Page 4 of Rumors in Bayberry (The Bayberry, Vermont #3)

Chapter Three

S mall town America…at its best.

It was the headline that came to mind when he’d toured Bayberry.

The following morning, Reed Stanton was up early. He was in Bayberry to scout out a new small town paper to add to the Rumor Quill . His goal was to save a piece of American culture and reframe it into something that might appeal to young and old alike.

Instead of letting these rural papers shutter, his company had been hand-selecting them and putting them under the Rumor Quill Media umbrella.

They would comb through the individual papers and incorporate the quirky, the heartwarming, and the astonishing stories into the Rumor Quill .

This way, the stories would appeal to a national audience.

In addition to the hand-curated content, they incorporated broad advertising with large accounts.

This content was then printed in each small town under their umbrella. They’d also been testing larger markets such as some key cities and airports. So far it was going well. Their internet subscription service had worldwide availability.

These stories were the ones that would pull on the reader’s heartstrings or make them laugh out loud. They’d been in business for a few years now, and every year the business was growing.

Last month, the owner of the Bayberry Gazette , Samuel Plummer, had reached out to his company.

Reed had checked into the Bayberry Gazette .

He’d checked out a current issue of the paper and found himself really enjoying S.J.

Plummer’s pieces. The guy had a way with words and a sense of humor that had him chuckling out loud.

Even though the writing was more than acceptable, he needed to be certain there would be enough human-interest stories to support them purchasing the paper. He had been through this process many times, but he was constantly surprised by his in-person visits.

A lot of things went into his evaluations. He didn’t buy every paper. In fact, he only purchased a very small portion of the newspapers that approached their company. And let’s face it, there were still a lot of small newspapers in the country—though sadly the number was constantly in decline.

He’d arrived in Bayberry a few days early. His meeting with Mr. Plummer wasn’t until Monday morning. It gave him today and tomorrow to explore the town, and according to the numerous flyers around town, it was the first day of the Pumpkin Festival.

But first, he was headed to the Steaming Brew.

His thoughts shifted to the woman with long auburn hair who had recommended the coffeehouse.

He remembered how her radiant smile and sparkling green eyes had drawn his attention.

To be honest, he couldn’t even remember what his dinner had tasted like.

He’d been too distracted by the beautiful woman.

He’d wanted to ask her name, but he’d resisted the urge because it would require him divulging his own name. He couldn’t do that. He was intent on flying under the radar until his meeting on Monday morning.

It appeared the beautiful woman wasn’t going to be far from his thoughts as long as he was in Bayberry. So, what should he call her?

Mystery woman? No. It was too much of a mouthful. Radiant? She was definitely that. Still, it wasn’t much of a name. Maybe he was trying too hard for a name.

And then it came to him. He’d call her Beauty. It was certainly a fitting name, and he liked it for her.

Too bad he hadn’t caught her real name or number. It would have been fun to have someone to hang out with for the weekend.

He used his phone to guide him to the Steaming Brew.

Even before he reached the door, the rich, tantalizing aroma of fresh-brewed coffee teased and taunted him.

The aroma evoked memories from his childhood when his mother would start the coffeemaker first thing in the morning.

At the time, his mother had told him he was too young to drink caffeine, but he still enjoyed the aroma.

The memories brought a smile to his face. It’d been a while since he’d thought of his childhood—of how good things had been before they weren’t. He clung to the good memories and shoved away the bad ones.

When he reached the coffeehouse, he glanced up and noticed a carved wooden sign with the silhouette of a mug and the name Steaming Brew spelled out in bright green letters. He liked it. Someone had a good imagination.

When he stepped inside, he came to an immediate stop. He was surprised to find not one but two lines of coffee-craving customers. It appeared Beauty was right about this place. Of course, he was withholding judgement until he actually tasted the steamy brew.

“Took me up on my recommendation, huh?”

He turned to find Beauty standing right behind him. A smile immediately lifted the corners of his mouth. It was like his thoughts had conjured her up.

