by Eryn Scott
“Fenton, what happened to getting her to dress up?” Suze asked through clenched teeth.
Luke shrugged. “Uh … I had bigger problems than that. You might want to go get her ready, in another room.” He widened his eyes for effect and Suze’s followed as she caught on.
“Sure. This way, birthday girl.” She rushed forward, helping Luke lead Hadley off into Christine’s office area to the right. “You all did great!” Suze called back over her shoulder. “Eat and have fun; we’ll be right back!”
And with that, the three of them disappeared into the office where Paul was waiting, holding a beautiful teal dress on a hanger and wearing a big smile just about as well as he wore his gray suit.
“Happy birthday, Had,” Paul said, then looked to Luke. “Was she surprised?”
Luke laughed. “You have no idea.”
At that, Hadley finally found her voice. She whirled back on Luke. “You knew? You were in on this?”
There must’ve been more fire behind her eyes than her words because Luke’s hands shot up and he took a step back. “Not until this morning, I promise.”
“We know Luke can’t keep secrets, especially not from you, so we had to wait until the last second to tell him.” Suze put a hand on her hip and smirked.
Now it was Hadley’s turn to whirl toward Suze. “Which means, you two aren’t together?”
Simultaneously Suze’s face lost all color and Paul’s seemed to gather it all up. They were quite the pair, white-as-a-sheet and red-as-a-tomato.
“What?” Suze spat out the question like a swig of day-old coffee.
Paul cleared his throat, then rubbed his left arm with his right hand.
“Ha! You are!” Hadley pointed at the gesture. Anytime Paul rubbed his arm like that, it was a sure sign he wasn’t ready to tell her something just yet. “You’re just not—ready—to … tell me.” The last bit of the sentence petered out as she began to understand her mistake.
Paul and Suze glanced at one another.
Suze chewed on her top lip. “We—uh—yeah,” she said.
Paul sighed. “How’d you find out? Does everyone know?”
“No.” Hadley shook her head. “Just Luke and me. I found one of Suze’s hair chopsticks in your truck this summer.”
“And I found out because you two were super obvious,” Luke added dryly.
Hadley caught Suze’s gaze with hers. “So it’s true?”
Suze nodded, then wet her lips. “Wait,” she said. “What did you think you were walking in on, if you hadn’t figured out it was your party?”
Now it was Hadley’s turn to go red in the face. “Uh …”
“She thought you two were having a secret wedding, and that there was possibly a secret baby.” Luke blurted. When Hadley shot him a glare, he said, “What? I’m a bad liar.”
Suze laughed for a moment. “Oh, Had. I’m sorry. We just wanted to see where things would go, give whatever it was time to grow. We’re not getting married, or anything.”
“Yet,” Paul added with a wink, to which Suze returned with a smile.
“We felt bad keeping it from you.” Suze swiped at her forehead. “It sounded like such a great plan at first, but now …”
Paul stepped forward. “Really, we were just thinking of you, Had. We didn’t want to get your hopes up if it wasn’t going to work out.” He wrapped an arm around Suze’s shoulders. “But it would be nice not to have to hide anymore.” He smiled down at her.
The office seemed to spin around Hadley as everything clicked into place. “So this really was a surprise party all along?”
Paul and Suze nodded. Voices in the other room grew louder, and it sounded like the party was getting started without them.
“I wanted to throw a party where we dressed up, like we always talked about when we were little.” Suze fingered the fabric of her gown. “So I got us both party dresses from that place on the other side of the mountain. Do you remember it? The Tulle Box?”
Hadley swallowed, feeling rather ill. The receipt she’d found had been the price of two dresses, not one. Two party dresses, not one wedding dress. “I remember.”
“And I know how much you love to follow clues.” Paul cleared his throat. “So I thought we could plant stuff around town to lead you here.”
Closing her eyes, Hadley inhaled as she saw it all through a different lens.
“The meeting with Christine was about the venue. And she was awkward on purpose to make me suspicious,” Hadley said, opening her eyes.
Suze laughed. “Actually, Christine just got nervous and did that on her own. That wasn’t part of my plan.”
“But Mickie was supposed to act weird about me seeing the order, so I would be curious about it?” Hadley guessed.
