She yawned again. It was definitely time for a jolt of caffeine. After mailing the wedding shower invitations for Amelia, Hannah stopped at The Lighthouse Café. If she could afford it, she’d stop there every day. But ever since she could remember, she’d been saving her money. She was so strict with her budget her family teased her that she squeaked when she walked, but they wouldn’t joke anymore. Everything was changing.

She passed beneath the black wooden sign with the painted image of a red and white lighthouse and the name, Lighthouse Café, scrolled out in white paint. She’d been coming to this restaurant all of her life. Her family celebrated birthdays there, and she’d even gone there on her first date. She smiled at the memories. It all seemed so long ago now.

Hannah stepped up to the door and pulled it open. With it being mid-morning, the place didn’t have many customers. She headed straight for the end of the counter where the server, Darla Evans, was refilling the salt and pepper shakers. Her short blond ponytail swished to the side when she glanced up and smiled.

“Morning.” Hannah dispensed with the good part. So far nothing had gone the way she’d hoped.

Darla’s smile faded. She’d been a few years behind Hannah in school. “I’m so sorry about the bakery.”

“Thanks.” Hannah forced a slight smile to her lips.

Hannah had experienced a lot of those awkward moments in the last couple of days. No one knew exactly what to say to her. Even her sister, the rising Nashville star, had dropped what she was doing when she’d heard about the flood. She’d called and offered to come home and help out. Hannah wouldn’t hear of it. She knew her sister was busy following her dreams, and Hannah hadn’t wanted to interfere with her sister’s amazing career.

But the magnitude of Emma’s offer didn’t go unnoticed. Until this point, her sister always had one reason or another that she couldn’t make it home for birthdays or holidays. Hannah wondered if perhaps she’d made a mistake by turning Emma down. But it was done now, so she had to move on.

“What can I get you?” Darla poised her pen over a notepad.

“A large coffee to-go with milk.”

Darla slipped the pen and paper back into her black apron, which coordinated perfectly with her black pants and white knit top. “You got it.”

The jingle of the front door caught Hannah’s attention. She turned in time to see Lily stroll in. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

“I needed some fresh air and some caffeine.” Lily smoothed her windswept curls. “The better question is, what are you doing here?”

Just then Darla returned with Hannah’s coffee. “Here you go.”

Hannah paid for her drink as well as an identical one for Lily. Then she stepped aside to speak to Lily. “I needed a pick-me-up. I’ve been on the phone all morning. The bakery is supposed to open in three weeks, but I just don’t see that happening.”