But I let my friendship with Mack drag on for a few more years until she decided that stealing every one of my boyfriends was her new favorite hobby. And the biggest takeaway from the not-so-friendly shove? I came away with the ability to pry into other people’s minds. It turns out, I’m something called transmundane, further classified as telesensual, which basically means I can read minds.
Hux leans my way. “Why is Macy growling like an attack dog ready to pounce?”
I make a face at my brother. He shares my dark hair and light eyes and happens to be a top-notch divorce attorney—a career he’ll need to lean on if he ever plans on taking things to a matrimonial level with the piranha he’s leashed himself to. I’m not thrilled with the fact he’s gotten serious with Mackenzie Woods, of all people.
“Take a look around,” I whisper, and Hux does a quick evaluation of the signage before his eyes bug out. “Exactly.”
Ember pulls Mackenzie in by the hand. “Everyone!” she shouts to the crowd of women all bustling their way into her store. “Mayor Woods was kind enough to agree to christen my little shop on this, the one hundredth birthday, of this fabulous town.”
Mackenzie stuns in a navy power suit and a matching dark trench coat on over that. She has a shock of long chestnut hair and large amber eyes that give off just enough wickedness to warn others to keep at an emotional arm’s length. Apparently, my brother isn’t interested in heeding the warning.
“Hear ye, hear ye”—Mackenzie laughs as a thicket of bodies gather around—“I’d like to be the very first to welcome this fine establishment to the town of Cider Cove!”
Another blonde emerges from the store, who oddly enough also looks like a Macy Baker knockoff. I’m sensing a disturbing theme here. She’s dressed in the same dark leather jacket, shredded jeans, and boots. And in her hand she wields a bottle of champagne.
Ember snatches the bubbly from her. “Has this been chilled?”
The blonde gives a frenetic nod. As chilly as your black heart.
I can’t help but hold back a smile at the quip. I learned long ago not to judge anyone for whatever they might be thinking.
Next to the blonde is a tall brunette with shoulder-length hair and icy green eyes.
She takes a breath as she looks over at Ember. All right, you little brat, let’s get this over with so I can go stuff my face with whatever that sugary scent is that will find its way into my stomach soon enough. I’ve got a lot on the agenda this afternoon, and I’m going to need to keep up my energy.
The woman has sharp features, thin cranberry painted lips, and an overall look of indifference to the setting around her. I’d say she has a couple of years on Ember, and so far I’m liking her best. What can I say? My stomach is itching for whatever that sugary scent is, too.
Ember lifts her chin. “Thank you, Mayor Woods, for welcoming both my business partner, Willow Taylor, and me.” She pulls the blonde in close and they look like sisters. “We are so very privileged to be a part of the Cider Cove community, and we look forward to many successful years, right here on Main Street!” She sets down a knee-high wooden sign that has the shop’s name on it and creates a small clearing as she hands the bottle of champagne over to Mackenzie.
It takes less than a tap for the bottle to crack and champagne to bubble and ooze down the sign as the crowd grows wild with cheers.
Mackenzie waves to the thicket of people. “Now if you’ll all join me at the gazebo at the end of the street, we’ll kick off the Founders’ Day Festival and get this party started! The Country Cottage Café has donated enough apple cider donuts to feed the entire seaboard. This is going to be a great month and a great one hundredth year for all of Cider Cove!”
She leashes her arm through my brother’s as they stride toward the gazebo that’s festooned with fall leaves and pumpkins. The high school band is tuning up, and there’s a giant arch made of balloons that hovers over an expansive banner strung over the gazebo. The banner reads Welcome to the Founders’ Day Festival! Happy Birthday, Cider Cove! One hundred years and counting!
“Congratulations,” I say to Ember, much to the horror of my sister. “It’s nice to see you again.” I’m not thrilled about what she’s done, but I’m not committed to helping my sister hide the body either.
Bizzy! Fish yowls from the tote bag warming my side. If you’re not careful, Macy might just want to kill you, too.
Sherlock barks. She’s not wrong.
She’s not, but that’s beside the point.
