by Cindy Stark
Fear.
Anger.
Disbelief.
Sophie pointed at her brother. “You did it.”
Scott’s dark mood deepened. “Did not, loser. Everyone knows it has to be you.”
Sophie gasped. “Why would I steal it? It’s going to be mine someday anyway.”
June sank deeper into the pillows on the couch while Dotty’s face blanched. “Someone in my family stole it?” she asked Peter with emotion coloring her voice.
“I’m afraid so.”
Dotty looked at each of them, anguish hovering in her eyes. “Who?”
None volunteered his or her guilt.
She looked back to Peter. “Tell me,” she demanded. “Who in my family? Who of these people that I love and trust would hurt me this way?”
Scott stood. “I want to know, too. Which one of you guys could do that to mom?”
Peter shifted his gaze to Sophie who grew wide-eyed and fearful. “Not me,” she exclaimed.
He glanced at his notebook as though checking information, but Hazel knew it was for effect only. “Were you in a relationship with Basil?”
She glanced between her mother and aunt. Her fear grew strong enough to overshadow the other emotions in the room. “Yes,” she whispered.
Peter nodded.
“I knew it,” June said again. “He was good for nothing. Did he make you take your mother’s pearls?”
Everyone in the room turned to Sophie.
She remained silent and still for several long moments. “Yes,” she finally said. “He forced me to.”
Peter snorted and slowly shook his head. “That’s not really true, is it Sophie? I know it’s hard to own what you’ve done, but it’s better to do it now than later in a court of law.”
She held her stoic gaze for another few moments and then crumbled. Her eyes flooded with tears. “You don’t understand. I had to. It was the only way to be with Basil. No one here would accept him, so we needed to run away. Except he got scared after the pearls went missing.”
Sophie inhaled a deep breath and expelled it. “They were going to be mine anyway, so what difference does it make?”
“Sophie.” The pain on her mother’s face tore at Hazel. “You did this to me?”
Sophie wrapped her arms around her midsection. “I’m sorry, Mom. I had to. I think I’m pregnant.”
Resounding gasps echoed through the room. “Pregnant?” Dotty whispered.
Scott’s chuckle ran the border between gleeful and disgusted. “I knew it.”
Hazel ignored him. “Except didn’t you take the pearls before you knew that, Sophie?”
Peter kept his focus on Sophie. “Would you like to tell the whole truth now?”
A sob escaped her as she jerked her gaze to each of her family members as though they’d cornered her and anyone of them could attack at any moment.
“Fine,” she said with a shaky breath. “I did it so he’d love me. At least I thought he would. He didn’t want to be serious. He said he had nothing to offer someone like me, so I wanted to prove he didn’t need to.”
Peter nodded. “The pearls were the trust fund you mentioned to Hazel.”
Sophie slid a hard look toward Hazel as though she’d betrayed her. Her silent accusation hurt until Hazel realized it wasn’t hers to own. Sophie had brought this on herself.
The girl turned to her mother. “I’m sorry. I was so stupid. I thought I could make him love me, but he doesn’t.” More tears erupted. “He never will.”
Scott snorted. “What a bunch of bull. I hope none of you are going to fall for it.”
“Sophie,” June admonished. “How could you do this to your poor mother?”
Hazel widened her eyes in disbelief. The woman would soon find out she wasn’t getting off easy, either.
Sophie buried her face in her hands and sobbed in earnest.
Peter focused a hardened gaze on June, and Hazel inhaled in anticipation. “The second question would then be, June, how could you do this to your sister?”
June’s expression exploded in shock, and she lifted her hand to her throat. “What do you mean? I didn’t help Sophie steal them.”
Peter gave a nod of agreement. “No, but you hired the man she eventually sold them to, didn’t you? A broker named Arnie James?”
Dotty swiveled a pained, wide-eyed gaze toward June.
