Page 6 of Rumors in Bayberry (The Bayberry, Vermont #3)

Chapter Four

I t was a cute town.

Small but picturesque, especially the town square.

Reed had spent the morning walking the streets of Bayberry. He’d taken a few pictures to send to his partner in Chicago. Reed had a good feeling in this town.

But as he walked down each street, he found himself searching for something—or rather someone.

Beauty. She’d disappeared so quickly from the coffeeshop he couldn’t help but wonder if it was something he’d said or perhaps something he hadn’t said.

Either way, he’d like to clear things up between them.

He’d really hoped to have run into her again as he’d traipsed along the various streets with cute shops.

One time, he’d thought he’d caught a glimpse of her.

When he’d caught up to the woman, he hadn’t been able to call out her name, because he still didn’t know it.

Instead, he’d tapped her arm. The woman had stopped and turned to him.

It hadn’t been Beauty. It was an awkward moment as he’d profusely apologized for his mistake.

With all of the walking, he’d worked up an appetite. He wouldn’t mind a repeat of yesterday’s food truck cuisine. Too bad the trucks had packed up and left town.

He headed back to Main Street, where there were a handful of choices for lunch. He kept walking until he noticed the busiest restaurant on the street. He was curious to see what drew so many people to this establishment.

The exterior of the building consisted of white brick with black shutters. On the white bricks, bold black letters had been attached. They spelled Mel’s Grille. On either side were wall sconces with matte black paint.

Reed was intrigued. When an older man pushed open the door and stepped outside, Reed caught a whiff of what awaited him. His feet picked up their pace.

When he pulled open the front door, the delicious aroma wafted toward him. He inhaled a deep breath. There were a number of different scents, from a summer citrus to the savory notes of roast beef. His stomach rumbled its anticipation. He couldn’t wait to see the menu.

As he stepped into the busy dining room, the hum of voices reached his ears.

He glanced around. The place wasn’t fancy.

Three of the walls were painted white. The fourth wall had large black and white squares painted across it.

The black squares were filled with framed black-and-white photos of racing cars.

He glanced at the red vinyl benches and white laminate tabletops.

This place felt like it had been plucked right out of the fifties.

His gaze moved from table to table. It wasn’t until he’d looked over most of the room that he realized what he was looking for—or rather whom he was looking for—Beauty. But as he finished scanning the dining room, he was disappointed she wasn’t there.

He knew it shouldn’t matter to him. He wouldn’t be in Bayberry long enough for it to matter. Still, he wanted to see her one more time.

After he was seated, he asked the server, “What’s the special?”

“Today’s special is a hot roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes or we have a cobb salad with avocado ranch dressing.”

The server looked to be in her thirties. She wore a fifties-style white uniform with red trim. She had brown hair that was much too short for a perky ponytail like her co-worker.

He glanced up at the woman and noticed the fine lines bracketing her bloodshot eyes. She tapped her pen against the small tablet in her hand, as though she were anxious to get on with it.

He glanced over her shoulder and saw more people enter the restaurant. None of them were Beauty. As soon as he realized he was looking for her again, he forced his gaze to the menu. “Let me have the roast beef sandwich.”

“Gravy on everything?”

“Yes.”

“And to drink?”

He glanced around at the other tables to see what people were drinking. He saw tall glasses with a pale-yellow liquid. “Is that lemonade?”

The server nodded. “We have fresh-squeezed lemonade this week.”

“Another special?”

“Yes, sir.”

While the server went to put in his order, he leaned back in his chair. The restaurant had a steady stream of people coming through the door. Too bad none of them were Beauty.

For all he knew, their paths would never cross again. Disappointment welled up within him. In the next breath, he told himself it was for the best. His track record with relationships wasn’t the best. Now he focused his energies on his work—his professional achievements.

When his food was delivered, it tasted even better than he’d been imagining.

The brown gravy was rich. The potatoes were buttery and creamy.

And the bread was melt-in-your-mouth soft.

If he had to guess, he’d say it was fresh-baked.

He hadn’t had a meal like this in a very long time.

It was so good he would be back for another serving before he left town.