“With the way you went on about it, I couldn’t pass up giving it a try.” The line moved, and he stepped forward. Beauty followed him. “Did you just get here?”

“Oh, no. I was sitting over there.” She pointed toward a table off to the side. “I saw you walk in.”

He couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed her sitting there. He must have been lost in his thoughts. It was the only explanation for him to miss seeing her.

“Next.”

He glanced over his shoulder to find the barista talking to him. Reed stepped up to the counter. His gaze moved to the blackboard hanging behind the counter. The specials were written in chalk:

- Pumpkin Spice Latte

He wasn’t really into pumpkin anything.

Caramel Apple Latte

It sounded intriguing.

S’mores Espresso Latte

Now that was something he had to try. If it wasn’t to his liking, he could come back and order a plain-old coffee with milk.

After he placed his order, he turned to continue speaking to Beauty. But she wasn’t there. Disappointment plagued him. His gaze swept the small seating area, but she wasn’t there either. She was gone as quickly as she’d arrived.

Too bad. He’d been hoping to get to know her a little better. Of course, that would mean revealing more about himself—including his name. It could possibly jeopardize his analysis of the town and its paper. Still, there was something about Beauty that would make the risk worth it.

Her phone buzzed.

Sadie gave Mr. TDM one last glance as he read the menu. He really was as good-looking as she’d remembered. He was possibly even better looking.

She had been totally shocked when she saw him walk into the Steaming Brew. He couldn’t have timed his entrance better if he’d tried.

Her phone buzzed again.

She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. She lifted it and looked at the screen. There was a text message from her mother that read: Hurry home.

Immediately, flashbacks of her father collapsing at Carrie’s reception played in her mind. Her heart raced, and her palms grew damp.

While Mr. TDM studied the menu, she’d reread the message. Her heart pounded. Was it her father? Her heart launched into her throat. Did he have another heart attack? Please, no.

I…uh… She had to go. Yes. She had to go.

There was no time to waste.

Before she even realized it, her feet were in motion. She rushed out the door. She regretted walking across town that day. It would take her precious moments to reach her parents’ house.

She knew how important those minutes could be. They’d nearly lost her father to a heart attack not quite a year ago. Please, don’t let that happen again.

Her steps were somewhere between speed-walking and running. Her breaths came in quick puffs. She knew people were giving her concerned looks, but she didn’t have time to explain. She just kept going.

When she finally reached her parents’ place, she burst through the back door. Her mother and father were seated at the kitchen table. In between pants, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

Her mother’s brows rose as her eyes widened. “Did you run here?”

There wasn’t time for that. “What’s wrong? Is it Dad?” Her gaze moved to him. He was giving her a puzzled look, but he didn’t look like he was in distress or anything. When her gaze met his, she asked, “Are you all right?”

“Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know.” She stopped, gasping for breath. “Ask Mom. She messaged me to hurry.” As her chest rapidly rose and fell, her gaze moved to her mother. “You scared me.”

“I’m so sorry. It wasn’t my intention.” Her mother looked guilty as she stood. She turned and pulled out a chair. “Here. Sit down.”

Sadie didn’t want to sit down. She wanted to demand some answers, but she was still trying to catch her breath.

Her mother had already turned her back to her and moved to the kitchen counter.

Sadie moved to the chair and dropped into it.

She really needed to take up running. She was too young to be this out of shape.

She turned her head to look at her mother. She was up to something, but Sadie didn’t know what it was. And her mother wasn’t one to reveal her plans until she deemed it was the right time.

Her mother returned to the table with a cup of coffee and a glass of ice water. She placed both of them in front of Sadie. “I’m afraid we only have decaf these days. Your father isn’t supposed to drink caffeine.”

Sadie grabbed the glass and let the cold water slide down over her parched throat.

She couldn’t believe how panicked she’d been.

Of course, she knew another heart attack was a possibility, but she supposed she’d pushed it to the back of her mind because it was just too much to contemplate.

Thankfully, her worst nightmare hadn’t come to fruition.

Her mother sat down and looked at her. “Lately, I’ve been having problems getting the two of you in the same room.”