by Cat Johnson
“We’re thinking pies. Cakes. Muffins. Likely we’ll bring that all in from a supplier frozen. Why?” he asked.
“Would you consider purchasing them fresh from the bakery located across the street from the diner?” I asked.
My plan was to kill Bethany with kindness and prove I wasn’t the evil bastard she’d made me out to be. It was a far cry from my initial plan, which had been to get to know her better. Much, much better because I really did like her.
Or at least I had before she turned into a woman I didn’t even recognize.
“Local baked good rather than mass produced frozen items will likely raise the cost as well,” Russ said, “but serving homemade desserts is something you could advertise. It might be worth it for the PR value.”
“I agree. See what you can do.”
“Definitely . . .”
As he continued to talk logistics, my mind drifted.
I could see a little bit of validity in Bethany’s fears. The diner would draw business to Main Street, but I’m not sure how many would walk across the street to get a cup of coffee and a honey bun when they could just order coffee and dessert at the end of their meal right there at the diner.
But I shouldn’t have a guilty conscience. The diner had existed there for seventy years. When she opened across the street, she had to realize it could reopen any day.
Yet, right or wrong, I did feel guilty.
She was running a business in a small town that by all evidence was on the decline—I understood her trepidation. But if I purchased the diner’s desserts from her, it would make up any business she lost because of us opening.
It was the right thing to do, and even if she loathed me, I was going to do it.
Finally, Russ was done reviewing his To Do list and after a promise I’d text him Stone’s contact information I could hang up.
I forwarded to Russ the number Stone had given me at the end of the meeting in Mudville then decided I’d better give Stone a head’s up. I could get away with just texting but I decided to call instead and make sure the man was still an ally.
Stone answered on the third ring and sounded breathless. I had to wonder what he was doing.
“Uh, hi. It’s Brandon Webster. Is this a bad time?”
“Nah. Just getting the brush hog hooked up to cut the lower field.”
My brows rose. It was like he was speaking another language, which made sense since Mudville was definitely another world from the one I currently lived and worked in.
“I won’t keep you. I just wanted to let you know I passed your number along to Russ Moreno. He’s the person in charge of the off-site culinary internship program. He’ll be supervising the staff from the college who’ll be working at the diner. I told him you’d give him any info he needed about ordering from the local farms.”
“All right. Actually, I’m glad you called.”
“Why is that?” I asked, surprised.
“They’re predicting a big storm coming in later in the week.”
“Okay . . .” I considered why that concerned me. “I was assured the roof on the diner is sound.”
“I’m not worried about your roof. I’m worried about the river. They’re predicting flooding.”
“It’ll reach Main Street?” I asked, picturing how far the river seemed from the diner when I’d scoped out the old Van de Berg place.
That house was right on the riverbank so I figured it might be in danger of flooding, which would be a huge shame. I hated the thought. But the diner seemed far enough away to be safe.
Stone let out a snort. “Main Street not only can flood, it has. Last time was twenty-eleven.”
“Shit.” I breathed out the curse.
“What do you want me to do?” he asked.
“What do you mean? What can you do?”
“Is there a sump pump at the diner? If not I could bring one over—we have a spare here. I’ll set it up for you. It’ll keep most of the water out. That is if I can get inside. You leave a key with somebody in town?”
I was in shock. “You’d do that? Go to all that trouble for me?”
“Of course. That’s what we do around here. Neighbors help neighbors.”
I let out a snort. “Not always. My closest Mudville neighbor isn’t so fond of me.”
The woman thought I was evil. And I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that cut me deep.
“What? Who’s that?” Stone asked.
“Bethany. She thinks my sole goal is to drive her out of business.”
That and to seduce her behind the back of my non-existent girlfriend. I omitted that part.
“Eh, she’s just worried about business. Can’t blame her. But she’ll come around once your plan starts bringing more traffic to town.”
“Well, thanks for the confidence but I’m not so sure.”
“She’ll get past it. Though, one word of advice. Next time you’re making out with a girl in your hotel room, you might want to turn off your phone.”
My mouth dropped open but I had no words. All that came out was a burst of air that carried my shocked laugh.
“Yeah, I heard it all,” he answered my unspoken question.
“Um, how?” I asked.
“Bethany told Harper and Red.”
“And they told you,” I guessed.
“And Cash, who told Boone. So everybody pretty much knows now.”
I drew in a breath. “Great. I hope she also told them that I don’t have a girlfriend, like she accused me of. That was my assistant texting about a work emergency.”
“Yeah, I heard that too. Although apparently she’s a little too good looking—your assistant.”
I shook my head, not inspired to fire a capable assistant because she was too pretty. Particularly since the chances of Bethany and I having a romantic relationship were looking pretty slim.
“Anyway, don’t worry about it. That’s life in Mudville. Oh, and I saw you talking to Binoculars Brimley after the meeting. Keep in mind whatever you say to Mary is going to spread through Mudville like wildfire. After it’s good and twisted up, that is.”
“Lovely.” I rubbed my hand over my eyes as Stone chuckled.
