Page 19 of Sweet Dreams
“Say what’s on your mind, Elma.”
“You don’t belong here, Silas. How many times do I have to say it? And stop hanging around Teagan.”
I movecloser until I see every wrinkle on her forehead. “Didn’t know this was your town, Elma. I have something for you if you want some gossip to spread.” I watch her eyes sparkle, and if she were a dude, her dick would’ve grown. “There is no Teagan and I. I ditched her like a used condom. I dare you to spread that news.”
Elma pulls away, eyes wide and her nose crinkled with disgust. “How dare you speak like that—you filthy animal,” she stutters.
I shrug it off. She isn’t wrong. I am an animal, alright; it's just not the way she’s thinking. The further I push her away, the more she’ll leave me alone. Why in the world anyone would want to be up someone's ass about their business is beyond me.
I give Elma a two-finger salute and take off down the street. Elma doesn’t need to know the truth that Teagan and I are friends and may never be more. If you are only looking for rumours, I’ll give you one to spread true or not. It’s not my fault you believe everything you hear. I'll deal with the blonde bookkeeper's fury when she catches wind of this juicy rumour later on.
I’m not afraid of Teagan.
I’ll be the first to admit. Seeing Silas in the shop was a relief, especially after the great flood. Don’t get me wrong, having Jace here was nice, but there’s something about Silas that I can’t explain. He calms me when I need it the most. But I'm just not quite there yet regarding romantic relationships. I don't have a timeline for when that might change or even if it ever will—just taking things one day at a time.
I also can’t help but think about my masked stalker. Should I tell Silas about him? Or would he think I’m out of my mind? Who are we kidding? I am losing my mind. Why would Silas want to know about something that I might not even know is a problem,I haven’t seen my stalker in a few days, so maybe they gave up on me.
But my first issue at hand is getting this shop fixed. When I look around, it turns my stomach, and there’s no way in hell the crew can get this fixed on time. I need them to work fast before Nancy shows up, or else we are screwed.
“Teagan, can I have a word before you leave?” The head contractor, John walks over, holding his clipboard like he means business.
I groan when he stops in front of me. “John, it better be good news because I don’t think I can handle bad news.”
He rubs his greying mustache. “Yeah, you might want to call me the bad news train.”
“Fuck balls. Lay it on me.” I move closer when he lowers his clipboard.
“We’re gonna have to replace all the flooring; we can’t find the exact colour.”
“Okay, that’s not so bad.”
He chuckles. “The water damage reached further than we assumed. The only thing that saved you is that the walls and subfloor are concrete. We do have to tear down all the drywall on this wall.” He points to the wall to the right, the one I share with the boutique and the one closest to the outside door. “It has the most damage, and your shelvesneed to be replaced. So, if you wanted to change the shop's layout, this would be the perfect chance.”
“Would I need a new permit for that?”
“You would need one, yes.”
“And if we don’t get said permit?”
He grins and shakes his head. “Nancy will ruin everything.”
“I was afraid of that. Let’s move ahead anyway, and I’ll worry about Nancy. Because let’s be real, she probably won’t give us the permit to move a few walls even if I wanted to.”
“What would you change?”
“I wouldn’t mind removing the rental room and opening it up for more space. I know it would suck for the Mom and Tots, but I have to think long term and having screaming children in a bookshop isn’t where it’s at anymore.”
“Build your small café that you wanted the first time around.”
John was my original contractor, and he was here when Nancy turned into the devil when she tore through here the first time. And shut down the café idea. But now John is right. I could add a small one if I want to. But do I? That’s a lot of work, and then I’ll have to hire someone to run it and buy all the equipment, which is not in my budget anymore. But I want to build it in spite ofNancy.
“Don’t worry, Teagan. I’ll tear the walls down and continue with what we are doing. Head home for the day, and don’t worry about a thing.”
“Yeah, okay. Thanks, John.”
I step outside expecting to feel some sort of relief, but nothing comes; my body is maxed out on stress. I’m not sure what my next step is. Do what John says or have a bigger space. I could ask Mom for her opinion, but she’ll say don’t aggravate Nancy. Dad will ask what does my finances look like. Because he’s a responsible adult. And then Jace will say fuck that bitch.
I stop outside the café and pull my phone out. I only have one option left.