by Nancy CoCo
“You look . . . amazing,” he said with a sideways grin.
“Amazingly messed up,” I said and smiled at him. The pressure on my left fingers grew. “Harry, you know Rex, right?”
“Sure,” Harry said and stuck out his hand. “Nice to see you, Officer Manning. Glad you’re taking such good care of our girl, here.” There was an underlying current of sarcasm.
“He is,” I said. “He saved me from the killer.”
“Mike Hangleford.” Harry’s face clouded. “The very guy who painted my bed and breakfast.”
“I had no idea when I recommended him,” I said.
“Not your fault,” he said and went to pat my hand, but I was covered in cast and splints. “Right, so, how long are you staying in the clinic?”
“Not long,” I said. “My parents are coming at around six and the doc said I could go home if I was a good girl and got some rest.”
“That’s good to hear,” Harry said. “Looks like the fudge shop will be out of commission for a few months.”
“My dad introduced me to two assistants. They’re going to intern for the summer. They’re coming in next Monday. Hopefully, if they’re good enough, they can take over while I’m sidelined.”
“My guess is the fudge won’t taste the same,” Harry said with a wink. Then he glanced at Rex, who was still holding my hand, and sent me a sexy grin. “I don’t want to wear you out. Doctor’s orders to rest and all.” He brushed another kiss on my cheek. Winked at Rex and walked out, throwing a “Talk to you soon,” over his shoulder.
“That man has a lot of—”
I cut him off before he could say anything more. “Harry is my friend and you and I are not yet exclusive. Not that I am dating him or anything, but I’m not some piece of property to be fought over.”
This time it was Rex’s turn to grin. “I like you when you get all riled up.” He kissed my hand and stood. “I’m going to let you get some rest. Enjoy your flowers.” He kissed me on the mouth, soft and sensuous. “See you soon,” he whispered against my lips. Then he left, whistling a jaunty tune.
The doctor and nurse came in to do a final check. My parents were back, my mother still horrified about how I looked. She brought me fresh clothes to wear and bagged up what I had on this morning. “You don’t want to look at that,” she said.
I was released and thanked Dr. Prost. The walk home was a bit shaky with the pain medication still in my system. Cara offered a wheelchair to get me home, but I refused. It was only a few blocks.
When I arrived at the McMurphy, Frances ran up and gave me a big hug. People from the wedding party swarmed me, asking questions, wanting a good story. So I gave it to them. Then I was bundled off to my apartment, which was filled with flowers.
“What? Where did all these come from?” I asked as I sat on my couch and looked at how many bouquets were there. There was barely any room to move. The scent of flowers perfumed the air.
“They’re all from Rex,” Mom said. “They just kept coming and coming. I think he bought out every florist in town.”
I shook my head. No wondering he was whistling. His bouquets made Harry’s look small in comparison. I tried to roll my eyes but couldn’t. My heart warmed. Maybe this time Rex and I would grow even closer.
Hazelnut Spread Fudge
Ingredients:
2 cups hazelnut spread
½ cup of butter, melted
1¾ cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips
1 tablespoon butter
Directions:
In a mixing bowl, mix hazelnut spread and ½ cup butter until smooth. Sift powdered sugar into bowl with spread and butter. Add vanilla and blend. This should be thick but smooth. Place in a parchment-paper-lined 8 x 8-inch pan. Microwave chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon butter together, stirring every 30 seconds until melted and smooth. Pour over hazelnut fudge. Chill for ten minutes. Remove from refrigerator and cut into one-inch pieces. Return to refrigerator and chill until firm. Remove pieces from pan. Store in an airtight container and enjoy! Makes 32.
Chapter 20
My new assistants arrived on Monday. They stopped by the McMurphy first before going to their temporary quarters, with many of the other seasonal workers.
“Hi, I’m Allie,” I said. “I’d shake your hand, but . . .” I showed them my sling and cast. “Welcome to the McMurphy.”
Mal barked and came running, then slid into them.