“You’ll get used to it. So, about that sump pump . . .” Stone continued as I started to second-guess my decision to invest in this town. What had I gotten myself into?
SIXTEEN
Bethany
“Who says there’s no such thing as climate change? Ha! My sweet patootie, there’s not.” Hands on her hips, Red spun away from the television on the wall of the bar and scowled. “Did you see that weather map? We’re definitely going to flood. This is supposed to be a hundred-year flood zone. Not a twice in my lifetime flood zone.”
“I didn’t own the bakery last flood. Do you remember how high the water got inside the businesses on that side of the street?” I asked, genuinely concerned.
A week ago, it had felt like my world was going to end just from the diner opening and possibly stealing some of my business.
Now, I knew what it really felt like to worry. If this flood came as predicted I wouldn’t have any business to steal.
Red drew in a breath. “I don’t know. Everything was closed so I wasn’t inside any of the buildings. I didn’t own my own shop yet either. But I do remember Main Street itself being under water.
“So what do we do?” I asked.
“We sandbag around the buildings. We make sure the pumps are working. Move as much as we can up or out. And we wait. That’s all we can do.” Red blew out a breath.
“I don’t own any sandbags.” I shook my head, feeling completely as a loss and totally unprepared. I should have thought of this before. I should own sandbags.
Panic began to set in.
Lainey had come through the swinging door from the kitchen in time to catch our conversation. “We’ve got plenty stored in the basement. Enough for most of the town. I called the Morgans to come over with their trucks so we can start filling them.”
She took one look at my face and moved closer to pull me into a quick one-armed hug. “Don’t worry, hon. We made it through the last one. We’ll make it through this one.”
Cash walked around from the back door with Boone at his heels. “Hey, Lainey. Dad said to tell you him and my uncle will be over here to help you in a few. In the meantime, Boone and I are both here with our trucks.”
He wrapped his arm around Red’s waist as she leaned into him and I felt the twist of envy.
I was an independent woman but right now I was feeling my lack of a man as keenly as my lack of sandbags and sump pumps. All seemed equally out of my reach.
“Forgive me for being ignorant, but where do we get all the sand to fill the sandbags?” I asked, so out of my element it was ridiculous.
If I could bake my way out of this jam I’d be set. But as it stood, I was at a loss. Honey Buns was at the mercy of this storm and the generosity of the folks in Mudville.
“The landscaping supply has a big pile of sand,” Cash answered.
Boone added, “We can drive our trucks right up to it, fill the bags and drive them to where we need them around town.”
Lainey nodded. “Last time there was a storm like this, they didn’t even charge us for the sand. We just emptied the bags back into the pile when the storm passed.”
The front door flung wide and Stone stepped in, taking off his ball cap and shaking the rain from it before stretching it back over his head.
As a black umbrella closed to reveal a second man, I realized Stone wasn’t alone. When I saw who followed him inside, my breath caught in my chest.
“What’s he doing here?” My gasped question had the group turning toward the door.
“Brandon? He’s here to help.” Boone answered.
My throat felt like the desert. I swallowed hard and repeated, “Help?”
As Stone and Brandon stood by the door, heads bowed in conversation with Lainey, I felt as if I’d gone down the rabbit hole into another world. Stone, who objected to just about every outsider who bought property in Mudville, was now hanging around with Brandon?
“The damn guy bought every sump pump every Home Depot in two counties had in stock and had Stone pick them up during the week,” Cash explained.
“Why? Does the diner need more than one?” I asked, remembering I had none. There wasn’t much chance of my getting one now since Brandon apparently had them all.
Cash cocked up a brow at the sarcastic tone I hadn’t been able to keep out of my voice. “No. He told Stone he wanted them set up in the diner, the old hotel and the Van de Berg house.”
“The Van de Berg house? Really? Why?” Red asked the exact question I’d been thinking.”
Cash lifted one shoulder. “Don’t know but none of us was going to question him. That place is going to get hit hard, just like last time. And the existing pump there is shot. Stone called the real estate agent and asked for permission to go in the basement and check.”
I let out a snort. “He probably wants to buy that too. Make a B&B out of it.”
He could have the culinary students sell muffins and pies and coffee and lemonade along the river and really put the final nail in my bakery’s coffin.
Boone and Cash exchanged amused looks. I glanced at Red and saw she was smiling too.
“What?” I demanded.
At least Boone was enough of a gentleman to tried to wipe the grin off his face. The other two just outwardly mocked me.
“You like him, that’s what.” Red smiled wider.
“I do not. He’s trying to buy up this whole town and I hate that.” I’d tried to keep my voice down so he wouldn’t hear from his spot by the door, but his gaze kept cutting over to us so I wasn’t sure I’d accomplished my goal.
Cash raised a brows. “You know what they say. Hate and love are two sides of the same coin.”
“Thanks, mister philosopher, but I don’t believe that.” I scowled.
I was about to get really angry at my supposed friends for continuing to bait me, when my cell vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw it was a call coming from an unknown number.
