Page 21 of My Scorned Best Friend

She steps up to me and signals for me to bend down. Once I’m in range of her hands, she presses them to my cheeks. “Everyone misses you here, but one person has been lost for some time without you. I think this trip, you need to make amends. Now, I have to go. Can you believe your brother arrested Midge?”

I don’t even bother to ask why. We all know she’s a klepto.

“And yet you’re enjoying a cup of coffee before springing her?”

“What kind of person steals when the sheriff is in the store? They had to pretend to book her. Make it believable, you know?” She winks.

“I don’t know, Fish is a by-the-book kind of guy.”

“Her grandson did his engagement pictures. You’re so quick to forget how things work around here.” She pats my cheek and pulls me down farther to kiss it. “Love you.”

“What did she steal?” I ask once I’m upright again.

She shakes her head. “A Kama Sutra book from Presley’s store. She’s getting more aggressive in her old age.”

I chuckle. “Well, go get her out of jail.”

We say our goodbyes, and I go into the store to pick up Clara’s drink from the counter and leave a tip for Zoe before sneaking out the back door. A few minutes later, I’m staring at the library and working up the nerve to enter.

“Here goes nothing.”

* * *

“I’m really busy. I can’t talk right now.”

Those were Clara’s words yesterday. She said she’d call me, but she didn’t. She’s been stubborn her whole life, but I never knew she could be this stubborn. I left the library, not wanting to push it and make a scene at her workplace, but I grabbed a flyer for the auction.

Now I’m seated in a plastic chair, having to put on a fake smile in front of all the townspeople.

“Is there a bachelor auction or something I don’t know about tonight?” Mandi, my stepsister, sits down next to me.

“Funny.” I roll my eyes.

“I’m serious. They’d get good coin for you. Maybe then Clara will forgive you for whatever you’ve done.”

From my knowledge, the only ones who know what went down with us are Presley and Cade.

“How do you know it was me?”

She tilts her head and gives me that coy smirk that says she’s not stupid.

“Whatever.”

“Then why are you here?” Mandi asks, fiddling with her phone.

“To try to get a few minutes alone with Clara.”

“Ha. Good luck with that. That girl has skipped all our girls’ nights out lately because of work and all this fundraising she’s trying to put together for the library.”

I look around the room and it’s mostly townspeople here. Who is gonna buy something at an auction when they could just give the money to Clara? “What did you donate?”

“A weekend stay at the inn.” Mandi shrugs. “Not sure who’d buy it though.”

“Maybe someone will buy it for a family member.”

“Maybe.”

The clearing of a throat through a microphone grabs our attention. Clara stands at the front of the room. “Hi, for those of you who don’t know me, I’m Clara Harrison, the librarian for our library here in Sunrise Bay.”

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