“Bizzy Baker.” Ember’s eyes light up like blue flames. “Look at you! You’ve grown up to be a beautiful young woman.”
My lips twitch because it just so happens that Ember, much like my sister, is just one year older than me.
“Thank you,” I tell her.
“What are you doing now? How have you been?”
Macy grunts as she rolls her eyes my way, Careful, Bizzy. She just might be gunning to replicate your life next.
“I happen to run the Country Cottage Inn just down the street. And I just got married in September, so I’m Mrs. Baker Wilder now.”
“Oh, isn’t that nice.” She takes up my left hand and her thumb dances over my wedding ring. Bizzy deserves to be happy. I hope her happiness makes Macy all that much more miserable.
Miserable? Boy, she’s really got it out for her. Not that my saucy sister hasn’t amassed her fair share of enemies over the years, but this seems to be a bit over the top.
“And what a stunner this is,” she muses as she inspects my wedding ring at close range.
It’s true, my wedding ring is a stunner, with its emerald cut diamond encrusted with smaller diamonds that drip down the sides. I’m in love with it almost as much as I am with Jasper.
Ember shoots a curt look to my sister. “And you, Macy? Let me guess, you’re far too cagey to let any man hold you down.” I know it for a fact. And don’t think I’m going to let you off the hook with your man-eating ways either. I’m here to grind you down and make you ten times as miserable as you’ve made me.
My eyes bulge upon hearing her heated thoughts.
Good Lord, what has my sister done now? It’s not a secret that Macy Baker is no saint. But is she really that bad of a sinner?
Macy sheds a sour smile. “Why, I’m happily single, Ember, thank you for asking. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a well-established and much-loved business to tend to.” She clears her throat. “Fifty percent off all candles over at Lather and Light!”
Macy zips across the street, and a small stampede follows along with her.
Ember glowers in my sister’s direction, and a cold chill runs through me just looking at the sight.
You will rue the day you ever thought to mess with me, Macy Baker. I’m taking you down or I’ll die trying. Rumor has it, there has been a string of murders in Cider Cove. A tiny smile twitches on her lips. Pity if Macy’s body should turn up next.
A breath catches in my throat as I pull Fish close.
Ember forces a smile as she cups her hands around her mouth. “Seventy-five percent off all candles! Today only!”
Georgie and Juni join in on the feeding frenzy as half of Main Street vacuums into the small little shop.
It looks as if Macy had better watch her back.
And if Ember is smart, she had better watch hers, too.
My sister doesn’t take well to being challenged in any capacity. Something tells me neither does Ember.
Let’s just hope a body doesn’t turn up before the day is through.
A wild wind picks up and blows the leaves over the crowd as if they were confetti.
Brace yourself. My mind picks up on the strange voice, and I can’t tell where it’s coming from or if it’s from a man or a woman. Often, if the mind I’m inadvertently prying into isn’t within my visual range, the voice comes across as a bit androgynous.
You’ll pay for what you’ve done to me. Enjoy yourself while you can. I can promise—this will be the last day of your
life.
I gasp as I spin and take in the crowd.
An autumn chill is in the air, and so is murder.
Chapter 2
The wind blows in from the navy Atlantic and sends an icy chill up my spine as I look up and down Main Street at the throngs of bundled bodies all heading toward the gazebo like salmon swimming upstream. In the exact opposite direction, at the other end of this bustling road, sits the Country Cottage Inn, the place I’ve been managing for the last six years. The owner is a wealthy earl from England named Quinn Bennet who lets me have full run of the place while he pays the bills. It’s a match made in employment heaven and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
But right now Fish, Sherlock, and I have drifted from that knockoff shop of my sister’s as we migrate our way down the road until I come upon two familiar, and by the looks of it, happy to see me faces—both of which happen to be holding a platter of apple cider mini donuts dusted with powdered sugar.
“Emmie!” I hop over and pull my bestie into a quick embrace.
Emmie Crosby and I share the same long dark hair, light eyes, and penchant for trouble. We’ve been locked at the best friend hip for as long as I can remember. Not only do we look alike, but we share the same first name, Elizabeth. So in an effort to avoid confusion, we’ve gone through life using our nicknames and have never looked back at our formal monikers.