June was up and off the couch faster than Hazel thought possible. None of them had time to react to her response before she was out of the room. The front door slammed, sending the sound vibrating through the house.
“Are you just going to let her go?” Scott cried, pointing a finger toward the empty doorway.
Peter didn’t seem concerned in the least. “She won’t get far. I have an officer positioned outside.”
“Oh, good Lord.” Dotty shook her head, and her breaths grew labored. “Betrayed by both of them. I can’t… I can’t…”
She crossed her hands over her chest, alarming Hazel.
She jumped to her feet and rushed to Dotty’s side. “Are you okay?”
Dotty struggled to fill her lungs. “I can’t breathe.”
Hazel jerked her gaze to Peter for help, but he’d already clasped the radio on his shoulder.
“This is Chief Parrish. Send an ambulance to the Fingleton residence. We have a woman with chest pains.”
“If she dies, I’ll kill you both,” Scott said to his sister.
By the time the ambulance arrived, June and Sophie were in hysterical tears. Both sat on the front porch in handcuffs.
Peter did his best to hold the scene. Hazel held Dotty’s hand until the medics helped her onto a gurney, and then she and Peter walked with her to the ambulance.
“I’m so sorry,” Hazel said as they prepared to load her inside. “Hang in there. I promise this will be okay.”
“Will you come with me?” Dotty croaked. “I have no one else I can trust.”
Hazel glanced to Peter. “You don’t need my permission. Go with her. I’ll take care of everything here.”
“Okay.” Hazel nodded. Dotty needed her, and she couldn’t refuse. She climbed inside and sat next to the female medic.
The woman cleaned Dotty’s skin with an alcohol wipe. “We’re going to start an I.V.,” she said to Dotty in a calm voice.
Dotty looked to Hazel, and she gave her a kind smile. “Just relax. Everything is going to be okay.”
Hazel turned to look at Peter, but the other medic closed the doors between them. She wanted to reconnect with him before they departed, wanted to ask when she’d see him again, but there was no time for that now.
Her head knew that she’d see him soon, but her heart ached to know for sure. For now, though, she’d have to focus on Dotty and let the future bring what it would.
Epilogue
Hazel lifted a hand-painted ceramic mug from the open box she had on the counter in the backroom of the teashop. She widened her eyes in delight. Delicate pansies circled the middle of the cup in shades of blue and purple with bright yellow centers. Lacy blue detailing along with green swirls edged the top and bottom.
Several customers had requested mugs in which to make a larger serving of tea, and of course, she wouldn’t refuse them. Most of what she’d placed on this order were feminine like this one because the largest portion of her customers were female, but she’d also purchased several manly mugs with various shades of blue, green or brown that had a rougher finish.
“Hey.”
Peter’s greeting startled her, and she almost fumbled the mug. She flicked an annoyed sideways glance at him. “Do you always have to sneak up on me?”
“How else am I going to discover what you do when I’m not around? You had a pretty big smile on your face when you pulled that out of the box.”
She shook her head in warning. “You’re lucky I didn’t accidently hurl the mug at you in self-defense. That would have served you right, and then you’d have to explain to the guys at the station how a wo
man attacked you with a coffee mug.”
She played off his suggestion that he watched her well, but inside, she made a mental note always to stay aware of her surroundings. Although, it seemed unfair that she couldn’t let her guard down in her own backroom.
He moved farther into the room. Each step he took toward her increased her pulse in a delicious way, and he stopped near her elbow. “What else ya got in there?”
“Nothing you’d be interested in unless you like daisies and tulips on your cups.”
He shrugged. “I might. Not for me, but for Margaret on administrative assistant’s day or her birthday.”
“Or just bribery to keep her around and put up with you,” she teased.
He grinned. “That, too.”
She finally gave him her full attention. “What’s up?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to see you.”
Her heart danced. “You just wanted to see me?”
“And…see if you were in the mood for afternoon ice cream.” His hopeful look tugged at her heart. She sensed his attraction, but also that he’d wrangled it under control somewhat.
