by Amy Vastine
“She’s not going to have you killed. Come on. She only knows I’m working with your dad. Not you.”
Bonnie walked away, just like everyone in Aaron’s life seemed to do when they disagreed with him. “I was trying to prove that I’m not afraid of Lauren and that she shouldn’t be, either,” he tried to explain to David.
“You’re not afraid because you and your sister have an equal share of influence in this town. Bonnie, on the other hand, feels like she has none.”
“Well, if Lauren tells everyone in this town to shun Bonnie and I ask everyone to be nice to her, maybe she’ll have at least half the town on her side.”
“Heck, why do you think I agreed to work with you in the first place, boy? I’m banking on the fact that you’ll change a bunch of minds and my daughter can keep doing what she’s doing in the town she loves.” David took his pencil from behind his ear and flipped open his notebook. “I’m going to go check the fuse box. See what kind of electrical mess we might be dealing with before we go.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t honest about why I came to you for help.”
David seemed unfazed. “I figured that had something to do with it. Your father wants you by his side. He doesn’t give up what’s his real easily.”
Aaron heard newspaper crinkle behind him and spun around, looking for a mouse. He didn’t see anything, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there, lurking, waiting for him to turn his back so it could attack. Aaron raced for the front door. After he talked to Bonnie, he was going to call someone to get rid of all the mice in this house.
Bonnie was leaning against his car, her phone in her hand. Everything he had done so far made her feel worse. That was not his intention. It was time to find out what she thought was the best plan of action.
“I give up,” he said. “Tell me what you need me to do.”
“I don’t need you to do anything.”
“Wrong. You need someone to hire you to help them buy a house or to sell their house. Your dad needs a job. You need these things, and I can give them to you. I want to give them to you, because I think it’s terrible that my family had everything to do with why you need them.”
Bonnie looked up from her phone. “Lie. You need us as much as we need you, apparently.”
“You have a right to be mad about that. I should have been honest with you.”
“It’s also not your responsibility to make up for their wrongdoing. Like my dad said in there, this isn’t your fault. You aren’t to blame. Why should you have to make things better?”
“I don’t have to. I want to. And some of that...correction, most of that is me being selfish.” He came up beside her and leaned against the car like her. “I need help, as you can see, and your dad is the best. Ten years ago, when I worked on Cole Industries’ construction sites in the summer, I learned your dad is amazing at what he does. He knows better than anyone how to manage a project. He also isn’t afraid to do the work. Even when he was the boss, he would be in there, working side by side with whoever needed help at the moment. If my dad is dumb enough to let someone like your dad go, I am going to be smart enough to snap him up.”
“So you aren’t really doing this to make amends to me, you’re doing this because you have a man crush on my dad?”
Aaron laughed. She was funny on top of everything else. David wasn’t the only Windsor Aaron could quite possibly have a crush on. “I guess you could say that. I’m also trying to put my fancy business school knowledge to good use. That’s why I hired you.”
“Your fancy business school taught you it made good business sense to hire the town pariah?”
“It makes sense to hire someone who can give you their full, undivided attention. It also makes sense to hire someone who is personally invested in your business’s success.”
Bonnie’s head tipped back and her lips parted slightly as she realized what he was saying. “And because my dad’s livelihood is dependent on your success, I am motivated to do my best for you as well.”
“Exactly. I want to help you because, in the end, it helps me. I need you to let me help you. Tell me what I can do to put you more at ease, because I need you to do your best work and I don’t think you can do that when you feel like your head is constantly on the chopping block.”
Bonnie kicked a rock off the driveway. It skittered to a stop in the overgrown grass. “I think when it comes to Lauren, I need you to stop defending me. The more you try to convince her that I’m not to blame, the more she’s going to blame me. It would be better for me if you never mention my name to her again.”
If anyone knew Lauren better than he did, it was Bonnie. If she thought less was more, she was probably right. “I can do that.”
“I’m sorry that your dad tried to blacklist you, too. I know that has to hurt.”
Before he could share with her just how much, David came running out of the house with his arms flailing.
“Wasps!”
CHAPTER SEVEN
BONNIE WOULD BE sure to note that Blue Springs Hospital was thankfully only five miles away from the house on Greenbriar if she listed it for Aaron after the renovation. It also only took eight minutes to get there when the person driving went a tad over the speed limit. Had it been any farther away, things may have ended much differently for her father, who had gone into anaphylactic shock in the car.
“Can I get you something to drink?” she offered Aaron once they got her dad back home. She pulled a can of soda out of the refrigerator for her dad. “He’s got some soda and lemonade in here.”
“I’ll just have some water,” he replied. “Which cabinet houses the glasses? I can get it myself.”
Bonnie pointed at the right one before running the can of soda out to her dad, who was resting on the couch in the living room.
Aaron handed her a glass of water when she returned. “Thanks,” she said, grateful that he’d thought about her. She drank the glass down. Who knew that fearing for her father’s life would make her so parched?
