Miss Frost Cracks A Caper: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 4)

by Kristen Painter

  “Be a good boy while Mama’s gone. I won’t be too long.” And I wouldn’t be. No matter how much talking Lark wanted to do, I was going to be home by eight thirty. And in bed by nine.

  “Spider loves bright Mama.”

  I giggled, a little punch drunk from lack of sleep. “Silly thing. I love you too.” I kissed his head, then grabbed my earrings and purse and headed out.

  With my purse tucked under my arm, I put the diamond hoops on in the elevator. Howler’s was a short walk from the building that housed Santa’s Workshop, the warehouse, and the employee apartments, which was part of why I ate there so much. Also, the food was fantastic.

  The evening was brisk, just the kind of weather a winter elf loved. My sweater coat was plenty to keep me comfortable, and the cool air helped me wake up. My phone vibrated right before I stepped into the restaurant.

  I checked the screen. It was a text from Greyson.

  The DJ gig is legit.

  Thanks, I texted back. That was interesting. And a real departure for Elenora’s usual style, but then, Elenora was anything but boring.

  Howler’s was busy, as usual, but Bridget, the owner and a lovely werewolf, gave me a wave from behind the bar. I waved back. She nodded like she knew what was up. Cooper was already there, so I assumed he’d filled her in.

  She pointed toward the right side of the restaurant. One of the booths had a RESERVED tent card on it. I pointed at it, then back at myself.

  Bridget gave me the thumbs-up.

  Thank you, I mouthed. That was very kind of her.

  The hostess came back from seating another party. “Welcome to Howler’s. Table for one?”

  “Booth for two, actually. Bridget reserved one for me.”

  The girl smiled brightly. “You must be Miss Frost. Right this way.”

  “Thank you.” I was a few minutes early, which I’d intended. I wanted to sit where I could see the door, not with my back to it. I slid into the booth and took the menu the hostess offered.

  “Your server will be right with you.”

  As she walked away, my attention shifted to the door. Then my watch. I’d thought Lark would be early too. It was her idea to talk, after all. But she wasn’t as familiar with this town as I was, so maybe she’d misjudged how long it would take her to get to Howler’s.

  I wondered where she was staying.

  I wondered what her excuse was going to be.

  The server came by, another bright-eyed college-age girl. She put two waters down. “Hi there, I’m Mia, I’ll be your server this evening. Can I get you something to drink while you wait for the rest of your party?”

  I was about to ask for a Dr Pepper when Lark came in. “She’s here. Give us a minute or two.”

  “No problem.” Mia left.

  Lark was in silver Doc Martens, ripped boyfriend jeans, a faded band T-shirt, and a sleek black leather jacket. She looked terminally cool, and I felt overdressed and under-hip.

  The hostess gestured at the table. “There you go. Enjoy your dinner.”

  “Thanks.” Lark scooted onto the seat across from me. “Hi, you look so nice. I look like a bum.”

  “Thanks.” I decided not to comment further on what we were wearing, opting instead to keep my voice and my expression neutral. “And hi.” But inside, I was all wound up again. Clearly, I wasn’t as over her betrayal as I’d thought. Or maybe it was just that being this close to her, facing her, was stirring up all my feelings again. Either way, my appetite was quickly disappearing.

  Not something that often happened to me.

  Lark picked up her menu. “So, what’s good here?”

  “Everything.” I was getting the bacon cheeseburger. With fries. And topping it off with peach cobbler, although I’d probably be taking that with me so I could eat it in my jammies on the couch. Or possibly in bed. Don’t judge. After the day I’d had, I needed comfort food.

  “I wasn’t sure what to expect.” Lark glanced over the menu at me. “This place kind of looks like a biker bar from the outside. And a little on the inside too.”

  I put my menu down as Mia came back to take our order. “Hello, ladies. What can I get you to drink?”

  Lark didn’t seem quite ready, but I wasn’t in a patient mood. “I’ll have a Dr Pepper. And I’m ready to order, if that’s okay?”

