by Gerri Hill
“Answer the phone already. I’m going to the kitchen to help prep,” Nancy said.
She took a deep breath. “Hi Mom,” she greeted cheerfully. Then her smile faded. “What’s wrong?”
“Wrong? What makes you think something is wrong,” her mother said. “Can’t I call and see how you are?”
“Mom…you talk to Nancy twice a week.”
“Well, I talk to Nancy. I don’t talk to you.” She cleared her throat. “So…how are things?”
“As if she hasn’t already told you what’s going on,” she said as she sat down at the desk.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“So you don’t know about the Facebook page?”
“What Facebook page?”
“You don’t know that I’m being blackmailed on Facebook?”
“Oh, my God! That’s terrible.”
Megan rolled her eyes. “Oh, give me a break! You can’t even fake it!”
Her mother laughed heartily. “Well, Nancy says it’s a really good picture. I understand she’s up to your thigh.”
“Yeah, she’s up to my thigh. If she goes any higher, I’ll have to shoot her. I hope you and Dad will visit me in prison.”
Her mother laughed again. “I take it you have no intention of going out with her.”
“Absolutely not,” she said.
“Okay. So what’s up with the woman who bought the bookstore? Nancy says she’s really nice.”
“Nice?”
“And cute. Is there something going on there?”
“As far as I know, she’s only seen her the one time here at the grill,” she said. “Besides, I can’t imagine what Nancy would see in her. She’s annoying. Irritating.”
“Nancy said she was very pleasant.”
“Pleasant? She’s infuriating. Did she tell you about the parking?”
“No.”
“No, of course she’d leave that part out—the main thing that’s going on.” She got up and went to the window, looking out at the bookstore. “She’s hoarding parking spaces. She’s not even freakin’ open yet and she puts up these signs.” She stared at the offending signs. “Ruby’s Parking Only. Who the hell is Ruby?”
“Well, it sounds like you had a run-in with her.”
“A run-in? She’s evil. I think she enjoyed tossing me out of my reserved spot. A bully. A mean bully,” she said.
“That’s odd. Nancy had a completely different impression of her than you do.”
“That’s because she obviously put on an act with Nancy. Underneath it all…she’s the spawn of Satan.”
Her mother laughed. “Oh, Megan, we should talk more often. You always make me laugh.”
“Well, happy to provide some amusement for you,” she said dryly. “Are you and Dad still planning to come visit in June?” she asked, changing the subject.
“Yes, but it might be early June instead of late. Your dad has this crazy idea to drive all the way to Niagara Falls. We’re still debating that plan,” she said. “Well, I should run. Love you, Megan.”
“Love you too,” she said, barely getting the words out before her mother ended the call.
She sighed, then glanced once more out the window, watching as Leah Rollins hopped on her bike and rode off down the street.
Chapter Nine
As Leah stood in the doorway of the Ozark Room, the large event room at Craig’s restaurant, she wished she’d gone with her first inclination—stay home and get her apartment in order. But if she was going to fit in around here, she needed to get out and meet everyone. However, there was not a single familiar face in the room. She didn’t even spot Susie with her blazing red hair.
There was a short, round woman with bleached hair, spiked on top. A man with a bowl cut hairdo stood next to her. Oops. No, it was a woman. Behind them were two men in matching suspenders—red—talking to a tall woman with long dark hair, wearing a tie-dyed dress.
“They’re a scary bunch. Afraid to go in?”
The familiar voice brought a smile to her face and she turned, surprised that she’d consider Megan Phenix—of all people— a “friendly face” in this crowd of strangers.
“A bit out of my element,” she admitted. “I don’t recognize a soul. Perhaps I came too early.”
Megan turned, pulling her sister Nancy up beside her. “You remember Nancy, don’t you? Now you recognize someone.”
A quick smile and Megan was gone, leaving her standing face-to-face with her older sister. She smiled politely at her.
“Good to see you again, Nancy.”
Nancy’s hand wrapped around her forearm casually. “I’m glad you came. Susie said she thought you’d be here.”
