by Beth Byers
Table of Contents
Scones & Scandal
Dedication:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Also By Beth Byers
Also By Amanda A. Allen
Copyright
Sneak Peek of Bedtimes & Broomsticks
Scones & Scandal
The 2nd Chance Diner Mysteries
Book 8
By Beth Byers
For my kids.
You’re everything.
Chapter One
“Rosemary, honey,” Simon said, gently as we walked down the beach. It was one of those lying autumn days that made you think summer only for the next day to be cool and drizzly. A day to lead you on and make you anxious to get in one more summer adventure.
Our Basset Hound dogs, Daisy and Duke, were trailing behind us while my gentle Great Dane, Goliath was walking right next to me. The four little long-haired Weiner dogs were darting through the waves, covering themselves in water and sand. It was a good thing we had rubber mats for the back of my car and the drive home.
“Yeah?” I hadn’t really been paying attention but something about his tone caught my attention.
Simon wound his fingers through mine not caring that I had been lost in my thoughts. “What about the little church? The one on the hill over Silver Falls? It’s small, but…”
We were getting married. Which was a little bit crazy for me to even think. I had been single for so long, and I had gotten to the point where I really didn’t expect to fall in love and find a partner. Then I moved to Silver Falls, met Simon, and somehow…falling in love had been easy. Planning the wedding, however, was much more difficult.
“Small is fine with me, Simon. You’re the one who is friends with everyone.”
He grinned at me, kissing me on the forehead. “I’ve lived here my whole life.” His eyes crinkled while his perfect face shocked me with his beauty.
I couldn’t be sure anymore if he really was that handsome or if it was just how much I loved him that was coloring his face in my eyes? It was a question I may never be able to answer.
“It’s normal that you know fewer people here. Besides, you have more friends than you realize.”
I squeezed his fingers and asked, “Should we make an appointment to tour the chapel? Decide where we want to make a reservation?”
“We need a date first.” Simon picked up a stick and threw it for Mama Dog before he added, “I need to schedule our honeymoon and time-off the second the days open up.”
He meant he needed to steal all the good vacation days before anyone else realized he had. His smirk told me that it wasn’t the first time he’d pulled this trick.
“Where should we go?”
He considered. We lived on the beach, so maybe not a beach? Only, I had imagined something tropical whenever I’d allowed myself to imagine a honeymoon. And, of course, the Oregon Coast was hardly tropical. Sometimes, it felt like it never stopped raining here.
“Fiji?”
“The Galapagos Islands?” He suggested.
I considered and then shrugged. I really didn’t care. I just wanted sand, sun, and no murders. Well…I never wanted another murder again, ever. Of course. But for my honeymoon? I wanted no murders and possibly a hammock by a warm sea.
“You pick,” I told him. “But sun, sand, and sea. And at least a couple of weeks.”
“Three weeks?”
“Sold,” I agreed. It was easy for me to take time of these days. I had purchased The 2nd Chance Diner when I’d moved to Silver Falls. Lately, I’d stopped working full-time at the diner to help run the local animal shelter. We had a competent manager and staff at the shelter and my best friend, Zee, ran the diner. She had worked there long before I came alone and knew far more about it than I did. Now, I mostly helped out here and there and spent more time home with my own dogs. And maybe, someday, a baby.
“We need to be back before the busy season,” Simon said. He was one of Silver Falls few cops and they tried to avoid long vacations from Memorial Day to Labor Day when the town was stuffed with tourists. “Three weeks is possible if we get married before the end of April.”
* * * * *
I had spent the morning at the dog shelter, had lunch with my fiancé Simon at home, taken the dogs for a long walk, and then came to the diner. I’d hoped to be there before the rest of the staff left to help close, but I guess I had walked too long with my furry beasts. They’d all abandoned me for their dog beds when we got back in, but rather than taking a nap of my own, I’d wanted coffee with friends. With my busy morning, I had missed whatever had sent Zee into a tizzy. Yesterday, she’d been her normal semi-mean self.
“What is this?” I had left Simon to take the dogs home and then swung over to the diner. We were past closing and the diner was empty of everyone, including the staff, except for my manager and best friend, Zee and the cook, Az. They were the most important members of the staff as well as being my favorite people in Silver Falls outside of Simon.
Zee scowled at me, down at her confection, and then said—simply, “Shut it!”
I stared down at the mess in front of her. All the evidence pointed to the fact that they were playing around with new recipes, except normally it was only Az who did that and he didn’t make such a mess. What I was seeing, however, was no homestyle recipe like apple pie or a chocolate sheet cake. There were, instead, circles of a plate sized concoctions. It looked rather like a styrofoam cookie and smelled like sweet vanilla.
A vague memory struck me and I asked, “Is that French meringue?”
The look Zee shot me told me that I was an idiot. I assumed that was a yes.
“And candied violets?” I’d have popped one into my mouth, but I was afraid she’d hurt me. Something in her gaze told me that her normally salty self had upped to terrifying levels.
“And Az? Are those custard tarts?”
