Chapter 11
Carol peeked out the front window. The plaza was quiet, having hit that mid-afternoon lull. Deciding it was time for a break, Carol flipped the sign on the front door. Back in a few minutes!
“Come on, Barney. I think it’s time we got out of here for a few minutes.”
The dog jumped out of his bed when he heard the jangle of his leash, and he trotted happily several stores over to Read the Room.
“Hey, Carol!” Wendy Davenport was sitting behind the cash register, a book open on the old wooden surface. “How are you guys?”
Carol loved that she always included Barney, and Barney loved it, too. He immediately trotted around the counter, pulling on his leash with little regard for what anyone might think to get his pets from Wendy.
“Needy, apparently,” Carol replied. She shook her head as she watched Barney excitedly put his paws up on Wendy’s lap. “I promise, no matter what he tells you, he’s had plenty of love lately.”
“It’s all right. I’m a sucker for him, anyway.” Wendy put her hands on either side of Barney’s face and rubbed them back and forth, making his ears flap and his tail wag so fast it became a blur. “You, little handsome man, make me think about getting a dog myself.”
“They’re very good company. I should’ve done it a long time ago, but I thought they’d be too much work.” In fact, Carol had realized lately how much a dog would’ve benefited her all these years that she’d been without Michael.
Wendy nodded sadly. “I know. I’d convinced myself of the same thing before I started spending time with Barney, here.”
Carol’s heart went out to her. Wendy was almost edging into her sixties, and she’d lost her husband Sam only a couple of years ago. The two women had plenty in common, and they’d made fast friends as soon as Carol had opened the bakery. “This guy’s a great companion.”
“I don’t know if I could pick the right one,” Wendy hedged.
“I’d be happy to go to the shelter with you to look,” Carol offered.
“Really?”
“Sure. I’ll have a hard time not bringing them all home for myself, but I wouldn’t mind loving on a few other Fidos while I’m there. No offense, Barney.”
The dog, who was now sniffing Wendy’s trash can with interest, hadn’t noticed.
“What’s all this?” Carol pointed at a stack of bright pink flyers sitting on the counter. “Having a big sale?”
“Yes! It’s almost time for the Plaza Party!
” Wendy swept her dark blonde hair behind her ears as she pulled off the top flyer and handed it to Carol.
“I tried to come up with a really good sale this year so I can take advantage of the traffic. It’s a little tough, since I sell both new and used books here, but I think it’ll work. ”
Carol glanced over the sale details. “It looks great to me, but I’m a little lost. What’s the Plaza Party?”
“I didn’t tell you about that?” Wendy put a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. “I should’ve said something about it the moment you started your shop. Some of the stores have been preparing for months, and now you’ve only got a few days.”
“Well then, we’d better get on with it,” Carol suggested with a smile.
“Right. Okay.” Wendy pressed her hands on the counter.
She was a jumpy woman, and every little thing made her a bit nervous.
It was no wonder she chose to bury herself in books to get through the day.
“The Plaza Party is a big get-together in the evening, so everyone stays open late. There’s a bunch of live music and food trucks, and vendors will set up booths. ”
“Hm.” Carol’s mind was already spinning with ideas, although she’d probably check in with Stacey to see if she had any great marketing ploys that might work for this. “Sounds like quite a good time. I had no idea.”
Wendy came out from behind the counter with a roll of Scotch tape.
She pressed a flyer against the door and taped it in place so customers would see it before they even came in.
“The landlord that owns the whole plaza started it a few years ago. He thought it might be a good way to bring new people over here, maybe customers who didn’t normally shop at our stores.
It’s proven to be pretty popular. It’s kind of a lot, since so many people show up for it, but all the business owners usually do pretty well. It’s like Black Friday, but early.”
Carol chewed her lower lip thoughtfully. “Tell me more about the live music.”
“Lots of local bands. I don’t keep up with that scene, but Jenny over at the music shop usually sets all of that up.” Wendy waved vaguely in the direction of another store in the plaza.
“I’ll have to send Lorelei in her direction, then.
It might be some good exposure for her, something a level or two above just playing on the corner.
