Murder in the Mix (Books 1-3) Read online

  He barks out a short-lived laugh. “Nope, that would be a ladder. But you’re not allowed to have any bad luck, period. This is your big day, Lottie Lemon, and I promise you not one thing will go wrong.” He gives a playful wink, and something about that facial disclaimer sends me in a jittery panic ten times more than before. He winces. “I think I left something out back.”

  Hunter takes off, and no sooner does he leave than I press my hand to the window of the bakery, a no-no as far as Keelie is concerned. She’s been helping me scrub and scour every inch of this place to get it ready for its big debut, but I’ll gladly wipe away my own fingerprints in a moment just to garner one more look inside before we open. It’s all there—the café tables and chairs look as sweet as confections themselves, the refrigerated shelves that line the front are fully stocked and loaded with every cookie, brownie, and delicious dessert you can think of, and the walls are painted a decadent shade of butter yellow. My sister, Lainey, came by yesterday to help me decorate the place for Halloween with ghosts, witches, and scarecrows set in every free space. Autumn leaves carefully line the counters, and tiny orange pumpkins dot each table with gold and red maple leaves blooming out from underneath them. To think that in just a few short hours this place will be filled with family and friends—with Everett and Noah. Noah who—

  A horrible creaking sound comes from the scaffolding above me, and I look up in time to see the gargantuan structure rocking back and forth. My entire body freezes solid as it careens toward me, and before I know it, I’m hit from behind by a warm body, pushed to safety as the entire scaffolding crashes into a pile of dust. That metal newspaper stand is lying on its side, and Merilee’s grinning face is staring back up at me in replicate.

  “Oh my God,” I pant as I struggle to catch my breath.

  “Geez, lady.” A man with dark curly hair, a lantern jaw, and eyes the color of espresso pats me down by the shoulders. “You okay? You almost got crushed to death.” His eyes widen a notch at the thought as do mine.

  “Yeah”—I glance down at my body, thankfully still intact—“I’m fine. You saved my life!” My hand clutches at the thought of me dying, right here in front of my own bakery on opening day of all occasions. How horrible that would have been for me and perhaps for all of Honey Hollow, considering there is a stockpile of sweet treats in there to feed the entire community for a month if need be. I’d hate to think that anyone would let all of my hard work go to waste just because I met an untimely demise, but I suppose seeing my body splattered like a dead fly might kill an appetite or two. “You have to come inside.” I grip him by the sleeve, and he quickly frees himself with a shake of the head. “Please, let me give you a cake or something. You’re a hero!”

  “I’m no hero.” He glances past my shoulder just as Hunter and Bear shout their way over. “I gotta run. I got a kid waiting for me at home.” He jogs across the street and is swallowed up by the fog within two seconds.

  “Wait,” I call after him. “Please bring your family by later! We’re having a party!”

  “Lottie!” Bear pulls me in tight, and I struggle to breathe for a moment before inching away. “You could have been killed!” He turns his attention back to the carnage. “Hunter”—he barks—“how many times have I told you not to put heavy crap on top of the scaffolding?” he riots over at his cousin, and poor Hunter looks just as shaken as I do.

  “I didn’t. I swear.” He kicks one of the hefty looking bags that almost crushed me right along with the planks on that scaffolding. “I’d never put bags of quick-set on there. I’m not that insane,” he riots right back.

  Keelie appears from nowhere and pulls me into the safety of the Cutie Pie Bakery.

  “Don’t you worry about a thing, girl.” She slings her svelte arm around my shoulder as we take in this magical place, and somehow the trauma of what I’ve just been through begins to subside. “It’s a good thing to get all of the bad luck out of the way up front.” She bites down on a ruby red lip as if it isn’t. Keelie and I bonded at an early age, and she’s felt every bit like one of my sisters. Her blonde curls are pulled back into a ponytail, and her bright blue eyes glow as if someone lit a match behind them. Keelie is as peppy as she is sincere, and I love every attribute about her. “This is one of the best days of your life, and I never want you to forget a single moment of it. It’s nothing but good luck from here on out.”

  “Right,” I say, looking past my bubbly bestie, and with everything in me I want to believe her. “Nothing but good luck.”

