Chapter Three #2
But on second thought, maybe she wouldn’t need to pretend anything.
She meant what she’d said when he walked her home – in a café versus café battle, there was no way Blair could lose.
This was Moonbeam Hollow, and Blair’s family was a hell of a lot more established in this town than Luke’s family.
In fact, Luke’s mother had been a bit of a loner and hadn’t really integrated into the Moonbeam Hollow community.
And he and his mother had been gone for over a decade.
While Blair undoubtedly had the support of the Stitch Witches, the trivia club, the Yummy Mummies and all the other social clubs in Moonbeam Hollow that used Harvest Moon as their cozy home away from home.
Tourists would be a bit harder to attract into her space when Shirley’s Sugar Mountain opened, especially if it ended up looking Parisian-chic like the plans Blair saw.
But this wasn’t Paris. It was Moonbeam Hollow, the Most Autumnal Small Town in the province.
Harvest Moon Café, with its warm decor and comfortable clutter, belonged here more than the European elegance of Shirley’s Sugar Mountain.
(Also, what the hell was that name? It didn’t fit at all for a French Bakery.) If Blair’s café was filled with happy locals and warm cozy vibes, then tourists would flock to her busy café.
They would ignore the cold, impersonal space next door that looked like it was designed by a focus group.
Blair knew what she had to do – step up her game and make the Harvest Moon Café even more welcoming, even more autumnal, and even more tailored to the particular tastes of Moonbeam Hollow locals, so when Shirley’s Sugar Mountain opened, no one in town would have any desire to check out the bakery café.
And best of all, with this strategy, Blair could win without looking at, talking to, or even acknowledging the presence of Luke Caldwell.
It would be a piece of cake. Specifically, pumpkin spice cake.
* * *
Blair was energized and optimistic on her walk to the café the next morning, ready to do whatever she needed to ensure that no new business, no matter who owned it, would dethrone the Harvest Moon Café as the best café in Moonbeam Hollow.
She didn’t even glance in the direction of Shirley’s Sugar Mountain as she stepped up to her door and attempted to unlock it.
Attempted, because despite using the same key she’d used almost every day for the last six years, today the key would not slide into the keyhole.
Squinting, Blair examined it. There was nothing wrong with it.
And the keyhole looked the same, too. What the hell was going on?
She tried again, wiggling the key a bit, but it would not slide even a millimetre into the keyhole.
Blair frowned. Was someone playing a trick on her?
This was exactly the kind of prank she would have expected of Luke Caldwell when he was fifteen.
But yesterday he said he wanted them to be cool with each other, and sabotaging her lock was not cool.
Blair looked around to see if anyone was laughing in a bush, watching her struggle.
She even used a tiny seeking spell so she could see if someone was hidden, but the streets of Moonbeam Hollow were empty, which made sense.
It wasn’t even eight o’clock in the morning.
Inspecting the lock again, Blair saw the same brass fixture that her contractor had installed when the café was built six years ago.
‘Crudbucket!’ Blair said loudly, trying the key a third time with no success.
How was she going to get inside? The back-door key was inside the café.
She’d need to call a locksmith. Blair hoped whoever had done this was happy they’d ruined her day.
But what if this hadn’t been a person? Yesterday the pumpkins in Raj’s farm, Dewy Bramble Acres, had a strange blight that only affected the fruit but not the leaves, and then there were the flickering lights in Wolf Willow Bookstore.
Plus, the books flying off the shelves. And the black roses in the flower shop.
Was it Harvest Moon Café’s turn to have an unexplained misfortune?
Blair tensed. So much for it being an equinox-only thing.
‘Did you say crudbucket?’ A voice behind Blair said with a mocking lilt behind every word. Blair counted to three under her breath before turning around. So much for avoiding Luke Caldwell.
‘Yes. What’s wrong with crudbucket?’
Luke smiled his self-satisfied grin. ‘Nothing wrong with crudbucket. I’d hate to be deemed insensitive to crud. Just not a word I’ve heard you say before.’