Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Vivian took a shaky breath, trying to steady her nerves. Hazel, who was sitting next to her, noticed and put a hand on her mother’s shoulder.
“It’ll be okay, Mom,” Hazel whispered. “We’re going to figure this out.”
Vivian shook her head, blinking back tears. What could they figure out? There wasn’t a way for them to sue the McCormicks, was there? She didn’t own her recipes or have a patent on them. And besides, she felt that suing was such an ugly form of retribution and should only be used when it was truly necessary.
Earlier in the day, Dean had talked to Alexis and Hazel, telling them that the McCormicks were using a sauce in their new restaurant that tasted identical to the secret sauce at The Lighthouse Grill. The three of them had waited and talked about the issue for a while before bringing it to Vivian.
Now Vivian and all of her children were gathered in her living room. Hazel had made them all cups of tea and brought in the cookie jar from the kitchen. Even though Alexis kept urging her mother to eat one of the monster cookies that Julia and Hazel had made together the day before, Vivian felt as though there was a rock in her stomach and she didn’t want to eat. She sipped her mug of peppermint tea gratefully, however. It helped to soothe her jittery nerves.
She felt distraught. The news meant that not only was Judd taking his rivalry against the pub to a whole new level, it meant that Alan really was untrustworthy. He must have been asking the questions that he did about the secret sauce so that he could bring that information to Judd.
And I told him about the cinnamon, she thought, feeling her cheeks flush with frustration and embarrassment. I trusted him. I thought he was genuinely interested in me.
Julia, who had just arrived from Cooper’s, was still wearing her coat and mittens. She looked around the room with concern, clearly wondering what was going on.
“Hazel, you tell her,” Vivian said with a sigh.
“Of course.” Hazel kissed her mother’s cheek. “So… Julia, we’re all here because Dean learned something bad the other day.”
“And I meant to say something sooner, but I wanted to check it out for myself before bringing it up to Mom,” Dean said. “Noelle and I were getting lunch together when the Turners told us that there were copycat sauces being used at the McCormicks’ new restaurant. They said they have a Monte Cristo sandwich there that tastes exactly like the one we have as a special at the pub sometimes.”
“With the secret sauce,” Alexis growled.
Julia shook her head, looking shocked. “How could they know what ingredients went into the secret sauce?”
Vivian blinked back tears. “I told them. Well—I hinted at a couple of things with Alan Gifford. I thought he was my friend. I told him about the cinnamon.”
“It’s not your fault, Mom,” Alexis said fiercely, going to hug her mother. “He seemed like a nice guy. Too bad he turned out to be the opposite.”
Julia pressed her lips together. “I just can’t believe that even Judd McCormick would stoop this low. Are you guys sure the sauce is really the same?”
“I ate it.” Dean scowled. “I ordered a to-go Monte Cristo sandwich from the brewery for my lunch today. It tasted exactly like ours. Even the sauce.”
“And when Dean told us, Alexis and I decided to do some sleuthing,” Hazel said.
“With your hoods up?” Julia teased, referring to another time the Owens sisters had gone sleuthing in the McCormick brewery.
All of the siblings burst out laughing, and Vivian couldn’t help smiling. She was grateful that even though she had to face this, she didn’t have to face it alone.
“No, we just walked in like regular people who were there for lunch,” Alexis said. “And Dean is right. The sauces they have taste exactly like ours.”
“Not to mention the fact that their food menu is basically ours,” Hazel said, shaking her head. “And I can understand some things being the same if they want to have a home-style, comfort food kind of restaurant. But lasagna that has all the same ingredients as ours? It’s not traditional to use black olives in a lasagna, but we do it. And so do they.”
“Yeah, and they have a cheeseburger with bacon, avocado, and garlic aioli,” Alexis said. “Just like us.”
Julia shook her head. “That’s so low. Doesn’t Judd have any creativity? Original ideas?”
“Sense of morality?” Dean chimed in, and everyone laughed.