  I glance back outside as Hunter and Bear work to clean up the debris. It’s so windy those newspapers have come apart and are floating through the air like ghosts.

  Then with a slap, the front page of one of those papers seals itself against the glass, and there she is, Merilee Simonson and her unnatural grimace looking right at me like a dark omen as if to say there will be nothing good about this day.

  There is not one part of me that believes Keelie’s kind words. There will be no good luck today.

  Something tells me it will be bad, bad, bad.

  Chapter 19

  Fall in Honey Hollow has always been a mainstay as far as the tourists are concerned, and seeing that it’s early October I was expecting my fair share of leaf peeper foot traffic, but the number of bodies that have been passing through the Cutie Pie Bakery is enough to fill a cemetery.

  I frown at my morbid analogy. I can’t help it, though. After I nearly lost my life this morning when that scaffolding came down, I’ve been more than a bit shaken. I feel downright lucky to be alive and you’d think that thought alone would have me in a good mood, but there are cookies to be baked, cookies that are being eaten at a breakneck pace, thus the aforementioned hustle in the kitchen. Thankfully, both of the chefs from the Honey Pot, Margo and Mannon, have been helping out these past few days as we pump out batch after batch of delectable treats. The entire town holds the scent of vanilla and sugar at this point.

  “Lottie!” Lainey comes at me with a death grip of a hug. Technically, we’re not blood-related since the Lemons adopted me when I was just a few hours old, but Lainey and I have the same caramel-colored waves, same hazel green eyes. Even our features hold the same open appeal. Neither of us seems to go too long without offering the world a friendly smile. “I can’t believe we pulled this off!” She takes a step back, and we admire the place together. Yes, it’s Lainey’s finishing Halloween touches that really make the bakery feel homey and well, a bit haunted. “Wasn’t it a great idea to hang those witches by their pointy hats? I just love the way they’re spinning over the refrigerated shelves!”

  I glance to the stuffed witches as they twirl effortlessly in a circle. “They’re great, and I love the pumpkins you brought in even more. They’re adorable and really make it feel like fall.” Lainey wanted to put up fake spider webs in every free corner, but since spider webs in general hold an unhygienic appeal, I opted out of that decorating disaster. I don’t want the first impression of the Cutie Pie that the world sees to look as if I’ve never cleaned the place.

  Keelie heads over with an empty tray and hands it to one of the many workers from the Honey Pot who is graciously helping me out today.

  “We really need to get you a staff of your own. This grand opening is straining the Honey Pot. But don’t you worry. I’m discerning just the right people to populate the bakery with.” She leers over at me suggestively. “Guess who I saw pulling in across the street?” She bites down on a cherry red smile, a sure sign she’s up to no good. “Everett and Noah just showed up.”

  “Together? In the same car?” I’m a bit stunned by this. I may have just met them both a few weeks back, but I know enough about their history to understand they’re not the best of friends. They were stepbrothers for a time while they were both in high school, and it didn’t end well between their parents—and, apparently, not between themselves either.

  Keelie shrugs. “Who could tell. There are so many people out front, a spaceship
could have dropped them off and I wouldn’t have noticed.” She gives a wild wave at someone coming in from the Honey Pot, and I look to find Keelie’s grandmother, Nell, weaving her way over.

  “Hello, girls!” She offers us both a spontaneous embrace. “How are two of my favorite granddaughters?” She pinches my cheek with vigor. Nell is a sweet little old ninety-two-year-old powerhouse who happens to own her fair share of real estate in Honey Hollow. The Honey Pot Diner and the Cutie Pie Bakery happen to be two of them.

  “Fine and dandy.” Keelie kicks my foot as she answers for me. “Should we tell her about the surprise?” She nods at her grandmother as if trying to get her to agree.

  I glance to Lainey with wild eyes. Neither my sister nor I can fathom that life could get any better.

