Becca turned her head and cringed. That was when Bonnie noticed the workman busy digging a hole for a new For Sale sign. Becca and Jon had mentioned a couple months ago that they were thinking about upsizing and promised to call Bonnie when the time came to put their house on the market. Apparently, they had changed their minds.
“Making the big move, huh?” Bonnie tried to hide the disappointment in her voice even though she felt it so strongly in her chest.
“I’m really sorry, Bonnie. We need this place to sell before summer is over, and with everything that’s going on...you know...the face on our sign matters.”
Bonnie felt her forehead crease. “Everything that’s going on?”
“You can’t ruin someone’s wedding day and think there won’t be consequences. Especially when that someone is Lauren Cole.”
Bonnie’s stomach dropped. Lauren still wasn’t talking to her. She had heeded Aaron’s warnings and backed off, giving Lauren some space to clear her head and come to her senses. None of their mutual friends were talking to her, either, but that was expected. Of course they were going to side with Lauren until Lauren realized Bonnie had had nothing to do with what happened. She understood being shut out socially, but Lauren wouldn’t mess with her livelihood.
Would she?
Bonnie got in her car and drove straight to the office in downtown Blue Springs. Main Street was lined with quaint local shops and restaurants. There was Patches From Heaven, a tiny quilting store, to the right of Blue Springs Realty and Sweet and Savory, a café and sweet shop, on the left. Across the street was the Cole Market. One block north was the Cole Theater. Two streets south was where the Cole Family Library was located. Just seeing their name made her blood boil a bit.
Gordon was on the phone when she got to his door. He waved her in and motioned for her to take a seat. “Thanks for being honest. We’ll talk soon.” He hung up the phone and adjusted his tie, which was tied much too short. “I think I know what’s happening.”
“It’s Lauren,” they said at the same time.
“You knew?” Gordon asked.
“I just found out. My neighbors put their house on the market today with another Realtor after promising they would come to me when the time came. She said this is a consequence of ruining Lauren’s wedding.”
“That’s what I’m hearing, too,” Gordon said sadly. “Word around town is that you’ve been blacklisted.”
“Blacklisted?”
“No one is supposed to do business with you.”
It felt like the world had stopped turning. How was Bonnie supposed to make a living if the entire town had her blacklisted? It was one thing to push Bonnie away as a friend—it was another to push her out of town.
“I had nothing to do with that wedding being canceled. I have never had any kind of relationship with Mitch Bennett. There is no reason for Lauren to be doing this to me. To you. Does she not understand she’s hurting more than me by messing with clients?”
“Lauren Cole doesn’t think about anything but Lauren Cole.” Gordon placed his elbows on his desk and clasped his hands in front of him. “Let’s not get too worked up. There are plenty of people who seek out our business who aren’t from Blue Springs. Those are the clients I will funnel your way until this all blows over.”
Bonnie was so appreciative of Gordon’s cool head. She was ready to storm over to the Cole Winery and give Lauren a piece of her mind. The smarter thing to do was to carry on with her head held high. Lauren could try to blacklist her, but Bonnie wasn’t going to roll over. Those days were done.
On her way out, she decided some comfort food was in order. Sweet and Savory had the best Monte Cristo in all of California and chocolate chunk cookies that were to die for. She’d buy some cookies and bring them over to her dad’s. They’d had dinner together once a week since her mom died five years ago. It was their chance to catch up and for her to make sure he was taking care of himself.
Sweet and Savory smelled the way love felt when she walked through their door. It was like a warm hug on this frustrating day. She purchased half a dozen chocolate chunk cookies, because one each for her and her dad would never be enough. The only thing that would make the cookies better was milk. It was unlikely her dad had milk in the house, so she crossed the street to the Cole Market to snag a half gallon.
It was annoying that markets always put the milk in the back of the store so there was no easy in and out. It was also annoying that a half gallon of milk cost two-thirds as much as a full gallon.
“Hey, Bonnie.” Cal Fullerton was the manager of Cole Market. He’d gone to high school with Lauren and Bonnie.
“How’s it going, Cal?”
“I’m doing all right. How are you?”
“I’ve been better, actually. But hopefully these cookies from Sweet and Savory and this milk will turn my day around.” She smiled, hoping that was possible.
Cal’s expression was grim, and suddenly Bonnie felt an uncomfortable tingle in her chest. “I’m real sorry, Bonnie, but I can’t sell you that milk. I’m going to have to ask you to leave the store.”
Bonnie could feel her heart beating in her chest, thumping hard against her rib cage. Her face flushed with the heat of her embarrassment. “You’re refusing to sell me milk?”
Cal averted his eyes. “Like I said, I’m real sorry.”
“She banned me from the market? Can I not go to the movies anymore or borrow a book from the library? Have I been banned from everything that has the Cole name on it?”
Cal shrugged. “I don’t really know about the other businesses, but I’d probably drive over to Morris to see a movie if I was you. Save myself the
