Page 9 of Rumors in Bayberry (The Bayberry, Vermont #3)

Chapter Six

T his trip was not turning out how he’d planned.

It was so much better.

The next morning, Reed closed his laptop. He hadn’t gotten much work done. His thoughts kept returning to Sadie. The more time he spent with her, the more amazing he found her.

But there was a potential problem. She could complicate matters if he was to proceed with the purchase of the Gazette . What were the odds that the first person he connected with in Bayberry was the daughter of the owner of the newspaper?

In many cases, the decision to buy or not buy made the difference between the paper remaining viable and it shutting down. Was that the case with the Bayberry Gazette ? He didn’t know. He hadn’t seen the paper’s financial records yet.

He couldn’t imagine what went into the determination to sell those small town papers that had been around for more than a hundred years. It couldn’t be an easy decision.

He’d had numerous offers to buy Rumor Quill Media, but he wasn’t willing to part with it. Thankfully, neither was Brad. They were in it for the long haul.

Reed didn’t know why his initial vision for the Rumor Quill had changed from just a startup to a mission to keep small town papers alive—maybe it was because he’d grown up in a small town.

Maybe it was because he saw those newspapers as the threads that stitched neighbors together, from the birth announcements and wedding news to the obituaries.

It was the Cliff Notes to life in a small town.

Whatever the reason he’d become so invested in Rumor Quill Media, it was now rolling into a massive business that would soon crisscross the country.

So, what did he do about Sadie? Tell her his reason for being in Bayberry? Or avoid her until after his meeting with her father on Monday morning?

He had no good answers. He supposed he could call off from working the maze that day. But then again, it wasn’t like they were together at the maze. He was at the entrance, and she was in a lookout spot. And truthfully, he wanted to see her again before business had a chance to come between them.

Hopefully, she’d be on board with selling the paper. Then again, he wasn’t sure it mattered since it sounded like she was leaving town soon. The thought of never seeing her again left a sour feeling in the pit of his stomach. She was unlike anyone he’d ever known before.

Shoving aside his conflicting thoughts, he closed his laptop and headed out for the day. He was supposed to meet Sadie for lunch at Mel’s Grille. He didn’t know about her, but he was craving another steak salad. It hit the spot on a warm autumn day.

He was a few minutes early. When he reached the Grille, he stood on the sidewalk and pulled out his phone.

Reed: I’m at the restaurant. Do you want me to get us a table?

Sadie: Already did.

He turned and approached the door to the restaurant. When he stepped inside, he found the place crowded. It appeared everyone else had the same idea about grabbing a bite to eat before heading to the Pumpkin Festival.

And then he saw a hand waving. It was Sadie. A smile tugged on the corners of his lips. He headed in her direction.

He slid into the booth across from her. “And here I thought I was a little early, and you still beat me.”

She smiled and shrugged. “I know how busy this place can get on Sunday, especially after church. And we don’t have time to wait around. They are counting on us to get the maze up and going.”

He nodded in understanding. “Do you take all of your obligations seriously?”

Her eyes momentarily widened. “Of course.” Then she narrowed her gaze on him. “Why? Don’t you?”

“Yes, I do.” He saw the relief in her eyes.

Little by little, he was finding that they had a lot in common.

He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

If they didn’t have anything in common, it would be so easy to walk away when it came time for him to move on.

But finding out that they had things in common made him wonder what it would be like if they had more time together.

He dismissed the taunting thought. They only had the here and now. He needed to make the most of today and let the rest go.

He picked up a menu and opened it. He didn’t know why he bothered because he already knew what he was ordering.

He looked over the top of the menu. “What are you getting?”

“I was planning to get the salad again. It was really good. How about you?”

“I was thinking the same thing.” He couldn’t help but smile because they had that in common too.

She gave him a funny look. “Then why are you looking at the menu?”

He shrugged. “I just thought something else would jump out at me and be more appealing. But I’m not seeing anything more tempting.”

When he lowered the menu, he couldn’t help but think he was looking straight at his greatest temptation.

In that moment, he just wanted to call off work for a week and push back his meeting with Sadie’s father.

Reed could imagine spending the week drowning in her emerald green eyes and puzzling out that funny feeling he got in his chest every time she flashed him one of her sunny smiles.