“Hey, Bizzy.” Leo Granger glides an arm around Emmie’s waist.
Leo is a tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed, handsome stud who happens to be my husband’s best friend. They had a falling-out ages ago that concerned a woman, but they’ve recently moved past it just in time to have Leo as the best man at our wedding. And it just so happens that Leo shares my strange little mind reading quirk—it’s how we met about a year ago. And as of just last week, Emmie is in on our mind reading secret as well.
Emmie leans in, her eyes growing wide as she bites down on a smile. Have a donut, Bizzy. They’re delicious. Emmie is in charge of the kitchen at the Country Cottage Café, and her specialty just so happens to be baking tasty treats like this one. Wink once if you love it.
“I have no doubt I will,” I say, giving her a wink regardless as I snap one up. “Mmm!” I moan through a bite.
Emmie bursts out with a laugh. “I can’t get over this. How could you hold out on me for so long, Bizzy? Think of all the fun we could have had. I could have told you secrets right out in the open. Think of all the tests and quizzes I could have helped you out with. And don’t get me started on the crude jokes I could have been spewing while you were giving your valedictory speech.”
A laugh bumps through me. “I’m just glad you’re still speaking to me.”
Honestly, I didn’t know how Emmie was going to take the news that I was keeping something so supernaturally bizarre from her. But thankfully, she took it all in stride.
Sherlock lets out a bark. Hand one of those donuts over, Bizzy! One won’t kill me. And I promised Jasper I’d protect you. They could be poison.
Leo is quick to toss one over to him. “There you go, buddy. They’re not poison, but they are addictive.”
Sherlock barks once again. They’re just as good as bacon! Another, please!
And, of course, Leo is quick to comply. He can’t help it. Leo is not only a good guy, he’s a dog lover by nature.
Emmie bumps her shoulder to mine. “So what do you think of all the chaos?” she asks, glancing around at the festivities. “I’ve already pointed about a dozen people over to the café. This is going to be great for business.”
“For every business.” Leo pops an apple cider donut into his own mouth, too. Especially the private business I get to conduct with this little cutie later. He pulls Emmie in close with a drugged smile on his face.
Smooth, Romeo, I quip and he shoots me a quick look.
Sorry, Biz. I can’t help it. My mind tends to wander when I’m around her, and it tends to forget you can pry right into it.
“Anyway”—I shed a quick wink his way—“this might be good for some businesses but definitely not Macy’s.” I give them a quick rundown on Suds and Illuminations, and the two of them stare off at the shop with their mouths open.
“Wow.” Emmie ticks her head. “That is one brave girl. Macy is going to eviscerate her.”
“Speaking of which.” I’m just about to segue into the murderous part of the story when a pair of warm arms wraps themselves around me from behind and I turn my head just as Jasper lands a kiss to my lips.
Jasper Wilder is tall, dark, and handsome in the truest sense, with his dark hair, silver eyes, and a body put together just the way God intended. And I wholeheartedly approve of all of the above.
He tweaks his brows my way. How fast can we get out of here? I’m having a sudden craving for a bite of something sweet—like you.
My cheeks heat as I chew on my lower lip. I’ll be the first to say Jasper and I have been enjoying married life very, very much.
“Soon,” I whisper.
“I’ll hold you to it. What did I miss?” He dots a quick kiss to my cheek as well.
“What I’m hoping we’ll miss altogether,” I say as I quickly fill the three of them in on the dark conversations and thoughts I was privy to.
Jasper groans hard. “Murder, huh?” he says, pulling out his phone. “It’s not happening on my watch.”
Leo shakes his head. “Mine either.”
“I’m calling in for extra foot patrol.” Jasper excuses himself for a moment as he barks out orders over the phone.
“Bizzy, would you mind taking over my donut duties?” Leo hands me the platter of sweet treats. “I’m going to do a quick loop up and down the street.” He takes off before I can say a word.
Sherlock nuzzles his head against my leg. More donuts for us, Bizzy.
