Noting Brooke’s sudden discomfort, Ivy said, “She does. It’s all organic and grown on their land.”
Shelly glanced at Brooke and the other woman beforeasking Ivy, “Do we have any family plans yet for Thanksgiving?”
Ivy hadn’t spoken to their brothers yet. “Now that the renovation is finished, we should plan a gathering at the inn for family and friends, and for any guests who might be there.”
A slow smile spread across Shelly’s face. “Maybe that will include Dr. Caleb. Gilda told me everything.”
“Stop that.” Ivy nudged her. Shelly knew better than to gossip about guests.
The other woman leaned in, a stack of gold bracelets clinking on her wrists. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I heard you mention an inn. We need to move out of the house to fumigate. We spoke with the proprietor at the Seal Cove Inn, but she has a wedding party there. It’s fully booked. Where is this inn?”
This was a chance to fill some empty rooms. But from the corner of her eye, Ivy saw Brooke shake her head vigorously while rearranging produce.
Shelly caught that, too. She spoke up. “I’m so sorry, but we don’t have rooms available. You might check in a neighboring community.”
“What a shame, but we’ll do that,” the woman said.
After the couple moved on, Ivy turned back to Brooke, curious about her reaction. But before she could ask, Shelly picked up a zucchini, wielding it like a microphone.
Shelly leaned toward Brooke. “Care to make a comment about why you warned us against them?”
As shoppers slowed by the booth, Brooke frowned and shook her head again. “I shouldn’t say.”
Shelly lowered her voice. “Now youhaveto spill the tea. Who was that?”
As Brooke bit her lip and glanced around, an unsettling feeling filled Ivy.
After customers moved away from Brooke’s booth, she let out a long sigh. “I didn’t know the woman, but I know the man with her. He ran against Bennett in the first mayoral race. All I’m saying is that he fights dirty. I didn’t know he’d returned to Summer Beach. And that was not his wife. At least, not the one I knew.”
Shelly’s eyes widened. “Well, this is uncomfortable. Wish I’d known that.”
“Now you do,” Brooke said. “There’s a lot of history under the sunshine here in Summer Beach. Some of it is unfounded gossip, and some is real.”
A sickening feeling gathered in the pit of Ivy’s stomach as she watched the couple thread the crowd in the distance. If Bennett knew they’d returned, that might be what was bothering him.
Just then, a little girl carrying a large pumpkin stumbled, sending her armload crashing to the ground.
Immediately, the little girl broke out in tears. “I only wanted to show my mom.”
“It’s okay, accidents happen here all the time,” Brooke said, waving down a teenage boy who was rolling a trash can.
The young girl’s mother appeared behind her daughter, promising she’d buy a pumpkin.
“Vanz, could you help clean that up?” Brooke gestured to the pumpkin broken in pieces on the ground.
Shelly touched her arm. “Is that the same guy you saw at the beach?”
Ivy had told Shelly about him. She followed her gaze. “Looks like him. Same hoodie anyway.”
Seeing him in the daylight, she remembered seeing him during her beach walks, too. He was always alone, walking with a hunched posture as if he wanted to disappear. She’d seen him that night at the library lot, wearing similar clothes.
“I’m wondering if he might have been the vandal,” Ivy murmured.
“Let’s find out.” Shelly adjusted her bag.
They approached Cookie, who managed the farmers market with the same no-nonsense efficiency she brought to everything in Summer Beach. She stood near her vegetable stand, checking off items on a clipboard.
When Cookie looked up, Ivy greeted and asked, “Who’s the boy cleaning up the pumpkins?”