Realizing he’d looked at her a moment too long, he glanced away. He made a point of looking for their server. All the while, he hoped she hadn’t noticed him staring at her. If she did, she didn’t say anything.

They ended up placing the exact same order as the day before, even down to their drinks. He knew he’d just met her, but he could already imagine this thing between them growing. It was crazy. Things like this never happened to him.

It was good that he had his meeting the next day. When it was over, he’d either be leaving town or he’d be sticking around to iron out a deal.

He hoped it was the latter, because the more time he spent in Bayberry, the more he’d come to care about the town. He wanted good things for it. And he thought that was what his company could do for them. He truly believed it. Now he had to see if Mr. Plummer agreed with him.

“Hey, where’d you go?” Sadie’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Sorry. I was just thinking about some stuff I have to do this week.”

Her nose curled up. “You mean work?” When he nodded, she said, “We don’t have to think about that today. Tomorrow will be here soon enough.”

“You’re not looking forward to Monday morning?”

She dramatically rolled her eyes. “Does anyone look forward to it?”

“I see your point.” After their iced teas were delivered, he realized it was time to change the subject. They were dancing around the subject of his work, and he was hesitant to get into it with her. “Any tips for today?”

“You mean with the maze?” When he nodded, she said, “Just do what you did yesterday. I heard nothing but good things about you. I had numerous people tell me that you have to stay and work it all week.” Her gaze prodded him.

“What do you say? Do you want the job? It pays absolutely nothing but goodwill?”

It took him a second to realize she was being serious.

“Oh. Uh…” He didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

In fact, that was the last thing he wanted to do.

“This weekend has been a lot of fun. And to be honest, I really needed the break. I didn’t realize until I met you how much of a workaholic I’d become. ”

“I bet you can’t even remember the last time you took some vacation time.”

She had him there. He stopped and gave it some thought. It had been before he’d launched the Rumor Quill . It seemed like a lifetime ago, but he recalled going to Cancun.

“See. I was right.” She grinned at him. “I’m sure you have a lot of accumulated paid leave. Take the week off and enjoy yourself. Next to Christmas, this is the best time of the year to visit Bayberry. There are special events planned for the rest of the week.”

He couldn’t help but smile at her genuine appeal for him to stay in town. “If journalism doesn’t work out for you, you should definitely consider becoming a salesperson.”

Her grin broadened. “Does that mean I’ve sold you on a week’s vacation right here in Bayberry?”

His smile faltered. “I wish that was possible, but I’m working on a deadline.”

Her lips fell into a straight line. “I see. Well, at least I tried.”

“You did. And who knows, maybe someday I’ll make my way back here.”

“And maybe I’ll be back for a visit, and we could possibly run into each other.”

They both knew the chances of that happening were slim to none. All they had was the rest of the day.

“I know,” he said. “After we finish working at the maze, why don’t you show me around the rest of the festival. Maybe we can grab some dinner.”

“It is open until nine. That would give us a few hours. And we’ll definitely find something to eat.” The smile returned to her lips. “The festival has all kinds of good food.”

At that moment, their lunch was delivered. He checked the time on his smart watch. They didn’t have much time to eat. It was almost time for the maze to open. So, there wasn’t much talk as they rushed to eat their salads.

When they reached the maze, Sadie said a few words to the other workers. And then she walked away, and he was alone. He already missed her.

He took his position at the entrance. People were already lined up, waiting to get in to the maze.

He collected the entrance fee, explained the maze, and offered each guest a red flag.

The men never took one; he couldn’t blame them.

He wouldn’t take one either. It was a pride thing.

But a number of the women were smarter than the men and accepted a flag.

Business was brisk. Bayberry definitely had a successful venture with the Pumpkin Festival. No wonder they let the festival take over the center of town. Instead of the street closures hurting business, from what he could tell, it was drawing in more foot traffic.

He really liked what he’d seen of Bayberry. The people in this town were friendly and hard working. They took pride in their town and wanted the best for it. These were the types of towns where investing in their local paper was beneficial to both parties.

He still wasn’t certain about making a deal with the Bayberry Gazette .

He still had to see the numbers, and if he liked what he saw, then they had to be forwarded to the corporate office where Brad and his team would evaluate them.

There were many steps before they’d have a firm deal.

But this was a hopeful beginning. And he couldn’t ask for more than that.