They walked to the store in the pouring rain after breakfast. Rory held a large umbrella so she wouldn’t get wet, even though he also had to hold his laptop case tight against him to keep it dry. One more great thing about the man. The last few men she’d dated hadn’t so much as opened a door, let alone carried an umbrella more than a dozen blocks for her.

As they walked, he couldn’t stop talking about how wonderful her blueberry rolls had been.

“I’m serious, you could sell those in stores and make millions.” He chuckled as he opened the store doors for her.

She walked past him and was too busy laughing to notice Joe until she bumped solidly into him.

His arms came up and took her shoulders, locking her close to his body.

“There you are.” Joe smiled down at her. “I was just talking about you to my new friends.” He moved and took her with him, turning their backs to Rory. She glanced back over her shoulder and watched as he stepped into the store behind them and set the umbrella down after shaking it off.

Crystal tried to break free, but Joe was moving towards the back of the store, holding her tight against his body.

“Joe… I…”

“This won’t take more than a minute,” he said, smiling down at her.

She wanted to break free and give Joe a piece of her mind, but she noticed three people standing near the back of the store watching them, and held off.

“See, here she is.” Joe beamed. “Crystal, this is the group of ladies I was telling you about a few months ago. The ones that want to talk to you about an investment into their business idea.”

Crystal looked at the three women and tried to be friendly, but Joe had never talked to her about an investment idea.

“Hello.” She smiled at the women. Most of them looked like they were fresh out of high school.

“What’s all this?” Rory said, coming up behind them. His eyes ran over Joe, his gaze stopping on Joe’s hands, which were still gripping her shoulders.

Joe dropped his hands immediately and took a small step backwards.

“I think we can handle this, it’s business,” Joe said, turning his back on Rory again.

“Currently, any new business Crystal gets into is my business.” Rory nodded to the women. “Maybe you can fill us in on what your proposal is?” He motioned towards the back office. “Crystal?” He let her lead the way.

Everyone stepped into Crystal’s office, and Joe began to speak. One look from Rory and he stopped.

Crystal moved behind her desk as Rory offered the women the other chairs in the office. “Please.” He motioned for them to begin.

“We’ve been coming to Joe’s class for a few months now,” the youngest of the three women began, her eyes darting back and forth between Joe and the other two ladies. “And we were chatting with him about starting our own salon.”

“You know, one of those full-service kinds. Tanning, hair, nails, you name it,” the blondest of the three girls chimed in. “Joe mentioned you were looking to rent out the side area of your store, and he agreed to let us use it for our business.”

“I’m Karry,” the dark-haired girl said. “This is Sophia.” She motioned to the blonde. “And this is Nichole.” She waved her hand towards the silent auburn-haired woman. “We’re attending classes at the Southport Beauty School. We’re graduating next month and—”

Crystal held up her hand to stop the girl. “I’m sorry, I’ll stop you there. Joe should have never agreed to anything in my place. I’ve decided to use that space for something else.” Her eyes moved to Joe and narrowed. “I wish Joe would have talked to me first. I hate to waste your time.” Crystal stood.

“The space is empty,” Joe chimed in, sounding much like a spoiled child who hadn’t gotten the toy he wanted. “Last time we talked, you were thinking of using it as a storage space.”

“Things have changed since then.” She turned to the trio and ignored Joe. “I’ll be opening an art gallery in the space,” she explained as she moved towards the door.

Nichole finally spoke up for the first time as she stood up. She turned towards Joe, then back towards her, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Joe said that you’d already agreed to us using the space.”

Every eye moved over to the man, who was leaning against the wall like he owned the place.

Crystal held in her temper until after she’d ushered the three ladies out of her office, explaining to them once more that Joe only worked there and had no deciding power. She walked the women to the front of the store and once again apologized. They left without a word, except Nichole, who turned to her, anger and something else hidden behind green eyes.

“I know you used to sleep with Joe,” she said, her chin going up slightly. “We’re together now. I had hoped you could overlook that and allow us to continue with the business plans that he’d arranged with you.”

She took a deep breath, her anger focused at the man and not the woman who’d been duped by him.

“I’m sorry. I never agreed to anything.” She motioned to the door, wishing she could warn the woman away from Joe. She knew that the girl was too young and naive to listen to her anyway.

“You’ll regret this,” Nichole said as she marched away from the store.

When the door was firmly shut, she turned and marched back into her office. Joe was still standing in the same place. Rory hadn’t moved a muscle either, so she turned on Joe.

“How dare you spring this on me like that.” She turned and faced Joe, her hands on her hips. “You know very well that I haven’t talked to you once about my plans for that back room. What makes you think you have any sort of authority around here?”

Joe stood up fully, and she raised her chin slightly to meet his eyes. “We dated for over a year. The everyday running of the store fell on me as much as you. That room has sat empty for years.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“That doesn’t give you a right to rent it out.” She paused and narrowed her eyes. “Did you already take money from them?” She saw the truth in his eyes before he replied. “You’ll return every cent.”