  “Sure thing.”

  “Great. I’ll have the bacon cheeseburger, medium, with everything and fries.”

  Mia scribbled on her notepad. “Perfect, got it. And for you, ma’am?”

  Lark made a face. Maybe she didn’t like being called ma’am. “I’ll just have the veggie burger, no cheese, and sweet potato fries. And water is fine for me.”

  We handed our menus over to Mia. “I’ll get those right in for you.”

  She bopped off, leaving Lark and me alone.

  I laced my fingers together and set them on the table, but didn’t say anything. It was a technique I’d learned from my dad. But being stared down by Jack Frost was probably enough to make most people talk. I hadn’t quite mastered that level of intimidation.

  Still, it seemed to work.

  Lark smiled nervously. “So, you and Cooper are back together?”

  “Not exactly. We date. I also date Greyson.”

  She frowned.

  “The vampire you spoke with in my shop.”

  Her brows went up. Point for Jayne. “You’re dating both of them? And they don’t mind?”

  I shrugged like I was an international woman of mystery. “They’re cool with it. But we didn’t come here to discuss my current dating life.”

  “No, I suppose not.” Lark chewed on her bottom lip. “I don’t even know where to start.”

  “How about the beginning?” To help her along, I added, “Why did you tell Cooper and me those lies to break us up? That was a pretty low thing to do considering I thought you were my best friend.”

  She was staring at the table. “I know. It was awful. Low is right. And there’s no excuse for it. I was just young and dumb and thinking only about myself.”

  “Why would you do it, though? Did you really want Cooper that badly?”

  She hesitated, then looked up at me. “Since I’m being honest here, I did it because I was horribly jealous of you.”

  I jerked back out of surprise. “We were best friends. We had almost identical class schedules. We ate together. We shared clothes, books, music, everything.” Everything but Cooper. “Why would you be jealous of me?”

  She exhaled like that was a dumb question. “Jayne, you were—and still are—the Winter Princess. You’re North Pole royalty. Your father is Jack Frost and your uncle is Santa Claus. You have one of the most outstanding royal bloodlines in the history of royal bloodlines. I promise I’m not the only one who’s ever been jealous of you.”

  “Well, your family has rank. And money.” Her parents were toy scouts. They traveled the globe looking for new toy ideas to buy. It was a very prestigious job. “It’s not like you were hurting in that department.”

  Mia came back with my Dr Pepper and Lark’s water. Lark waited until she was gone to answer.

  “It wasn’t about money. It was about all the other stuff. The way people treated you. The way they looked at you. As if you were above everyone else. As if you could do no wrong. You were like a celebrity to them. Nobody cared who I was next to you.”

  I wanted to say she was making all of that up, but she wasn’t. When word had gotten around in the supernatural population on campus about who I was, I’d definitely been treated differently. Not always for the better, mind you. But it wasn’t like I’d had anything to do with my royal bloodlines. “You realize Winter Princess is a title I was born with. Not like I could change it if I wanted to.”

  Lark nodded. “I get it. Now. But then? I just wanted to be you. To live your life.”

  A sudden, painful realization hit me. “Is that why you became my friend?”

  “No, I swear it wasn’t. What drew us together was real.
”

  We’d known each other growing up, but we hadn’t been best friends as kids. The North Pole was a big place with the sensibilities of a small town. Wasn’t until we found out we were headed to the same college that we bonded. Two winter elves against the world, as it were. “So you’re telling me that jealousy drove you to betray me and destroy what you claim was a genuine friendship. Am I supposed to forgive that? Is that the purpose of this? So we can be friends again?”

  She chewed on her lower lip, and so help me, I thought she might cry. That punched me in the heart a little. “I don’t know what I expect to happen here. I just felt like it was time we talked.”

  I took a breath and tried to find some chill, but I wasn’t done. I had questions that still needed answers. “So if Cooper and I hadn’t figured out what you’d done, which you’ve obviously realized we have, your plan was to come here and confess everything?”

  “Yes. That’s exactly what I was going to do.”

