Grave Seasons (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 8)

by Lily Harper Hart

  Grave Seasons

  A Maddie Graves Mystery Book Eight

  Lily Harper Hart

  HarperHart Publications

  Contents

  Copyright

  1. One

  2. Two

  3. Three

  4. Four

  5. Five

  6. Six

  7. Seven

  8. Eight

  9. Nine

  10. Ten

  11. Eleven

  12. Twelve

  13. Thirteen

  14. Fourteen

  15. Fifteen

  16. Sixteen

  17. Seventeen

  18. Eighteen

  19. Nineteen

  20. Twenty

  21. Twenty-One

  22. Twenty-Two

  23. Twenty-Three

  24. Twenty-Four

  Mail List

  Acknowledgments

  Books by Lily Harper Hart

  Copyright © 2016 by Lily Harper Hart

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  1

  One

  “Not that.”

  Maddie Graves, her long blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, shook her head when her friend Christy Ford shoved a bag of potatoes in her direction.

  Christy tucked a strand of bright red behind her ear and sucked in a breath as she tried to refrain from snapping at her friend. The store was packed, after all. Holiday food shoppers were making it almost impossible to traverse an aisle without bumping into someone. Now was not the time to make a scene. “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t like the look of them,” Maddie replied, her expression thoughtful as she studied the potato choices. “I think I’m going with the red skins. I saw a show on how to make unique Thanksgiving mashed potatoes with red skins. They were colorful and beautiful.”

  Christy didn’t look impressed. “Uh-huh.”

  “Don’t take that tone with me,” Maddie chided. “This is important.”

  “This isn’t important,” Christy argued. “It’s a meal. You’re turning it into an extravaganza. That doesn’t mean it’s important.”

  “Well, it’s important to me,” Maddie sniffed grabbing a bag of red skins. “I’m making red-skinned mashed potatoes.”

  “How awesome,” Christy intoned, making a face. When she caught sight of a man watching her from one aisle over as he perused apples, she changed her posture and shot him a flirty wink. “I can’t wait to eat your potatoes.”

  Maddie sensed the shift in Christy’s mood and followed her friend’s gaze, scowling when she realized what caught the flamboyant redhead’s attention. “Knock that off,” Maddie ordered, slapping Christy’s arm. “You have a boyfriend.”

  “I don’t have a boyfriend,” Christy clarified. “I have a possible future boyfriend who I have been out on three dates with. I’m clearly not married.”

  Maddie made a face that would’ve been humorous under different circumstances. Since she was bordering on manic instead of mirthful, though, it came off as somewhat deranged. “I thought you and John were giving this a real go?”

  John Winters was a state police officer who never wanted a girlfriend – until his brother Nick got one and moved in with her. Maddie just happened to be that girlfriend. After watching Nick and Maddie interact for several weeks, he decided it didn’t sound too bad and he set his sights on Christy. For her part, the effervescent salon owner had harbored a crush on John since high school. That didn’t mean she was going to make things easy for him.

  “We are giving it a real go,” Christy replied. The problem is that this is the worst time to start dating someone. The pressure is too great so we’re both kind of goofing around until we get to January. Then the pressure will ease.”

  “I … don’t understand.” Maddie creased her forehead. “Why is this a terrible time to date someone?”

  Because it’s the holidays,” Christy answered, not missing a beat. “That November twenty-fourth to January first stretch is brutal when you’re just starting out. That’s why we’re playing games instead of talking seriously about where we see things going. We can’t talk seriously for six weeks.”

  “That is ridiculous,” Maddie sputtered, Christy’s speech twisting her mind instead of clearing it. “That makes absolutely no sense. Why would Thanksgiving affect your dating life?”

  “Because of family pressure,” Christy explained. “The Winters family has big feasts every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Family is expected to attend. That includes girlfriends of family members.

  “Now, you’ve somehow managed to wrangle Thanksgiving from Mrs. Winters – and I’m dying to know how you did that – but the pressure is still there because John’s entire family is going to be at the meal,” she continued. “Are you honestly telling me you’re not feeling pressure since this is your first Thanksgiving with Nick since you became a couple?”

  “I … um … no,” Maddie said, shaking her head vehemently enough her ponytail swished back and forth. “Why would I feel nervous?”

  “Because everyone is going to be looking at you,” Christy replied. “They’re going to be looking … and judging … and waiting for a big fight between you and Nick.”

  “But … why would we fight?”

  “It’s the holidays. Everyone fights.”

  “I don’t think that’s true.” Maddie said the words, but she wasn’t sure if she meant them. She’d been undergoing a building pressure in her temples ever since announcing she would be hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year. When she did it she never considered Nick’s mother feeling displaced. She thought she was being helpful. What if she was wrong? “Do you think Sharon is angry because I stole Thanksgiving from her?” The thought hadn’t occurred to her before and now it was all she could think about. Sharon Winters loved Maddie like she was her own daughter – she always had – but she was also territorial when it came to certain things.

  Christy shrugged. “I don’t know her that well,” she said. “She’s always seemed pleasant and nice to me, but that was before I started dating her son. She might turn all Dynasty on me now because she doesn’t think I’m good enough for John.”

