Author: Tonya Kappes
Date: 2017-10-02 07:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Mystery; Romance; Contemporary
Description: Welcome to the Bean Hive Coffeehouse where the coffee is as hot as the gossip!“Fabulous fun and fantastic fried food! Kappes nails small town mystery with another must-read hit. Don't miss this one!”�" Darynda Jones, New York Times Bestselling Author of Eighth Grave After DarkThe holidays have arrived, and nothing is going to steal the joy of Roxanne Bloom's first Christmas in Honey Springs.The town's annual Christmas in the Park is underway and includes a Christmas Pawrade that'll help the furry residents at Pet Palace get a home for Christmas. It's not the four-legged creatures that steal th
Publisher: Independently published

Freshly Ground

Murder

Book 3

A Killer Coffee Mystery

Freshly Ground Murder

A Killer Coffee Mystery

Loretta gave Patrick the nod that told him to kill the power.

When Loretta pushed up the big fake on button, he’d reconnect the electric so it would have  a dramatic effect.

“On the count of three. Y’all ready?” Loretta’s voice echoed into the dark. “One, two, three. Merry Christ….”

The lights came on and Loretta fainted. I’d like to say she fainted from the sheer excitement of the beauty of the tree. But I believe it was the legs and the feet that stuck out from underneath the tree and bound by lit up Christmas lights that knocked her out cold.

Freshly Ground Murder

Killer Coffee Mystery

Book Three

Tonya Kappes

Tonyakappes.com

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2017 by Tonya Kappes. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information email tonyak11.tk@gmail.com

Also by Tonya Kappes

A Killer Coffee Mystery

Magical Cures Mystery Series

A Ghostly Southern Mystery Series

Spies and Spells Mystery Series

Kenni Lowry Mystery Series

A Laurel London Mystery Series

A Divorced Diva Beading Mystery Series

Olivia Davis Paranormal Mystery Series

Bluegrass Romance Series

Women’s Fiction

Young Adult

Grandberry Falls Series

Contents

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen
free sample of Scene of the Grind

Recipes from The Bean Hive

Also by Tonya Kappes

Visit Tonya:

Acknowledgements

It amazes me every time I release a book and how fast the amazing readers I have devour it. I’ve had to best time writing the Killer Coffee Mystery Series. I love that my readers have had a hand in all of the characters, cozy shops, and naming of everything to do with the sweet small town of Honey Springs, Kentucky.

A big thank you goes out to Jessica Fischer for nailing the book covers every single time. She takes what’s in my head and really does make it come to life.

Cyndy Ranzau is worth her weight in gold with her keen since of editing and helping me turn my hillbilly talk into true writer words.

A BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Brooke Bumgardner for brilliantly coming up with the title FRESHLY GROUND MURDER.

Christmas is a special time and I wanted it to transfer to the pages of Freshly Ground Murder. I hope you enjoy it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.

Merry Christmas!

Xoxo ~Tonya

One

Aah…

“I love you my big dark, tall and delicious yummy goodness.” Happily I sighed, and then breathed in deeply the aroma, letting the Christmas Harvest dark roast curl up around and in my nose.

I didn’t care what anyone said. That first sip of coffee had a way of creeping into my soul and tapping into a joy that I couldn’t explain. The view wasn’t bad either. Especially since The Bean Hive coffee shop had the best location on the boardwalk and view of Lake Honey Springs. Even in the winter.

Pepper, my Schnauzer and trusted four-legged furry companion, stretched and whined.

“You’re my favorite salt-and-pepper guy.” I bent down to pat him with my free hand and he rolled over, belly up for a good scratch.

I wrapped my hands around the warm mug and smiled as the tree across the lake stood bare, so tall as they stretched up into darkness toward the sky. The light snoring sound of Pepper and the wafted smell of the Santa Kiss Cookies baking, kept me warm even though the moon helped keep the winter chill in the air at five-thirty a.m.

“Want to go potty before we get started?” I asked Pepper like he was going to answer me. He sort of does. His tail wagged and he bounced around.

The chime over the door dinged and he bounded out onto the boardwalk.

“Which way?” I asked giving him the choice of left or right because The Bean Hive was located right in the middle of the boardwalk so it didn’t matter which end we headed toward to find the green space Pepper needed. “Right it is.”

In the darkness of the early morning, the twinkling lights strung along the boardwalk by the beautification committee lit our way. The poinsettias were bright red and perfectly nestled into the hanging baskets from the dowel rods of the carriage lights that dotted our way along the wood planks. The little flags hung down from the potted Christmas plants with a big gold star. In the middle of the star it read Christmas In The Park Honey.

None of the shops along the board walk opened as early as The Bean Hive.

We passed the Queen of the Day Boutique, Buzz In-and-Out Diner, Odd Ink, Honey Comb Salon and Wild and Whimsy Antique store, which happened to be my second favorite shop on the boardwalk. Bev and Dan Teagarden always keep back little treasures they think I’d like. They were always spot on.

The Marina was located on the far end and off the boardwalk. Pepper did his business while I glanced over all the covered and winterized boats that had so much life a few short months ago. If I closed my eyes, I could hear the rumble of the engines echoing off the limestone walled around the lake during the summer season.

Off in the distance was Cocoon Hotel. It was the only hotel in our small Kentucky town. There were so many seasonal cabins to rent that Cocoon Hotel was normally not booked. But that didn’t stop Camey Montgomery from ordering coffee and a sweet treat from me for her hospitality area.

“All done?” I bent down and patted Pepper when he bolted back up the steps from the grassy area. The whip of the wind chilled me to the bone. “We need to get you a sweater from Walk In The Bark.”

He yipped. He knew that name really well. It was the pet store located on the far end of the other side of the boardwalk and a place Pepper got special treatment. Why wouldn’t he? He’s precious.

The oven timer was going off when we got back to the shop

Pepper and I walked through the swinging door that led into the kitchen portion of the coffeehouse. In the spring, it’d be a year ago that I’d opened the door to The Bean Hive. A coffeehouse was exactly what Honey Springs, Kentucky needed. No place better than the newly revitalized and renovated boardwalk.

Even though Lake Honey Springs brought in a lot of tourists for the summer, our Christmas Celebration wasn’t one to miss. From what I heard…I’ve never been in Honey Springs for Christmas, but the excitement around it makes me feel like I have.

I didn’t grow up in Honey Springs. My aunt Maxine Bloom lived here (she’s my father’s sister) and he’d bring me for long summers here. As my memory served me right, it felt like home. So naturally when I got my heart broken, I ran to Honey Springs. While I was looking for some of Aunt Maxi’s southern home cooking for comfort food, she gave me a knock in the head.

“You’re gonna put your boots on and get down and dirty. It’s high time you hold your head high and follow your real dream. Now go on and put some lipstick on.” Then she brought me here. The empty building and dilapidated boardwalk had both seen better days.

“Oh my, my.” I opened the oven. My mouth instantly started to water just eyeing the Santa Kisses. “I’ve outdone myself.” I rubbed my hands down my The Bean Hive apron and couldn’t wait to get my hands on the kisses.

Long gone was the musty smell of the restaurant before me. The smell of coffee was now infused in every square inch.

“Just one.” I looked down at Pepper who was eagerly waiting for something to eat.

While I waited for it to cool, I gave Pepper a scoop of kibble and grabbed one of the domed platters to put the Santa Kisses on. They were going right on top of the counter.

The round cookie had the perfect light browning. I closed my eyes and let the perfect combination of sugar, pumpkin, chocolate chips, and nutmeg melt in my mouth

“Do I smell Santa Kiss cookies?” I barely got my cookie swallowed before I heard my landlord come in the coffeehouse and quickly arranged the first batch of cookies on the platter.

“Aunt Maxi.” I pushed the kitchen door with the platter in my hands and watched her face light up with delight.

“You’ve got a good nose.” I set the platter on top of the counter and went over to help her out of her getup.

She looked like a bag lady dressed in an oversized coat, big scarf twisted around her neck and knit cap pulled down on her face. Her cross body purse was strapped across her body and she was busy stuffing her gloves in the front pocket. When she tugged the cap off of her head, my jaw dropped.

“Silver bells,” she sang and swayed back and forth. “Silver bells. It’s Christmas time in Honey Springs.”

Pepper yipped and yapped. He acted as though he didn’t recognize her.

“What?” She looked at me.

“Your hair is really silver.” I couldn’t stop staring, though I shouldn’t be surprised, but this was the first time I’d ever seen her hair look even close to her age.

She raked her fingers in her hair, making it stand up even more before she tugged a big can of hairspray from her bag.

“This weather does nothing for my hair,” she grumbled under her breath and threw her head down, spraying that sticky junk all over.

“Go to the bathroom.” I snapped my fingers and pointed my finger toward the bathroom the customers used.

“Give your aunt a hug.” She ignored my comment and held her arms wide open, the hairspray still in her grips.

“You’re something else.” I gave in and hugged her, then she gave my hair a few sprays letting out a big cackle. I fanned my hand in front of my face. “I’ve got to get my Christmas Harvest brewing to overtake that smell before someone walks in and thinks we are a hair salon.”

“What can I help you with?” Aunt Maxi asked.

She was really good at pitching in wherever and did so without asking most days.

“You can refill all the tea bags at the tea station. Refill all the to-go cups as well as set up the Honey Springs mugs.” I nodded toward the end of the counter where the tea bar was located.

There was a hot tea, cold tea self-serve counter. It offered a nice selection of gourmet teas and loose-leaf teas that could be made hot or cold. The cute antique teapots I’d gotten from Wild and Whimsy were perfect if a customer came in and wanted a pot of hot tea. I could fix it for them or they could fix their own to their taste and as many pots as they needed.

While she did that, I headed behind the counter and started to concoct my Christmas Harvest Blend in light, dark and decaffeinated. I took my Bean Hive grog blend as the base. It was more of a full-bodied coffee that was perfect with the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and vanilla bean that was added to create the perfect Christmas Harvest blend.

It’d been so popular over the past few weeks, I couldn’t even keep in stock the mason jars I filled and wrapped a red grosgrain ribbon around for customers to purchase.

Aunt Maxi was finished in no time and had moved on to the coffee bar on the opposite end of the counter. She glanced over to see if the six thermoses were finished brewing so she could put them in place. The coffee bar was on the honor system, which meant there was a jar where customers could put their money in and get their own coffee. Sometimes the coffeehouse got busy and it was those times that customers came in and only wanted a cup of coffee. It was a perfect system for me anyways. But the creamer, sugar, sugar substitutes, honey, cinnamon, stirs, napkins and to-go cups needed to be refilled.

It only took a few minutes for me to blend the grog and add the ingredients to get the morning brew started. The smell of the cinnamon really did make it feel like Christmas.

“Are you going to the tree lighting tonight?” I asked Aunt Maxi while I got started on the Gingerbread Mischiefs to make for the furry friends that come into the coffeehouse with their owners.

“Of course. You’re going to love it.” She ran her hand along the piece of antique furniture I’d turned into the coffee bar.

I was actually proud of the entire coffeehouse. I’d taken and redone all of it by watching all sorts of DIY videos off YouTube. The walls were shiplap that I’d created from painted plywood. The counter was “L” shaped with a glass counter top with all the goodies stored below. Instead in investing in fancy industrial menus, I took big chalkboards and hung them to the wall and over the counter. The menus listed the weekly specials and all the fancy coffee drinks I made to order.

“I can’t wait.” I scooped some more kibble in Pepper’s bowl before I pushed through the kitchen to get more cookies out and in the oven as well as start on the furry friends’ treats. “Plus I’m going to get a tree from the lot and get this place all decorated. I’ve been driving by the lot and getting really excited with all the fun lights and decorations.”

With the current cold temperatures and light snow, it was just way too cold for Pepper and me to ride the bicycle to the boardwalk or even into downtown. Everything in Honey Springs was just a hop and a skip away so having a car was more of a nuisance than a necessity.

On the way back from getting more Santa Kisses out of the oven and putting the trays in the cooling rack, I grabbed the cinnamon, ginger, flour and cloves from the dry ingredients shelf and the oil, molasses and water I needed from the wet ingredients shelf. The gingerbread man cookie cutter was a perfect choice for my furry friends’ treats. A surefire hit.

“Brrr… it sure is cold out there.” Bunny Bowowski, my only employee, waddled through the swinging door with her brown pocket book snug in the crook of her arm. She hung it on the coatrack along with her coat. She tied the apron around her neck and around her waist, over her housedress.

“It is cold and I love it. Cold weather makes for a lot of coffee-loving customers.” I smiled and measured, mixed and blended the ingredients. “How are you this morning?”

“You know. This weather makes me all creaky.” She ran her fingers along her grey chin-length bob. “Plus this Secret Santa thing is driving me nuts.”

“It might be driving you crazy, but the beautification committee has really outdone themselves this holiday.” I wanted her to know that I appreciated all the hard work she and the other women on the committee put in to decorate the town. “I absolutely love all the boardwalk decorations.”

“I just can’t believe I let Mae Belle Donovan talk all these people into doing a Secret Santa exchange.” She huffed and moseyed over to me. “What are you rolling out there? It smells so good.”

“Gingerbread Mischiefs for our four-legged friends.” I pushed the gingerbread man cookie cutter down into the dough and placed the cut figures on the parchment paper.

She got herself a cup of the Christmas Harvest coffee and took a sip with her eyes closed.

“Good, huh?” I smiled at her reaction. The reaction from her and my other customers were far different from the last customers I’d had as a lawyer.

“You’ve outdone yourself too.” She eyed the cookies on the rack and took a couple before she headed back out the kitchen door.

While I got the cookies in the oven and set the timer for twenty-five minutes, I refilled my cup to join the two women already arguing over who knows what. Bunny and Aunt Maxi picked at each other, but that’s all it was.

“What are you two fussing at now?” I asked with a tray of Rudolph Quiche that was perfectly named from the red bell peppers cooked throughout.

My specialty was the coffee and all the fixins, but I also offered a breakfast item that was usually a quiche, a lunch offering and I was closed for supper. The food items were offered the entire week along with the simple desserts and pastries I made. During the winter season, I was closed on Sunday’s. That changed once the warmer weather hit because customers loved to gather before and after church. On Sunday I’d spend the day making the food items for the upcoming week as well as changing out the chalkboard menus, which made it easy to come in here in the morning and pull out anything I could freeze.

“I wanted to know what happened to her hair.” Bunny’s nose curled as she took the plates of quiche from me and began to place them in the glass cases.

Aunt Maxi was wiping down the few café tables that dotted the inside of the coffeehouse before she walked over and turned the open sign on the door.

“If it weren’t for that whole Secret Santa thing, my hair would be red like the seasonal color,” Aunt Maxi said over her shoulder. “Who is my Secret Santa?”

“I don’t know. We didn’t write down the pairings.” Bunny leaned her hip on the counter and held the cup up to her nose. “It’s awful funny that they gave you hair dye.”

“Why?” Aunt Maxi glared.

The bell over the door dinged. Otis Peavler shuffled through the door. The cold air whipped in behind him, causing me to look at the fireplace. I’d yet to get around to lighting it this morning.

“Do you mind grabbing some of that wood for me, Otis?” I asked my shop neighbor. “I’ll get your usual.”

Otis was the owner of Odd Ink, the tattoo parlor next door to me. I wasn’t sure how old he was but he had to be in his late seventies or early eighties. Most of the elderly women in town always fawned over him, but Juanita Lynn Anderson had laid claim to him a long time ago.

“Don’t worry about the Coffee Chips.” He referred to the signature cookies that were always in the coffeehouse. “I’ll just have a large cup of the Christmas Harvest blend with a little room for some cream.”

“Okay.” I stopped and watched him for a second as he stacked the wood into the fireplace and used one of the prelit logs to start a spark.

It was odd for him not to get a batch of the cookies along with his coffee. He was a regular and he’s never not gotten the treats.

“Can I interest you in anything else? On the house since you made my fire.” I poured him a to-go cup and slid it across the counter.

“Nah. Doc Kels said I’ve got to cut back on my sweets. I got a diabetes diagnosis.” He frowned. There was such a sadness in his eyes. “It’s going to be strange not having my usual schedule,” his voice trailed.

There seemed to be more meaning behind his sadness, but I wasn’t going to pry. I’d leave that up to Aunt Maxi.

“You and Juanita haven’t had a fuss have you?” Aunt Maxi cozied on up to Otis and put her hand on this forearm.

“Girl, you better watch yourself,” Bunny quipped. “Juanita is like one of them ninja people when it comes to her man.”

Otis’s attitude took a little lift with the attention and big smile on his face.

“Ladies, ladies.” He tsked. “I’ve only got eyes for my Juanita.”

“Then why don’t she support you and come to church?” Bunny Bowowski acted as the church police. In a small town like Honey Springs, everyone went to church. Most of the time it was more of a social gathering than anything else. “Or why don’t y’all just get hitched?”

“Why don’t you two stop being nosy?” I asked and winked at Otis. “I can dig up some really good sugar free recipes if you want.”

“Nah. I’m good. Vegetables for me.” He gave a nod and headed on out of the coffeehouse, but not without being nearly knocked over by Louise Carlton and a pet carrier.

“What was his problem?” Louise glanced out the coffeehouse windows and watched Otis hurry back to his shop.

“He must be in a hurry.” I shrugged and walked around the counter to see what sweet animal she’d brought from Pet Palace.

Louise was the owner of Pet Palace, Honey Springs’s version of an SPCA. Every week she brings a different animal to be featured at the coffeehouse to be adopted. It was a sticky situation with the health department, but we got around it and the community loved it.

Pepper ran over to sniff the carrier.

“This is Felix the cat.” She put the carrier on the floor.

I bent down and looked at the scared kitten.

“What on earth did you do to your hair?” Louise focused her attention on Aunt Maxi while Pepper and I focused on Felix.

Felix gave a little open-mouthed hiss at Pepper when Pepper stuck his nose up to the carrier, but it didn’t bother Pepper any. Pepper had stolen my heart when I went to Pet Palace so he was used to being with all sorts of animals.

“Well, Felix,” I picked up the carrier and took it back by Pepper’s doggie bed near the counter. “You’re going to find a special someone and we are so glad to have you as our guest.”

I set the carrier on the floor and opened the door. Pepper was so instinctive. He sat next to the carrier and didn’t force himself on Felix.

“That darn Secret Santa.” Aunt Maxi eyed Louise. “Are you my Secret Santa?”

“No. I certainly wouldn’t’ve given you hair dye. And you certainly didn’t have to use it.” Louise shook her head and walked over to Felix. “He’s a special fellow. He’s been living in the woods as a feral. I finally caught him and it’s taken a few weeks to get him to rehabilitate. He’s very lovable after he gets over the initial shock.”

She set a bag of kibble and some toys on the counter. It was just best to leave Felix alone and let him get used to the smells and sounds of the coffeehouse, which shouldn’t take long since he’s been in Pet Palace with all the noises there.

“I’ve got to run, but here are some flyers for the Christmas Pawrade.” She took them out of her purse.

“Just lay them on the counter next to the cash register. That way we can give one to everyone who pays.” It was going to be so much fun having a parade with all animals. Apparently, they’d been doing it for a couple of years and it’s a perfect time for the animals to get a home for Christmas.

With the smooth Christmas music playing in the background, the warm smell of cinnamon floating around along with the coffee, and the flicker of the fire in the fireplace, my soul was full. It was already going to be the best Christmas ever. I could feel it.

Two

“Just hear those sleigh bells ringlin’, jing, jing, jinglin’ too.” Penny Bloom, my mom, sing-sang when I walked into All About The Details, the only event planning shop in Honey Springs and just a few doors down from the coffeehouse.

She waved me over and patted the chair next to her. Aunt Maxi was sitting right next to her and patted the chair on the other side. This little invitation to sit with them wasn’t a friendly gesture of sorts. It was a competition on who’d I sit by.

I waved at them and tucked my head, heading up to see Jean Hill about the tree farm order she’d put in. Not that I needed to clarify anything, but I did want to waste some time in hopes that other committee members would file in and take those seats.

I love my Aunt Maxi just as much as I love my mom. Of course Mom and I are just finding a new sort of relationship that’s not so volatile since she never supported my visits with my father to Honey Springs when I was a child. That was her fault for not coming with us. Aunt Maxi had a way of taking things too personal and their relationship took a toll. Mom and I were working at repairing the past while Aunt Maxi and her would rather sweep it under the rug and play nice.

Whatever it took was fine with me because I didn’t have time to police them.

“Roxy,” Jean smiled and gave me a hug. “I’m so happy to see you. Even though we got to talk on the phone, it’s not the same as seeing you coming to the Farmer’s Market.” She patted my arm. “It’s a shame we can’t have the market open all year long.”

“It’s good to see you too.” I returned the smile to my dear old friend.

Recently her husband, Fred, had been a victim of a terrible murder and she’d put on a brave face since then. I loved getting all my fresh ingredients from them. Everything made in the coffeehouse that I could buy locally sourced, I did. Hill’s Orchard had many wonderful fruits and vegetables.

“Are you ready for the big tree lighting?” I asked.

“Oh yes. I swear Fred must’ve sent some special kisses over the tree farm this year because we have some real beauties.” Her face lit up. “I’ve got one that would look so nice in the coffeehouse window.”

“I’ll take your word for it. You hold it back for me.” I nodded. “I’ve got your orders all ready to go. Can you think of anything else you might need?”

“No, dear.” Her hand traveled my arm to my hand where she continued to pat it. “It’s so kind of you to ask, but I think we’ve got it all squared away.”

“If everyone wouldn’t mind to take a seat, we’d like to get things started.” Loretta Bebe’s drawn-out southern words trickled through the microphone.

“Who gave her a microphone?’ Jean joked.

“Beats me.” I winked and took the seat right where I was standing. Jean took the one next to me. I didn’t bother turning around to Mom and Aunt Maxi. I could already feel the heat of their death stares.

“I’m so excited to be the new beautification committee president for this term.” Low-retta, exactly how she says her name, beamed from ear-to-ear. Even her dark fake-and-bake tan that normally was a dull skin tone sparkled. “As you know this year’s Christmas theme in Honey Springs is Christmas In The Park. I’m very excited this is going to be my very first event as president. I’ve asked Mr. Rich from Honey Springs National Bank to join us this morning for our very last meeting of the year so we can go over the yearly budget for next year.”

When Evan Rich took the microphone from Loretta, I started to zone out and thought about exactly where I was going to put the Christmas tree in the shop. The only reason I was on any of the committees was to stay informed. It was the lawyer in me, a trait I couldn’t just shake. I also couldn’t help but notice that Otis wasn’t there in his usual upfront spot. There was something off with Otis today. Maybe I’d drop him off an afternoon coffee just to check on him.

After the meeting I wanted to make sure I talked to Evan. He’d been so kind to me in the past year, helping me with laws among other things I snooped into.

“How is Emily doing?” I asked him about his daughter, an amazing young woman who’d worked for me a little bit in the summer.

In fact, I wanted her to take over all the baking and become sort of a partner. Emily’s parents really wanted to see her go to college, but it was going to be a waste of talent and time because Emily had no interest in the higher education degree they wanted her to get. It took a bit of coaxing, but they finally understood her love and began to appreciate her talent in and around the kitchen.

“She’s doing amazing. She’s loving Paris. She sends these text pictures of her designs and they look straight out of a pasty magazine.” The pride not only was in his voice but on his face. “We can never thank you enough for the opportunity you’ve given her.”

“I’m so glad my connection worked out,” I said.

I wasn’t a pastry chef by any stretch of the imagination. When I’d gone to barista school, there were a lot of students who also created the most magnificent pastries to go along with their coffee creations. Most of them had already gone to pastry school at these crazy far-off places and a few had become very good friends. Just a few short phone calls and Emily was off to Paris to enjoy the beginning of her life.

“She’s coming home for Christmas, so I’m sure you’re going to get a visitor.” He shook his finger at me. “But don’t take too much of her time. We want to see her too,” he joked because he knew that she spent many hours with me this summer and we’d get lost, never realizing we’d worked straight through the night a few times.

“I won’t.” I laughed. “Will I see you at the tree lighting?”

“You will.” He nodded. “Merry Christmas, Roxy.”

“Merry Christmas.” I waved and was happy to notice the event center had cleared, which meant Mom and Aunt Maxi had too.

The boardwalk was so festive and packed with holiday shoppers. Since I knew the Bunny had everything and everyone in Honey Springs under control, I strolled and took my time.

The Beautification Committee had also invested in a sound system for the boardwalk and the sweet Christmas sounds of Bing Crosby’s carols floated along the light snowfall.

“Excuse me.” I made my way around a middle-age man standing in the middle of the boardwalk, right in front of Odd Ink. He was looking side-to-side. “Can I help you find something?” I offered with a kind smile. “Or you can come into The Bean Hive for a warm cup of coffee?” I noticed him shivering. “On the house.”

“That’s very kind of you. I’m actually looking for a hotel or motel to stay for the festival.” He had nice green eyes and blond crew-cut hair. He wore a blue peacoat and a pair of jeans with the edges tucked into some Bean Boots. He looked to be around fifty years old.

“Why don’t you come in and get a cup of coffee. I’ve got to take some goodies to Camey Montgomery over at the Cocoon Hotel on the other side of the marina.” I pointed to the big white structure. He turned around and looked. “This is the Odd Ink Tattoo parlor and unless you’re getting some ink, I don’t think Otis Peavler has any beds in there,” I joked.

“Sounds great.” He nodded. “Walker.” He held his hand out.

“Roxanne Bloom.” I shook it. It was a nice firm shake. “But my friends call me Roxy.”