  “What surprise?” I shoot Keelie an accusing glance. She knows I don’t like surprises, and she knows I’m the last person on Earth I want anyone fussing over. The last time I got a surprise I was in a courthouse down in Ashford County when Everett took the stand as the judge presiding over the small claims court the Simonson sisters dragged me off to. Everett and I had just had a physical altercation of sorts, to put it delicately. We tripped and fell—and, well, I might have inadvertently used my head to hammer down over his crotch. It was not at all what you might think. It was totally accidental and not at all sexual even though his nickname Mr. Sexy was employed within the same hour. Everett is sexy, but then so is Noah. I let out a dreamy sigh just thinking about that man’s lips. Noah’s, not Everett’s.

  Nell clears her throat while shooting Keelie with venom herself. “It was going to be a true surprise if you hadn’t said a word.” She looks my way, and her features soften. “But, since the cat is halfway out of the bag, just know that I’ll have to ask you to leave the shop a little early one night later this month, and when you get back in the morning, there will be something special waiting for you.”

  I gasp at the thought. “You are one naughty lady, Nell Sawyer.” I elbow Keelie. “You’re pretty naughty yourself. You know I don’t need a single thing.” I glance back at the gleaming stainless appliances—it was Noah who helped purchased them with the money his father stole from unsuspecting people, but I didn’t know it at the time, and that marble island that sits in the middle of the kitchen was a surprise enough. I had ordered a simple counter constructed of stainless steel, but Nell canceled the order and had a beautiful stone island put in instead. Trays and trays of sandwich cookies, peanut butter bars, cream cheese swirled brownies, and chocolate macaroons sit upon it waiting to be brought out to the front for residents and tourists alike to enjoy. “Trust me, I already have everything, and if you continue to spoil me, I might just morph into a monster.”

  “You, a monster?” a deep voice strums from behind, and I’m greeted with a handsome Noah Corbin Fox looking just as vexingly good-looking as his surname suggests, and next to him stands Judge Essex Everett Baxter—who humbly goes by Everett. Noah is an intense man with a dangerous side that has a way of looking at me as if he were about to take me to the nearest bedroom and do amazing things to my body—all of which I wholeheartedly approve of. I’ve been in one serious sexual drought ever since the New York debacle, and Noah is just the right kind of trouble to alleviate me of all my frustrations.

  Everett is dark and intimidating. He rarely, if ever, smiles, keeps his words to a minimum, and oozes testosterone to the point of demanding the attention of every female of every species to the forefront of his majesty.

  “You’re here!” I shout while throwing my arms around each of them at once. I hop back and take them in once again—Noah in a navy corduroy jacket and jeans, and Everett in his traditional three-piece inky dark suit. “Can you believe all of the people who are streaming through this place? I swear, it’s all of Honey Hollow and then some have come to visit.”

  Noah takes in the crowd. Both Noah and Everett have the same dark hair, with the exception Everett’s is jet-black and Noah’s has a touch of red in the sunlight. Noah has the dreamiest marbled green eyes, and Everett’s gaze is more of a blue heated flame. Both men are handsome in their own right, but it was Noah I took a bold step with a few weeks ago. We’ve been fused at the mouth pretty much ever since. And how I can’t wait to fast-forward this day just to pull him into the walk-in like I did last night and shower him with all the affection I can. Who knew having a boyfriend could be such a stress reliever?

  I touch my fingers to my lips a moment as if I had spoken those words out loud.

  Noah and I aren’t anything official. I shouldn’t even be thinking the word boyfriend lest I accidentally pepper it in casual conversation. I’d hate to chase him off over some silly verbal blunder.

  Noah winces. “I’d say you’ve got all of Vermont in here and part of New Hampshire, and Connecticut, too.”

  Everett chuckles at the thought. It still amuses me to see him smile. He wasn’t at all friendly for at least the entire first month I knew him. It’s a miracle we’re friends at all.

  “It’s more like the Western Hemisphere.” He nods to the feast out front. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m loading up.”

  Noah brushes a quick kiss to my cheek, and I can feel my skin heating to unsafe levels. Never have I had anyone show me physical affection in Honey Hollow before. Not even Bear, and we dated on and off for about three years in high school. I shudder just thinking about that time in my life.

  “I’d better go with him.” Noah frowns at this once-upon-a-stepbrother. “I’ll make sure he leaves enough for the rest of us.” He takes off after him just as I spot my mother circulating in the crowd, and I can’t help but groan at the sight of her.