  Maddie studied Christy for a moment, her face unreadable. Then, to her best friend’s obvious chagrin, she burst out laughing. “Oh, thank you for making me feel better,” she said, patting Christy’s shoulder as she worked overtime to collect herself. “I’m used to being the one freaking out. You’re even more worked up than me. It’s a nice change of pace.”

  “It’s true, Maddie,” Christy said, annoyed at being the butt of the joke. “Holidays can kill new relationships. I read it in a magazine.”

  “The National Enquirer?”

  “Ha, ha. Cosmopolitan.”

  “I’m not sure that makes it better,” Maddie hedged. “I get not wanting to put too much pressure on yourselves because the relationship is new, but that doesn’t explain flirting with other people in the supermarket.”

  “We’ve decided we’re not going to be exclusive until after New Year’s Day,” Christy said. “That way we don’t have to worry about big Christmas gifts – in fact, we’re doing a moratorium on gifts so no one feels bad – and we don’t have to worry about family pressure overwhelming us. I was fine becoming exclusive before New Year’s Eve, but apparently New Year’s Day is some big football day so John wants to wait until the second in case I
make him miss the game.”

  Maddie tried to hide her smile – and failed miserably. “Oh, that is just priceless,” she said, giggling. “You guys are being very pragmatic, though. I can’t wait to watch it blow up in your faces.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because you and John like each other and neither one of you is interested in dating someone else,” Maddie replied. “You’re also not going to take it well if you catch John dating someone else – and that goes double for him – so this is going to end up with a big fight and then a lot of kissing to make up.”

  Christy pursed her lips as she considered Maddie’s statement. “Well, that might be fun, too,” she said finally. “I guess we’ll see how the next six weeks go and take it from there.”

  “At least you have a healthy attitude,” Maddie said, grinning as her grandmother Maude Graves approached the cart, her arms laden with supplies. “What is all of that?”

  “Stuff for my party hut,” Maude answered, not missing a beat. “I figure if you’re losing your mind making Thanksgiving dinner that I’m going to have a lot of guests at my place because they’ll be hiding from you.”

  Maude’s place was technically Maddie’s garage – her grandmother opting to build an apartment there to give Maddie and Nick their privacy when they moved in together – so the line between abodes wasn’t exactly clear. “Huh.” Maddie picked through Maude’s purchases and frowned. “These are Nick’s favorite Hostess cupcakes, M&Ms, and beef jerky.”

  “I know,” Maude said. “He’s the one who is going to be hiding when you go all chefzilla.”

  Maddie made a face. “I’m not going to go all … chefzilla,” she said. “That’s ridiculous. I know how to cook.”

  “You cook like a dream,” Maude agreed. “You could do it professionally if you chose to go that route. This is also your first Thanksgiving dinner and you tend to go postal when you obsess about something. You’re going to obsess about this. We all know it.”

  Maddie turned to Christy for help and found her friend sagely nodding her head. “You’re turning on me, too?”

  “It’s not about turning on you, Maddie,” Christy clarified. “I will never turn on you.” Since she did turn on Maddie a few weeks before during a fight, that wasn’t exactly true and she recognized her mistake as soon as she uttered it. “I mean … I’ll never do it again and I’m really sorry.”

  “Let’s not fixate on that,” Maddie suggested. “It just makes both of us sad … and who needs that?”

  Christy smiled, love for her friend bubbling up. Maddie was a giving soul who always opted to forgive instead of holding a grudge. She admired that about her – especially since she was the exact opposite. She never met a grudge she didn’t want to hold until the bitter end. “You’re very cute,” she said. “You’re still going to melt down about dinner. It’s inevitable.”

  “I am not,” Maddie protested. “It’s Thanksgiving. I know how to cook a turkey and potatoes.”

  Maude shifted her eyes back to the cart. “It looks like you’re also making stuffing, corn, homemade cranberry sauce, some sort of salad, pumpkin pie, apple pie and … stuffed mushrooms. Is that what these are for?” Maude pulled a package of baby Portobello caps out of the cart and held them up.

  “I thought they would make nice appetizers,” Maddie said, grabbing the package. “Put my mushrooms down.”

  “This is too much, Maddie girl,” Maude said. She was generally all for havoc and fun, but she loved Maddie more than anything and sensed heartbreak if things got too far out of hand. “I know you can’t help yourself because this is your first big domestic party since you and Nick finally got your heads out of your butts and admitted you love each other, but you should’ve let Sharon keep dinner and just enjoyed it instead of taking on a mountain of work for yourself.”

  “It’s not a mountain of work,” Maddie argued. “It’s a day of cooking. I like cooking.”

  “No, you love Nick and want to prove that you’re going to be a good wife choice one day,” Maude clarified, taking Christy by surprise with her fortitude. “You’re desperate to make sure this is the best Thanksgiving ever because you want Nick to be happy.

  “Here’s a news tip, Maddie: He is happy,” she continued. “Nick loves you with every fiber of his being and he can’t stop smiling whenever he looks at you. He doesn’t care if you cook so there’s no reason to go all crazy about dinner.”