“Roxy. You look like a Roxy.” He grinned.

“You mean all Roxys have curly black hair that looks like car struts?” I laughed. I jerked my head toward The Bean Hive. “Lets go. It’s getting cold.”

The Bean Hive was buzzing and while I got the order ready for Camey, Walker stood by the fire and warmed himself with a nice cup of the Christmas Harvest. Bunny had everything under control so I went into the back and got the order in bags and ready to go.

“Where did Walker go?” I asked Bunny when I came back out and looked around.

“He’s right over there.” She gestured to Felix’s cage.

Walker had coaxed Felix out somehow and without holding him there, Felix was standing on Walker’s leg and batting at Pepper’s nose.

“So you met Felix.” I was careful not to get too close to the shy cat. “I’m shocked he’s out. He’s not been out of that cage all morning.”

“What’s the deal with the little guy?” Walker stood up and Felix ran back into the cage.

“Let’s walk and I’ll tell you all about it.” I looked at Pepper. “Want to go see Camey?”

He wagged his little stumpy tail and darted in and out of the customers beating us to the door.

Walker had a couple of the bags in his hands and I had a couple. We strolled along the boardwalk while I gave him a brief history of why Felix was in the coffeehouse as well as the background on The Bean Hive.

“Hold on a second.” I stopped when I saw Otis. “Hey, Otis. I missed you at the beautification meeting today.” He and Walker looked between each other.

Walker must’ve gotten the hint that Otis was uncomfortable talking to me in front of him, so he took a few steps ahead.

“I’m wrapping up the year-end business stuff so I couldn’t make it.” Otis leaned a bit and glanced over my shoulder at Walker. “Who’s that?”

“He’s a tourist and I’m taking him to the Cocoon to get a room while he’s in town for the festival. I’ve got some fresh coffee next door. I bet if you give Bunny a wink, she’ll give you a cup.” I nudged him before I started to walk away. “I’ll see you at the tree lighting.”

Walker practically knew everything about me and Honey Springs by the time we’d gotten to the front porch of the Cocoon Hotel. I didn’t know a thing about him. But I made him promise that he’d be at the tree lighting because it was going to be a spectacular part of the festival he couldn’t miss.

The historic white mansion that was built in 1841 had been in Camey’s family for years. Camey had hired Cane Construction to help reconstruct the old structure into an amazing hotel that was situated right on the Lake Honey Springs and was able to keep the cozy character. The two-story white brick with the double porches across both stories was something to behold. Even Walker gasped when he saw it.

“Amazing, right?” I sucked in a deep breath. My insides tickled. I was hoping to have a wedding there someday. I’d already planned it out in my head how the pictures would look.

“That’s some really fancy iron work.” He noted the black iron railing that ran along the entire front of the porches and the marble staircases on each side of the front entrance. The summer and fall flowers had quickly been replaced with the colorful poinsettias of white, red, and pink. Even the stone statue in the middle of the fountain had been replaced by a living Christmas tree which was smart because the fountain base continually gave it plenty of water.

“If it looks this beautiful in the winter, I can only imagine the summer season.” He shook his head. Even the tree trunks couldn’t escape being wrapped in white Christmas lights.

The lit up, live garland was strung across the balconies and there was a wreath on each of the floor to ceiling windows that dotted the front of the mansion. I’m not sure how Camey did it, but there were some twinkling Christmas lights along the entire top of the hotel that made it feel. . . magical.

The inside was as warm and inviting as the outside. And it was like stepping into a Southern Living Magazine from the North Pole.

“Roxy,” Camey clasped her hands together. Her scarlet hair was pulled back and her thick bangs hung straight down and stopped right above her brows. She was very fashion-forward with her hair. Something I was very jealous of.  I envied her and her youthful appearance for a middle-aged woman. “Your Santa Kisses are a hit. But the coffee is to die for.”

“Santa Kisses?” Walker looked at me.

“You’ll have to have a few.” I held the bags up and Camey took them. “Camey, this is Walker. He’s looking for a place to stay while attending the festival.”

“Wonderful.” Her dimples deepened when she smiled. She’d never been married or had children. This hotel was her life. She put so much work and effort into it. Everyone loved how welcoming she was.

“Yes. Wonderful.” Walker stared back at her.

My ah-oh, there’s an attraction here meter went off. It was my cue to get going.

“Walker, do you mind helping Camey with the bags because I’ve got to get going. I need to close The Bean Hive in time to get home and get ready for the tree lighting,” I said. “I hope you’re coming.”

“He can ride with me,” Camey suggested. “There’s a few of us going from here and we’re taking the hotel shuttle.”

“Sounds good.” He held up the bags in his hands. “Lead the way.”

“You can get started right that way and I’ll be with you shortly.” She pointed and when he was out of earshot, she whispered, “My oh my, is this my Christmas gift from my Secret Santa? Are you my Secret Santa?”

I laughed. “Hardly. He just seems a little lost.”

“Oh, honey.” She wiggled her brows. “I can help him find his way.”

“You are bad, Camey Montgomery.” I simply shook my head and went on my way.

“Poor Walker,” I said to Pepper on our way back to the boardwalk. “He’s gonna have the best Christmas ever.”

Pepper yipped in delight.

Three

“Ho, ho, ho. Santa hears you’ve been a very, very, very good little girl this year.” The jovial deep voice came from the Santa standing on the doorstep of my log cabin as he did a little jig.

“Santa,” I played along. “Did you bring me a fiancé for Christmas?”

“You have to give old Santa a kiss before I tell.” He stepped forward.

I tugged the beard down and planted a nice kiss on Patrick Cane, my fiancé.

“What on earth are you doing in a Santa outfit?” I asked and dragged him in from the cold.

“I was at Central Park making sure all the lighting and construction for the event was ready to go when Otis called Low-retta the last minute, said he wasn’t able to make it this year.” He put out his hands. “She was in tears. I blurted it out of my mouth that I’d do it.”

“You’re my hero,” I joked and pulled him in for another kiss.

“I’m a sucker for a woman in need.” He teased and bent down to pat Pepper. “Sassy is in the car waiting on you.”

Pepper yipped and jumped.

“But Santa has something for you in his bag.” Patrick dug deep in the bag and pulled out a red dog sweater with a green Christmas tree. “Sassy has one with Rudolf.”

“Oh Patrick. I do love you.” I never imagined a year ago that I’d be this happy.

Patrick Cane and I had been summer sweethearts. We were silly teenagers that spent many night at the lake and running around the boardwalk. After high school, I was all steam ahead for college. My father had suddenly died and I focused on going to law school. My focus was so intense that I didn’t marry my ex-husband for love, I married for partnership. A law partnership. I’d not been to Honey Springs in over ten years, so when my life came to a crashing halt after I found my husband consulting one of our law clients in more ways than the law, I knew Aunt Maxi was exactly the comfort I needed. I just didn’t figure Patrick Cane would be part of that comfort.

The first day I opened The Bean Hive and Patrick Cane walked in. . .my heart stopped. For the first few days I tried and tried to ignore him and actually push him away by being mean, but he wasn’t budging. There was no denying the chemistry that we’d claimed was just teenage puppy love. And frankly, I was tired of playing games with my life and ready to move forward not only with my dream of opening a coffeehouse, but with the love of my life.

“Roxy?” Patrick’s hand waved in front of my face. “Where did you just go?”

“I was just thinking how different my life is now and how happy I am.” I grabbed my coat and Patrick helped me put it on.

“You deserve to be happy and I hope I’m a big part of that,” his face softened and his big brown eyes melted my insides.

“You have everything to do with it.” I wrapped my arm in his arm. “Let’s go before we miss the lighting.”

The temperature had taken a big dip after the sunset. Patrick’s truck was nice and warm. Sassy was a black standard Poodle that had adopted Patrick when she was featured at Pet Palace. He didn’t want a dog, but she had her eyes set on him and wasn’t about to let him get away. She and Pepper were big buddies. This was going to be the best Christmas ever.

Honey Springs wasn’t that big and it didn’t take long to get from one place to another, especially when driving. It was a seven-minute drive from the cabin and soon we were parked in front of Central Park where the festivities were taking place.

Central Park was located right in the middle of downtown. Right across from the park was the courthouse and the surrounding buildings were the medical building, a few knick-knack boutiques, and a couple of different other businesses. The carriage lights that were lighting up the downtown area were dressed exactly like the ones on the boardwalk.

“This holiday couldn’t get any better.” A happy sigh escaped me.

The white twinkling lights were strung all the way around the white picket fence surrounding the park. Tall Christmas pines stood like highly decorated soldiers and were all lit up around the entire park. And with the light dusting of snow, it truly looked like a magical wonderland. The gazebo waslit up and a big neon sign read Christmas In The Park.

“Loretta probably didn’t spare no expense.”

“You have no idea how much electricity my men had to feed.” Patrick shook his head. He was the owner of Cane Construction. He was not only handsome but he was handy. “She had a list a mile long.”

“I hope you didn’t skimp out on my booth.” I narrowed my eyes and warned him.

“Nope. You’ve got the best set up here.” He winked, got out of the truck and walked around to open my door.

Sassy and Pepper didn’t require a leash since they were both so well trained and stuck by mine and Patrick’s side.

“I put your booth up near the tree lot.” Patrick had insisted on helping me with the booth and all the electrical plugs I’d need for the coffee and teas.

On a night as chilly as tonight, I figured we’d be doing a lot of business. Bunny and Aunt Maxi had volunteered to bring all the food and beverage items I needed.

“There’s the tree lot.” I pointed to the right side of the gazebo. It was a perfect spot.

The Crooked Cat Bookstore had erected a fake igloo with shelves of books, mainly ones that were geared to the season. Wild and Whimsy Antiques had made a lovely replica of a Santa’s house with a fireplace and all the items in their booth were for sale. Even the chair they had out for Santa to sit on was for sale.

“Are you going to have to stand if they sell that?” I joked on our way back to my booth and nearly fell over with joy when I saw The Bean Hive logo hanging from a rod on the outside with a little Santa hat on the bee in the logo.

In the right corner of my booth, there was a Christmas tree with white lights and the ornaments were all sorts of bee items. There was a small glass case with the coffee pots on one side and the teas on the other. In the glass case my sweet treats were displayed with the item’s name written on small chalkboards. He’d even gotten a couple small café tables and chairs to fit under the tent.

“You are so amazing.” I sucked in a deep breath. “How on earth did you pull all of this off?”

“As you can see, there are price tags on all the furniture and the tree, so if someone wants to buy them, we’re in trouble. I borrowed it all from Wild and Whimsy. They were delighted to help me out since it was you.” He put his arm around me and we stood outside looking into the booth that already had customers.

“I guess I better get in there and help Bunny before she quits on me.” I gave Patrick a kiss and sent him, Sassy and Pepper on their way until I’d meet them for the actual tree lighting ceremony.

Throughout the next few days, the Christmas In the Park would be open during the day and closed at night. There were several local vendors that had rented booths to sell their homemade items. Along with food, they sold jewelry, quilts, carvings, and many crocheted things.

What I loved most about it was that part of the proceeds went to Pet Palace.

“Are you ready to go watch them press the big button?” Bunny untied her apron. “It’s about that time.”

“I am.” I nodded and closed everything down since the customers had gotten refills and walked over to the gazebo where Loretta had gotten ahold of the microphone once again.

While she thanked everyone for being there, I walked into the tree lot to see exactly what tree Jean had for me.

“Well.” She twirled a nice and small Douglass fir. “I thought this one would look so pretty in the coffeehouse window. And it was the last tree Fred had planted.”

With no hesitation, I said, “I’ll take it.”

“I’ll leave it right here and we can settle up later. I want to see the tree lighting because it was one of ours.” Jean had done such a great job in preserving Fred’s memory.

I maneuvered my way in and out of the crowd to find Patrick up near the front next to Aunt Maxi, Bunny and Mom. The dogs were lying by his feet. Next to us were my friends from all the shops. Camey and Walker were also up front and it appeared that she was talking his ear off.

Loretta gave Patrick the nod that told him to kill the power.

When Loretta pushed up the big fake on button, he’d reconnect the electric so it would have  a dramatic effect.

“On the count of three. Y’all ready?” Loretta’s voice echoed into the dark. “One, two, three. Merry Christ….”

The lights came on and Loretta fainted. I’d like to say she fainted from the sheer excitement of the beauty of the tree. But I believe it was the legs and the feet that stuck out from underneath the tree and bound by lit up Christmas lights that knocked her out cold.

“Call 9-1-1,” Mom looked over at me before she rushed over to person under the tree.

“I’ll get the lights on without the tree.” Patrick did some fast work on the electrical box.

For a second I sat there stunned. Had Patrick somehow gotten the electrical lines crossed? Was whoever under the tree messing with the tree? Why was someone under the tree?

“What about her?” Aunt Maxi’s nose curled and she pointed to poor ole Low-retta.

“Aw, leave her.” Bunny nudged Aunt Maxi. “Them Cherokee spirits she’s always yammering on about will take care of her.”

Mom looked over at me.

“Did you call 9-1-1?” she asked.

“Oh. No.” I shook my head and reached for my phone.

“It ain’t going to do no good.” Mom shook her head. “Otis Peavler is dead.”

“Otis Peavler?” I glanced around and looked at the crowd that’d gathered so tightly around the gazebo to get a gander. I half expected to see him in the crowd, but quickly realized I’d not seen him at all.

“Spencer, there’s an Otis Peavler under the tree.” The words fell out of my mouth when I called Sheriff Spencer Shepard on his cell phone. Something I probably shouldn’t’ve done, but calling him directly seemed to bypass all those unnecessary steps.

“Roxy?” he questioned.

“I mean. Otis Peavler’s legs are sticking out of the tree. And Mom said he’s dead.” I rambled on and knew I was making sense in my jumbled head, but couldn’t get the words to clearly come out.

“Roxy, calm down.” Spencer didn’t sound calm. “Where are you?”

“Where are you? Why aren’t you at the tree lighting?” It was odd that he wasn’t there or any police for that matter.

“What about the legs under the tree? Are you telling me that you’re at the tree lighting and something bad has happened to someone?”

“Otis Peavler is dead under the tree. The tree that’s supposed to be lit up but not now.” I let out a deep sigh when I realized I got Otis and dead out in one breath.

The phone clicked and went dead.

Before I could even gather what was going on around me, there were sirens and lights barreling down Main Street and some officers had already begun crowd control, pushing all back everyone toward the outer edges of Central Park.

“Come on.” Patrick put his hand on my back. “There’s nothing we can do. Let’s go over to the booth and offer some free coffee to the crowd. It doesn’t look they’re going anywhere anytime soon.”

We passed Spencer on the way over and our eyes met as he rushed off toward the other police.

“That wasn’t planned at all.” Patrick handed out the Styrofoam cups filled with coffee to people as they passed by.

Mom was being interviewed by Spencer. Bunny and Aunt Maxi sat in one of the café tables in the booth while I continued to fill up cups and take them to Patrick.

“I’d say not. You know.” I thought for a minute. “I asked Otis if he was coming to the tree lighting and he didn’t seem interested. I figured he was getting up in age and didn’t want to come.” I handed him another cup. “Do you think he was electrocuted?”

“No.” Patrick got a little defensive. “Do you think I didn’t go over the panels here and every single string of lights to make sure nothing like that would happen?”

“Patrick, it was merely a suggestion. I mean, wasn’t there a string of lights wrapped around the ankles?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I didn’t pay too much attention. Besides, Otis was older and he probably had a heart attack.” He handed a cup of coffee to someone walking by. “Complimentary tonight.”

The person looked grateful and tried to smile through the awful tragedy.

The red and white lights from the two ambulances that were called fit in nicely with the rest of Christmas in the Park, only one of them was for Loretta while the other for Otis.

“What do you think happened?” Aunt Maxi stood up. Her head bobbed and weaved as the EMTs pushed the gurney past us.

“I have no idea.” I shrugged and looked around. It appeared everyone had stuck around to see what’d happened and heard about the free coffee because I didn’t have time to look at nothing but the little nob on the coffee maker and cups.

“Do you think he got electrocuted?” Mom asked Patrick, but then grabbed Sheriff Spencer Shepard by the arm. “Did he get electrocuted?”

“Ma’am, I can’t disclose any particulars at this time. The only thing I can say is that Otis Peavler is dead.” Spencer’s words hit me and sent a chill through me more than the worst blizzard I’d ever been in.

My brows furrowed. There was something that wasn’t right. Otis Peavler might’ve been a little older, but he was in great shape, but then I remembered.

“He had been diagnosed with diabetes recently.” Even though he was dead, it did make me feel better that he was murdered.

“Don’t be going around and getting any ideas in that caffeinated head of yours,” he warned like he’d done the past two times that I happened to stick my nose into a case when they were murdered.

“You don’t have to worry. I’m not, but. . .” I started to make a suggestion.

“But nothing.” Patrick took me by the arm. “You heard Spencer. It’s doing Otis no good with all of us standing around gawking while the police try to do their job and determine what happened.”

“Patrick is right. You do seem to take special interest in dead bodies,” Mom agreed with Patrick.

“Murdered dead bodies. Let’s get that straight,” Aunt Maxi corrected her.

“I’m a lawyer. It’s in my blood.” I had to throw that out that.

“Honey, nothing but curiosity and coffee is running through your blood.” Aunt Maxi’s eyes slid over to the ambulance when they slammed the back doors.

Four

Aunt Maxi was right. The only thing that I could do all night was think about Otis while drinking coffee. It made for a very tiring night and there wasn’t any reason for Pepper and me to sit around waiting on the alarm to go off at 4 a.m. when I knew it was going to be packed at The Bean Hive.

When there was a death in Honey Springs, everyone loved to gab over coffee. The last time something like this had happened was when Fred had been found murdered and because Bunny and Emily were working at The Bean Hive I was able to do a little sleuthing on my own, while Bunny listened in on the gossip around the coffeehouse. With Otis going from natural causes, I’m sure everyone will just want to tell heartwarming stories about him.

“Not sleeping either?” I put my hand on Pepper who was snugged tight to my leg. Even though the quilt made the bed so warm and comfy, there was no reason to stay in bed.

I slipped on my cozy slippers and Pepper and I padded into the kitchen. The pot-belly stove had red embers seen from the window. I put a couple of more logs to get the cabin nice and toasty. Before I took Pepper outside, I grabbed another quilt off the quilt rack and flipped on the coffee pot to have a nice warm cup by the fire before I got ready and headed to the coffeehouse even earlier than I needed to.

A beautiful thin layer of freshly fallen snow glistened in the moonlight. Pepper jumped from bush to bush, letting the snow fly up behind him. I sat in one of the rocking chairs under the small covered front porch and drew my feet up into the seat with the quilt tucked around me.

It was by a fate of luck that I’d gotten this cabin. It was perfect, though a bit rundown when I’d gotten it. Most of the cabin along the lake are rentals for the lake tourists. They were especially booked for the summer. Like the coffeehouse, I watched a lot of DIY videos and was pretty proud of what I’d accomplished. It was more of an open floor concept with the kitchen on one side and the small family room with the pot-belly on the other. There is a bedroom, bathroom and laundry room on the first floor. It was perfect.

“You ready?” I laughed and wiped off the snow on Pepper’s nose.

He yipped and jumped up on the porch with his small tail wagging as he stood at the door. He rushed in and rubbed his body a couple of times on his bed in front of the stove then curled up to get the chill off.

“I’m going to grab a cup of coffee and get ready.” I found myself talking to Pepper like he understood everything I said and somewhat took comfort in thinking he did. “We’ve got to get a Christmas tree for our house,” I said and retrieved one of the mugs off one of the hooks on the wall.

The Christmas Harvest blend mixed with the burning wood made me smile. The feeling of the holiday was all around me but I couldn’t get Otis off my mind. I was going to make sure to take Juanita some treats. I’m sure all the women in Cottonwood already had a food chain going, but I still wanted to do my part. Even though they weren’t married, I’d heard they’d been together for a long time.

I leaned up against the counter and stared at the window, looking at the snow as it started to fall again. The kitchen was open shelving and looked straight out of a Southern Living Magazine, because I used an exact photo I’d found to do it. It wasn’t perfect like the magazine but it was still perfect for me.

After my shower, I went outside to start my car. Even a four-minute car ride to the boardwalk got chilly. Across the street from the cabin was a little stand of trees that stood between the road and Lake Honey Springs. It was so peaceful and the trees had shed their leaves giving me a great view of the lake. It was still beautiful in the winter.

“Let’s get your coat on.” I took my coat and Pepper’s sweater off the coatrack before we headed out. I poured the rest of my coffee into a thermos and out we went.

Pepper darted out of the car once we parked and wasted no time to get into the warmth of the coffeehouse. I wasn’t too far behind him after I’d grabbed the box filled with Christmas lights and a few fun coffee ornaments for the tree along with some other knick-knack decorations. The light on in Odd Ink shook me to my core. It was unusual to see it on and especially now since I knew Otis wasn’t in there. I put the notion of me going in there to snoop in the back of my head and shrugged it off.

“Good morning, Felix.” I flipped on the lights on the inside of the coffeehouse door and couldn’t stop smiling when I noticed the feline was curled up under the Christmas tree that Patrick had dropped off on our way home from the tree lighting. “How are you?”

Felix’s mouth opened but nothing came out. He didn’t even hiss at Pepper when Pepper went to check out the tree.

“No potty on that tree,” I warned Pepper, not sure what he’d do since this was our very first Christmas together.

The six industrial pots of coffee were filled and ready to brew. When all the red lights on them lit up, I knew the coffeehouse would smell amazing in a few short minutes. I pushed through the kitchen door and flipped on the two ovens before I walked into the freezer to grab the items I’d baked for the week on Sunday.

“Okay, Pepper.” I looked down into those sweet eyes and took off his sweater, hanging it on the hook in the kitchen and replaced my coat with a Bean Hive apron. “Let’s get the fire going and I think I’m going to make some Christmas coffee bean bark to take to Juanita.”

He wagged his tail.

“And maybe give you some kibble?” I questioned making him tiptoe dance on his paws.

I filled his bowl and to my surprise, Felix pushed through the kitchen door, watching us.

“Would you like to eat?” I bent down and put my hand out. His nose did two quick jabs at my fingertips and then he’d lost interest. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

The bag Louise had left was under the counter in the front of the coffeehouse. Felix definitely knew the sound of the can tab popping open as he came running with a meow. He hadn’t done that yesterday, so I was happy to see some interaction.

I left him to enjoy his early morning treat while I went over and lit the fireplace. There were a few stray cat hairs on the hearth.

“I see you like the fireplace.” I dragged his cage over there from where I’d put it by Pepper’s. Maybe giving him some of his own space would help him become more social with the customers and make him more adoptable. At least that was my hope.

Before I got started on the tree—which I was itching to do—I wanted to get all the food in the oven, the coffee and tea bars ready and Juanita’s treat made.

One bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and a half cup of French roast coffee beans would be the perfect Christmas coffee bean bark combination. I put the double boiler on the stove and put the chocolate in there to melt. Slowly I stirred and let the aromas of pumpkin muffins and honey donuts coming from the oven wrap around me.

Felix had come back into the kitchen to join us. I didn’t make a fuss over it, I let him walk around and check out our routine, though it was about an hour earlier than we should be here.

While the chocolate melted a little more, I lined a couple of pans with parchment paper so the yummy creation would break into pieces easier once it was fully hardened.

“And one to grow on,” I said as I sprinkled coffee beans into to the liquid chocolate after I poured it into the pan. “You can never have enough coffee beans.” I put the trays in the refrigerator to help with the cooling process.

Pepper wiggled around in delight. Of course I flipped him a Gingerbread mischief.

The front of the coffeehouse had two big windows on each side of the door. On the left there was a bar top that ran the entire length of the window with stools for sitting. It was a perfect place to sit and chat with friends or even a moment to take for yourself to enjoy a nice cup of coffee while taking advantage of the amazing view of the lake.

Patrick had already rearranged the tables and put the tree exactly where I wanted it. I set the box on top of one of the tables. I’d been collecting different items for decorations over the past few months because I knew Christmas was going to be so much fun in Honey Springs. A couple items the Teagardens had gotten me on their quest to find antiques. My heart nearly stopped and my breath quickened when I opened the box and the annual Honey Springs commemorative ornament from last year was the last item I’d put in the box. Fond memories of me taking Otis a sweet tea when it’d gotten hot during a summer day made my stomach drop.

I’d noticed the ornament and said that I couldn’t wait to start collecting them for the coffeehouse. A couple of hours later, he came over to refill his tea and set the ornament on the counter. When I went to protest, he simply shook his head and pushed it toward me. I knew it was his way of showing kindness and it touched me so much.

Just thinking of him made me look at the light coming from his shop as it made a spotlight on the dark boardwalk.

“I’ll be right back,” I said to a sleeping Pepper and Felix who both were now curled up in front of the fireplace. “Not that y’all care.”

I didn’t bother getting my coat. I checked the time to make sure I knew how much time was left on the oven and grabbed my keys, locking the coffeehouse door behind me.

I stood in front of Odd Ink and looked into the tattoo parlor. He never tried to talk me into a tattoo, which I had no interest in getting for the sheer fact of the thought of letting someone draw on me with a needle. I took a step closer and saw there were papers strewn all over the floor, which was strange since he was so particular about the cleanliness of the place. He did talk about contamination and all sorts of things that gave me the heebie jeebies.

For some reason I reached out for the door handle and when the door pushed open without me turning it, it was like my open invitation to enter.

“What a mess.” I looked around and couldn’t believe my eyes. “Something isn’t right here.”

