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“No, I’m not,” Megan muttered bitterly. “I’m capable of putting what’s important first. I just thought that I was more important to him than his coffee shop.”
“Can I ask you something?”
Megan shot her a dark look. “Depends.”
“Would you say he was more important to you than your bookstore?”
She should have known that Gabby was going to ask this question. Of course it was the only take away she got from this conversation. She’d always been a little too nosey for her own good. “Sure.”
“Megan,” Gabby drawled. “Really think about it. Would you put Daniel above your bookstore if it came right down to it?”
“Yeah. I would.”
Gabby sighed. “Then why did you ask him to walk away from his deal? Sounds like he got it fair and square. He should be able to have something he earned and be able to take advantage of it. You can’t step in and take it away from him.”
“But I wasn’t—”
“Just by asking him to give it up, you were demonstrating that you didn’t find his needs as important as your own.”
“But—”
“Trust me on this. Yes, you have to make sure your shop survives. But you have to also find a way to support others. Building each other up is how we make it in this world. There will always be new promotional activities you can do in your shop. But there will only ever be one Daniel.”
Megan opened her mouth to argue, but Gabby slipped away too quickly. She waved her goodnight and hurried up the stairs, leaving Megan feeling even less satisfied than before.
Well, dang it.
Now she didn’t know what to think.
CHAPTERNINETEEN
Daniel was far broodierthan he’d been in a long time and he knew it. He could sense his family could see it too. Every time Gabby and Megan were brought up, he left the room. Anytime Bo showed up for work, Daniel made himself scarce.
Thankfully, Bo hadn’t cornered him and asked him about Megan. That must have meant that Megan was keeping quiet.
That was probably the best news he had gotten in a long while. Now all he had to do was worry about preparing for the book deal. He still couldn’t believe that out of everyplace in the closest towns to this one that he’d been picked.
And without an official request, no less.
Everything regarding Mountaintop Java was finally looking up. He’d even managed to get a replacement coffee maker for the one he’d loaned to Megan. He’d opted to let her keep his. It was newer than her old one and had more bells and whistles. He hadn’t wanted to go over to the bookstore to get it back and he’d gotten a small donation from the publishing company to help him replace the coffee machine he’d loaned out.
He'd just finished installing it when the bell above the door jingled. He glanced over his shoulder to find his mother had entered. He smiled widely at her, brushing his hands on his apron. “What can I get the prettiest girl in Rocky Ridge?”
His mother laughed. “Flattery will get you everywhere.” She glanced down at the flyers for the book reading on the counter and gasped. Her eyes rounded as she snatched one. “I didn’t know that you were hosting this. They certainly found the best location.”
He made a funny face and shook his head. “What was it you said about flattery?”
She waved a dismissive hand through the air. “In all seriousness, how did you manage this? I figured based on your mood lately, you weren’t doing so well.”
Daniel frowned and turned away. Yep, his mother had noticed. They were probably all talking about how he’d done something to mess up his business. That kind of talk wouldn’t have even been an issue if he wasn’t working at a coffee shop—one more reason why he would have preferred to be out in the fields with the animals rather than around the people in town who had a tendency to gossip.
He flipped on the switch for the coffee machine. Without glancing toward her, he grabbed a cup. “You want your usual?”
“Daniel,” she drawled. “What’s going on? This event should have you over the moon. You were so worried about how you were going to make ends meet and now you must know that you’re going to do okay for the next little while.”
He placed both hands on the stainless-steel countertop and leaned on it. This was exactly the conversation he wanted to avoid. How was he supposed to tell his mother that he’d gone into cahoots with the enemy and now they were at war again? She wouldn’t understand.
Even as he told himself he needed to keep quiet, he found himself facing her. “That book tour thing is actually the reason I’m in a bad mood.”
