Free The Comfort of Favorite Things (A Hope Springs Novel) by Alison Kent

course! It’s so good. And goat cheese works better than cheddar, but that’s usually all we have at the house. Cheddar, I mean,” she said, rambling. “But at least we have that. Thea says we might not have the most extensive pantry in Hope Springs, but we will always have real cheese.”
    “Thea.”
    “Thea Clark.” Ellie gestured over her shoulder. “She owns Bread and Bean. The coffee shop next door.”
    “And you live with her?” Lena asked as she set the bag behind her on the counter.
    Ellie nodded. “With her and with Becca. She’s our barista, or she will be once we’re opened. And with Frannie and her two boys. Frannie hasn’t been there long, and I’m not sure when she’ll be able to work again . . .” Ellie left the thought alone to trail, realizing she was a little too close to revealing things it wasn’t her place to share. “Anyway, it’s the house up on Dragon Fire Hill. The big white one that looks like it belongs in Gone with the Wind .”
    “Yeah. I know it.”
    “Thea likes old movies,” Ellie said, reaching up with one hand to twist back her hair. Goodness, she must look a mess, all sweaty from the kneading and the ovens, flour dusting her sleeves and no doubt her nose. “And old TV. I’d never even heard of Scarlett O’Hara before Thea. Rhett Butler was an ass, but Scarlett. That girl was strong. She knew what she wanted.”
    “Like Katniss Everdeen,” Lena said, her smile indulgent as she picked up one of Bliss’s candy boxes.
    “I don’t know who that is,” Ellie said, hating that the admission made her feel dumb when she knew she wasn’t. Sheltered. Uninformed. Out of the loop. Yeah. All of those. Though not for long.
    “From The Hunger Games .”
    “Is that a movie?”
    “It was a book,” Lena said with complete patience and without condescension. “A series of books. Now it’s a big movie franchise.”
    “Like Harry Potter?”
    “Not quite that big, but yeah. Same book-to-movie concept.” She reached into the display case for a chocolate and put it into the box. “I’m going to guess you don’t get out much.”
    Ellie did her best to smile. It wasn’t Lena’s fault she didn’t know the things Ellie had been through. “I’m getting better about it. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”
    “I can help. I mean, if you’re ever looking for something to read. Or to watch.” Lena stopped then, and shrugged, as if she weren’t sure why she was making the offer.
    It didn’t matter. Ellie liked that she had. “That would be great.”
    “Cool. Here.” Lena passed her the box with the chocolate. “This is my favorite of Callum’s flavors.”
    “For me?” Ellie asked, hesitant.
    “Unless you’re allergic to chocolate. Or don’t like it or something. It’s all good if you don’t.”
    “I love chocolate.” Ellie took the tiny brown box, thinking it the most gorgeous thing she’d ever seen, all iridescent and so perfectly shaped. “What flavor is it? Besides the chocolate?”
    “Burnt orange and Irish whiskey. Callum calls it Irish Creamsicle. It sounds weird, I know, but when Callum cooks it all up and does his thing, it’s truly amazing.” Lena stopped, then gestured toward Ellie with one hand. “The filling’s almost the same color as your hair.”
    “Goodness,” she said, reaching to toy with a strand, her heart beating with tiny, delicate, tickling wings, fluttering, and she only just stopped herself from asking if that was why Lena had chosen it. “Thank you. I’ll save it for dessert after lunch.”
    “Or you could be a rebel and eat it now,” Lena said with a shrug.
    Ellie looked from the other woman to the box and frowned. “Is that what rebels do?”
    Lena laughed. “I have no idea. I just like the idea.”
    “Of eating dessert first?”
    “Sure. Life’s too short not to,” Lena said, and Ellie could’ve sworn the words flipped a switch and changed everything. And so with Lena looking on, Ellie opened the