A Deadly Serious Gardening Contest (A Heavenly Highland Inn Cozy Mystery Book 7)

by Cindy Bell

  “You remind me of Mom,” Vicky said then took a sip of her wine.

  “Thanks, I think,” Sarah grinned.

  “I mean, you're so loving with the kids, and you always put them first. Mom was like that, too,” Vicky smiled.

  “She was,” Sarah said sadly. “I still miss them.”

  “Me too,” Vicky admitted.

  “Is that part of the reason that you are dragging your feet on the wedding date?” Sarah asked. She hid her face quickly with a sip of wine.

  “The date, the date,” Vicky rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. “That's all I hear about.”

  “I'm just curious,” Sarah said quickly. She paused a moment and then looked into Vicky's eyes. “I know it must be hard to think of getting married without them here.”

  “You know, I never thought it would be a problem, because I didn't think I saw a wedding in my future,” Vicky smiled sadly. “But now that I do, yes I do wish they could be here.”

  “I think that they will be,” Sarah said quietly, “just in a different way.”

  “Maybe so,” Vicky agreed and took another sip of her wine. “I sometimes wonder what our lives would be like if they were still here.”

  “Me too,” Sarah admitted. “Neither of us planned on running the inn.”

  “No, but it has been great to work with you,” Vicky said warmly. “It's funny how life seems to make its own plans.”

  “That's for sure,” Sarah agreed. “I just hope life keeps things smooth this weekend.”

  “So far, so good,” Vicky said and raised her glass. Sarah picked up hers and clinked it lightly against Vicky's.

  “I'll drink to that,” she said with a short laugh and then sipped her wine.

  Vicky was silent for a few moments, then sat up in her chair. She leaned a little closer to Sarah. “What's it like?”

  “What's what like?” Sarah asked and looked back at her.

  “Marriage,” Vicky said and sipped her wine.

  “Well, every marriage is different,” Sarah pointed out. “It does take some getting used to. Sharing your space with someone, sharing your life with someone.”

  “How did you know that you were ready?” Vicky asked curiously.

  “Honestly, I just hated being away from him,” Sarah replied. “When my space felt empty without him, when my life felt lonely without him, I knew that it was time.”

  Vicky smiled thoughtfully at that. It was like Sarah was putting words to what Vicky had been feeling lately. The room that she had converted into a large apartment in the inn, was home to her. But now, all she could think of was what it would be like to lay down beside Mitchell and to wake up in the morning next to him. She was beginning to feel as if she was counting down the minutes until the next time she would see him.

  “I guess that means I'm ready,” Vicky said in a murmur.

  “Really?” Sarah squealed with excitement. “Can we go dress shopping?”

  “No,” Vicky said firmly. “I don't think I'm that ready, yet.”

  “Maybe we should let Aunt Ida pick it out?” Sarah teased.

  “Oh my, that would be interesting,” Vicky giggled. “I'm sure she would have a ball.”

  “What about location?” Sarah asked, obviously excited that the wedding might happen soon.

  “I haven't really discussed it with Mitchell,” Vicky admitted. “But I've planned so many weddings here, I couldn't imagine having it anywhere else.”

  “I was hoping that you would say that,” Sarah said gleefully. “I can't wait!”

  “Well, being ready doesn't mean that I've set a date,” Vicky reminded her. “I just need to make sure I know what I'm getting myself into.”

  “You can forget about that,” Sarah said with a laugh. “There's no way to know what you're getting into. You just have to trust and jump in.”

  Vicky grimaced, “That doesn't sound very simple.”

  “It's actually the simplest thing you can do,” Sarah pointed out. “If you think about it and think about it, if you wait for everything to be perfect, it will never happen.”

  “Hmm,” Vicky took the last sip of her wine. “I guess you're right. I hadn't thought about it that way.”

  “I couldn't think of a more perfect match for you,” Sarah admitted. “We'll have law enforcement in the family!”

  “With Aunt Ida around we might just need it,” Vicky grinned and took Sarah's glass which was empty. “Want some more?” she offered.