Even though there was a good chance this call was from some solicitor, I was happy for the excuse to get away from my friends and from Brandon’s field of vision.
I turned and walked toward the pool table, empty of players because everyone in town was scrambling to get their homes and businesses ready for the oncoming flood.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Hi, I’m trying to reach the owner of Honey Buns on Main Street in Mudville.”
“You’ve got her. I’m Bethany Van Dyke. How can I help you?”
“I’m Russ Moreno. I run the culinary internship program at the college.”
“Okay.”
Was he going to offer me an intern? It they worked for free I’d happily say yes. If not, it would have to be a no. My budget was tight already and thanks to the diner reopening, it was only going to get tighter.
Besides, Brandon’s two businesses were probably going to need every intern the college had. He’d take my customers plus all the interns.
“I was wondering if we could discuss wholesale pricing for some of your baked goods,” he continued.
“Oh, all right. For an event at the college?” I asked, confused.
I would think a school with a culinary program wouldn’t have to hire out catering.
“No, actually, for the Mudville Diner. We have a projected opening date and we’d love to make some of your baked goods a part of the regular menu. I was thinking a selection of pies, pastries and muffins.”
Emotions swirled within me. Did Brandon know this Russ person was calling me?
Somehow, I didn’t think any major decision would be made without his okay.
“Ms. Van Dyke?”
“Uh, sorry. Yeah, um, I can definitely talk to you about that, but right now we’re in the middle of a flood warning. You know about that right? The diner is in the flood zone.”
“Yes, I’m aware. The owner is in town now I believe, keeping an eye on things. He said to proceed as planned for the opening and we’ll make adjustments as needed.”
Somehow it figured that a man like Brandon would think he could control the weather. But he’d never lived through a flood in this town before. If he thought his money could change Mother Nature’s plans, then I wasn’t going to tell him otherwise.
“All right. Yes, fine. We can definitely talk about my supplying the diner. But I have to tell you, even my wholesale prices aren’t cheap. I use locally sourced eggs, milk and butter—”
“Oh, good. That’s perfect. We’re planning on doing the same, so your products will fit right in with the menu.”
So he was holding up his end of the bargain he’d struck with Stone at the meeting. That explained why they were so chummy.
“Hey, Bethany. I need to get inside your place.”
At the sound of my name, I turned to see Stone, which is when he saw the cell still pressed to my ear.
Cringing, he mouthed, “Sorry.”
“You’re busy. Let’s touch base in a couple of days,” Russ suggested.
“Yes, perfect. Thanks. I’ll talk to you soon.” I disconnected and looked back to Stone. “Why do you need to get in?”
“I want to hook up the sump pump,” Stone answered.
I sighed. “I don’t own a sump pump.” Though I wished I did.
Stone shook his head. “Brandon bought one for you and one for Dee too.”
“What?” That came out a bit louder than I’d meant. My outburst was met with a few turned heads in my direction.
Stone nodded. “Home Depot had five in stock. He wants one to go to Honey Buns and one to Dee Flander’s office.”
Me and Dee?
I’d suspected his motives since I’d heard his name in connection to the diner. It was hard to wrap my head around all this evidence that maybe he really was a nice guy. And generous too. But it had to be true. What other mot
ivation could he have?
My gaze shot to Brandon, still deep in conversation with Lainey.
He glanced up and those gorgeous eyes of his felt as if they pierced directly into me, before he pulled his gaze away.
The image of that kiss crashed through my brain. The feel of his hands on me. The warmth of his tongue against mine. The hard length of his . . .
I was completely confused . . . and now after that memory, aroused. All in the middle of a town emergency.
As usual, I had impeccable timing.
Crud.
SEVENTEEN
Bethany
“I don’t like the idea of you there in the bakery alone all night long,” Red said.
Did she not realize that some nights I worked until near midnight baking for a big order? And many days I was in the bakery by five or six in the morning. What difference did it make if, for tonight, I was here for the hours in between as well?
“You’re in your shop,” I pointed out.
“But I have Cash here with me. And Stone and Harper are right across the street at Agnes’s. You’re all alone there.”
“I’ll be fine. Seriously. What could happen? I’m literally like a block away from you.”
“I know but—”
“Red. Stop. I’ll be fine. I just want to keep an eye on the water level and make sure the pump starts.”
“What are you going to do there all night long?” she asked.
It was a good question. One I’d considered myself.
There was little else to occupy me unless I decided to squint at my cell and hope the signal was strong enough I could stream something.
I could bake. I was in the bakery after all.
But if the electric went out, which it might do during the storm, the ovens wouldn’t work. The refrigeration either and then anything I made could spoil.
I could sleep, but there was really nowhere comfortable enough for that.
My gaze hit on the stack of letters sitting beneath the register. Guilt had me carrying them back and forth with me between home and work while actually thinking I would get a chance to read them when I wasn’t busy.
That hadn’t happened but tonight might be the perfect time to finally read Rose’s letters. It would give me something to do. And here, alone, it wouldn’t matter if I did end up sobbing my eyes out over her century-old love story.