Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The girls had all gathered back at the bakery after the chaos at the farmers’ market, crowding around one of the small tables in the corner with fresh cups of sweet tea and half-eaten pastries.
The familiar scents of vanilla and sugar should have soothed her, but right now they only made Junie’s stomach twist tighter.
The hot rush of anger burned up her throat so fiercely she had to swallow hard just to get the words out. Her voice came out small at first, trembling with the effort to hold it together, but indignation sharpened it quickly as the ugly memory spilled free.
“She told everyone there that my stuff is mediocre,” she said. After all these years, the audacity of that pit viper still shocked her. “And the only reason the bakery survives is because I’m… well, basically I’m Tanner’s whore.”
The words burned bitter in her mouth. Anger and shock rippled across her friends’ faces. If Kenzie’s eyes got any narrower, she would run into walls.
Tildi’s mouth fell open. “You’re kidding!”
Their reactions only made Junie’s humiliation burn hotter in her chest, twisting and spreading until it felt like it might choke her.
“I wouldn’t kid about something like that.
She implied Tanner was playing with her all along and just using me for sex,” she added, her voice cracking on the last word like glass under too much pressure.
“Oh, there was no implying, sweetie.” Poppy leaned back and crossed her arms. “She just flat-out stated it.”
“You see?” Kenzie demanded, slamming her hand down on the table hard enough to make the glasses jump. “We have got to do something about that woman.”
All the Littles nodded in fierce agreement, their expressions mirroring the storm raging inside Junie’s own chest.
The solidarity should have comforted Junie, but right now it only made the shame burn brighter. Her anger and humiliation had her almost in tears. The hot sting behind her eyes made her blink rapidly, but she refused to let them fall.
Not over Cherry.
Still, Cherry’s words kept echoing in her head, twisting like thorns under her skin.
How dare she stand there and tear down everything Junie had poured her heart and soul into?
How dare she reduce all the early mornings, the late nights, the love baked into every single recipe, to some cheap, nasty rumor?
The thoughts clawed at her insides, making her want to crawl under the table and disappear so no one could see the stain Cherry had tried to leave on her.
She pressed her fists harder into her lap until her nails bit into her palms, the sharp sting grounding her just enough to keep from going completely ballistic.
Loving, supportive women surrounded her.
Their anger on her behalf should have warmed her, but no matter how many times she told herself Cherry’s words weren’t true, the damage still sat there like a dark smudge she couldn’t scrub away.
How dare Cherry twist something as beautiful and private as the way Tanner looked at her—the way he touched her, and the way he made her feel safe and wanted—into something cheap and shameful?
Her chest ached with a mix of fury and hurt.
She blinked hard, fighting back the sting behind her eyes.
She would not give Cherry the satisfaction of getting under her skin.
But that was easier said than done. The more Junie repeated the words Cherry had used, the more furious she became. She was tired of being nice. Tired of letting Cherry walk all over her. Tired of pretending it didn’t hurt.
“I swear,” Junie muttered, “one of these days I’m going to shove one of my honey badger cookies straight down her throat.”
“That does it,” Kenzie said. “We’re taking action. Let’s get all your stuff put away. Then we can figure out what to do.”
Having so many helping hands made quick work of the task. Once that was done, they went into Junie’s office and sat in a circle on the floor in front of her couch.
“Cherry’s always running her mouth, isn’t she?” Kenzie said, still fuming. “Why does she always talk about Tanner?”
“She started that when we were teenagers,” Junie said, her voice still shaky.
“Until then, she’d never really bothered me.
I might have even called her a friend. Kenzie, you know how I’ve always adored your brother.
Well, Cherry overheard me talking about him one time, and I showed her a picture of him.
” She took a deep breath. Time to rip the bandage off.
“Truth be told, I might have exaggerated a little bit on how close we were, you know, romantically.” She swallowed hard.
“It seems that she’s been jealous of my relationship with him ever since. ”
Kenzie put a hand on Junie’s knee. “Honey, everyone knew you had a crush on him, even back then.”
“They did?”
The rest of the Littles laughed.
Kenzie nodded. “Everybody in town has known that for years.”
“Everyone except Tanner, that is,” Kip added. “Sometimes the Daniels brothers can be so clueless.”
“Have I really been that obvious?” Junie asked, her face on fire.
Again, Kenzie came to her rescue, “That’s not important right now.
