The Sweetheart Deal. Syndi Powell
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want to do something you can go talk to the kids in high school like me who have bullies like you. Better yet, you can tell the entire high school how bullying turned you into a big shot while your victims suffered humiliation beyond high school, and worse, died.”
Adam paled and dropped his hand. He was right.
Bobby waved him off. “You’re all talk, but when it comes to action, you’ve got nothing. I don’t accept your apology. Now you can live with that.”
And he spun on his heel and left Adam among the crowd, who eyed him warily. He’d done what he came to do, so Adam took his leave and tromped through the snow heading to the bank. So much rebuilding was left to do in this town.
And the easiest part would be the buildings. The attitudes and memories would take much longer.
* * *
THE PARAMEDIC REMOVED the blood pressure cuff and nodded at Megs. “Your pressure is a little elevated, but that’s understandable. There’s no need to insist you go to the hospital, but I recommend taking it easy the rest of the day.”
Megs agreed. “Not as if I can go back to work.”
Her sister, Kelly, handed her a jacket she’d brought with her since Megs’s was buried under rubble. “We should go home. There’s nothing more we can do here.”
Megs slowly walked away from the ambulance toward the crowd gathered to watch the crew pull down part of the standing back wall. She blinked away the tears that froze in the frigid wind. “You go ahead. I’m staying.”
Her sister’s boyfriend, Sam, put a hand on her shoulder. “It won’t help, Megs. Let the workers do what they have to, and I’ll go in with you tomorrow when they give us the all-clear.”
How could you go in something that no longer had a roof and four walls? Her heart was heavy. She teared up again.
Kelly and Sam watched her intently until finally she couldn’t stand it any longer. “Listen, I’m cold and I’m hungry. We could go get something to eat, but then I’m coming straight back. I can’t go home. Not yet.”
Kelly offered her a hopeful smile. “Fine. But if you’re staying, I am, too.” To Sam, she said, “I’m not going anywhere without her.”
He put his arms around her sister and kissed the top of her hat. “I know you won’t. We’ll all stay.”
He steered both sisters down the street toward Rick’s diner. They had to wait several minutes for a table to open up since it seemed everyone had the same idea: get warmth and food before heading back to the disaster on Lincoln. When they managed to claim a window booth that overlooked Main, Megs stared at the menu but didn’t really see the words. Not that she needed to see what was there to know what was listed. She’d spent many mealtimes in the diner since her mother had left them after her father died thirteen years ago. She shook away the emptiness that settled over her at the thought of Grammy. Oh, Grammy, you’d hate to see the Sweetheart today.
At least what was left of it.
She looked up to find Kelly peering at her over the top of her menu. Her sister lowered it and reached across the table to grab her hand. “Grammy would be feeling exactly what you are right now. I know it.”
Megs doubted it. Because she felt as if she was mourning Grammy all over again. First to lose her beloved grandmother and mentor, and now her business, too? If Grammy was here...
But she wasn’t.
Kelly’s blue eyes filled with tears. “If something had happened to you...” She took a big gulp and wiped at the corner of her eyes.
Megs squeezed her hand. “I know. But I’m fine.”
The waitress arrived to take their orders. Megs ordered some soup and coffee, the hotter the better to get her warmed up before returning to the frigid climes. Shirley grimaced when she asked for the bread basket. “Well, we didn’t get our bakery order this morning, so we have bread that Rick bought from the grocery store. The rolls aren’t the same as yours, but...”
Right. Because Megs hadn’t been able to bake and deliver their daily order without the bakery. The loss of the Sweetheart extended beyond her. Something to remember as she made plans to rebuild. Because she had to rebuild, right? People and businesses depended on her. “I’ll still take the bread basket, Shirley. Thanks.”
The waitress nodded and left their table to put in their orders. Sam sighed. “I’m going to miss your crullers the most, I think.”
“I can still make some for you at home.” Because that would be the only place she could use ovens until the bakery would reopen. “It will keep me busy at least while I wait.”
Sam held up his coffee cup. “We could look at this as something terrible. Or we could see this as a chance for you to fashion the Sweetheart in your own image. I can build it better than it was before.”
“What about Grammy’s house?” His offer was generous to say the least, but Sam and Kelly had been remodeling Grammy’s turn-of-the-century farmhouse for months. While the first floor was completed, they were in the middle of expanding the bathroom on the second floor. Megs shook her head. “You’re already booked.”
“The house is almost finished.” Sam glanced at Kelly, who nodded her assent. “The bakery is my first priority now.”
“We live in the house, and it would be nice to have a working bathroom.” She found that she could smile at that. “Besides, it will be days or weeks before the insurance on the bakery will kick in. I can’t rebuild without money.” She fingered the business card that she’d stashed in her jeans pocket. Adam was the last person she’d go to for a loan. She didn’t care how desperate she got, she would never go to him and beg for money.
IT TOOK TWO days to get clearance to enter what was left of the Sweetheart. Even then, Megs had to be accompanied by Will Stone, the town’s code inspector. And she had to wear a hard hat. She adjusted the heavy thing on her head and stepped over the threshold of her bakery. She stood in what once had been the retail area where her customers bought and ate their pastries. Snow now covered the broken glass of her display cases, the tabletops and chairs. The cash register was buried under more snow and broken timber. She walked through the swinging doors to the kitchen.
The damage here seemed minimal compared to the disaster in the front. Megs walked to the marble top of the work island that had saved her life and ran a hand along it. She glanced behind her to Will. “The insurance adjuster said he’d arrive at ten. I’m sure he’ll be here any minute.”
Will nodded and glanced around. “I’m really sorry about what happened, Megs.”
“Not your fault.” She turned back and wandered to the shelves that still stood connected to the partial back wall. She pulled down a worn but now wet recipe book. She clutched it to her chest. “I’m glad Grammy’s not here to see this. It would kill her for sure.”
Will cleared his throat, probably not sure what to say to her gallows humor. She shrugged and walked back to the dining area. Being in the kitchen made her wish for something she could never get back.
A tiny man wearing a heavy parka ran into the bakery and glanced around. “Horrible. Simply horrible.”
Megs nodded. “Mr. Simon?”
The insurance adjuster brought out his cell phone and started to take pictures. “The devastation.”
She glanced around. Yep, that was what it felt like. “But you’ll be able to help me rebuild?”
He didn’t answer but continued to take pictures. She followed him around the front room, then through to the kitchen. Will handed him a hard hat, which the man put over his earmuffs. He snapped at least fifty pictures before he glanced at her. “Rebuild? Maybe. Mrs. Sweet’s