“They are indeed, Rosie my luv,” he said, grinning at me. His dark chocolate, honeyed voice rolled out and yanked a grin back to him. His darting glance at Zee and wink told me that she had indeed crossed the line to scary.
“So are we giving the tearoom a run for its money?” Our friend, Josephine, ran a pretty little tearoom and B&B that was nearly always booked out months at a time. This was the type of stuff she served.
Az winced, and the look Zee shot me could have killed me if she had that power. What in the world? I grinned at Zee, loving her reaction a little too much, and then asked, “Zee…what is going on?”
“My mum is coming,” Zee snarled. “She wants to have a British tea with her children and grandchildren. She wants me to do it all. Did she ask Fionnula to make anything? No! No she didn’t.”
I pressed my lips together to hide my laugh. Zee’s outrage gave a pretty good impression of what she had been like as a 12-year-old. My gaze darted to Az’s, and he grinned—safely—from behind Zee. When she snapped around to examine him, his face was solemn.
Her reaction told me that her mom was a little terrifying. Maybe that was where Zee got her salty sass. I hadn’t really heard of her talk of her mom or—was Fionnula Zee’s sister?
“And what about perfect Camise? Or Talfryn? No! Just me. And Mum…do you know how picky she is? Does that pie have a soggy bottom, Zapphirah? Your cakes are so stodgy, Zapphirah. Camise makes such a light sponge. Well then…” Zee coughed, cursed and then added, “ask Camise to do everything then.”
Given the funky names, I was pretty sure Zee was talking about her siblings. I had no ide
a what to say. I mean…what could I say? I was an only child. The most I knew about siblings was how Duke harassed Daisy every single time I gave the dogs treats. Seeing as how they were the only siblings I typically dealt with—and they were dogs—I knew nothing about how to respond to Zee. And saying anything might cause Zee to attack me like a rabid spider monkey. So…I just did my best to keep my face as solemn as Az’s.
“At least Fionnula never does anything right either. Do you know my mum still gives me the shite about my high school boyfriend? He was perfect for me, etcetera, etcetera. She’s the sourest old girl who ever lived. I’m in my 50s. Really? Are we going to talk about the kid I dated when I as seventeen? Again?”
The crazy in Zee’s eyes made me realize that she was actually getting ready to fully lose it. I wanted to reach out but her hands were shaking over the slew of tea cakes. I pressed my lips together and took a deep breath, searching for something to say. Anything.
“Nothing makes you crazier than family,” Az said, gently. He handed Zee a custard tart, but she just crumpled it between her fingers, staring out the window.
“There’s a reason I moved to the West Coast and away from my family,” Zee said softly. “There was never supposed to be a family reunion here. Not ever. They were supposed to be around my mom and then I was going to miss because of unavoidable emergencies.”
“Time and again?” I asked and Zee shrugged.
“Zee, babe,” Az said gently. “They’re coming here because you always cancel the last minute there.”
Zee closed her eyes and breathed slowly in through her nose. “I cancel because of…”
She didn’t elaborate, but there was a twist of pain in her voice that had me firing up in her defense. Zee was fabulous. Mean, sassy, opinionated, and the kindest woman I’d ever met wrapped up into one stringy, energetic package.
“What can I do to help?” I asked, knowing I’d do anything.
“I need scones and jam and clotted cream, and I need you to make it and then lie and say I did. And they have to taste like a British grandma made them. My very British, very perfect, very dead grandma.”
I had to bite back my laugh before I sniffed, cleared my throat, and then choked out, “Of course.”
Her gaze was narrow and mean on my face “And I need the diner. After closing, but…”
“Of course,” I said. I’d have said yes to that without question.
“You’ll have to work while my mum is here. And my sisters and brother. And their devils.”
“Of course,” I said. I liked working in the diner a lot more now that I didn’t do it daily.
Zee’s mean eyes narrowed on me, and she added, “And I need a Swiss roll with perfect sponge.”
“Ok,” I said. “What’s sponge?”
“Cake,” Zee growled, considered and then added, “And a yogurt loaf cake.”
My gaze narrowed on hers, and she smirked that mean smirk of hers.
“For real though, I’ll do whatever I can,” I said. I’d have squeezed her shoulders, but she was so tightly strung, she’d probably have lashed out. “What about a marionberry jam? Instead of raspberry or strawberry or whatever British people eat. What can I do to make it special? Whatever you need.”
Zee’s face was sour at my suggestion, but Az said, “You know…we should do some marionberry waffles. It’s out of season though.”
“I made marionberry jam in the spring,” I told Zee and Az, “We need to save a few jars, but we could use them for jam tarts and jam for the scones.”
“We can’t do anything different. My mother never appreciates putting your own touch on things. Those are the points of weakness where she attacks.”
My brows rose before I could stop myself.
“We can do this, Zee babe,” Az said, drawing the dagger of Zee’s gaze. The confidence in his voice—so dark and perfect—seemed to be what she needed to hear. I had been saying the same things, but Az just conveyed the absolute faith.
“Yeah,” I said brightly, smiling at her.
“Yeah,” she repeated, scowling at me.
Chapter Two
“Are you coming with me?” I asked Zee the next afternoon.