“I should have seen this coming.” Vivian shook her head, still feeling numb and trying not to cry. “Terrence warned me about Alan. He told me about how he’s good friends with Judd, and that he spends a lot of time with him. Terrence even overhead Alan asking me about the sauces and urged me to be suspicious of that. But I—I told him it wasn’t any of his business.” Vivian had to blink back her tears, and her voice became shaky. “I didn’t want to think about it. I thought—I thought Alan was just interested in me romantically.”
Hazel wrapped her arms around her mother, and murmurs of sympathy passed around the room.
“We all thought he was, Mom,” Alexis assured her. “He was so sweet to you, and so friendly. And then when he gave you that huge bouquet, I was sure.”
“I can’t believe he would be so cruel,” Julia said, punching the pillow she was holding as if she was imagining it was Alan. “Feigning affection for you to get at the pub’s secret recipes?”
“It’s appalling,” Dean agreed. “If I ever meet that guy on the street I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”
“What a jerk,” Hazel agreed. “But it’s not your fault, Mom. He really seemed so nice. He’s a true con artist.”
Vivian forced a watery smile. She was glad her children loved her so much and were so angry for her, but it didn’t quite take away the sting of her reality. She’d let her crush on Alan grow into something precious to her. Learning all at once that he was both a liar and a cheat hurt her more than she ever wanted to let her children know.
“What should we do next?” Alexis asked. She set down her mug of tea firmly. “I say we confront Judd. Tell him that we know what he’s doing and that he needs to stop. What he’s doing is wrong.”
“What he’s doing is wrong, but I don’t think he’ll listen to us.” Hazel tapped her fingers against her mouth as she thought. “I think we need to sue him. I know it sounds drastic, but that’s the kind of thing he’d do. It may be the only way to get him to see reason. I know we never patented the sauces or anything, but it’s pretty obvious that the McCormicks stole recipes and ideas from us. There’s got to be some kind of law protecting us from that.”
“I don’t know that there is.” Dean shook his head. “I think we’d better wait and think about all this. It’s a complicated situation, and maybe we shouldn’t move forward with anything until we have more facts.”
Julia was quiet for a minute, and then she said softly, “I don’t think we should do anything.”
“What?”
Her siblings turned to her in surprise.
“But, Julia!” Hazel protested. “He can’t just do something like this and get away with it. He’s breaking so many laws of basic human decency, even if he isn’t breaking any actual laws—and maybe he is.”
“I know, I’m upset about it too,” Julia assured her. “But in the long run, does it really matter? The Lighthouse Grill is such a popular place, I don’t think anything Judd does can hurt us.”
Dean nodded. “That’s what Noelle said too.”
“It might be kind of nice to see people still come to our place instead of his even though the menu is the same.” Hazel grinned impishly.
“Our food is definitely better.” Dean grinned back at his twin. “That Monte Cristo sandwich might have had the same ingredients, but it definitely didn’t have the same flavor.”
“I like what you guys are saying, but I don’t think we should be overconfident,” Alexis said doubtfully. “Judd McCormick has enough money to advertise a lot, and his brewery is closer to the freeway than we are. What if he starts snapping up all the tourists? And then the next generation of Rosewood Beach—people who aren’t as loyal to the pub as our current customer base?”
“Whoa, slow down,” Hazel said. “Let’s not bring tomorrow’s worries into today’s troubles so fast.”
“I’m just saying, we need to figure out if this is something we can let slide or not,” Alexis said. “It might actually turn out to be something bad for us.”
“I think it’ll be okay,” Julia said, finally starting to take off her coat and mittens. “Like Dean was saying, our food is bound to be better. And the brewery is so sleek and modern, not at all like our homey, inviting pub. I don’t think we should do anything, at least not for now. It won’t help to antagonize Judd.”
“But don’t you—” Alexis froze mid-sentence. She was staring at Julia’s hand. “Julia,” she said loudly, her tone almost a squeal. “What is that?”
