Read Online An Ember To Bear (Fire Bear Shifters 5) by Sloane Meyers - Free Book Online

pay back the money she had borrowed. The next day happened to be Mindy’s day off from the hospital, so she texted Bailey back to accept her invitation. In some small way, she took it as a sign from the universe that everything was going to be okay. Here was a hundred dollars that she had considered lost. It was the first hundred of the extra forty thousand that she needed. It wasn’t much, but it was a start—and it was just the hint of encouragement that Mindy needed.
    The next day, Mindy met Bailey bright and early at The Sweet Crust.
    “Hey, Mindy,” Bailey said, stretching her arms out to give her a hug. “It’s so good to see you. Thanks for coming out to meet me.”
    “Are you kidding?” Mindy answered. “I wouldn’t miss a chance for coffee and pie at The Sweet Crust. I love this place.”
    “Me too,” Bailey said with a mischievous smile. “Especially now that I’m dating one of the owner’s friends.”
    “Wait what? You’re dating someone?” Mindy asked with a grin. “That didn’t take long. Although, I can’t say I’m surprised with someone as beautiful as you. Now I see why you’re staying in Red Valley! Who’s the lucky guy?”
    “Actually, you’ve met him. He’s the firefighter who saved me from the burning hotel, and then brought me pie when I was in the hospital. His name is Trevor.”
    “No way! That guy?” Mindy asked. Mindy had actually discovered The Sweet Crust pie shop because of the pie Trevor had delivered to the hospital while Bailey was staying there.
    Bailey blushed, and looked down at her coffee. “Yeah, that guy. It’s a little crazy, but actually, a lot has changed for me in the week or two since I met you. I quit my job, even before I knew I was going to be dating Trevor. Nearly dying in a fire made me realize that I was wasting my life on something that I didn’t even care about. Then Trevor and I started dating, and we really hit it off. I decided to stay here, and open a jewelry business. I saw a bunch of vendors at a farmers’ market in San Francisco selling handmade jewelry. Selling jewelry is something I’ve always wanted to try, but never had the courage to do. But I took a leap of faith, and I’ve already got a booth reserved at the farmers market next week. I’ve been busy all week making jewelry to sell at the booth. I also set up an online shop, and orders have been flooding in through there. I’m amazed at how quickly it’s taken off, but it just confirms for me that I made the right decision in following my heart and staying here. My biggest problem right now is figuring out how to keep up with all of the orders. I think I need to hire an assistant.”
    “I’m so happy for you, Bailey,” Mindy said. “It sounds like you’ve used a bad situation as a chance to really turn your life around.”
    Bailey nodded. “Yeah, it was a little rough getting everything sorted out, but it was worth it. I decided to sell most of my stuff back in D.C., and only have the most important things shipped to me. I don’t have a ton of storage space where I’m living right now, so it was a good chance to get my life in order. And, in the middle of all this chaos, one of the things that slipped to the back burner was paying you back. I’m really sorry about that,” Bailey said, as she reached for her purse that was hanging on the back of her chair. She pulled out her wallet and fished out a crisp hundred dollar bill, then slid the money across the table to Mindy.
    “Thank you so much for loaning me the money, even though I was pretty much a complete stranger,” Bailey said. “It made a huge difference for me in those first few days.”
    “It was nothing,” Mindy said. “It’s not even that much money, and you seemed like a genuinely nice person who really needed help. I’m sure you would’ve done the same for me if the roles had been reversed.”
    “I’d like to think so,” Bailey said. “Although, you never know how you’ll react in the