by Lyndsey Cole
By the time two o’clock rolled around, Annie, Leona and Mia were happy to be able to take a short break.
Annie pulled the door closed. “I’m glad for the business but—”
“But what?” Leona interrupted. “You’re not planning to leave now are you?”
Annie was slightly taken aback by Leona’s angry tone, the third time in the same day she sounded ready to bite Annie’s head off. Annie was seriously thinking about not working at the café once she got her gallery up and running.
“No. I only,” she paused, “never mind. I’ll start making more granola for tomorrow.”
Leona turned the radio on to the oldies station and pulled out bowls to mix up a batch of blueberry muffins. Mia started a big pot of vegetable rice soup before getting out ingredients for Annie’s Crazy Curried Chicken Salad and Chubby Chickpea Salad which were both popular in the summer.
Bree and Ashley managed the ice cream window which had a never ending stream of parents, kids and teenage boys waiting in line. Especially teenage boys. Annie kept one eye on those interactions, understanding Stacey’s worries completely.
Leona slid her muffins into the oven and wiped her hands on her apron. “Okay then. I’m heading to Curl Up and Dye for my hair appointment. These will be done in thirty minutes.”
Annie raised one eyebrow but held her tongue until Leona was gone. “What’s her problem today?” she asked her mother.
Mia laughed. “Today does seem worse than usual. I think she’s worried about her date tonight.”
“Since when did a date worry Leona?”
“Since she started online dating again. She’s been burned before and it’s made her a little gun-shy.”
“Great. I hope it goes better than the last time. Do you know any details?”
“Only that he’s rich and is looking to invest in property here in Catfish Cove.” Mia shrugged. “You know how Leona is about this stuff; every time she thinks she has finally found the one.”
Loud knocking on the locked door interrupted their conversation. Martha was peeking in the window next to the door gesturing for someone to let her in.
Annie pulled the door open. “Where’s the fire?”
“Not a fire.” Martha gasped for a breath of air, holding one hand on her chest. “Robbie Benson is dead.”
Chapter 3
Annie held Martha’s arm and helped her to a booth. Mia rushed over with a glass of water as Martha sank onto the red seat. She guzzled the water and sucked in a big breath of air. “Thanks. I couldn’t believe my ears when Bob, or maybe it was Harry, called me and gave me the news. I mean,” she looked at Annie and Mia with huge round eyes, “you talked to him in here this morning, didn’t you?”
“Yes. He treated us to his miserable old self. Do you know what happened? How did he die?” Annie asked, remembering the pie he bought in the morning and a fleeting memory of her desire to smash it into his face.
“Stacey Jordan found him.”
Annie glanced to see if Bree or Ashley were listening. The two girls were still swamped with ice cream orders and teenage boys and had no interest in what Martha was talking about.
Martha tapped her fingers on the table. “He’s been one of her patients for a while with the visiting nurses program. I guess she found him when she stopped to check his blood sugar.”
Mia and Annie slid into the both across from Martha with puzzled expressions.
“He’s diabetic. He was dead when she got there.” Martha leaned across the booth and whispered. “In my opinion, Catfish Cove is better off without him, and his sister is better off too.”
“Doesn’t Hazel depend on Robbie for everything?” Mia asked.
“That’s what Robbie wanted everyone to think. She never made friends except for Stacey Jordan, but I always wondered if Robbie wanted her to be dependent on him. Someone he could boss around.”
Bree appeared at the booth. “Annie? How late do you want us to work?”
“Leona said she wants to keep the ice cream window open until eight tonight and tomorrow and you can have Friday and Saturday nights off.”
Bree peeked quickly behind her. “Oh. Well, I was wondering,” she said, exaggerating the word wondering and looking everywhere except at Annie, “if I could leave a little early, because, ah, you know, I forgot that I made plans for tonight.”
Annie noticed a boy fidgeting outside the French doors with his eyes on Bree. A tall, gangly, dark haired, nervous teenager.
