Up In Smoke: Spirit of the Soul Wine Shop Mystery (A Rysen Morris Mystery Book 3) Read Online Free Page B

another space to buy but you know how cramped everything is in Cambria.  Main Street is wall to wall shops.  I was looking over in Thornsburg and I found a decent place for sale, but if I could stay right here in town that would be even better.”
    “So, two flower shops in town?” Rysen asked.  This was the first she’d heard of it.  Then again, she and Bea weren’t exactly speaking to each other these days.
    “Why not?” Bea countered.  “There’s like, four wine shops in town, right?  Tourism is Cambria’s lifeblood.  Plus, I’m not looking to open the same kind of flower shop.  I was thinking about one of those places where you build your own stuffed animal.  I figure there’s always kids tagging along with their parents on vacation, and I think it could be a good return on my money.”
    Rysen had to admit, it made sense.  Beatrice had always been good with business.  She’d inherited that from her mother.
    Christina was still staring into her coffee.  Her eyes were damp with unshed tears.  It made Rysen want to cry for her.  “Christina?” she asked gently.  “What do you think?”
    After a moment, her sister shook her head.  “I don’t know.  It might be my only chance to raise enough money to build another store, but where would I put it even if I get the money?  Bea’s right.  There’s no place to build on Main Street and if I build anywhere else the tourists might not even find us.  Plus, we have to pay off all the distributers who lost their product in our store.  I don’t know if a loan from the bank would even cover everything.”
    Rysen didn’t have any money to speak of.  Certainly not enough to help her rebuild.  She wished it was different, but she had come back to town broke, and not much had changed as far as that situation went.  She had about three thousand dollars saved up to pay toward a place of her own and that was it.
    But if her sister needed it, then Rysen would gladly give it.  “Christina—”
    “I didn’t mean to upset you,” Bea interrupted.  “I just want to help.  Think about my offer, at least?”
    Rysen caught Brandon’s gaze.  He shrugged.  It wasn’t his decision to make.
    Christina leaned over to give Beatrice a quick hug.  “Thanks, Bea.  I appreciate you trying to be there for us.  I’ll think about what you said.  Can I let you know in a few days?”
    “Of course,” Beatrice said.  “Don’t decide now.  You’ve got a lot on your mind and I don’t want to add to your stress.  Is there anything else I can do for you?”
    There wasn’t, and Christina said as much.  Beatrice got back up from the table to go.  “Would you mind if I came over to look at the shop later today?  I’d like to see what I’d have to do to renovate the place if you do decide to sell.”
    “Beatrice,” Rysen said, shocked at their friend’s bluntness.  “Give us a couple of days, at least.  All right?”
    Beatrice’s gaze narrowed at Rysen.  “Oh, I’m sorry.  I wouldn’t want to step in too early.  That would definitely be wrong of me, wouldn’t it?”
    Rysen clamped her mouth around the snap answer she had been about to say.  Beatrice was still angry over Josh.  Rysen got that, but Josh and she had waited for a few days after Bea had broken things off with him.  Rysen had insisted on it, actually.
    “It’s all right, Ry,” Christina said to her.  “I don’t mind.  Bea, we still have a few things to do in the store today.  Can you come tomorrow to look at it?”
    With a smile and a toss of her uneven bangs, Beatrice nodded, then turned and left the diner without another word.
    “You two need to work that out,” Christina said to Rysen.  “I don’t have the patience to be your mediator.  Not now.  Not after what just happened to my shop.”
    “I don’t even know what to say to her anymore.  I thought she was over this.”
    “Obviously not.”  There was a lot more Rysen wanted to say about it, but