  “She’s here,” I hiss to my sister.

  Keelie bumps past us with a tray full of Honey Bars. “Don’t sweat a thing!” she calls out as she heads to the front.

  “I can’t help it,” I say, pulling my sister in close. “I don’t trust this new guy Mom is dating.”

  Lainey scoffs. “You don’t trust any guy Mom ever dates.”

  “I know that, but he’s not culled from the usual bunch. The fact our mother is openly deviating from her usual pool of suspects makes me think that she might be serious about this guy.” It’s true. My mother has dated the same four men for as far back as the year after my father passed away. Oh, how I loved that man. And not just because he was the fireman who found me swaddled in a blanket on the cold floor of the firehouse. As much as I’ve struggled with abandonment issues sponsored by my birthmother, at least she didn’t leave me in the woods to freeze to death. Joseph Lemon was a saint. I don’t think I can say the same for the four clowns that my mother has switched out like a crop rotation since his untimely demise. But this new man, with his steely silver hair, his tall sturdy frame, his unyielding handsome features, he seems a lot more sinner than he ever does saint.

  “Who cares?” Lainey’s phone rings and she pulls it out of her purse. “Mom really likes this guy, and so should you. I’ve met him, and he seems pretty decent. You’re going to love him.” She holds out her phone, and my younger sister, Meg, waves manically our way on the other side of the screen.

  “Congratulations, Lottie!” Meg laughs wildly as she looks past us into the room. “Can you believe it? All of your dreams have finally come true!” Meg looks a bit jarring with her harshly dyed jet-black hair teased every which way, and those signature yellow contact lenses of hers makes it feel as if Halloween were already upon us. “I gotta run, but eat some cookies for me, would you?” she roars menacingly into the screen, mostly to entertain us and quite possibly to get her in the mood for the rest of the night. Meg is a superstar on the Vegas female wrestling circuit. When she first started, Mom, Lainey, and I took a road trip to Nevada to see her in action. Seeing my little sister in that ring was the most frightening and yet empowering thing I have ever witnessed. Suffice it to say, Madge the Badge put on one heck of a show.

  I spot Mom near the entry to the Honey Pot and glower at the man
she has plastered to her side. Just as I’m about to bring up the boyfriend grievance to my sister’s attention once again, a watery-eyed woman steps in front of me, and I blink a few times trying to process where I’ve seen her before.

  “Micheline?” I take a half-step back just taking her in like this. I’ve known Micheline Roycroft for the better half of my life. She dated Hunter off and on while I dated Bear. I used to tease that we were clawing for the same life raft while on two different sinking ships. Her hair is longer, darker, her eyes a touch red and glossy, and she looks a bit forlorn. “My goodness, I’ve missed you!” I wrap my arms around my old friend. “Where have you been? Welcome to my new bakery!”

  Her lips tremble with a smile. “I was living in Hollyhock for a while, working at the bank. I just transferred to Honey Hollow Savings and Loans. I moved back about a month ago.” She gives a side-eye to the crowd. “Have you seen Hunter? I thought he’d be here since he helped with the construction.”

  “Oh, he’s here somewhere. Are you two trying to work things out again?” I’m almost sorry I asked, considering the fact she seems on the verge of tears.

  Micheline cranes her neck into the crowd and mumbles something about later before threading herself into the thicket of bodies.

  Mom dances her way over with open arms. “Here you are!” She offers a firm embrace before pulling forward the man of the hour—more to the point, the man of my discontent. “Wallace, this is my middle daughter, Lottie. It’s her special day, and I can’t believe I’m alive and breathing to witness it!”

  “Gee, thanks for the depressing endorsement. It’s nice to know you believed in me so strongly.

  She swats me. “You know I do.”

  It’s true. I do.

  Her gentleman caller extends his hand, and I can’t help but frown at the over-sized mitt before I give it a shake. “Wallace Chad.” His voice is warm and deep, and yet despite the equally warm twinkle in his eyes, I can’t help but distrust him. “My pleasure to finally meet you. You have an amazing mother, as you both know.” He nods a quick hello to Lainey.