Chapter 28
Evie
Halfway to Ruby’s house, I was regretting my decision to walk. Though it was only four blocks from my little craftsman, it was hot and sticky out today. My hair was going to be an epic pile of frizz by the time I arrived, and I worried that Vincent would overheat in his stroller.
Ruby and Paul’s house was a traditional brick colonial on the outside, and a chaotic wonderland on the inside. Vintage furniture, plants hanging from the ceiling, a gallery wall of family photos interspersed with abstract art, and several murals Ruby had painted over the years.
Paul greeted me with a kiss and parked the stroller in the garage while I carried Vincent inside, along with the cookies I’d baked.
On the couch, Frankie sat with Brooks, her soft expression as she looked down at him unfamiliar.
Ruby was seated in a reclining chair, rocking a messy bun and a lime green silk kimono.
Nina sat on the floor in front of her, a mini pedicure station set up, and was busy painting Ruby’s toes lemon yellow.
“Evie,” Ruby cheered. “I’m so happy to see you. Sorry the place is such a mess.”
It was not a mess. Not by any standard. This woman had a week-old baby, yet there wasn’t a pile of laundry in sight. No burp cloths draped over the furniture. And she was getting a pedicure.
A mini flare of jealous lit me up inside me, but I quickly extinguished it.
“Hold still,” Nina chastised, flipping her pink tipped hair over her shoulder.
Shoulders slumping, I looked down at my own raggedly cuticles. I was way past due.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get you next,” Nina said without even turning around. “But no fucking baby pink. Either you let me have fun or enjoy your hangnails of shame.”
I spread out a blanket and laid Vincent on it, along with a squishy toy, and agreed. At this point, I’d take what I could get.
When Stella, Ruby’s younger sister, arrived shortly after me, we settled in for girl time.
Paul made himself useful, fetching coffee and changing diapers but otherwise remaining scarce.
“He’s a good one.” Stella gave her sister’s hand a squeeze.
Ruby looked so serene, so at peace, now cradling a sleeping Brooks in her arms.
Meanwhile, Frankie was on the floor with Vincent, using a wooden toy car to explain combustion engines. He drooled and happily stared at her while she lectured him.
“Evie, is it true?” Stella asked. “That there are lawyers crawling all over Sugar Moon? That Louisa Meyers is armoring up?”
Frowning, I shook my head. “No more lawyers than usual.” We had a small legal team and routinely worked with outside counsel on bigger issues. None of that had changed recently.
“Tony said that teams of New York lawyers are involved. The big guns, he called them.”
“That woman terrifies me,” Ruby said. “She could probably curdle milk with a glare.”
Frankie rolled over and propped herself up on an elbow. “Didn’t she buy up several of the bankrupted farms when prices tanked two years ago? Greed is a powerful motive.”
“No.” Paul handed me a fresh mug of coffee, then set a glass of water with a lemon slice on the end table next to his wife. Yes, a lemon slice. Paul was truly a peach of a man. “That agrochem place did,” he said. “Evergreen, I think? They were the vultures. Some of my clients sold to them.”
As a CPA, Paul did a lot of work for the farm community here, but more than that, he advocated on their behalf. His family owned a massive estate with a lot of farmland, but neither he nor his sister Rowan seemed interested in taking over the family business.
“Either way, she’s an ice queen,” Nina said. “Saw her at Bean There, Sipped That the other day. Full cashmere armor in eighty-degree weather.”
“She probably sweats diamonds,” Frankie jabbed. “You think she’s ever touched flannel?”
“She ordered tea,” Nina reported. “Hot tea in July. All the other customers had cold drinks, and she frowned like we’d failed a test.”
“She’s gorgeous,” Ruby said. “But she gives off that main character in a psychological thriller vibe.”
Unease rolling through me, I shifted, focusing on my coffee. I didn’t want to gossip about my boss, even if she hadn’t made herself a lot of friends in town.
“She’s intense and precise,” I said, feeling the need to defend her. “She’s not cold, and she’s incredibly smart.” Louisa had been nothing but kind to me, and she’d been so generous when I unexpectedly had Vincent. Since I’d returned to work, she’d been nothing but complimentary of my work.
“Let’s not villainize her because she’s not likable,” Frankie said, coming to my rescue. “She’s a woman kicking ass. People are automatically going to hate her for it.”
“True,” Nina chimed in. “But you have to admit, in a Hallmark movie, she’s the big city businesswoman trying to shut down the small-town family business.”
“Fair,” Stella said. “But those are the more interesting characters anyway.”
Frankie lifted her mug. “Truth.”
“Do you really think she was involved with Will?” Stella asked.
That stopped me in my tracks, making my heart thud heavily. There was no way. First of all, she had to be fifteen years older than him, and second, she was way too professional and focused on success to have a relationship with an employee.
“Apparently they were close. Rumor is that he was messing around with someone at Sugar Moon.”
Frankie tsked. “That’s harmful gossip.”
“Sure, but she’s been everywhere since he died. I’ve seen her downtown almost every day,” Nina said. “And she’s been visiting the farmers and asking questions. Plus all those meetings with the police.”
“Yes,” I said, unable to keep from sticking up for her. “Because her company is going through a scandal. I would know. Since it’s my responsibility to deal with it.”