  “I better not,” Sarah shook her head. “I want to be sharp in the morning.”

  “Me too,” Vicky agreed. “I'll take care of this, you get to bed.”

  Sarah yawned. “Good idea.”

  “Night, Sis,” Vicky said as she collected the bottle of wine.

  “Night,” Sarah called back and stepped into the inn.

  Chapter Three

  The next morning the contest started at nine o'clock sharp and Vicky was ready for it. She had her dark brown hair pinned back and her work jeans on. She wouldn't look dazzling for the camera but that didn't really interest her. What she wanted was to share the experience with Mitchell. She was hoping he would be able to get some time free from work. After recently being promoted to detective his caseload had increased.

  Vicky was accustomed to living alone so it didn't really bother her that he had very little free time, but she enjoyed his company so much that when he was gone she was beginning to count the hours until she would see him again. After getting engaged, something she hadn't expected to want, she wasn’t ready to face another big change by getting married so soon. It wasn't that she didn't want to marry Mitchell, she did. She was madly in love with him and couldn't imagine ever being with anyone else, she just didn't want to rush into the title of ‘Wife’.

  A part of her worried that Mitchell would see her differently once they were married. With things going so very well, she didn't feel the urgency to change things. Soon the activity of the morning distracted her from thoughts of Mitchell. There was a festive feeling in the crisp morning air. All the contestants were gathered together in front of the gardens. The host of the contest, Ray Baxter, was standing on the make-shift stage in front of them. Vicky was relieved to see that he didn't expect her to join him.

  “Welcome, welcome, to the annual Garnish your Garden contest,” he said in a jovial tone.

  The crowd of onlookers that had gathered began to applaud and cheer. The contestants were all smiles.

  “Today we're going to see what these talented gardeners can do with their green thumbs. Each contestant will have all day today, and four hours tomorrow to work on their gardens. Not a minute longer. At the end of the contest we will have a chance to look at their creations. We will select three judges from the crowd, and one expert judge, that is, me,” he grinned. “Then we will crown the winner and have a nice big party to celebrate. So, who is ready for the contest to begin?” he shouted across the crowd.

  The crowd cheered happily and the contestants clapped. Margaret was bouncing up and down, barely able to contain her excitement. Roxanne was already eyeing the available garden space. Lauren had her eyes closed as she drew a few deep breaths. Baron was the only one who looked completely relaxed, with his long arms folded casually across his chest.

  “Okay then, on your marks, get set, garden!” Ray shouted and then blew a loud whistle to signal that the contest had begun.

  Lauren bolted for the first garden space, the same one that Roxanne was trying to get to.

  “I got here first,” Lauren shouted as soon as Roxanne set foot in the space.

  “No, I did,” Roxanne shouted back.

  Ray Baxter grimaced and spoke quietly to one of the attendants of the contest.

  “If you don't move your big, old foot out of my garden I am going to move it for you,” Lauren hissed far more violently than Vicky expected.

  “It's staying right there, Lauren,” Roxanne said and crossed her arms. “Fair is fair, after all.”

  “How
is it fair that you're trying to steal my garden space?” Lauren demanded with mounting frustration.

  “Ladies, I'd like to point out that there is still one more garden space available,” the contest attendant said warmly as he paused beside them. “No need to squabble over one patch of land.”

  “But this one has better lighting,” Lauren protested, determined not to move.

  “No amount of lighting is going to help your garden,” Roxanne muttered under her breath.

  “What? What was that?” Lauren demanded, getting irate.

  “They're all the same, would you two just pick one each so I don't have to hear you yammering all day?” Baron asked with annoyance.

  “Be quiet,” Lauren spat at him. “You already have your space. You don't have anything to be upset about.”

  “Look honey, big bad hubby can't buy you everything,” Roxanne teased and wiggled her eyebrows.

  Lauren's cheeks were getting red from how angry she was. Vicky knew that things were only going to get worse.

  “Isn't there some way we can solve this?” Vicky asked. She didn't like waiting on the sidelines watching the contest fall apart before her eyes.

