“I’ll be right back, Lemon.”
He takes off and Cormack gloms onto his arm, begging him for just one spin on the dance floor.
“And then there were two,” I flatline as I look to Noah.
He motions toward a couple of seats at the bar and we take them. “How was your day?”
“It’s ending in Hades, so if that’s any indication...” I can’t help the downer routine. I’ll admit, there’s a part of me that’s very much envious of Cormack Featherby. Why is she always with Noah? I get that he’s trying to break off their non-relationship gently—in fact, I was the one who encouraged him to do so, but in the end—as greedy as it sounds, I’m afraid of losing Noah again. Of course, he’s no longer mine to lose. After I lost him abruptly last winter, it sort of traumatized my heart. I guess you can say that Cormack has been a trigger in that sense.
I press my shoulder playfully to his. “How was counseling? Are you and the missus on the road to happily ever after?”
His dimples flirt shamelessly with me. Come to think of it, so is he. “Tonight was the first real session. I pulled the counselor aside before we began and let her know that I was trying to break it off with Cormack. I explained the situation to her, and she said this sounded like a classic obsessive compulsive relationship disorder.”
“Who has the disorder? You or her?” I couldn’t help it. He walked into that one.
“Very funny.” He presses his shoulder gently to mine. “I also told her about you.”
My cheeks flush with heat. “Me?” This takes me aback. “I’m surprised you remembered who I was.” I’m teasing again but also still stunned.
“Lottie,” my name presses from him, low and guttural, just the way it used to in our most intimate moments. “You are unforgettable. I’ve tattooed you over my heart, my mind—and when I close my eyes at night, your beautiful face is right there staring back at me. I breathe you, Lottie. I remember who we are, and I’m hoping that I’m right about who we’ll be.”
My heart detonates one raucous explosion at a time as I look deeply into his lime-green eyes.
“What can I get for you?” a chipper male voice calls from across the counter, and I clear my throat as I look to none other than Slater Wellington himself. His hair was red to begin with, so in this garish light it makes it look as if it’s aflame. His smile is warm, and if I squint, I can see Amanda hiding there in his features.
I open my mouth as if to say something, then scoot back in my seat a notch. “It’s you,” I say enthusiastically. Works every time—I hope. “I recognize you from my engagement party.”
He blinks over at Noah and me. “That’s right. But weren’t the two of you engaged to different people?” He holds out a hand. “Never mind. You’re in a safe place. I’m not saying a word. What can I get for you lovebirds tonight?”
“Oh”—I look to Noah, unsure of how we got to this awkward place—“just a tonic water for me.”
“Beer.” Noah waits until Slater disappears to work on our orders to say anything. “I think I like where he’s going with this. Your hotel room or mine?”
A familiar cologne engulfs us. “I heard that.”
We turn to find not just Everett, but his sister, Meghan, as well.
Her dark hair is slightly mussed, and she’s red-faced as if she ran a mile around the dance floor. “Well, if it isn’t Lucky Lottie and my favorite brother.” She winks at Noah. “Don’t tell the others.” She pulls us into an impromptu rather sweaty embrace. “Group hug!” The scent of vodka plumes from her as she says it.
Everett frowns as he helps her into the seat next to me. “Meghan is here with friends. Male friends.” He scowls back at the dance floor.
“Did you hear me singing?” she practically roars the words out at Noah and me.
“That was you?” This floors me. “You were fantastic!”
“Essex’s got a set of pipes, too,” she laments. “Rumor has it, he only uses them in the bedroom.”
He does, but it’s strictly in the capacity of barking out orders. Everett likes to be in charge of the carnal production, and I’ve never minded one bit.
She dips her chin my way. “But you know all about that, don’t you? My brother has always been a hot commodity. I’ve often wondered if he’d ever settle down. I didn’t think it would happen, but I’m glad it’s with someone like you, Lucky. Hey? You don’t mind if I call you Lucky, do you?”
“I don’t see why not.” Join the club, I want to say. Not many women seem to care for my proper moniker anyway.
