by Sarah Fox
I was about to turn away from the window when something caught my eye. I peered out toward the forest, wondering if my eyes had played a trick on me.
No. I saw it again. A flicker through the trees.
Was that red hair and a green dress?
My coat and boots were by the back door. I pulled them on as quickly as I could.
“Marley?” Brett called from across the room.
“I’ll be back soon,” I said over my shoulder as I dashed out the door.
At the bottom of the porch steps, I stopped and scanned the forest. At first I saw nothing. Then I spotted another flicker of red between the trees.
“Everything okay?” Harvey came up beside me.
“I think I just saw Henrietta. Or, something…” I pointed at the woods on the eastern side of the lake. “What’s the fastest way to get over there?”
Harvey didn’t hesitate. “Snowmobile. Come on. I want to see the ghost again.”
He jogged over to one of the smaller outbuildings and hauled open the double doors. Two snowmobiles were parked inside. He handed me a helmet and grabbed another for himself before getting onto the closest snowmobile.
“Jump on,” he said before starting up the machine.
My helmet secure, I climbed onto the seat behind him. He drove slowly out of the shed and past the lodge. Then we picked up speed, zooming along the lakeshore.
Sheriff Walczyk and her deputies looked our way, but then they were out of sight.
I shouted general directions to Harvey. When the shoreline became too steep, he veered off into the woods, following the same trail Brett and I had taken on our snowshoeing trek.
We’d almost reached the far side of the lake without any further ghost sightings. I figured we were out of luck, but then I spotted the red hair again. Or, what I thought was red hair.
I tapped Harvey on the shoulder. “Stop here.”
He brought the machine to a halt between the shore and one of the houses that was almost directly across the lake from Holly Lodge.
Someone had just disappeared inside the A-frame house.
I climbed off the snowmobile and ran through the snow. I jogged up the steps to the large porch and then rapped on the french doors.
Inside a brightly lit kitchen, a woman spun around, her eyes widening when she saw me. She shoved something onto a chair and out of sight before opening the door.
“Marley?” she said, clearly surprised by my appearance. “What are you doing here?”
“Hi, Cindy. I guess you could say I’m ghost hunting.”
Her face paled, but she didn’t say anything.
“Except,” I continued, “I think the ghost I was chasing is very much alive.”
Cindy’s shoulders sagged and she let out a resigned sigh. She stepped back. “You’d better come inside.”
I gestured to Harvey and he joined us in Cindy’s warm kitchen. She retrieved the wig and the dark green dress she’d stashed on the chair. Both items were soaking wet and bedraggled, the fake red hair tangled.
“Please don’t bother Rita about this,” Cindy requested. “She has far too much to deal with already.”
“Rita was in on this?” I asked.
Harvey stayed quiet, listening.
“It was her idea,” Cindy explained. “She thought if there were some sightings of Henrietta, it might help to draw more people to Holly Lodge. We thought it would be especially good if Lily Spitz saw the ghost while she was here. She has lots of followers on social media. If she talked about her ghost sighting online, it could stir up a lot of interest.”
“But today of all days?” I said.
“No. I didn’t mean for there to be a sighting today.” Cindy dropped the wet dress and wig onto the kitchen table. “I wore these yesterday morning, in the hope that Lily—or anyone—might spot me flitting in and out of the woods. I had to take them off before I returned to Holly Lodge, so I hid them in a hollowed tree. Then the blizzard hit. Thanks to the wind, they got covered in snow, even in their hiding place. I almost didn’t find them today. I was just bringing them home. I wasn’t even wearing them. I didn’t realize someone would see me carrying them.”
“So the ghost isn’t real,” I said, not particularly surprised.
“Oh, she’s real all right,” Cindy said. “I was serious when I said I’ve seen her myself.”
Harvey nodded in agreement. “I’ve seen her too. Twice.”
“But she doesn’t appear on command,” Cindy said. “There haven’t been many sightings recently, so that’s why Rita came up with this scheme. But the ghost…she’s no hoax.”
I wasn’t sure what to make of that, but I did know one thing for sure—I really wanted to go home.
Chapter Thirty-Two
I added soap to the dishwasher, shut the door, and turned it on.
That was the last of the cleanup done.
Our Christmas Eve dinner had been a great success. Ivan, Lisa, and Chloe had come over for the evening, and they’d all brought some food to contribute to the meal. Brett and I had taken care of the rest of the cooking. After eating, we’d all enjoyed glasses of eggnog while listening to Christmas music and exchanging presents. Our guests had left happy, and I still had a smile on my face.
