Page 95 of Never Pucking Ending

I vaguely remember her roommate needing to be transported to the hospital after doing way too many shots during that Christmas hop.

“Although, a hop may be difficult to organize if the owners are skeptical of me. That would mean putting together some sort of deal on their products to lure customers in.” A line forms between her brows as she thinks about it. “A raffle would be better. I can collect things from different stores, hopefully mostly donated, and it would promote the businesses!”

It isn’t a bad idea, but that would still mean getting items from people. And I doubt donations will be freely handed over, especially by Karen Hardy. “I still vote no to spending any money at her establishment. Why support somebody who won’t support you?”

“Because we aren’t going to stoop to her level,” she says with confidence. “We’re better than that. I think this could work. It’ll cross promote other places. Maybe we can even stock some of their products and do monthly features to help build them up if we get the consumer base over time. They’ll see that I want to work with them, not against them.”

I can see the determination on her face and agree to do whatever she wants, which is writing down a list of names of people to visit to ask if they want to partner for a raffle over the next few days. I volunteer to go to Hardy’s Jewelers so she won’t need to. Thankfully, she doesn’t argue with me.

The rest of the week goes by a little smoother. Belle stops by a handful of stores to reintroduce herself and propose her idea, getting a few phone numbers to chat more about it, a couple of yeses, and one maybe. Nobody has flat out turned down the idea, which tells me Karen Hardy doesn’t have as much pull as she wants to here regardless of how long she’s been in business.

But I call Rae just in case I have any issues dealing with her during my visit. After what she told Belle, I don’t feel like having her twist my words or try using them against me. And Rae told us she’d help deal with her if she tried stirring things up again.

Which is why I find her waiting outside the jewelry store forty minutes after I called her.

“Thank you for coming,” I tell her, holding out my hand. “I appreciate you being willing to help Belle. She really wants the bookstore to do well, and I want her to be happy.”

Rae’s grip is firm. “I always look for an excuse to knock Karen down a few pegs. That woman has gotten on my nerves for far too long. Likes the sound of her own voice too much if you ask me.”

I can tell, but I don’t agree aloud.

The bell on the door chimes when we enter, and Karen Hardy appears from the back with a big smile on her face. Until she sees me. It doesn’t reappear even when Rae follows me in, which isn’t a great sign that she’s changed her attitude.

“Unless you plan on buying something, I have nothing to say to you,” she informs me, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’ve said plenty to your…friend.”

She sneers the last word, and I don’t like it one bit. “I’m aware you’ve spoken to her, and I didn’t like what I heard. You don’t know her. Or me. Or anything about us. But one thing you’re going to learn very quickly is that Belle is one of the hardest working people I know, and I’ll do anything for her. Include deal with people like you.”

“People like me?”

Before I can get a word another in, and none of them would be particularly kind to describe her, Rae decides to step in.

Putting one hand on my arm, she gently moves me aside to face off with Karen. “He’s too nice to say it, but I will. You’ve been a real bitch lately, Karen. You’ve isolated yourself from the local business bureau group by trying to get them to gang up on this bookstore. I’m not sure what your problem is with new businesses coming into the area, and frankly, I don’t care. Let’s talk about yours. I’ve let you give me rent late more times than I can count, which tells me your business isn’t doing as well as you let on. I know better than most that cost of living is expensive, which makes it hard for people to shop for things as nice as you have to sell. I’ve been understanding for years, but we both know that my generosity can only last so long before I decide to stop being understanding. I’ve never raised your rent despite the changing times. I’ve never threatened to kick you out of your space. When Jeremy got sick, I even waived a few months of your rent so you could handle the medical bills instead.”

Karen goes pale, standing a little straighter.

But she doesn’t say a word as Rae stares her down. “If you think any of your behavior is okay, you need to reevaluate yourself. Getting your little groupies to try persuading the code enforcement office to pause Belle’s permit is a new low even for you. You have no right determining if somebody else has worked as hard as you or deserves what they have. That’s between them and the man upstairs.”

Finally, Karen finds her words. “Do you even know who you’re defending? Your new renter has been—Is having—” She’s flustered as she turns those daggers on me. “She’s involved with her own stepbrother. And don’t get me started on the reports of her last business. Do you really want somebody like that to be in our space?”

Rae rolls her eyes. “And Jeremy is your second cousin. Oh, don’t look at me like that. The whole town knows you chased that boy your whole life until he caved. At least these two aren’t blood related.”

I do my best not to gape at either woman, although I make a mental note to tell Belle this new information. She may not stoop to Karen’s level, but that doesn’t mean she won’t get enjoyment out of the gossip.

Karen gasps but doesn’t say anything. Maybe she can’t. It looks like she’s having some sort of episode and I’m not sure if I should be concerned and call 911 or let her figure it out herself.

Rae doesn’t seem worried, so I remain silent beside her.

“What I’m telling you,” Rae says slowly, “is that I will not have you acting like your opinion represents the heart of this community. It doesn’t. You own one store, and you’re lucky to still be open. If I were anybody else, I’d have you out of here and two more people like Belle taking over the space.”

Karen’s face turns red. “I cannot believe you’d say that to me after all these years.”

“I’ve put up with your drama for far too long, and I’m sick of it. A lot of us are, Karen. So stop complaining. The bookstore is going in and it won’t have any negative impact on you or any other store here. Quit spreading rumors and put that energy into making more money. You need it.”

Rae pats my arm and gestures for me to say what I need to say. It’s hard to follow that up. When I called Rae, I had no idea she was going unleash anything on Karen. I’d just hoped she’d have my back if I needed her. I respect her ten times more now for doing it.

“Look,” I begin, clearing my throat. “We don’t want any bad feelings with anybody here. In fact, we’re hoping to help everybody. It’s not new news that my team brings in a lot more tourism to the town, especially during the season. I already mentioned that the fans who come to see games provide more customers to boost the local economy. And when we open the store, we want to work with everybody to provide more opportunities to support one another. If you’re interested, we have an idea that would bring our customers to you and the others. But we won’t beg you to participate. It’s up to you.”

It seems pretty obvious that she isn’t interested, but based on the way Rae stares at her she isn’t going to fight me. “What exactly are you thinking?”