Page 2 of Rumors in Bayberry (The Bayberry, Vermont #3)

Chapter One

Late September, Bayberry, VT

“I ’m still the boss.”

The words cut through Sadie’s heart like a sharp blade. The fact they came from her father was the part that hurt the most.

She’d spent the past several months throwing herself into the job of making the newspaper vital again. In fact, she’d worked non-stop because there was that much to do. She’d worked to digitize the business from old issues to the current issues.

The employees had willingly helped her. In addition to the paper version, the newspaper was now online. It was kept behind a paywall. People that used to live in Bayberry were subscribing to have their weekly copy of the Bayberry Gazette emailed to them.

It was Friday afternoon as she stood in the office that she’d occupied for the past several months. Her father once more sat in the chair behind the impressive oak desk. When her father leaned back in the old chair, it creaked under his weight.

She couldn’t help but notice how he looked like he’d aged ten years in the past several months. His hair was now fully white, and there were lines marring his face that hadn’t been there a year ago.

Her father’s changes weren’t just physical. They were also emotional. Her father now had a short-temper, and it didn’t seem like she could do anything right. It was like the loving father she’d once known had been replaced, and this new version of him didn’t like her.

She swallowed hard and attempted to keep her tone neutral. “If you would just give the changes a chance, you might see how beneficial they can be. I can show you.”

He was shaking his head before she even finished her sentence. “That won’t be necessary. I’m discontinuing the paper’s online presence.”

“What?” She should have expected this, but the news still came as a shock. “That would be a big mistake.”

“I’m sorry. I know this isn’t what you want to hear.” There was a weary tone to his voice.

One thing that hadn’t changed about her father was that he was old-fashioned.

He felt that the way things were done in the past was good enough.

He didn’t want to hear how she’d installed new software and how the online version worked.

It was good that some of the staff understood how these things worked.

Working on the Bayberry Gazette , she’d changed the format.

Prior to her taking over, the front page of the paper was filled with stories of the political landscape in Washington DC and top stories from around the country.

On page two were stories from around the world.

Page three was about business and Wall Street.

Page four was the classified ads. From what she could gather, these ads were the most read section of the paper next to the crossword puzzle.

People would sell livestock, handmade fashions, and all sorts of things.

Now, local news was on the front page. National headlines were moved to page two. The rest of the news was truncated to allow for recipes, a large crossword puzzle, and a knitting or crocheting pattern.

The biggest thing she’d done was decrease the paper from seven days a week to three days a week.

The problem with issuing it every day was that the paper became all about news beyond Bayberry’s area.

She wanted to lower it to one day a week, but she didn’t want to give her father another heart attack.

So, her father did have reason to be upset with her.

But if he would just stop to think about it as a businessman and not with the sentimentality of what his family had done in the past, he would realize the paper could have only last another year without change.

Her changes had given the paper new life—a life that could stretch out for a few more years.

There was the potential for it to last longer if the staff was cut down and they only published one issue a week.

Over the past week, she’d attempted to engage him in a talk about her changes. She didn’t want him caught off-guard when he returned to the office, but he hadn’t shown any interest.

Most of the time when she’d visited him at the house, he’d had the phone pressed to his ear. She had no idea who he’d been talking to. He never mentioned it. And she didn’t ask.

Even though her father was being stubborn, she still didn’t regret giving up a plum assignment with a reputable news agency to pitch in and keep the paper afloat while her father recuperated. She would do it again, but hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.

His head was lowered as he read some papers on his desk. It was as if she’d been dismissed. It seemed that he hadn’t changed all that much.

She struggled to keep her frustration under control. After all, her father was still recovering from complications following major heart surgery. “It’s after quitting time. I’m out of here.”

She turned on her heel before she said something she’d regret. Her hand was on the doorknob, and she’d just swung it open when he spoke.

“You should know that there are going to be some changes around here.”

Changes? She wondered what her father was referring to.

“I want to meet with you first thing Monday morning.”

Was he planning to remove all of her updates to the business? It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him, but she bit back the words and kept going.

She closed his office door behind her. The more she thought about her father’s parting words, the more frustrated she became. She checked the time. It was after five thirty—well past quitting time. She gathered her purse and jacket.

On her way to the door, she glanced around and found everyone else was gone for the evening. She couldn’t blame them. It was a beautiful evening.

The staff consisted of only seven other people. One did clerical. Two were reporters. Another two sold ads. And the rest were jack of all trades but mainly did the typesetting.

Everything else fell onto Sadie’s shoulders.

And while her father was away, the changes she’d made had been sweeping.

It meant he was going to have to calm down and find out what she’d done or he would be utterly lost when he went to do anything.

Although, she had made certain to have procedure manuals written for each position.

As she made her way along the sidewalk, she thought some more about what her father had said.

It would be a shame if he undid her work, because she’d worked hard to build up the newspaper’s social following.

The number of followers wasn’t huge, but it was growing steadily.

She made sure to make the articles stand out.

The quirkier or more shocking the headline, the better.

It wasn’t like the Bayberry Gazette generated hard-hitting news.

Far from it. These articles were more like unique snapshots in otherwise normal lives.

In fact, some of her stories had been picked up by a newswire.

Her favorite had been a few months ago: Hampton the Pig Adopts Baby Duckling .

It had happened on one of the local farms.

Hampton’s babies were stillborn. She’d fallen into a funk without her babies, and then Quackers, a two-week-old duckling, escaped her pen and made her way to Hampton.

When they were separated, Hampton would call for Quackers, and eventually the duckling would make her way back to the pig.

This happened over and over again. Eventually, the farmer gave up and let them stay together.

The pictures of the unlikely duo had gone viral.

It was so strange to open up her social media and find her photo and story being shared thousands and thousands of times.