Noah flinches as if he thought it was funny. “Or you can call her Lemon. Your least favorite brother can’t seem to get her name right either.”
“Oh?” her voice squeals as if Noah just let a juicy morsel fly. “Do I sense a little dissension among family?”
Slater comes back with our drinks. “Hey, hot stuff.” He holds out his fist, and Meghan gives him a knuckle bump. “You were great out there.”
“Yeah, but then this killjoy showed up and hauled me off stage.” She hitches her thumb at Everett.
“You had a line six deep waiting their turn,” Everett is quick to defend himself. “And you needed to hydrate yourself.” He looks over at Slater. “Coffee, black, and a beer for me.”
Meghan groans, “There he goes again. Look out, Lucky. Once you hitch yourself to my brother, all the fun goes out the window. There’s no one more by the book than this guy.” She glances to Noah. “Except maybe that guy.”
I’m starting to think I have a type.
Slater takes off again, and I frown. I’ll have to catch him once he comes back. But in the meantime…
“So you know Slater?” I say, leaning in toward Meghan, then quickly regret it as the scent of vodka nearly knocks me out of my chair.
“We go way back. I’m a regular here. I’ve been drinking the devil’s trash can punch for years now.” She swings in toward my ear. “I may have slept with the guy a time or two.”
“Geez.” Everett nearly has a heart attack on the spot.
Noah chuckles. “Don’t worry, Essex. She’s just taking a cue from you.”
Meghan cackles if it were the funniest thing in the world and slaps Noah five right over my shoulder.
“Are the rumors true?” She nods his way. “Are the two of you sharing Lucky here? Is this one lucky lady or what?”
“No,” they both grunt in unison.
She laughs so hard she’s wheezing. “Me thinks they protest too much. So let’s hear it, Lucky. Who’s better in the sack? Keep the details fuzzy. I’m still clocking in as a sibling.”
“Right.” I give a nervous glance back at Noah.
“It’s Noah?” She slaps the counter as she explodes with laughter once again.
“I never said it was Noah.” I shake my head vigorously at Everett.
“So it’s this guy.” She rolls her eyes. “I guess the rumors are true. There used to be a line outside of his college apartment. But that’s back when he was honing his chops.” She shoots Noah with her fingers. “I lost touch with this guy for a while. You married what’s her face. And now you’re getting hitched again to what’s her other face. You do realize you’re setting yourself up for a lifetime of Chanel bags and couture runs to Paris. I never figured you for that kind of a guy. You seem far more down-to-earth. Like you should be marrying a baker, too. You know—come to think of it, if you and Essex were smashed into one person, you’d make a hell of a guy.”
I’ve often thought the same thing.
“But this way there’s plenty of you to go around. And no offense, and I will totally deny this once I’m sober”—she leans in—“but Essex is getting the better end of the deal. You should ditch the Featherhead while you can and find yourself a girl like Lucky.”
Noah’s eyes flit to mine. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
Cormack jumps onto his back, and a part of me is terrified that gun strapped to his hip will go off in the process.
“It’s a hoot out t
here! Come on, Boss. You owe me a spin.”
He shakes his head, then stops midway. “I think that’s Alex singing. Excuse me, but I’ve got to see this.”
“Whoohoo!” Cormack whoops it up, bopping him all the way to the dance floor as Noah navigates his way through it.
Slater comes back with the coffee and the beer. “Made it fresh for the freshest woman in the club, and I mean that.” He nods to Everett. “The girl likes to get lucky.”
Everett is back to growling before turning to his sister. “Do I need to keep you on a leash?”
Slater flips a towel over his shoulder. “Funny you should ask. She likes that, too.”
“Enough.” Everett all but threatens to cut the poor guy.
“How are you doing?” I ask, pulling Slater’s attention away from the sexual intervention Everett seems to be having with his sister.
Slater comes over and mops up the bar between us. “Not well, but thank you for asking. Mandy and I might not have been as close as I would have liked in the end, but I still miss her fiercely.” His lips turn down hard. “Life changes on a dime. You have to really appreciate those around you, because you never know when they might be gone.”