  “Nothing will make me budge from this spot,” Roxanne said stubbornly.

  “I'm not going to give up my space,” Lauren said firmly.

  “She's not very good at sharing,” Margaret warned from the garden she had selected. “You two just keep squabbling, while Baron and I set up our gardens and win the contest.”

  Lauren huffed as she glanced at her watch. “That's the whole plan, isn't it Roxanne, to make me lose?” she growled.

  “Oh yes, my life is built entirely around you, Lauren. I'm not the one that tries to get people's names removed from the registry of the contest,” she glared at Lauren.

  “You're not making any sense,” Lauren protested. But she was getting more and more frustrated.

  “Listen, the other garden does get beautiful morning light,” Vicky said. She felt a little responsible. She had been the one to set up the garden spaces to begin with.

  “Move!” Lauren suddenly shouted and barreled into Roxanne. Roxanne was so caught off guard by the screaming that she fell backwards and out of the garden.

  “Lauren!” Vicky shrieked and jumped between the two women. “Stop this right this instant!”

  “I'm going to have to dock points if this continues,” Ray Baxter warned. “Ladies, this is for entertainment, and it is not supposed to be a full contact sport.”

  “She is the problem!” Lauren nearly screamed.

  Vicky helped Roxanne to her feet. Roxanne dusted off her jeans and glowered at Lauren.

  “It's fine, I'll take the other garden,” she said. “Let the bully win, she always does, one way or another.”

  She stalked over to the yet unclaimed garden. Vicky was looking between the two with shock. She hadn't expected fighting to break out.

  “Good,” Lauren said sharply. She picked up the pitchfork that she had brought with her and began clearing her space.

  “That was crazy,” Vicky said as she walked over to Ray.

  “That's gardening,” Ray smirked. “Contest style.”

  Vicky was still shaking her head when she heard someone walk up behind her.

  “Morning,” Mitchell said warmly and hugged her from behind. Vicky smiled broadly at his warmth around her, and the scent of his cologne.

  “You just missed a fight,” Vicky said with a slight giggle.

  “What?” he pretended to be disappointed. “And I didn't even get to cuff anyone.”

  “Well, you wouldn't have wanted to cuff this one,” Vicky said in a whisper. “She's Lauren Thomson, Vaughn Thomson's wife.”

  “The Vaughn Thomson?” Mitchell asked with surprise. “He's here?”

  “Right over there,” Vicky tilted her head towards a table with an umbrella where Vaughn was seated. He had big sunglasses on. Vicky suspected he was sleeping behind them.

  “Yup, that's him all right,” Mitchell shook his head with obvious disgust.

  “I thought you would be impressed?” Vicky asked as she turned to look at him.

  “I can't say that there's much about that man that impresses me,” Mitchell admitted. “There's just something about him that has left me unsettled from day one.”

  “Hmm,” Vicky looked back in Vaughn's direction. “He certainly doesn't treat his wife very well.”

  “Oh?” Mitchell frowned. “There's no excuse for that.”

  “Hmm,” Vicky smiled as she looked into his eyes. “Good to know.”

  “You already know it,” he grinned and kissed her lightly on the lips. “I can't stay long,” he frowned. “But call me if another fight breaks out.”

  “You'll be the first call I make,” Vicky promised him and hugged him goodbye. Luckily the rest of the day went fairly smoothly until they had a break for dinner. Vicky had set up a family style dining room for the contestants and the people who were running the contest. That was before she knew about the level of tension that would exist between them. She was nervous as she sat down to dinner with everyone. It started off well with Sarah asking people to share stories of their favorite gardens. But as the dinner wound down, the strangest thing sparked off a volatile rivalry.

  “Pass the rolls please,” Lauren said begrudgingly to Roxanne. Roxanne had her hand in the bowl and was taking the last roll out of it.

  “Sorry, last one,” she said without even bothering to look in Lauren's direction.

  “Oh, I’m sure we have more in the kitchen,” Vicky offered, but her voice was drowned out by Lauren's quick comeback.

  “Just like you to be so greedy,” she snapped. “You always want to take everything that's mine.”

