Watermelon Wishes

Chapter 12

She was able to calm herself enough to politely tell Perry and Denise that under no uncertain terms, did she leave everything behind in L.A. with the intentions of "taking Brady's home away from him" as Perry had put it. She also reminded them that the property was publicly listed to be auctioned off privately and she was planning on placing a bid, legally and rightfully. She wanted them to see that she was doing nothing wrong but she had a feeling that their minds were made up: Evey was the troublemaker, Watermelon Cove's hero's biggest nemesis. Even though their actions were non-threatening, she no longer felt welcome in the store. Perry and Denise's tones had dipped low and when they replied to her, it was in clipped, short sentences.

Finally, Evey thanked them for their time and turned to leave, planning to settle on take-out and a night in front of her laptop, watching movies in bed.

Perry's voice caught her before she could escape however.

"You won't win," he said and when a shocked Evey turned to face him, she noted that all of the jolly playfulness had drained from his ruddy face, replaced with a serious smirk that made the knot in Evey's stomach twist and grow larger.

"Excuse me?" Evey asked, still stunned at the gall of the older couple who had treated her so kindly just minutes earlier.

"Becca's talked to most of us fellow business owners about the situation already," Denise piped up. "More than half of us grew up here. Cora was an angel. We've known Brady since he was born."

Evey cocked her head and waited for the other shoe to drop, wondering where she was going with this.

"The local business owners have decided to band together to create a fund to make sure that Brady wins the auction," Perry said in a steely voice. "No offense to you, miss, I'm sure you're otherwise a very nice gal. But please understand, you won't win. Not in this town. We look after one another here."

"I'm sure you'll find the perfect place that's just right for you," Denise said with a light smile. A smile that told her that she felt sorry for Evey.

Inside, she was huffing and puffing. How dare they! What right did they have... to talk to her as if she was purposely causing trouble?

However, she calmed her churning insides and faced the couple with a confident face, her head held high.

"Thanks but I've already found the perfect place that's just right for me," she said then turned and limped out with as much dignity as she could muster.

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Evey trudged in the hotel holding the paper bag that contained the Greek salad and pita that she was able to order from a small café near The Daily Rind called "Riley Creek's Greek Café." Luckily, the owners of the Greek café did not treat Evey as if she were sort of disease. On the other hand, she thought miserably, I didn't get the opportunity to introduce myself. This wasn't part of her big dream... to be outcasted, blacklisted and treated like a pariah. She felt emotionally knocked down but not out. Part of her felt guilty and sad for causing so much trouble that practically a whole town had to rally against her. But the part of her knew that she had every right to fight for her dream and follow it to the very end battled against that guilty feeling. This was just small town politics and bullying tactics that she was facing... wasn't it?

She was in no mood to run into Becca so she quickly hot stepped it to the staircase, thanking her lucky stars that her ankle was feeling much better.

"Evey!"

Evey instantly recognized the voice as Maggie and breathed a sigh of relief. After tonight's confrontation by the watermelon patch, Evey had thought maybe it was time to look for hotels outside of Watermelon Cove. How ironic that she was staying in the place run by the woman who hated her. At least, Maggie made it somewhat better but after the way Perry and Denise, who had seemed as sweet as could be, turned on her, she was afraid that Maggie might follow suit.