by Lynn Cahoon
“Thank you so much. This means the world to me.” Bren stood back and wiped tears from her face.
“Well, you just take care of yourself and don’t move in with someone unless you’re completely sure. And if you are, you might as well marry the guy.” Uncle Pete took out a handkerchief and wiped at his eyes. “Maybe an old-fashioned idea, but you deserve a complete commitment.”
Cat turned and smiled at Seth, wondering if he found the same humor in her uncle going all soft over a guest, but he wasn’t watching her or the interaction. Shauna, on the other hand, was wiping tears from her own eyes.
“Denver express is leaving in a few minutes. If you have luggage that’s not in the car, you better get it outside. We’re going to be tight this trip,” Seth called out.
Cat said good-bye to all the guests and then turned to Shauna. “Have fun but be careful.”
Shauna smiled. “Same to you. See you next Sunday.”
Cat and Uncle Pete stood and watched the group leave. He put his hat on and started out the door after Seth drove off. Then he turned back. “I swear, Cat, your retreats are getting more interesting by the month.”
And then he was gone. Cat cleaned up the dining room. Then she made a sweep of the living room. By the time she’d gone through all the guest rooms and pulled off all the linens and stuffed them in the laundry shoot to the basement, she was tired. But instead of taking a nap, she went out to the barn to check on Snow and the kittens.
She’d have to add this to her daily to-do list so she wouldn’t forget to feed and water the zoo when Shauna was gone. Her friend did a lot around the retreat and around the house. Cat figured she’d know exactly how much this week when Shauna was gone.
She was still sitting outside the barn, playing with the kittens, when Seth came back. He sat on the straw bale next to her. “Everyone’s off to parts unknown.”
“I hope Shauna has a good time with her brother.” Cat set down the kitten who’d been sleeping on her lap.
“She will. That woman is as tough as nails. If he doesn’t want to be a good brother to her, she’ll just change the trip into a spa week and leave it at that.” Seth picked up the kitten that was trying to climb up his jeans. “I’m putting in that bid tomorrow for the Collins job, but then I’m clear for the week. Do you want to spend some time together?”
“Sounds like a plan. I know we haven’t had a real date for a while. I’m sorry I’m keeping you so busy.” She batted her finger at the all-white kitten.
“We’re building a future. I know it’s your business, but I hope I’m more than just a hired hand around here. I hope I’m part of the team.” He put a hand on her knee but didn’t look at her.
She turned toward him. “I think we’re a good team. You, me, and Shauna. The retreat needs all of us to be successful.”
Seth grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that. I’ve been doing some planning for the next session when we take the group out for a day hike. I think we could do this as part of all the retreats when we have good weather. You know exercise helps clear your brain so you guys can write more.”
Cat shook her head. “Let’s just get through this one and then we can see about adding a session.”
He leaned over and kissed her. “I was thinking we should add it on Thursdays.”
As the kittens played around their feet, Cat and Seth sat and talked about the future. Their future with the Warm Springs Writers’ Retreat and their future as a couple.
Life was good, Cat thought as the kittens slept around their feet. Especially when there was family to surround you. She liked her life just fine. And there was no way she was giving up even one of the kittens. They were part of her life now, for better or worse.
Seth stood and pulled her to her feet. “Let’s go grab something to eat at The Diner. I’m feeling lazy tonight.”
“Me too. Although let’s have dessert at home. Shauna left us an apple pie.” Cat put an arm around his waist and they made their way back to the house where they locked up before walking into town for dinner.
Life was good.
Dear Readers,
One of the joys of writing the Cat Latimer mystery series is imagining the food that Shauna bakes for the retreats. Of all the kitchen arts, baking is my favorite. Mostly because of the lovely smells a loaf of bread or a batch of cookies fills the house with. I’ve had scones before, but this recipe makes me think of October’s chilly mornings and sitting with a book and a cup of coffee. Don’t be afraid of baking scones, it’s just a sweet biscuit.
Lynn
Cranberry Scones
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
Add:
4 Tbsp cold butter cut into chunks
Mix the cold butter into the flour with a pastry knife until the mixture looks like small peas.