  “Lauren, you're nuts,” Roxanne said dismissively. Then with her eyes locked on Lauren's she took a big bite of the roll.

  “Unbelievable!” Lauren cried out. “You are so rude,” she snatched up her purse to leave. When she did Vaughn reached up to stop her. In the process Lauren dropped her purse and the contents spilled all over the floor.

  Roxanne and Margaret scrambled to help clean up the mess. Vicky was a little surprised that Roxanne would help, but then she had shown how kind she was to Chef Henry. Vicky picked up the last of the items that had fallen to the floor and handed them to Lauren. Everyone else was looking on in shock.

  “Lauren, I'm sorry, I can get more rolls if you would like,” Vicky offered swiftly.

  “It's not about the rolls!” Lauren huffed. “Why can't anyone see that?” she stalked out of the dining room with Vaughn trailing behind her. After that, the dinner ended quickly.

  Vicky decided to check on the floor where Lauren and Roxanne were staying to make sure that they hadn't continued their fight. When she stepped off the elevator into the hallway, she heard a sound that caught her attention. It was the sound of one of the door handles in the hallway rattling. She narrowed her eyes as she noticed Roxanne standing a few doors away. She cringed, as she knew if anything happened to Roxanne it would only make the bumpy start to her stay worse.

  “Is anything wrong, Roxanne?” she asked as she paused beside the woman.

  “This key isn't working,” Roxanne said with frustration.

  “Oh, let me take a look,” Vicky said and accepted the key when Roxanne handed it to her. “Yes, it looks like there's a problem,” Vicky said with some confusion. “This key isn't working because it doesn't belong to this room, it's a key to the Thomsons’ room,” she shook her head. “How did you end up with this?”

  “Oh, I,” Roxanne was flustered for a moment before she cleared her throat. “I must have picked up the wrong key at dinner. When we had that little spat over the dinner roll.”

  “What is it between the two of you?” Vicky asked gently. “How long has this feud been going on?”

  “To be honest it started out as friendly rivalry. But it has progressed to become much more intense,” Roxanne explained. “But really, I just feel very sorry for
her,” she said with a sigh.

  “Here, let me get this open for you,” Vicky offered and used the manager’s key so that the door would open.

  “Thanks, Vicky,” Roxanne smiled.

  “I'll just take the key back to Lauren,” Vicky added.

  “Oh, I wouldn't do that, Lauren doesn't like surprises,” Roxanne said before disappearing into her room.

  Vicky started to walk down the hall towards Vaughn and Lauren's room to return the key anyway, but she stopped halfway. She really didn't want to aggravate the woman more. She decided to just take the key back to the desk for the night. When she reached the front desk, Vaughn was waiting for her.

  “I need an extra key for the room,” he said with annoyance in his gaze. “My wife lost hers.”

  “I found it,” Vicky smiled and handed him the key. “Is everything okay, Mr. Thomson?”

  “Please, call me Vaughn,” he said warmly. “Everything is fine. My wife just gets a little wound up during these contests.”

  “I understand,” Vicky nodded. “Is she resting now?”

  “Oh no, she's in the garden,” he said. “She'll work all night if she has to.”

  “That's some dedication,” Vicky said with admiration.

  “You could call it that,” Vaughn said slowly. “Or you could call it obsession.”

  Vicky was silenced by his words. Luckily he walked away without expecting her to say anything else. She felt very uneasy when she went to bed that night. She hoped the contest the next morning would be much more pleasant. She set her alarm to get up early and make sure that everything started out smoothly.

  Chapter Four

  When Vicky woke up the next morning, she did her best to have a good attitude. It was the last day of the contest and she was looking forward to seeing the completed gardens. After she dressed she stepped out onto the patio beside the pool to get some fresh air before breakfast. She was almost immediately greeted by Mitchell.

  “You're up early,” he said with a grin.

  “You're here early,” Vicky replied and hugged him.

  “Would you believe Sheriff McDonnell insisted I come over here and make sure that everything was going well for Vaughn Thomson?” he raised an eyebrow.