“You’ve got that right.” Spencer Shepard stood in the door behind me. “That something is you being in my crime scene.”

“Crime scene?” My eyes narrowed, confusion along with that curious trait Aunt Maxi referred to kicked in.

“Otis Peavler was strangled here and his body was placed under the tree.”

And that was the last thing I remember until I woke up with Aunt Maxi and Bunny Bowowski standing over me.

Five

“Here, honey.” Aunt Maxi dragged a cup of coffee under my nose to wake me up. “You need to drink this.”

My brain was foggy as I tried to figure out what had happened to me. The last thing I remembered was my oven.

“My food!” I jerked up from the couch next to the fireplace that was where a lot of customers loved to cozy up to the fireplace and drink their warm cup of joe.

“Spencer took the food out when he carried you over here after you fainted.” Bunny shoved a muffin in my face.

“Spencer?” I asked and shook my head. “Carried me?”

“Let’s let her drink her coffee.” Aunt Maxi patted the couch and Pepper jumped up.

I sat up and looked around the coffeehouse. I’d never been so confused.

“Otis,” I groaned when I looked at the tree and the only thing hanging on it was the ornament he’d given me.

“What were you doing over there?” Aunt Maxi sat down on the couch, stuffing her face with a Santa Kiss.

“You’re going to eat up my cookies.” I sighed.

“Nope. These were sitting on my porch from my Secret Santa.” She took a look at the rest of the cookie before she popped it into her mouth. “I guess I can cross Otis Peavler off my list of potential Santas.”

I pushed back some curls away from my face. It’d only been a couple of hours since I’d gotten here and it already felt like I’d been here all day and then some.

“I guess when Spencer told me that Otis had been murdered, I passed out.” I pushed down on the couch to sit up.

“Murdered?” Aunt Maxi jerked back. “No one said anything about a murder.”

“You mean to tell me that we’ve got another murder on our hands?” Bunny asked in an upbeat tone.

Pepper jumped up on his hind legs and put his paws on my knees. I reached down and picked him up, cuddling him for comfort.

“Don’t you be going and getting any ideas,” Aunt Maxi warned Bunny. “Roxy doesn’t know anything about this and she’s not going to stick her nose into it.”

“That’s not so true.” I bit the edge of my bottom lip because my memory was coming back to me. “This morning when I noticed the light on in Odd Ink, I thought it was strange but I kept going. Then when I saw the ornament Otis had given me when I moved here, I really got a strange feeling.” I sucked in a deep breath. “I had a few minutes before I needed to get some things out of the oven and before the coffees had brewed, so I just went over and looked into the window.”

“Go on.” Bunny’s brows rose as she eased down next to me, reaching over to pat Pepper.

“You and I both know how much Otis was a neat freak.” I nodded.

“Mmhmmm. That’s right,” she agreed. “If there was a drip of coffee on the side of his mug, he swiped it clean, immediately.”

“Right.” I pointed to her and ignored Aunt Maxi when she got up, huffing and puffing all the way to the coffee carafes to put them on the bar. “There were papers all over the floor in his shop. Like somebody when in there searching for something.”

“But what? What on earth could Otis Peavler been hiding?” Aunt Maxi turned the sign on the door and it was like she’s opened the floodgates.

Customers poured in and it didn’t stop all morning long. The mumbles of Otis’s murder completely took over the coffeehouse. A few times I’d hear Bunny say to people in a hushed whisper that I’d seen the crime scene.

It was best for me to stay in back and get some more cooking done, until I overheard someone say something about Juanita Lynn Anderson. Then it really struck me as odd that she’d not been heard from or that no one had talked to her. My eyes slid over to the Christmas bark that I’d made specifically to take to her. Before this morning, it was a simple gesture of good will but in light of the murder and all, it’d become part of nosing around.

I sat down on one of the stools that butted up to the steel workstation in the middle of the kitchen and grabbed one of the small chalkboards that I used to post specials on the outside of the coffeehouse when the weather was warmer. I wrote Otis in the middle with a big circle around his name. I drew lines around the circle and it resembled the sun. On one line I wrote Juanita Lynn Anderson and on another line I wrote client.

Not that I was a detective or anything or even thought Juanita had killed Otis, but I was curious and I wanted to know what or if someone had something against Otis.

A lot of my customers ordered to-go items and part of making the coffeehouse so special, I’d ordered to-go boxes with snowflakes that sealed with a The Bean Hive logo sticker. It was perfect for Juanita’s treats and also a special treat to take to Loretta, who was still in shock at the hospital.

“Bunny,” I called her over from a group of chatty women, who no doubt were talking about the big murder. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

She held a finger up for me to give her a minute or so, making it perfect timing for me to refill the coffee carafes from the coffee bar and the teas on the tea bar. If I was going to leave Bunny alone at the shop, I made sure there was plenty of coffee so that she didn’t have to worry herself with trying to make any, which sometimes was a challenge for her.

“Oh, Roxy.” Bunny picked at her apron. “Everyone is talking about Otis. We just can’t believe it. Someone said that the sheriff has no leads. What are we going to do? We have to find justice for Otis.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’m going to take some Christmas coffee bean bark to Juanita and see if I can find out anything. You keep your ears and eyes open for anything unusual. People. Gossip.” She nodded as I talked. This was right up her alley and I knew she’d be good for the job. “Then I’m going to go see Loretta at the hospital. Do you want me to give her any good wishes?”

“A good swift kick in the keister will do.” She winked and walked behind the counter.

“And remember that Felix is up for adoption. He’d make the best Christmas present for someone.” I wanted to make sure that Felix had a home soon. There’d yet to be anyone interested in the sweet feline and I was beginning to get worried.

I’d never had a situation where one of the animals hadn’t been adopted and it worried me that he’d have to go back to Pet Palace, not that it was bad, but like all the animals, he deserved a loving home.

“Can you help me get some of these goodies and carafes in the car so I can stop by the booth at Christmas In The Park for Mom to restock?” I asked. It wouldn’t hurt anything if she left the shop to carry some items to my car.

Once we’d made a couple of trips, and Pepper was settled in his bed, it was time for me to make my rounds. No matter how hard I tried not to even think about Otis, as a former lawyer, I had to get some questions answered. I was hoping Juanita could do that.

Juanita’s home was in town in the subdivision behind the courthouse. Central Park was all lit up and so was the tree, like nothing awful had taken place. It was the subtle things that I noticed that said Spencer and his crew had been there.

I parked my car on the street as close to the booth as I could. There were several people already visiting the local vendors. A lot of them were tourists from around the state that loved to come for the day and get specialty homemade goodies. Of course everyone comes to stock up on the honey from the honey farm vendors, hence the name of the town.

“You’re not going to believe what’s going on.” Mom grabbed my arm and pulled me aside, away from the customers sitting inside the booth next to the fire.

“Otis Peavler was murdered.”

“Roxy,” Mom’s jaw dropped. “Don’t tell me that you’ve already stuck your nose into it.”

“Mom, Otis’s shop is right next to The Bean Hive, how can I not?” My brows furrowed as they slid toward the tree in the gazebo.

“I should’ve known you knew. How did you know?” she asked and followed me over to my car to get the stuff out.

“Long story short, I ran into Spencer this morning and he told me.” I grabbed a couple of the carafes.

“Do they have any clues? Because when I got here this morning, the police were here looking all around.” We went back to the booth. Mom put items in the glass case while I wrote down the names of them on the chalkboards.

“I have no idea. All I know is that his shop was a mess like someone had gone in there looking for something.”

“It must’ve been important if it was that messy.” She stopped and eyed the Christmas bark.

“Try it. You’re going to love it because it’s got French roast coffee beans in it.” It was Mom’s favorite coffee that I brewed and I always made her a fresh pot of it from a French press.

Without hesitation she took a piece and put it in her mouth. Her eyes rolled back in her head and a happy sigh escaped with a big smile.

“Yeah. That’s good.” I loved it. I loved when people enjoyed my products. “I’m hoping Juanita Lynn Anderson is going to have the same reaction when I take her some.”

“Oh poor dear. I’d forgotten he dated her.” Mom licked her lips. “Do you think she knows something? You don’t figure she did it, do you?”

“I don’t know anything right now. That’s why I’m going. Plus to offer my condolences.” I finished putting the coffee carafes behind the makeshift counter. “Are you good for a while?”

“I am. If I’m not, I’ll call you.” She put the signs in the glass case and refilled anything that needed to be refilled.

“If you see Jean, can you let her know that I’m going to have Patrick stop by and pick up a tree for the cabin?” I asked.

“I will, honey. See you soon.” She waved me off when a new customer came up to get some coffee.

It didn’t take but a minute to pull up in front of Juanita’s house. My heart took a dip when I noticed the Christmas light strung along the roof of her house wasn’t lit up and the deflated Santa lawn decoration was still flat on the ground. It was a tradition in Honey Springs to leave all your lawn decorations on outside for the entire month of December. Bless Juanita’s heart.

“Roxy, how are you?” Juanita asked, putting her own sorrows aside when she answered the door.

“I’m fine, but I’m sure sorry to hear about Otis and I thought I’d bring you some Christmas coffee bean bark.” I stepped into her house when she moved aside and gestured for me to come in.

“That’s a lovely gesture, but I can’t. I’m diabetic. But I’ll still take them since I’ve had a few stragglers come in to offer condolences.”

“You’re diabetic too?” I asked because Otis told me how much he and Juanita enjoyed the cookies. I followed her into the kitchen.

“Too?” she asked and put the bark on the table. She pointed for me to sit down.

“Otis, he always came in to get you a weekly treat and the other day,” I just realized it was the last time I talked to Otis alive, “when I offered to give him some Santa Kisses for you, he said that he’d been diagnosed as diabetic.”

“That’s news to me.” She fidgeted with the placemat in front of her. “Maybe he took your desserts to church. You know I couldn’t keep him out of that place.” She laughed. “That man would spend all day there on Sundays. I swear, I’m sure he’s holding hand with the Lord as we speak.”

“All day?” I questioned. Otis and I went to the same church along with all the people in Honey Springs. I never recalled anything going on there all day.

“Mm hmm. He loved all the activities. You know me, I don’t go to church. But Otis, he was always talking about it. Helping the elderly in the church always made me chuckle because we are the elderly.” She shrugged. “But every Sunday night, he’d Uber over here with some sort of amazing dinner.”

“Uber? Otis knows about Uber?” I asked and really couldn’t believe he was so hip.

“He did that a lot. He said he’d be able to have a beer with me since he wasn’t driving. Not that he ever had a beer, but I did.” She winked. “I’m going to miss that man. I made a big pitcher of sweet tea, would you like a glass?”

“No thank you. I just wanted to come by and tell you how sorry I am.” I wanted to tell her that Otis really loved and cared for her, but something told me that Otis kept some sort of big secret from her.

That wasn’t what I’d call love. What was Otis hiding?

We headed back toward the door. The TV in the family room was on and I noticed the photos hanging on the wall.

“Are these your family members?” I asked and loved looking at Otis in them. He looked so happy.

“They are. I’m truly loved. Look at him.” She pointed to Otis. “He loved being with  my family. I can’t understand why he didn’t have any of his own. My son took to him like a duck takes to water.”

“I didn’t know you had a son.” I could see how happy everyone looked in the pictures.

“He lives in Tennessee. He’s on his way here now to be with me. Isn’t that sweet?” She frowned. “I just can’t believe he’s gone,” her voice cracked and she teared up.

The knock at the door caused her to gulp back a deep breath.

“Now I wonder who that could be?” She opened the door. “Spencer Shepard. Do come in.”

“I was just leaving.” I pointed to the door when Spencer gave me the what-did-I-tell-you look. He wasn’t amused with my presence.

“Why not stay and you two can enjoy the sweet treat you brought me,” Juanita offered.

“I’ve got to get back to the coffeehouse.” I gave Juanita a hug. “If you need anything, you let me know.”

“I will. And tell your aunt Maxi that Otis really did just love her. He thought she was a hoot and a half.” She squeezed me.

“Everyone thinks that.” I made my way around Spencer as I felt his eye bore into me.

“Isn’t that Roxy such a nice girl. So caring.” I heard Juanita say when I was walking back to my car.

“Caring,” Spencer said flatly.

Just as I thought I’d made it out to my car safely, Spencer was standing next to the passenger door gesturing for me to unlock it.

“I’m sure if I ask you what you’re doing here, you’d say it was a humanitarian visit.” He blew air from his mouth into his hands before vigorously rubbing them together.

“Humanitarian visit?” I laughed and turned the engine over, adjusting the vents to point to him. “I came here to offer my friendship and condolences.”

“You didn’t ask her any questions?” he asked.

“No. I don’t think she knows he was murdered.” I looked up at her standing at the glass storm door watching us.

“That’s why I’m here.” He looked at her too. “I’m worried how she’s going to take it.”

“Her son is coming in from out of town so I’m sure she’ll have some support.” I let out a heavy sigh.

“What?” He groaned. “That was an I-have-an-idea sigh that I’ve heard come out of you during my other investigations.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything.” I scooted in the driver’s seat to face him. “Every week Otis came in for special cookies for Juanita. At least that’s what he told me. He’d brag on how much she loved them. This week he was a little more distant and said he didn’t want any more cookies because he was diabetic.”

“I thought you said he got the cookies for Juanita.” Spencer caught on quick.

“It is what I said. So when I asked him about Juanita, he seemed confused and danced around the answer. It struck me as odd, so I just brushed it off. Everyone has an off day. But when I tried to give her some of the Christmas coffee bean bark and she said that she was diabetic.” My brows furrowed.

“So he meant that she’d been diagnosed as diabetic.” Spencer shrugged. “His words got mixed up.”

“Nope.” I shook my head. “Initially I thought that but then she followed up saying she’d been diabetic all her life.”

“Huh.” Spencer wasn’t going to tell me what he was thinking. This was the part that I didn’t like about him when he was investigating a case.

“That’s all you’re going to say?” I asked. “You’re not going to say that you think it’s weird too?”

“I don’t think that it means he’s dead because of it.” He put his hand on the handle. “Maybe the pastries he’s been getting from you were for him but he didn’t want everyone to know his business and maybe he did just get diagnosed with diabetes.”

He opened the door and got out.

“Just a reminder,” he bent down and looked at me letting the cold air whip in. “This is now a homicide and you need to stay far away from it and his shop.”

He didn’t even give me time to protest before he slammed the door and walked back up to Juanita’s house.

“Remember,” I mocked him and threw the car into drive. “Yeah. I also remember that you needed me the last two times you had a homicide.”

I gripped the wheel so tightly my hands were hurting by the time I made it to the satellite hospital site on the outskirts of town. It was a two-story, fully functioning unit that was part of the larger University Hospital in Lexington. It mainly served cases that weren’t long-term care or people they wanted to keep an eye on, like Loretta.

“I don’t want no Jell-o. Makes me feel like I’m on a diet or something.” Loretta’s voice echoed down the hall. “If you saw a dead man, you’d have passed out too. Now get these needles out of me and let me go home. Right this instant!”

I didn’t even have to ask the nurse’s station where she was because they all came running out of the room followed up by one of those plastic puke pans flying after them. The nurses scattered every which way.

“I told you to git!” She flung her finger out and pointed to me. Her mouth formed an O. “Roxy, I’m sorry. I thought you were one of them nurses.” She pushed herself up with her fists and scooted up on the pillow. “I can’t believe they won’t let me go home.”

“Well, maybe these will make you feel better.” I handed her the box of bark I’d brought from the shop. “Made just this morning. And since you didn’t get to come in for your jolt of coffee, it has French roast beans in it.”

“Gimme,” she wiggled her hands in front of her. She tore the box open and put a piece in her mouth. She mumbled, “It’s not so bad in here when I came to, but now I’m fine. I just want to go home and get a shower. People coming in and out and me looking like this.”

“You look great,” I lied for good reason.

Her short hair was plastered to her head. The blue hospital gown was not as fancy or attractive as her designer clothes, but her Cherokee natural glow that she claimed she got from her DNA had simply faded overnight.

“Mmm, these are delicious.” She closed her eyes. Her shoulders relaxed. “Now, tell me what’s been going on. Who was it under that tree?”

“Otis Peavler.” The chair legs screeched as I scooted it up to her bed. “And I hate to tell you this, but he was murdered.”

“Murdered?” She choked down the rest of the bark in her mouth. “Water,” she gasped and pointed to the plastic, pale yellow water pitcher.

Quickly I got one of the Styrofoam cups and filled it, rushing over to her before she really did need to be here. After she calmed down, she laid the back of her head on the pillow.

“I just can’t believe it. Who on earth wants to ruin me?” she cried out.

“Ruin you?” I wasn’t following her.

“You can’t tell me that there isn’t someone who wants me to look bad now that I’m the president of the beautification committee and putting a dead body under my tree is a good way to get back at me.” She completely took Otis’s death and twisted it around to be about her.

Typical Loretta.

“Loretta! You’re a genius.” I clapped my hands together and jumped up.

“I know.” She tipped her chin in the air. “You’re just now figuring that out?”

“You take care of yourself.” I waved bye to her.

“Wait! Leaving so soon?” Loretta screamed after me. “Nurse! Nurse! Call my doctor! I need to get out of here!” Her voice trailed all the way to the elevator.

I grabbed my phone out of my bag with one hand and continued to push the down button in the elevator like it was going to make it go faster. Nothing went fast in Honey Springs.

“Patrick.” I gasped after he answered his phone. “Whoever killed Otis Peavler wanted everyone to know.”

“What are you talking about?” Patrick sounded a little annoyed. “Don’t tell me that you’re investigating?”

“Okay, I won’t tell you but I do think whoever did kill him put him under the tree for a dramatic effect because whoever did it, wants everyone in Honey Springs to know that Otis wasn’t the model citizen everyone thought he was.” I hurried out into the parking lot to my car.

“Roxanne,” he meant business, “I’m asking you to stop and take a breath. I’ve picked up your tree for the cabin and I’ll bring take out from the Watershed.”

“Oh la-la, you’re really trying to get me to stop snooping around by bribing me with a fancy steak dinner.” I loved the Watershed and he knew it.

It was a very fancy restaurant on the opposite end of the boardwalk. The floating restaurant was so romantic and they even offered boat cruises with dinners that topped the romance department.

“Not true. I just figured we’d have a good time for our very first of many Christmas tree decoratings.” He made a warm glow take up space in my chest. “Good food and the start of a tradition with the woman I love sounds like a perfect evening.”

“So you don’t want to talk about Otis?” I teased before we hung up, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t stop thinking and analyzing all of Juanita’s words.

“I’ve changed my mind. We will decorate your tree and then go out to the Watershed.” He knew me all too well and knew if he had me out of the house and among people the likelihood of me talking the whole night about Otis was rare.

Six

“I’m telling you something isn’t right.” I motioned for Patrick to scoot the tree over a little bit more in the small family room of the cabin. “Otis kept secrets from Juanita, but I’m not sure what they are.”

Even the classic Christmas tunes Patrick was playing on Spotify, though they made me my heart sing, weren’t keeping my mind from the fact that someone had killed Otis.

“Why do you think that?” he asked and walked backward on his knees, jerking the tree stand a little more to the left. “A hunch?”

“Not so much a hunch, but the fact that she’s been a diabetic and he told me the cookies and treats were for her. Why would he even tell me a lie when I wouldn’t care? Unless he was trying to make himself feel better.” My head teetered from left to right. “A little more back toward the right.”

He stood up when he noticed I smiled at the perfect spot for the tree. He walked over and stood behind me. He wrapped his loving arms around me and rested his chin on my shoulder.

“That’s a beautifully shaped tree and perfect for people to see when they are coming down the road.” I loved going light site-seeing during Christmas and I was especially looking forward to it this year.

“Let’s put the lights on,” his words tickled my ear.

“Oh, the box is in my car.” I’d brought back the box with the extra ornaments I’d used to decorate the coffeehouse tree and the Teagardens had also given me another box that was just odd and ends.

While Patrick went back out the get the boxes, I gave Sassy and Pepper some kibble so they could eat before we left for the Watershed. Patrick still thought he could take me out of the house and get Otis off my mind.

“Do these lights work?” Patrick asked when he brought in the boxes.

“Yes. Aren’t they neat?” There were several strands of glass snowmen that had little blue lights in them. “The Teagardens said they got them from an estate sale where the elderly lady loved Christmas. The other box is filled with snowmen ornaments and I thought I’d just use them here since I’m dying for more snow.”

“Roxy, people around here will kill you if they hear you say that,” he joked and used the outlet strip to plug in the lights before I strung them around the tree.

He was so particular with how I did the electrical stuff around here since we’d just recently changed out the old knob and tube wiring. Instead of letting him dig into the walls, I had him replace what he could and he wasn’t happy with that. He wanted to do the whole house and put up all sorts of smoke detectors.

Sassy and Pepper happily gobbled up their food. I sang out the words to the music while Patrick hummed along, passing the lights around the tree to each other before we ran out of the strings.

With full bellies, Pepper and Sassy curled up on the couches in the family room with the wood stove emitting warm heat.

“This is pretty spectacular.” Patrick looked at me, the Christmas lights casting a glow around his face. “Me, you, them, the holidays.”

“A year ago if someone would’ve told me that I’d be this happy, I’d never have thought so.” I hung up the last ornament on the tree and walked over to get the angel. “Will you do the honor of putting the angel on the tree?”

“Is this going to be another tradition in the making?” He eyed me.

“I think there’s going to be so many traditions for us, that we’re going to so blissfully happy people will puke when they see us.” I handed him the angel and in return he gave me a kiss.

“We don’t have to go to the Watershed.” He stuck the angel on top of the tree and pulled me toward him. “I’m not all that hungry and I’d hate to disturb the dogs.”

“I do have some leftover quiches in the freezer that’d only take a few minutes to pop in the oven.” I teased back.

“And I did bring that extra bottle of wine.” His clasped hands cradled my back. He leaned his head to the side and looked out the window. “The roads could be getting treacherous with all the snow.”

“All the snow?” I laughed because there was just the dusting.

“Mm hmm.” He nodded, pulling me into him was his answer.

Seven

“That wasn’t easy.” I fastened my seatbelt after I’d gotten Sassy and Pepper into the car without waking Patrick up.

One bottle of wine turned into three and we ended eating up everything I’d had in the freezer before we just passed out from a food coma. It was the most fun night I’d had in a long time, not that we didn’t have a lot of fun times. Until a couple of weeks ago my mom had been living with me until she’d found herself the perfect Cape Cod in town.

Recently she’d just gotten her real estate license and in a tourist town like Honey Springs, most people were looking to purchase or rent starting in the spring, not so much the middle of winter or this close to Christmas. That’s why she was able to help out in the Christmas booth.

Patrick’s day off was today and I didn’t want to wake him since I still had to go to work by four-thirty. He’d worked so hard over the past couple of weeks to get Christmas In The Park ready by erecting all the booths, running the electric, setting the lights up and the trees, he deserved to sleep in before the big Christmas Pawrade. That’s why I took Sassy and Pepper with me.

It didn’t dawn on me how Felix would react when Sassy came into the coffeehouse until he went crazy and climbed the Christmas tree in fear.

“She’s a good girl. I know her size intimidates you, but you’ll love her.” I’d parted the branches and tried to reason with the cat, but his claws dug into the trunk told me he wasn’t budging and I wasn’t going to be able to plug in the tree lights.

“We’ll let him be.” I patted a very curious Sassy on the head and headed back to the kitchen to get the treats ready to take down to Camey before her guests would be wide awake and want their coffee.

I grabbed my apron and put my phone in the front pocket in case Patrick called. I didn’t want to miss his good morning greeting.

While the carafes of the Christmas Harvest blend coffee brewed as well as some decaf and dark French roast, and more Santa Kisses were baking in the oven as well as heating up the usual seasonal items like the pumpkin muffins, honey Christmas cake slices, I knew the Pralines Liqueur Cake would be a hit today at the coffeehouse and the Cocoon. There was something about pecans that we loved in the south and this was the perfect cake to warm up with in this weather.

I quickly put the pecans in the processor and got those chopped while I combined the yellow cake mix (instead of flour), eggs, water, vanilla pudding, and oil. While those ingredients were mixing in the mixer, I greased up several Bundt cake pans and filled the bottoms of them with the pecans.

Then I added Pecan Praline Liqueur, the showstopper, to the mixture before I evenly poured all of it into the pans. With my ovens already pre-heated, I took the Santa Kisses out and replaced them with the Bundt cakes that would take about one hour to bake, giving me enough time to get the coffee and tea bar set up as well as stock up the rest of the coffeehouse before I opened.

The light knock on the front door of the shop gave me a little jolt. I wasn’t expecting anyone and the darkness outside just added to the fright.

“What are you doing here?” I opened the door wide when I saw it was Patrick.

“I rolled over and y’all were gone. I didn’t get my good morning kiss.” He stepped inside, shut the door behind him and curled me in his arms for that kiss.

He let out a long, deep, satisfying sigh.

“That’s a good morning kiss.” His deep eyes looked at me with a love that was indescribable. “And if we hurry up and get hitched, you can have one of those every morning.”

“Is that right?’ I teased, and stepped back.

“Mmmhhhmmm.” He looked around me at the tree. “Not feeling festive this morning?”

“Felix isn’t feeling Sassy this morning.” I pointed to where he was hiding. “I thought I’d better keep the lights off in case he was to shock himself.”

“Poor guy.” Patrick was such a lover of animals. “No one to adopt him?”

“You know.” I snapped my fingers. “I totally forgot about that guy that came in and he’s staying at the Cocoon.”