My mom wouldn’t be here for Christmas this year. She and Grant had gone to Boston to visit Grant’s family, but she’d be coming for a visit soon. On Christmas Day, Brett and I would spend a quiet morning together before heading over to his parents’ place in the early afternoon. Until then, it would be just the two of us. Plus Flapjack and Bentley.
I wandered into the front living room, where we’d gathered with our guests after dinner. Bentley trotted ahead of me, proudly wearing the red and green plaid bowtie Lisa had brought for him. Flapjack was already in the living room, curled up beneath the Christmas tree, sleeping in the glow of the multi-colored lights.
Brett was there too, collecting scraps of wrapping paper destined for the recycling bin. He stopped what he was doing when I came into the room. He put an arm around my shoulders as I stopped to admire the Christmas tree for the umpteenth time. Bentley sniffed at the remaining wrapped presents before turning in a circle and lying down on the edge of the tree skirt.
The Flip Side’s festival tree hadn’t won the competition—Marielle’s cupcake tree was voted the favorite—but, as biased as I might have been, I thought the tree in front of me was the most beautiful one I’d seen all season.
“I think everyone had a good time,” Brett said.
I turned to face him and put my arms around his waist. “I think so too. Ready to head up to bed?”
“Almost.” He kissed my forehead. “There’s still one more present you have to open first.”
“I thought we were leaving the rest until tomorrow.”
“Except for this one.” Brett reached into his back pocket and pulled out a plain white envelope.
I accepted the envelope and glanced from it to Brett. “Is it a time-sensitive present?”
“Not exactly. I just can’t wait any longer to give it to you.”
Intrigued, I opened the unsealed envelope and pulled out a piece of paper. I unfolded it and studied it. It appeared to be a print-out of e-tickets of some kind. I read the print on the page and then raised my gaze to see Brett grinning at me.
“We’re going to Hawaii?” Excitement bubbled out of me, almost making my voice squeak.
“You want to go, right?”
I threw my arms around Brett’s neck and kissed him. “You know I do!”
We’d talked about going to Hawaii, but we hadn’t yet managed to make any real plans in that regard. At least, I hadn’t. Brett obviously had.
He wrapped his arms around me. “I know we said we’d stick to staycations, but I couldn’t resist the thought of ten nights on Maui in early January.�
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“It’ll be perfect,” I said, still giddy with excitement. Something occurred to me. “Except…”
“All taken care of,” Brett said before I could finish my sentence. “I’ve already talked to your mom. She’ll look after the animals and help out at The Flip Side while we’re gone.”
I beamed at him. “You really do think of everything.”
Brett kept his arms around me as he walked me slowly backwards. He stopped once we were beneath the mistletoe.
“You’re happy?” he asked.
“Very.”
I kissed him, and several minutes passed before we spoke again.
“Now are you ready to go upstairs?” I asked.
Brett squeezed my hands. “As soon as I let Bentley out one last time. I’ll meet you up there.”
He called to Bentley, and the goldendoodle scrambled to chase after him. I heard the front door open as I switched off the Christmas lights and blew a good night kiss to Flapjack. He made no move to come out from under the tree.
I was about to head up the stairs when Brett poked his head in through the front door.
“Marley, come see.”
He disappeared from sight without saying anything more.
Curious, I joined him out on the front porch. I barely noticed the cold air cutting through my clothes. I was too enchanted by the fluffy white snowflakes falling from the sky.
“Snow for Christmas,” Brett said. “That doesn’t happen all that often in Wildwood Cove.”
I gazed up at the sky. “It’s beautiful.”
Bentley trotted past us into the house, but we didn’t move. There was something almost magical about the large flakes drifting lazily down from the dark sky.
Brett put his arm around me and held me close. “Merry Christmas, Marley.”
I snuggled up to his side, still watching the snow fall, thoroughly content. “Merry Christmas, Brett.”
Acknowledgments
I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to several people whose hard work and input made this book what it is today. I’m forever grateful to my agent, Jessica Faust, for helping me bring this series to life, and to my editor at Kensington Books, Elizabeth May, for helping me shape this manuscript into a better book. The art department has created gorgeous covers for the series, and I appreciate all the work the entire Kensington team has put into this book. Thank you to Marguerite Gavin for doing such a great job of narrating the audiobooks, and to Jody Holford for cheering me on and helping me with Ambrose’s poem. Thanks also to all the readers who have returned for another of Marley’s adventures in Wildwood Cove.
Recipes
Pumpkin Scones with Maple Glaze
Scones
1 cup pumpkin purée
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 egg
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Spread the pumpkin purée on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast the purée in the oven for about 8 to 10 minutes (this will enhance the pumpkin flavor). Watch carefully as you don’t want it to burn. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Cut the butter into small pieces and cut it into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or fork until it resembles coarse oatmeal.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, cream, milk, pumpkin purée, molasses, and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly, about 8 to 10 times. Form dough into a ball and place on the baking sheet. Flatten the ball into a disc approximately 1 inch thick. Cut into 8 pieces but do not separate the pieces.
