“Why does Pierce believe everyone in town hates him?” I hadn’t seen a good deal of much evidence of the constant crap talk he said happened. Everyone had been pleasant to me and him when we’re together, even if we hadn’t been out of the house much.
Anessa sighed and Tabitha shook her head. For a moment I worried they wouldn’t give me a solid answer, but then Anessa stepped to the side and popped her hip up against the counter, leaning against the space. “Honestly, it is mostly the women’s auxiliary. They can’t stand Pierce right now. They wanted to buy the bed-and-breakfast first, but he outbid them.”
“Yeah, but they only wanted to buy it because Katy managed to get them worked up,” Tabitha interjected and her coworker nodded in agreement.
“I keep hearing Katy’s name. What is her story?” We all had a story, and even though I didn’t want to share mine with everyone in town, I desperately wanted to hear Katy’s.
Although, in that moment as I asked, a small bead of worry gripped on to my heart. What if I heard an answer I didn’t like? Was something going on between Katy and Pierce? Even though everything between Pierce and me was strictly business, I didn’t want to find out I’d stepped in the middle of relationship drama. Or worse, she once dated Oliver.
“I trusted her the other day when she was at Pierce’s house…”
“Hold up,” Anessa said, literally holding her hand in the air with the flat palm out like a stop sign.
“Katy was at Pierce’s house?” Tabitha asked, her voice screechy as her eyes widened and she leaned forward.
“He’s her landlord, too,” Anessa said, trying to be the voice of reason. The two of them shared a look, which made it impossible to shake off the conversation.
“Katy and Pierce do not get along,” Tabitha continued once she turned away from her friend. “It goes way back. Like way, way back. I don’t think anyone knows the full story besides them and they aren’t sharing. It happened long before my time in Pelican Bay.”
Anessa nodded. “Mine too and she’s never told me.”
“No one has told me anything, but he believes everyone in this town hates him, and I can’t figure out why. Sure, he wants to buy the bed-and-breakfast, but he only wants to make updates so it’s safe. He’s not planning to bulldoze the place or anything.”
Tabitha grimaced and tipped her head back and forth. “His cousin bulldozed one of the buildings downtown and is building a skyscraper.”
“Not Oliver.” I couldn’t remember which Kensington was responsible for the new building, but I knew it wasn’t my Kensington.
“No,” Tabitha replied shaking her head. “A cousin from New York. I don’t think he’s even been to town lately. It caused problems with Pierce and things and then… it’s been tense since then.”
“From the sounds of it, Pierce has done good for this town, and right now he’s working with Oliver to help impoverished areas bring solar energy to villages in Africa and jobs to this area.” I hadn’t asked Oliver if he would consider my village in Guatemala as one of his test sites because I didn’t have permission from my supervisor, but it was at the top of my to-do list the next time I checked in.
“Pelican Bay is one of those old East Coast towns. They have history for generations and sometimes grudges last as long. It takes a while to adjust to living here,” Anessa said, pulling out another cookie from the bakery counter and taking a bite of it.
“They’re definitely based on tradition. I told the realtor I wanted to paint the place pink. I thought she’d have a heart attack.”
The three of us laughed, and bits of the tension from our earlier conversations faded away.
“Can you imagine Morgan picturing the historical landmark pink?” Tabitha said, pulling on the edges her apron.
Her friend shrugged. “I think pink would be a very acceptable color for the bed-and-breakfast.”
“Yeah, you would,” Tabitha retorted.
I came to Pelican Bay to secure funding for my village and somehow ended up Pierce’s fake fiancée. Yet that afternoon in the bakery I ended up feeling like one of the girls. It reminded me of the friendships Aspen and Marissa had in San Francisco.
Anessa and Tabitha included me in their circle for an hour while we chatted, but I had no delusions that we were best friends. A Pierce cloud hung over me, which often made it seem as if they were holding their words at various times. I didn’t know who Pierce was trying to impress in Pelican Bay or why he worried if the town thought he was an evil villain, but it didn’t sound like everyone agreed about his negative reputation.
When it came to my opinions and research, I hadn’t been able to find anything Pierce did which put him in “evil villain” territory. He and Oliver were two men trying to use their privilege and family bank accounts to do good in the world. Pierce helped the people in the town of Pelican Bay when anyone else in his status would’ve moved to the city by now, like his father and the rest of his family had as soon as they were able.
Oliver used his influence to gather resources and help people in distant lands, but his actions were as important as Pierce’s. Together the Kensington cousins were shaping and changing the world for the better.
If the town wanted to paint them as monsters, they were the ones missing out on two wonderful men.
14
Mari
The warm summer rays landed on the concrete surrounding Pierce’s pool. The warm temps were ending soon, and I planned to soak up the last remaining vitamin D available.
