Page 16 of Rescuing Carolyn

“Yes.” I didn’t want to think about that.

“Where were you at the time?” Zach asked Mr. Castle, drawing the focus away from me.

“Right here. It was nearly closing time. As soon as we heard, we went into lockdown mode,” he explained, shifting his attention to Zach. Part of being in retail was assessing your clients. I could see that he wasn’t sure what to make of Zach.

“A wise choice,” Zach said neutrally.

“Yes. Despite what happened,” he turned to me, “I want to reiterate my offer to purchase All That Sparkles. I know the store’s reputation may have taken a hit with the robbery and some bad reviews, but the offer I made your mother a few weeks ago still stands.”

“We’re not selling, Mr. Castle.” I took a deep breath, bracing myself for what I was about to say. “As a matter of fact, I came to discuss those negative reviews and some other difficulties All That Sparkles has experienced in the past month. I want to know if you’re behind them.”

“What?” The other jeweler’s mouth hung open. Either his surprise was genuine or he was the best actor I’d ever met. But that didn’t necessarily mean he was innocent. Maybe he was just surprised that he’d gotten caught. I wasn’t ready to back down yet.

“You heard me. Are you trying to sabotage my store so you can lower your offer while forcing us into selling?” I’d phrased it as bluntly as I could, trying to shock him to see what he would reveal.

Zach was perfectly still next to me, but he missed nothing. I was sure of that.

Mr. Castle’s face turned red before going pale. Mission accomplished. I’d distressed him, knocked him temporarily speechless.

He sputtered before finding his voice. “Carolyn, I…I hope you know that I would never stoop so low. It’s true I want to buy you and your mother out so I control the jewelry market in Springwell, but…but you must have a very low opinion of me to think I’d resort to unethical activity to do so. I’ve known you since you were a little girl. We’ve got photos in our album of your piano recital when you were nine years old. Do you really think I could ever do something to hurt you?”

I fought not to visibly wince. “I wouldn’t have thought so,” I said, as coolly as I could manage. “But there have been too many troubling incidents lately. It seems clear to me that someone’s working hard to hurt my business—and the only person I could think of who would benefit from that would be you.” I wasn’t letting him off the hook too easily, even if my evidence against him was nil—except that he stood to gain from my troubles. Even so, I questioned whether the man before me was capable of orchestrating a robbery and hostage situation.

“I can see how you think they could, but I’m a businessman.” He spoke slowly, getting himself under control. “And I may get aggressive in my tactics, but I would never willfully harm anyone.”

“You can see how it might look,” Zach said.

“I can, but I assure you I have nothing to do with your misfortunes.”

“Have you had any peculiar incidents in recent weeks?” I asked, before describing the problems we’d had with dishonest reviews and canceled orders.

“Nothing at all like that,” Mr. Castle confirmed. “It’s been business as usual.”

“We’ll go, then.” I stood to end the conversation, but Mr. Castle jumped to his feet.

“Perhaps you could stay a little longer. Your mother has refused to listen to my latest offers, but I thought you might be interested.”

“Why would I be?”

“You have a son to raise. You’re getting married. You must want stability in your life. I can give you that. I’m prepared to buy the name, building, and any merchandise you have on hand. It would be a tidy sum, all cash. Think of it. You could probably not work for several years, stay home with your child, have more if you want.” He looked between me and Zach. “You’re young, Carolyn. You could take your life in a completely different direction and not live out your mother’s.”

He had no idea, I thought—no idea at all what All That Sparkles meant to me. It was more than a livelihood, more than a store. It was what my mother had worked to build, and I was convinced it was my future as well.

“We’re not interested,” I said, “and I speak for my mother and sister as well when I say that.” I walked from the office. Zach’s hand touched the small of my back, giving me wordless support. He’d said little to Mr. Castle, but his reassuring presence was enough.

Out on the sidewalk, he guided me to the car. “I don’t think we learned anything new,” I said as I buckled my seat belt.

“No, but I think we eliminated Castle Jewels from our list of suspects. I think he’s what he appears to be: an opportunist. He sees that you might be struggling, and he’s willing to take advantage—but I don’t think he’s the type to cause problems.”

“I think you’re right. No help from that quarter, but no harm either,” I concluded. “What’s next?”

“Let’s pick up Austin,” Zach said, “and wait for your IT company to get back to you. Their findings might give us a lead to pursue.”

I didn’t need to direct him as we drove to my mother’s house to get Austin. It was the house I had grown up in, so Zach knew it well.

“I can just run in and get him,” I offered when we pulled into the driveway.

“I’d like to see your mother,” Zach said, which was exactly what I feared. My mother had been pestering me for details ever since I admitted Zach and I were spending time together, trying to see what sort of relationship we wanted to have moving forward—as co-parents or as something more. She made no secret of the fact that she hoped I would give Zach another chance.

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