Taffy & Tides Read online

  TAFFY + TIDES

  AN OUTER BANKS NOVELLA

  P. SAWYER

  COPYRIGHT

  Published by P. Sawyer

  Copyright © 2020 P. Sawyer

  All Rights Reserved

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not,

  by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, duplicated,

  hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior

  written consent in any form of binding or cover other than

  that in which it is published and without similar condition

  including this condition being imposed on the

  subsequent purchaser.

  Copyright © P. Sawyer

  Edited by: ES McMilan

  Cover by: Rachel A. Olson

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1- Kensley

  Chapter 2- Landon

  Chapter 3- Kensley

  Chapter 4- Landon

  Chapter 5- Kensley

  Chapter 6- Landon

  Chapter 7- Kensley

  Chapter 8- Landon

  Chapter 9- Kensley

  Chapter 10- Landon

  Chapter 11- Kensley

  Chapter 1- Kensley

  One Month Ago

  “I can’t believe she’s gone,” I say looking across the small kitchen table at my sister, Amber.

  “I can’t believe she left you the damn candy store in North Carolina,” Amber reads over the paperwork the lawyer had given us earlier today.

  “I don’t detect jealousy do I?” I ask taking a sip of my coffee.

  “Are you kidding me? You couldn’t pay me enough to run that shop. I mean you have to move to freaking Kill Devil Hills…” she trails off placing the paperwork in front of us.

  She was right. I had to move now. Part of me thinks Grandma planned the whole freaking thing. I didn’t have anything else to do. Nope. I was let go a few weeks ago from my job – merger they claimed. Yeah, merger of my boss and the new baker. I found them going at it on my desk one night. Gross, if you ask me. Hell he isn’t even that good looking, and let’s not mention the fact that he might have been my ex. Double whammy cliché, I know. I was that girl. So I resigned myself to a few months of being a hermit and it was then that Grandma started her notion of taking over the business.

  I could bake you the best pastries in the world, well maybe in a small Podunk town outside of New York, but candy? No freaking way, especially not Grandma’s Voodoo Taffy. It was her specialty. She claimed it made people fall in love. Who knew with her, but it was what Taffy by the Sea was famous for. Now I had to go live up to the hype? I had to go create this?

  “So, are you going to go?” Amber asks pulling me out of my daydream.

  “Do I have much choice? Not like there is much going on around here?” I shrug my shoulders and stare into my now empty mug. “I’m nervous. Remember when she tried to teach us how to make the taffy years ago?”

  Amber laughs. “It was an epic fail!”

  “Now her memory and my livelihood will rest on my ability to make the damn shit,” I chuckle and stand up to place my mug in the sink.

  “You’ll do fine, Kensley. You always do.”

  “Wish you were coming with me.” Amber walks over to me and pulls me to her, wrapping her arms around me. I embrace her back.

  “I’ll come visit in a couple of months. I need the year to settle out. I promise I will be there for summer. Just think, you’ll have two months to work on the recipe. Tourist season doesn’t start till end of May and Grandma never opened the shop back up until June anyway.”

  I nod. “I know. It just seems like a lot. Packing up and moving. What the hell? Am I really going to move down there full time? I really haven’t thought this through.”

  Present Day

  “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph…,” I mumble as I wade myself through the shop.

  I finally got situated at the small cottage I was renting in Kill Devil Hills. It was off the “tourist” strip as the locals called it. It was a quaint little cottage; one bedroom, small open living room/kitchen area, and one bath. It was enough for me at the moment. The paperwork finally came through for the shop and I decided it was time to go check it all out. Grandma had a couple of loyal workers that would help out during the summer to make the candy, but she never trusted anyone to make the Voodoo Taffy. Nope. That was the job of the family and family only. She claimed it was a secret. Almost took it to her grave, until she told me the basic formula was stored in the safe at the shop. Thankfully she wrote it down. In all of my 30 years on this planet, I never remember her using it to make the taffy. Nope. Never.

  Sadness washes over me as I walk into the small back office. Even though it’s been closed up for a good six months, I can still detect a hint of her perfume. Subtle and floral, just like she was. I sit in the chair at the desk and look at her files. She never believed in electronics. Until the day she died, everything was meticulously hand kept; all the books, all the supply orders, everything despite our urging to come into the twenty-first century. I looked through the files that rest in the drawer of the desk. Anything of importance was locked in the safe. Grandma had owned the building the shop was in. It was small and on the corner of the street. No other businesses next to it, ample parking and close to the beach. It was still far enough away from the strip malls that popped up over the years. Unless you knew where you were going, a person could miss it.

  Kensley: I swear to god the first thing I am doing is getting an updated accounting system for this place. She doesn’t even have a computer.

  Amber: DUH! We knew that. I’ve already secured you a laptop and desktop. They should arrive today.

  Kensley: Are you freaking serious? I told you I’d use some of the business funds to cover the upgrades. Tax deductible you know?

  Amber: Oh I know. But you would have dragged your feet. Have fun. I’ve got to run. Love you.

  Kensley: Love you too, sis.

