“That matches up with the style of the mirror. I bet that’s the John Haven mentioned in the newspaper notice.”
Cara arched an eyebrow at me. “You were at Luke Haven’s shop?”
All eyes swung to me.
“Yeah. It was a month or so ago.”
Her lips curled in a devious smile. “Why?”
Violet clicked her tongue. “I smell gossip.”
“No, there’s no gossip,” I said quickly. “When I first came to town, Luke offered me a job. I went to his shop to tell him thanks but no thanks.”
“He what?” Grace asked. “I can’t believe Luke offered you a job. What was he thinking?”
“I’d love to believe he simply thought I’d be a good fit, but I’m sure it was to get back at Evan more than anything.”
“Could have been a bit of both,” Gram said. “I have a feeling the boy liked you quite a lot.”
“How do you know that?” Grace asked.
Gram shrugged. “A hunch.”
“Well, he did kind of ask me out. And he kissed me.”
Everyone in the circle gasped—except Gram.
“No, no, no. You’re getting the wrong idea. I told you, this was a while ago. Before Evan and I were… anything.”
“Was he a good kisser?” Cara asked. “I bet he was. Luke is completely fuckable.”
Grace whirled on her. “Cara. You can’t say that. He’s a Haven.”
“Oh come on, we all know the Havens are a bunch of fuck-hot mountain men. I bet they smell like pine trees, flannel, and bad decisions. Don’t look at me like that, I put them all on my no-touchy list a long time ago. But that’s entirely out of loyalty to you, and under protest.”
Grace glanced at Gram, probably wondering if Gram was going to scold Cara for her language. I’d heard her tell her grandsons to watch their language plenty of times, but her no swearing rule seemed to be limited to her house. Or maybe just her grandsons.
Cara turned back to me. “So? How was he?”
“He was fine, but honestly, I didn’t feel much of anything. I was surprised when he did it, but not the good kind of melty surprise when you really want to be kissed. It was very meh.”
Cara’s shoulders slumped. “Well that’s disappointing. I guess you’d already been hooked by whatever makes some women,” she said, gesturing toward Grace, “fall for those Bailey boys.”
“There’s three left,” Grace said, her tone full of mock innocence.
“Do you even know me?” Cara asked.
Grace laughed. “Anyway, it’s a good thing you didn’t take that job with Luke. That would have been a disaster.”
“Would it have been that bad?” I asked. “I know, I know, the feud is real, and Luke and Evan hate each other anyway.”
“Most everyone chooses a side eventually,” Violet said. “Or they default to one.”
“But sometimes Baileys and Havens are friends. Marlene Haven comes to Stitch and Sip. She was here last week.”
“Stitch and Sip is different,” Tillie said. “The Knotty Knitter is sacred ground. The feud is neutralized here.”
“Well, if it can be neutralized here, maybe it can be neutralized everywhere. Especially if you could figure out how it started in the first place.”
Gram met my eyes and the corner of her mouth twitched in a hint of a smile.
“I don’t know,” Grace said. “It’s so deeply ingrained in people here.”
“I have to agree with my little tootsie roll,” Cara said. “Tilikum is the feud.”
Maybe they were right. But what if someone did figure out how the feud had started? Would discovering the origin make a difference?
I didn’t know if anything could bring the feud to an end. But finding out how it had begun would have to do something. Maybe it would be the first step in finally burying the hatchet.
Not that there was anything I could do about it. I couldn’t exactly go ask Luke questions about the photo in his shop. Whatever good rapport I’d had with him was certainly gone now. I hadn’t seen him since the day I’d turned him down. I doubted he had any interest in being friendly with me, let alone helping me solve a century old mystery.
But I still had to wonder if someday, someone would bring the feud to an end.
31
Evan
I sat on my bike outside the Knotty Knitter, waiting for Fiona. A few women had already come out. My great-aunt Tillie patted my cheek and inexplicably said, “Good job.” For what, I had no idea, so I just said thanks.
Gram walked out with a bag hanging from her arm. Our eyes met and she veered toward me. I dismounted so I