He finished eating quickly, not because he was in a hurry, but because it was simply that good. His meeting with the owner of the Bayberry Gazette wasn’t until Monday. This weekend, he intended to have a little downtime as he took in the area.

Buzz.

He pulled his phone from his pocket. He looked at the screen. It was his partner, Brad Pearson. Reed’s finger swiped over the screen. He couldn’t wait to tell Brad that Bayberry was even more impressive than he’d anticipated.

He pressed the phone to his ear. “Hey, Brad.”

“How’s it going? Do you know if you want to bring the Bayberry Gazette onboard?”

“Not yet. My meeting isn’t until Monday morning.”

He knew they were taking a big risk on this venture.

They were attempting to hang on to the small town papers that for generations had kept the communities in the know.

And so far, their risk was paying off. They just had to be patient.

If they rushed, they would make a mistake, and that was what they were trying hard to avoid.

He remembered when he was young how the newspaper would be delivered to their door. By the time he was a teen, the paper no longer came every day. It only came on weekends. And those issues were delivered by mail.

Now people were getting their news via the internet.

He wanted to revitalize the small town news.

And he knew they could do it if they were to pick up the papers with unique human-interest pieces.

He knew one paper couldn’t continually generate those special pieces that would draw the nation’s attention and go viral.

That was why he wanted an army of small papers that would contribute their own pieces as well as share articles from other towns.

“You know we need more content,” Brad said. “If we can expand our distribution, we can bring in more readers—more readers means more advertising revenue.”

He had heard this from his partner since the day they set up shop. “I understand. I’m doing my best.”

Reed focused on the content while Brad focused on the financial end of things, including the advertising.

“There’s a little town in New Hampshire. What was the name?” The line fell silent as Brad struggled to come up with the name. There was a sound of snapping fingers. “Rosehill. Yes, that’s it. Rosehill, New Hampshire. You should look into their paper.”

Reed made a mental note. “I’ll do that.”

At that moment, he saw Beauty enter the diner. He followed her with his gaze, not wanting to lose track of her before he had a chance to approach her.

“Um, something came up,” Reed said. “I’ve got to go.”

There was a sigh. “Fine. But let me know what you think about Rosehill.”

Reed disconnected the call, and in the time it took to slip the phone into his pocket, he’d lost her. Again. Had she left already? He hoped not. He’d like to at least get her name. He still couldn’t believe he hadn’t done that the other day.

He kept scanning the room. He felt like this might be the last time he’d run into her. She had to be there somewhere.

At last, he spotted her at the counter. She was speaking to the server. He didn’t want to intrude, so he waited. The next thing he knew she had a brown paper bag and was headed to the exit. Oh, no. She wasn’t getting away again.

He glanced down and saw the check on the table. He grabbed some cash from his wallet. He was about to place it on the table when the server approached the table.

He handed her the money. “Thank you. I’ll definitely be back.”

“I’ll pass your compliments on to the cook.” She held up the money. “I’ll get your change.”

He shook his head. “Keep it.”

And then he headed for the door, anxious to see if he could catch up with Beauty. He pushed the door open. The bright sunshine caused him to squint.

After his sight had adjusted to the sunshine, he glanced in both directions. He didn’t see her. How did she move so fast?

She had to hurry.

Sadie couldn’t be late for her shift at the Bayberry Pumpkin Festival. She was working the hay bale maze. Since this was the first day of the festival, she wanted to get there early so she could go through the maze.

She loved mazes. And each year the pattern was different. This year was supposed to be bigger than last year’s.

“Hey!” a male voice called out. “Hey, you!”

Sadie kept moving. They couldn’t be talking to her. Everyone in town knew her name. But then the male voice called out again. The voice was closer this time.

Curiosity caused her to stop. She glanced over her shoulder but didn’t see anyone. She was about to keep going when she spotted Mr. TDM. He was definitely tall, well past six feet. His dark hair was wind swept. As for being mysterious, he wasn’t really. Still, she wouldn’t mind learning his story.

He waved to her as he continued in her direction. She waved back. When he smiled at her, her stomach fluttered. He really was as cute as she remembered.

