by Jenny Kales
Callie stared back at him. He was right, of course. But was he talking about the two of them? Or his ex?
Feeling a sadness emanating from Sands, she reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “I’ll talk to her, definitely. It might help her to let her know I care – though she is a little defensive where Bix is concerned.” She paused. “In any case, I hope you can get some rest – and soon. And thanks for stopping by. It’s nice to see you. I miss you, you know.”
“No rest for the wicked,” Sands said, draining the last of his tea. He stood up and stretched. “I’ve got to get back to work. And I miss you, too.” He seemed awkward and for the life of her, Callie didn’t know why. Maybe she wasn’t the only one with cold feet about their deepening relationship. Or maybe he felt badly about the potential for hurting Sam.
Callie watched as he shrugged on his coat and pulled a scarf tight around his neck. “Thanks for the tea,” he said, his eyes sad but warm, and full of unspoken feelings. But then, he lightened his gaze and his tone and Callie wondered if she’d been imagining things. “I’ll call you later. And remember what I said about the Daytons. They’re an odd lot. Be careful, right?”
“I will,” Callie responded. “I’ll bring someone with me when I bring the food to their holiday party, if you like.”
“Not a bad idea.” Sands leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. She walked him to the door and he was gone in a flash, waving goodbye to Max and Piper before Callie could even offer him a Greek biscotti.
Callie’s heart felt a bit sore when he left, but work beckoned. She could analyze the situation ad nasueum while she cooked.
And speaking of worries, she had to talk to Sam. She’d put it off long enough. Callie texted her friend, asking when they could get together, then put her phone away and returned to the safety and peace of her warm, fragrant kitchen.
Sixteen
Callie was still waiting to hear from Samantha about a potential get-together, so when her phone rang at the shop the next morning, she expected to hear her friend’s familiar, throaty voice. Instead, it was Melody Cartwright on the line.
“Hi there,” she said cheerily. “I was thinking that it would be nice to have you stop by and bring some samples of the food that you’d like to serve for the launch. We can have coffee and finalize the details for the launch party.”
Callie surveyed her kitchen work room, which was full of dishes in progress on the stove and in the oven. The timing wasn’t optimal, but she had to complete this task.
“Sounds good, Melody,” she answered. “When do you want to get together?”
“I know this is short notice, but what about tomorrow afternoon? Does that give you enough time?”
“Sure,” Callie answered readily. It would be tight, but she could always do Melody’s baking at home. And some of the stuff, like the paxemathia, were already made and ready to go.
“This is going to be great!” Melody sounded exuberant. The tension and stress of Natalie’s murder and the subsequent fallout at the inn must be taking a back seat to her excitement about her book. “Everybody will love the food.”
“What time tomorrow?” Callie asked.
“I don’t know if you can leave your shop, but what about four? I’m only working part-time at inn that day, which is fortunate. There’s still a lot to do for my book debut.”
Callie considered. That could be a busy time of the afternoon, but Piper and Max were both working that day. Maybe Sweetie would even help out. Still, she had the Dayton party to worry about in addition to regular cooking and baking. Evenings weren’t much better – she considered that to be family time. And anyway, she was anxious to stay off of the treacherous roads in the dark, especially lately. She winced as she touched her jaw, still a bit sore from her trip down the ditch.
“All right, but I can’t stay for very long. Sorry. It’s a busy time of year.”
“No problem, I won’t keep you. Let’s just get it done and you can get back to work,” Melody agreed.
Callie headed back to the kitchen, where she put her head down for the next several hours and focused on finishing the many tasks on her list. With Max and Piper’s help, she was able to complete several dishes and start on a few more baking tasks. The Dayton party was just two days away and Callie wanted to be prepared – in every way possible.
As she tried to focus, Callie’s mind kept drifting to her friendship with Samantha and what she was going to tell her about Bix. She knew Sands meant well but she slightly resented him for putting her in such an awkward position. Finally, when Callie got the salt and sugar confused – luckily before she poured it into a bowl of beaten butter – she realized that her brain was not going to let her rest until she spoke to Sam.