“What guy?” Patrick headed to the back of the coffeehouse with me.

Before I even asked him to pitch in, he started to refill both the bars and the café tables.

“Walker somebody. Really good looking, about this tall.” I held my hand a little over my head.

“Did he have on a wedding band?” Patrick asked.

“I don’t think so.” I dug deep into my memory to recall.

“Should I be worried?” Patrick joked.

“Yeah, right.” I rolled my eyes. “But he and Felix really took to each other. I’ve got to drop the Pralines Liqueur slices to the Cocoon this morning, maybe I’ll see him or leave a message with Camey for him to call me.”

“You are making the cake?” The way his eyes lit up the room, I didn’t have to plug in the Christmas tree light. “That’s the one dessert I really remember you making that time you came in the summer.”

“It’s a gift.” I winked and went into the kitchen to retrieve the goodies that needed to go into the glass case and the display platters on top of the counter.

“What’s this?” I heard Patrick call out after he’d gone into the kitchen to get some supplies like napkins, stirs, substitute sugar packets and all the little items necessary for the perfect added ingredients to the coffee and teas.

“What?” I moved through the swinging door and noticed he was talking about the chalkboard I’d written Otis’s name on. “That.” My brows rose.

“You aren’t doing this.” He stared at me. Long gone was the goo-goo eyes he’d just had.

“I’m not actively doing anything.” I might’ve kept the fact that I might’ve had an ulterior motive in going to see Juanita. “As I hear things, I’m writing them down.”

I walked over and picked up a piece of chalk.

“Like Juanita’s always been a diabetic, which doesn’t make sense for Otis to tell me every week that he came in to get Juanita treats.” I wrote that down under Juanita’s name. “Also, Otis had been taking an Uber, which is also weird because he drove.” I made another line out from Otis’s name and put Uber on it with a question mark. “Then there’s Odd Ink.”

“What about Odd Ink?” He seemed to start taking an interest.

“Otis was a pretty neat guy with his shop.” I was going to take the opportunity while it was there to go over all this with Patrick while he let me.

“He was. Even in his walls.” Patrick shook his head. “When we were redoing the boardwalk for the reopening last fall, he wanted to make sure the electrical lines were all zip tied together and neatly laid in the walls.”

“See,” I sucked in a deep breath. “There were papers all over the floor of his shop. And,” I pulled my phone out of my apron pocket. “I took pictures of his client list so I could just look through them.”

“What on earth could Otis have that was so secret. He was old and always had the same routine.” Patrick reminded me of what Juanita had said.

“Juanita said the same thing. She also said that he loved being at church all day on Sunday.” I knew that would get Patrick’s attention.

“Sunday? Our church?” His brows lowered. “But Brother Mitchell does the service and is off for the sabbath day.”

“Right. Since Brother Mitchell makes sure we observe the sabbath, no one is at the church. Not even Otis. According to Juanita, Otis was there sun up to sun down.” I wrote that under Juanita’s name.

Patrick and I stood back and looked at the chalkboard.

“You have to admit, there’s a lot of unanswered questions here.” I folded my arms and so did he.

“I can tell that you aren’t going to let this go.” He straightened up his back. “If you are going to snoop around, then I’m helping you.”

“You’re the best.” I walked over, putting my arms around his neck and kissed him.

“This is why I came here.” He grinned sending my heart into a tailspin. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” I said giving him another kiss before I had to get the cakes out of the oven.

“I’ll go see what I can drum up about some clients. I have a couple of guys that get tats from Otis, I’ll poke around and see if they’ve seen anything weird or if Otis had said anything to them that’s odd.” He got up from the stool and looked at his watch. “Your crew should be here any minute. Do you want me to try to get Felix out of the Christmas tree before I go?”

“Nah.” I’d taken a medium saucepan and brought some butter, water and sugar to a boil, stirring it the whole time. “I’m going to take these cakes to Cocoon and see if I can get Walker in here to see if he can get him out and maybe bond.”

“You’re so devious.” He winked. “I’ll see you at the parade.”

“We’ll see you at the parade.” Sassy danced around him. She thought for sure she was going to go with him. She was a very jealous dog and I wondered how she was going to react when Patrick and I got married. A few nights in her territory here and there were okay, but full time. . .

The morning ritual and all the same people came into the coffeehouse. Bunny was busy feeding the gossip surrounding Otis’s murder while I filled all the fancy coffee orders. It was great to get back to the grind of my happy place and set aside all the happenings with Otis.

While she took care of the customers in the coffeehouse, I took care of getting the ingredients for my Soul Harvest Chicken Soup in the pots along with some freshly baked bread in the oven to get ready for the  lunch crowd. Even though I’d already planned something different for this week’s lunch specials, I knew that the soup was exactly what everyone in Honey Springs needed. Some comfort and the name, Soul Harvest Chicken Soup, said it all.

I chopped up the onions, garlic, cilantro and tomatoes while I stared at the chalkboard. There had to be something I was missing and knew I needed to find out exactly Otis’s whereabouts before he was murdered. Thoughts of how exactly I was going to do that tumbled through my head as I got out the chicken broth I’d saved from where I’d boiled all the chicken I was going to need ahead of time. There were no ideas of where I was going to start as I opened the cans of tomato sauce, chili beans, corn and threw them in the pot with the other stuff.

“That sure does smell good.” Bunny pressed through the kitchen door and grabbed another tray of the Santa Kisses before she walked back out.

The bread was ready to go into the oven and would be ready in a few minutes. I put the pots on simmer to let all the ingredients come together in a slow and timely manner, making it a perfect treat.

When I headed back into the coffeehouse, the lull of the morning rush had come and gone, and with Bunny refilling the drink bars, it was the perfect time to get the cake slices and the coffee down to the hotel.

“Good morning,” I chirped with a happy voice and lifted my hands that were lugging around the industrial coffee carafes and bags filled with pastry treats hanging from my forearms. I looked around and tilted my head near the hospitality room to see if Walker was in there.

“So happy to see you. Your treats are going like hot cakes.” Camey came out from behind the counter and took the carafes. “I just might have to up my order.”

“That’d be great, but if you did that, you’ll have to have someone come to get them because I’m having a hard time hauling it all by myself. Though, yesterday I did have help.” It was my lead-in to asking about Walker. “Speaking of yesterday, where’s Walker?”

“You know, the strangest thing happened.” She walked toward the hospitality room and over to the table she’d already set up with the crystal platters and Christmas greenery. “I’d told him that I would take him to the tree lighting and he was into it. He was late getting back from wherever he’d gone and we made it to the tree lighting just in time to see Loretta Bebe pass out.”

She gave me a good mental reminder to call on Loretta today to see if the hospital had released her.

“Then he disappeared.” She gave me the empty carafes she’d used yesterday and replaced them with the full ones.

“What do you mean disappeared?” I questioned.

“I sat with Loretta until the ambulance came and when I went back to get him to come back here, he was gone. Disappeared and not come back.” She shrugged.

“That’s odd.” My brows furrowed.

“It’s really odd.” There was already a crowd gathering before she could get all the goodies on the trays.

I gestured for us to head back out of the room. There were more questions I needed answered. It struck me as odd yesterday morning when we’d passed Odd Ink and Otis as to both of their reactions. Then for him to be gone up until the tree lighting. Where had he gone?

“Did he say where he’d gone and why he was late?” I asked.

“No. He said that he was exploring and figuring out some things. I didn’t press him.” Camey nodded and smiled as a guest walked down the hall. “There’s some delicious pastries and complimentary coffee in the hospitality room this morning.”

The guest smiled and looked into the hospitality room.

“Sounds perfect before we go explore the boardwalk for all the Christmas specials,” the guest nodded happily.

“Be sure to grab a to-go cup. It’s a little chilly out there.” Camey put her hand on my shoulder. “This is Roxanne Bloom. She’s the owner of The Bean Hive and provides all the tasty treats.”

“Come on by for some special Christmas coffee bean bark,” I suggested. When the guest left us alone, I started back in on my questioning. “You haven’t talked to him since the ambulance took Loretta?”

“No. I went to his room and knocked to make sure he was okay. I called the room.” She let out a big sigh.

“Did you go into his room?”

She bit the edges of her lip and looked at me as if she were wrangling with telling me something.

“I did, only because I felt like there was something between us. You know.” She leaned in. “Like chemistry and he’s so cute and so nice.”

“He wasn’t in there?” I wanted to make sure I got all the details of where he was and where he wasn’t before she went on some romantic tirade.

“Nope. There wasn’t a thing in there. I don’t even remember him having a suitcase or overnight bag. I did find this.” Her eyes darted around before she put her hand in her back pocket and took out a photo of a woman standing near a train. “It looks really old. But it was left on the nightstand. Technically, I shouldn’t’ve taken it and left it there because he still has a noon checkout time and he might be back.”

“I have a strange feeling he won’t be back.” I held the picture up. “Can I take this?”

“Why on earth would you want it?” she asked. She grabbed my arm. “Does this have to do with Otis Peavler?”

“I’m not sure yet, but you know me. I can’t keep my nose out of a good murder.” I gave a little laugh to break the silence that suddenly hung between us.

“You think he had something to do with Otis’s death?” She drew back.

“I don’t know anything, I’m just trying to figure out why I felt strange when we ran in to Otis on the way here yesterday. Both of them looked strange.” I looked at the photo again. There was a faint stamp on the back and I wondered how old it was.

“Now that I think about it, Otis Peavler came in here yesterday.” Her eyes jumped open. “I.. .I thought it was weird, but he made up some excuse that he wanted to see the Christmas decorations because he’d heard they were so pretty this year.”

“What were his exact words and where did you find him?” This could be the lead I was looking for.

“He was in the hospitality room eating one of your Santa Kiss cookies and kinda hanging around.”

“Wait.” I jerked back. “He was eating a cookie? But he’s diabetic.”

Her jaw dropped. Both of us stood there in shock and you could’ve knocked us over with a feather.

“He ate about four cookies and washed it down with a sugary cup of your Christmas Harvest blend.”

Two things about her statement bugged me. One was the fact that Otis Peavler was obviously not a diabetic, which meant he lied. The second was the fact he’d ruined my special brew by throwing in sugar.

“I’ve got to go.” I waved her off and darted toward the door, only to run smack dab into Spencer and dropped the photo.

“Roxy.” His words were flat. His eyes drew down to the floor where the photo had landed face-side down.

Quickly I bent over, grabbing and putting it in my coat pocket.

“Hi.” I smiled. “I was just dropping off the pastries and coffee for the hospitality room.”

“Hi, Spencer.” Camey had a big smile on her face. “Can I interest you in a freshly baked piece of Roxy’s special praline cake and a cup of coffee to warm you?”

“I’ll leave you two.” I gave a slight wave and ignored Spencer’s glare.

“If Walker comes back, I’m going to need that photo.” Camey called after me. My heart sank. What on earth was I going to say to Spencer when he showed up at the coffeehouse wanting to see that photo.

Eight

Louise Carlton stood at the front of the lit Christmas tree in the gazebo at Christmas in the Park with a clipboard in her hands. The participants of the Christmas Pawrade were to line up along the outside of the park on the other side of the fence once you’d checked in with her.

Sassy and Pepper looked so cute with their Christmas sweaters on. The parade route was to start at the back of the park and go along Main Street, back around the park before going into the park forming a big circle around the gazebo where Louise would give a speech.

Most of the animals were dogs. There were a few cats on leashes and some that I’d recognized from them getting adopted from the co-op between the Pet Palace and The Bean Hive.

“How’s it going?” I asked Mom before I went to check in with Louise.

“Great. I thought the whole thing with Otis was going to hurt business, but it hasn’t. Though I did hear some rumblings that Otis had been killed in his shop, so you need to be careful.” She used the towel from over her shoulder to clean a table where a couple had just gotten up.

Mom headed back to the counter and helped a customer while Sassy, Pepper and me stood there for a second. “I love Patrick. I do and I appreciate the fact that he wants to throw me a financial bone and doesn’t want the mother-in-law in your basement.”

“Basement?” I loved my mom, but she sometimes just confused me.

“Yeah. He wants me to list the Odd Ink as his realtor and how on earth am I going to sell a business where the last owner was murdered?” Mom reminded me that she just said the police believed Otis was murdered at his shop and placed under the tree.

My mind reeled with the thought that I was right. Whoever killed Otis wanted the entire community to see that he wasn’t the kind man that everyone thought. I was even beginning to buy into my theory because it was apparent that Otis had lied to me about being diabetic when he went to the hotel and scarfed down some cookies. Why would he lie to me?

The line in the Christmas booth wasn’t dying down.

“Do you need some help?” I asked Mom.

“Nah.” She brushed me off. “I’ve got it. You better go get the dogs registered.”

I looked at the time and it was about ten minutes until the Christmas Pawrade. We headed on over to Louise.

“Anyone for Felix yet?” she asked with concern.

“No. I thought I had a good candidate but I was way off.” I offered a sympathetic smile but didn’t have the heart to tell her that Felix was hiding in my Christmas tree.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with all the volunteers that are walking some of the Pet Palace residents today. I’m hoping for a big adoption.” She looked over my shoulder. “See all those kids out there.”

I turned around. The kid booths were filled. There was a face painting booth, another one with a baby pool filled with ducks as well as some other fun games. There were clusters of parents gathered and laughing, all of them with some treat from my booth or a caramel apple from Jean’s booth.

“All of those families could potentially find a pet for their child as a gift from Santa.” Louise had so much hope in her voice.

“Even if only one gets adopted, you’re doing an amazing job. Look at that line of animals lined up to walk in the Pawrade. Most of them came from you pairing them with the right family.”

Louise had a warm heart and a gentle soul. The more I thought about it, I realized most of Honey Springs citizens had that same personality and it was why I loved living here so much.

“Let’s hope some of these animals get a home for Christmas.” She let go of a deep breath and used her pen to mark on the piece of paper on the clipboard. “You’re all ready to join the rest.”

“I’ll keep you posted on Felix. Someone is going to love that little guy.” I tugged on the leashes and the dogs hopped to their feet.

We trotted over just in time for the Pawrade to start. I’d filled my coat pockets with Gingerbread Mischief treats and handed them out along the route to people who had animals not walking in the Pawrade. Of course Pepper wanted everyone along the route to pat him while Sassy didn’t give anyone the time of day.

There were some people cheering and a lot of barking. There were so many cute animal costumes. Louise was behind me and handed out the brochures she’d made up about Pet Palace and how to adopt. She’d even put in there the information about the co-op with The Bean Hive.

“If I can have everyone’s attention.” Louise had a volunteer set up the cages around the gazebo of the animals that were up for adoption and had walked in the Pawrade.

Each cage had a photo of the animal and all of their particular information.

“I’m Louise Carlton and I own and operate Pet Palace. I’m so happy that you’ve come out and taken part in the adoption and fundraiser for this year’s event. I’d like to remind everyone that all the animals you see here,” she gestured to the cages, “are in need of a good home. What better time of the year to open your heart than at Christmas. All of these animals give unconditional love and will be an added addition to your loving families.”

“That was so good,” I said to Louise when she got finished with her speech and her information about Pet Palace and how they operate. “There’s even an adoption going on.” I pointed over to the table where she’d wrangled Aunt Maxi to sit and get the adoption papers ready.

“Thank you for putting together the Gingerbread Mischief goody bags for all the adoptions.” She must’ve seen the expression on my face. “Your aunt Maxi has a bunch of boxes from The Bean Hive and I just assumed you did them.”

“It was all her.” I gave her the credit for something I knew nothing about. “I’ll let you know about Felix.”

I headed on over to the adoption table.

“Isn’t this just fabulous?” Aunt Maxi asked. “We are having so many animals going home today.”

“It is a good cause.” And just as if I’d asked a favor from God, Brother Mitchell was standing right there in front of me.

“It is a good cause, Brother Mitchell.” I took a happy, deep breath and put my hand on his arm. “Come on over to my booth. I’ve got a free cup of coffee and dessert you’re going to love.”

“Since you’ve come to town, I’ve gained about ten pounds from all the members bringing me treats on Sunday.” He laughed.

“You won’t have to worry too much about that now that I’m closed for the winter season on Sundays. But I do want to ask you about Otis Peavler.”

When we made it to the booth, Mom was busy with other customers and I wanted to be sure that I kept Brother Mitchell’s attention so I helped him myself. I even found the biggest slice of the praline cake to give him.

“It is terrible about Otis.” He tsked and accepted the coffee.

“Can you tell me what volunteer services need to be filled now that he’s gone?” It was the best way I could put it instead of asking what Otis did.

“Volunteer services?” Brother Mitchell looked at me.

“Didn’t Otis spend the day at the church volunteering after Sunday service? Or did I make that up in my head?” I asked and handed him a napkin.

“Oh no. There’s no volunteering on the Sabbath. After services I like to clear out the church and let everyone enjoy their day off. It’s in the Bible you know. Or you would know if you came to church more often.” He eyeballed me through the steam rising out of his cup as he took a drink.

I let his comment slide on over me like the light breeze that was pushing the snow into the booth.

“Since I was mistaken about his services on Sunday, what did he volunteer for?” I asked.

“I can’t recall him really volunteering for anything. Sometimes he’d show up for church and sometimes he didn’t. Otis was a very quiet man. He kept to himself a lot when he first moved here. Not that I agree with Juanita Anderson not coming to church, I do agree that she did him good by getting him out of that shop and house. But now we have to trust he’s with the Lord.”

“Mm hmmm.” I gnawed on the inside of my cheek and wondered exactly who was Otis Peavler. . .really. Where was he on Sundays when he claimed to be at church and volunteering? He sure did a good job using the God excuse to cover up whatever it was that got him killed.

Nine

“How was it?” Bunny asked when Pepper and I walked through the door after the Pawrade.

“Great. I think that there were a lot more adoptions than Louise had anticipated,” I said.

Pepper went straight for the bed in front of the fire and happily took some rubs from customers sitting on the couch as they sipped their drinks. I hung my coat up in exchange for an apron and headed straight to the glass counter to see what needed to be refilled.

“That’s wonderful.” She pointed to the tree. “Did you notice it’s lit up?”

“Felix,” I let out a sigh and looked over at his cage. “Where is he?”

“That nice young man that came in the other morning came in and Felix immediately climbed out of the tree. Now he’s curled up under the tree in the back.” She grabbed a towel from behind the counter.

“The guy that helped me take the coffee and treats to Camey?” I asked.

“Yes. He came in here looking for you.” Bunny wiped clean a recently vacated table. “I told  him that you were at the Christmas in the Park Pawrade, but he didn’t seem interested. He just said that he wanted to thank you for the hospitality and he was leaving town. That his business was done here.”

“Business was done here?” My eyes lowered. “Did he say what business?” I rubbed my hand to my back pocket where I’d forgotten all about that photo.

“Nope. I didn’t ask. Wasn’t my business,” she muttered.

“Since when has something not been your business?” If I knew one thing for sure in all of this Otis mess, Bunny Bowowski loved a good gossip session and I’d bet all the money I’d already made this morning that she’d packed a tale or two while I was gone.

“Just because you’re my boss doesn’t mean you can talk out of school, young lady,” she scolded me, letting me know that I’d been disrespectful to my elder.

That’s one thing I did love about Bunny. She kept the good southern girl manners alive and well.

The bell over the door dinged. Juanita and a man walked into the coffeehouse. Juanita seemed to be explaining something to him and he nodded in response. She looked up and caught my eye, giving me a slight wave. She put her hand on the man and he smiled at me as they walked up to the counter.

Out of the corner of my eye, Bunny was taking it all in for later use.

“Roxy,” she padded up to the counter, “I had to bring Sheldon by and introduce you.”

“Hi, Roxy. I’m Juanita and Otis’s son.” He put his hand out and I shook it.

“Oh, I had no idea y’all had a child. It’s so nice to meet you.” You could’ve picked me up off the floor.

“Not really his son, but Otis did treat him like one and did everything with Sheldon as a father would do since Sheldon’s father passed when Sheldon was five.” She looked at her son with pride.

“Yes. I called Otis dad and everything I know today he taught me.” His lips curled together and he hugged his mom. My heart hurt for them. “I’m here to not only support my mom but figure out what happened to him. I can’t get a single answer out of the police department.”

“Can you believe that Spencer just keeps telling me that they are working on it and since we weren’t married, he can’t tell me anything.” She choked back the tears that lined her eyelids.

“Sometimes the law just sucks.” I shook my head and did the only thing I knew that would bring some warm comfort. “Here, let me get y’all a cup of my Christmas Harvest brew and I’ve got some hearty chicken soup that’ll warm you to your toes.”

“That sounds good.” Juanita looked at Sheldon.

“Yeah. I’d love some.” His eyes lit up.

“Why don’t you take a seat next to the Christmas tree and I’ll bring it right over.” The less they had to do and the more I could do, really made me feel much better.

I headed back into the kitchen and took out a couple of clay bowls that were bigger than the coffeehouse bowls we used to serve the Soul Harvest Chicken Soup in because I really wanted Juanita and her son to get a big helping of love. I put their bowls on an antique silver tray that I’d gotten from Wild and Whimsy along with two big pieces of torn off bread that would be perfect for sopping up the juices and headed out to the coffeehouse.

“Thank you for being so kind to Mama.” Sheldon was along at the table when I got there. “A lot of people look down on Mama and Otis for what they call living in sin. That’s why Mama never went to church with Otis. She said the people didn’t like the fact that he didn’t marry her, but me and Mama, we didn’t care.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why people should care so much about that. Otis loved your mama. He came in here every day and talked about her. So don’t you mind what others think.” I knew my words weren’t that enlightening, but maybe they made him feel somewhat better. “You’re going to love this soup. You let me know what I can do for Juanita. I’m happy to help where I can.”

“I do have one question.” His eyes dipped. “Do you have any idea who’d want to do this to him?”

I shook my head.

“I’ve heard that you’re real good at looking into these types of things and we just want justice for him.” He sniffed and bit his bottom lip. “We just can’t wrap our heads around this. And at Christmas time.”

I put my hand on his shoulder for what little comfort I could give. He placed his hand on top of mine and gave it a squeeze.

“I don’t know. I wish I did. I’m not real good at these things, just a wee-bit nosy due to the fact that I was a lawyer and it’s sorta in me to try and figure it out. As far as I can tell, there’s no reason. We have tourists here all the time and I can’t figure out if it was something gone wrong at Odd Ink and someone hurt him. I just don’t know.” I took a step back when Juanita came back to the table.

“I just love what you’ve done here. Honey Springs needed this. Not a coffeehouse, but you. The light and love and warmth you’ve provided our little town is amazing and I can see why Otis loved to come here every day.” Juanita’s words were a comfort to me and it only fueled me more to find out what happened to Otis Peavler.

“Do you mind if I make a few calls in the back?” I asked Bunny. The coffeehouse was full and I didn’t want to leave her all alone.

“Hello,” Aunt Maxi chirped and let the cool air whisk through the front door as she made her grand entrance. “Just hear those sleigh bells ringlin’, jing, jing, jinglin’,” she stopped singing when she noticed Juanita sitting at the table.

“I’ll be just fine.” Bunny smiled knowing Aunt Maxi was going to provide her with some entertainment, not to mention some more good gossip.

I watched as Aunt Maxi walked over to Juanita before I went back to the kitchen to make sure everything was going to be fine. When Aunt Maxi gave Juanita a hug, I let out a deep sigh of relief. Not that Aunt Maxi would’ve made a scene, but she had a way of sticking her foot in her mouth and now was not the time.

Pepper came back into the kitchen with me and munched on a Gingerbread Mischief while I downloaded the Uber app on my phone. It was a simple four step process that would’ve been easy for Otis to use. But why did he use Uber?

I put in the address for Central Park and decided to use the Uber to take more treats to the booth and check this out for myself. The app told me my ride would be here in seven minutes. With only about five to get items together and meet the driver at the end of the boardwalk, I threw some treats in the to-go bag and headed inside the coffeehouse.

“I’m going to grab these two carafes to take to Mom down at the booth. Can you make some new ones up?”  There was no way I could brew a couple carafes before five minutes.

“I’m on it.” She hurried over to the counters and started to do what I asked. “I’ll keep Pepper too.”

“Perfect.” I’d not thought about Uber and pets. It’d be a good question to ask though.

“Roxy, honey.” Aunt Maxi stopped me on the way out. The roots of her new silver do were starting to show. “Can you tell me who came in and bought some of your Christmas coffee bean bark?” She took a box out of her purse.

My eyes slid over her shoulder and focused on Juanita when I realized it was the same box of bark I’d given her. I’d know that fancy holiday box from anywhere.

“I’m telling you, if you’re not my Secret Santa, then someone who comes here a lot is.” She shook the box to grab my attention.

“Ummm. . .” My lips jerked side-to-side. “I don’t know. I sell so much of that stuff.” I held the bags and carafes in the air. “I’ve got to go.”

“But I need to know who’s my. . .”

I didn’t leave any room for Aunt Maxi to ask any more questions. Not only was I running out of time to catch that Uber, I didn’t like the thoughts running through my head. Why was Juanita giving Aunt Maxi the treats I’d left with her? Juanita wasn’t in the Secret Santa exchange, but Otis was.

“Oh my gawd.” I gasped when I got into the Uber car that was waiting at the end of the boardwalk. “She told me that Otis just loved Aunt Maxi and thought she was the prettiest thing. Did she give Aunt Maxi the hair dye in hopes he wasn’t attracted to Aunt Maxi? Was he attracted to Aunt Maxi?”

“Listen lady.” The Uber driver turned around. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m on limited time because I’m the only Uber driving in Honey Springs. So no chit-chat because I ain’t got the time.”