“I decided it was time I met everyone,” Leah said.
“Yes, most everyone comes to the kickoff party but not all. Diversity weekend, finally. It’s exciting, isn’t it?”
Leah nodded. “Although I’m not sure exactly what that entails,” she said.
“The official start of tourist season,” Nancy explained. “There are three diversity weekends each year. April, August and November. The town will be crawling with gays and lesbians. Get some rainbow flags to put outside your shop. The whole town turns into one giant rainbow on those weekends,” Nancy said with a laugh.
“Well, I’ll definitely be open for business by August so I’ll keep that in mind.”
Nancy drew her into the room. “Are you moved into your apartment yet? I hadn’t heard.”
After spending most of her life in cities, this small town gossip was going to take a while to get used to, Leah realized. Apparently there were no secrets in this town.
“It’s getting there,” she said. “My new furniture was delivered, so I have my bedroom set up, that’s the main thing. When I came to town, I didn’t bring much with me, but I’m in the process of sorting through it.” She shrugged. “A trip to California is in the plans,” she said. “I hope to be able to bring the rest of my things over in one trip.”
“Where in California?”
“San Jose,” she said.
“That’ll be quite a road trip.” Nancy waved at the two men in suspenders. “You’ve got to meet George and Peter,” she said. “They’re a hoot. They own the candle shop down on the corner of Cliff Street. They make all their own stuff.”
And so it went, little by little, Nancy dragging her around the room, introducing her to more and more people. She’d long lost track of their names, but she was pleased to see Tony there, although she hardly recognized him without his ball cap and work clothes. His partner, Steve, was much older than he was but very friendly. After visiting with him, she almost wished she’d taken Tony up on his offer to rent one of Steve’s cottages. It would have been a lot less stressful than spending nearly six weeks with the Howells.
She looked around the room, finding Megan talking to an attractive woman with jet-black hair. Nancy followed her gaze.
“Oh, that’s Carla,” Nancy said. “She owns the art gallery down the street from us.” Nancy leaned closer. “She’s been asking Megan out for years. Watch…Megan will hold her hands up and start backing up.” Nancy laughed as Megan did just that. “She’s making up some excuse as to why she can’t go out with her.”
“Well, I’m not one to gossip, but Susie said that Mary Beth was interested in her.” Then she laughed quietly. “Although if that’s so, exposing her on Facebook might not be the best plan.”
“Have you met Mary Beth?”
Leah shook her head. “Not yet.”
“She fancies herself as a bit of a player,” Nancy explained. “And in her younger days, she was. But she’s older now and…well, Megan’s just not interested.” She smiled. “Not even a little.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, how does Mary Beth have these pictures of her? Susie hinted that while it may look like they slept together, they really didn’t.”
Nancy laughed. “Oh, that’s a story for another day. Why don’t you come by the grill f
or lunch next week and we’ll chat.” Once again her hand reached out to touch Leah’s arm. “I would love to get to know you better.”
Of the two Phenix sisters, Nancy was definitely the pleasant one. And Leah certainly wouldn’t mind making a new friend. However, judging by the look in Nancy’s eyes, she had something a little more intimate in mind. Leah chose to ignore the subtle hint.
“I might take you up on the lunch offer,” she said easily. “Really, the only reason I came to the party tonight was to meet more of the shop owners in town. I hope they’re all as friendly as you are.”
“We’re a diverse group, that’s for sure,” Nancy said. “For the most part, everyone gets along fine. Tourist season is busy and hectic and we don’t have much leisure time then. We’ll have another one of these parties after Labor Day, when things start slowing down again.”
“Susie told me that the town didn’t really slow down until after the Christmas holidays.”
“People come for the fall colors in late October, but it’s not as busy as summer. November is pretty quiet, but most of the B&Bs are booked between Thanksgiving and New Year’s,” Nancy said. “After that, we pretty much get the town back to ourselves for a few months.” She looked past her and shook her head. “I should probably go rescue Megan. Julie’s got her now.” Nancy smiled at her. “Come with me. I’ll introduce you.”
