Jam, Jelly and Just Desserts by Carolyn L Dean

Author:Carolyn L Dean [Dean, Carolyn L]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Freeform Publishing
Published: 2018-06-18T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Everybody has their breaking point, and apparently, Amanda had just found hers.

It had started as a normal morning, but when she’d come downstairs to see how the breakfast service was going she could tell Jennifer was upset. Her sole employee was obviously trying to be cheerful and helpful for the guests, but there was an unusual undercurrent of tension that Amanda hadn’t seen before. As soon as the guests went out the door, bellies full and each clutching a bag with one of Jennifer’s gourmet picnic lunches inside, Jennifer fell against the back of the door with a relieved sigh and stared at Amanda.

“I have something to tell you, but you’re not going to like it.”

Amanda’s eyebrows went up. “How bad?”

“Bad.”

It didn’t take long for Jennifer to spill out the news she’d overheard while she was out shopping. Buster Radcliffe wasn’t wasting any time, and apparently he was asking a lot of pointed questions about how many guests Amanda normally had at the Inn. He’d wanted to know if she had any bad habits like gambling or taking drugs, and if anyone knew how her money situation was. As Jennifer spilled the news of what she’d heard in town, her face was nearly scarlet in embarrassment and Amanda’s was a bright red in matching fury.

“That jerk!” she raged. “Who does he think he is, investigating me? Investigating the Inn?” She stared at Jennifer in near-disbelief. “What a piece of work this guy is!” she said, and Jennifer instantly agreed.

“I’m so sorry, Amanda. I just thought you’d want to know about it right away. He’s been sucking up to every person in town he can talk to, trying to get information about you and about what the Inn’s actually worth.” Jennifer gulped, her eyes filled with sympathy. “I think you need a game plan.” She checked her watch and grimaced. “Amanda, I hate to do this, but I’m already late for a meeting. Is it okay if I go?” she asked, and Amanda absently nodded, her mind on what Jennifer had told her.

As the heavy front door of the Inn closed behind Jennifer, Amanda pressed her lips together in determination and rolled up the sleeves of her sweater. “Oh, I’ve got a game plan, all right,” she growled, grabbing her purse off the nearby bench. “And it starts off with me telling that jackass exactly what I think of him.”

Seven minutes later she was standing on Radcliffe’s porch, her clenched fist above her eye level, less than an inch from Buster Radcliffe's massive front door. It had taken her only a few minutes to drive from her house to his, and she'd been muttering under her breath the whole time, trying to practice what she should say to someone who was deliberately trying to ruin her life. Maybe some of the words were ones her mother would definitely have disapproved of, but they certainly reflected her anger at how far Radcliffe had gone.

The driveway had been empty when she arrived,

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