I’d come into the diner with my bag over my shoulder and without a dog. Zee looked up and frowned before she glanced over to Az as if to see if he knew what I was talking about.
“We’re going dress shopping. Do you remember?”
Her jaw dropped and the utter blankness followed by a slowly dawning light told me that she had entirely forgotten. She glanced down at her flour covered uniform dress and then said, “Oh. Yes. Of course.”
“You forgot,” I told her, putting some of the newest batch of scones into a box to take to Jane and Maddie. Jane was the town’s doctor, Simon’s cousin, and one of my first friends in Silver Falls. Maddie was the first person, outside of Simon, I’d met in Silver Falls. She’d also become one of my greatest friends. Outside of Zee, they were the two who got into trouble with me the most.
Maddie and Jane were meeting us at the diner, but I was guessing that Zee would want to change since she was covered in flour. Maybe she’d also want to bury the evidence of the mangled petit fours in front of her. She was growling about tempering chocolate as she wiped her hands. We had an appointment at this little shop in Newport that had pulled in some of the dresses I was interested in.
“Do I have time?”
“Sure,” I lied. “Just hurry.”
She scowled at me and probably knew I was lying. I didn’t want her to be uncomfortable, this was supposed to be fun. So I just shrugged. We had made an appointment that extended to the after hours, so if we were a bit late, it would be ok as far as the appointment went.
Zee decided to rush to the boutique next door and grab a dress she had been wanting. While she was gone, Jane and Maddie showed up. I made us all coffee while we waited and Jane and Maddie dug into the box of scones.
“Oh my gee,” Maddie said around a mouthful of pastry and cream. “Oh my gee. Please say y’all will be making these every day. I will come over and have one with a side of bacon and an espresso and my life will be complete.”
I grinned at her. The traditional British scone tended to be topped with jam and clotted cream. I had my first yesterday and agreed. I wanted more. I could see why tea was a daily thing in the UK. It might need to be a daily thing for me too.
“Where are you going on your honeymoon?” Jane asked as she took a bite of her scone. She moaned and added, “What brought on these?”
I looked around for Zee even though I knew she was gone and then told them about Zee’s family reunion.
“Really?” Maddie asked as I told her the sibling names.
“Really? Zee’s the bad one?” Jane gasped, considered and then added, “I can see that.”
“Really,” I agreed taking a bite of my own scone.
“I’ll figure out how to make some of it,” Maddie said. “I’m not baker like you and Zee, but I can be your girl Friday in the kitchen.”
It wasn’t long before we were debating wedding locations including a new resort and honeymoon options.
* * * * *
“You know where you should go?” Jane asked as she pulled a dress from the rack, “The Maldives.” She paused in looking at dresses to pull out her phone and show me images from a Google search. “You could bring back some of those basket swings and hang them on your patio or even a few outside the diner during busy season.
I debated and then started putting on dresses. The girl at the shop had me in a corset and slip as Zee handed me a dress. She stepped back and answered her phone while the shopgirl started lacing the dress.
“Hey La,” Zee answered.
I glanced over and then took a shallow breath since the corset didn’t allow for more. What kind of name was La? There was something in Zee’s tone that was catching my attention even I examined the dress in the mirror.
“Not this one,” I said before the girl had even finished lac
ing. She shot me an irritated look, but there was no getting past the large bows on the straps, at the back of the dress, and a few smaller ones at the base of the dress.
Zee’s smirk told me she had been responsible for the dress, but she didn’t seem to enjoy her joke much as her face paled.
“What do you mean?” She growled into the phone.
I glanced up as Jane laughed at my dress and handed me another one. Maddie walked up and said, “Don’t waste your time on that one. This is it.”
Zee choked and we all turned to look at her. The rose circles on her cheeks and the too-paleness of her skin were repeated five times over in the mirrors set up to give a good viewing of the dresses.
“What do you mean?” She breathed in slowly, like a huffing rhinoceros and then snarled, “No. Absolutely not. What is she thinking?”
The murmur of the voice on the other side of the line could be heard simply because we were all staring in silent shock at Zee as she cursed a blue streak under her breath while whoever she was talking to carried on.
She clicked the button on her phone and then dropped it and stomped on it several times before Maddie grabbed Zee’s arm, and rescued the phone saying, “You’re going to regret that if you have to buy a new one.”
“It’s why she uses the same case as mom’s with toddlers use,” I told Maddie, but I slipped Zee’s phone from Maddie and put it in my purse. “What’s going on?”
“My mum is the most conniving evil—wench—in the history of mankind. Ever! She knows I’m dating Carver. I told her I was. I told her he was a good man. With a job and a house and a retirement.”
Carver was my fiancé’s boss as well as being my friend. He’d adopted shelter dogs recently that would have been hard to place and he was good to my friend, Zee. It was particularly remarkable seeing as how Zee was a sourpuss with the loving capacity of a cactus, and yet, he adored he. A fact that nominated him for sainthood in my opinion.
“Carver is a good man,” Jane said carefully, eyeing Zee as if she were a rattlesnake.