  Just as promised, two hours later my new laptop and desktop arrived. I set them up in the office and got to work. I had a lot of shit that needed to be inputted and figured out before I could even begin to prep for the opening. Invoices, accounts, finances, they all needed to be addressed before any candy making could take place.

  After about three hours of inputting what I could into the accounting software, I came across a contract from a construction company for a revamp of the shop. No clue what Grandma was up to. I didn’t think the shop needed any work. The bid included new floors, countertops, and a kitchen makeover, estimated close to $40,000. What in the ever-loving hell was this? I scanned the bank statements. There was no way she could have afforded this. Hell, it barely looked as if the shop was staying a float the last few years. Barely any profit. What in the world was she thinking?

  Kensley: Grandma signed a contract for a $40K renovation of the shop.

  Amber: Are you sure?

  Kensley: As a heart attack. I’m looking at the contract. Amber, there is no money for this. I’m not sure what the hell is going on?

  Just then I heard a commotion in the front of the shop.

  Kensley: Gotta go. Someone is in the shop.

  I grabbed the closest thing I could find, a butter knife, and headed to the front of the store. I was greeted by six men.

  “Excuse me,” I demand as I hold the knife out towards them. “What the heck do you think you are doing in my shop?” The men turned to face me. One stepped forward.

 
“Who are you?” he asked.

  “Who the hell are you?” I responded back. He smiled and pointed to the name on his shirt.

  “I’m Mitch. I work for Sutter Construction. We are installing the flooring today.”

  “No, you’re not. I didn’t authorize any such thing.” It was only then I happened to look down at the floor under me realizing there was no floor. Only plywood. “Who the hell authorized you to do anything in this building?”

  “The owner.”

  “I AM THE OWNER. I didn’t authorize shit.”

  “Well, little lady someone did three months ago and everything has been in motion.”

  I looked around at him and the crew he brought with him. They used a key to get in. It dawned on me, that my Grandmother must have done this before she died.

  “Mother hell.” I ran a hand through my hair. “I need to speak with your boss.”

  Chapter 2- Landon

  “Dude, what the hell is going on with you?” Mitch asks me as I stroll into the office.

  “What do you mean?” I ask as I place my coffee on my desk and take off my windbreaker. It may be the beginning of May, but there is still a slight chill in the air.

  “You’re not answering calls or texts.”

  I shrug and lean back in my chair. “Nothing’s going on with me. I just didn't feel like handling your shit last night or hearing about your newest conquest.”

  “Whatever. You know it’s not that. You’ve been in a fucking mood for days. The crew can sense it.” He stares at me looking for an answer.

  “We’re not discussing this. We have business to attend to. Fill me in on the Baker project,” I say as I try to divert the conversation away from my personal bullshit. I wasn’t in the mood to discuss what was actually happening in my head. Mitch, one of my best friends, did not need to know that I was still angry and upset over events that happened a year ago. Unfortunately, this was the anniversary of such events. So he could shit in his hat about my moods.

  “Well…” he begins picking up a folder that sat on the corner of his desk. “The crew is about thirty percent done. Currently, we are waiting for the new kitchen cabinets and countertop that was ordered. The boys are installing the new flooring today.”

  “I thought the cabinets were due in last week?” He got my attention now.

  “There was a slight snag in that…” he trails off knowing what he’s about to say is most likely going to send me into a tirade.

  “Explain,” I bark out.

  “Well…the supplier never placed the order.”

  I nod my head. “I see. Please get the motherfucker on the line for me. NOW.” Said supplier was a dick from years ago. A former ‘friend’ if you want to call him that. He did this intentionally. I knew it. Unfortunately, I was stuck with him as a supplier. There weren’t many on the Outer Banks, but his quality was good. And that’s what mattered. Although, he does shit like this often. Not my fault his girlfriend dumped him for me and then conveniently dumped me for some other douche.

  Mitch called up Wes and handed the phone over to me. I was not in the mood to deal with this shit, but as owner of the company, it rested on me. “Wes, it’s Landon.”

  “I know,” the grumpy voice answered back.

  “Can you please explain to me why my order was delayed a week? And why my assistant manager is telling me you delayed the order?”

  “Yeah, oops. Sorry. Forgot to input it last week.”

  “Bullshit and you know it.” I take a breath. “I’m serious, Wes. Pull this crap again and I take my business elsewhere. I thought we could work together despite the Julie bullshit. I guess not.” Wes mumbled something and hung up. I handed the phone back to Mitch, whose face seems to finally put the pieces together.

  “Oh shit…it was this week wasn’t it?” he asks as I divert my attention to the emails I haven’t responded to yet.

  “Not answering that question. Now, don’t you have a job site to be on?” Mitch continued to stand in front of my desk waiting. “Go or I’ll fire your ass.”

  “No you won’t. Dude, it’s been a year. It’s time to get over it.”

  “I am over it,” I growl back. “Get to work.” I didn’t want to talk about the Julie shit. I didn’t want them to know that I still got angry over it. I was over her. I was over the situation, still doesn’t mean it didn’t piss me off.