“I never would have guessed that your dad would be the first one we’d have to run to the hospital. My money was definitely on me.”
Bonnie let out a soft laugh. “My money would have been on you, too.”
Aaron placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m glad he’s okay. That was more intense than I was prepared for. I can only imagine how scary it was for you.”
“Way too intense for me. Maybe a power higher than Lauren was trying to tell me something. Maybe we shouldn’t go into business together.” Bonnie had never experienced such panic. The helplessness she had felt when her dad’s lips swelled and he could barely breathe was like no other. All she could think was that this was some sort of bad omen.
Tipping his chin down, Aaron frowned. “A wasp nest is not a sign. It’s a nuisance like the mice. That house needs us. I mean, first, it needs some other people to come in and get rid of the mice and wasps, but then it needs us.”
He was funny, so gorgeous, and he’d been so sweet to her. Still, there was this lingering feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. There were so many reasons not to work with Aaron.
“I can’t get this darn thing off,” her dad said, walking into the kitchen tugging at his hospital bracelet. His gray comb-over was sticking up instead of slicked down.
“Here, let me get it.” Bonnie retrieved the kitchen shears from the wood block on his counter. She snipped off the plastic band, and he rubbed his wrist.
“What house are we going to go look at after lunch?” he asked.
“Dad, you almost died. You’re staying home.”
He hitched up his pants and shook his head. “Relax, Bon Bon. I’m fine. A couple bee stings aren’t going to take me out.”
“That doesn’t mean you don’t need to take it easy.”
“I’ll take it easy when I’m six feet under,” he argued.
“I already decided I’m putting in an offer on the Greenbriar house.” Aaron stepped between the bickering father and daughter. “We don’t need to look at anything else, David. We can spend the rest of the day brainstorming ideas from the comfort of your living room.”
“Okay, sounds good. What’s for lunch?”
Taking a deep breath, Bonnie let her fists unclench. Her father was so infuriating and stubborn. She could have pleaded with him to rest until she was blue in the face and he still would have refused. Thankfully, Aaron was here to save the day.
“Should I run out and pick something up?” Aaron asked.
“We have plenty of food here.” Bonnie couldn’t allow herself to depend on him to always swoop in. Even though it was nice to have someone supporting her when it seemed like the rest of the world had turned their backs on her, she couldn’t count on it to last. Lauren would see to that at some point.
Aaron let out a slight snicker.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. I just thought of something Lauren used to say.”
“About?”
“About how she liked to come over to your house when you guys were little because your mom always made all your meals. She said you guys never went out, even on special occasions.”
Bonnie suspected that Lauren didn’t say she liked coming over to eat her mom’s food but rather shared how sad it was that the poor Windsors lived the way they did. Bonnie had never felt embarrassed to have Lauren over until they were teenagers and she could truly appreciate how different their life situations really were.
The Windsors did not live like the Coles. There hadn’t been a room in her house that Bonnie would’ve called formal. Her mom had never asked anyone to take off their shoes when they came inside because a little dirt never hurt anything. A white-glove test would have revealed some dust for sure. And unlike at Lauren’s house, where they’d had a personal chef make all of their meals, Bonnie’s mom had always done the cooking.
“I’m sure Lauren loved to tell you all about how she used to have to slum it over at my house growing up.”
Aaron’s brows pinched together. “Slum it? Are you kidding me?”
“You guys had Byron, who had cooked for the queen of England. I don’t think my mom’s chili really competed.”
“He may have cooked for kings and queens, but Byron wouldn’t make something called a PBM sandwich, though. It was Lauren’s absolute favorite, and not a fluffernutter sandwich as I wrongly assumed once.”
Bonnie’s heart ached a bit at the memory. Her mom had made peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches quite often, because they were a family favorite. Her mom would use her cookie cutters to make them into different shapes depending on the time of year. Hearts in February, shamrocks in March, pumpkins in October.
“PBM sandwiches are the best,” her dad chimed in. “You got any marshmallows at your house, Bon Bon? I could really go for a PBM for lunch.”
She did not have any marshmallows, and seeing that she was banned from the local market, she had no desire to drive to the next town over to get some. She was hungry now. “I’ll try to remember to pick some up the next time I’m in Morris. You’ve got plenty of turkey here to make a few sandwiches.”
“Why don’t we go grab some marshmallows downtown?” Aaron asked naively. “We can be back in minutes.”
“Because your sister has informed all Cole-run businesses to refuse me service.”
Aaron’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”
Bonnie shrugged. Did he not understand the extremes to which Lauren was willing to go?
He took her by the hand and tugged her out of the kitchen toward the front door. “We’re going to change that right now.”
“Aaron—”
“Bonnie. That’s wrong. I will not allow my family’s businesses to start discriminating against people.”
“Stop,” she said, trying to hold her ground but losing. “Are you planning on accompanying me everywhere I go so that you can order people to do the opposite of what your sister and father told them?”
“If I have to.”