“You’re the only Uber driver?” I asked.

“Yes, ma’am.” He called me ma’am and he’s much older than me. Maybe the stress of all these murders was starting to show on my face even though I’m only in my twenties.

“So you pick up everyone in Honey Springs?” I asked.

“Yes, ma’am. If I’m the only one.” His smart-assed comment didn’t go unnoticed.

“A friend of mine used your service a lot.” I thought I’d ease into the questioning about Otis. “Unfortunately, he’s passed.”

“Passed? As in dead?” He looked at me from his rear-view mirror.

“Yes. Otis Peavler. Do you remember him?” I asked.

“Ah man.” The driver shook his head. “He’s a great man. We talked all about tats and compared ours. I even told him I was going to come get some ink from him. He seemed like he was in good health. A little old, but good health, man.”

“He was murdered.” My words made him slam his brakes. I grabbed the seat so I didn’t go head first into the front seat.

“Murdered?” He turned around in his seat. “Who on earth did it?”

“I don’t know. I’m his lawyer and I’m working on his case.” If I played the lawyer getting justice card, I might get some information from him. “So you actually got to take him to see Juanita?” I asked.

“Yeah. And the grocery store. I mean at first I was a little upset because he took so long, but after I realized he was having a hard time seeing and the doctor had taken his license, I felt bad. Then I started going into the grocery with him.” He turned around and started to drive again.

“That’s so kind of you.” How did I not know his eyesight was bad? Him losing his license? Did Juanita know?

“Then he got into that big fight with Juanita and I was glad when they started seeing each other again, because he was miserable.” He pulled up in front of the park.

“Do you mind going over by the Christmas tree stand on the other side? I’d hate to try and carry all this way over there.” It really didn’t bother me, but it did buy me more time with this guy. “I had no idea they’d broken up.”

Yet, another reason Juanita might’ve killed him.

“Yeah. Juanita is a little bit jealous and he really enjoyed that, but when she told him she didn’t want to see him again, it broke his spirit. He loved talking about her and her son.” He shook his head. “Who on earth would do such a thing?”

“You know,” I gathered my things, “I’m working on that. Do you mind if I take down your phone number in case I’ve got a few questions where you might be able to help out?”

“Yeah. Sure.” He nodded and flipped me a business card with his cell number on it. “I work a night job, so you can reach me during the day.”

“Sounds good.” I looked at his card and found his name. “Thanks, Ricky.” I slipped it in my back pocket and got out of the car.

“Thank you.” He rolled down the window. “Please let me know what you find out.”

“I will.” I couldn’t believe my luck. Had I just made a break in the case? Why did Juanita and Otis break up? Love makes people do funny things and if Juanita felt like he was going to stray with Aunt Maxi because she saw him as her husband and a dad to her son, I could see her getting all crazy mad. But mad enough to kill him and drag him to the tree?

Ten

“Ho, ho, ho. I hear you’ve been a good girl.” A candy cane popped in front of my face from behind me. “You deserve a candy cane.”

“Look at you.” I gently tugged on Patrick’s fake white Santa beard. “You’re so sweet to do this for all the kids.”

“Well, Loretta is out of the hospital and back to barking orders.” His eyes were still kind and gentle under the disguise. “And she had the biggest hissy fit when she found out that I hadn’t been doing the Santa thing, but I thought we’d give it a couple of days to let the murder of Otis settle before I jumped up there where he laid and make some happy ho, ho’s.”

“Is she here?” I asked and looked around.

“She was. You better watch it, she might be lurking in the tree lot waiting to pounce.” He gave a big ho, ho laugh when a child walked by, playing the part perfectly. “Let Santa help you with those big coffee pots.”

The little boy was in awe of Patrick. . . um Santa.

“Do you think you can help Santa carry this lovely lady’s bag?” Patrick asked the little boy, who looked up at his mom. When she gave the nod, the little boy smiled and took one of the goody bags from me. “I even bet this nice lady has a sweet treat for you if it’s okay with  your mom.”

“It’s fine.” The mom’s lips pinched in a smile and her eyes twinkled when she noticed how proud her little boy looked.

The four of us headed over to the booth where Mom was waiting.

“Thank you, Santa.” Mom was good at playing the part up too. “Who is your helper?”

“I’m Bobby.” The little boy smiled at Mom. “Santa said there might be a treat in there.”

“Bobby,” his mother scolded him.

“Yes we do.” Mom pulled out a couple of Santa Kisses and put them in a The Bean Hive paper bag. She handed it to his mom. “I’ll let your mom give them to you.”

“Santa is going to go sit in his chair to see what other little boys and girls want for Christmas.” Patrick bent down to Bobby’s level. “Would you like to come over and sit on Santa’s lap and tell me what you’d like for Christmas?”

Bobby’s head drew up and down fast.

Santa gave me a little wink and took Bobby by the hand.

“Move it, Santa,” the more than usual tan and abnormally tall elf snapped a finger, “I don’t have time for all this lolly-gagging,” Loretta said.

Her short black hair was stuck under the pointy green and white elf hat with fake pointy white ears jutting up toward the falling snow.

“Maybe you should go over to the face painting and paint the ears the same color as your skin.” My suggestion was met with a glare. “I’m glad to see you back on your feet.”

“Thank you,” her “you” sounded more like “ewwwee”.

That’s the thing with southerners. We take a one syllable word and turn it into two or three. Especially Low-retta.

“I’m gonna make sure this thing’s a hit because I want to remain president. So what little time I needed to recover from seeing a dead body, I’ve got to make up for and you and Patrick playing house right here in territory ain’t gonna cut it.” She gave her warning, then switched her disposition like a well-mannered southern woman. “About the treats you gave me. They were delicious and I ate every one. Well,” she winked. “I might’ve given one to the doctor to bribe him to let me out. So I’m gonna need to come by the coffeehouse to get some to take to him because he did love them.”

“You know what,” I suggested, “I’ll get some sent over to him with a thank you note from you so you don’t have to worry about leaving here.”

“You are a dear, Roxy Bloom.” She scurried off toward the gazebo. The bells on the tips of her shoes jingled. She put her arms in the air. “Everyone Santa is back! Let’s sing. Dashing through the snow in a one horse,” she sang along with all the kids in the line.

Patrick swayed his two pointer fingers in the air as though he was conducting them before he sat down in the chair and got situated before the next kid ran up into his lap.

“Isn’t he adorable?” I asked Mom as I watched Santa take all of the children’s Christmas list in his ear.

“You two are adorable. When am I going to be a mother-in-law?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I thought a spring wedding would be pretty.” It was the flowers in the spring that made Honey Springs so beautiful. In fact, Central Park had the best layout of colors and the gazebo would be a perfect place to pledge our love in front of the town and community we love. That was a secret I was going to keep until I talked to Patrick about it. He’d be over the moon. He wanted to get married the second after I said yes a few months ago.

A very happy sigh escaped Mom.

“So what’s new?” She eyed me and turned up the electric heater that was hooked to the top of the tent. “You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind.”

“You could always tell.” I walked over to the fireplace and put in some more of those pellets to keep it going. The snow was starting to fall at a good rate, which only added to the excitement of the season. And seeing Patrick up there with all those kids made me fall even more in love with him if that was possible.

“Well? Are you going to share?” She pushed a Santa Kiss in front of my face.

“Yes.” I took it and a big bite. “Don’t get mad, but I just can’t let the Otis Peavler murder go. I was just in an Uber and the driver had been driving Otis around the last few months because Otis’s license was taken away due to poor vision.”

“At least there’s Uber for the elderly and they aren’t shut-ins without rides.” Mom always looked on the bright side.

“I’m not saying that, what I’m saying is that someone killed him and the Uber driver said that Otis and Juanita had broken up, plus Brother Mitchell said that Otis never volunteered at the church.”

“I’m not following.” Her brows knitted together.

“Never mind.” I stuffed the cookie in my mouth. “I’ve got to check something out. I’ll see you later.” I gave Mom a quick kiss on the cheek and rushed across the park while grabbing my phone and Ricky’s business card.

“Hey, Ricky,” I said when his answering machine picked up. “It’s Roxy Bloom, the lawyer who you gave a ride to Central Park today in your Uber. Can you call me? I have a couple of questions about Otis Peavler.”

I looked down the sidewalk in the direction of the boardwalk.

“You better walk fast,” I said to myself when I realized I didn’t plan this whole trip out so well. Walking back to the coffeehouse in the snow never entered my mind. I couldn’t tell Patrick because he’d stop playing Santa and Mom couldn’t shut down the booth. So hoofing it in the snow was my only option.

The cool brisk walk really did help clear my head. I’d even thought that everyone was right. I wasn’t a detective and I didn’t have any place sticking my nose into something that didn’t need me. My life was good. I had an amazing fiancé, a great fur-sidekick, my mom lived here, Aunt Maxi was here, and the coffeehouse was my passion. If I was still a lawyer and Otis had been a client like I was treating it, then maybe. I was going to have to accept the fact that he was a friend.

After trying to catch a few snowflakes on my tongue, I knew it was time to call Spencer and let him in all the details.

“This is Spencer,” he answered like he didn’t know it was me.

“Hi Spencer.” I couldn’t miss the audible sigh on the other end. “Listen, why don’t you come by the coffeehouse in about five minutes. I’ve got some information I think you need to know about Otis Peavler and I’m not going to look into it anymore.”

“Are you sure this is Roxy Bloom?” There was a hint of sarcasm. “Because if it is, you might be under caffeinated.”

“You’re a funny one. I’ll see you in five.” I hit the end call button and stuck the phone back in my pocket.

The little bit of snow didn’t make people stay in. The coffeehouse was buzzing and poor Bunny looked frazzled. Her grey-haired bob that was normally neatly parted at the side was now parted side-goggling and her apron looked like it hadn’t been laundered in months, not to mention her usual waddle had gone to a sluggish walk.

“Your aunt Maxi left me alone. There are customers in here that want a frappie this, a latte that, non-whip, light whip, fat free something or other.” She rolled her eyes. “What happened to good old Folgers?” Her voice escalated.

“Let me help you.” I got into my coffee mode and realized this would’ve never happened if I’d not spent so much time chasing after leads when that was the job of Spencer and the police.

Bunny walked around and took a few orders on a piece of paper while I started to get them ready. This was the time that I needed to hire a true barista to help out. Though it gave Bunny some social time at her age, I couldn’t get rid of her and I wasn’t at a point to where I could hire a true barista.

The door chimed and I looked up as I was spraying some whip on a pumpkin spiced latte when in walked Spencer and Emily together.

“I’m so happy to see you.” My heart flipped.

“Really?” Spencer asked.

“No,” I shook my head and gestured him to move. “Her. Emily. You’re home for Christmas?”

“Yes. And I’ve got so much to tell you about what all I’ve learned.” She looked so happy.

“Great. I want to hear all about it, but put an apron on and help me.” It was my way of asking for help and offering her a place to hang during the day while she was home.

“You have no idea how much I was hoping you’d need help over the next week.” It was like she never stopped working here. She put on an apron, washed her hands and picked up right where she left off.

There was no explaining what needed to be done. She simply took one look at Bunny’s list and immediately had the espresso machine going, beans grinding and whip spraying. It was sheer delight.

“I’ll be right back.” I held my finger up to Spencer after my phone rang and I saw it was Ricky.

“Hi, Ricky,” I pushed through the kitchen door.

The chalkboard was right there when I eased down on one of the stools that was up against the working steel island in the middle of the kitchen. I couldn’t stop myself from looking at it and all of Juanita’s points about Otis, Brother Mitchell’s account of Otis, and Walker the stranger, not to mention all the lies that Otis had told me.

“I’ve got a question.” No matter how much I told my inner self to just hang up and thank him for calling back but I didn’t need anything, I couldn’t do it. “Did you ever take Otis anywhere on Sundays?”

“That was our busiest day.” He chuckled. “I’d take him to the grocery store like I said. I started to go in and help him because he was having trouble finding Jergens and Depends under garments. Plus he was having trouble packing all those bottles of Ensure.”

“He was in Depends and drinking Ensure? He just seemed so healthy.” Confusion stumbled around in my brain.

“Listen, I’ve got to go. I’ve got an Uber client.” The ding of the door from his end of the phone signaled someone had gotten into his car.

“Do you have anyone to fill Otis’s time slot tomorrow?” I asked and looked up when someone had pushed through the kitchen door. Spencer.

“Nope,” he gave a one answer word.

I brought my chin down to my shoulder and whispered into the phone, “Then can I have your entire time slot? Pick me up at the church like you did Otis.”

“Sounds good. I’m not going to give you a discount like I did him though.” He clicked off before I was even allowed to protest. Not that I would have.

“So this is where all the magic is made.” Spencer looked around and stopped when he saw the chalkboard. “This is where you do all of your CSI work.”

“Oh that.” I pish-poshed it and dragged it across the table, sitting sideways against the table leg.

“What was it that you needed to tell me so urgently I just had to get here?” His brows arched.

“Did you know that Otis’s license was taken away?” I asked.

“Yes. I think I’ve got all of Otis’s medical and personal history all figured out.” He gave a flat-grin. “But there’s something you’re not telling me.”

I had to give him something.

“Fine. When I went to see Juanita the other day, she mentioned that Otis thought Aunt Maxi was the bee’s knees. He just thought she was the prettiest and nicest thing in the world. Aunt Maxi has been getting some interesting things from her Secret Santa. Items from here that I know Otis had purchased and then she got that awful hair dye.” I rolled my eyes.

“I did notice the tinsel colored hair, but I figured it was just Maxi and her unusual style habits.” He was right. Aunt Maxi had her own way of dressing and didn’t give two hoots what anyone thought.

“Remember the box of Christmas Coffee Bark I gave Juanita, well Aunt Maxi brought that in too and said her Secret Santa gave it to her. I know it was the same because I used a special box. Juanita isn’t part of the group that’s doing the Secret Santa but Otis was.” I had to wrap it up because I could see he wasn’t following me and was getting antsy. “Do you think Juanita got jealous of Otis having Aunt Maxi and out of an argument, she killed him?”

“If Juanita didn’t have a solid alibi, I’d say you might have something, but I’m afraid you’re right about the Secret Santa thing. Otis was Maxi’s and she didn’t want Maxi to go without a gift.” He smiled, planted flat palms on the table and pushed himself up to stand. “And I did want you to know that Otis wasn’t diagnosed as diabetic. So I’ve not figured that part of the puzzle out. Just in case you were wondering.”

“Can I interest you in a free coffee since it’s so cold out?” I couldn’t get him out of the kitchen fast enough.

“Thanks, but I’m all coffee-ed out today.” He nodded. He reached in his coat pocket and pulled out a newspaper. He slid it across the table. “Otis Peavler’s obit. I thought I’d bring you a copy.”

I picked it up and he headed out the door.

“You just couldn’t do it could you.” I leaned back on the edge of the table and crossed my arms across my chest. “Still gotta keep your nose in it.” I stared at Otis’s photo in the paper.

Right then, I vowed that after tomorrow and the big secret of where Otis spent his Sundays with Ricky and going to the grocery might spur some sort of idea on what it was that Otis was keeping from the world.

Eleven

“You’re just a breath of fresh air,” I said as I watched Emily in the kitchen of the coffeehouse.

Her brown hair was swept back into a ponytail and her dainty hands kneaded and rolled the Santa Kiss cookie dough like she were playing a instrument. Her motions were fluid and precise—a dance like that normally took years to learn while in pastry school. Emily Rich was talented beyond her years.

“I’m so glad to be here.” She looked over at me with her bright eyes and cheerful spirit. “I have to tell you that in class my professor was very impressed with my skills. You know, it’s all because you let me work here last year.”

“No.” I shook my head. “You were so talented before I even got you to grind the beans.”

“But you let me have full control of the kitchen.” She stopped, her fingers deep in the dough. “I discovered something about myself while I’ve been gone.”

Her face stilled. Her bottom lip began to quiver.

“What’s wrong?” I jerked the towel off my shoulder and wiped them off before I rushed over and gave her a hug.

“I love having the opportunity to go to school and how you’ve stuck your neck out to get my father to jump on board with me following my dream, but,” her voice cracked, “my dream is to just open a bakery here in Honey Springs. The Bee’s Knees Bakery.”

“I’m a lawyer.” My head tilted and I gave her a sympathetic smile. “I completely get the way you’re feeling. You truly don’t have to go to a fancy school to open a bakery.”

“My dad will probably never go for it.” She rolled her eyes and went back to the cookies. “Besides, it’d take forever to build a building and that takes money which my family does not have.”

“Emily,” I gasped. “What if you took over the Odd Ink space next door? You have the bakery while I have the coffeehouse.”

“Is it for sale?” There was a little hope in her tone.

“As a matter of fact,” I wiggled my ring finger in the air, “I just might know the owner and my mom might just be the realtor.”

“How much?” Her shoulders slumped.

“I don’t know, they’ve yet to put it on the market because there’s an issue.” I was reluctant to tell the eighteen-year-old that Otis was murdered in the shop.

“What? Plumbing? Electrical?” she asked in her sweet innocent voice.

“Well, something a little more complicated.” I gnawed on my lip. Then I just blurted it out. “Otis was killed there.”

“Ohhh.” Her lips formed an O and she placed the dough on the tray without looking at me. “That’s okay. Maybe I can use that to get a better deal.”

“You are going to make it in this life.” I shook my head knowing that if the whole murder thing didn’t scare her away, then nothing in this world was going to keep her from being successful.

“Then I’ll stop by your dad’s and put a bug in his ear. And I’ll say something to Patrick.” I grabbed the ground can of Christmas Harvest blend and headed out of the kitchen into the coffeehouse.

Bunny took the can from me while I walked around and greeted some of the customers. It was always good to spend some time getting to know more of the community than just the few regulars.

After I talked to everyone in the shop, I stood in the front and looked around. I walked out the door and walked over to Odd Ink. There didn’t seem to be anything going on in there anymore. The crime scene tape had been taken down and it appeared the papers had been picked up off the floor.

I ran my hands up and down my arms to chase away the chill from not wearing a coat and tucked my hands in my back pockets on my way back to the coffeehouse. Besides my phone, I felt the photo Walker had left at Cocoon.

I pulled it out and took a look at it.

“Just because a stranger came to town and Otis ended up murdered, doesn’t make him a suspect,” I said to the photo as if the woman was going to talk back to me and tell me who Walker was to her and why he had her photo and why he’d left Honey Springs so quickly. “This is what law school did to you, Roxanne Bloom,” I talked to myself.

The coffeehouse was nice and warm when I went back inside.

“You’re going to catch a cold,” Bunny warned. “What were you doing out there?”

“I was seeing what was going on next door.” I put the photo back in my pocket before she noticed and asked me about it. “It seems like the police have cleared the scene.”

“Spencer came by here and got a cup of coffee after they all left from over there. Of course I asked him who killed Otis, but he didn’t give me no answer.” Her nose curled. “Since Emily is here, do you care if I go on home? This cold weather gets so deep in my bones and gives me a little creak here and there.”

“Sure.” I nodded, even if Emily wasn’t here, I’d have been happy to be here by myself. “Since tomorrow is Sunday and we aren’t open, why don’t you start coming in around ten or eleven instead of so early?”

“You trying to get rid of me?” She gave me the wonky eye.

“Heck no. I just want you to be happy and healthy.” I hugged her and she squeezed me back.

“We’ll see how I feel in the mornings.” She pulled back.

“Sounds good to me. Do you need a ride home?” I asked.

“Listen here, honey, I’m old but I can still drive.” She wasn’t going to let me get away with treating her as her age.

“Bunny Bowowski, I hope I’m just like you when I’m your age.” I gave her one last hug before I sent her on her way.

Later that afternoon while Emily insisted I leave for the day and let her lock up, though I believe she really wanted me to hurry up and talk to her father because she couldn’t stop talking about opening The Bee’s Knees Bakery, which just so happened to be an adorable name and the perfect addition to Honey Springs.

Using Emily as an excuse was a perfect reason to go see Evan Rich. It’d get me in the door to question him about Otis and Odd Ink, but not without a bag of Santa Kisses and a cup of Christmas Harvest blend.

“Roxy,” Evan Rich stood in his office, his voice echoed off the concrete floor of Honey Springs National Bank. “Come on in.”

He waved me in his office.

“I didn’t forget y’all.” On my way to his office I handed the girls behind the teller line their very own bag of treats.

There was a big Christmas tree in the middle of the open bank and a black grand piano next to it. The pianist played light Christmas carols that drifted throughout the bank.

“Please give your pianist a cookie.” I nodded and headed over to Evan’s office that was constructed of glass.

“Don’t tell me that Emily is already driving you crazy?” he asked and rubbed his bald head.

“No. The opposite.” I handed him the coffee.

“Thank you, Roxy.” Before he took a sip, he stopped and said, “I get a funny feeling that this is some sort of buttering me up coffee visit.”

“You’ve gotten to know me well,” I joked. “As a matter of fact I’m here to ask you about Otis Peavler. I’m assuming since you’re the only bank in Honey Springs, that he did all his banking here.”

“He did.” He nodded. “And I heard you might be doing some snooping around.”

“I guess my reputation precedes me.” I laughed and sat down on the edge of the chair in front of his desk. “Is there anything you can tell me that might help me figure out just why someone would want to kill him?”

He sat down in his chair and eased back. He stared at me for a minute. His eyes glazed over top my shoulders before he looked at me again.

“Every month Otis came in here and got out five-thousand dollars in cash. I’m not happy that I started to nose around a bit when I took over my position because I was curious. His house was paid off. His business was paid off. He did rent from Cane Construction, but he’s always had a thriving business. He had no credit cards and from what I knew of him in the community, he lived a pretty simple life.” He leaned up to his desk and started tapping on the keyboard of his computer. “He’s been doing it for years. So unless he’s hoarding five thousand a month, I have no idea what that money was for.”

He clicked a few more times before the printer went off from the credenza behind him. He plucked the papers from the top of the printer and rolled his wheeled desk chair back to face me. He put the papers on his desk and reached for the ink pen in the marble pen holder that proudly had his name etched on the front.

“Here.” He circled something on the paper. I leaned forward. “Here, here, and here are just four months. Just this month, it changed to six thousand.”

“Five thousand dollars. Six thousand?” I repeated to myself all four times he’d circled from the bank statement Otis had printed off. “Is that the grocery?” I pointed out the weekly charges.

“Yes. If you stare at this long enough and analyze it, you’ll notice his routine doesn’t change much.” He flipped the page. “Let’s start at the beginning of this month. The first day of the month the bank is open, he comes in to get the cash. Every Sunday he uses his debit card at the grocery where he spends about the same about every week. This is the month I started to notice he’d been using Uber and when I asked him about it, he said that he liked being chauffeured around. But the price of it?”

“Wow,” my jaw dropped at the amount Otis had been paying Ricky all that money. “Jerk,” I muttered when I suddenly felt that Ricky had taken advantage of Otis.

“Were there any other strange charges?” I asked.

“It looks like he’d been to the doctor a few times up in Lexington. A neurologist. I asked him if he’d been feeling okay and he said he was healthy as a hog.” Evan shrugged. “When I’d heard he’d been murdered, I figured it was a robbery gone bad or something.” He took the papers and ran them through the paper shredder sitting next to the printer. He turned back to his desk, clasped his hands and placed them on top of the desk. “I’m not saying people with tattoos are bad people, or people who want to get tattoos are bad people, I’m only speaking from experience when I got my tattoo. Sometimes the tattoo artist doesn’t do a good job. Otis Peavler was old and probably getting a little shaky or something. The neurologist might’ve said he’d gotten that shaky disease.”

“Parkinson’s?” I wondered if what Evan was saying had any merit. Though I had Otis’s client list from that day, I’d not gone through it, figuring Spencer had.

“Yeah. So what if he messed up a tattoo, someone got mad and offed him?” Evan shrugged a little more with emphasis this time.

“Thanks.” I stood up and almost forgot about Emily. “Oh, Emily would like to rent the Odd Ink space and open her own bakery. I think it’s a great idea. Now that she knows she wants to stay in the area, there’s no reason for you to spend all that money for her to go overseas when she’ll make a great living here.”

“Bakery?” There was a worried look on his face.

“The Bee’s Knees Bakery. I think it has a ring to it.” I smiled and walked to the door, knowing I’d left him a little shaken with that bit of news.

“Rent?” He was only able to spit out single words as his brain wrapped around the Bee’s Knees.

“Yes. Patrick owns the building and since Emily won’t be able to purchase anything right now, I figured we could just rent it to her until she gets the business going and on her feet.” It was a brilliant idea that I’d not thought of until this very moment.

Patrick would be thrilled with the continuing income and I’d love to be there next to her.

“Anyways, Merry Christmas! What better present than to know that you’ve raised an amazing young woman who wants to give back to her community.” I walked out of his office and didn’t look back.

“You should’ve seen his face,” I told Patrick over a glass of wine in front of the fireplace that evening after he and Sassy had come over for supper. “I know that spending a lot of money to send Emily overseas to one of the best pastry schools was a stretch for them, but she’s so talented and she wants to open a bakery here.”

“Honey Springs could use a bakery.” Patrick grabbed the quilt and draped it around us, taking me into his arms. The warmth of the wood burner and the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree was enough Christmas cheer to last me all year long.

“That’s what I was thinking and,” I slightly turned my left shoulder to face him. “Wouldn’t it be great if you rented Odd Ink to her. It’s right next door to the coffeehouse and I can still continue to make my specialties, buy some pastries from her, and she’s already got a business plan.”

