knew it was silly, and she always left a bit disappointed, but it was something she needed to do.
    One evening, years ago, Emma had overheard her mother talking to her Aunt Jackie about a premonition she’d had. They’d thought Emma was asleep. The premonition was that one day someone Emma loved would step off the bus and back into her life. It had to be her dad.
    Her father had left her mother before Emma was born, disappearing without a trace. Emma’s mom tried finding him, even hired a private detective. He’d never turned up.
    Emma remembered overhearing her mother’s premonition as if it were yesterday.
    Her mother said it would happen at two p.m. on a Sunday. Emma’s mother even told her Aunt Jackie what table in the Star Lite Emma was sitting at in her premonition and that she’d be reading a newspaper. That table was now unofficially “her table” at two o’clock every Sunday as she waited for the afternoon bus to arrive while reading the paper that she never forgot to bring with her. She hadn’t missed a Sunday in fifteen years, except for holidays when the diner was closed.
    She’d never told her mother she’d overheard the conversation. No. She kept that secret to herself all these years, wishing every, single Sunday that it would be the day her mother’s premonition came true.
    Michael was the only person she’d confided in. He had thought her Sunday ritual was a waste of time and a bit naïve. In hindsight, that should have been a huge clue that he was all wrong for her.
    “Emma!” An old woman wearing a bright red apron and matching lipstick greeted her with a hug. “Good to see you, dear. How’s your mom?”
    “As great as ever, Betty.”
    “Glad to hear it. We’ve been worried about her after her fall. Someone needs to do something about those steps.”
    Emma shook her head. Betty was referring to her mother’s recent accident, in which she’d taken a tumble on the steep stairs to the post office and broke her foot. “She’s getting better. Aunt Jackie brought her over to my cottage this morning to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies.”
    “Splendid! I knew she’d be back to baking before long. Those cookies are a dream. I need to get her to give me the recipe.” She winked.
    “Good luck with that. She won’t even share it with me. Says I’ll only sell them in the bakery, and they’re way too good to put a price tag on.” She also suspected her mother enchanted them in some way, but she couldn’t prove it. Emma proceeded to her table. Halfway there, she stopped in her tracks. A man wearing jeans and a white T-shirt hovered over a laptop. He had short black hair and, from what she could tell, was tall, thin, and quite attractive. He held a coffee cup close to his lips.
    “You okay, sweetie.” Betty came up behind her. “Oh, shoot. I didn’t realize he was still here. It’s been almost three hours.”
    “That’s fine. I’ll just ask him if he wouldn’t mind moving to another booth.” Men in this town always did the polite thing when a pretty woman asked. She looked down at her iPhone. It was 1:55 p.m. She needed to hurry.
    Emma walked up to the stranger and opened her mouth. His masculine cologne filled her lungs. “Excuse me.” He looked up and she could see his phone glued to his ear.
    His gorgeous ocean-blue eyes sent a tingling sensation through her, nearly knocking her over. Emma steadied her legs. “I’m so sorry to interrupt. This is