Rumors in Bayberry
She breathed new life into her family’s newspaper. His goal is to buy the Bayberry Gazette while trying not to fall for the woman opposed to the sale.
Foreign correspondent Sadie Plummer left her hometown in her rearview mirror years ago. Now she’s back and filling in at the family newspaper. But when she finds writing the feel-good articles inspirational…when a stray cat crosses her path…and when the Pumpkin Festival needs volunteers, she finds herself putting down roots in Bayberry.
Reed Stanton is the owner of Rumor Quill Media. He’s interested in acquiring the Bayberry Gazette, but first he wants to do some in-person research. However, on his first day in town, he runs into a beautiful but stubborn woman who utterly distracts him.
Far-fetched rumors about Reed’s presence in town begin to circulate, making Sadie all the more curious about him. And when Reed learns the mystery woman’s identity, he knows he’s in trouble in more ways than one. But as their lives intertwine, their feelings grow, and business gets complicated.
HEAT LEVEL: 
Clean & Wholesome
Also in The Bayberry, Vermont series:
-
Christmas In Bayberry
Book 1 -
Valentines in Bayberry
Book 2
Read an Excerpt
Chapter One
Late September, Bayberry, VT
“I’m still the boss.”
The words cut through Sadie’s heart like a sharp blade. The fact they came from her father was the part that hurt the most.
She’d spent the past several months throwing herself into the job of making the newspaper vital again. In fact, she’d worked non-stop because there was that much to do. She’d worked to digitize the business from old issues to the current issues.
The employees had willingly helped her. In addition to the paper version, the newspaper was now online. It was kept behind a paywall. People that used to live in Bayberry were subscribing to have their weekly copy of the Bayberry Gazette emailed to them.
It was Friday afternoon as she stood in the office that she’d occupied for the past several months. Her father once more sat in the chair behind the impressive oak desk. When her father leaned back in the old chair, it creaked under his weight.
She couldn’t help but notice how he looked like he’d aged ten years in the past several months. His hair was now fully white, and there were lines marring his face that hadn’t been there a year ago.
Her father’s changes weren’t just physical. They were also emotional. Her father now had a short-temper, and it didn’t seem like she could do anything right. It was like the loving father she’d once known had been replaced, and this new version of him didn’t like her.
She swallowed hard and attempted to keep her tone neutral. “If you would just give the changes a chance, you might see how beneficial they can be. I can show you.”
He was shaking his head before she even finished her sentence. “That won’t be necessary. I’m discontinuing the paper’s online presence.”
“What?” She should have expected this, but the news still came as a shock. “That would be a big mistake.”
“I’m sorry. I know this isn’t what you want to hear.” There was a weary tone to his voice.
One thing that hadn’t changed about her father was that he was old-fashioned. He felt that the way things were done in the past was good enough. He didn’t want to hear how she’d installed new software and how the online version worked. It was good that some of the staff understood how these things worked.
Working on the Bayberry Gazette, she’d changed the format. Prior to her taking over, the front page of the paper was filled with stories of the political landscape in Washington DC and top stories from around the country. On page two were stories from around the world. Page three was about business and Wall Street. Page four was the classified ads. From what she could gather, these ads were the most read section of the paper next to the crossword puzzle. People would sell livestock, handmade fashions, and all sorts of things.
Now, local news was on the front page. National headlines were moved to page two. The rest of the news was truncated to allow for recipes, a large crossword puzzle, and a knitting or crocheting pattern.
The biggest thing she’d done was decrease the paper from seven days a week to three days a week. The problem with issuing it every day was that the paper became all about news beyond Bayberry’s area. She wanted to lower it to one day a week, but she didn’t want to give her father another heart attack.
So, her father did have reason to be upset with her. But if he would just stop to think about it as a businessman and not with the sentimentality of what his family had done in the past, he would realize the paper could have only last another year without change. Her changes had given the paper new life—a life that could stretch out for a few more years. There was the potential for it to last longer if the staff was cut down and they only published one issue a week.
Over the past week, she’d attempted to engage him in a talk about her changes. She didn’t want him caught off-guard when he returned to the office, but he hadn’t shown any interest.
Most of the time when she’d visited him at the house, he’d had the phone pressed to his ear. She had no idea who he’d been talking to. He never mentioned it. And she didn’t ask.
Even though her father was being stubborn, she still didn’t regret giving up a plum assignment with a reputable news agency to pitch in and keep the paper afloat while her father recuperated. She would do it again, but hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.
His head was lowered as he read some papers on his desk. It was as if she’d been dismissed. It seemed that he hadn’t changed all that much.
She struggled to keep her frustration under control. After all, her father was still recovering from complications following major heart surgery. “It’s after quitting time. I’m out of here.”
She turned on her heel before she said something she’d regret. Her hand was on the doorknob, and she’d just swung it open when he spoke.
“You should know that there are going to be some changes around here.”
Changes? She wondered what her father was referring to.