Bake at 400°F for approximately 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.
Maple Glaze
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/2 cup icing sugar
2 teaspoons cream
In a small bowl, mix together glaze ingredients until smooth. Once the scones have cooled, drizzle with glaze and serve.
Cinnamon Pancakes
2 tablespoons melted butter
1.5 cups milk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1.5 cups flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1.5 teaspoons cinnamon
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup chopped pecans
Melt the butter and set aside to cool. Combine the milk and lemon juice and set aside.
Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. In separate bowl, beat together egg, milk/lemon juice, vanilla, and butter. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the liquid ingredients. Combine. Mix in chopped pecans. Ladle batter into greased skillet and cook on medium heat until bubbles form on the top and don’t disappear. Flip and cook second side until golden brown.
Gingerbread Muffins
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat oven to 420°F.
Mix together the applesauce, sugar, molasses, oil, and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Sift together the dry ingredients and add them to the egg mixture. Mix well. Fill the muffin tins to the top.
When you place the muffin tins in the oven, reduce the heat to 375°F and bake for approximately 15-16 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for five minutes. Take the muffins out of the tins and allow to cool before serving. Makes 12 muffins.
Keep reading for a special preview of the new Literary Pub Mystery by Sarah Fox!
THE MALT IN OUR STARS
A Literary Pub Mystery
There’s some shady business in Shady Creek, Vermont, this spring—in the third mystery by USA Today bestselling author Sarah Fox featuring pub owner and amateur sleuth Sadie Coleman . . .
Sadie is delighted to have booked famous romantic suspense novelist Linnea Bliss for an event at The Inkwell, her literary-themed pub, housed in a renovated grist mill. The author and her personal assistant Marcie are staying at Shady Creek Manor, a grand historical hotel that was once a private mansion and is rumored to still hold hidden treasure somewhere within its walls.
But the hotel’s storied past is nothing compared to its tragic present when Marcie plummets to her death from an open window on the third floor. After Sadie discovers signs of a struggle in the room, it’s clear that someone assisted the assistant out the window. But Marcie is new in town—who would have a motive to kill her?
In between pulling pints and naming literary-themed cocktails, Sadie takes it on herself to solve the case, wondering if the crime is connected to the vandalized vehicles of a film crew in town to do a feature on local brewer Grayson Blake, with whom Sadie shares a strong flirtation. Or could the poor woman’s defenestration have anything to do with the legendary treasure? As Shady Creek Manor prepares for a May Day masquerade ball, Sadi
e is determined to unmask the killer—but when she uncorks a whole lot of trouble, will she meet a bitter end?
Look for THE MALT IN OUR STARS, on sale now.
The Malt in Our Stars
Chapter One
Shady Creek Manor was an impressive sight to behold. The three-story stone building sat in the middle of several acres of neatly trimmed lawn, immaculately kept gardens, and serene woodland. The clear blue sky made the scene even more spectacular. I cracked my car window open as I followed the long driveway, breathing in the heavenly scent of the spring air. The smell of flowers and freshly cut grass buoyed my already good mood, and I soaked in the warmth from the sun shining through the driver’s-side window.
Instead of following the branch of the driveway that looped around a fountain to the front door of the manor, I drove along another arm, past the hotel to a parking lot beyond a row of trees that prevented the parked cars and cement from spoiling the view from the front of the property. The lot was only half full, and as I pulled into a free spot my nerves danced a little jig. I was about to meet one of my favorite authors, Linnea Bliss.
When I climbed out of my car, I smoothed down the skirt of my green dress and tucked an errant strand of red hair behind my ear. I wanted to be as professional as possible and I was determined not to fangirl when I met the author. Not too much, anyway. Still, as I headed across the parking lot, I had to take a deep breath to settle my still-dancing nerves. I reached the edge of the parking lot and was about to walk along a pathway that led around to the front of the manor when the sound of hushed but angry voices reached my ears.
I paused, seeking out the owners of the voices. A second later I spotted Brad Honeywell, one of the manor’s owners, outside a rear door of the hotel. He was in the midst of an argument with a twenty-something woman with dark brown hair cut in a sleek, short bob with blunt bangs. Although I’d never formally met Brad, I knew him by sight since he came to my pub, The Inkwell, on occasion. The young woman with him was a complete stranger to me, however. I couldn’t hear what the two of them were arguing about, but just as I was going to continue on my way, the young woman took a step back from Brad.