  Easy to say. But would she really have? Who knew? “Even the part about you turning up naked in Cooper’s bed?”

  She had the decency to blush. “He told you about that, huh?”

  “He did.”

  “Wow, I was an idiot.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I don’t know what else to say except I really do want to apologize. Because I am absolutely sorry. You don’t have to forgive me. But I want you to at least know how sorry I am. And I own what I did. It was a terrible thing to do to you. And Cooper. And I was a terrible person to do it.”

  I narrowed my eyes. This was pretty convincing, but I’d developed a little cynicism lately. “Are you dying or something? Making amends so you can shuffle off this mortal coil with a clean conscience?”

  She laughed. “No, nothing like that.” She shrugged. “Just being adult, I guess. And if I get this job, I’ll be in town again with my boyfriend—”

  “You have a boyfriend? Good for you.” That was nice. And it made her seem, I don’t know…less likely to be trying to break anyone else up again.

  “Yep. He’s a great guy. Kind and sweet, and he dotes on me. Part fae, so we have pointy ears in common. And he’s so good at all the backend stuff.”

  I stared at her. Um, ew. “I don’t really need to know the details of your private life.”

  Her eyes widened, then she laughed and her face went bright red. “Okay, that did not come out the way I meant it. I mean that he sets up all my equipment, helps me do sound checks, runs the lighting, helps me plan the shows. Even makes sure I have water or snacks while I’m working. That backend stuff. Work stuff. He’s really helped me take things to the next level.”

  “That’s great.” I meant that. Having that kind of support was invaluable. And I was super glad to hear she wasn’t talking about their private sexy times.

  “It is. He even encouraged me to talk to you and Cooper and make amends. And it would just be nice if when I come back to town, things aren’t so…”

  “Awkward?”

  She nodded. “Yes. I don’t expect us to be joined at the hip again. Or to double date or anything like that. Just for us to be civil. What do you say? Can we at least get to that place? I promise I have zero interest in Cooper. I’m completely committed to my guy. Have been for some time. Anyway, what do you think? Can we move past the past?”

  I was about to answer when our food arrived.

  When Mia dropped off the food and left, I was still searching for words. Lark’s comments about being adult and moving beyond the past had struck home. I’d wanted her to know how different I was than the gullible, somewhat sheltered girl I’d been in college, and yet, I wasn’t having very adult thoughts about forgiveness and moving on.

  She spoke again before I could vocalize any of that. “Listen, you don’t have to answer now. How about you think it over and text me in a day or so?”

  Wow, she was really adult. I guess I should be too. Forgiving her and moving on felt like the right thing to do, I just wasn’t completely there yet. “Thanks. That would give me a chance to get my head around all of this.”

  “Sure.” She picked up her burger. “In the meantime, let’s eat. Then I’ll get out of your hair. Dinner’s on me, by the way. I can at least do that much.”

  “That’s not nec—”

  “Jayne, please.” The sincerity in her eyes was unquestionable. “It’s just dinner. Let me do this.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” I grabbed my burger and dug in, but the food didn’t have its usual flavor. That was all on me and my mood, not whoever was in the kitchen. I tried to get over myself. If Lark and I could have dinner together, maybe that was a sign that the past really was behind us.

  “You seem happy.” She picked up a fry. “I’m glad about that.”

  “I am. You seem happy too. The DJing going well?” I asked without thinking about it, but I guess I was sort of curious.

  She grinned. “It is. I love my life. I am so much more successful than I ever thought I would be. I love the traveling and I love my job.” She pointed the fry at me. “You know, being a DJ is its own kind of magic.”

  “How so?”

  She laughed. “I keep people up all night. I keep them dancing and having fun. I control their entire evening with my choices. I can take a room from high energy to intense and intimate, then lift them right back up again. It’s amazing.”

  This was the old Lark I knew. The one who would find something, fall in love with it, and make it her obsession until she’d mastered it. No wonder she’d become a success.

  But all I could do was nod.

