Perking Up -Moss Bluff Series Book Three

Chapter 1

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Chapter 1

Brynn

Getting up this morning, I want an easy day. I'm tired and not sleeping well. I haven't slept well for six months. The nightmares haunt me constantly. Images of her hurting the ones I love. The warnings she's sent me that I haven't told a soul about. And the feeling of being watched constantly.

I'm the weak link according to Lindsey. Leo and Quinn stuck together when Hope was in danger. Beckett and Aubrey overcame every hurdle Lindsey put in their path. But she broke me, she got her hooks into Ethan and I was alone. I've been alone since that day.

I thought we had gotten past Lindsey. I thought she had moved on but I was wrong. Ethan and I have remained distant since she maneuvered her way into his bed years ago. I thought by keeping away from him her torture would end. She's only gotten worse.

Beckett and Aubrey became her target and then Quinn and Leo. But they remained solid and Lindsey failed to break them. If anything they became stronger from her torment. It's like she doesn't want anyone to be happy. She wants to be the center of attention for every man in the area. And she'll stop at nothing to get it.

That scares me.

She likes to play with her prey. She enjoys it. And she hasn't stopped. She hasn't disappeared. She's just waiting for the opportunity to strike again. I know this because she's coming for me.

Lindsey sees me as the only one who is afraid of her. I've seen what she's capable of. I've witnessed it firsthand. I would be crazy not to be scared. She's put each of us in danger at some point in the last year. And has proven she is crazy.

Pushing the covers off, I throw my legs over the side of the bed and feel every muscle ache. I'm so out of shape. I've been spending every waking moment working at the coffee shop and at the new dinner house. I've avoided being alone and I do everything possible to stay away. I don't want the images in my head again.

I want to go back to normal.

I want my dinner house to be perfect. I love Perking Up. My coffee and sweets are a joy and my baby. But the dinner house is a dream come true. Georgia has such a generous heart, I can't imagine how I would have been able to do this without her. Paige feels the same way.

Georgia has made a lot of changes around here. From the Inn and the business she's generated from there to the hope that has infected Moss Bluff. It's contagious the way it's has moved from one business to another. Everyone is backing her as mayor and Markham doesn't like it.

He's lost his foothold on the business owners. He lost the faith of the people who have witnessed the way Georgia has helped the town prosper. Markham wants to be the big dog but he has met his match in Georgia. Even if she doesn't stay, she has changed things for the better. I don't think Moss Bluff will ever be the same.

Getting up, I go to the window and look across the street at my dream. It's too soon for the sun to come up, my three am wake up is the middle of the night for most. Not me. Not when you own a bakery and customers expect hot fresh pastries and breads daily.

No one is out and moving yet. It's hard to move before the sun. Through the dim light at the park I can see the outline of the building between Aubrey's clinic and the Inn. The big tarp covers the entryway keeping the lookie loos from getting a peek too soon.

Smiling, knowing what is under the tarp, I enjoy my little secret for now. Once that tarp comes down, I hope everyone will be as excited as I am about it. Knowing it's time to get going, I start to turn away when I see the tarp move.