Vivian’s heart leapt up in excitement when she saw the beautiful diamond ring on Julia’s hand. Hazel grabbed Vivian’s arm as she noticed it too.
Julia held up her left hand, flushing and grinning. “Cooper and I just got engaged.”
The room erupted into cheers, and Hazel and Alexis ran forward to hug Julia. They pulled her off the couch, and soon the whole family was nestled into a giant group hug.
“I can’t believe it!” Alexis cried. “Well, I mean, I can, but—you’re engaged!” She hugged her sister again. “Oh, Julia, that ring is absolutely gorgeous.”
Vivian felt tears rush into her eyes. Another one of her babies was getting married. She couldn’t have been happier for Julia, who was a kind, intelligent, hard-working woman who deserved the best.
“Cooper is a wonderful guy, sweetheart,” she said to her daughter, squeezing her hand. “I’m so happy for you.”
Julia laughed breathlessly and wiped away a tear. “Look at us, we’re both crying.”
“Me too.” Hazel rubbed a couple of stray tears off her cheeks. “I’m so happy for you, Julia.”
“Let’s celebrate!” Alexis said, not crying but instead looking ecstatic. “I’ll bring out a couple of bottles of wine.”
“I’ll get some glasses,” Hazel offered, and the two of them sashayed into the kitchen together.
Vivian’s head was immediately filled with questions about the wedding. She wanted to know where Julia hoped to have the reception, what time of year she and Cooper wanted to get married in, what kind of wedding cake they wanted to have—but she reminded herself that Julia probably didn’t know the answer to those questions herself yet.
“I can’t wait to plan the wedding with you,” Vivian said, thinking of how much fun it had been to plan Hazel’s wedding.
And I had some reservations about that boy too, Vivian thought, shaking her head when she thought of Hazel’s ex-husband, who Hazel had married right out of high school. I have no reservations about Cooper. He’s such a good man.
Alexis and Hazel trooped back inside from the kitchen, bearing two bottles of white wine and five wine glasses.
“A toast,” Alexis said, before she’d even finished pouring the first glass of wine. “To Julia and Cooper, and their lasting happiness.”
Laughter ensued as they hurried to fill their glasses so that they could make the toast.
“To Julia and Cooper!” Dean declared loudly, and they all took sips of the gold-colored wine.
“Mmm, that’s an excellent Pinot Grigio,” said Alexis, smiling over the crisp flavor of the beverage. “I love wines with a bit of a citrus kick.”
“It’s more of a whisper than a kick,” said Dean, pretending to be a deep-voiced wine connoisseur.
“I love you guys,” Hazel burst out, and laughed when they all immediately went to hug her. “I mean it. I’m so thankful we’re here together celebrating Julia, and that we’re facing this new Judd McCormick fiasco with each other.”
“Me too,” Alexis agreed warmly.
“Ahh, the McCormick fiasco.” Dean frowned. “In the middle of Julia’s happy news, I almost forgot about it.”
“Maybe we should,” Julia said. “Let’s just forget about it and be happy. I bet if we take the peaceful route, it will all work itself out.”
Alexis chuckled. “Well, of course Julia wants peace—she’s living on Cloud Nine, not Planet Earth.”
The rest of the family laughed at her joke.
“Here on Planet Earth, people sue each other,” Hazel teased, and her siblings groaned over her wry humor.
“I don’t want to sue,” Vivian spoke up. “I know we’d be justified in pursuing retribution, but I don’t think that’s the right course to take. I don’t want to retaliate. I think we should simply stand by our values, just like we did when the McCormicks slandered us in that magazine article. Everything worked out fine then, and I bet it will all work out fine this time around too.”
Her children murmured agreements. She knew that they would defer to her wishes in the situation, since the pub belonged to her and the final decision was hers to make.
Although she’d sounded confident in her decision, her heart felt unsteady with worry. It was true that a peaceful approach had worked in the past, but she couldn’t help wondering if they were going to make it through this time.