Quickly putting the salt to one side, Callie wiped off her buttery hands. She would call her friend and see if they could meet up, even briefly. She hated to have to discuss any negative aspects about Bix over the phone – it felt too impersonal. Whatever was going on with Sam, Callie felt like she needed a face-to-face meeting with her. Grabbing her cell phone, she tapped out her friend’s number and held her breath.
“Samantha Madine,” her friend answered smoothly and Callie almost wept with joy. Samantha almost never answered her phone. Maybe things were looking up.
“Sam, it’s me. I haven’t seen you in ages. Can we get a coffee or something? I just want to touch base.”
“Callie, it’s great to hear from you. I’d love to see you but can you stop over here? I can’t go out for coffee – too busy today, wrapping stuff up before the holidays. You know. But, we can have some in my office.”
“I’ll bring coffee and cookies. You just sit tight. I’ll be there in a jiff.”
Callie started packing up cookies and other goodies for Sam, but the ringing of the bell over her front door made her look up.
Jack Myers walked confidently into her shop. “Hi there,” he said, smiling at her as if just the two of them were in the room. Callie glanced at Max, who was ringing up a customer but he didn’t notice. Thank goodness. All she needed was Max teasing her about Jack.
“Hello, Jack. What can I help you with?”
“Just stopping in for some of your great coffee and more of those Greek doughnuts you make. I’ve got a long day ahead and I need sugar and caffeine.”
“Well, I can certainly help you with that.” Callie grabbed one of her signature blue and white bakery boxes and started filling it with warm, sugary loukoumades, aka Greek doughnuts.
“Callie,” Jack seemed to caress her name with his voice.
“Hmm?” Callie said, searching for a paper coffee cup with a lid. She looked up, startled. Jack’s face was mere inches from hers. Instinctively, she took a step back.
Jack backed up too, but slightly. For the first time since he walked through the door, Callie took stock of Jack’s appearance. He was really quite handsome with dark hair, attractively stubbled cheeks and light grey eyes that sparkled.
He smiled at her again. “Sorry, just trying to get your attention. You seem a million miles away. Are you all right – especially after the other day, with Natalie?” He shook his head. “I still can’t believe it. Nobody can.”
Callie was warmed by his concern. “I’m not great, but I’ll be fine. Working helps.” She handed Jack his coffee and bakery box and rang him up on the register.
“I hear you’ll be helping out at the Christmas Tea. Melody told me.”
“That’s true. Are you going to be there?” Would flannel shirt-wearing, rugged Jack show up at a tea party?
“I’ll make it a point to be there now.” He winked at her, took his change and gave her another saucy smile before sauntering out the door.
Callie stared after him. She’d thought he was interested in Melody. Oh, dear. Could he be interested in her? She felt herself blushing. Of course, he hadn’t done anything more than be a little flirtatious. And she was involved with Sands – didn’t Jack know that? Callie’s heart gave a little catch
. Things with Sands weren’t exactly smooth sailing these days. But how would Jack know that?
Well, whatever. Jack was probably flirty to every female under 90. Callie continued packing up goodies for Sam and headed out the door.
The short drive to Sam’s office was slippery but thankfully, Callie stayed firmly on the road. She couldn’t help but look in her rearview mirror, remembering the glaring red headlights that filled her rear window right before she crashed. Cringing, she kept her eyes on the road and her thoughts positive as she geared herself to tell Sam about Bix and his problems with previous girlfriends.
When she finally arrived at Sam’s law office, Sam came out to the waiting room herself, steering Callie past reception as she gratefully accepted the proffered coffee. She looked a bit tired, but as always, she was polished in a gray suit with a pencil skirt, her feet in sleek ankle boots. Callie felt a bit dowdy next to her in her “Callie’s Kitchen” t-shirt and well-worn jeans paired with practical waterproof boots.
