Chapter Four
The first step in Blair’s plan to Make Harvest Moon Café Harvestier (Blair needed to workshop her mission name a bit) was to get her sisters on board.
The Briarwood sisters usually stayed out of each other’s professional concerns, for the most part.
But this was not a usual situation. Blair was the only one who made enough money to keep the household afloat.
Bianca was still calling herself a Botany Consultant, whatever that meant, and Blair was pretty sure she didn’t charge farmers to help with their crop issues.
Belinda did make money as the manager of Wolf Willow Bookstore, but it certainly wasn’t a lot considering how much she spent on buying new releases to adorn their living room shelves.
The Harvest Moon Café was the main Briarwood breadwinner, so Blair asked her sisters to join her in the café for lunch to discuss the situation.
Unfortunately, Belinda and Bianca didn’t seem to understand how important it was to beat Shirley’s Sugar Mountain.
Belinda spread whipped honey on a multigrain bagel.
‘I don’t know.’ They were sitting at a table near the front window, and the sun penetrating the lace curtain looked like glimmering confetti on Belinda’s dark brown hair.
She was dressed for the bookstore today, wearing an apricot-coloured floral dress with cream lace accents, her hair cascading down her back in loose waves.
‘A bakery could be good for the town. Anything that attracts people downtown will help all the businesses. Remember, a rising tide lifts all boats.’
Blair shook her head. ‘It’s a bakery café, Belinda. There’s a high-end espresso machine in there, which means speciality drinks. I need to make sure no one even thinks of getting their lattes and cortados there.’
‘They’re not even open yet,’ Bianca added. ‘They might suck – we should wait and see. You’re really freaking out because it’s Luke opening the bakery, right?’
‘It’s not because of Luke!’ Blair said, annoyed with her sisters. ‘I think it’s essential we do this now, so no one will notice or care about the bakery when it opens!’
Belinda patted Blair’s hand, and Blair didn’t know if she was patronizing her or being supportive. ‘I understand. But what exactly can we do? The café is your baby – I don’t know anything about cafés. I only know books.’
‘And I only care about plants,’ Bianca added.
Blair exhaled. If either of her sisters needed her, she would move the earth to help them. Hell, she’d sacrificed so much when she took custody of them after their mother died. But sometimes it felt like Belinda and Bianca didn’t feel the same way about Blair.
Maybe Blair could make use of what her sisters were good at, and Blair herself could take care of the rest of the Big Harvest Moon Makeover. (That name had potential, but Blair still thought she could do better.)
‘Books and plants are inviting,’ Blair said, smiling. ‘Bianca, maybe we could add more greenery to the space?’
Bianca shrugged. ‘Yeah, I can bring in some houseplants.’
Blair smiled. ‘And Belinda . . . I’m sure your book expertise could help. Could we do a shared promotion between the bookstore and the café?’
Belinda’s brows knitted together in thought before a wide smile transformed her face.
‘I’ve been trying to start a romantasy book club in the store, but we already have three book clubs and Gladys doesn’t want to stay open late four nights a week.
What if we held it in the café? I can bring a little bookseller kit and sell the books here.
Romantasy readers are loyal – I guarantee people will come from the surrounding towns, and you’ll gain lifelong customers. Romantasy is so popular!’
Blair thought about it. Letting a passionate private club meet at the store could do more harm than good, since a loud group excited about their special interest tended to make the café feel unwelcoming to people who didn’t share that interest. Before the Stitch Witches allowed all types of fibre arts, they’d been a knitting group only, and Blair had lingering trauma from the knitters versus crocheters brawl three years ago. She still had literal scars.
But Belinda seemed so happy about her book club idea, and Blair didn’t want to take that from her.
‘Okay, I’m game, but after the café is closed.
I’ll figure out what else I can do to spruce up the place on my own.
’ Maybe paint the walls orange? Macramé wall hangings?
She could add a few new speciality drinks to the menu.
‘The Return of the Jedi has certainly freaked you out,’ Bianca deadpanned before taking a sip of her chai latte.
Blair tried not to roll her eyes. ‘Luke’s not a Jedi.
He’s an architect. And it doesn’t matter at all to me that he’s the one who’s opening the bakery.
I can’t . . . we can’t afford to lose customers to any competitors.
Not if we want a new fence or a new kitchen.
’ A customer came into the café so Blair stood.
‘I appreciate you both. My turn for dinner tonight – I’ll make Mom’s biriyani to thank you for your help. ’
Bianca and Belinda both nodded, but Blair could tell that they weren’t really that impressed.
She sighed. Their mother had always known the right thing to say.
The right thing to do to make the sisters come together as one.
But Blair wasn’t her mother. She was doing the best she could, but she wasn’t sure it was enough.