“Sorry, Bree. I need more notice than that. You have a commitment here.” Annie remembered Stacey’s concern and decided it was better for Bree to be working than out doing who knows what with a boy.
Bree stomped back to the ice cream window.
“What was that all about?” Leona asked, returning from Curl Up and Dye, as she watched the departing Bree.
Annie rolled her eyes. “Bree is such a drama queen.”
Mia’s mouth twitched slightly at the corner. “Yes, she is. Reminds me of someone I know when she was younger, but I’m not saying any names.”
Annie covered her mouth and Leona glared.
“Yeah, well, being tough on her is doing her a favor. I wish someone had given me more guidance,” Leona replied.
Mia and Annie both burst out laughing, unable to contain it anymore.
“I hate to burst your bubble, but you never listened to reason,” Mia reminded Leona before changing the subject. “Nice hairdo. When’s your date showing up?”
“He’s supposed to show up at the ice cream window soon.” Leona held up a big bag. “I’m going to change.”
Mia slid out of the booth. “I think the soup is cooled off now. I’m going to put everything away and make sure we’re all set for tomorrow. This will be our busiest weekend of the summer.”
Annie held her hand up to get her mother’s attention. “Don’t forget the ice cream delivery is coming tomorrow morning. Ask the girls to pull out any empty containers before they leave tonight.”
“That will go over like a lead balloon. I see Bree is spending more time flirting with that boy that’s been hanging around than scooping ice cream. Are you leaving soon?”
“I think I’ll stick around to meet this new beau of Leona’s. She’s acting about as nervous as I’ve seen her in a long time. How about you Martha?” Annie asked as she stood up and stretched her arms.
“Definitely. I’m free all evening so we can all check him out and make sure Leona isn’t making a bad choice.”
“Bad choice? Are you three talking about me?” Leona glared at them with her hands on her hips.
Mia smiled. “We’re excited to meet your date. That’s all.”
Leona twirled around. “How do I look? I’m a little nervous.”
Martha nodded. “You’re beautiful Leona. I wish I could fit into those jeans. Well, I might be able to squeeze this old body into jeans, but I’m not sure anyone would want to look at me. And your white, silk v-neck t-shirt clings to all the right places.” She snorted. “I like the red highlights in your hair too, just like Annie’s.”
“I’m glad Tess decided to stay in town. She’s so talented with hair styling.” Leona draped her arm around Annie. “Yes, we do look like mother and daughter now, don’t we.”
“Ms. Robinson?” A deep, husky voice startled the women.
Leona’s cheeks had a slight blush when she turned toward the voice. “Mr. Carbone?”
Annie watched the man’s eyes travel from Leona’s strawberry blond hair with the red highlights down to her heels which made her almost as tall as he was. She saw something in his manner that seemed off, or was she suspicious because Leona met him online?
He held his hand out warmly. “Call me Luke. Pleased to meet you. Leona?”
Leona grasped his hand, at a loss for words.
Martha blurted out, “Introduce us to your sexy friend, Leona.”
Luke’s lip twitched up at the edge. “Are your friends coming with us to dinner?”
Le
ona’s head swiveled around before settling back on Luke’s handsome face. “No. Of course not. Mia, Annie, Martha, this is Luke,” she said without taking her eyes off his face.
His eyes twinkled. “Pleased to meet you ladies.” He held his arm out for Leona. “Shall we go now? I thought you might like to have a few drinks and dinner at the Fitzwilly Tavern. It was highly recommended when I researched Catfish Cove.”
“Yes. That would be perfect.”
Leona finally looked at her friends and raised her eyebrows. Martha gave a thumbs up when Luke’s head was turned away.
Annie nudged her mother. “Weren’t we heading over there too?”
Leona’s eyes flared and she said with a steely voice, “You can’t leave Bree and Ashley here unsupervised.”
“That’s too bad. I would love to have all of you join us,” Luke offered.
Leona started walking to the door with her arm entwined in Luke’s. “As nice as that sounds, they can’t leave yet. It will have to be the two of us.”
“Maybe another time?” he said over his shoulder as Leona pulled him toward the door.