“What’s up?” Sam asked, taking a Greek biscotti and a Christmas-tree shaped butter cookie to go with her coffee. “There goes my carb count for the day, but who cares? Thanks for stopping by to see me.”
“I’m happy to take a short break. I’m going to be spending pretty much ALL of my time in the kitchen between now and New Year’s. I have to get some fresh air and sunlight when I can.”
The two friends smiled at each other and made a few more pleasantries before Sam brought up the topic of men.
“So how’s the detective?” she asked. “He’s cute, I’ll hand you that. But have you had a chance to see him much? This Natalie Underwood murder has to be taking up a lot of his time.”
“We’ve seen each other a bit,” Callie said, warming up to her topic. “He’s busy, true. But I have to say – I like him. A lot. I’m not sure how I feel about that.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. When you like them a lot they can hurt you.” She frowned and sipped more coffee.
“So how’s Bix? Seeing him much these days?” Callie ventured, taking a sip of her own coffee for fortification.
“Yes, but not as much as I’d like to. He’s busy with work and his band. Plus this thing at the inn – ugh. It’s been awful: tourists asking questions, business falling off. He’s been acting as kind of a bodyguard over there.” Sam shook her head.
Callie took a deep breath, feeling like she was about to jump into an ice-cold swimming pool that was filled with sharks. Still, wouldn’t she want to know if they guy she was dating had a history of stalking?
“Sam, I wanted to talk to you about Bix. This is kind of hard to say, so I’m just going to say it. I’ve heard a few things and I thought you should know.”
“What kind of things?” Sam asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“I heard that he has been reported by previous girlfriends for stalking-type behavior. Coupled with what I saw at The Elkhorn, I’m worried about you.”
Sam didn’t reply for a moment and Callie did what she always did when she was nervous – she filled the void by talking too much.
“Please don’t be upset. It’s just that Sands said…” Oh no. Now it would sound like she and Sands were gossiping. Sam cut her off.
“Callie. I can’t believe you were sitting around and discussing my relationship with him. I feel really stupid. Why would you two want to do that?” Sam’s eyes blazed and two spots of red flushed her cheeks – and they weren’t from blush.
“I – uh – well,” Callie stammered but found her voice. “I care about you. We both do. I just don’t want to see him do the same thing to you.”
“Bix is a good guy. And you know what? He told me about his ex-girlfriends. Did Sands also tell you that this all happened a long time ago – like when he was just out of college? Look, he may have a temper but he’s matured a lot since then.” Sam stood up, leaving her half-eaten cookies on a paper napkin.
“I think you should go. I’ve got to get back to work.” She wouldn’t look at Callie.
“Sam,” Callie pleaded, taking a step towards her, but Sam held up her hand, palm out. The international sign for “stop.”
“I know you mean well. But to think that you think I’m too dumb to handle my own life and to know you’ve discussed me with Sands is hurtful. Right now, I think it would be good to have some space. We can talk later.”
Callie took a step back. “Got it,” she said softly, nodding. She quickly left Sam’s office, her cheeks burning. Way to go, Costas.
* * *
Driving to Melody’s the next day with some of the book launch foods carefully secured in the car, Callie was still smarting from her encounter with Sam. She knew she’d done the right thing by confronting her but it didn’t feel good. She’d texted Sam another apology and a plea to talk to her in person, but Sam hadn’t responded.
Maybe Sam was right and Callie and Sands were being overzealous. After all, Sands saw the bad things that people did to each other in his line of work. To Sands, maybe people couldn’t change.
It was possible that Bix had put his past with women behind him. Still. The conflicting reports about his lecherous behavior, not to mention the fight Callie had witnessed, seemed enough to support the theory that Bix was bad news.
Callie was listening to the 24-hour Christmas music station as she drove along, so she tried to focus on the cheery if squeaky sounds of “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” doing a rendition of the song “Christmas Don’t Be Late.” She was even able to smile a little bit at the Chipmunks antics as she pulled into Melody’s driveway. What would Melody think if she showed up to discuss her book launch party looking like Ebenezer Scrooge?