” Though she doubted any agents or record executives would be at The Plaza Party, it seemed feasible that Lorelei could get booked for larger, more lucrative gigs if she did well.
“Mm. Right.” Wendy moved over to a display of new books by a local author and straightened them, focusing hard on the covers.
“What’s the matter?” You couldn’t judge a book by its cover, but you could when it came to Wendy. She wore her heart on her sleeve and all her emotions right there on her face. She’d changed the instant Carol had mentioned Lorelei.
“Mind walking with me while I put these up?” Wendy gestured toward a cart of used books.
“Sure.” Carol followed her down the aisle toward the mystery section, where Wendy diligently shelved several Janet Evanovich books according to where they fell in the series.
She assumed that Wendy not only wanted to get some work done, but also wanted to be in the far back corner where no customers who might wander in could hear them.
Barney came along as well, of course, and he sniffed at some cozy mysteries.
“I think you’ve met my brother, Toby,” Wendy began. She moved a few books down to the next shelf to make room.
Carol nodded. “Yes, he was in here one of the times I stopped by.” Toby was a bit younger than Wendy, and he’d just brought his sister some lunch. Carol had admired the friendship between them.
Wendy’s face was tight as she squatted down to slot another book into its place. “Toby is quite a few years younger than me. He’s actually my half-brother. My parents got divorced and my dad remarried a much younger woman.”
She straightened and guided the cart around to the romance section. “Toby caught a glimpse of Lorelei when she started playing outside your bakery, and he’s been tripping over his tongue about her ever since.”
“She seems to be quite popular,” Carol remarked.
“And I get that, but it worries me when it comes to Toby.” Wendy tried to squeeze a regency romance into place, but there simply wasn’t any room.
She began moving a few books down at a time from one shelf to another.
“He’s too old for her, for one thing. I know age is just a number and all that, and I probably wouldn’t care if it was anyone else, but when it’s my brother, it seems different.
Why would a forty-something want to be with a twenty-something? Or vice-versa?”
Carol didn’t have a good answer for that, at least not one that Wendy would like. “Have you asked him?”
“I tried to, casually. I didn’t want him to think I was being nosey, and it’s not like I have a really good reason. There’s just something I don’t like about Lorelei. I’m sorry to say that to you since obviously you like her, but it’s true.”
“I’ll be honest, Wendy, because you’re my friend. You’re not the first person to express those kinds of feelings.” In fact, Wendy made three. No one seemed to know precisely what it was about Lorelei that made them uncomfortable, but it was there, nevertheless.
“And I’ll be honest, too.” Finished with the romance, Wendy stood and looked at Carol.
Her makeup had caked into the fine lines near her eyes, and it didn’t have the coverage to hide the dark circles there.
“Toby’s a sucker for a pretty face. He doesn’t seem to notice how he’s being treated until it’s too late, and he always gets hurt.
I’m sure I’m just being overprotective, but he’s still my little brother, you know? ”
“I do.” Carol followed her back toward the front counter.
“I watched my daughter go through a miserable marriage. I never thought Todd was right for her, but we didn’t have any actual evidence of just how awful he was until they’d already spent twenty years together.
I tried to tell her before she married him, but people don’t tend to listen. They want who they want.”
“Yeah, I know.” Wendy wrung her hands as she plopped back down into her chair. “It’s kind of a slow season for him right now at work since no one has kicked their heaters on yet, so maybe once he gets busy again, he’ll forget about her.”
“That’s possible.” Carol felt terrible. It wasn’t her fault that those strange men had tried to kill Lorelei right behind her shop, but she was the one who’d helped the girl stay in the neighborhood.
She didn’t want to cause any trouble for her fellow business owners, especially not for her friend.
Still, it wasn’t like she could tell Lorelei to leave just because some man had a crush on her. “I’ll keep my eyes open for you.”
“Thank you, and I’m sorry for bringing it up.” Wendy flicked through the stack of mail next to her computer, sorting it into bills and other items.
Carol’s eyes landed on the latest issue of The New England Recorder, and she tapped her finger on it. “I think the only thing you ought to be sorry for is reading this sort of junk.”