  “That’s not what I’m doing.” Maddie crossed her arms over her chest, her obstinate side coming out to play. “I like cooking and that’s why I wanted to do this.”

  “I don’t know who you’re trying to convince,” Maude countered. “I think it might be yourself, which is a little sad. I’m going to let it go, though. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that you’re going to lose your mind this week.”

  “And you bought snacks to make the rest of us feel better when it happens,” Christy said, eyeing the M&Ms with longing. “I’m on a diet, though. I’ll visit your safe haven but refrain from eating your food offerings.”

  Maude snorted as Maddie frowned. “You can’t diet around Thanksgiving. It’s against the law.”

  “And it’s unnecessary,” Maddie added. “Your body is perfect.”

  “No, your body is perfect,” Christy corrected, casting a wistful look at Maddie’s lithe frame. “My body is curvy. I like it curvy. Don’t worry about that. I just wish the curves weren’t so pronounced.”

  “You’re just worried about John seeing you naked for the first time,” Maude said. “Shave your legs and shut off the lights. You’ll be fine.”

  “Granny!” Maddie was mortified.

  Christy, on the other hand, was intrigued. “I like the idea of turning off the lights,” she said. “Maybe I should remove all of the light bulbs in the house.”

  “That sounds like a good plan,” Maude said. “We’ll put that on our list of possible excursions this week and whip it out when Maddie has a meltdown.”

  Maddie ripped her gaze away from the vegetable options – a nice hors d’oeuvres tray sounded delightful, after all – and scorched her grandmother with a dark look. “I’m not going to have a meltdown. This week is going to go smoothly, and when I pull this off without a hitch or tear, I expect you to apologize.”

  Maude’s face was serious and for a moment Maddie expected her to acquiesce. She should’ve known better.

  “We need some bourbon, too,” Maude said. “Let’s stop by the liquor aisle on our way out.”

  “That sounds like a great idea,” Christy said. “I want some chocolate vodka. If I can’t eat anything good because of my diet, at least I can drink it.”

  “I like the way your mind works,” Maude said, tapping her head. “Let’s get some rum and tequila, too. Ooh, and have you ever heard of hard root beer? I saw a commercial. We should get some of that.”

  “That’s definitely the way to get through this holiday,” Christy enthused.

  “And Happy Thanksgiving to us one and all,” Maddie muttered, following her grandmother and friend. “I don’t care what you say. This holiday is going to be perfect. Just you wait.”

  2

  Two

  “Hello, love of my life.” Nick greeted Maddie by the front door with a kiss and a quizzical brow. “And you two.” He focused on Maude and Christy briefly before turning back to Maddie. “Did you buy out the entire store, Mad?”

  Maddie ignored him as she walked into the storefront that took up most of the main floor of the Victorian she shared with Nick and Maude. Her mother started Magicks when Maddie was a small child, but Olivia Graves died months before Maddie returned and took over the business. In addition to owning the store, Olivia was also psychic and could see and talk to ghosts. Maddie inherited the ability from her mother but kept it a secret for most of her life. It strained her relationship with Nick until she thought they would never recover, but when she admitted her abilities to him he accepted the knowledge without complaint … and an open h
eart.

  “It’s not that much food,” Maddie protested. “We have a lot of people coming for dinner. We have your family … and Christy … and your family … and Granny … and your family.”

  “You just counted my family three times, Mad,” Nick said, grabbing several of the bags from her hands as Maude and Christy struggled with their own loads. “Is there more out in the car?”

  “What do you think?” Maude sputtered. “The girl has lost her mind.”

  “She’s just nervous,” Christy corrected. “She can’t help herself. This is a big deal for her.”

  “I’m not nervous,” Maddie snapped.

  “She’s a little nervous,” Maude said, shooting Maddie an apologetic look. “Maddie girl, you know I love you, right?” Maddie nodded but remained mute. “You have a tendency to overdo things. I think the only reason you’re not overweight thanks to your love of cooking is because you overdo your workouts.”

  “Isn’t that the truth?” Nick muttered, carrying the bags into the kitchen and putting them on the counter. “Mad, I don’t see why you’re going overboard with this. We can buy a dinner at the diner. Ruby makes turkeys with all of the fixings every year.”

  Maddie was horrified. “That’s not homemade.”

  “It’s homemade by Ruby,” Nick countered.

  “Yes, but it wouldn’t be made in our home, would it?”

  Nick was used to Maddie’s moods but even he didn’t recognize this one. He licked his lips to give himself time to think and glanced at Maude for help. “I don’t know what to do. If I stop moving, will she forget I’m here and not pick a fight?”

  Maude snorted as Christy giggled.

  “It’s a good thing you’re handsome because otherwise she would kill you,” Maude said. “As for forgetting you’re here, I don’t think that’s possible. You’re the reason she’s going overboard with this whole thing.”

  Nick balked. “What are you talking about? How is this my fault?”

  “She’s trying to prove she’s the perfect woman,” Maude replied, not missing a beat. “She wants to give you the best Thanksgiving ever. She’s determined to stuff your face with food and make you happy until you fall into a food coma.”