She hesitated as she stared into his beautiful eyes. If she said yes, their dating would become official. Gretta in the outer room would be the first to know, and she’d never let Hazel live it down.
Her brain continued to list all the reasons saying no would be a good idea, but…
“Okay.”
Happiness erupted on his face. “Really?”
“Sure,” she said and shrugged as though it was no big deal. “Why not?”
“Why not indeed.” His grin was contagious.
She quickly washed the packaging dust from her hands and then turned to him. “Ready.”
He took her hand and led her from the backroom. Gretta glanced up as they emerged, her gaze quickly dropping to their clasped hands.
She met Hazel’s gaze and widened her eyes.
Hazel buried her smile. “We’re going for ice cream. Can you man the shop for a bit?”
A knowing grin spread across her lips. “Sure thing, boss.”
She and Peter rounded the counter and headed for the front door. Before he opened it, he looked back at Gretta. “She finally said yes,” he said in a loud whisper.
Hazel shook her head at them both, and she was sure she heard a giggle as they stepped out into the beautiful spring day.
They held hands the entire way to Cora’s, and Hazel was sure everyone who passed gawked at them, but she didn’t pull away. They received similar looks from Cora, and Hazel tried not to let her anxious feelings get the best of her.
“Booth or table?” Peter asked.
A table would leave them more exposed. “Booth.”
Thankfully, Peter guided her to a booth near the back, and she slid in.
Without warning, he sat next to her, his thigh brushing hers, sending all kinds of intense energy racing through her. She’d expected him to sit opposite her, but she should have known better.
He reached across her for a menu, and she caught a whiff of his cologne. The man was irresistible. When he opened the menu before them, she glanced down to hide her smile.
“What are you going to have?” he asked.
The nerves in her tummy had twisted into a crazy bunch, and she wasn’t sure she could eat anything. “Maybe a root beer float.”
“That sounds good.”
Hazel sensed someone approaching, and she glanced up. Dotty stood before them with a huge grin on her face. “Look at you two. I’d wondered if there was something between you. Every time I saw you together, I thought something seemed different about you both.”
Hazel worked to think of a good reply.
“Good to see you looking happy, Dotty,” Peter answered instead, saving her from Dotty’s awkward comment.
“I’m better than happy. I’m great.” She looked like she’d recently had her hair done, and the soft lavender blouse and black slacks she wore flattered her figure. She glanced toward the door and her smile grew bigger. “Apparently, cupid’s been hanging out around town,” she whispered.
Hazel and Peter both cranked their heads around to see who Dotty referred to.
Luca Pellegrini approached them, looking as dashing as ever. “Bella Hazel,” Luca said with a lovely Italian flourish.
Her heart warmed with affection. “Luca, good to see you.”
Luca gave Peter a courteous, if stiff, nod and turned his gaze to Dotty. “Shall I acquire us a table?”
“Yes, please.” Her expression glowed with happiness. “I’ll be right there.”
“What’s this?” Hazel grinned expectantly at Dotty, and she blushed.
“A new chapter in my life. I’m done worrying about and taking care of everyone else who doesn’t do the same for me.”
Peter nodded. “Sounds like a good plan. I understand you’re not pressing charges against your daughter.”
Dotty flicked her fingers as though shooing away a fly. “She would deserve it, but I couldn’t hurt her that way. She is, however, finishing high school at a religious boarding school and then off to college. It will be a terribly long time, if ever, before I can forgive her. Scott has already gone back to school and won’t be home for the summer, either. Selfish brats. Let them learn to survive on their own.”
“What about Sophie’s baby?” Hazel asked.
“There is no baby. She might have thought she was pregnant, but it was more likely another of her lies.” Dotty placed a sassy hand on her hip. “That girl needs to grow up before she even thinks about having a child.”
Hazel and Peter both agreed with nods.