” Turning to the group, she slapped her hand on the floor.
“Girls, how are we going to deal with Cherry? We can’t let her keep getting away with this.
There has got to be a way to shut her mouth once and for all. I’m opening the floor for suggestions.”
Poppy wrapped an arm around Junie’s shoulder and held up a hand, forestalling the discussion.
“Before we do that, it needs to be said that no one believes the ugly things she says, Junie. Everyone knows your baking is amazing. You’re amazing.
Cherry is just jealous because you actually built something real and people love you for it. ”
“But it still hurts,” Junie whispered. “I’ve never done anything to her.”
Kenzie’s eyes flashed with protective fire. “She’s a miserable toad, and she wants everyone else to be miserable too.”
Tildi nodded fiercely. “Like you said, Junie, Cherry’s been jealous of you for years. That’s why she’s always spreading rumors. You know, maybe we should start spreading rumors about her.”
Joy grinned, already looking dangerous. “Something petty. Something slutty. Something she can’t ignore.”
Kip bounced up to her knees. “What if we say she’ll sleep with anyone who will have her? That’s a really good one.”
Poppy shook her head. “All the men in town already know that. I’m not sure it would be news to anyone.”
The girls leaned in closer, shoulders bumping, and a quiet fell over the group as everyone concentrated.
“What if we spray-painted a bad word on her car, like the ‘s’ word or the ‘b’ word?” suggested Joy, who seemed embarrassed that she had suggested using such forbidden words.
“You mean slut or bitch?” Kenzie asked, wide-eyed. “Are you trying to get us all killed? Do you know what my brothers would do to your rear ends, and mine, if they found out we did something like that? I think, at a minimum, we need to keep it legal. The last thing we need to do is end up in jail.”
“I do like that idea of it being public like that, but Kenzie is probably right about the legal part,” Tildi said, her hand reaching behind her to rub her backside.
“We need something like that but more… subtle,” Poppy said.
Junie’s heart beat faster, a thrilling mix of nerves and righteous fire warming her chest. “You know, girls, I think you may have given me an idea.”
An hour later, the girls were in full petty mode.
Junie stood at the big stainless worktable in her kitchen, cheeks warm from a growing spark of righteous anger.
It was amazing how downright inspirational anger could be under the right circumstances.
Instead of a fancy three-tiered cake, or a sign or even spray paint, they had decided on something even better…
a huge, beautiful display platter piled high with golden chokecherry cream pies.
The filling was rich and vibrant, bursting with tart-sweet chokecherries, and each pie was topped with perfect swirls of whipped cream and a sprinkle of fresh berries that glistened like little jewels.
Poppy created a large display sign to stand behind the platter. In elegant pink lettering, she wrote the message Junie gave her:
Cherry Winter Cream Pies–Always Available, Cheap, and Easy.
The double entendre was unmistakable. The second they finished writing it, the kitchen erupted in giggles.
Kenzie wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. “Oh my gosh, she’s going to die when she sees this.”
“I hope so,” Junie said, her soft voice completely failing to hide her glee and satisfaction. For once, she wasn’t trying to be the nice girl who kept the peace. She was fighting back.
Tildi arranged the pies in a perfect fan on the big platter. “Should we add more little cherries on top with sad faces? Like lonely, desperate cherries?”
Joy’s grin was wicked as she dusted powdered sugar over everything. “Only if we make them look extra needy.”
Kip bounced on her toes, frosting on her nose. “We should put a second little sign that says Fresh Daily – Just Like Cherry Winters!”
“Now, now.” Junie addressed the group the way a college professor might address her students. “Remember… brevity is the soul of wit. Besides, we need at least a smidgen of plausible deniability.” She had a sneaking suspicion they were going to be in enough trouble as it was.
The kitchen filled with their laughter as they worked—frosting bags flying, sprinkles scattering across the counters, and playful smack talk bouncing off the walls. Poppy kept checking on Junie, bumping her shoulder gently. “You okay, sweetie? You’ve been quiet.”
Junie nodded, a small, determined smile tugging at her lips. “I’m mad. But I’m also kind of… excited? Is that bad?”
“Welcome to my world. It’s not bad at all,” Kenzie said, slinging an arm around her. “Cherry’s had this coming for years. We’re just helping the universe balance the scales with a little sugar and spite.”