“I’m Kent,” the brother introduced them, “this is Kelly.” They were both blond and beautiful, with wide smiles and blue eyes.
“What a cutie,” Kelly said as she picked up Mal and scratched behind her ears.
“That’s Mal,” I said. “Short for Marshmallow. The McMurphy also has a cat, Caramella, or Mella for short. She’s a calico. You’ll see her around. Let me give you the grand tour.” I took them around and showed them everything and then we returned to the lobby, where their suitcases rested beside Frances’s desk. “So that’s it. Frances will give you directions to your apartment. I hate to rush you, but if you could be back here by two p.m., we can make some fudge for the online orders today. I’d do it myself, but I’m a little . . .”
“Slinged up?” Kent said with a grin. “Do you find that humorous?”
“Very punny,” Kelly said and rolled her eyes. “We’ll be back by two.”
They left and Frances looked up from her work station. “Those two are young.”
“Just finished their senior year in college,” I said. “Great time for an internship.”
“You might have your hands full,” she said. “Pun unintended.”
I shook my head. “So, I heard from Jenn that Shane is coming home today. I’m going to go over to the house to make sure it’s all fixed up.” Jenn had been juggling a lot, ensuring the Wilkins wedding was ready to go off without hitch and spending her remaining hours at the hospital with Shane.
“Sounds like a good way to spend the day,” Frances said. “Just don’t do too much or stay too long. Remember, the doctor said not to use your arm and to get plenty of rest.”
“I have to be back by two to supervise the interns, but I promise I’ll just supervise at the house,” I said. “The police station employees pooled enough money to repair the window and the locks. So, there should be very little left to do.” With any luck, I’d see Rex there.
The walk to the house seemed to take forever. I was still recovering after my injuries. I can’t lie; I’m sure the pain and exhaustion showed on my face.
“Allie, what are you doing here?” Liz asked as she came out the front door. “Did you walk? Seriously, you need to sit down. Come on, there’s a chair in the bedroom.”
I let her bundle me off until I sat and caught my breath. “I wanted to be here when Shane and Jenn came home.”
“Well, you should have at least taken a carriage.”
“I can’t climb into one,” I said and pointed my chin at my right arm and hand cast. My arm throbbed and I wished I had thought to bring a pain pill.
“Which tells me you shouldn’t be here,” she scolded me and brought me a glass of water with a straw. “Drink this.”
I took a few sips. “The place looks wonderful,” I said. “Like nothing happened. Did you get the blood off the floor?”
“All the blood is gone,” Liz said. “Our friend Franklin came in with a hand sander, sanded, and then touched up the floor stain and replaced the broken window. I’m sure you can smell the paint.”
“The window’s open,” I said as I watched the curtains flutter.
“It’s only until they get here,” Liz said. “I’m trying to get as much of the paint and stain smell out as possible. As soon as they arrive, I’m going to close the window and light a candle.”
“Have you heard how Shane’s doing?” I asked.
“He’s recovered enough to come home,” Rex said as he walked into the room.
I blushed at the sight of him, rem
embering the flowers. “Great news,” I said. “Thanks again for the flowers.”
He came over and kissed me. “You’re welcome.”
Liz watched us with a lifted eyebrow.
“I’ll tell you later,” I mouthed to her as Rex crossed the room to inspect the window.
“The guys did a great job,” Liz said. “They even brought in a minifridge.” She pointed to the dorm-sized fridge beside the dresser. “That way they can keep drinks cold and any food they get.”
“Oh right, their kitchen is hollowed out and people are going to be stopping by with food,” I said. “How are they going to store all that?”
“The guys brought in a chest freezer,” Rex said. “It’s plugged in and waiting in the carriage house.”
I’d forgotten about the little carriage house that was behind the fixer-upper.
“We were going to put it in the basement, but we didn’t want either of them going up or down stairs.”
“How’s Jenn?” I asked Liz. “She’s been too busy to talk.”