“Don’t forget to keep that safe locked,” Peter said. “And be careful with that one.” He nodded toward Luca.
“I already know his history, so don’t worry about me. Luca agrees this is all for fun. Don’t worry about the pearls anymore, either. I sold them.” She laughed.
“Seriously?” Hazel asked, surprised.
“That broker was right. Why should I continue to hold on to them, hiding them where no one will see? Sophie doesn’t deserve to inherit them, and I don’t want Scott to get them, either. I decided to share them with the world. Now, my bank account is fatter, and I’m going to enjoy the proceeds myself. If my kids inherit a dime when I pass, they’ll be lucky.”
“That’s certainly understandable,” Peter said.
“And you know what?” Dotty said with a smile. “It feels wonderful. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a hot date. My sister’s not the only one who can have a man on the side.”
Hazel laughed. “You picked a good one.”
Peter sent her a disagreeing look but said nothing.
After Dotty walked away, Hazel nudged Peter with her knee. “I think they’re cute together.”
He snorted. “I think we’re cute together,” he said instead of arguing.
She let that sit in her thoughts for a few moments. “Maybe so.”
“You know we are.” He lifted the menu and studied it.
She cast a sideways glance at him. She didn’t know how cute she was, but he was, by far, the most handsome man she’d met. Not that she’d tell him.
Dangerous, too, she reminded herself. But now she knew how to be careful.
Maybe she’d follow in Dotty’s footsteps and keep things fun but casual. It seemed like a win-win, and she couldn’t see any other resolution.
Belinda approached and frowned at seeing them together. Hazel smiled bigger.
The woman seemed to think she should have all the male attention in town. This time, she was wrong, and Hazel enjoyed her dissatisfaction more than she should have.
“Are you having a root beer float, too, Peter?” Hazel asked sweetly.
He met her gaze and smiled. “Yes, I think I will.”
He turned to Belinda. “Root beer floats for me and this lovely lady.”
Belinda smirked and walked away.
Hazel grinned at Peter.
Yes, this dating thing mig
ht be fun after all.
****
Read on for an excerpt from Book Three in the Teas and Temptations Cozy Mystery Series
****
If you enjoyed reading this book, the greatest gift you can give me is to tell a friend and leave a review at Amazon or Goodreads. It helps others find stories they might love and helps me to continue pursuing this crazy writing career.
Thank you and happy reading,
Cindy
Excerpt from THREE TIMES CHARMED
Teas and Temptations Cozy Mystery Series
Book Three
Hazel Hardy entered her living room after a long day at work, teacup in hand, and found a fat orange tabby crouched on her reading chair, watching her with that sassy expression he always used.
The cat, with his odd, mysterious ways, had lived with her long enough to know that after work and dinner, she’d head for her favorite spot to read and relax. He’d proven to her time and again that he had an intelligence beyond most felines, and for that very reason she knew he lounged in her space on purpose.
She strode forward with a stern expression, hoping to intimidate him. She was the boss in this house, and he needed to learn that. “Get out of my chair.”
He yawned and regarded her with a bored expression.
She set her cup on the table next to the chair and reached out with both hands, prepared to pick him up and physically remove him from her spot. The moment her fingers were an inch away from his soft fur, he sprang up and ran for the cover of the couch.
She narrowed her gaze. “One of these days you’re going to give me a heart attack, and then there will be no one to take care of you.” Though, from the looks of him, he’d managed to eat well before he’d begun to stalk her.
Hazel turned to claim her spot, but her ancestral grandmother’s ancient book of spells now sat where the cat had been. That little stinker. He’d seemingly managed to open her underwear drawer, dig beneath all her panties and bras, and pull out her grandmother’s tome.
Apparently thinking that drawer might be the safest place in the house to hide one of her darkest secrets had been a mistake on her part. She could question how he’d managed such a feat, but that went along with wondering how he’d escaped her house when all the windows and doors had been closed and locked.