At that, Paul nodded. “The cakes were my present, but I got busy with the case and Suze ordered them for me. We didn’t realize until the next day that the second card had been stuck behind the first one, so it looked like there was only one cake on order.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Mickie really needs a different system.”
Hadley moved on to the next clue: the dresses and receipt. “Which means you knew I would see you that day on Main Street,” she said, pointing to Suze, who nodded. “And you dropped the receipt on purpose.”
“I purposefully waved to Mr. Hite so he would honk his horn. The man can’t help it.” Suze touched her hair.
Hadley pointed at her head. “And you recruited Gran this morning to drop the hint about your hair, so I would know you were getting ready for something big.”
She smiled. “Yup.”
“We knew you would figure it out when we canceled, since we’ve never celebrated our birthday apart,” Paul added. “Luke telling you the distillery was closed for an event was meant to be the last clue.”
Hadley laughed as the absurdity of the last few days ran through her mind. “I got all of those clues, the fact that I’d found Suze’s hair chopstick in your truck first distorted everything I found after that.” She shook her head.
Suze patted her arm. “I’m so sorry we made you worry. The clues were supposed to be fun. Instead, it sounds as if we practically gave you an anxiety attack.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.” Paul’s face wrinkled into a grimace.
She waved a hand at them. For all of the time she’d spent worrying and ruminating about them hiding a relationship from her, finding out she was wrong felt like a weight lifted off her shoulders.
Her brother pulled her into a hug. “Happy birthday, Had.”
“Happy birthday, Paul.” She squeezed him tight. When she pulled back, there was a sinking sensation in her gut. “I left your present at my house, though,” she said, cringing.
Paul laughed. “Didn’t you see the tower of chocolates out there next to the cakes? Dennis wasn’t kidding when he told you we’d get free truffles for life.”
“Okay, boys. It’s time for you to skedaddle. I need to help Hadley look less like she just rolled out of bed and more like a birthday queen.” Suze ushered the guys back out into the party, closing the door behind her. “I’m just going to grab Nell, so she can do your hair, and I’ll be right back. Slip into that dress while I’m gone, okay?”
Hadley smiled. “Okay.”
Before Suze could leave, Hadley caught her friend’s hand.
“What?” Suze asked, pausing.
Hadley could feel the sparkle in her eyes as she asked, “So … you and Paul?” She smiled so big it almost hurt.
Suze’s face broke into a similar grin. She nodded. “I came to see him one day in the hospital after he got shot back in the spring. I don’t know if it was his pain meds or what, but when I went to hug him, he pulled me in for a kiss. It was months before anything happened again. We were both trying to figure out how we felt. The second time we kissed was on a day he took me up to Dari’s Rock. It’s when I must’ve left my hair chopstick in his truck.”
Heart radiating warmth and happiness, Hadley listened to her
friend as she continued with the story.
“We’ve tried to hang out a few times, but it’s hard to do in a town this small. And then Paul’s been so busy with case after case. We haven’t had as much time as I thought we would. But …” She glanced up at Hadley.
“But?” she asked.
“You bringing it up has felt so freeing, so right. I think I’m going to tell him the town can gossip away. I want to make it official.” Suze’s brown eyes lit up. “Are you okay with that?”
Snorting, Hadley pulled her friend into a hug. “Okay? You’re basically making all of my sister and best friend dreams come true at once. I couldn’t be happier!” She pulled back and grabbed Suze’s wrist. “Except for one thing. None of that explains why you’re wearing this watch.”
Cheeks turning a light shade of pink, Suze said, “Oh. Well, Paul got so busy with the case that I had to take over some of his clues, so I got it to keep myself more organized. On track.” She looked down at the timepiece. “After wearing it for a week, I kind of like it. I’m always misplacing my phone, anyway.” She winked at Hadley before slipping out through the door.
When she was alone again, Hadley pulled on the decadent teal gown, absolutely feeling the part of birthday queen.
When Hadley emerged from Christine’s office twenty minutes later. She still wore her Birkenstocks under her fancy dress, since Luke hadn’t been able to persuade her into other footwear. A flood of friends and family and festivities met her as she entered the distillery for the second time. Her parents were there, as was Gran, looking lovely in a champagne-colored dress. Cassie, Kelsey, and Miranda were all in attendance.
