Except shewasn’tentirely by herself, was she? She had Garrett, who had been with her every step of the way. She had her friends, including Diana and Cadence, who both managed small businesses and had been more than happy to share advice, tips, and tricks as she’d gotten started.
And hadn’t she heard from half the town that they were excited to have a bookstore nearby?
So, no. She wasn’t alone. She had her whole community behind her.
The thought caused the stress to drop out of her shoulders and a smile to spread across her face. She was pretty darn lucky, all things considered.
And with all that support behind her, she knew that her bookstore would not be anything less than a smashing success.
CHAPTER NINE
Winnie ate her turkey club sandwich carefully as she looked over her schedule, making certain that she didn’t get any of her lunch on the papers. This was extra important today, as she had requested extra tomatoes, since they were perfectly in season and every bite tasted of summer.
This afternoon, she had to do a bunch of things that were all part of her least favorite tasks in her job. She had to order office supplies. Boring. She had to check the procedures for rescuing any historical artifacts in the event of a fire, flood, or other disaster. Boring, mostly because nothing had changed since she’d done so last year, but was required to do so annually anyway. She had to approve payroll for the paid employees and sign off on volunteer hours for the volunteers. Also boring.
Winnielovedworking at the historical society, but there were some days that just did not have enough history for her tastes. Today was destined to be one of those days.
She’d known that though, which was why she’d treated herself to an especially delicious lunch. She was eyeing a slice of Key lime pie for dessert too.
It was due to gazing longingly in the direction of the pie carousel that had Winnie see them the moment they walked in the door.
Whit and Britt.
Good gracious, what were they stilldoinghere?
The sight of them made something in Winnie’s brain go a little bit haywire. She momentarily forgot that she was a grown woman with a good job and a life she mostly loved, except for the occasional bouts of loneliness. Instead, it was like she was transported immediately back to adolescence, with all the bad haircuts and pimples that went with it.
Hide, her brain told her.
Because diners were, by and large, not made for impromptu hiding, Winnie did this in the only manner she could think of.
She pulled her menu up in front of her face, staring at it like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.
It was an old-fashioned diner menu, the kind that came covered with shiny plastic, and Winnie could see a warped version of her own reflection staring back at her.
What are you doing? she asked the wobbly vision of herself. This was ridiculous. It was so very ridiculous.
And, obviously, it didn’tworkeither.
“Oh my, can you believe it?” Whit asked in a voice that was too loud for anyone to ignore. “Is that… ? Oh my stars, itis! It’s little Winnie Burnett!”
Oh my stars? Winnie mouthed at her menu reflection-self, rolling her eyes. Whit and Britt were from Massachusetts, like her. They weren’t extras from aGone With the Windtheatrical production. It was a tiny bit mean, that thought, but it made her feel a little better to stand up to their bullying, even in her head.
Because she was an adult though, she kept that retaliation mental. On the outside, she pasted on a smile and lowered her menu.
“Hi!” she said brightly. “Yes, I’m Winnie. But I’m sorry, you are…”
Okay, maybe she didn’t keep itentirelyinside. But didn’t they say the best revenge was living well? She wanted her former bullies to think they hadn’t had any impact on her, long term, no matter that she knew that was wishful thinking at best.
Britt looked a little taken aback, but Whit got this sly look on her face like she knew Winnie was nothing but a big old faker.
“I’m Britt—Brittany Hunnicutt. And this is Whitney Boyd,” Britt said. She had always been a tiny bit less mean than Whit, more of a follower than a leader. “Britt and Whit, remember?”
Winnie waitedjustanother moment before letting recognition dawn on her features. “Oh right,” she said. “From middle school! Gosh, that was such a long time ago. I thought you looked familiar on the tour.”
Whit’s eyes narrowed again. She gave Winnie a look that suggested that she found her a worthy opponent.
That look made Winnie wish that she really had kept her mouth all the way shut, especially as Whit slid into the opposite side of Winnie’s booth without asking if Winnie minded.
