“You’ll see a pine stump and a triangular rock on your right. The rattler’s chilling under the rock. He let us know that he wasn’t gonna share his space,” said a man with leaves in his beard.
They thanked him and kept walking. Nora went first, holding tight to her walking stick. Jed followed directly behind, keeping Henry Higgins close to the left side of his body. As they approached the pine stump, they heard the snake’s rattle and caught a glimpse of his coiled body.
The sight of the snake hiding in the shadows reminded Nora of her encounter with the four members of the Women of Lasting Values Society. They’d given her a warning rattle before leaving the bookstore, but she’d ignored it. Now they were striking out at her. Spreading their poison. But what was the antidote to a smear campaign? This was the question Nora was trying to answer as the forest fell away, revealing a wide, grassy meadow.
Taking off her baseball cap, Nora headed for the massive boulders where she and Jed would lay out their picnic lunch. No one else had claimed the spot, so their dining companions were the swallowtail butterflies in the ironweed and the hawks circling in the cloudless sky.
“That’s the first smile I’ve seen since we left your place,” Jed said, pouring water from a canteen into a bowl. “What are you thinking about?”
Nora watched Henry Higgins lap water from the bowl. “That I shouldn’t worry this much about a group of women targeting me when I’ve got my own group of women.”
The corner of Jed’s mouth twitched. “And your society is better than theirs?”
“In so many ways.”
While Jed stretched out on the picnic blanket, Nora gazed down at the valley below. From this height, she felt invincible. This close to the sky, that article on page four didn’t seem as powerful as it did in town. Up here, Nora was able to stop feeling hurt and angry long enough to remember who she was.
She was a bookseller. And being a bookseller meant that she was also a matchmaker, reference librarian, travel agent, therapist, friend, mentor, grief counselor, fellow reader, and more. The town needed her bookshop. It needed her. Nora had staked everything she’d owned on that belief six years ago, and she’d been right. She still believed in Miracle Springs.
She only hoped it still believed in her.
*
“Women of Lasting Values Society, my ass,” snarled June. “Look at those capital letters. Wolves in sheep’s clothing. Or, in this case, wolves who shop at Talbots.”
Estella sniggered, but June was just getting warmed up. “And what’s with the pack mentality? Four of them coming at you at once? In your own store? And Lord! I cannot get over Dominique. I’ve known that woman for years. We’ve been in knitting circles and Bible studies together, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat with her in church. She’s a good woman. I don’t know how she ended up with these other . . .” She raised her hands heavenward. “I am not going to say it.”
“Isn’t Connie the pastor’s wife?” asked Hester.
“Not the pastor from my church,” June huffed. “Connie’s married to Reverend Morris Knapp, the assistant pastor at that church that looks like a movie theater. All I know about the Knapps is that they moved here from Alabama back in June. Reverend Knapp is watching over the flock while Pastor Yates is on his mission trip. He’ll be away for a month.”
“Interesting timing. We never heard about these wolves before now,” Estella said. “I mean, no one tried to recruit me, and I’ve been such a good girl lately. I’m not a wife or mom, but everyone knows that Jack and I are an item.”
Nora put a hand on Estella’s shoulder. “No one’s ever going to ask the town bombshell to join the morality movement. But I’m glad they haven’t approached you. You just got your business back in the black, so you might want to keep your distance from me until this blows over.”
Estella stiffened. “The hell I will. You’re my friend!”
“I know that. But you or Hester don’t need to risk your livelihoods by getting into the ring with these women,” Nora said gently.
“Don’t even try your this-ain’t-your-fight bullshit on me,” June warned when Nora glanced her way. “I have a T. rex–sized bone to pick with these wolves. My socks are for sale at Red Bird Gifts, so it’s personal. And what about Marie? The woman is going to be a single mom in a few months, and the shop is her only means of support. No way am I going to keep quiet while people trash-talk another woman of color.”