“They signed a lease.”

“With whom? I own this building.” She took a step back. “Did you really think…”

She dropped off when strong hands rested on her shoulders. “Easy,” Rory said softly.

She stepped back and took several deep breaths. It didn’t help, so she closed her eyes and took several more.

Rory looked at Joe. “Any leases you’ve signed in regard to this property are void. I think it’s clear at this point we’d like you to leave the property. You can gather your things and—”

“You can’t fire me,” Joe jumped in.

“No, he can’t. But I can.” Crystal crossed her arms over her chest. It had been long overdue. Ever since she’d broken things off with Joe, he’d gotten bolder and had crossed too many lines. “You have until the end of the week to let everyone in your class know. I expect you to give those ladies a full refund by then.”

Joe made a move closer to her, but after another look from Rory, he narrowed his eyes and left without another word.

“You okay?” Rory asked behind her.

“I need a walk.” She turned towards him. “If you need me…”

He nodded. “Go, I’ll get to work.” He walked over and wrapped his arms around her. “By the way, you handled that amazingly.”

“Thanks.” She sighed. “I’d been putting that off for far too long.”

“Go, clear your head.” He let her go. “I’ll clear mine by digging into these numbers.”

She stepped outside and took off at a quick pace through town. She smiled and waved at people she passed but didn’t stop for a chat like she normally did.

The entire town was ready for the holidays. Homes and businesses alike were decked out in lights and decorations. There was even Christmas music playing in the downtown pavilion.

She made it all the way to the docks and decided to jump the ferry and make her way to the resort to have lunch with Serenity, Ben, and Aurora. She needed her grandbaby to help soothe her anger.

It wasn’t just that Joe had overstepped his position this time, but that he’d been doing so for months. He’d ordered new mats for the yoga class and rearranged class schedules, not to mention the personal boundaries he had crossed for the past few months.

She pulled out her phone and texted Rory that she’d be gone for a while. He quickly replied.

-Everything okay?

-Yes, going to see my daughter for lunch. I need some Aurora time

-Tell them hi

-Will do

-Tell Ben I’ll call him later tonight

-Ok

She had about five minutes before the ferry reached her. She had Jerry’s number programmed into her phone, but it was Todd who picked her up.

“Morning.” Todd jumped off the last stair and opened the gate to let her onto the deck of the ferry.

“Morning.” She stepped onto the ferry. “Jerry still has you working?” Everyone in town called him JT now, but since Crystal had known the boy since he was knee high, she still thought of him as Jerry and always would.

“Yeah, he’s in California again with Emma. They’re pitching a sequel to those Hollywood guys.”

“A sequel to Crescent Creek?” she asked as she followed him up the stairs to the bridge area. She leaned against the railing and enjoyed the cold wind hitting her face when the ferry started moving.

“Sounds like it. They want to start filming more of his books after the success of JT’s first movie.” Todd glanced over at her. “It sure is something, having a star for a boss. Of course, none of it goes to his head.”

“No, he’s not the type.” Crystal smiled. “I like Emma. I knew from the first moment I met her that she was the one for Jerry.”

“She’s a great actress. She was amazing in Crescent Creek.” Todd chuckled. “’Course, now she’s famous for playing Hannah.”

“She did a great job. It really was a great transition from book to movie.”

“Yeah, some of those don’t always make it, but this one…”—Todd whistled— “hit it out of the ball park.”

Crystal glanced over at Jerry’s private island in the distance. She’d visited him several times over the years, mainly with Serenity, since they were good friends. Turning to the right, she smiled when the resort came into view.

“Is it a busy week?” she asked, nodding to East Haven.

“Somewhat. There was a wedding and a big party last weekend, but so far, this week has been pretty slow. A lot of people are canceling for this next weekend. I think it’s the threat of severe weather.”

“I thought we were just supposed to get some snow?” She pulled out her phone.

“They changed it early this morning. Big storms supposed to come in late tomorrow. JT and Emma are coming back early in the morning to avoid it.”

She thought about Rory and wondered if he’d head out early as well. He was supposed to spend a week at East Haven starting Friday, but with bad weather coming in…

“That’s the first time I’ve seen that look on your face,” Todd said.

“Hmm?” She glanced over at the man. He was around Jerry’s age. She was pretty sure they’d been in the same class, but couldn’t remember. Todd had been the captain of the football team. He’d been all-star in everything he’d gone out for. But after a knee injury, his dreams of going to State had evaporated, and he’d settled down with his high school sweetheart, Robin, who had at one point worked for Crystal.

“That look of worry.” He nodded to her. “I’ve known you all my life. The one thing that’s been consistent with you is your smile and your easygoing attitude. I’ve never seen you worry about anything, until now.”

She started her breathing exercises and relaxed. “I’m just thinking of all the things I have to do before the storm hits.”

He nodded and seemed to accept her excuse, but the fact was, she didn’t want her time with Rory to come to an end just yet.