It was sweet of him to offer, but unrealistic. It was clear that he wouldn’t be deterred today, however. She got in the car and let him drive her over to the market. She followed behind him, waiting for someone who worked there to notice her and alert the manager. Aaron had been walking with such purpose until they got inside.
He turned around with a chagrined expression. “Honestly, I have no idea where anything is in this store. Do you know where the marshmallows are?”
Cooking the food wasn’t Byron’s only responsibility. The Coles didn’t shop for groceries.
“Aisle four,” she replied, trying to hold back her smile.
He took her by the hand and led her to aisle four. Scanning the shelves, he grabbed two bags. “Miniature or jumbo size?”
“Miniature.”
He tossed her the correct bag and set the other one back on the shelf. “Let’s check out. I dare someone to say something to you.”
Just as they exited the baking aisle, Cal was heading their way. The look of determination on his face when he saw Bonnie quickly morphed into one of confusion when he noticed Aaron by her side.
“Bonnie. Aaron.”
“Cal,” Aaron said with a tilt of his head. “How’s it going?”
“It’s going. Is there anything I can help you find today?”
Aaron shook his head. “I don’t need anything. Bonnie’s here to get some marshmallows.”
“I see that,” Cal said, seemingly torn about how to handle this. “I thought we talked about the predicament I’m in here, Bonnie.”
“Oh, you made yourself very clear,” she replied. “But Aaron really wanted me to buy these marshmallows here, so...”
The three of them stood in the middle of the main aisle in some sort of weaponless standoff. Bonnie wasn’t sure if she should simply walk past him or wait for him to take the marshmallows away. No one seemed to know what the next move was. The tension made Bonnie’s stomach ache. She wasn’t good with confrontation, and she hated the fact that Lauren was forcing people to do just that to her on the regular now.
Aaron broke the silence. “Well, her dad is waiting for his lunch. It was good to see you, Cal.” He placed his hand on Bonnie’s back and gave her a gentle push forward.
Bonnie stepped forward, maintaining eye contact with Cal the whole time. She tightened her grip on the marshmallows, certain he would snatch them if given a chance.
“Does your sister know you two are shopping together?” he asked as they moved past him.
“Does that matter?” Aaron asked, his tone challenging Cal to say yes.
“Honestly? I’m not sure. All I know is I have clear instructions when it comes to Bonnie, and you being here with her makes it difficult for me to know what to do.”
“I wish doing the right thing wasn’t difficult with or without me here,” Aaron said. “Refusing to provide service to a perfectly upstanding member of our community isn’t right. You should feel more conflicted about which tie to wear in the morning than if Bonnie should be able to buy these marshmallows.”
Bonnie stared at Aaron’s handsome face and a rush of those feelings she’d been having earlier hit her with even more force. He made her feel warm from the inside out. The way he defended her so effortlessly made her almost believe that everything might be okay one of these days. Her gaze shifted to poor Cal. It had been difficult for him to turn her away yesterday, but the man had a family to support and a boss who was telling him to shun her. She didn’t hold him responsible for Lauren’s maliciousness. People did what Lauren told them to do. It had been that way the entire time they had been friends.
In sixth grad
e, Lauren had told everyone in the entire school to wear pink on her birthday because it was her favorite color. Boy or girl, it didn’t matter—the expectation was to wear pink. Every single one of them showed up to school wearing something pink. That was the kind of social power Lauren wielded.
Nothing had changed all these years later. People did what she asked them to do. They didn’t ask why they had to do it, they simply obeyed.
Everyone except Aaron.
* * *
AS LONG AS Aaron had anything to say about it, Bonnie was not walking out of this store without those marshmallows. He understood that Cal was only doing what he was told, but didn’t people have a conscience? Was there anyone in this town willing to push back against something so unfair and ridiculous?
“Maybe you could be the one to buy the marshmallows instead of Bonnie,” Cal suggested as they made their way to the checkout.
Aaron hated that idea, but Bonnie clearly wanted to avoid any more attention. “Smart,” she said, slapping the bag against his chest for him to take.
“No,” he said, handing them back. “The whole point of coming here was to show them they shouldn’t discriminate against you.”
“Let’s not make a scene and let’s not make things harder for Cal, who has a family to support and can’t afford to lose his job because someone, otherwise known as your sister, finds out that he sold me marshmallows.”
“Yeah, let’s not do that,” Cal said, anxiously tugging on the blue-striped tie around his neck.
Cowards. They were all cowards. Lauren wouldn’t do that. She was using fear to control, but Aaron knew deep down that she was harmless. “She’s not going to fire anyone over marshmallows.”
“Are you very handy, Cal?” Bonnie asked, her hand on her hip and her head cocked to the side. She held the bag of marshmallows out. “Because if you sell me these, you could end up like my father, who Mr. Cole fired for basically being related to me. Thankfully, Aaron is here to hire anyone his dad and sister fire to help him renovate houses, but you need to be handy. Are you handy?”