Rum and Raindrops: A Blueberry Springs Chick Lit Contemporary Romance Read Online Free PDF

had a little chitchat with that jerk Radcliff,” Liz said sympathetically. “His butt must be jealous of the amount of crap that comes out his mouth.”
    Jen sprayed her sip of coffee across the alley between racks of clothes.
    “Like that one, eh?” Liz asked.
    Jen gave an approving snort, her eagerness to get away from Liz, and any upcoming digs for gossip, waning.
    “I was wondering if I could interview you for the paper?”
    “I’m not interested,” Jen said, stepping toward the staffroom.
    “I thought you might want to defend your actions.”
    “What actions?” Jen called as she continued to ease away.
    “Being the only one in the park,” Liz called after her.
    Geez. The Blueberry Springs gossip circuit was working overtime on this one. She could practically see her credibility being swept away as they day progressed.
    Wishing the staffroom had a door and wasn’t merely blocked off by a postcard rack, she spotted Wally’s open office door at the other end of the space. She tore across the tattered carpet in four big steps, past the two old chairs, TV table holding a coffeemaker, closing Wally’s door in her wake.
    “Might not be a bad idea to talk to her,” Wally said from his desk.
    Jen flung the brownies in the air and stifled a scream, sloshing coffee all over herself. “Holy hell, Wally. You nearly made me pee my pants!”
    Wally gave her a weak smile. “Lunch break. In my office. Where else did you expect me?”
    Okay, she had to give him that one.
    “Why don’t you give her something positive to put in that old rag?” Wally said. “You know, feed her the things you want spread around town. A little positive PR?”
    Jen picked up the bag of brownies, upset that Wally felt she needed to defend herself to the public. “She’ll just twist it. And there isn’t anything to say other than ‘Put out the damn fire, Scott. I need the forest for my excursions.’ Not exactly what she’s looking for.”
    “An interview allows for more than that. It’ll allow people to learn who you are. Your history. Where you come from.”
    “Nobody wants to know that sorry state of affairs.” Jen handed Wally a brownie and sat across from him, aware that unlike the staffroom, which had a window that looked into the store, they couldn’t see if anyone in the store needed help. She closed her eyes and savored another brownie, blocking out everything around her. Food was the cure. Although, if she kept eating as she had been she’d be wearing all those clothes she’d brought to Blueberry Springs. The ones that had become too big once she’d become active and toned up again, dropping the convenience store flab she’d accumulated working for Ken’s parents all those years ago.
    “People enjoy the story behind the story,” Wally said, brushing crumbs off his shirt.
    “There’s no story.” Jen grabbed coffee and stood. “I’ll be in my office doing inventory if you need me.”
    She headed to her office, disappointment weighing her down. Bad news kept dogging her, snatching bits off her when it got close enough. Would it kill Wally to chase Liz out of his store? Surely she wouldn’t take it personally if it came from Wally.
    Moe ambled into the store, calling out, “Have you seen my extra Brew Babies shirt? I’m late for work and can’t find a clean one.” He pulled a stained Brew Babies work shirt away from his chest to prove his point.
    Jen scanned the store, on the lookout for Liz. “You left it at my place after your shift the other night. I was trying to get out the red wine, remember?” She stepped into her office and exchanged her empty coffee for her apartment keys, chucking them to Moe.
    “Oh, yeah.” He shot her a grin as he caught the keys. “You still haven’t had extras made?”
    A few months back Wally had let her move into the apartment above the store that he’d been keeping open in case one of his five kids wanted to move back to Blueberry Springs. But with the last one