“What have you got to lose by filling out the applications, trying every angle?”

“Besides my self-respect and my sobriety?” She stared beyond his shoulder, gnawed her lip and drew her gaze back to his. “Rejection scares me. A lot.”

Her admission didn’t surprise Brooks. Rita’s lack of self-esteem was a big part of what had pushed her into the alcoholic abyss that almost tore apart her family. Thankfully her sister-in-law Sarah had stepped in to take charge of the kids before Rita sought recovery the previous spring. Otherwise they’d have been wrenched apart and put in foster homes, another family gone bad.

But that hadn’t happened. Instead the kids had spent the summer working on Sarah’s sheep farm while Rita faced her demons and won.

God’s hand at work. Brooks might never step foot into a church, but he recognized God’s might and power in this particular situation. And despite his nonattendance, Brooks knew his beliefs to be as strong and ardent as most churchgoers, probably more than some. He served one God, one Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth. He just handled it a bit differently from everyone else on the planet.

Singular. Unfettered. Independent.

He prayed one-on-one, lived alone and ran his own business with no one to answer to.

Ordered. Structured. Organized to the max.

The loner profile worked for him, offering a shield of protection that he’d erected nearly a dozen years back. So far, so good. But not so easy when Rita came around. Something about her heightened his senses, awakening possibilities he’d buried long ago.

But he hadn’t served as a Delta commander in the army for nothing. Brooks was adept at identifying and administrating, the sorting techniques intrinsic to success in battle. How weird was it that he needed those skills around Rita?

He dipped his chin and gave her arm an encouraging squeeze. “Things are different now. You’re stronger. You’ve had over a year without a lapse of sobriety, you’ve taken a job that’s helped strengthen your r'esum'e when you do apply for bakery funding and I expect you’ve learned a thing or two about commercial baking in the process.”

“A lot, actually.”

“Then put that knowledge to good use. Draw up a prospectus.”

“I already did,” she admitted.

Brooks grinned. “Good girl. Now fill out some applications. Give it a shot. You’ve got a lot of people behind you, believing in you. You can do this.”

Could she, Rita wondered? At that moment her answer was yes, Brooks’ words bolstering her confidence.

Brooks Harriman didn’t blow sunshine carelessly. Not now, not ever. He shot straight from the hip, his analysis unjaded and unbiased. That honesty won him respect in their tight-knit community, a precious commodity in the North County. In an area that courted winter seven months of the year, stoicism was held in high regard.

But tiny spring leaves dappled the afternoon sun with dancing shadow, their Kelly-green newness refreshing. Rita clutched her tea with one hand while the other fingered the one-year chip in her pocket. “You really think I can do this?”

His expression defined confidence. “I know you can do this. And I’ll be glad to help with any and all refurbishing when you get approval and pick a site.”

“There’s a really sweet store available in Canton,” Rita told him. The admission brought heat to her cheeks, as if she’d done something wrong in checking things out, having the audacity to believe in herself.

She gave herself an inward shake, burying the insecurities that challenged her faith in God and herself.

Change the things you can….

The words buoyed her in their simplicity. Maybe she could do this.

Brooks leaned in, the scent of wood shavings and oil-based paint tickling her nose, playing havoc with her thoughts. “Coffee tonight, after Brett’s game?”

Brett’s travel team had a game in Canton tonight, and while Brooks wasn’t a big fan of Skeeter’s gymnastics performances and the accompanying histrionics, he enjoyed watching Brett’s soccer matches.

“No.”

“Tea, then?”

His teasing tone inspired a smile and a softer response. “I can’t. I’ve got to get Brett and Skeeter home. Spring games on school nights are always a killer.”

“Oh. Of course.” Brooks replied as if he understood the time frame, but he didn’t. Not really. Kid bedtimes were something he’d never had to deal with, thanks to his brother.

She walked to the door, sure-footed, more poised and confident than she’d been last summer. Back then a confrontation like this would have sent her into duck-and-cover mode. Not anymore.

She was doing well. She had her first-year chip, the bronze medallion inscribed with the sacred words of sobriety, The Serenity Prayer.