Page 9 of A Bright Winter Season

Julia shook her head. “The reality is, there’s nothing we can do about it now. Judd said this, and his words got published in this article, but if anyone makes the connection and realizes he was talking about The Lighthouse Grill, very few people are going to give his words any credit. We are a very professionally-run establishment, thank you very much, and the people of Rosewood Beach know that.”

“Absolutely.” Dean nodded. “Our food is amazing, and we have some of the best wait staff in the state.” He gestured dramatically to Alexis, who bowed.

“The service really is excellent.” Grayson nodded. “Everyone’s friendly and focused. In the city, you go into big name restaurants and some of the people who work there could clearly care less about whether or not you have a good experience there. They’re checked out, just shuffling along until they get their next paycheck. Everyone who works at The Lighthouse Grill isn’t like that. They all seem to genuinely care about the customers, and want them to have a good experience. I don’t think it gets more professional than that.”

“Hear, hear!” Hazel smiled. “And our food is amazing. Like Dean said, we have some of the best pies in the state.”

“But should we raise the prices on them?” Vivian asked, feeling troubled. “Do people really associate low prices with low quality?”

“Well, sometimes, but I didn’t mean that people actually think our pies are low quality.” Dean gave his mother a reassuring sideways hug. “Everyone in town knows how great they are, and passing tourists find out how great they are whenever they buy them. I was just thinking that raising the prices might be a good way to bring in more income for the pub.”

“More income would be good,” Julia admitted. “We’ve been doing well, catching up on Dad’s gambling debts, but having more money coming in certainly wouldn’t hurt.”

Vivian sighed. “I guess I worry that the pub is outdated because I don’t really want anything to change. I miss the past in a lot of ways, and I don’t like the idea of changing things about The Lighthouse Grill. But you’re right, sometimes change is what’s necessary to keep businesses the best that they can be.”

“We can definitely understand you not wanting things to change.” Alexis smiled sympathetically at Vivian. “And I think if we do redecorate the pub, we can do it in a way that honors its history. Like repainting the walls to match the original shade of the wallpaper that you and Dad picked out.”

Vivian nodded. “You’re all so sweet. Thank you for being so considerate. Not only of me, but also of the pub, thinking about what would be best for its future. I’m so proud of the way our family works together.”

“That’s right.” Hazel grinned. “No sloppy unprofessionalism here. We’re like a well-oiled machine.”

Everyone laughed, and Vivian felt comforted by her children’s support. As they sat back down and continued to eat their meal, however, she still felt twinges of discomfort about the article. Still, she did her best to push it from her mind and enjoy spending time with her family. After all, she reflected, in the long run, Judd’s words didn’t matter to her, but her children absolutely did.

CHAPTER FOUR

Hazel stepped up to the counter at Ocean Breeze Café. It was early in the morning, and she was on her way to her receptionist’s job at the doctor’s office. She was wearing a comfortable knit sweater underneath her coat, since the temperature had continued its trend of being unusually biting. Despite feeling a bit sleepy, she was looking forward to her morning. She was there at the café to pick up a hazelnut latte as well as a breakfast burrito. Since Samantha had spent the night at her friend’s house the night before, she hadn’t needed to cook breakfast that morning and had decided to treat herself to one of her favorite menu items at the coffee shop.

She was looking up at the menu, making sure she didn’t want to change her mind about the flavor of her latte, when something on the front counter caught her attention. She stepped toward it and saw that it was the latest issue ofThe Seagull, displayed prominently for all the customers to see. The magazine had been opened to the article about the McCormick Brewery, and Hazel’s good mood soured when she saw Judd’s snarky words in print again.

“Did you read the article?” The smiling teenage barista gestured to the magazine. “We thought it was so exciting thatThe Seagullfeatured one of our local businesses. My manager wanted to display it. She’s pretty proud.”

Hazel smiled weakly. She didn’t feel proud—she would have liked to take the magazine and chuck it out the window into a large snowdrift.

“I did read it,” she said. “I didn’t think it was such a great article. I mean, I’m glad thatThe Seagullis featuring a Rosewood Beach business, but did you see the comments Judd McCormick made about other local businesses? It’s all well and good for a local business to get a little spotlight, but it’s definitely unsportsmanlike conduct to tear down other small businesses in the process.”

She heard a man’s voice from behind her say, “Sounds like someone is mixing sour grapes with cherries in their famous family-made pies.”

Hazel whirled and saw Judd McCormick standing behind her. His graying hair was combed back smoothly, and he was wearing an expensive wool coat. He was smiling at Hazel in a way that was probably meant to come off as friendly but simply appeared condescending.

Hazel took a deep breath, determined to stay calm and polite. She wasn’t going to let Judd ruffle her feathers.

“Hello, Judd. I’m not sour about it, but you can’t expect me to appreciate the way you compared your family business to ours in your interview. We run our businesses very differently.”

And we have very different views on what’s polite too, she thought.

“I can agree with that.” Judd smiled. “We certainly do run our businesses differently, and like I said in that article that’s being so nicely displayed there, I think that the McCormicks are better at business than the Owens.”

“Our pub is one of the most popular places in town?—”

“Sure, for now.” He shrugged. “Until something better comes along. And you’re not a real business, you’re like a little island floating on the ocean. You have no plans to expand or improve. That’s what business is all about. Having a good head for the game. Those with more than just a home-town outlook will be the ones to be the most successful in the long run.”

Hazel pressed her lips together, wanting to retort but also wanting to remain polite.

“What can I get for you, Miss?” The barista cleared her throat awkwardly, clearly feeling uncomfortable about having to witness Judd’s rudeness.

“I’ll take a breakfast burrito and a hazelnut latte,” Hazel said. “Thank you.”

She paid for her purchases, uncomfortably aware of the fact that Judd was standing directly behind her, probably watching her every move. She was wrestling with different ideas for what she could say to him. She didn’t want to be impolite, however, and most of the things that were on the tip of her tongue were fiercely confrontational.

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