Free Where the Heart Leads by Jillian Hart Page A

lip, thinking. “This town can’t support two bakeries. There just isn’t enough business for both of us.”
    The front door swung open and Rhoda marched in, hugging a bag of sugar. “Everyone is talking about it over at the mercantile. You’re going to stay open, aren’t you, Iris? Are we going to fight this?”
    All eyes turned to her. She read the need in Dottie’s and the desperation in Rhoda’s. Magnolia arched her brows in a silent question, likely thinking the same thing she was. This bakery had always been her dream, back in their Chicago days when she’d been working hard hours for little pay. Her sisters had taken on her vision as their own and they’d built this business together. But now that she’d found Milo, she had a different future than they’d all imagined back then.
    What were they going to do with the bakery?
    “We didn’t come this far just to close up shop.” She knew it was the right decision the instant she spoke the words. They just felt right. “Fanny Dobson can do what she wants. It’s a free country. But we are going to stay right here and bake the best cakes and cookies in the territory. We aren’t going anywhere.”
    Dottie blew out a relieved sigh. Rhoda mouthed a silent thank you. They weren’t the only two employees who needed their jobs. Iris remembered what that was like. She would never forget. A familiar Stetson caught her attention, and joy moved through her, silent and deep.
Milo.
He spotted her and lifted a gloved hand in recognition. She waved back, watching as he ambled out of sight.
    Her impossible dreams were coming true. It was time to help someone else with theirs. Dottie’s dream of independence from her parents. Rhoda’s dream of supporting her children, Oscar and Clint Redmond’s dreams of being self-sufficient again. Leaving gift boxes of day old bread and cookies on the doorsteps of the needy families in town. That’s what this bakery was going to be all about from this moment on. Fannie Dobson didn’t stand a chance.

    Aumaleigh pulled Buttons to a stop in the middle of the road, staring at the sign swinging above the boardwalk.
Dobson’s Bakery.
She had to blink twice to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. This wasn’t a good development. Not good at all.
    “Howdy there, Aumaleigh.” Clint Redmond drew the bakery’s horse and delivery wagon to a stop on the opposite side of the street. “Guess you’re thinkin’ the same thing I am. Maybe you don’t know all the businesses Dobson’s has closed down over in Deer Springs.”
    “I’ve heard rumors about it. I can’t say I’m pleased to see them here.” Aumaleigh squinted against the spring sunshine. Clint looked much improved these days, now that he was working for the girls. He had an easy smile and a relaxed manner. It was nice to see, since his family had a long struggle with hardship. “On the other hand, I don’t doubt my nieces will rise to the challenge.”
    “Good to hear. I like my job.” Clint’s deep voice cracked and he gave his reins a shake. “Good day to you, Aumaleigh.”
    “Take care, Clint.” Aumaleigh did the same, guiding Buttons down the street. Town was quiet, almost empty feeling. This time of year so many farmers were busy with planting their fields or tending their herds of new cow/calf pairs. Women all over the country were out working in their gardens on a day like this. Which is what she was going to do once she finished this very important meeting.
    Buttons stopped obediently in front of the hitching post, and Aumaleigh hopped down. The past few days had been uneventful, and she hadn’t come across Gabriel once. But that didn’t stop her from glancing up and down the boardwalk before climbing onto it and tapping up the steps to the mercantile.
    “Aumaleigh!” Gemma Gunderson looked up from the front counter. She was such a dear with her dark locks and ready smile. “Welcome. How are you today?”
    “Just coming in to order supplies for the