  Why was I struggling with this so much? Why couldn’t I be more adult? I thought about that while I chewed what really was a delicious burger. Maybe it was because her betrayal was relatively fresh to me. I’d only found out about it after coming to Nocturne Falls and having my heart-to-heart with Cooper, whereas it was old news to her. She’d been living with it for years.

  Years. Almost eleven of them, to be exact. And yet, it was only because she’d realized we were going to be in the same town that she’d decided to apologize.

  The food went tasteless again.

  She was apologizing because my forgiveness would make her life easier. At least it seemed that way. My irritation returned, crawling up my spine until a chill settled over me.

  “Hey.” Lark laughed. “You’re freezing me out over here.”

  When my attention refocused, I saw frost on our glasses. I made myself relax. Sometimes, when my emotions got the best of me, they spilled out in the forms of ice or snow. Or, obviously, frost. It was a winter elf thing.

  My appetite was gone. Maybe in part because I was exhausted. I held up my hand and caught the eye of our server. She trotted over. “What can I do for you?”

  “Can I get a box please?”

  “Sure thing.” She went off to fulfill my request.

  I looked at Lark. “I’m sorry. It’s been an exceptionally long day for me. I need time to process everything, but that’s not going to happen tonight. It may not even happen tomorrow. All I can tell you is it’s not going to happen until I’m rested and able to think clearly, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go home.”

  Mia dropped the box off.

  I dumped my burger and fries into it, then closed the box.

  Lark nodded sort of numbly. “Sure, okay…”

  “Hey, it’s not just you being here. I promise.” I dug a twenty out of my purse and laid it next to my plate, then I stood. “I appreciate your offer to buy, but let’s just go dutch. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

  “I—all right. Talk to you soon. Hope you get some rest.”

  I nodded, walked out, and kept going toward my apartment. I felt like I’d relived the whole betrayal all over again, and her sitting there, chatting about how great her life was now wasn’t helping. Like I should just be okay with her waltzing in, saying she was sorry, then pretending like everything was perfect between us again. Like she shouldn’t have to do any kind of penance for her b
ad behavior.

  Well, I wasn’t okay with it. And apparently, I wasn’t that adult after all.

  I was in the elevator when my phone rang. Cooper. I answered. “Hey.”

  “Hey yourself. You okay? You left sort of abruptly.”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Totally beat and not really thinking clearly. Thanks for being there, though. I feel like we should forgive her and get over this, but that’s my head talking. My heart isn’t so sure.”

  “I get that.”

  I knew he would. “Anyway, I’m kinda done for the day. Can we talk more tomorrow?”

  “Of course. Totally understand. Get some sleep. You’ve earned it.”

  “Thanks. You too.”

  “Night, Jay.”

  “Night, Coop.” I let myself into my apartment. Relief at being home swept through me. I was so over being awake. I stuck the food in the fridge, brushed my teeth, stripped off my clothes, and pulled on an old T-shirt. I was too tired for full-on pajamas. And really, who would I be being cute for anyway?

  I climbed into bed next to Spider, who hadn’t moved since I’d left, and fell asleep before I pulled the covers up.

  I woke up only because I’d forgotten to close the blinds and sunlight flooded the room with wretched enthusiasm. I blinked a few times and thought about how awesome it would be to still be asleep. But I had responsibilities, and today was not my day off.

  Or was it? What day was it? I was too groggy to remember. I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and checked. Tuesday. Today was Tuesday. And it was seven eighteen.

  Despite the blinding, early morning sun, I was surprised I hadn’t slept later. I liked to be in the office by nine, which meant I could still sleep for at least another half an hour. I groaned and rolled back over.

  But that noise and movement were all it took to alert the man of the house that I was awake. Spider jumped up onto the bed, walked over, and stood on me, staring down with the kind of intent that didn’t need explaining.

  He meowed anyway.

  I smiled and scratched his chin. “Morning, sweets. Hungry?”

  He leaned into the scritches, but it wasn’t so good he couldn’t answer. Not when breakfast was on the line. “Spider starving.”