When he caught up to her, she said, “I’m sorry about disappearing on you this morning. There was an emergency. Well, from the message, I thought it was an emergency.” She couldn’t keep the exasperated tone from her voice. “Turns out everything is all right.”

He sent her a puzzled look. “That’s a good thing, right?”

“Oh. Yes. It is.” She shoved aside her frustrations with her parents and smiled at… What was his name? “By the way, my name is Sadie.”

There was a distinct pause before he said, “Nice to meet you. I’m Reed.”

“Are you staying in Bayberry for a while?”

He nodded. “At least for a few days.”

“That’s good to hear.” The smile returned to her lips. Maybe they’d run into each other again. The thought definitely appealed to her. “Well, Reed, I have to go. I’m supposed to be at the hay bale maze now.”

His eyes lit up with interest. “You’re going to a maze?”

She nodded. “It’s part of the Pumpkin Festival. Would you like to walk with me?”

His brows rose. “You don’t mind?”

She shook her head. “Not at all.”

Sadie kept walking, and he fell in step next to her. “The Pumpkin Festival is the best around. And I’m not saying that just because I was on the planning committee.”

They approached the center of town where the festival was being held, which of course, made a nightmare for traffic, since they’d absorbed the roadways into the festival. The hay bale maze took half of the town square and into the roadways.

But the maze was a huge hit. People would come from all over New England to attend the festival and go through the maze. The whole affair was a boon to the town, especially the specialty shops that lined the square.

Sadie had to admit she did miss Bayberry when she wasn’t there. And when she was in Bayberry, she missed exploring the world. It was a tough spot to be in.

“So, where’s the maze?” His voice drew her from her thoughts.

“It’s on the other side of the town square. Do you do mazes?”

He shook his head. “I can honestly say that I’ve never done one.”

She studied him for a moment. “Let me guess. You’re from the city?”

“Something like that.”

She waved at him. “Come on. Let me be the first to introduce you to the hay bale maze.” When he didn’t make any move to follow her, she paused and turned back to him. “Are you afraid I’ll make it out of the maze first?”

His eyes lit up. “Is that a challenge?”

She pressed a hand to her rounded hip as she lifted her chin ever so slightly. “Yes, it is.”

His gaze met hers and, in that moment, her heart skipped a beat. “You probably have the maze memorized.”

She averted her gaze. “To be fair, I did see the initial layout of the maze, but that was a while ago. And I promise I don’t have it memorized.”

He continued to stare at her with what felt like a penetrating gaze, like he was trying to decide if she was telling him the truth. “All right. You’re on.” He sent her a smile that warmed her from the inside out. “Wait.” He got a serious look on his face. “What’s at stake?”

She thought about it for a moment. She considered letting him off easy, but she enjoyed his company, so she decided to throw a curveball at him. “If I win, you work the maze with me this weekend.”

His eyes widened at the suggestion. “Um, I don’t know.”

And then she had a thought. “Unless you have a family or significant other to get home to.”

He shook his head. “It’s not that.”

She chose to ignore the way his words brought a smile to her lips. Maybe he needed a nudge. “I suppose if you’re afraid of losing…”

“Wait. I didn’t say I was afraid of losing. I just hadn’t come up with what I want when I win.”

“Oh, you’re gonna win, huh?” She grinned at him.

He puffed up his broad chest as he grinned back at her. “Yes, I am. Looks like I better take you up on this bet before your head swells any further. So, if I win, you go out with me.”

She wasn’t sure she was hearing him correctly. “As in a date?”

He smiled like a Cheshire cat. “Exactly.”

She paused. She hadn’t expected their haggling to move to this level, but he was awfully cute. And it appeared both of them were single, so what could it hurt? Besides, she was going to win. She was very good at mazes.

“Okay. You have a deal. Well, come on. We have to hurry.”

She didn’t know why she was so intent on spending time with Reed.

It wasn’t like she knew much about him. Then again, maybe that was the draw.

The reporter in her wanted to learn his life story or at least the interesting bits.

It was so tempting to lose on purpose just so she could have dinner with him.