Leah followed her gaze, seeing a rail-thin woman with light brown hair talking to Megan. Megan appeared to be trying to back away from her, but the woman’s mouth never stopped moving and her hand was resting lightly on Megan’s arm. The look on Megan’s face nearly made Leah laugh. It was a mixture of terror and exasperation, and when she and Nancy walked over, the relief on her face was visible.
“Julie, have you met Leah Rollins?” Megan asked quickly. “She bought the old bookstore next to us.”
Julie turned her attention toward her, and Leah could see the predatory look in her eyes. Julie took a step closer to Megan, as if defending her territory.
“We’ve not met,” Julie said, her voice as thin as she was. “I’ve heard about you, of course.”
Leah smiled and nodded. Of course.
“Julie owns Cliff Street Chocolates,” Nancy supplied. “And on hot summer days, her ice cream sundaes are not to be missed.”
“I’m not much for chocolate,” Leah admitted, “but I do have a weakness for ice cream.”
“Well, you’ll need to come by sometime,” Julie said.
Megan took that opportunity to take a step away from Julie. “You’ll have to excuse us, Julie,” Megan said. “I have some…some business to speak to Leah about.”
Leah’s eyebrows shot up.
“What kind of business?” Julie asked.
“It involves…parking,” Megan said.
Nancy laughed. “It could get ugly,” she said, taking Julie’s arm and leading her away, giving Megan a quick wink.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Megan groaned. “God, she wears me out.”
“I take it she’s enamored with your glowing personality?” Leah asked.
Megan’s eyes narrowed. “Really?”
Leah smiled. “Teasing, of course.”
Megan put her hands on her hips. “Speaking of parking…really? Signs?”
Leah shrugged. “Gordon assured me that there were many businesses in town that put up parking signs,” she said.
“I wouldn’t say ‘many,’” Megan said. “But those that do are at least open for business.”
“I want to be prepared for when I do open,” Leah said, trying desperately to keep the smile from her face. She didn’t know why, but annoying Megan Phenix had become a favorite pastime. “Besides, I think you’re only pissed because you lost your prime spot. From what I see, your customers park down the street anyway.”
“Again, you’re missing the point entirely,” Megan said.
Leah shrugged again. “Why don’t you just park in the back?”
Megan shook her head. “I don’t park in the back.”
“Why? Afraid you’ll get mugged in the alley or something?”
“Funny,” Megan said dryly. “No. I’m afraid of Max.”
Leah frowned. Was Max some dog running wild that she needed to be aware of? “Who is Max?”
“Max is the delivery guy.”
Leah shook her head. “Okay. You lost me. Max is dangerous?”
“Yes, Max is dangerous,” Megan said, as if Leah should have already known that. “Max has spatial awareness problems.”
“Oh. I see,” she said, not really understanding.
“He runs into things,” Megan explained. “With his truck.”
“Ah. Gotcha.”
Megan looked past her, her eyes widening. “Oh, God,” she groaned.
Leah turned, following her gaze.
“It’s Mary Beth Sturgeon,” Megan murmured, nearly jerking Leah in front of her to shield her.
Leah had to contain a giggle. So this was the infamous Mary Beth? She was older than Leah would have thought from looking at her Facebook photo, which obviously was dated. She was a few pounds overweight, but she wouldn’t call her fat. The way she carried herself, yes, she could imagine her being a “player” in her younger days, as Nancy had suggested. And while she didn’t pretend to know Megan Phenix in the least, there was no way she could picture the two of them together.
“So she’s the one posting your photo on Facebook, huh?”
Megan groaned again. “I suppose you’ve seen it?”
“From what I’ve gathered, I think the whole town has seen it,” she said with a laugh.
As Mary Beth walked across the room, Megan continued to hide behind Leah, moving slightly as Leah did. Mary Beth finally disappeared into the crowd.
“I think it’s safe now,” she said.