“Sure,” he said.

“Really?” My eyes popped open.

“Of course. It’s our property,” he emphasized our. “Me and you are going to be one. There’s a couple of properties I own without the company involved and Odd Ink happens to be one of those.” He kissed the end of my nose. “Besides, I could never say no to you.”

“This is great. I can’t wait to tell her.” I leaned back into him and thought about how great it was going to be to tell her.

“Roxanne Bloom Cane,” he added his last name. “When is that going to happen?”

“Let’s get through the holidays and maybe look at spring.” It was the first time I’d given him a season, though I knew he wanted a date.

“Spring will be beautiful.” He wrapped his arms and the quilt around me.

We enjoyed the silence that took up most of the space in the cabin. Sassy and Pepper’s snoring caused us to laugh.

“Anything new with your snooping?” Patrick asked.

“Do you really want to know?” I asked.

“Of course. I told you I’d look into some things.” He unwrapped his arms when I jerked around to look at him. “All the guys that got tats from him said that he was gentle and good at his job. They said that people came from all over to get a tat from Otis.”

“That opens up the suspect pool to more people.” This wasn’t what I wanted to hear. “But I did talk to Evan about Otis’s bank account. Otis took out five thousand cash at the beginning of each month.”

“So.” Patrick shrugged and he stood up.

“What was he doing with five thousand dollars cash?” I tugged the quilt around me.

“Maybe he pays cash for everything. Five thousand isn’t a ton when you own a house and have bills or a business with bills.” He walked over to the kitchen table and took his coat off the chair.

“Or maybe he was being blackmailed.” It wasn’t a thought I’d had, but I’d seen it in mystery shows before.

“Now your imagination is getting to you.” He shook his head and zipped his coat up. “I’m with Spencer. I think it was a client from out of town that had gotten upset with him, tore up the place to make it look like a theft and put him under the tree so he’d be found.”

“Spencer said all that?” He sure didn’t act like that when he came into the shop today.

“Along those lines.” He patted his hand to his thigh and gave a little whistle.

Sassy’s head and ears jerked up. When she saw Patrick standing at the door, she got up and rushed over.

“So this means that you don’t have to worry about Otis anymore. They obviously have some sort of evidence.” He held his arms out for me and I got up.

The quilt fell around my feet.

“I don’t know. There’s just so many unanswered questions about Otis and how he kept so many things secret.” It was one thing to solve his murder, but the sleuth that I’d become had really gotten me wondering what it was that Otis had been hiding all his life.

“I told you I’d look into it and I did. Now let’s just drop this.” His hands clasped mine and he drew me in for our goodnight kiss. “Seriously, let’s go get married tomorrow.”

I smiled and curled up on my toes, taking in a sweet kiss.

“Don’t forget to turn off the Christmas tree when you go or I’m going to have to tear up these walls and replace all the electric before you have Christmas supper.” Patrick warned before he and Sassy left.

Though I truly wanted to go to bed, I still couldn’t stop thinking about Otis. I’d spent the better part of the next couple of hours curled up next to the wood burner with Pepper in my lap staring at the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree. Though Spencer thought that Otis was murdered by a client with whatever evidence he had, I still couldn’t let go of all the secrets that Otis had.

It wasn’t until I’d thought about where I’d be this time next year that the warm fuzzy of Patrick being with me sent me into a deep and restful sleep.

Twelve

“Praise the Lord, there’s a miracle taking place this Christmas,” Brother Mitchell joked from the front steps leading into the Honey Springs Baptist church. “Roxy Bloom is here.”

“Don’t mind Mitchell,” Jane, his wife, patted him. “Roxy, do you remember our children, Kelly and Kristine?”

The sixteen-year-old twins looked like they’d rather be somewhere different than standing there.

“Do y’all have any plans for your Christmas break?” I asked.

“Nothing so far. Just being with family.” Brother Mitchell spoke for them. “It’s so good to have you here. I bet you’re happy.” He looked directly at Aunt Maxi. She pinched a smile and nodded. “Who’s that man?”

“Roxanne got us something called an Uber today.” Aunt Maxi looked over her shoulder before she curled her lip into a smile. The twins laughed and Brother Mitchell and Jane gave them the parent look. “Said something about the weather getting bad.”

Her comment didn’t go without everyone looking up at the sky. The snow was falling a little heavier, just not sticking to the roads.

“If you only knew.” She smiled and dragged me inside. “You’re paa-thetic," she scolded me. “Coming in here like you really wanted to when I know you’ve got some ulterior motive that I’m not sure of...yet.”

“I said I wanted to take you Christmas shopping.” I shrugged and avoided all eye contact with her.

“Then why didn’t you drive us around. Who is that weirdo?” she asked about Ricky, who I’d had pick me up at the boardwalk and then headed to town to pick Aunt Maxi up.

“I wanted us to have a day of pampering.” I followed her up to the front pew where she took her usual spot.

She wasn’t fooling anyone. And I was sure she wasn’t fooling God by sitting clear up in the front where everyone could see her. Which was what she was going for. No matter how much these gossipy women talked, they figured if they were in church every time the doors opened, they’d be saved from the tall tales they told, true or not.

“It’s strange to have some man driving us around when we can walk anywhere in about ten minutes.” She let out a deep sigh, her shoulders fell from around her ears and she started to read through the bulletin.

During the service, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of the twins. They were sixteen and I wondered if either of them had considered getting a job. Maybe one of them would be the answers to my prayers.

After the hour-long service, I scurried over to the twins.

“Hi, it’s me again.” I remember how strange it was for me when I was a teen and weird women came up to me. “I was wondering if either of you wanted a job. I own The Bean Hive and I’m looking for some part-time help after school.”

“Are you trying to give my job away?” Bunny asked from behind me. “First Emily and now them?”

“No, are you joking?” I rubbed down her arm. “I think that maybe you and I both could use some help. You could start working until the afternoon when school gets out and one of these girls could come and work an afternoon shift to close.”

“I’d love to.” Kelly chimed in. “I love coffee. Kristine doesn’t.”

“Not that I wouldn’t love a job, I don’t think I’d love that job.” Kristine was sweet enough to tell me the truth.

“And you won’t find no better girls than these two,” Bunny agreed.

“Great.” I looked at Kelly. Her blue eyes sparkled at the thought of it. “Why don’t you come see me tomorrow after school.”

“I’m off for break. I can come around lunch,” she suggested.

“Perfect. I’ve got to run, but I’ll see you bright and early.” I hugged Bunny and interrupted Aunt Maxi from gossiping about her Secret Santa.

“Who on earth would give me such a thing.” She snarled and ran her hands down her tinsel hair while she was talking to Alice Dee owner of the Honey Comb, the salon on the boardwalk where we all got our hair done.

“You’ve got to get it off your hair,” Alice warned. “It’s going to make it so dry.”

“It’s already dry.” Aunt Maxi’s lips pressed together. “I was just being nice.”

“You come and see me before Christmas because we can’t have you all dry in them Christmas photos.” Alice fingered through Aunt Maxi’s short hair. Then looking at me, she continued, “You could stand a treatment too. If you keep sticking it up in a ponytail, your hair is gonna break right off.”

“I’ll make an appointment for both of us. Right now, we’ve got to get shopping.” I rushed Aunt Maxi along.

“I think I got me some afternoon help,” I told her on the way of the church. “Kelly, one of the twins, is interested in an afternoon shift.”

“That’d be good. It’d give Bunny some relaxing time.” Aunt Maxi and I got into the car and she slid across to the other side. “I was in there yesterday and she was frazzled to death.”

“Now we are going to the grocery store.” Ricky threw the car in gear.

“Grocery store?” Aunt Maxi jerked back and looked at me.

“Yes. We always went from the church to the grocery store.” Ricky had no idea that I’d roped Aunt Maxi into coming with me so I wasn’t alone in a stranger’s car.

“What’s going on here?” She grabbed the back of the front seat. “Stop this car this instant.”

“We are going to the grocery store and then the nursing home.” Ricky stopped the car and turned around. His eyes were shadowed from the baseball cap he was wearing today.

“Nursing home?” Aunt Maxi screeched and I asked at the exact same time.

“I don’t belong in no nursing home.” She pointed her finger at me and shook it. “I don’t know what kind of shenanigans you are trying to pull here, but I don’t like it one bit.”

“Ricky was the driver for Otis Peavler after Otis lost his license.” It was time to come clean because I knew Aunt Maxi would’ve never gone along with snooping around. “I thought it’d be safer to take someone. Patrick would never like this and Mom would run and tell you, so I just figured.”

“You figured wrong. Take me home this instant.” She flung back into the seat then crossed her arms.

“You don’t feel safe with me?” Ricky questioned.

“Listen, I’m investigating this murder.” I looked between them.

“You’re a coffee maker,” Aunt Maxi reminded me in a flat voice and a face to match.

“I thought you were a lawyer.” Ricky put the car in park. “And that you were helping get justice for Otis.”

“I am a lawyer and I’m a coffee maker,” I gnawed on my lip. My brows furrowed. “And I’m also Otis’s friend. There are many reasons for me to help Spencer solve this.”

“Spencer Shepard?” Ricky asked.

I nodded.

“I’ve got a call from him on my phone about Otis. He said he looked me up by Otis’s phone records. But what’s your story?” he questioned. “And why do you think I’m not safe?”

“I’m a lawyer, only not a practicing one. Otis was my friend and I own The Bean Hive where he came in every day.” I paused.

“Yeah, yeah.” Ricky looked down his nose at me. “He’s brought me some of your treats before. You make some good coffee.”

“Thank you.” I was so glad to hear Otis had talked about my coffee.

“Get on with it.” Aunt Maxi glared.

“Anyway, I have this knack for putting clues together.” I started to tell my story before Aunt Maxi interrupted.

“She has a knack for sticking her nose into places it don’t belong, murder being one of them.” She huffed and puffed up. “I don’t know what you’ve got to do with Otis, but she’s using you for it and I don’t  like her snooping one bit because it’s gonna get her killed.”

There was a knock at the window and we all jumped. Juanita and Sheldon stood next to the car.

“Are y’all alright?” Juanita questioned.

“You need a ride?” Sheldon asked behind her shivering. The snow had fallen much thicker than it’d been all week. “Mama said that we needed to stop and see if y’all were stuck.”

“Oh no.” Aunt Maxi snarled. “We’re trying to figure out what’s going on ourselves, but I’d be mighty grateful if you’d give me a ride to my house while Roxy and Ricky here play Columbo.”

“I love that show,” Juanita said to Sheldon who looked all confused and opened the door for Aunt Maxi to get out. “We can take you home.”

“Well, what’s it going to be?” Ricky looked at me.

“It looks like it’s me and you,” I said and rolled down my window. “I’ll see you later!” I called out to Aunt Maxi.

“Before we go anywhere, I want you to tell me the truth.” Ricky wasn’t about to drive.

After a brief rundown of who I was and how I’d helped Spencer out in the past, though he wasn’t about to admit that he didn’t need my help, Ricky seemed to take me for what I was, a friend trying to figure out a mutual friend’s murder.

“Then you don’t need to go to the grocery. I can tell you that he went to the grocery after church to pick up groceries for his friend in the nursing home.”

“So that’s what you meant when you said nursing home. But who’s in the nursing home?” I asked.

“That I don’t know. He was very quiet about it, but he did get me my night shift job there as a security officer. He was a good man.” He gave a weak smile as though he were having memories of Otis.

“Then I think I need to go to the nursing home.” I nodded.

“It’s clear up in Lexington,” he said turning around and looking at me in the rearview mirror.

“So that’s why it became an all-day affair.” Some of those puzzle pieces were coming together, but there were a few that needed to be answered. “I don’t care. I need to know exactly where Otis was going and who he’d seen.”

“Sounds good.” Ricky put the car back in drive.

There was some chit-chat back and forth, but he truly didn’t know anything else other than the fact that Otis needed a driver. They’d mainly bonded over tattoos and old stories that Otis would tell him.

“Here we are.” Ricky woke me up.

“I’m so sorry. I spent most of the night awake thinking about Otis.” I pushed myself up in the seat and looked out the window.

The nursing home was a nice red brick building with a circular drive. There looked to be one main building that had two wings off each side of it. Across from the main building were townhome-type buildings.

“Those are more for the couples who can take care of themselves and they can live on their own with little assistance.” He pointed out the windshield to the right wing. “Over there is the really bad patients and over there is where Otis would go. Those patients have a little apartment and can live on their own but not take full care of themselves. That’s where Otis would go.”

“You never went in with him?” I asked.

“Nope. I’d sit out here for at least three or four hours while he visited whoever’s in there.” He put the car in park. “I figure you won’t be three or four hours.”

“No.” I grabbed my purse. “You wait right here.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” He tugged the hat down over his brows and rested his head on the headrest.

The nippy cold air whipped around my neck as the flurries danced along with it. I snuggled the edges of my coat up around me chin and with my head down, running into the front of the building. There was a welcome desk in the front that was vacant, a full dining room off to the right that looked to be filled and hallways on both sides. The white board welcomed family members and had a list of activities for everyone.

Since Ricky said Otis went to the left side of the building, I headed that way. Along the way I couldn’t help but notice there was a library, a recreation room where some residents were doing jigsaw puzzles, an indoor swimming pool and a movie theater. This was as swanky of a nursing home as I’d ever seen.

There was a small café with coffee, scones, and a lunch  menu that had a counter and stools. Outside there was a courtyard. Plus the place was decorated with all sorts of Christmas trees. This place didn’t look like any nursing home I’d ever heard about.

I walked through what looked like a family room with some couches and a television. There was a fire in the fireplace from fake logs, but it looked so real.

“Hi, there.” A young lady with a nurse’s jacket on approached me. “Can I help you find someone?”

“Yes.” I opened my purse and took out Otis’s obituary. “Have you ever seen my friend Otis here?”

The young lady took the paper and let out an audible gasp. When she looked up at me, she closed her mouth and frowned.

“He died?” she asked and handed it back to me.

“He was murdered. And I’m his lawyer. I’m trying to get in touch with loved ones about it while leaving all the investigation to the Honey Springs police department.” I shouldn’t have been so surprised by all the lies I was getting used to saying, but I had to admit I was getting good. “Can you tell me anything about the last time you saw him?”

“I wasn’t here, but I do know the doctors told him about Iris. He was really upset. And I’m going to miss those weekly cookies.” She looked down at the ground.

“Do you recall the date the doctors talked to him?” That’s where he was taking my cookies.

“It was about a month ago when they told him Iris had to be moved. I mean, she’s been here for about thirty years and we knew the disease would get worse, and when it did, they told him it would be bad. They were right.” Her eyes dipped.

“Who was right?” I asked.

“The neurologist.” Her brows furrowed. “There’s no cure for dementia.”

“Iris has dementia,” I whispered to myself. Who was Iris? “She’s passed?”

“Dead?” She looked at me like I was a whacko. “She’s moved upstairs. She can’t even brush her teeth anymore.”

“She’s upstairs right now?” I looked at the ceiling and then around to figure out how I got upstairs.

“I can’t guarantee that she’ll know you since you’re their lawyer and not in her life everyday, but I’m more than happy to take you to visit her.” The young woman offered.

“That would be great.” How lucky was I that I didn’t have to say anything and she just assumed.

We headed down a different hall and she had to use her badge to get into a couple of the double doors before we took a flight of stairs.

“We have an elevator, but I like to get in some exercise while I’m at work.” She took a couple steps at a time.

“How long have you been here?” I asked.

“Five years. Not as long as Iris. But all us girls just love Otis and. . .” She stopped talking when we got to the nurses station.

The floor she brought me to was much different than the ground floor. The downstairs looked like an apartment building with different doors that had numbers and even wreaths on them. Up here the residents of the nursing home were in beds behind some glass doors. It was hard to look at for me.

“This is,” the young lady stopped and laughed, “I’m sorry I didn’t even get your  name.”

“Roxanne Bloom.” I turned back to the nurses.

“She’s Iris Peavler’s lawyer. Did you know that Otis died?” she asked the other nurses.

“Oh no. I’m so sorry to hear that.” They all looked at each other. “I wondered why he’d not been here recently.”

“Anyway, I told her that Iris probably wouldn’t know her, but she’d like to visit anyway.” She turned to me. “We do ask that you not tell her about Otis. We aren’t sure how she’d respond. Though she didn’t recognize him at all and it about killed him.”

“Of course I wouldn’t,” I agreed.

“I’ll be more than happy to take you.” Another nurse walked around the nurses’ station and pointed me to go down the hall. “I’m going to have to warn you that she’s taken a turn for the worse since she was moved up here.”

“What are the criteria for her to have been moved?” I asked.

“When dementia patients can’t take care of themselves, we move them here for twenty-four-hour, round-the-clock care.” She stopped next to a set of glass doors.

“Is there a cost difference?” I asked.

“There is but I’m not sure what it is.” She pushed open the sliding glass door.

“Is it safe to say that downstairs is about five thousand dollars?” I asked.

“It is.” She confirmed my suspicion that Otis was paying for Iris’s care. “Iris,” the nurse called to the lady sitting in the chair. “Do you remember your friend Roxanne?”

Iris was a very thin woman sitting in the brown recliner. Her eyes were focused on the television hanging on the wall. She had short grey hair and was pasty white.

“I’ll leave you. If you need anything, please just open the door and stick your head out.” The nurse dismissed herself.

“Who are you?” the woman asked.

“I’m Roxanne Bloom. A friend of your brother Otis.” I took a step toward the shelf that had some framed photos sitting on it.

“I don’t have a brother.” Her voice was quiet and sweet.

“Otis Peavler,” I said and noticed the photo of her and Otis when they looked much younger. They were standing on each side of a young man in a red cap and graduation gown.

“I told him not to get all them tattoos, but he loves them. I never let him give me one.” She laughed. “But that’s my Otis. He’ll be back in a little bit. He just stepped out to go church.”

“Otis is your husband?” My mouth dried. My heart beat rapidly. Did Juanita know this?

“Ten years now.” She smiled.

Ten years? I knew she was confused but didn’t bother with questioning her. My rapid heart literally stopped beating, or I felt like it did when I saw the photo.

“Can’t be.” I stepped closer to the frame and bent over to get a real close look. I couldn’t take a deep breath. I gulped. I pulled the photo Walker had left at the Cocoon and held it next to the frame. It was the exact same photo.

My eyes darted back over to the graduation photo and when I took a long look into the eyes of the boy, I could tell it was Walker.

Thirteen

“That was a quick visit.” The young nurse who’d brought me up to this floor was still standing at the nurses’ station.

“Um. . .” I fumbled for words. “I’ll be back.”

I wouldn’t be back, but Spencer Shepard would when I told him that I think Otis had a family and Walker, his son, had killed him.

My legs couldn’t carry me as fast as my mind was racing. I grabbed the stair railing as I nearly knocked down someone. They caught me from falling.

“Roxy?” The voice caught me off guard. It was Walker. He towered over me on the step and had a grip on my arm. “What are you doing here?”

“You,” I said through gritted teeth. I jerked away from him. “You murderer.”

“What?” He straightened his body.

“You are Otis Peavler’s son.” I tapped my head with my finger. “You came to Honey Springs to see your dad and you killed him.”

“Wait just a second. Did you say my dad is dead?” He gulped. There was a shock on his face that took me by surprise.

“From you.” I continued to jab at him. I took a step to get around him. “If you’ll excuse me.”

“You’re not going anywhere.” He put his arm out. “You’ve got some answers that I need.”

“Save it for the police.” I pulled my cell out of my back pocket.

He grabbed it out of my hands.

“Give it to me or I’ll scream.” I warned and got a little jittery when I realized that I’d gotten myself into another sticky situation and no one was in the stairwell with us.

He handed me the phone and I darted down the steps.

“If you’re going to the police then I’m going with you.” He ran along beside me.

“This isn’t how this goes.” I stopped when we made it into the hallway of the first floor and there were some people there. “You’re supposed to run or something.”

“I have nothing to run from. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. I went to Honey Springs to find my dad. I thought I recognized him that day we were on the boardwalk but I didn’t want to say anything in front of you.” He sucked in a deep breath. “That night at the Christmas tree lighting, I was going to say something to him, but lost my nerve.” His face went blank. “The person under the tree, was that my dad?”

“Oh right.” I was having a hard time not believing him but this was so weird to me. “Like you didn’t do it.”

“Why would I kill my dad?” he asked.

“Because he had a whole other family.” I stared him down. “He was a good man. No.” I shook my head. “He was a great man.”

I scrolled through my phone until I came across Spencer’s phone number.

“Who are you calling?” he asked.

“Hi, Spencer. It’s Roxy. I’ve got Otis’s killer at the Glad Tiding Nursing Home in Lexington.” There was a little hemming and hawing on the other end of the phone from Spencer. “Listen, it doesn’t matter how I know. Just get here.”

“Give me the phone.” Walker jerked the phone, again, from my hands. “Hi, this is Walker Peavler. My father is Otis Peavler and I understand from Roxy Bloom that my father is dead.”

I couldn’t believe what was happening. Here he stood acting as if there was no reason in the world to kill his own father and acting very innocent.

“I’ll be more than happy to get a ride back with Roxy to Honey Springs and tell you about me and my family. I’m sure we’ll be there shortly.” He handed my phone back to me.

“Hello?” I asked when I got back on the phone and Spencer wasn’t there. “He hung up.” I held the phone out in disbelief.

“He’s expecting me and you at the station.” Walker gestured for me to go ahead of him.

“Oh no.” I wagged my finger knowing he’d take off running or something to get away. “You go first.”

“Fine.” He shrugged and started to head toward the door. “What happened to my dad?”

My Uber was still waiting in the parking lot.

“You can ask Spencer all the questions you want.” I pointed to Ricky.

“Did you pick yourself up a date in there?” Ricky got out of the car and looked Walker up and down. “Dang. I’ve worked here a few weeks and not picked up a single gal.”

“You do work here.” I’d completely forgotten he’d said that Otis had gotten him a security job here. “Have you ever seen this guy?”

He looked at Walker.

“Nope.” He shook his head.

“That’s because I just got here a couple of days ago.” Walker pointed to Ricky. “Who is this? Your boyfriend?”

“No,” Ricky and I said in unison.

“He’s Otis’s Uber driver and I’m trying to figure out who killed him.” I pointed to Walker. “Now I know it was you.”

“It seems the two of you have some things to work out.” Ricky looked between me and Walker. “I can go on in to do my shift early if you two need to hash out some stuff.”

“I’ve got my car here. How much for the Uber?” Walker pulled out his wallet. “Will the fifty do?” He handed Ricky a fifty-dollar bill.

“Yes, sir.” Ricky snapped it out of Walker’s fingers.

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I protested.

“Really? The police know that we are together. Trust me, if we don’t show up at the Honey Springs department in like twenty, they’ll be looking for us.” He had a point.

“You can kill someone in seconds.” I made a better point.

“I didn’t kill my dad. My mom got sick about thirty years ago. Dad brought her here. I was a kid fresh out of high school. She was a young mother with this memory issue. She didn’t know me. I was a kid. It was devastating. It was easiest to go off to college and never look back.” He shuffled his feet in the thin layer of snow on the pavement. “I’m not proud of that. My mom didn’t know me. She stopped knowing my dad shortly after that. He came to see her every week from what I’d gathered from the women in there. Now that I’m older, I’m ashamed of how I’ve acted. I want a relationship with my dad. He was hurt by my actions.”

“What about Juanita?” I asked.

“I don’t even know who that is. I just know that when I saw my dad the other day, I froze. I came here to see my mom and I ended up spending the night in one of their guest rooms and I’ve been here ever since.” He made an alibi for himself.

“Can the women here vouch for you?” I asked.

“Yes. The day of the Christmas lighting, I spent all day here. I’d told Camey I’d go to the lighting with her and I was running late because I was driving from here. I’d not anticipated the amount of time it’d take. So when I got her, we went to the park and that’s when. . .” he gulped.

“Your dad was found under the tree.” I finished his sentence.

“Apparently.” He brushed the back of his hand along his eyes. “The nurses said that my dad came every single Sunday and stayed with Mom. He even brought her groceries. He paid her expenses here on time every single month and last month when it went up, he didn’t bat an eye. But he stopped coming.”

“And that’s why you killed him.” I snapped and pointed.

“No. I was waiting to see if he came today since I know he recognized me the other day. If he was going to show up, we’d all be in the same room and I was going to ask for his forgiveness. If he didn’t show up, I was going to go back to Honey Springs and find him. I was actually going to go back to Cocoon because I’d left my only photo of my mom on the bedside table.” His hands dug into his pockets.

“This one?” I pulled it out of my purse and handed it to him.

All the secrets I’d learned about Otis over the past few days were answered in just a few seconds.

“Who killed my dad?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I muttered and watched as his emotional reaction to the photo made me turn away. “But I’ll go with you to see Spencer.”

“So this is cleared up and I’m going to go on into work early?” Ricky asked, making sure.

“Yes.” I nodded. “But Ricky, if the police come looking for me, write down his license plate and remember his face.”

True to his words and about twenty minutes later, Spencer Shepard was staring at us and not in a happy way.

“How on earth do you happen to stay one step ahead of me?” Spencer didn’t pay any attention to Walker. He sat on the corner of the desk with one foot on the floor and the other dangling down. His hands rested on his thighs.

“I don’t know. I guess I stumble upon things. I bribe people with food and coffee.” I shook my head and snuggled my jacket closer to my chest.

“Go over this one more time.” Spencer pushed up from the desk and walked around to sit in his chair while Walker and I took a seat.

