“What about me?” Bonnie asked. “You sure you don’t need a scrappy, five-foot-four powerhouse who’s ready to knock down some walls?” She picked up the sledgehammer, but it was heavier than she expected, and the head of it thunked on the ground as she lost her grip.
Aaron and her dad both chuckled.
“Careful, Little Miss Scrappy,” Aaron said, taking the sledgehammer from her. “Don’t hurt yourself.”
Bonnie flexed her nonexistent biceps. “I have so much pent-up frustration, I need to do something destructive.”
“I thought you were here to find out if we wanted anything to eat or drink,” her dad said as he buckled his tool belt around his waist.
“I did.” That had been the original plan before she found out that the only ones working were these two. She could be put to better use if they needed the help. “But it seems like you need more than food and coffee.”
“I disagree,” Aaron said, stepping around her. “I would kill for a large coffee with cream and sugar right about now.”
“Fine,” she relented. “I’ll get coffee, but when I get back, I’m putting a hole in something.”
Her dad gave her a peck on the cheek. “I’ll take a large black coffee and an apple danish if you can find one, Bon Bon.”
“I hope there’s no mice in there!” she shouted.
Aaron smiled over his shoulder. “If there are, I’ll be sure to introduce them to my new friend,” he said, holding the sledgehammer above his head.
Happy to not have to see that, she got in her car and headed into town. The Bean was a small coffee shop at the north end of Main Street. The roar of a motorcycle caught her attention as she got out of her car. A man the size of a small giant parked right in front. Dressed like he was a card-carrying member of a real biker gang, he got off his bike. The pink teddy bear strapped to the back made Bonnie do a double take.
The biker was at least two feet taller than her, and he had a reddish-brown beard that came down to his belly button and long hair pulled back into a ponytail. His black leather vest had various patches on it, and chains hung from his belt. As intimidating as he looked, he kindly held the door open for her.
“Thank you,” she said with a smile. “Are you and your bear visiting or just passing through town on to somewhere more exciting?”
He grinned back as they both got in line for coffee. “Well, I don’t know. If I can find some decent work, I may stay for a bit. Right now, I’m just here to visit my sister and brand-new baby niece. The bear and I got into town late last night. I figure my sister and brother-in-law could use some caffeine. I hear new parents don’t get much sleep.”
“I have heard that, too. You’re a good brother.”
“I try. This is the first baby in the family. I hope I’m a good uncle as well.”
This guy was as sweet as the teddy bear on the back of his motorcycle. “What’s the baby’s name?”
He leaned forward. “Now, I am in no place to judge someone for an unusual name, but I think this one is kind of weird. They named her Winter, but she was born in the summer. I don’t get it.”
“Oh, I think it’s a beautiful name. Maybe they were trying to be ironic?” Bonnie offered.
He guffawed. “Maybe. That’s nicer than saying they were being weird.”
“I can’t believe you still dare to show your face in this town.” Jeanne Watson and Kathy Cole appeared out of nowhere. Bonnie had been so distracted by her new friend she hadn’t scanned the place for unfriendlies.
“Why should I hide when I’ve done nothing wrong?”
“Nothing wrong?” Kathy scoffed. “Having an affair with Lauren’s fiancé and ruining her wedding isn’t wrong? Wow, that’s news to me. Did you know that’s not wrong, Jeanne?”
“I always thought that was literally the worst thing a person could do to someone they claimed was their best friend. Maybe we were both wrong.”
Bonnie could feel her face flushing red at their sarcasm. For almost a month, she’d wanted to be able to clear her name with these women, but she hadn’t expected them to be so mean. “I didn’t have an affair with Mitch. I had no idea he had feelings for me until the same exact moment you two did.”
The bells on the door chimed, and Bonnie made eye contact with Mary as she stepped inside The Bean. Mary had been one of Bonnie’s closest friends up until the wedding-that-wasn’t. Bonnie had tried multiple times to reach out to Mary over the last month, but sides had been chosen and Lauren had won everyone’s support, even though everything she believed was a lie.
Jeanne wouldn’t stop. “I can’t believe you’re still trying to sell that story to everyone. Why didn’t you just go to France with Mitch? Wouldn’t that be so much easier for you and all of us?”
“Doesn’t it make sense that I’m not in France with Mitch because I want nothing to do with him? He and I were never a thing. His feelings are completely one-sided.”
“Hi, ladies. Maybe we should find a table instead of making a scene in line,” Mary suggested to Jeanne and Kathy as she approached.
“I don’t know if I can stay with her here. I think we should leave,” Kathy said.
“Why should we leave?” Jeanne questioned. “She should leave. She’s the one no one wants to be around.”
Bonnie was doing everything in her power not to burst into tears. This was more humiliating than the two incidents with Cal