“She’s good, like me: bumps and bruises and sore in places she didn’t know could get sore.”
“Sorry for not asking about you,” I said.
“I’m okay,” she said. “A little shell-shocked, but wow, do I have a firsthand experience to talk about. It really gave me perspective on what victims go through.”
There was a lot of commotion at the door and I got up and followed Liz out of the bedroom. It was Jenn and Shane. Charles had Shane’s arm around his shoulder and helped him into the house. He made his way to the bedroom with Jenn at his side. They got him in bed, sitting up and covered with a blanket.
I gave Jenn a huge hug. She took a step back and stared at my cast. “Feeling any better?”
“I’m fine,” I said. “I’m going to supervise my new assistants making fudge this afternoon. You look good.”
“I’m doing okay,” she said and took a seat on the bed next to Shane and held his hand. “We’re doing okay.”
I gave Shane an awkward hug. His knife wound was on the same side as my arm, so we both winced.
“I’m so sorry we missed your wedding date,” I said. “But I’m so glad you are both alive and healing.”
“I think we’re doing better than you,” he said and pushed his glasses up on his nose.
“It looks worse than it is,” I said.
“What happened?” Shane asked.
Rex filled them in on Mike’s capture. “So, piecing it all together, Mike roofied you to frame you. Then he lured Becky and Christopher into the alley. He attacked Christopher and Becky tried to fight him, so she was knocked out and cut. Then he killed Christopher. But you woke up too soon and fought Mike, grabbing the knife. Mike ran off, and that’s when the ladies found Shane.”
“Was Peter in on it?” I asked. “He lied about taking Shane here.”
“As far as we can tell, Peter didn’t know anything except that Mike told him not to worry about taking Shane here. He could leave him in the alley and he’d be fine.”
“So he did,” I concluded. “He should still be charged as an accessory to the crime.”
“I’m leaving that up to the DA,” Rex said.
There was a knock on the door. Frances and Douglas came in with a casserole in hand. “We brought you food,” Frances said.
“Smells wonderful,” Jenn said.
“But you have no counters to put it on,” Frances pointed out.
“Just leave it on the dresser,” Jenn said and then stood to give Frances a hug.
Frances pulled up a chair next to the bed and asked how they were feeling. Then she went into all the arrangements she’d made to have the wedding go off without a hitch a week from Saturday. “Hopefully, Shane will be good to stand for the ceremony.”
“Oh, he will be. If we had it our way, we’d get married today,” Jenn said. “But I’m thinking about our families. So, thank you, Frances for doing all that.”
More people started to come in bringing food, from desserts to meals. Douglas and Rex started taking it all out to the carriage house and putting it in the freezer.
It was time to go to train my new assistants. I kissed Jenn and Shane and Rex walked me back to the McMurphy.
“The flowers are beautiful,” I said. “It was a grand gesture.”
“I wanted you to know I’m capable of grand gestures, too, you know,” he said.
“I can see that.” I smiled.
We got to the McMurphy and my new assistants were in the kitchen with Sandy Everheart, making fudge.
“What’s this?” I asked as I stuck my head into the shop.
“Frances called me,” Sandy said. “I’m not working at the Grander tonight, so I’m here.”
“Thank you!”
Rex left me at the door and I went upstairs. The apartment was quiet since the family had gone home. But it would be busy again starting Friday. I looked at the flowers again and pulled out my phone and texted Rex. Are you busy?
Just getting home, why? he texted back.
Want to come over for dinner?
My phone rang. “Hello?”
“Yes, I’d like to have dinner with you,” Rex said. “What time and what can I bring?”
I felt a warm glow in my chest. “Say seven and bring what you’re drinking because all I have right now is wine.”
“On it,” he said. “See you then.” He hung up, and I realized that the prospect of having drinks with Rex sounded like a perfect way to spend the night. Having a few hours alone with a handsome man would help relieve the pressure of having to entertain a full hotel.