“When I saw Walker and Otis’s response to each other, I felt something in my gut telling me that something strange was going on between them. Then when Walker disappeared after the tree lighting and from Honey Springs, I thought it was strange. It was the photo of his mom that he left behind that clued me in on who he was once I got to the nursing home.” It all seemed to add up to me.

“You got to the nursing home because you somehow found the Uber driver that knew Otis’s schedule.” Spencer lowered his head.

Then I went into the full explanation about the secrets Otis had kept and the money he’d withdrawn from the bank.

“And people just tell you these things?” His brows furrowed.

“Yes. I’ve seen it.” Walker nodded. “And I’ve not known her long.”

“And your alibi will check out?” Spencer asked Walker.

“Yes, sir.” Walker picked up the piece of paper that Spencer had given us when we walked into the station that had the estimated time of death and Walker had told him where he’d been.

While Spencer talked to us, he’d had his men run Walker’s alibi through and it came back clear.

“Do you have any suspects?” Walker asked. “I know I don’t have the right to play grieving son, but I do want to see the killer brought to justice.”

“Where will you be staying?” Spencer asked Walker.

“Now that all this has come about, I’ll go get the room back at Cocoon. I live in Tennessee, but this is more important than going back home.” He reached in his front pocket and took out his phone. “I need to call my babysitter.”

“You have a family?” I asked and then got a little mad about his flirting with Camey.

“Granddaughter. I got custody of my granddaughter. Amelia.” He showed me the front of his phone. There was a little girl with long brown hair and freckles.

“She looks like. . .” I gasped.

“Dad.” He nodded. “Yep. Please excuse me.”

Walker walked out of the room and left an uncomfortable silence between Spencer and me.

“I know I said I was going to stop, but I just.” I stopped talking when he put his hand in the air for me to hush.

“Yeah, yeah. The lawyer in you.” He smiled. “Now what?”

“You’re asking me?” I asked in surprise.

“You seem to know more than a roomful of men who’ve been trained to do this for a living.” He smiled. It was his way of a truce.

“I’m not sure. I wondered if Juanita had been jealous of my aunt Maxi. And I knew they’d been broken up and had gotten back together. But I just can’t see Juanita having the strength to strangle him and transport his body. You could be right. Maybe there’s a disgruntled client.” I took my phone out of my purse and pulled up the photo I’d taken of Otis’s client list. “I’m assuming you went through these people?”

“Yes. We went through his entire database. Nothing adds up.” He stood back up and walked around the desk. “Let’s just hope something breaks.”

“I’m sad that Otis kept his family a secret,” I said and walked out of Spencer’s office.

“It’s a shame that he felt he needed to do that.” Spencer’s subtle look at Walker didn’t go unnoticed by me. In fact, in law school, reading people had become my best skill. I wasn’t convinced Spencer believed Walker all that much.

There was only one thing for me to do and that was keep Walker tight by my side while I dug a little bit deeper into Otis’s past.

“Sir, there’s an urgent call for you.” One of the other officers got Spencer’s attention.

Spencer walked over to the desk and took the phone call. Slowly his head lifted up and his eyes focused on me. There was a frightened look on his face that’d I’d never seen.

“Roxy,” Spencer put the phone down on the receiver. “Your cabin is on fire.”

Fourteen

“No, no, no.” I buried my head in my hands when I stood in front of the cabin. The entire roof was on fire and smoke was billowing out the windows. “Pepper.”

I melted on the ground after the fire fighters told me that I couldn’t go inside and retrieve anything, even my beloved dog.

“Roxy!” Patrick’s voice came from behind me. “Roxy!”

I jumped up and looked at him, Sassy and Pepper running toward me.

“You had Pepper?” Tears flowed down my face when I went to pick up my fur-baby. Pepper licked and licked my face clean.

“Yeah. Your aunt Maxi told me you were off on some wild goose chase and when I came to see if you were home, I grabbed Pepper. I didn’t bother texting you because I figured if you found something out, you’d call me.” He snuggled me and Pepper closer.

“Hey Bud,” Patrick grabbed the fire chief when he walked by. “Do you know what happened?”

“Looks like electrical fire from the live Christmas tree.” He looked at me. “I doubt insurance will pay for all this.”

“As long as she’s safe and so is Pepper, life is good.” Patrick held me tighter. When Bud walked off, Patrick said, “I told you to unplug the tree.”

“I did. I swear it was off.” I couldn’t look at the cabin even though they’d put out the flames. The roof was smoldering.

“It doesn’t look like a total loss,” Bud said coming back around with an ax. “But I’ll leave that determination to the fire inspector. He’ll be here in a few.”

“Thanks, Bud.” I wanted him to know my appreciation.

Patrick put the dogs back in the car and retrieved a blanket for me. The snow had really started falling and actually sticking to the grass and streets. The night had fallen and we were still waiting for the inspector.

The entire town had come out to see what was going on. Aunt Maxi insisted I stay at her home while Mom demanded I stay with her. But I chose to stay with Patrick.

“Are you okay?” Patrick asked and brought me out a cup of hot tea as I stood on his porch and looked out at Lake Honey Springs.

The stars made a beautiful design on the water along with the moon that made me feel calm and relaxed.

“I’m fine,” I said and gratefully took the warm drink. “Thank you.”

“It’s your sleepy tea. I thought you might need to wind down a little.” He leaned on the railing. “See it’s meant for you to move on in with me.”

“Not before we get married.” I took a sip.

“Then we are going to the Justice of the Peace tomorrow because I’ve got to keep you safe.” His voice was stern.

“Safe?” I shook my head.

“Spencer just called me while I was making your tea.” His voice got my attention. “He said that someone set fire to your house.”

“Someone?” My head was trying to figure out what he was saying. “As in arson?”

“That’s exactly what I mean.” He ran his finger long my cheek and moved the strand of black curly hair that found its way out of my ponytail.

“This is great!” I wasn’t going to let someone bully me. “Not that my house burnt down, because I know you can rebuild it, but the fact that I’ve stepped on someone’s toes because I’ve gotten a little too close to figuring out who killed Otis.”

“I told Spencer that I’d make sure you’d stay out of it.” He wasn’t budging. “I’m not kidding. I lost you for ten years. I’m not losing you forever.”

“I’m fine.” I assured him, though my oh crap meter was going off.

“Roxy, I’m not joking. This had got to stop. You’ve got to stop. Let Spencer and the department do their job.” There was a tear in his eye. “I’m begging you to please stop for us.” He blinked and looked at the door.

Sassy and Pepper were looking out at us.

“I have no idea what I’d do if something happened to you,” his voice cracked. He dragged me closer to him and his face snuggled into my neck. “I love you so much and this is no joke.”

We held each other for a few moments until our lips found each other.

“I love you too.” I put the cup down and wrapped both arms around him.

He picked me up and took me inside the warmth of our forever home.

Fifteen

It was a long night. I reached over several times to make sure Patrick was still there and I wasn’t alone. It was nice and reassuring to have him there. The idea that someone had set my house on fire started to seep into my soul and a clear revelation that I did need to stop snooping around.

Instead of crying and wallowing in my fear, I decided to get up and head on over to the coffeehouse. No matter what, The Bean Hive still had to open.

I left Sassy, Pepper and Patrick asleep. They were dead to the world. The roads were a little touchy and I’d taken my time to make sure I got there safe. I found myself looking in my rear-view mirror and watching over my shoulder in case someone was following me. The roads were empty. But the front of my shop had a visitor.

“Walker?” I walked up with my key in my hand and unlocked the door. “What are you doing here so early?”

“I couldn’t sleep. I took a walk and this is where I ended up.” He gestured to Odd Ink.

“Come on in and I’ll get us a cup of coffee.” I flipped on the lights.

“Do you want me to plug in your tree?” he asked.

“Felix is in there.” I hung up my coat and flipped on the switches of the coffee pots. This was when I was most grateful for the closing rituals of setting the coffee up the night before. “I’m actually glad you’re here. In fact,” I walked over to the tree and parted the limbs. “You were the only person he really likes and I’d gone to Cocoon to get you to come here and get him out.”

Walker looked into the tree and reached in.

“He’s coming out at night and eating and the litter box has been used.” I smiled when he pulled Felix out. “You don’t happen to want to adopt a cat for Amelia do you?”

“I think I can find room for him in my car.” He rubbed down the feline. Felix purred so loud.

“Seriously?” I asked when I was half joking with him.

Felix jumped out of his arms and headed toward the food bowl. I took the opportunity to refill it and make sure he had fresh water.

“Yeah. Why not? Amelia will love him.” We stood there watching Felix devour his food. “How are you this morning?”

“I found out that someone torched my cabin. It wasn’t by accident.” I reached behind the tree and plugged in the lights. “It’s such a pretty tree.”

“This whole town is pretty.” Walker walked over to the fireplace. “Do you want me to get this going?”

“That’d be great. I’ve got to go turn my ovens on.” I pushed through the swinging kitchen door and turned on the ovens on the way to the freezer where I needed to retrieve the cookies, muffins, and other goodies I made for the week.

The Soul Harvest Chicken soup was in the refrigerator. I went ahead and got it out because some of the morning clients liked to take a bowl to go for their lunch.

“The coffee beeped,” Walker stuck his head in the kitchen. “Do you mind if I grab a cup?”

“Sure and get me a cup while you’re at it.” I quickly finished up and went to join him.

The sweet surprise of Felix curled into Walker’s lap where he was sitting on the couch made me really happy.

“Do you think Camey would let me take this little guy back to the hotel until after the funeral?” he asked.

“I’m sure if you wink at her, she’ll let you do whatever you want.” I took the first sip of my coffee and it was so what I needed.

“She’s a pretty neat gal.” He didn’t make eye contact with me, but I really think he was smitten with her. “Anyways, thanks for trying to figure out what happened to my dad, but you need to stop looking into it.”

“You’re right. But Otis was a great guy. I’m sorry your relationship was strained.” I felt it necessary to apologize to him. “When is the funeral?”

“Christmas Eve is in three days and Amelia is expecting Santa to come. I figured I’d do a little memorial tomorrow before I head home.” He paused. “I can’t leave my mom here alone.”

“I understand. My mom and I had a really strained relationship until a few months ago. I can’t imagine not having her here now.” Not that my situation was the same, but I felt he could benefit from knowing that. “Are you going to move her to Tennessee?”

“When I talked to the doctor, they told me that any more moves could really set her back. She recognizes me at moments and if those moments are all I’ve got, I’ll take it. Plus,” he paused and then looked up at me, “I’d like Amelia to know her even if for a little bit.”

“What are you saying?” I asked.

“I’m going to move to Honey Springs after the holidays.” He rolled his eyes and laughed. “I’m a little late, but it’s not too late for me and Amelia. Besides,” he ran his hand along Felix’s back. “This town has really grown on me.”

The bell over the door dinged.

“Lordy bee, I figured you were already here.” Aunt Maxi shook her silver hair and the snowflakes fell to the ground. “Thank God you’re still alive.”

“Let me get you a cup of coffee.” I greeted her and took her purse after giving her a hug. “You remember meeting Walker yesterday.”

“Hi-do.” She nodded but not without giving him the side eye. “What are you doing here so early with my niece who’s engaged to Patrick Cane?”

“I’m well aware and I’m excited to bring this little guy home to my granddaughter.” He was going to handle Aunt Maxi without me stepping in and she was used to that. “Then when Amelia and I move here after Christmas, then I’m sure we’ll be spending a lot of time right here on this couch.”

“You’re moving here?” she questioned.

“He’s Otis Peavler’s son.” It was time to let Aunt Maxi in on who Walker was because last night she was too busy being nosy about the cabin fire to worry about the new guy.

“Son?” She reared back and looked him over. “Does Juanita know?”

Aunt Maxi’s mind worked like my mind and I knew in her mind she wondered if Juanita killed Otis because of this sudden news.

“I’ve not met her yet, but I did call her yesterday. I’m planning on having my father’s memorial tomorrow before I head back to play Santa for Amelia and I’d like her to be part of it.” He took another drink of his coffee and ignored Aunt Maxi’s assessing of him.

“Where’s your mama?” She had no boundaries.

“She’s in a nursing home in Lexington and moving here will be better for all of us.” He continued to play it cool while Aunt Maxi drilled him with questions. “You do know that the women in the community really like to put on a funeral spread.”

“I’ve heard.” He nodded and put Felix on the ground so he could freshen up his coffee.

“I’d appreciate it if you’d let me gather up some of the girls and take care of the food.” She looked over at me.

“I’m more than happy to offer the coffee.” I smiled.

“I don’t know what you’re offering but I’ll offer some desserts,” Emily walked through the door with a big smile on her face. “Because my dad said that I could rent the space next door.”

“I’m so happy for you!” I rushed over and gave her a big hug. “This is Walker Peavler. Otis’s son and after the holidays he’ll be moving here. When he cleans out the space, we can get the renovation started.”

We could’ve done it a lot quicker, but under the circumstances I felt we needed some space between Otis’s murder, the holiday and bringing the killer to justice.

“I couldn’t sleep because I couldn’t wait to tell you, so I came in early.” She was beaming. “It’s like Christmas came a few days early.”

“I can’t wait to tell Loretta,” Aunt Maxi walked over to Emily and gave her a hug. “She’s been fretting about what we were going to do with that building. She’s going to be relieved.”

“Party without me?” Bunny Bowowski waddled in with her purse swinging from side-to-side from the crook of her elbow. She took off her coat and shook the snow off. She had a shawl over her shoulders and her house coat on over pink pantyhose with her medical black thick-soled shoes on. “Hiring people to take my job and now a party without me?”

“I don’t think so.” I helped her hang her coat up and gave her an apron. “I think everyone has a lot on their mind. Walker, this is Bunny.”

“You’re that guy that came in here the other day looking for Roxy.” She pointed to me. “Here she is.”

Walker laughed.

“She’s crazy.” Aunt Maxi circled her finger around her ear.

“I’m not crazy. You’re the one with tinsel hair.” Bunny had a point.

“Are you my Secret Santa?” Aunt Maxi gave a sly look to Bunny.

“Heck no. I’d never spend that much money on you.” She quirked her right brow. “Anyway, what business do you have with Roxy?” Bunny turned her attention to Walker.

“My father is Otis Peavler and Roxy was nice enough to help me out on the first day I was in town and I wanted to thank her for it. Not only that, but I’m adopting Felix and moving here,” he said.

“Roxy is engaged.” Bunny blurted out.

“Mm hmmm,” Aunt Maxi hummed, “I told him that too.”

“And he’s a very lucky guy.” Walker had charm that both ladies caught on to real fast. “But I’ve got my eye on Camey. Who can tell me something about her?”

Aunt Maxi wasted no time taking Walker by the arm and giving him the low-down on Camey and her family that’d all come from Honey Springs. Aunt Maxi loved to match-make and this was a perfect time to get her mind off this Secret Santa situation.

Since Bunny and Emily were at the coffeehouse, I was able to spend time with the customers and boxing up goodies for their upcoming parties. Emily got to work in the kitchen making up more goodies for the glass display. The Christmas carols were playing, the fire was lit and the snowfall still hadn’t stopped.

It looked like it was going to be a white Christmas. Something I really was looking forward to.

“The Bean Hive,” I answered the phone when it rang.

“Roxanne,” Aunt Maxi meant business when she  called me by my full name. “I’m with some of the girls from church and we are planning Otis’s memorial. Can you run by Juanita’s and get some photos for his memorial board?”

“Sure. It’ll help get me out of the coffeehouse for a few hours,” I replied and looked around.

It’d become slow in the shop and Bunny would love to be in charge.

“In fact, I can probably take off the rest of the day and finish up my Christmas shopping because Kelly will be in here this afternoon and Emily said she’d train her.” It was working out great.

“Wonderful. Bring them to me at the church undercroft when you get them.” She gave me some more specific instructions on the types of photos she wanted, as if I didn’t know to pick ones where Otis looked happy.

After we hung up, I made sure everyone was good for the rest of the day and called Patrick to make sure he knew I was going to be home after I did a few errands. He was tying up a few loose ends before the company Christmas break and told me he would check on the situation with the cabin fire.

I’d promised him that I wouldn’t check with Spencer or do anymore investigation on Otis and I was going to keep my promise. With someone burning down my house, it was an eye opener to stay far away.

On my way through town, I stopped by Christmas in the Park and dropped off the refills to Mom at the booth. She was happy as a lark and sad to see the last day of the event come to a close. She said it’d been good for her to get to know people in the community and making contacts as well as a few  people in the market to buy a home or rent a cabin for the summer.

When I pulled up to Juanita’s my heart sank. Her Christmas lights still weren’t plugged in, the blow-up Santa was deflated flat on the ground and I knew this was going to be hard for her to pick out photos that showed happy memories. It was still hard to even imagine how difficult this time was for her. Though I couldn’t help but wonder if she knew about Otis’s family.

“Hey there.” I greeted Sheldon when he answered the door. “I’m here to pick up the photos for Otis’s memorial.”

“Mama didn’t say anything before she left, but if you want to come in and look at her photo albums, you’re more than welcome.” He opened the door and I stepped in.

“If I’d known she wasn’t here, I’d have brought you some sweet treats. I feel awful that I tempted your mama.” I smiled.

“Nah.” He patted his belly. “Don’t feel bad. I would’ve eaten them, but I’ll be paying plenty extra in the gym already when I get back home next week. I’ve got a big match coming up and I’ve got to keep in shape which is hard here when I’m eating all this good southern food.”

“What do you do?” I followed him into one of Juanita’s guest bedrooms.

“I work as a financial analyst during the day but training to be an extreme kickboxer at night. Kickboxing is really getting popular.” He opened up the closet door and there were stacks upon stacks of old photo albums. “I’m sure you’ll find something in there.”

“How is your mama doing?” I asked and took my jacket off before I sat on the ground and took out one of the photo albums.

“She’s okay. She said it was the company that she’s going to miss. I tried to get her to come live with me, but she said Honey Springs is her home.” He shook his head and looked through one of the albums too. “Otis was just like a dad to me.” He showed me a photo in the album of him and Otis fishing at Lake Honey Springs.

“I’m sure he was.” I put my hand on his arm and clearly could tell he had some muscles under his shirt sleeve. “That’s a good photo. Let’s use it.”

He took the photo out and it started the pile. There were so many photos of Otis with Juanita and with Sheldon. Even some very young ones.

“When did Juanita and Otis start dating?” As much as I tried not to do any sort of sleuthing, the images and time frame were not adding up to me and was really bugging me.

“I don’t even remember because I was a kid. All I know is what my mama told me about my dad and how she met Otis when he moved here.” He put another photo on the pile. “She said that he swept her off her feet.”

“That’s cute,” I tried to say in a way that hid my confusion of the timeline and the photos I was looking at.

The phone rang and Sheldon excused himself to go answer it. He made a comment that people hadn’t stopped sending condolences to Juanita. I loved that about the residents of Honey Springs. We looked out for our own. Even though Sheldon was going to be leaving and going home, I knew we’d take care of Juanita and I wanted to make sure he knew that.

There was a box on the top of the shelf that had Otis’s name on it. I stood and reached up to get it. When I opened it, there was some photos of Otis holding his baby. Obviously Juanita knew about Walker.

“That was the women of the church saying they got some food together.” He walked back in. “What’s that?”

“I wasn’t sure if your mama knew about Otis’s wife and son, but apparently she did.” I showed him the photo.

“You know,” His eyes blinked rapidly. “He never did right by my mama.” He grabbed the photo and ripped it up. “He thought he could come here and just charm her like Walker is doing with all y’all.” His sudden anger began to frighten me.

“I’m sorry.” I gathered up the pile of photos we’d already picked out. “I’ll just use these. I didn’t mean to bring up any ill feelings.”

“Ill feelings? You think these are ill feelings?” He snarled. “How would you feel if your dad came into town and preyed on the innocents of your mama? Then he got her pregnant and wouldn’t marry her, forcing her to tell her son lies all his life saying her boyfriend was a pretend father. When I needed a kidney, my  mother then decides to tell me that Otis could be a match because he’s my father. Tell me about ill feelings.”

“I had no idea you were sick.” I stood up and calculated how I could get out of here the fastest.

“I need a kidney. When I approached him the other night and told him that I knew he was my father and I’d researched all his background, even went to see his old woman in the nursing home and looked up Walker, and how he disgraced my mother all these years. Letting her live here in this dumpy house while his real wife lived in some swanky nursing home.” His words swirled in my head. “One thing led to another. Words were flung and I didn’t want his kidney in my body. I’d rather him die.”

I gulped.

“But you going around telling everyone you’re this fancy lawyer and looking into things. I thought I’d sent a real clear message by catching your tree on fire to stay away, but here you are, being the nosy, gossip you are and trying to figure it all out.” He slipped off his belt from around his waist and snapped it taut. “I killed Otis with this belt. He was old and not much of a match for me, but you look like you’d wiggle a little more after I slip this around your neck and pull it so you can’t breath.”

He took a few steps closer.

“Please don’t. I truly came here to get some photos for my aunt Maxi. I swear,” I started to cry, “I won’t tell a soul. I’ll take care of your mother for you. Trust me, I didn’t get along with my mother for a long time. I understand. I won’t say a word.”

He took another step forward with his arms holding his belt stretched out in front of him before I let out the biggest scream.

“Hold it right there!” Spencer stood in the doorway of the bedroom with his gun pointing right at Sheldon. “Sheldon, put the belt down or I’m going to shoot you.”

There was a moment of silence that hung in the air. A chill ran up my legs and along my spine as our locked eyes didn’t blink. Then, he opened his fists and the belt dropped. Before he could turn around, Juanita ran in and grabbed him around the waist.

“I’m sorry, honey. After talking with you last night, I knew you’d killed Otis. I couldn’t live the rest of my life being torn between the two of you.” She apologized for being the one who went to the police.

“You always picked him over me. Now look at you. You don’t have him and you certainly don’t have me anymore.” He jerked when Spencer cuffed him and dragged him out of the house.

“I’m so sorry.” Immediately I put my arms around Juanita and did the best to comfort her. “I know that was very hard. Otis would’ve been so proud of you.”

“I know that my situation with Otis wasn’t ideal. But his wife was no longer a wife and he wouldn’t divorce her since she didn’t know anything anyway. We might’ve gone about things the wrong way and when I got pregnant with Sheldon twenty-five years ago, we were shocked. I was pretty old then. He didn’t have a relationship with his wife or son anymore. I should’ve been honest with Sheldon and maybe this  would’ve never happened.”

I’m not sure if it made her feel better that she confessed to me, but I sat there and listened to the last twenty-eight years of her life. Then we picked out the best photos that showed her love and life with Otis.

Sixteen

“Merry Christmas,” I greeted Walker when he showed up at the door with Camey, Amelia, and Juanita.

It’d taken some coaxing over the last couple of days to convince him to come to Patrick’s house for Christmas supper.

“Merry Christmas,” each of them said when they entered the house.

“This is my granddaughter, Amelia.” Walker so proudly introduced the little girl that looked exactly like the photo he’d shown me.

“It’s nice to meet you.” She smiled. “Santa brought me a cat for Christmas.”

“Wow,” I felt the joy from her words. “You must’ve been a very good girl.”

“His name is Felix.” She was beaming. “And I’m getting a new room. Granddaddy and I are moving into a hotel.”

“You are?” I looked between Camey and Walker.

“Santa brought me a boyfriend,” Camey winked.

“I never thought I’d find love again. I think my dad knew all along.” Walker looked over at Juanita. “I’m going to take care of Juanita and my mom. I’m going to take early retirement and do right by Amelia. She needs a family and community like Honey Springs.”

“That’s wonderful.” This was an extra Christmas present for me. “Come on in and enjoy some holiday cheer.”

The Christmas tree was lit. Sassy and Pepper had on their Christmas sweaters and curled up next to Patrick’s fireplace. Patrick and I had set up a long banquet table in front of the large windows overlooking the deck and Lake Honey Springs.

Patrick had even put up a Christmas tree on the deck and festive lights along the railing. It’d snowed a few inches and made it the perfect white Christmas. The surround sound played soft Christmas music and laughter filled the room. It was a far cry from the last few days where the joy seemed to be sucked out of Honey Springs and the holidays.

“Are you okay?” Patrick walked over to me and handed me a cup of my Christmas Harvest blend.

“Perfect. More than perfect.” I glanced around. “Everyone is here that I love.”

Aunt Maxi was talking to my mom. Bunny Bowowski was getting to the heart of the gossip and scoop from Camey about her relationship with Walker, not to mention throwing a few questions to him about what he’d planned to do with the rest of his life.

“And to think that we almost let all of this go ten years ago,” he reminded me of how far apart we were and how true love always found a way home. “Welcome home.”

“Merry Christmas,” I whispered. “I’m glad to be home.”

Looking at Walker and his new family that included Juanita made me think of my dad. Like Otis, I knew that my dad was beyond thrilled to see the families come together. It was through them and their love that Christmas was going to one of the most special times of the year. But truly I believed as a child that Honey Springs, Kentucky was magical. As an adult, I can say that I know Honey Springs was the most magical place on earth.

Merry Christmas!

Keep turning the page to see where it all started with this

free sample of

Scene of the Grind

Book One

A Killer Coffee Mystery

One

Drip, drip, drip.

There is something about coffee that brings people together. And they don’t even have to like coffee. Is it the smell? Is it the comforting sound of the drip? I don’t know. All I did know was that my new coffee shop in the touristy lake town of Honey Springs, Kentucky, The Bean Hive, was opened for business.

“Seven a.m.,” I muttered after I’d glanced up at the clock and drew my eyes back out the front doors of the coffeehouse located in the best spot on the boardwalk that ran along Lake Honey Springs.