“Paul plays Dungeons & Dragons with some of the science guys,” Ruby said. “According to them, there have been several diverted tankers in the past few months. Shipment issues, quality control errors. They could be hiding something.”
Every head turned my way, like they were all waiting for me to give them more information. But I refused to add fuel to this fire.
“Louisa isn’t hiding anything. She’s acting in the best interest of her company and her employees and suppliers,” I explained diplomatically. “I’ve seen her at her best and at her worst. The steel behind her calm. The weariness of late-night strategy calls. She’s an incredible businesswoman.”
As if they’d picked up on my unease, they gave me nods and murmured half-hearted agreements, then changed the subject.
Thank God. Though even as the conversation moved on, a knot of worry formed in my stomach.
This situation had continued to spiral out of control, and the wild gossip wouldn’t stop until someone was arrested and the town felt safe again.
“Sales are way down,” Ruby explained. “Stella’s doing a great job running the store on her summer break, but we usually do big numbers for the Fourth of July.”
“Same,” Nina said, mixing eyebrow tint in what looked like a baby food bowl. “I expanded my hours, hoping for more walk-ins in the summer. We even invested in expensive massaging pedicure chairs.”
“The inn has vacancies and Opal had to discount her summer tasting menu,” Frankie added. “Which is pure sacrilege. That woman is a culinary genius.”
“Maplewood doesn’t feel the way it used to,” Stella added. “Maybe that’s the problem. People feel unsafe, and they’re turning on one another. And don’t get me started on the cheese wars. They’ve become unhinged.”
Discussing cheese in mixed company was a challenge, because the loyalty of the citizens of Maplewood was pretty evenly split. Neither cheese shop owner was a saint, either. Basil was a dear friend, but he was no angel and hadn’t even bothered to try to defuse the conflict.
“I feel like we’re careening toward another incident,” Frankie added.
The women around the room all sucked in harsh breaths. From the stories I’d heard, the town had barely recovered from the Cheddar Incident of 2019. The mayor had had to mediate, and Nolan, our police chief, still walked away when it was mentioned.
Both shops found themselves banned from farmers’ market participation for a year, which in Maplewood was the equivalent of a death row sentence.
Petty town rivalries or not, I felt it too. The hush in the air, the fear, the constant anxiety that the tourists wouldn’t come back. Not to mention Will’s tragic death. He really was a good kid with a bright future.
The conversation fizzled out while we all grappled with this reality.
Vincent, bless him, blew a raspberry and broke the silence. When Frankie tickled his belly in response, he descended into a fit of giggles, his chubby cheeks wobbling.
“Oh my God, he is the happiest baby,” Ruby trilled. “He must get it from his mama.”
Frankie pinned me with a look. “Or his hot firefighter dad.”
I surveyed Vincent, ignoring Frankie’s scrutiny. Damn, she was like a dog with a very tasty bone.
“You know, now that Frankie mentions it,” Ruby said, “you are sort of glowing.”
“And it’s not from her new moisturizer,” Nina deadpanned. “She caught feels. Not collagen.”
“Yeah. She’s got a whole drunk Disney princess look going on.” Frankie sat up and shifted so she faced me directly. “She’s definitely getting some.”
Face lit up, Ruby clapped. “Now this is what I need to hear. Start talking.”
Cheeks flaming, I contemplated tucking Vincent under my arm and sprinting to the front door. But knowing they’d only hound me again the next time I saw them, I sighed, letting my body deflate, and gave them a tidbit of the information they were looking for. “We’re exploring things.”
Stella squealed. “OMG. You two have such a cute story.”
“You don’t have to settle for him just because he’s your baby daddy,” Frankie said.
That chafed a bit. In fact, I’d fought my feelings for him for that exact reason. Not that I’d opened up to her about it. And she’d been the one at the hospital who first suggested it.
“He always shows up,” I told them, fiddling with Vincent’s giraffe toy.
“He fixes things before I ask and makes Vincent laugh until he hiccups. And when he looks at me.” Head ducked, I searched for the right words and hoped like hell I wouldn’t sound like a lovesick teenager. “I feel safe. Like I can breathe.”
The room had gone completely silent, and as I shifted, uncomfortable with the way every eye was on me, Ruby reached over and squeezed my hand. “Babe, I’m happy for you. We all see it,” she assured me. “How devoted he is to you and Vincent. How much he’s changed.”
I picked up my mug, hiding a smile behind it, my heart full.
Frankie, surprisingly, kept her commentary to herself.
The rest of the girls seemed generally pleased and not at all surprised that Jasper and I were together.
Granted, we hadn’t defined our relationship, but he was sleeping in my bed and we spent all our nonworking time together.
I was the one who’d asked to take it slow, but as I sat in Ruby’s living room, I found myself yearning to slap a label on this very unorthodox situation.
Luckily, the girls moved on quickly, Ruby lamenting that Brooks would only fall asleep to yacht rock while Nina shuffled over, ready to do my brows.
My heart was full. Being part of this sisterhood was more than I could ask for. Throw in my perfect, amazing baby and the incredible man waiting for me at home, and for the first time in a long time, the ache in my chest wasn’t loneliness. It was hope. Terrifying, beautiful hope.