“So he told you.”
“I believe him.” Jane rarely spoke with such conviction, even among friends. She was more apt to agree than butt heads. The mysterious Mr. Bradford must have made quite the impression.“He was actually worried when he saw the sign you were putting up outside.”
Claire scoffed. “I bet he was! My sale is going to blow away his grand opening, and he knows it.”
“You’re selling different products. It’s probably more reason for customers to visit you both. If you worked together to do more promotions like this, it could benefit you both. And he’s willing to work together. You should at least talk to him and give him a chance.”
Claire took a sip of wine and thought about it. Some of what Jane said made sense, but those old fears of failure crept up. What if Bradford Breads was just trying to get on her good side so he could figure out her vulnerabilities before he went in for the kill? Thoughts of Sandee just waiting for her to fail blurred her vision. Nope, she wasn’t about to take a chance. Not right then, anyway.
She turned to Maxi. “What do you think, Maxi? I think Jane sees too much of the good in people sometimes.”
Maxi had been in a world of her own, daydreaming about painting and sketching, so she was surprised when she heard her name. “Huh?”
“Earth to Maxi. Jane was suggesting that I team up with Bradford Breads. She thinks the owner is nice. I say he’s up to something.”
Maxi frowned at Jane. “How do you know the owner of Bradford Breads?”
“Have you not been listening at all? He came by the inn trying to set up an ongoing delivery for fresh bread.”
“Oh, sorry. I guess I let my mind wander. That sounds like it could be advantageous to both of you.”
Claire’s tight-lipped smile indicated that she didn’t agree, but Maxi knew that since both she and Jane were encouraging it, Claire would give it careful consideration.
“We’ll see what happens after the grand opening and my cupcake sale.” Claire forked up a piece of cheesecake and gestured toward Maxi with it. “This is excellent by the way.”
“Thanks.”
“So the advertising is underway, and we have a baking plan,” Jane said. “Don’t forget to get me some flyers.”
Hailey looked over at the spreadsheet on Jane’s tablet. “If you fill out the spreadsheet and send it to me, I’ll get the rest of the ingredients tomorrow morning, if you want me to, Claire.”
Claire nodded.
Hailey stood. “Great. I’ll see if Mrs. Pease can watch Jennifer for an extra hour each day. That way I can get a batch of cupcakes in before I leave work.”
“Thanks. I’d appreciate that. As it is, I think I’ll be living at Sandcastles. But at least no one else needs me at home.” Claire narrowed her eyes at Urchin, who was still in Maxi’s lap. “I’m not even sure Urchin will miss me.”
“That has its advantages.” Hailey bent to pick up her purse and the bag from Maxi. “No one to tell us what we can or can’t do or disapprove of our plans.”
“You can say that again. I remember Peter always had something negative to say about any of my dreams.” Claire savored another bite of pie. “I wanted to open a bakery years ago, but he was against it. Good thing I got rid of him.”
Hailey laughed. “Yeah, I got the same from Lance. The only time he relented was toward the end. Then he seemed to encourage anything I wanted. Of course, it turned out that was because he was cheating and wanted to distract me.”
Claire laughed. “Same with Peter! Turns out he was being nice and letting me do what I wanted to keep me busy so I wouldn’t notice he’d taken up with Sandee.”
Claire’s words hit Maxi like a brick.Keep me busy.Wasn’t that what James had said when he approved of her starting to draw again?
“Glad those days are past us.” Hailey fist-bumped Claire. “Thanks for the gift, Maxi.”
“Huh? Oh, you’re welcome.” Maxi’s mind whirled as she watched Hailey leave. Surely, she was overreacting. The comment about keeping her busy was something anyone would say. But then she remembered how James had covered the phone. Who had he been talking to? She’d assumed he was in a break room or hallway at the convention, but maybe someone had been in his hotel room.
Maxi’s thoughts were interrupted by a sputtering and coughing coming from the other side of the fence.
“What in the world?” Jane stood and peeked over. “Why is Hailey in a beat-up old Dodge? Thing looks like it’s on its last leg. I thought she had a Toyota.”
“She does.” Claire had joined Jane at the fence, and Maxi dumped Urchin on the ground so she could look too.
The car was pulling away. Its rusted trunk looked ready to pop open. What was left of the paint was a faded gray. As they watched, a puff of smoke came out the back, and the car bucked.