I relieved Frances at the registration desk and she and Douglas went home. After checking that all the guests coming in today had arrived, I closed up the desk and left the buzzer that rang in my apartment on the desktop with a note to buzz if anyone needed anything. With my staff gone for the night, I was the one left to bring more towels, more toiletries, or answer questions. It didn’t mean I couldn’t spend time with Rex.
I made chicken breasts in cream of mushroom sauce and some rice as best I could with one hand in a sling. I was dumping a bagged salad in a bowl when there was a knock at my back door. I peeked out to see it was Rex and opened the door. “Come on in,” I said.
Rex had his hands full of whiskey, flowers, and a pink box. He was out of his uniform, dressed in black jeans, a skintight black Police T-shirt, and a gray sweatshirt. “Thanks for having me,” he said. “The flowers are for you. I brought cheesecake for dessert. It’s a sampler because I didn’t know what kind you liked, so I figured you must like something in it.”
“Oh, thanks,” I said. I tried to take the flowers, but it was awkward with only one hand.
“Let me,” Rex said. He put the cheesecake box on the counter.
“There’s a vase here,” I said and opened a cupboard.
He took out the vase, clipped the bottoms from the flowers, added sugar and water to the vase, and then put the flowers in.
“So pretty,” I said as he put them on the bar top. “There are highball glasses in the cupboard to the right of the sink,” I said. “The fridge has an icemaker in the door.”
“Fancy,” he said, noting the water and ice dispenser on the front of my fridge. “But I drink my whiskey neat.”
The kitchen was small and Rex seemed to take up a lot of it. I brushed past him to pull out a cheese plate from the fridge. I turned with the plate in hand to find him looking at me with his warm blue gaze. “What?” I asked as heat rushed over my cheeks.
“You are a beautiful, talented woman, Allie,” he said and took the plate from me. “Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
I swallowed my embarrassment and said, “Thank you.” My mother had always told me not to say a compliment wasn’t true. Instead of arguing, I was to say, “Thank you.” Now it came naturally to me.
He stood very close to me, cheese plate in hand. “Why did you invite me here tonight?”
“I had free time and n
eeded to have some downtime from thinking about the wedding and Christopher’s murder,” I said. “You said you wanted me to think about being exclusive with you. I need more than one partial date before I make a decision that momentous.”
“So, this is a date,” he said.
I looked at his clean clothes, smelled his aftershave and soap. He’d showered and dressed up. I’d done the same, showering and wearing a strapless sundress. “Well, I’d be sad if it isn’t a date because I fixed my hair and makeup one-handed and put on a cute dress.” I twirled for him.
“You’re not wearing shoes,” he said. “So it’s more of a casual date.”
“Feel free to take off your shoes. I don’t like wearing them in the house.” I brushed past him to pick up my glass of wine and sat on the couch. “Are you going to stay in the kitchen all night?”
He slipped out of his shoes and walked over in stockinged feet to put down the cheese plate on the coffee table. “Here’s to having enough dates for you to be exclusively mine.”
I tapped my wineglass on his whiskey glass. I had music playing soft and low from my iPod. There were candles on the side table, the flames were dancing and let off the scent of peonies. It mingled well with the scent of chicken on the stove.
We talked and laughed about nonsensical things. I finished my wine and got up to pour myself another glass and to pop the rice into a pot of boiling water. He brought the cheese plate to the counter, poured another two fingers of whiskey in his glass, and sat on the barstool, watching me cook. He snagged bites from the cheese plate. I joined him.
“I understand Melonie hasn’t left the island yet,” I said. “You know, she practically threatened me this winter.”
“What do you mean, threatened?” he asked, his expression darkening.
“She said she had every intention of marrying you again and would harm anyone who got in her way.”
“She’s bluffing,” he said. “Harming someone takes forethought and hard work. Melonie is lacking in both areas. Now, if it was you threatening someone, I’d take that seriously.”
“Thank you for the compliment . . . I think.”
“I asked Melonie to move out in March,” he said.
