Page 36 of Curve Balls and Second Chances (Pickwick Pirate Queens #1)

M onday started with silence.

Not the peaceful kind. Not the early-morning quiet Rose usually cherished when opening the coffee shop. This was a different kind of silence. Sharp , expectant. The kind that hung in the air when someone had just walked into a room and no one wanted to be the one to say something first.

By ten a.m., she’d had three customers cancel pre-orders.

By noon, Mrs . Trammell , one of her steadiest regulars, walked past the window without coming inside for her usual latte.

Rose didn’t need a town crier to know what was happening.

Briana had planted her seeds.

And now, like poison ivy, they were winding their way through Pickwick Bend .

She slammed a tray of muffins into the oven with a little more force than necessary.

“Need help with those or just working on your pitching arm?” came a voice from behind her.

She turned to see Acen standing in the doorway and wearing that maddeningly calm expression that always made her want to either kiss him or throw something.

Maybe both.

“I’m fine,” she said.

“You’re furious.”

“I’m focused. There’s a difference.”

He stepped inside, sat on a stool at the counter. “ Focused on what?”

“Keeping my business from collapsing.”

He didn’t reply right away. Just watched her as she paced her brow furrowed in frustration.

She slammed her hand on the wooden counter. “ I thought people knew me better than this.”

“They do. But gossip doesn’t care about truth, and Briana’s a master manipulator. If she can’t destroy you head-on, she’ll try to make people question you.”

“Well, it’s working.”

He stepped closer. “ So let’s fight back.”

Her arms crossed. “ With what? Flyers ? A press release? I’m not a politician.”

“No,” he said. “ You’re a business owner. A community staple. And you’ve got more support than you think.”

Rose raised an eyebrow. “ From who?”

He pulled a folded paper from his jacket and handed it to her.

She opened it to find a flyer mock-up: C ommunity Appreciation Night —free samples, softball scrimmage, and a chance to support the coffee shop.

“You made this?”

“Cindy and Tasha helped,” he said. “ Riley’s on board, and all of your rec league girls said they’d organize the game. You’re the heart of this town, Rose . Briana’s just noise.”

Her throat tightened.

“Did someone tell the whole team my secret?” She asked, angry.

“Of course not.” Acen brushed her hair back from her face. “ But they aren’t stupid, Rose . They know something’s up. They’ve been your friends and on your team for years. They’d understand if you told them.”

“You mean like the rest of the people in the town where I’ve spent my whole life are understanding?” She challenged.

Acen pulled her into his arms. “ Rose . Not everyone is whispering about you. I know that’s hard to believe right now. But there are just as many people who don’t listen to those rumors as there are talking about them.”

He handed her the mock flyer. “ Let's do this. It will help. I promise.”

“This is… a lot,” she whispered.

“It’s exactly what you deserve,” Acen said. “ To be lifted up. Not just defended, but celebrated. ”

She stared at the flyer, the knot in her chest loosening for the first time all day.

“What if it backfires?” she asked. “ What if people don’t show up?”

“Then we eat the cupcakes ourselves,” he said with a grin. “ But they will show up. Because you’ve fed them, coached them, donated to their fundraisers, and remembered their birthdays with extra muffins.”

She looked up at him.

“I don’t want to do this alone,” she said.

“You’re not,” he replied. “ Not anymore.”

That night, Rose sat with Tasha and Cindy at Cindy’s kitchen table, planning the event.

Tasha handled the community outreach. “ I’ll post on social media, and I’ll talk to Marcy at the PTA . We’ll call it something catchy. ‘ Curveballs and Cupcakes ’ or ‘ Sweet Revenge .’”

Cindy snorted. “ How about ‘ Baked Goods and Bad Blood ’?”

Rose laughed, really laughed, for the first time in days.

“Whatever we call it,” she said, “we do it on the field. I want people to see who I am. Not just a name in a rumor.”

Tasha nodded. “ You’ve got the team behind you.”

Cindy raised her glass of sweet tea. “ To the comeback of the year.”

And as the night went on, the plans grew.

Flyers. Cupcake flavors. A playlist. A silent auction for charity. Even a dunk tank. Tasha’s idea, naturally, with her name first on the seat.

Rose watched her friends, her heart swelling.

She’d spent years believing her story ended in heartbreak.

But maybe it was just a long, winding inning.

And she was finally stepping up to bat.