Sweet Dreams (A Sugar Rush Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page A

certificate. But Clementine was widowed and had to make a living too. And they both knew Wild Child couldn’t provide her with one.
    “You know my daughter and her husband have been trying to have a baby,” Clementine said. “Well, it turns out she’s three months pregnant.”
    “Really? That’s wonderful.”
    “And since they recently moved into a larger house, they asked if I wanted to come and live with them, to help Elaine during the pregnancy and then when the baby is born.”
    “But they live all the way up in Humbolt County.”
    Clementine nodded, her hand tightening on Polly’s. “I’m sorry, sweetie. You know I want to help you with Wild Child, but I also want to be closer to my family. I need to be, now that I’m going to be a grandmother.”
    “Of course.” Polly swallowed past a lump in her throat. “I understand. You’ve done so much for me. I can’t thank you enough.”
    “You don’t have to.” Clementine gave her a sad smile. “Your mother was one of my dearest friends. And I can stay on until summer so you can finish your semester and find a replacement.”
    Polly managed to smile and nod, even though she had no idea how she was going to afford a replacement. But at least she had until summer to figure out a way.
    “I appreciate that,” she said. “And congratulations, Grandma-to-be.”
    They stood and embraced before Clementine went back out to the front. Polly tried to focus on her accounts, though there was a new sense of dread in her stomach at the thought of losing her only employee. On the other hand, it was all the more reason for her to work even harder to turn the bakery around. Or at least try and figure out where things were going so wrong.
    She finished up the paperwork, then took her laptop out to the front. Mia was on the other side of the counter, eating a sample of coffee cake and studying the display cases.
    “You okay, Pols?” Her eyebrows drew together with concern.
    “If you can get this hammer out of my skull, I’ll survive.”
    “Sit down. I’ll bring you some tea.” Mia went around the counter, saying to Clementine, “Polly got her party on a little too hard at the Troll’s House last night.”
    “About time,” Clementine remarked.
    “Polly, did you try the sage smudging?” Ramona, a dreadlocked woman in her fifties with bright tattoos covering most of her exposed skin, was busy threading beads onto a piece of thin wire.
    “Yes, but I was also baking cookies at the time.” Polly put her laptop beside Ramona’s plastic jewelry cases and pulled out a chair to sit down. “The resulting smell was not appealing. I wanted to clear out negative energy, not potential customers.”
    Mia placed a fresh cup of matcha tea in front of Polly and sat down with an éclair. The soft strains of music drifted from a corner of the café, where Jessie’s friend Tom sat loosely strumming his guitar.
    “You want to have another series of music nights?” he asked. “I know some guys who’d play for free.”
    “Thanks, Tom, but I can’t guarantee any sort of crowd at all, and I’d hate to have people playing to an empty house.”
    “Polly, your aura is quite damaged.” Ramona studied her narrowly.
    More like pickled. Polly pressed her fingers to her throbbing temple. She supposed she shouldn’t have tried to go from Brian to a man like Mr. Hottie in one fell swoop. Instead she should have tried to find an interim guy, like an organic farmer or an environmentalist.
    “What you need,” Ramona lifted her tattooed finger in Polly’s direction, “is a big thing. ”
    “That’s exactly what she was looking for last night,” Mia remarked.
    “About time,” Clementine said.
    “Clem!” A flush heated Polly’s face as the women all grinned.
    “Nothing against big things,” Ramona said. “But I was talking about something viral. Like a video or sob story to get on one of those ‘rescue the restaurant’ programs on the Food Network.”
    “Speaking of sob