“I feel those words right down to my weary bones,” I say, curling my glass in my hand. “My dad died way back when, and that grief still lives with me today. I’d do anything to have another day with him.”
He glances to the wall as if he were looking right through it. “I get it. The thing with Mandy is, it wasn’t her time. Someone did this to her.”
“Do you have any idea who would want to do something like this?”
“Me,” he says it flatly, and I startle to attention. The conversation—or argument—to my right between Everett and Meghan stilts for a moment as well. “It’s true.” He pulls a bottle out and starts flipping it before putting it back. “I had enough rage in me—I said I could have done it, but I didn’t mean it. It’s the kind of thing you say when you’re a kid with no real malice behind it. Yes, I was angry, but I wouldn’t have killed my sister.” His voice cracks. “My parents hadn’t made up a formal will yet. They were in the middle of it. Who could blame them? They were young. But they did put Mandy’s name on their bank accounts. In the event anything happened, we could access their funds. Mandy was the oldest, and in their eyes the most responsible. Hazel and I were just kids at the time, so it made sense. And even though Mandy claimed to love both Hazel and me, she decided she knew how to spend their money best. She didn’t see the need to share. She said she’d invest in something for the three of us.”
“What did she invest in?”
“Herself. That company she swiped from Janelle. But then, that’s how Mandy got ahead in every aspect of life—taking what wasn’t hers.”
So I’ve heard.
“Did Amanda have any enemies that you’re aware of?”
“You mean, did she have any friends that I’m aware of?” He cocks his head thoughtfully to the side. “You know, come to think of it, she did mention some preacher she was getting close to. We were hit-and-miss with conversations these last few months, but she’d ring me up and we’d chat a bit. She wasn’t going to budge on the money, but she wanted to maintain ties. Mandy always did want to have her cake and eat it, too.”
Meghan moans to life. “I never did get that expression. Everyone who has a cake wants to eat it. What the heck is wrong with someone who has a cake and doesn’t want to eat it? It’s a common courtesy to the cake.” Another angry groan comes from her. “Speaking of which, what does a girl have to do to get a little cake around here?” She pounds the bar three times fast.
“All right, cake girl.” Everett plucks her out of her seat. “Lemon, I’m going to have to take her home. There’s no way I can leave her here in this state.”
“Please, don’t worry about me. I’m sure Noah and Cormack will give me a ride back.”
“Okay.” He comes over and lands a searing kiss to my cheek. “Don’t stay out too late. The freaks come out at night as evidenced.” He points hard to his sister, and she swats him as he navigates her out of the bar.
Slater clicks his tongue at her. “She’s a good one. Doesn’t know her limit, though. She reminds me a lot of Mandy. She had it good with that billionaire. But, rumor has it, she gave him the boot.”
“What? I mean, she mentioned to me they were on the rocks. I had no idea about the boot thing.” Okay, so she didn’t tell me directly. Pastor Gaines mentioned they were on the rocks.
He frowns at the ceiling. “Maybe she didn’t give him the boot quite yet, but she mentioned something about trouble with a man she was with and that she was going to take care of him. Something about turning evidence over to the police.”
That’s the second time I’m hearing this. Janelle said the very same thing.
Someone calls him from the other end of the bar and he excuses himself politely.
I head deeper into the establishment just in time to hear Alex making all the women in the room swoon as he belts out a love song while Cormack rocks her body against Noah’s side.
Noah glances my way before doing a double take and heading over, sans the barnacle doing her best to adhere to him.
“May I have this dance?”
“Does it come with six counseling sessions and a blonde?”
His brows dip as he swallows a laugh. “Come here.” He takes me in his arms, and our bodies move to the soothing rhythm of his brother’s voice.
“Did you get anywhere with Slater?”
“No.”
“You will. Who’s next on the list?”
“I think I’ll revisit Pastor Gaines.”
“Perfect. I’ll go with you. We’ll ask him to marry us.”