As soon as Leona and Luke were out the door, Annie burst into fits of laughter. “Did you see her face when we said we were going to the tavern too? It’s way too easy to push her buttons.”
A scuffle outside on the deck and Roxy’s barking drew their attention away from Leona’s departing figure.
Annie rushed outside to find Bree’s admirer shoving another teenage boy. She pulled them apart. “You both need to leave now or I’ll call the police chief and have him give you a lesson in proper etiquette.”
Bree watched from the doorway with her hand over her mouth before running after her boyfriend. “Wait Todd. I’m coming with you.”
Ashley appeared at Annie’s side. “My mom’s going to kill her. She’s so boy crazy.”
Annie put her arm on Ashley’s shoulder and walked her back into the café. “Maybe it’s better this way. You two sisters didn’t seem to enjoy working together. Do you have a friend looking for a job?”
Ashley’s face lit up in a huge smile. “Yes. I do. Should I bring her tomorrow?”
Annie wasn’t usually the one to make hiring decisions, but with Leona preoccupied with her own possibly budding love life, she nodded to Ashley. “We can give her a try. If she works out well tomorrow, she gets the job. With Leona’s approval, of course.”
Ashley pumped her fist in the air. “Thank you so much. I know she’ll work out fabulously.” She moved back to the ice cream window where a line had formed again and worked twice as hard to make up for Bree’s absence.
“What was that all about?” Mia asked.
“Teenage drama.” Annie rolled her eyes. “Bree ran off with her boyfriend so I told Ashley to bring her friend tomorrow to take Bree’s spot.”
“I’ll stay and help her until we close. You can head home if you want to.”
“Thanks, Mom. I am tired.” Annie called Roxy and they drove back to her apartment.
“Let’s take a short walk on the Lake Trail so I can get some more photos for my gallery opening,” Annie said to Roxy.
Roxy new the words ‘Lake Trail’ and was on her way toward the water by the time Annie retrieved her camera from the passenger seat.
With the sun lower on the horizon, she snapped some interesting photos of the sky over the mountains on the far side of the lake. She was excited to be spending more time with her camera. Her recent investment in the Cove’s Corner building with the money she inherited from her biological dad gave her the opportunity to start turning Jake’s Clay Design shop into an art gallery. Jake would still sell his pottery in the new gallery when it opened at the end of the summer, but he had no problem giving up the business end of marketing his creations. Thinking about her Fisher Fine Art Gallery made shivers run up her arm, even in the July heat.
When Annie was in front of Mrs. Dodd’s lake house, she waved to the figure sitting on the porch. She reminded herself to make time for a visit.
A voice behind Annie caused her to gasp and forget all thoughts of Mrs. Dodd.
“I thought I might find you here.”
Chapter 4
Startled from her thoughts, Annie turned to see the handsome face of Jason Hunter. His dark eyes creased at the corners as his mouth turned up into a broad smile. Roxy bounded over with her tail wagging and sat in front of Jason, waiting for a treat that he always carried in his pocket for her.
As soon as Roxy was satisfied, Jason wrapped his arms around Annie. “I’ve missed you so much. What are you doing out here? I expected to find you in your apartment with some delicious meal cooking on the stove.”
“Taking some photos. My opening show is going to be Candid Around Catfish Cove.” She looked up into his face. “What do you think?”
“Perfect. The tourists will eat it up.” He draped one arm over her shoulder as they headed back toward Cobblestone Cottage, Jason’s sprawling lake house with Annie’s apartment over the detached garage.
“I didn’t expect you until Friday.”
With a teasing grin, Jason’s eyebrow went up. “Oh? Do you have plans with someone else that I need to be worried about?”
Annie swatted his arm. “Don’t be silly. It’s a wonderful surprise.” She nestled her head comfortably in the crook of his shoulder, inhaling the spicy scent.
“I have more of a surprise too if you care to accompany me into my modest abode.”
Annie laughed. “There’s not one splinter of modest in your abode. Now my apartment that you so kindly rent to me, that’s modest.”