Callie parked the car and got out, the cold hitting her hard. It must be well below freezing. A bundled-up postal worker on the opposite side of the street made her grateful that she was able to spend most of her time inside of a warm kitchen.
Melody came to the door wearing softly flared black yoga pants and a grey off-the-shoulder sweatshirt, her feet in fleece ballet slippers. She welcomed Callie inside the house, taking her coat and offering a cup of freshly-made coffee.
At Melody’s behest, Callie carried the foods she’d brought into a small but beautiful dining room, complete with a sparkling chandelier. The walls were painted a pearlescent grey color, a pretty contrast to the white crown molding. Soft draperies accented the windows. A large, dark wood and antique buffet with a built-in wine rack stood along one wall. The dining room opened into a cozy living room with a sparkling Christmas tree right at the center. In the stone fireplace, a fire blazed and crackled. The whole house smelled like pine and cinnamon.
“You have a beautiful home.” Callie put down her foods and accepted a cup of coffee.
“Thanks.” Melody looked around, a small wrinkle of a frown marring her otherwise smooth forehead. “Come on, let’s sit by the fireplace,” she offered. She would have been wonderfully relaxed in a home like this, but Melody seemed stressed out. Must be book launch nerves.
Callie joined Melody on the sofa. She put her coffee cup down on the table and relaxed back into the cushions. “Thanks for the coffee. What about the food I brought? Do you want me to go and make up a sample plate for us?”
“In a bit,” Melody answered. “I’m kind of…exhausted today. Let’s just sit here a minute first.”
“Fine by me,” Callie agreed. The two sipped their coffee companionably in silence before Melody ventured some conversation.
“I wonder when Emma is going to be back,” Melody wondered, plucking at her yoga pants. “You two are friends, right? Did she say anything to you?”
Callie stopped drinking her coffee in mid-sip. Did she know that Emma had appointed her the unofficial spy of The English Country Inn? She answered in what she hoped was an innocent way.
“I don’t know when she’ll be back. I think the snowstorm is preventing air travel. And now she’s having trouble getting booked, so I guess she decided to extend her stay in Arizona. What have you
heard at the inn?”
“I’ve heard the same thing,” Melody answered, fidgeting with her cup. “You know what, let me run to the restroom and then let’s go ahead and discuss the book launch party. I’ll be right back.”
“Of course,” Callie answered, finishing her coffee and heading back into the dining room.
Callie slowly removed her festive foods from their protective wrappings. She couldn’t help but stop a minute to admire the buffet in the dining room. She’d love one just like it, she thought, running her hand over the smooth, glossy wood. And the built-in wine rack was a perfect touch. Callie leaned down to check out Melody’s wine collection and saw what looked like a crumpled piece of paper stuck wedged in next to one of the wine bottles. Deciding she’d help Melody by doing a bit of housekeeping for her, she carefully pulled out the paper so that she could throw it away.
But it wasn’t a piece of scrap paper. It was an envelope, typed, no return address and post-marked yesterday. The envelope was crumpled in half. It was addressed to “Sandy Madison,” same address as Melody.
It must be a mistake, just a piece of mail sent to the previous owner or to the wrong address. So why was it wedged inside what appeared to be a hasty hiding place?
Seventeen
Quickly, Callie shoved the envelope back into its spot and straightened up just as Melody swept back into the room.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s see what you brought.”
Callie’s hands shook a bit as she plated some of the items and handed then to her hostess. Melody was being so gracious and it wouldn’t do for her to be discovered snooping – even if it had been accidental. She was getting as bad as Sweetie and Viv.
Talk soon turned to cake, cookies and tea, safe topics all. Callie bit into one of the scones Melody had made. It was tender and flavorful with just the right amount of sweetness. “This is delicious!” she enthused. “If all of your recipes are as good as this one, your book will be a big hit.”