A laugh bubbles from my throat.
Mrs. Noah Fox. Just last year I thought it was doable. I wanted it. Okay, I more than wanted it. And here we are, all these months later, and it feels like a pipe dream.
“Something tells me Cormack doesn’t like to share her toys.” I glance her way as she tosses what looks to be granny panties up at Alex.
“I don’t think Everett does either.”
Noah drives us home, with me in the back seat and Cormack up front as his official plus one. In his defense, Cormack called shotgun.
I have a feeling she’ll be doing just that forever.
Thank God I have more than I need to distract me. A killer. Thieves. A house full of ghosts. And an ornery judge who likes to lay down the law in the bedroom.
For Noah and me, the road to reconciliation feels as if it grows wider and wider by the moment.
Chapter 14
The next afternoon the Cutie Pie Bakery and Cakery is bustling and hustling at the seams.
Not only has my mother offloaded her Haunted Honey Hollow tourists my way—and, oh my stars, she’s selling shirts now—but Holland called from the orchard and put in an enormous order for my apple turnovers with their infamous caramel dipping sauce. In between impossible amounts of bodies clamoring for turnovers, I’ve been trying to place orders for more supplies in keeping up with the demand.
Once the chaos dies down, both Lily and I sigh in unison.
“Geez, Lottie. I never thought working here would be akin to a marathon. You do realize I have a tracking device on my wrist, and each day I surpass the ten thousand steps I’m allotted to have.”
“You’re allotted to have as many as you like—and good thing, too, because I’m positive we just did twenty.”
She checks her Fit Watch. “You’re right. We’re about to break a record.” A wicked grin plays on her lips. “You know what else I broke a record doing?”
“Eating all the batter out of the side of the mixer once I pulled the cookie dough? Honestly, I’ve never seen it so clean. Good work, Lily.”
“No.” She leans in, her eyes sparkling with devilish delight. “Beating Naomi to the mattress punch with Alex Fox.”
“What?” I swat her arm with the kitchen towel in my hand as if
she were on fire. And she will be once Naomi catches her. “Are you kidding me?”
“Nope. Naomi may have sung a decent duet with him last night, but we made our own music once he took me to my place. Naomi was the first drop-off of the night, so I made my move by inviting him in for a drink.”
“That’s a lure that Everett uses often with me, and it’s usually enough to cinch the deal.” True confession.
“Whose playbook do you think I ripped it out of?”
“Oh. Eww.” I wrinkle my nose at the implication, even though I’m well aware of Everett’s history with Lily. And just about everyone else.
Keelie comes in with her cheeks flushed, panting as if she just ran all the way over from New York.
“Did you hear the news?” Her eyes flash like lightning.
“You slept with Alex, too?” I’m teasing both Keelie and Lily at the very same time, and I don’t mind a bit.
Lily takes the kitchen towel and swats me right back.
“No.” Keelie takes a moment to giggle at Lily. “And congrats, by the way.”
Lily nods. “Nobody gets the pleasure of telling Naomi but me.”
“Done.” Keelie crosses her heart in haste. “Three different shops were broken into last night, right here on Main Street.”
“What?” I grab ahold of her and pull her in. “Which ones? Did they catch the thieves?”
“The Busy Bee Crafts Shop, the Wicked Wok, and the Woodhouse Grill.”
“Oh my gosh.” Lily clasps her hands to her chest. “Lottie, we need to step up security around here.”
Keelie shudders. “And to think, you’re here at ungodly hours all by yourself!”
Lily wraps her arms around her body. “I don’t like it.”
Keelie nods. “I don’t like it.”
“Neither do I,” a deep voice strums from behind, and the three of us jump as we look across the counter to see a handsome devil who just so happens to be packing some heat.
“Noah,” I pant through my next breath. “You scared me. What are you up to today?”
“I was wondering if you were up for a drive. I hear there’s a preacher you’d like to talk to.”
Toxic Apple Turnovers: MURDER IN THE MIX 13 Page 12