Wendy’s cheeks pinkened slightly. “It’s my guilty pleasure, I guess. I happened to pick it up at the supermarket when I was bored while waiting in the checkout line.”
“That’s just what they want you to do. You grab it and start scanning some scandalous article, and then you can’t put it down,” Carol pointed out.
“And it worked,” Wendy admitted. “I got involved and brought home just one issue, and the next thing I knew, I had a subscription. The thing is, they cover the kinds of stories none of the other big media outlets will.”
“There’s probably a reason for that,” Carol reminded her. “You don’t think Reuters would waste their time on whether or not the publicity for alien landings is unfairly skewed toward the Southwest, do you?”
Wendy quickly flipped past that headline.
“I’m not saying there isn’t plenty of sensationalism.
That’s what gets people pulled in, though.
And then they have stuff like this, stuff that really makes you think.
We get caught up in all the national conversations about politics and policy or natural disasters and such.
But look at this. This particular reporter has noticed a string of missing persons cases slowly moving up the coast.” She turned the paper around so Carol could see.
“Interesting.” If the information was all correct—something she wasn’t sure about because of the source—then these cases were indeed working their way up the coast and right into Cape Cod. “Oh. Hm.”
“What is it?” Wendy asked, excited to see that Carol hadn’t dismissed the article out of hand.
“It’s just this description of two men who seem somewhat involved in all these cases. Older, one with a gray beard, deeply tanned as though they’ve been out in the sun a lot. That sounds just like what Lorelei described after those two men attacked her!”
Wendy leaned over to scan the article herself. “That’s a bit disturbing, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Maybe Rick wasn’t so off-track when he said I should be more careful.
And I should probably let Lorelei know about this, too.
If it’s an incident that’s even bigger than her, there might be more information the police can use to work her case.
” She tapped her fingers on the counter, not wanting to get pulled in by melodrama or conspiracy theories.
Still, it made her wonder what had really happened that night.
“Rick.” Wendy gave her friend a knowing smile. “Is that the handsome gentleman who’s been stopping by your bakery every now and then?”
“Well, yes,” Carol confessed. “We’ve spent a bit of time together and went out for dinner once.”
“Just once?” Wendy challenged. “I take it he’s more interested than you are?”
“Oh, I don’t know, really.” Carol leaned on the counter, and Barney leaned against her leg. “I think about him all the time. I’ve been obsessing over what to do about him. He makes me feel young, happy, and alive, but I’m not sure we’re right for each other.”
“I might be silly for reading this paper,” Wendy admitted, “but you’re silly if you don’t let yourself explore those feelings.”
“I’m not sure.” Carol couldn’t let her in on the true differences between herself and Rick. This wasn’t a simple matter of deciding to date and see where it led. Rick was a wolf. That on its own was a bit of a challenge, but it was nothing compared to allowing herself to be changed into one.
“Shouldn’t you be excited about someone who makes you feel that way?
” Wendy pressed. “I know I’m not one to talk.
I haven’t really ventured into the dating world, but I’ve thought about what it might be like.
I don’t think I could waste my time on someone who was just okay.
But if he made me feel the way you just described, I think I might. ”
Carol reached down to scratch the top of Barney’s head.
It was a small act, but it always made her feel a bit better.
“I don’t know that I want to change my whole life around just to get hurt again.
You and I might not have lost our husbands through divorce or anything, but there’s still a certain amount of loss and resentment that comes with being a widow. ”
“But Carol.” Wendy looked up into her face. “You’ve already survived it once.”
“Yes, I suppose I have, and I’ve done a pretty damn good job of it, too.
” Carol smiled at her friend. She might not be a wolf, and Carol might not be able to explain just how difficult her current position was, but Wendy did know what it was like to lose a husband and how hard it could be to move on afterward.
“I’ll have to think about that, as well as what I’m going to do for the Plaza Party.
Speaking of, I guess I’d better get back to the bakery before I lose any more customers. I’ll see you, Wendy!”
Carol and Barney walked back to The Biscuit Box. Carol’s mind was heavy with recipes, sales ideas, Rick, and the mysterious men who were working their way up the coast with ill intent. Barney, however, was most interested in what Carol was going to bake next.