* * *
Blair was easily able to avoid Luke Caldwell for the rest of the week.
True, it took the use of a few listening and enhanced smelling spells to make sure Luke wasn’t close to her when she left the café, but it was worth it.
And her café refresh was progressing well too.
Bianca had started propagating the plants from the house to make clones for the café, and Belinda said that Gladys loved the idea of holding the romantasy book club somewhere other than the bookstore, and Belinda wanted to start next Thursday evening.
Perfect. Blair did worry a little about Gladys calling romantasy readers feral, but she pushed her unease aside.
She even decided to read the book they would be discussing, so asked Belinda to pick up a copy for her.
On Friday evening, Blair was tidying the café about an hour before closing, when Bianca texted that she was at the back door with the new plants and needed help bringing them inside. Blair assumed her sister had used her powerful plant magic to grow them so fast.
Blair headed toward the back of her café and quietly recited an enhanced listening spell. She clearly heard Luke’s voice talking to someone on the other side of the wall. She texted her sister.
blair: Is there anyone else at the back door?
bianca: No. Why?
blair: No reason. Just leave the plants there – I’ll bring them in after closing.
bianca: Suit yourself. I’m going home.
It would be fine. Blair would wait until Luke was gone for the day to bring the plants in.
After the café was closed and tidied, Blair headed to the back door and used her spells again.
This time she didn’t detect Luke at all – hopefully he’d left the bakery.
Blair opened the back door to get the plants.
But all she saw outside was a mess. Blair had no idea how Bianca had left the plants, but she had to assume they hadn’t been strewn all over the asphalt in shattered terracotta pots.
Who would do this? Moonbeam Hollow was safe; there wasn’t a vandalism problem here.
And there was rarely ever anyone in this little back area behind her café, other than someone from the only business that shared this space with the Harvest Moon Café.
At that moment Blair heard a loud noise, then distinct male laughing coming from the bakery back door. Luke was in there, and she couldn’t help but think he was laughing at her.
Surely he wouldn’t? It was one thing for Luke to mess with her lock but destroying innocent plant pots was childish.
She knocked on the bakery back door. Yeah, she’d wanted to avoid Luke because her traitorous body reacted to seeing him in ways she wished it didn’t, but if he was resorting to plant-vandalism then it was time they hashed this out.
The door opened to Luke in a dark green plaid flannel shirt, ducking under the door frame with a confused expression. ‘Oh. Blair. Is everything okay?’
‘Was this you?’ Blair asked, teeth gritted.
He raised one brow. ‘What are you talking about?’
Why was he wearing a soft flannel again? ‘My poor plants!’ she said pointing to the shattered pots, sad root balls and piles of dirt littering the space behind their shops. ‘Did you do this? Are you a plant murderer?’
He looked completely confused. ‘Plant murderer?’
‘No one else has been back here today except you! And my sister; but considering she’s the one who propagated the plants for me, I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t smash them. I heard you laughing! This prank has Luke Caldwell written all over it. Just like what you did to my lock.’
Luke blinked, looking at Blair, but not saying anything. Which was proof enough that he was the one behind this destruction.
Blair pointed a finger at that stupid handsome face. ‘Sabotage me all you want, Caldwell, there is still no way you can win this battle.’ She turned away and started lifting the plants out of their broken pots, carefully placing them in a cardboard box that she’d left here this morning.
‘Seriously, Blair? You avoid me for days, and then when you do talk to me it’s to accuse me of more dumb shit?
I take it back,’ Luke said. She didn’t turn to look at him.
‘You’re not the same person you used to be.
Do you honestly think I haven’t grown out of stupid pranks like this?
I don’t remember you ever being this paranoid.
Or bitter.’ He went back into his bakery, slamming the door behind him.
Blair exhaled. She had no idea if she really believed a grown man would sabotage her like this. But the fact was all these problems started the day Luke got here, and the Luke she knew very well a dozen years ago would do anything to get one over on her.
Maybe this was a mixed blessing, because while the plants were nice, plain terracotta pots wouldn’t have done anything to elevate her new and improved café.
This was an opportunity for Blair to get better pots.
She smiled to herself. She could go to the flea market tomorrow since her part-timer Travis would be in the café.
She could find pots, and maybe some more wall décor, too.
Blair was going to beat Luke and his fancy bakery, and she wouldn’t need to play dirty to do it.
Well, she’d technically be in dirt when she transferred the plants into new pots, but that’s it.
A sliver of guilt worked its way up her spine as a voice in the back of her mind whispered that she had no proof that Luke had done anything.
But then she threw her shoulders back and reminded herself that only one thing would stop her spiralling over her first love being back in her life: winning.