Hadley smiled when she noticed Miranda and Dennis conferring over the chocolates display, moving a truffle here or a caramel there until they were both nodding proudly.
She couldn’t quite fathom how, a mere hour before, she’d thought all of this was a secret to keep her out when, in fact, it had turned out to be a celebration for her. Contentment glowed warm in her heart each time a new person came her way or pulled her into a hug.
And when Paul pulled Suze into a big kiss after the "Happy Birthday" song, Hadley pressed her lips together to hide her smile as everyone else gasped in surprise. She beamed at her best friend’s bliss as she took another bite of her lemon cake, glad that they’d finally found happiness after all these years.
Someone opened the tasting room doors, letting in the cool mountain air. An orange harvest moon glowed down on them from above the mountains. For a moment, Hadley wondered if she would ever feel ready to love again, after Tyler, after her divorce.
From across the party, she caught Luke Fenton watching her. His shirtsleeves were rolled like usual, his hands shoved into his jean pockets, and his blond hair was slightly wild. He winked one of his blue eyes at her and something stirred in her heart. Something she hadn’t felt for a long time.
Recipes
Both of the following recipes are created by Marisa McClellan, creator of Food in Jars.
Apple Rosemary Jam
Makes 4 half pints
Ingredients:
3 pounds apples
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Peel, core, and dice apples. Place in a large, non-reactive pot with 2 tablespoons water and three sprigs rosemary. Cover pan, place over medium heat, and bring to a simmer. Cook until apples are tender and can be mashed with the tines of a fork, about 10-20 minutes.
Prepare a boiling water bath canner and four half-pint jars.
Remove the pot from the heat and pluck out the rosemary leaves and stem. Stir in the sugar, breaking up the apples as you stir. Once the sugar has dissolved into the fruit, give it a taste. If you’re happy with the level of rosemary flavor, set the final sprig of rosemary aside and return the pot to the stove. If you’d like to infuse a little more rosemary essence, drop the remaining sprig into the jam. After tasting, stir in lemon juice.
Stirring regularly, bring fruit to a boil and cook until it bubbles madly and appears to thicken, about 15 to 18 minutes. It’s done when you pull a spatula through the jam and the fruit doesn’t immediately rush into fill the space you’ve cleared.
Remove jam from heat and remove the remaining rosemary sprig, if you used it. Funnel into prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process the jars in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.
When the time is up, remove the jars and set them on a folded kitchen towel to cool. When the jars have cooled enough that you can comfortably handle them, check the seals. Sealed jars can be stored at room temperature for up to a year. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used promptly.
Note: The time required to cook apples into sauce can vary greatly depending on the variety of apple you’re working with. Some will soften into sauce in just a few minutes, while others will need far longer to relax. It’s important to use a quick fork test to check for doneness and not simply rely on time elapsed.
Spiced Pear Chutney
Makes 4 half pints
Ingredients:
3 pounds pears
1 1/2 cups golden raisins
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup chopped yellow onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Prepare a canning pot and 4 half-pint jars.
Peel, core and chop the pears into a small dice.
Combine all ingredients in a large pot, stir to combine, and bring to a vigorous boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until the mixture has reduced and developed a thick, spreadable consistency, about an hour.
When the chutney is finished cooking, remove the pot from the stove. Funnel the finished chutney into the prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
Visit Marisa’s blog and website, Food in Jars, for tons of recipes, tips, product reviews, and links to her books.
Don’t miss the next book in the series:
When a contestant of Grande County’s annual baking competition dies after eating a poisoned pie, it’s up to Paul, Hadley, Suze, and Luke to get to the bottom of it.
Get your copy today!
Also by Eryn Scott
Mystery:
The Pepper Brooks Cozy Mystery Series
The Stoneybrook Mysteries
Women’s fiction:
The Beauty of Perhaps
Settling Up
The What’s in a Name Series
In Her Way
Romantic comedy:
Meet Me in the Middle
About the Author
Eryn Scott lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their quirky animals. She loves classic literature, musicals, knitting, and hiking. She writes cozy mysteries and women’s fiction.
Join her mailing list to learn about new releases and sales!
www.erynwrites.com
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