The Sweetheart Deal. Syndi Powell
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a feeling something was wrong. Why didn’t you tell me?”
The sisters shared a glance. “Matt and I had agreed not to tell anyone until I was past the three-month point. I couldn’t tell you.”
“Well, Mom figured it out.” Shelby rushed on before her sister could reply. “She didn’t say anything to anyone but me, so no one but those of us here know.”
Megs leaned in close to Kelly. “That’s one of the rules this weekend. Whatever is shared between us stays here. Consequences of sharing our secrets is pretty stiff, too.”
Kelly nodded and glanced around at the other women. “I want to thank you for including me this weekend. Megs has told me about her wild weekends before, but I’m glad to be a part of it this year.”
“Me, too.” Presley, a tall redhead, lifted her mug. “Thank you for the invite.”
Suzy put her arm around her friend and squeezed. “I had to include both you and Page this year. You’re my besties.”
“How’s Will surviving with little Ben on his own?” Page asked.
Suzy shrugged. “His mom’s staying with him over the weekend, so he’s not exactly alone. And as they say, not my circus, not my monkeys.”
“Plus he’s watching my twins, don’t forget,” said Tori. “So he’s going to have his hands full. But my brother was a marine. He’ll be fine.” Tori saluted her sister-in-law with her mug. “I need more wine. There seems to be a hole in this cup. It’s empty already.”
She rose from her seated position on the floor and went to the stove and held up the ladle. “Anyone else?”
Kelly joined her and got her mug refilled. Megs stared down into hers. This weekend seemed to be starting on a negative note. She got to her feet and joined them at the stove for a refill. More wine would be good.
Shelby cleared her throat. “Okay, I have some good news. I’ll be finishing my associate’s degree in business management this May.” She gave a short laugh. “A two-year degree that’s only taken me four to finish.”
“That’s great news!” Tori took her seat on the floor again. “Does that mean your boss, Walt, will give you a raise now? You’ve been managing his cottage and rental property business for a while.”
“Which is why getting my degree has taken four years.” Shelby shrugged. “We haven’t talked about it, but when he comes back this spring from Florida I’ll really need to nail him down about my future there.”
“Walt’s getting up in years. You might want to talk to him about taking over the cottages when he retires.” Penny shrugged when her sister stared at her. “What? You’ve talked about that before. I’m only saying it out loud.”
“He has a grandson with a fancy degree to inherit them.”
“A grandson who hasn’t been back to Michigan in how many years? While you’ve been putting in your own blood and sweat into this place. More than any of the Austins, so why not ask for what’s due to you?” Penny sipped her wine.
“It’s an idea.” Shelby took a napkin from the stack on the coffee table and filled it with several rounds of cheese and crackers. “Who else has news?” She turned to Megs. “What are you going to do about the bakery?”
The one topic she’d been hoping to avoid. Megs sipped her wine rather than answering. Kelly leaned in as if to share gossip. “She went to the bank this past week and talked to Adam about getting a business loan to rebuild.”
“That man is seriously hot.” Page fanned herself. “And I heard he’s single.”
“He can stay that way for all I care.” Megs rose to her feet and walked into the kitchen to grab the box of mini éclairs and cream puffs. She pulled out a plastic plate and put the empty box to the side before taking the pastries into the living room. “We all remember what he was like in high school.”
Presley raised her hand. “Not all of us grew up here, so no, I don’t.” She glanced at Page. “And you were in the next town over.”
Page shrugged and picked a cream puff. “I still heard stories about him, though.” She glanced at Megs. “A real heartbreaker with the ladies.”
Megs bristled. “And a big bully to boot. He took delight in hurting those weaker than him.” She loaded her napkin with mini éclairs. “I’d rather not talk about him if that’s okay.”
“I sense a story there.” Presley looked to Kelly who shook her head. “But you don’t have to talk about him if you don’t want to.”
“I have some good news.” Kelly glanced at all of them then smiled widely. “Sam called me to say that a couple of the songs we wrote together sold and will be on Tyler Wilson’s next album.” Everyone hooted and cheered.
Her sister, the songwriter. Megs grinned. Who would have thought? Kelly the singer, sure. But she hadn’t known her sister had the writing talent until she’d sung a song she’d cowritten with Sam last November. “And that’s only the beginning for you both.”
“Any wedding bells ringing for you two yet?”
Kelly blushed but shrugged at Penny. “Who knows? We have to sort out what’s going to happen to Grammy’s house. Do we sell it or not? Brandy said we have time before the real estate season really starts, but we need to make some decisions. And soon.”
“Where is Brandy, by the way?” Suzy glanced at Lizzie. “I thought you invited her.”
“I did, but she called this morning and said she wasn’t feeling well.”
Suzy nodded. “The flu is getting around. Half of my patients have it and pass on their germs to the other half. It’s a never-ending cycle.”
Tori stood and lifted her mug. “Ladies, here’s to good health and hanging on to it.”
They all clinked their mugs and settled in to devouring the pastries and finishing off the mulled wine.
* * *
THE MORNING LIGHT peeked in through the slats of the vertical blinds that covered the large picture window in the living room. Megs took her top pillow and placed it over her face. Way too early to be thinking about getting up after a night of drinking many mugs of mulled wine. She rolled over to find Shelby percolating coffee using an ancient kettle on top of the wood-burning stove. Another tradition.
Megs sat up and gave a long yawn while stretching her arms up and out. Might as well get the doughnuts and strudel ready for the morning meal. She stacked her pillows next to Shelby’s in the corner and folded her blankets beside them. “How long have you been up?”
Shelby shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep. I’ve been stuck on what Penny said about asking Walt to run the cottage business.” She glanced at Megs. “Think I could do it?”
“You’ve been working there since you were fifteen. If anyone knows that business, it’s you.” She walked into the kitchen and rinsed off a tray before placing a paper towel over it. She started to stack doughnuts on it. “It’s like the Sweetheart. It’s all I know.”
“So what are you going to do about the bakery?”
“Kelly was right. I’m applying for a loan, but Adam asked for a written business plan and I don’t know the first thing about that.”
“Hey, I could help you with that. No problem.” Shelby reached over and snagged a honey cruller. “That’s part of what I learned for my degree. Do you have time next week?”
“Time is all I have at the moment. Thanks.” Megs claimed one of the stools at the kitchen island and helped herself to a sour-cream doughnut. “Then maybe Adam will get off my back with this loan app.”
“You doing okay working with Adam?”
Megs