It even ended up being picked up by the morning news shows, and from there it was picked up around the world.

Everyone loved a feel-good story. Bayberry had finally made international news. She never thought that would happen.

Bayberry would never be able to compete with hard-hitting stories, for which she was grateful.

Thankfully, Bayberry never had any catastrophic events, but on the other hand, no famous people ever graced their small town.

But when it came to wholesome, feel-good stories, this town had an abundance of them.

Sadie had always thought it was the wars and the strife that made you a great journalist. Maybe that was still true.

But by staying in Bayberry and throwing herself into managing the paper, she found the human-interest stories had also thrown her onto the international stage.

Who’d have thought that would happen? Certainly not her.

There was even talk of Hampton and Quacker’s story competing for an award. Sadie didn’t really take it seriously, but stranger things had been known to happen.

The thing she’d learned about herself was that she loved ferreting out the human-interest stories over the political and war-ravaged stories.

She was now able to recognize that the hard-hitting stories about the underbelly of societies had taken a toll on her.

She didn’t know how much longer she could continue to do them.

To her surprise, Sadie really enjoyed her time at the Gazette .

She’d been able to help keep her community woven together with these stories.

And once in a while there were serious articles to be written, a heartbreaking auto accident here, or sadly a barn fire there.

It all came together to tell the full story of Bayberry.

She hadn’t anticipated enjoying working at the paper. Sure, she’d done it off and on since she was a teenager, but she never invested herself in it like she had over the past several months.

As the worries about the future pressed in on the edges of her mind, she couldn’t miss the fact that summer was fading into autumn. Change was in the air. She had to be okay with what happened next. It was easier said than done.

Sadie pushed those worries to the back of her mind. There would be time to deal with them later—like the meeting Monday morning. Right now, she wanted to focus on what was left of this beautiful day.

After rain the past few days, she wanted to take in the last of the sun’s warm rays. Sadie had traveled so much that she’d forgotten just how much she loved Autumn in Vermont.

She even enjoyed the leaves changing colors. Did that make her old? Or just someone who enjoyed her surroundings? She preferred to think it was the latter.

She walked down Spring Street. This was where they were holding the Food Truck Festival. They’d shut down a block, allowing for foot traffic.

Now that she was running—erm, had been running the Bayberry Gazette , she’d showcased a series of interviews and photos of the various food trucks.

It seemed to do the trick because she had all kinds of compliments on her writing, and the crowds for the food trucks had been impressive.

It not only helped the vendors but also the local businesses.

Because once people had their fill of the delicious food, they would meander through the charming shops lining both sides of the street.

“Hey, Sadie.” Her friend Kate approached her. “I heard a rumor that you’re leaving town. Please, tell me it isn’t true.”

Sadie wondered how these rumors got started. Even though she’d been thinking over her options, she hadn’t discussed it with anyone. Not one single person. “I don’t have any immediate plans. My dad is just back at the office. I don’t know if he’s going to need my help.”

“Oh. Okay.” Kate’s gaze searched hers, as though seeking out the truth. “So, it’s nothing more than another rumor?”

Sadie nodded. She didn’t want to discuss it.

“I know with your dad back at the paper that the transition won’t be easy. I mean, with you two having different ways of doing things. But I know once he sees all of your improvements that he’s going to be proud of you. Because you are amazing.”

Heat rushed to Sadie’s face. She wasn’t sure she was deserving of all that praise—not when she was thinking of leaving Bayberry again. It all depended on what her father said at this meeting on Monday.

“I don’t know if my father would agree with you.”

Kate gently elbowed her. “Just give him a chance to see all of your hard work.”

Sadie opened her mouth to disagree, but she wordlessly closed her mouth. She didn’t want to get into this. She had no idea why her father was dragging this out until Monday. But she refused to dwell on it. She had plans for the weekend.

Buzz.

Kate reached for her phone. “That’s work. I have to get back to it.”

“But it’s Friday evening.”

Kate nodded. “We’re finalizing a large order. I just want to go over it and make sure there are no mistakes. This order is headed for California.”

“Wow. That’s great. Business is really growing.”

“Yes, it is. I’ll see you later.” With a smile, Kate turned and walked away.

Sadie approached the food trucks. She inhaled all of the delicious aromas, from spicy curry and turmeric to peppers and onions.

It was a delicious intermingling of scents.

And though each truck she passed was tempting, she had a craving for one particular thing.

A green chile cheese black bean taco burger.

Tasty Tacos Food Truck was situated along the next block.

She’d done an in-depth interview with the owner, Juan Marin.

His family had been in the restaurant business for five generations.

Juan loved cooking, but he didn’t like being stuck in one place.

A truck allowed him to meander here and there.

In the process, he’d derived the most delicious vegetarian menu.

Sadie would be so sad to see him go—to see all the trucks move on. She hoped Bayberry would host the food truck festival again. In fact, it appeared to be such a large success that she didn’t see why they wouldn’t host it again on a regular basis.

The last customer took their food and walked away. Sadie picked up her pace. Juan, an older gentleman, was already waiting at the window.

Before she came to a stop, she said, “I’ll take a green chile cheese black bean taco burger.”

The funny thing was it sounded like there was an echo, but how would that be possible?

Juan smiled. “I’m afraid I only have one burger left.” His gaze met hers. “After that amazing article you wrote about the truck, we had a rush today. I’m sold out of most everything.” His gaze moved away. “So, which one of you wants the burger?”

She glanced over her shoulder and noticed a tall man with short dark hair standing just a few feet away. Her chin tilted upward until her gaze met his dark eyes.

As she continued to meet his gaze, his eyes felt bottomless. She felt herself being drawn in by them. When she realized she was staring, she glanced away but not before noticing a slow smile lifting the corner of his lips. What was he smiling about?