Add:
3 Tbsp sugar
½ cup dried cranberries
In a small bowl, beat together:
½ cup half and half
1 large egg
Add wet mixture to dry, but don’t overmix. Then knead the dough no more than a dozen times. Roll out onto a floured surface and cut the circle into 8 wedges. Place the scones on a lightly greased cookie sheet and brush some half and half on the top.
Bake for 10–14 minutes. Serve warm with butter.
Enjoy.
Love Cat Latimer?
Stay tuned for more adventures in
A FIELD GUIDE TO MURDER,
coming in February 2020!
And don’t miss the rest of the
Cat Latimer series.
A STORY TO KILL
FATALITY BY FIRELIGHT
OF MURDER AND MEN
and
SLAY IN CHARACTER
are available now from
Lynn Cahoon
and
Kensington Books
wherever books are sold!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lynn Cahoon is the award-winning author of several New York Times and USA Today bestselling cozy mystery series. The Tourist Trap series is set in central coastal California, with six holiday novellas releasing in 2018-2019. She also pens the Cat Latimer series available in mass-market paperback. Her newest series, the Farm to Fork mystery series, released in 2018. She lives in a small town like the ones she loves to write about with her husband and two fur babies. Sign up for her newsletter at www.lynncahoon.com.
A STORY TO KILL
Former English professor Cat Latimer is back in Colorado, hosting writers’ retreats in the big blue Victorian she’s inherited, much to her surprise, from none other than her carousing ex-husband! Now it’s an authors’ getaway—but Cat won’t let anyone get away with murder . . .
The bed-and-breakfast is open for business, and bestselling author Tom Cook is among its first guests.
Cat doesn’t know why he came all the way from New York, but she’s glad to have him among the quirkier—and far less famous—attendees.
Cat’s high school sweetheart Seth, who’s fixing up the weathered home, brings on mixed emotions for Cat . . . some of them a little overpowering. But it’s her uncle, the local police chief, whom she’ll call for help when there’s a surprise ending for Tom Cook in his cozy guest room. Will a killer have the last word on the new life Cat has barely begun?
FATALITY BY FIRELIGHT
Cat Latimer’s Colorado bed-and-breakfast plays host to writers from all over. But murder is distinctly unwelcome . . .
To kick off a winter writing retreat, Cat and her handyman boyfriend, Seth, escort the aspiring authors to a nearby ski resort, hoping some fresh cold air will wake up their creative muses. But instead of hitting the slopes, they hit the bar—and before long, a tipsy romance novelist named Christina is keeping herself warm with a local ski bum who might have neglected to tell her about his upcoming wedding.
Next thing Cat knows, her uncle,
the town sheriff, informs her that the young man’s been found dead in a hot tub—and Christina shows up crying and covered in blood. Now, between a murder mystery, the theft of a rare Hemingway edition, and the arrival of a black-clad stranger in snowy Aspen Hills, Cat’s afraid everything’s going downhill . . .
OF MURDER AND MEN
Love is in the air in Aspen Hills, and it’s making a terrible mess of Cat Latimer’s writers’ retreat—especially when blood stains the plot ...
Ever since her business partner, Shauna, fell for a wealthy landowner in town, Cat has been working double time to keep her writers’ retreat running.
And with the January session almost underway, that spells trouble. As if scheduling mishaps aren’t disastrous enough, Shauna skips out on kitchen duties one morning, forcing Cat to serve unsuspecting guests store-bought muffins . . .
But best laid plans really go awry when Shauna discovers her beau missing from their bed. When his body later turns up in the horse barn, they quickly find out the victim’s scandalous lifestyle left many dying for revenge. While balancing an eccentric group of aspiring writers and a suspect list for the record books, Cat soon finds herself on the heels of a killer—and authoring her most deadly conclusion yet . . .
SLAY IN CHARACTER
Staying in character can be murder when Cat Latimer and the members of her writers’ retreat head for a ghost town . . .
Cat and the members of her writers’ retreat have just arrived in Outlaw, Colorado, an “Old West” tourist town complete with inhabitants dressed up as famous figures from history.
But this authentic slice of Americana takes a murderous turn when a college student masquerading as a 19th-century saloon girl becomes history herself.
Was she the intended target?
Or did she take a hit meant for someone else? With a cast of suspects to choose from—including some notorious gunslingers and the sleazy town founders—Cat must unhorse the real culprit before a real-life ghost story is given a killer twist . . .