“She’s insane,” Megan muttered.
“So how did she get your picture?” Leah asked. “Or was that a private moment between the two of you?”
Megan’s eyes widened. “No! I did not sleep with her,” she hissed. She blew out her breath. “It was my birthday. I drank too much PatrÓn.” Her voice lowered conspiratorially. “I personally think someone drugged me. Like Mary Beth.”
“Oh?”
Megan sighed. “The party was at her house. My no-good sister thought it would be a good idea to leave me there.” Megan waved her hand in the air dismissively. “I woke up the next morning—naked—in her bed. And she was naked. I freaked out.”
“I don’t blame you.” Then she lowered her voice. “Are you sure you didn’t sleep with her?”
Megan punched her in the arm. “Don’t even think that, much less say it out loud.”
Leah couldn’t contain her laughter as she rubbed her arm. “I suppose if you had, she wouldn’t be doing the whole Facebook thing, huh? What does she hope to accomplish?”
“She wants me to go out with her…a romantic dinner,” Megan said. “I guess she thinks if I go out with her, I’ll see her in a new light and fall in love or something.” Megan gave an exaggerated shudder. “As if.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to simply go out with her one time and end this?”
“That’s just it. It wouldn’t end. If I go out with Mary Beth, then Julie will insist I go out with her. Then Sarah. Then Melissa. Then Carla. It would never end.”
“Wow. Must be nice to be so popular,” she said.
“Popular has nothing to do with it,” Megan said. “I’m the youngest single woman in town. And…well…they think I’m playing hard to get. It’s some contest between them.” Then Megan’s eyes narrowed. “Why am I telling you all this?”
Leah shrugged. “I’m easy to talk to.”
“I don’t even like you,” Megan said as she took a step away from her. “But thank you for hiding me from Mary Beth.”
And with that, Megan Phenix hurried away. Leah watched her for a second, smiling as Megan hugged an older gentleman, pausing to kiss him on the cheek before walking on.
“Everything is so bubbly! I love it when the gays come to town,” Nancy said as she filled a mug with draft beer.
“You must,” Megan said. “You flood the place with enough rainbow flags.”
“Diversity weekend…of course we’re flooding the grill with flags.”
Megan moved one aside that was hanging in her face. “I need a vodka tonic with lemon instead of lime and a gin fizz.”
“I hate gin fizz,” Nancy said. “Who drinks those things?”
“One of your gays,” she said with a laugh.
“Got to be a guy. No lesbian would order it.”
Megan got bumped from behind. “We’re packed tonight. I don’t remember it being this busy last year.”
“The more the merrier,” Nancy said. “One of these days, a rich old woman is going to come in here and steal me away.”
Megan rolled her eyes. Nancy said the same thing every year. “I thought you had your sights set on the crazy woman next door.”
“I wish. She’s so cute. And I did get to visit with her a couple of times at the party last night, but I don’t think I’m her type.”
“You don’t even know her.”
“She rides her bike around town and drives an electric car. You and I both drive SUVs.”
“So? They’re practical up here. She’ll learn that come wintertime. If she lasts that long,” she added.
“Yeah…but the bike. I haven’t been on a bike since I was a teenager. At least you jog.”
Megan shook her head. “I run on a treadmill. That’s not jogging. I’d die if I jogged around town with all these hills.”
Nancy slid over the gin fizz, then went about making the vodka tonic. “I should take it up. I mean, look what it’s done to your legs. It’s all anyone in town is talking about.”
“Can we not get through even one day without talking about the damn Facebook page?”
Nancy laughed. “I heard from a very good source that next week’s picture will be rather revealing.”
Megan took the two drinks off the bar. “You know, it disturbs me that you find this as humorous as you do.”
* * *
Leah stood at the window in her living room, looking down at the Phenix Grill. Cars lined the street in both directions, and yes, all of the spots in front of her shop were taken. Of course, it was eight p.m. When she did finally open for business, she would most likely close at five or six, like most of the other shops in town.
