“Or take it to Anita,” Shay offers. “New moms always need stuff to feed the family.”
“Good idea.” I scan the room and it seems like everything is back in order—mostly. “I’ll come in tomorrow and do the rest.”
Everyone gathers their things and heads to the door. On the porch I lock up, and Shay stands next to me and says, “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure.” I look at the guys. “Can you wait a sec?”
“Take your time,” Pete says and the others nod as they head to the parking lot behind the shop. Avery follows a few paces behind.
“Listen, I think I may have an idea who sent those letters.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, I was on my phone in the kitchen tonight when I overheard a conversation in the hall. It was two girls—the ones from the shop next door? It’s pretty clear they don’t like you.”
“Isabel and Jessica?” I frown. “You think they sent threatening letters?”
“Tonight’s not the first time I’ve seen them. In fact, I talked to them a few days ago when I went into their boutique. Once they found out who I was, they were more than happy to dish as much gossip on you as they wanted. I ignored it—I’m not here to dig into your personal life, no matter how intrusive I can be. They suggested I look into some incident with a teacher back at your old school and they dropped a lot of hints about who you were seeing in town.”
“They told you all that? Why didn’t you say something?”
“Because it’s none of my business.” She gives me a small smile. “I’m not used to a small town like this with everyone into each other’s personal lives. That’s not the kind of article I’m writing. I’m here to talk to your mom and you about her experiences and writing her book. If I thought it was relevant maybe I’d follow up, but none of it was. It’s all petty high school girl shit and I’m not interested.”
“But still, breaking into my trailer, sending you postcards? That’s high-level mean girl.”
“The postcards came after I told them I wasn’t interested in their gossip.”
“Okay, wow. Okay.” The knot in my belly starts to unravel just a little. “I saw Isabel in the hallway tonight. Right after I found a vase of the flowers on my mom’s desk.”
Shay’s eyes light up. “See? Sneaky bitches.”
I laugh at that. “Okay, I guess I feel a little better. I’ll talk to my mom once everything with Anita settles down and we’ll figure out what to do.”
“Good idea.” She raises an eyebrow. “I’d definitely keep an eye on your men, those girls seems determined to get in the middle of that.”
I look over to the parking lot where they all stand in a group. Avery’s off to the side, scrolling through his phone. “Yeah, I don’t really have to worry about them, but thanks for the tip.”
“Well, I think I have everything I need for the interview, so I’m heading out tomorrow morning. Can you keep me posted about the baby?”
“Absolutely.”
She gives me a hug and surprisingly I realize that after all this time, I don’t hate Shay. I kind of like her. She’s a nice person just doing her job. I’m the one that struggles with sharing information about my life.
“It was nice meeting you, Shay.?
?
“You too, Summer.”
We step off the porch and Avery approaches. “Any chance I can get a ride home?”
She rolls her eyes and fishes her keys out of her bag. “Sure, come on.”
I leave them by their car and approach the guys, ready to wait for the newest member of the Ocean Beach family.
27
Summer