One Look: A grumpy, single dad small town romance(51)

The next week at book club I no longer felt like an outsider. Welcoming smiles greeted me as I pushed open the door to Bluebird Books. While I was still most comfortable sitting near Annie, I’d even ventured out and made friends with the other women, who’d become my weekly girl-time comrades.

Bug was delightfully grumpy, but women flocked to her for advice. Anything from fertility to child discipline to trouble with your in-laws—Bug had an answer.

Mrs. Fritz was always working to bring fresh new ideas to Outtatowner. She worked with other nearby towns to have representations at local festivals, publish newspaper articles about our local farmers, and even organize events from the towns’ business owners. If Outtatowner was going to stay on the map, Mrs. Fritz would surely have a hand in it.

Mostly we avoided the conversation of bubbling tensions between the Kings and the Sullivans, but it was becoming harder and harder to ignore as summer wore on. More and more the town was becoming divided over the Kings’ apparent takeover of many local businesses. Some saw it was a hostile takeover, while others viewed it as a way to bail out small business owners that were otherwise in trouble.

I landed somewhere in the middle. Impartial. Switzerland.

But maybe partially dipping a toe onto Team Sullivan.

“Looks like being Wyatt’s personal assistant agrees with you.” Cass, the reporter and Huck’s fiancée, smiled at me as she balanced a small plate of fruit on her lap.

Though I bristled a little at the label personal assistant, it was hard to deny that, essentially, that was exactly what I was. I smiled back. “Huck was a great boss, but I truly was a disaster. He’s probably still finding shards of broken dishes somewhere.”

Affection took over her face. “That man has the patience of a saint. Settling in, then?”

I looked around, surrounded by friendly faces. I had never felt so at home in a town I was supposed to just be passing through. Every woman in the room had a story, a whole life beyond the bookstore, but once we were inside, the stressors melted away. We laughed and chatted and drank too much wine.

“I like it here.” Admitting it out loud felt dangerous. Real.

She pointed a blackberry at me and winked. “I warned you . . . something in the water.”

Recalling my first meeting with Cass, she was right. Though she’d worked in Chicago for a newspaper, Outtatowner—and Huck—had soon claimed her as their own. Perhaps I should have listened to her playful warning more carefully. Day by day the town and its quirky residents were tightening their grip on my adventurer’s heart.

I sighed. It was silly to get lost in the what-ifs. I had a whole plan already in motion. I certainly couldn’t hang around and be Wyatt’s personal assistant for the rest of my life.

What a joke.

Wanting anything but to talk about what it truly meant to be Wyatt’s assistant, I leaned in close. “So as someone who doesn’t pick a side . . . whose side are you really on?”

Cass grinned. “Depends on the day.” She crossed her legs and leaned in to whisper. “The King men are trouble. Rough and ready to fight at the drop of a hat. But it’s hard to deny that they don’t have a hold on this town. They’re smart businessmen. And holy shit, have you seen them in suits?” Cass whistled low and smiled. “But then you have the Sullivans. Strong, hardworking. Real salt-of-the-earth men. If you need a job done, and done right, you call a Sullivan.”

I looked around, finally getting some intel on the true underbelly of this strange little town. I craved more. “So what’s the real deal? Why do the Sullivans and Kings hate each other?”

She shrugged lightly. “It’s anyone’s guess.”

Disappointed that she wasn’t sharing more, my lips twisted. Then Cass looked around and lowered her voice even further. “But there are rumors . . .”

My eyes widened.

“Some say Red’s grandfather ran off with a King and started the whole thing. That seems unlikely, because as far as I can tell? The rift really started with Red’s dad and Amos King.”

Red’s dad? Wyatt’s grandfather.

I nodded for Cass to keep going. She was a local reporter, so maybe she’d been looking into the whole thing. I needed to know more.

“See, Red’s dad, Henry, was a farmer but also a tinkerer and businessman. I found some really old public records that Amos King and him were partners at one time.”

“Partners?” I whispered. “So it was a business deal that went wrong?”

“I think it was more than that. Something about patent rights. Whatever it was, it’s buried.”

“Are you investigating it?” My eyes went wide.

Cass looked around. “Not officially. Huck would be pissed if he knew I was sticking my nose into the Sullivan–King rivalry, but I can’t help it. I just know there’s something there.”

“Something where?” Bug’s voice ripped through our cozy cocoon of whispers.

I withered under her harsh stare, but Cass only smiled and popped another piece of fruit into her mouth. “Bug! It’s good to see you. Loving your new haircut.”

The firm line of her lips cracked enough for me to release the breath I was holding.

“Can I get you ladies any more refreshments?” Bug asked.

I did my best to give a genuine smile and shook my head. Cass had been brought into another conversation, and I was disappointed that I couldn’t hear more about Wyatt’s family and the mystery of the town’s infamous rivalry. It seemed everyone knew about it, acknowledged it, and even took sides, but talking about it was strictly off-limits.