“Amen to that,” I say, popping another one into my mouth.
Jasper heads this way once again. “Where’s Leo?” He cranes his head above the crowd.
Emmie nods toward the gazebo. “He went that way. He’s just taking a quick look around.”
“I’d better join him.” He lands a soft kiss to my temple. “Whatever you do, stay out of trouble.”
“Trouble?” I practically gag on the word, but it’s too late. Jasper is already threading through the crowd. “The way he said it you’d think I deliberately went looking for it.”
Emmie cocks a brow. “Face it, Bizzy, you’re not exactly a rabbit foot these days.”
Fish lets out a quick yelp that actually sounds more like a laugh. Jasper is right. Steer clear of trouble, Bizzy. You’re amassing quite the killer reputation.
I make a face, but before I can translate to Emmie, something over at Suds and Illuminations catches my eye. It’s Macy looking as if she’s having a rather heated discussion with her blonde not-so-friendly counterpart.
Emmie and I speed over, and Macy is quick to take the platter from my hands.
Ember scoffs at my spicy sister. “I’ll wring your neck if you try to sabotage all that I’ve worked so hard for.”
“You worked so hard for?” Macy squawks. “You just opened your doors! But don’t you worry your fake little head about it. Your doors won’t stay open for long. This town is loyal to me. You and your shop are going down.” I’ll see to it myself with a little help from my friend the baseball bat. My brother-in-law is a cop. He practically owes me a gimme. He’ll look the other way if he knows what side his Bizzy Baker toast is buttered on.
I shoot a look to my sister. Jasper does not owe her a gimme.
“Is that a threat?” Ember balks. “If anything happens to this place, I am going to haunt you until you die. And you will regret the day we met.”
“I’m one step ahead of you because I already regret the day we met!”
Ember’s chest bucks with a silent laugh. “My business is going to succeed even if it kills me to do it.”
“Your business is going to tank even if I have to kill you to do it.”
Ember
’s mouth rounds out. “Get out of here. You don’t belong on this side of the street.”
“Oh, I do belong on this side of the street. I belong on every side of the street in this town because it happens to be my town,” she snips at her old friend before offering the crowd before her a contrived smile. “I’m offering up scrumptious sweet treats on behalf of the Founders’ Day Festival. In fact, I think I’ll offer them up to some of your patrons as well—while I tell them all about the deals they can get across the street.” She speeds into the establishment with that tray of donuts, and Ember snarls in her wake.
“Please excuse my sister,” I tell her, but she’s quick to wave me off.
“I’m not worried about it. I’ve dealt with far more spirited personalities.” She glances to the brunette to her left, the same one that internally called her a brat not more than ten minutes ago. “Bizzy, meet Marigold Sweet, my stepmother. She can attest to my innocent intentions when it comes to opening up my dream shop. Marigold loves my father almost as much as I do.” She winks her way. “Of course, my father loves me more. I’m his only child. And blood is thicker than water.” She cackles, giving the brunette a playful swat on the arm.
The woman stretches a tight smile. “Ember is driven, all right. Nobody will deny her that.” She winks my way. “Nice to meet you, Bizzy. If you’ll excuse me, I think those donuts are calling my name.” She heads into the store just as Emmie attempts to hold out the tray in her hands.
“I’ve got some right here!” she calls out, but it’s too late. “They’re apple cider donuts,” she says, waving the tray toward Ember. “I baked them fresh this morning.”
Ember lets out a hearty moan. “Donuts are my weakness. I’m Ember Sweet,” she says to Emmie. “Welcome to Suds and Illuminations, the very place for all of your soap and candle needs.” She quickly snaps up a handful of sweet treats and immediately begins to nosh on them. “So good!” She moans once again before something to her left snags her attention. “Flint!” she calls out as a dark-haired man with a clean-shaven face and dimples comes up. He looks to be in his early thirties, handsome to a fault, and just as brooding while dressed in a well-fitted suit. No sooner does he land by our side than he sheds what looks to be a well-rehearsed smile.
A Frightening Fangs-giving Page 2