“You know you’re welcome to move into my not-so-modest abode anytime it suits you,” Jason teased while squeezing Annie tighter.
“I like my space with Roxy and Smokey. But thanks for the offer.”
It was true, Annie thought to herself, she did prefer to have her own place. Not that spending time with Jason wasn’t something she looked forward to and enjoyed more every time she was with him. Their time together was special and she missed him when he was traveling, but she wasn’t ready to give up her own space. Yet.
Annie untangled herself from Jason’s arm. “I’ll be over in a few minutes after I check on Smokey. The poor guy probably thinks he’s been abandoned, although he is quite happy with the kitty door you let me install for him. I imagine he’s terrorizing all the chipmunks that try to come up on the deck.”
With her eyes focused on her mail, Annie sifted through the pile before throwing the envelopes on the table. The kitty door opened and closed and she felt Smokey rubbing against her bare legs. His purring intensified as he twisted between her feet.
Bending down, Annie picked Smokey up, cuddling him tightly. “What have you been up to today? Anything interesting?” She buried her nose in his soft fur. “You smell like grass and leaves.”
In reply, he head butted her cheek before squirming to get down and walking to his food bowl, tail straight up.
“You certainly have me well trained,” Annie said as she dumped some dry morsels into his bowl on her way to take a quick shower and get out of her work clothes. Less than ten minutes later, changed into ivory capris, an emerald green t-shirt and the silver strawberry necklace that Jason gave her for Valentine’s Day, Annie smiled at her reflection in the mirror. Tossing her strawberry blond curls, she said, “See if you can resist this, Jason Hunter.”
From the corner of her eye, Annie spotted a book on the floor by the kitty door. “I wonder where this came from,” she said to Roxy and Smokey as she picked it up and flipped it over in her hands. “Nothing I’ve seen before.” She flipped the cover open and saw her name scrawled in red ink. Annie, Oliver knows what happened. “Oliver? Who’s Oliver? What does Oliver know?” She stared at the words as the hairs on her arms stood up. Who stuck this book through the cat door? Annie tossed the book onto her coffee table, determined to put it out of her mind for the rest of the night. “Come on Roxy. Let’s see what surprise Jason has for us.”
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nbsp; They went down the stairs, two at a time, and walked across the driveway to the main house. Without knocking, Annie let herself in with Roxy at her heels. The table to her left was set for two with a candle in the center and a loose bouquet of blue hydrangeas in a glass bowl. Annie tilted her head back as she sniffed the delicious scent of something in the oven.
Jason already had two glasses of wine poured. “Here you go,” he said, handing a glass to Annie. He took a sip, watching her. “I like it.”
Annie realized he wasn’t referring to the wine. She liked the tingling sensation traveling up her spine from his eyes on her.
“You are a sight for sore eyes. You get more beautiful every time I go away. What’s your secret?”
Annie grinned. “Well, you know, if I tell you, it wouldn’t be a secret anymore, now, would it?”
Jason picked up a tray with crackers, cheese, hummus and baby carrots. “Let’s sit on the porch until dinner is ready. You can carry the bottle of wine.”
“Something smells delicious. Have you finally learned how to cook?”
“You know my secret. I’m very good at popping frozen meals into the oven. And unless you have a better idea, we’re having eggplant parmesan, garlic bread and a salad.”
“That sounds like Leona’s signature go-to meal. You two are always scheming behind my back.” Annie made herself comfortable on a wicker swing with a view of the lake and helped herself to some horseradish cheddar cheese on a wheat cracker.
“How are you two getting along, if you don’t mind my asking?” Jason sat next to Annie and gently pushed the swing back and forth.
“It’s complicated. At first, when she told me she’s my birth mom and not my aunt, it was like a big weight was off my shoulders. I was relieved to know the truth.” Annie turned to look directly into Jason’s understanding eyes. “But then she tried to be my mom, and, well, my mom is Mia. I don’t want to be between my mom and her sister. I’m sick of that part of our relationship.”