  ~~

  My phone started ringing. I looked at the phone and then the clock. It had only been an hour since Mitch left to go install the flooring at the Baker job.

  “This better be good,” I bark into the phone as I answer it.

  “Oh, it’s better than good, Boss. You might want to get your ass here. Seems like there’s a new owner for the Baker project and she is requesting your presence.”

  A new owner? What the hell? Tilly Baker was the owner. I just spoke with her last month. Everything was finalized, she paid the deposit, and now she’s ghosting me?

  “What in the hell are you talking about, Mitch?” I grab the file off of his desk and grab my coat and keys.

  “Dude, she won’t let us do any work. She’s claiming she is the owner and knew nothing about this job.”

  “I am the owner,” I hear a sweet, yet angry voice in the background.

  “Lan, I don’t know what the fuck is going on right now.”

  I sigh, “Fucking hell, I’m on my way.” I jumped in my truck and headed the fifteen minutes to the job site. I didn’t know what the hell was going on.

  I arrived at the small building to find the crew outside sitting on the tailgates of the trucks. Mitch meets me at my truck. “Dude, she’s not the Mrs. Baker I knew.”

  “Who is she?” I ask as I watch a petite, feminine figure walk back and forth through the windows.

  “She claims to be the owner and that she knew nothing about this.”

  I grunt. I did not want to deal with this shit today, of all days. “Let’s go meet the mystery woman.” We walk to the front door and I head in first. I extend my hand out to her. “Morning, ma’am. I am Landon Sutter. I own the company. These are my guys. What seems to be the problem?”

  Her hands are on her hips and a scowl is on her face. “The problem is I don’t know how you got a key to my building, but none of this was authorized by me.”

  “Right. You are not the person that signed the contract for the renovations. That woman was Tilly Baker. She was about 70, a spunky old woman with a heart of gold. You, my dear, are not her. Would you please care to clue me in on who the hell you are and why you are claiming to be the owner? Let’s call Tilly and figure this out.”

  I swear I saw fire coming out of her ears. “You can’t call Tilly.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because unless you have a direct line to heaven, you’re going to be out of luck.” I took a moment to look at the woman in front of me. She had medium-length blonde hair, green eyes, slender body, and a hint of Tilly in her.

  “I’m so sorry. We hadn’t heard. Who are you?” I can see tears welling up in her eyes.

  “I‘m Kensley. I’m, well was her granddaughter.” She looks at Mitch then back to me. “Do you mind if we talk in private?”

  “Nope.” I turn to Mitch. “Take the crew back to the shop. Maybe see if anyone needs help on the Carter site.” He nods and walks out the door knowing not to ask questions. I turn back to Kensley. “I’m truly sorry to hear about your grandmother. We didn’t know.”

  “It’s okay. It was sudden, as was pretty much everything else in my life this month.”

  “When did she pass? I just spoke to her about a month or so ago. She signed the contract and gave us the keys. Only stipulation was the work had to be ready by end of May.”

  “Yeah, She passed away last month. Look I’m sorry, but I don’t know why she signed a contract to renovate the shop. I don’t even know what you agreed on. All I found was this.” She hands me the contract with the bid I submitted to Tilly. It has her signature on it.

  “Well
, we agreed on that price and she paid the deposit. The balance is owed upon completion.”

  “Well, that might be an issue. I’m sorry, Mr. Sutter…”

  “Landon. Please call me Landon.”

  She nodded and continued, “Landon. But unless she had some money stashed somewhere there is no way I’m able to pay for you to complete the work. I’m sorry.” I watched the color drain from her face, the slight slip of the hard ass façade she was attempting to hold in place. I’m not sure what the hell was going on.

  “What do you mean?” I still my breathing. “Tilly wouldn’t have signed the contract if she didn’t believe she could pay.”

  Kensley shrugged her shoulders. “Look I don’t know what the hell was going on with her. She was acting weird the last few weeks before she died. She left me the business, one I don’t even want. I’m trying to figure out all of this. The woman spent fifty years hand accounting her damn life. If I’m correct after spending three hours inputting some things into the new software I bought, I don’t have forty thousand dollars to pay this.”

  “But we’ve ordered the materials, we’ve begun the work.” I clench my hands at my sides. Granted the deposit would have covered what we have done so far.

  “Well, I don’t think you or I thought she was going to up and die before you finished your work, Mr. Sutter.” Tears crept into the wells of her eyes.

  “Landon. It’s Landon,” I grunted. I hated being called Mr. Sutter, especially from a beautiful girl like the one standing in front of me. I take another breath trying to control my breathing as best as I could. “Listen, why don’t we take a few days and discuss this Saturday. Maybe you can figure out what is going on with everything.”

  “What was the deposit she gave you?” Kensley all but whispered the question.

  “She paid half, which if I am correct covers the cost of the supplies.” She nods but doesn’t say anything else. I look around the small shop at the ripped up flooring and sigh. “Um, I’m going to go. I’ll swing by tomorrow afternoon and we can talk. Does that sound okay to you?”