The boardwalk held fond memories for me since I used to spend my summers here with my Aunt Maxine. Maxi for short. For the past year my life was stalled in a little bit of what I’d call a fork in the road, so after hearing Aunt Maxi talk about all the revitalization of the boardwalk and not really knowing what to do, it sounded like a splendid idea to open a shop. At the time.

The annual Honey Festival was in a couple of days and all the vendors and the new shops on the boardwalk were holding a grand opening. I’d already had the coffeehouse ready to open since when I moved to Honey Springs a few weeks ago, I made it a point to no longer sit around resting on my laurels, so I opened the shop a few days early. Which might not’ve been the best business plan since my only customers had been a few stragglers here and there. Mainly construction workers who were working day and night to get the shops ready for the big festival.

The Bean Hive was located in the middle of the boardwalk, right across from the pier. It was a perfect spot and I was beyond thrilled with the exposed brick walls and wooden ceiling beams that I didn’t have to touch. Luckily, Aunt Maxi owned the place. The rent was a little steep, but I’d watched a few DIY videos on YouTube to figure out how to make the necessary repairs for inspection. I couldn’t be more pleased with the shiplap wall I’d created myself out of plywood painted white to make it look like real shiplap.

Instead of investing in a fancy menu or even menu boards that attached to the wall, I’d bought four large chalkboards that hung down from the ceiling over the L-shaped glass countertop.

The first chalkboard menu hung over the pie counter and listed the pies and cookies with their prices. The second menu hung over the tortes and quiches. The third menu before the L-shaped counter curved listed the breakfast casseroles and drinks. Over top the other counter the chalkboard listed lunch options, including soups, and catering information.

On each side of the counter was a drink stand. One was a coffee bar with six industrial thermoses with different blends of my specialty coffees as well as one filled with a decaffeinated blend, even though I clearly never understood the concept of that. But Aunt Maxi made sure I understood some people only drink the unleaded stuff. The coffee bar had everything you needed to take a coffee with you. Even an honor system where you could pay and go.

The drink bar on the opposite end of the counter was a tea bar. Hot tea, cold tea. There was a nice selection of gourmet teas and loose leaf teas along with cold teas. I’d even gotten a few antique tea pots from Wild and Whimsy Antique shop, which happened to be the first shop on the boardwalk. If a customer came in and wanted a pot of hot tea, I could fix it for them or they could fix their own to their taste.

A few café tables dotted the inside along with two long window tables with stools butted up to them on each side of the front door. It was a perfect spot to sit, enjoy the beautiful Lake Honey Springs and sip on your favorite beverage.

Which just so happened to be where I was sitting this morning enjoying the view until I realized I’d been here since four a.m. to get the casseroles made and coffees brewed before the opening time of seven a.m. and no one was here.

“You did open a little early,” I said to make myself feel better and hooked my finger in the mug of freshly brewed coffee.

Curling both hands around the mug, I leaned my hip up against the counter and took a sip. Even if no one showed up today, it was better than where I was a year ago. My chin lifted as the first rays of sunshine popped through the large front windows. I closed my eyes and let the breaking of the dawn fill my soul.

It was spring in Kentucky and the leaves were starting to get their deep green color back, filling in the tree line along the lake. A few fishing boats had trolled by since it was a no wake zone. Good fishing started around five a.m. around here and they were usually back by seven. At the far end of the pier was a marina with boat slips and a really neat little restaurant, The Watershed. It was probably the fanciest restaurant in Honey Springs.

With my mug in my hands, I decided to get a whiff of the fresh air.

The bell dinged over the front door when I opened it. Cool air swept in reminding me that spring in Kentucky was cold in the morning and hot in the afternoon. Dressing was always a problem, but with the few uniform pieces I’d picked to go with my black pants and sensible shoes I’d handle the change easily. Besides, the black apron with The Bean Hive logo was amazing and I’d gotten several of those.

Today I’d decided on the thin long-sleeved crew neck and had tied the apron over it.

Since there wasn’t anyone in the coffeehouse, I’d decided to stroll to the right of the coffeehouse on the boardwalk and do a little window shopping, even though most of them weren’t opening until the grand opening this weekend. I walked all the way to the end and looked as I made my way back, enjoying my cup of coffee and the morning sunrise as it dripped in many colors in the lake. It was funny how water could turn the orange and yellow rays different colors as it mirrored in the lake.

The shops were really coming along. All the shops were butted next to each other with a different awning to boast the name of the shop. Every few feet there were a couple of café tables where visitors could shop and stop to enjoy each other or just the view the boardwalk gave.

Wild and Whimsy was the first shop on the boardwalk. It was an eclectic shop of antiques and repurposed furniture. Beverly and Dan Teagarden were the owners. Their two grown children, Savannah and Melanie helped them run it. Instead of the regular shingled roof, Dan had paid extra to put on a rusty tin roof to go with the store’s theme. They’d kept the awning a red color but without the name. The Wild and Whimsy sign dangled down from the awning.

Honey Comb Salon & Spa was located next and it was a fancy, for Honey Springs, salon. Alice Dee Spicer was the owner and from what I’d overheard through the gossip line Alice had really gotten some new techniques from a fancy school.

Next to Honey Comb Salon & Spa was the Buzz In and Out Diner owned by James Farley. Honey Springs’s very first tattoo parlor, Odd Ink, was next to the diner. I wasn’t sure who owned that. In fact, I didn’t know any of the owners. It was all just idle gossip from Mae Belle and Bunny’s morning coffee run that kept me in the know. They’d also said All About The Details, a new event center, was going in next to the tattoo place along with a bridal shop, Queen For The Day. Then there was me.

The Bean Hive.

The bait and tackle shop was the only shop that was on the pier. It was perfect for the tourists who wanted to fish for the day off the pier. They’d never closed like most of the past shops since the lake always had fishermen. This year was different.

The annual Honey Festival was also in a couple of days, hence the grand opening of the shops, and it did bring visitors far and wide to get a good sampling of our fine Kentucky honey and festival activities. This year the town council, of which my Aunt Maxi sits on the board, decided to move the festival from Central Park in downtown Honey Springs to the boardwalk. Vendors were going to be setting up along the boardwalk across from the shops. I was especially excited to purchase some fresh honey and honeycombs for the coffeehouse.

I’d yet to venture past my shop, but I did know there was some sort of clothing boutique, a knick-knack shop, a spa, a bar and at the very end was Crooked Cat Bookstore, which was an independent bookstore I’d spent many hours in during my summer visits. I fondly remembered a cat that snuggled up to me in the bean bag.

The smell of fresh coffee drifted out of the coffeehouse exactly how I’d envisioned it would. The warm scent filled me with joy where I wasn’t sure I could have joy anymore.

When I opened the door to head back in, I smiled. The Bean Hive was a dream only a year ago and now a reality; I’d created it in my head and had worked hard to make the dream become real. After I filled my cup again, I walked back into the kitchen to check the casseroles I’d put in the oven for the afternoon lunch. I only cooked one thing a day for breakfast and lunch. I baked several things for the customers to enjoy and take home. The Bean Hive was a coffeehouse, not a restaurant, but we all know that food goes well with teas and coffee. It was my way of offering something for everyone.

Today’s special was a sausage casserole that paired great with any flavor coffee or tea. Everything was made fresh, which made the coffeehouse fill with amazing, stomach rumbling aromas no one could refuse.

The bell over the door dinged. I rushed back in the dining area to greet the customer.

“I’m telling you something is wrong,” Bunny Bowowski waddled into The Bean Hive with her brown pocketbook hung in the croak of her arm. “She didn’t answer her phone all night last night.”

“You know, I was by there just around eight o’clock and I did notice the strangest thing.” Mae Belle Donovan stopped just inside the door and put her hand on Bunny’s forearm. “You know those little plug-in candles that are in each one of her windows?”

“Do I?” Bunny rolled her eyes. “We downright got into a fight over them candles. In July of last year I told her that it was not Christmas and she needed to take them things down. In fact, it was hotter than a firecracker, not nary a thought of snow. She said it was decoration.”

“Good morning, ladies.” I greeted them like I’d done the past two mornings around this time.

According to Aunt Maxi, Bunny Bowowski and Mae Belle Donovan never left the house unless they were dressed in a dress, a shawl or coat (depending on the weather) and some sort of hat that sat on their heads like a bow as if it were completing the package.

They’d been friends for so long, they even resembled each other. Both had the exact same haircut, their grey hair was parted to the side and cut at chin length. They both carried a brown pocketbook that was perfectly held in the crook of their right elbow. Both were on the beautification committee. They came down every morning to get a look at the boardwalk to make sure everything was progressing right on schedule.

“Good morning to you.” Bunny nodded and began to walk up to the counter. “Those are lovely daffodils.”

“Thank you.” I scooted them over to the right a little more so I could get a good view of my two customers. “Aren’t they the most vibrant yellow you’ve ever seen?”

“Mmhmmm.” Her brows formed a V.

“I got them at the farmer’s market when I picked out my fresh produce and fruit. And this,” I tapped the vase, very proud of my find, “I found this for one dollar at Wild and Whimsy.”

“They do have some steals for an antique store.” She rotated the clear hourglass vase that had a tin top and a round hole where the flowers went. She ran her finger along etched flowers in the glass. “You certainly got a bargain.”

“Yes. I was very pleased.” I pushed back a strand of my wavy black hair.

Wavy was a loose term for the springy naturally curly hair my head seemed to sprout as soon as water touched it. No matter how much I had it straightened, tried to straighten or even hide in a ponytail, a stray strand of hair sprung out from somewhere.

I glanced toward Mae Belle.

They weren’t the spriest of women, but they certainly got around just fine.

“Hi do.” Mae Belle gave a slight bow. “Something smells delicious.”

“You are just in time for my country sausage casserole.” I pointed to the glass pan I’d just taken out of the oven.

The melted cheese was still bubbling around the edges where it’d not cooled off yet.

“I’m letting it cool off so I can cut nice thick slices.” I found it was best to let a dish cool for around ten minutes to not only set the casserole, but to let the flavors deepen and simmer within the ingredients. “If you’d like to have a cup of coffee while you wait for a slice of the casserole, I’d love to get you some.”

“Oh, Roxanne, you do know us don’t you.” Bunny gave a theatrical wink. She pointed to one of the few café tables I had provided for the customers. “We’ll go on over there.”

I leaned way over the counter and whispered like I had a grand secret, “You can call me Roxy. All my friends do.”

“Roxy with the amazing eyes.” Bunny winked. “You do have beautiful blue eyes.”

“Thank you.” I smiled, grateful for the comment.

I poured two ceramic coffee mugs with The Bean Hive’s own highlander grog and set them on a small round tray along with one of the silver cow cream pitchers I’d gotten on sale at Wild and Whimsy. Most of the china and silver I’d bought for The Bean Hive was from there, since the old things go great with the exposed brick walls, wood pallet furniture and big comfy chairs I’d used to decorate the shop, as well as the old tin signs and the chalkboard menus that hung above the counter.

“Roxy.” A big smile curled up on her face. “Now that’s a name with character.”

“That’s what I hear.” I chuckled and excused myself where I retreated into the kitchen.

For the last year, I’d gotten up way before the rooster crowed, so to speak, which was about four a.m. around these parts. Only I hadn’t been in these parts. Only recently had I moved back to Honey Springs. I’m not sure if it was to get away from the life I’d left behind due to my divorce or if I needed a little bit of familiarity or comfort. Regardless, I’m what I’d like to call a retired lawyer even at the young age of thirty. Retired because after my divorce, I hated lawyers. It was then that I’d listened to all that junk about following your passion. Doing what you love. Life is too short, yada-yada. One four a.m. morning, I couldn’t sleep and fixed myself a cup of coffee. It was then and there that I decided I wanted to go to barista school and I’ve never looked back.

“The shops are looking great,” I called over my shoulder on the way back to the kitchen to check the rest of the casseroles before I stuck the lunch ones in.

“We are pleased as peaches on how Cane Contractors has really stayed on schedule.” I heard Bunny say after I walked through the door into the kitchen.

Cane Contractors. A lump formed in my throat at the sound of the name. It was very hard to swallow. I shook my head to make the thought go away.

“What on earth?” I looked at the convection oven with the morning sausage casseroles in it and noticed the digital buttons weren’t lit up.

I hit the oven button and nothing. I opened the oven door. The casseroles were still running and lumpy. I stuck my hand in the oven and it was cold. Not a lick of heat.

“Great,” I groaned and hurriedly took out a couple of the four casseroles I had in there and moved them to the other convection oven next to it where I crammed them in with the lunch quiches. “This is going to have to work.” I gulped knowing it probably wasn’t going to work since both of them required different cooking temperatures.

I headed back out to the shop and grabbed my cell phone out of the pocket of my apron and dialed my aunt Maxine.

“Aunt Maxi, I’m so glad you answered.” My rapidly beating heart settled down after I’d heard the comforting sound of her voice.

“This better be good,” the tone in her voice wasn’t happiness. “I need my beauty sleep. I’m on the prowl ya know.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Prowl. My aunt was in her mid-sixties and widowed. Widowed at a young age too. But as far as I knew, she was happily single.  “Listen, can you hurry down to the shop and grab some of the lunch quiches for me and put them in your oven to bake?” I asked.

“You didn’t call a handyman yet?” She let me know that she’d warned me several times after I’d bought the place how the previous owner of the restaurant had undercooked food and eventually got shut down by the Health Department.

“No,” I muttered, knowing I really should’ve listened to her but the cost was something I wasn’t able to afford right now. “I was trying to wait until this first week was open and then I’d hire one.”

“I’m going to say I told you so, just because I can say I told you so and you won’t give no sass back. I told you so,” she said in a playful voice. “I’ll be right over.”

“Thank you so much. I love you and I know you love me.” A sigh of relief escaped me.

There weren’t too many times Aunt Maxi didn’t save me. In fact, the reason I’d come back to Honey Springs was due to her. I love my mom but she seemed to hover around me when I’d gone home to Lexington after my divorce. Aunt Maxi had lived in Honey Springs all her life and she was my dad’s sister. Unfortunately, he’d died of cancer years ago. I’d spend summers here with Aunt Maxi and the cozy town had become a second home to me.

I loved the small shops scattered throughout the town. But the boardwalk and pier were my favorite spots in Honey Springs. Aunt Maxi owned a few rental properties, The Bean Hive being one as well as Crooked Cat Bookstore plus a couple residential places. Unfortunately for me, she didn’t have any houses available, so I bought a pretty run-down cabin alongside the lake and only a four-minute bike ride from the coffeehouse.

It was a perfect place to live, but needed a few upgrades. Still, it was mine and I loved every part of it, even the broken ones.

“Are you ladies ready for your slice of country sausage casserole?” I asked and sliced into the warm casserole, plating two nice sized pieces on two lattice, milk glass plates. “Here you go.” I set a plate down in front of each of them.

“This looks amazing, Roxy.” Bunny leaned over the plate. She closed her eyes and inhaled. “And smells delicious.”

There was nothing as satisfying to me as seeing someone who enjoyed something I’d made with my hands.

“Thank you.” I took a step back and put my hands in a prayer position up in front of my face. “I’m honored. I hope you enjoy the taste too.”

“I’m sure we will,” she said.

Mae Belle didn’t have to say anything. She’d already dug in and was on her third bite.

I walked over to the door not only to see if Aunt Maxi was on her way, but to see if there was anyone walking along the boardwalk who I could offer a free coffee to. Even if some of the construction workers were employed by Cane, there was a lot of construction going on and even they had to eat or at least warm up with a coffee. My eyes scanned the workers to make sure I didn’t see anyone I knew from my past summers here. There was a bit of satisfaction and a bit of sadness when I didn’t recognize any of them. It was probably a good thing.

“You’ve outdone yourself with this one,” Mae Belle called from behind me and forced me to come back out of my memories that were good and bad.

“Thank you so much.” I stared down the boardwalk where a tall, lean man with a yellow hardhat on was standing next to the new beauty salon and spa.

He had a set of plans rolled out in front of him. A couple of men on each side of him were looking at the plans. They nodded and spoke with each other. The early morning chill had yet to give way to the spring afternoon weather. I knew the spa was going to open along with most of the other shops before the annual spring Honey Festival in hopes that’d bring the tourists we needed to revitalize the sleepy town. That was one of the reasons I’d moved back. The fond memories of lazy days spent on the pier and watching all the people going in and out of the shops outweighed the only bad memory I’d had. Those days had been long gone and now I was going to do my part to help bring it back.

Not only did the Honey Springs economy need it, I needed it to help restore my soul.

“Are you two okay?” I asked on my way back to the counter.

They nodded and went back to discussing their friend who apparently hadn’t shown up for a meeting or something.

I grabbed a thermos that could hold six cups of coffee and stuck it under the Bunn Industrial coffee maker to fill. While it filled up, I grabbed a few to-go cups. I ran a finger over the cute The Bean Hive logo I’d designed. It was fun to see the bee that had a coffee bean for a body come to life on the materials I’d had printed for merchandise as well as on marketing materials.

The bell over the door dinged and I looked up.

“Alexis Roarke,” Bunny greeted the petite blonde. “We were just discussing where you’ve been.”

“You have,” Alexis Roarke wore her blond hair in a conservative nature with a bob cut just beneath her ears and straight across bangs. She had on pair of tennis shoes, khakis, and a pull over hoodie with the Honey Springs logo on it.

“I even went by your house and your decorative candles weren’t even lit up.” Mae Belle eyed her suspiciously.

“Why, Mae Belle Donovan,” Alexis drew her hands up to her chest. “You do care about me.”

“Of course, we do.” Bunny pushed back the only extra chair at their café table. “Sit.” She patted the seat. “Where have you been?”

Alexis waved her off and was content standing next to the table.

“I don’t have time to sit. I’ve got to open the shop. Maxine Bloom is at it again,” she said my aunt’s name with exhaustion. “Raising the rent on the bookstore. I’m gonna have to stop volunteering at the Pet Palace.”

“Why? Because you volunteer with Maxine?” Bunny asked and sipped on her coffee.

“No. So I can keep the bookstore open an extra day. I close early on Fridays so I can go volunteer. No more.” She shook her head. She pointed at me and shook her finger. “I hear you are Maxine’s niece.”

“You hear right.” I offered a warm smile in hopes she didn’t hold it against me that my aunt Maxine was her landlord. “Did I also hear you say that you are the owner of Crooked Cat Bookstore?”

“I am.” Her eyes narrowed as though she was sizing me up.

“I have fond memories of your bookstore when I used to come visit during the summer.” A happy sigh escaped me. “I remember sitting in that big purple bean bag that was in the front window next to the cat tree. You had that little grey cat and that amazing banned book section.”

“I’ll be. I remember your eyes.” A smile formed and reached her eyes. They twinkled as though the memory was bright. “That’s when Maxine and I got along. She’d bring you in there while she was doing her property rounds and tell you to read books. I knew I was watching you.”

“I believe my love of reading stems from you and all the time I spent in your store.” I pointed to the coffee maker. “Can I get you a cup of coffee? On the house.”

“Ours wasn’t,” Mae Belle grumbled under her breath.

“I’d love one to go. And give me one of them cake doughnuts.” She pulled her chin to the side, and tilted her eyes over her shoulder as she enjoyed the look on Mae Belle’s face.

With the to-go cup of coffee and The Bean Hive bag filled with a doughnut, she bid her friends goodbye.

“I’ll see y’all at the town council meeting tomorrow. I’ve got a few things to say about this zoning thing and Maxine Bloom.” She skirted out of the shop.

Mae Belle and Bunny put their heads together and both tried to whisper above the other. I figured it was a good time to take the workers the coffee.

“I’ll be right back. I’m going to run some coffee down to the workers.” I held the thermos up along with the cups.

The sun was popping up over the trees that stood along the lake like soldiers and filtered over the calm water of the lake. There were a couple of small bass boats running side-by-side with a couple of men in them, probably looking for a good inlet to bass fish.

The wood boards of the boardwalk groaned underneath each step I took as I got closer to the group of men.

“Good morning,” I greeted them. “I’m Roxanne Bloom, owner of The Bean Hive.” I gestured toward the coffee shop. “I’ve made all this coffee and only a few customers have come in.” I left out the fact that I’d only had the same two customers all week long. “And I’d hate to see this fresh coffee go to waste, so I thought I’d bring it to y’all.”

“That’s mighty nice of you.” The tall man grinned from under the hardhat. He kept his eyes on the thermos.

One of the men took the cups out of my hand while another one took the thermos.

“We appreciate that, don’t we boys?” The man’s deep voice echoed off the limestone banks of the lake. The glare of the sun reflecting off the lake made it difficult to see his face.

The men thanked me.

“If y’all get hungry, I also serve food.” I smiled and clasped my hands in front of me. I was definitely trying to use the old saying that a way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. Not that I was trying to get into any of their hearts, I wasn’t, but I was trying to get to their stomachs and their wallets. “Enjoy.”

“We will. And we will return your thermos,” the man said before he went back to pointing out things about the spa.

It was my cue to head on back. They had work to do and so did I.

“Hello, honey.” Aunt Maxi was leaning her bike up against the outside of the shop. She pulled off her knit cap. She tucked the hat in the purse that was strapped across her body and pulled out a can of hairspray. She raked her hand upward through her hair and used her other hand to spray it to high heaven. “You know, you need to get a bike rack.”

“I do need a bike rack, but I also need to get a new oven or have this one looked at.” I opened the door for her and let her walk in before me. “New hair color since yesterday?”

She gave the newly blond-colored hair another good spray before she stuck the can back in her purse and started toward the door.

“Alice Dee down at the Honey Comb says it’s all the rage. Makes me feel young as a whippersnapper.” She turned to me. The morning sun sprinkled down upon her.

I shook my head and realized having her bike up against the coffeehouse was probably not a good place for it to lean in case someone tripped over it.

Most of the community rode bikes everywhere since Honey Springs was a small, compact town that took pride in their landscape and Kentucky bluegrass that made the entire town look like a fancy landscape painting.

“You look a little like Phyllis Diller.” And it wasn’t just the hair. Aunt Maxi had put on a little too much makeup

“Well, well. If it’s not Maxine Bloom.” Bunny Bowowski didn’t seem all that happy to see Aunt Maxi. “And with a new hairdo.”

“You’ll serve just about anybody.” Aunt Maxi curled her nose at me.

“You two know each other?” I asked, hoping to bring a little peace between us.

“Know her?” Bunny scoffed. “She’s been down at the Moose trying to get her claws into Floyd, my man.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Bunny. I want a man that can walk without stopping every two feet so he can get his footing up under him so he don’t fall.” Aunt Maxi drew her chin in the air and looked down her nose. “Besides, that’s not what’s got you all worked up.”

“Aunt Maxi is why I’ve come to Honey Springs.” I patted my aunt on the back. “I used to come here when I was a child and spent many summers here. Right here in this very spot when it was the diner. I loved being here so much, that I decided to move here and open The Bean Hive.”

I hoped that their mutual like for me would at least bring them together. The last thing I needed was my only two paying customers to boycott me because of Aunt Maxi.

“We will see you tomorrow, Roxy.” Bunny stood up and motioned for Mae Belle to follow. “We’ve got committee stuff to do.”

The three women gave each other the Baptist nod where they didn’t wish ill-will but not necessarily success. The southern woman’s way around good manners.

“Glad they’re gone.” Aunt Maxi spouted out and walked to the back of the shop. She put her hands on her hips and looked around. “This looks good,” she said in approval. “Many customers?”

“Nope, you just ran off the only two I’ve had since I opened.” I gave her a wry look. “Cup of coffee?”

“I can’t. I’ve got to get your casseroles and head to a meeting. It’s hard being a councilwoman.” Aunt Maxi had held the office for over thirty years and was very proud of it. “That’s why old Bunny is all mad. She and her group of cronies think that just because we are in craft group together that I’ll just let them do whatever they want regarding the festivals and the beautification committee.”

Apparently Aunt Maxi didn’t agree on something in their meeting. Didn’t surprise me. Aunt Maxi wasn’t one to go along with the crowd when she was passionate about something. There were two things I knew not to get into with others: Politics and religion. Around here both were just as important as a new born baby, wedding, or a funeral. “They aren’t too worried about whatever it is that you’ve made them mad about. They are worried about one of their friends.”

“Who?” Aunt Maxi perked up and walked on my heels on our way back to the kitchen.

“I don’t know. I can’t remember her name. She actually came in.” I grabbed the two lunch quiches I’d taken out of the oven earlier and wrapped them in tinfoil, pinching the sides as tight as I could. “She owns Crooked Cat.”

“Alexis Roarke.” Aunt Maxi groaned.

I laughed and stacked the two quiches. “She said that you two are fond of each other.”

“Don’t get me started on her because I don’t come with brakes.” Aunt Maxi picked up the quiches. “You know those left-over doughnuts you gave me yesterday?”

“Yes. What about them?” I asked.

“I took them to her last night. Sort of a peace offering,” Aunt Maxi said. “She was just fine. So there’s no need to worry about her. Those women love to worry. If they aren’t gossiping or worried about someone, they’re dead.”

“They were happy to see her and that she was okay.” I was just about to ask her about Alexis’s claim that Aunt Maxi was going to raise the rent, but the bell over the shop door dinged, alerting me that someone had come in.

Aunt Maxi and I looked.

“Good morning, Maxine.” The man I’d taken coffee to took off his hardhat with his left hand, his right gripped the thermos.

“Good to see you.” Aunt Maxi’s joy of seeing the man was evident all over her face. Even her eyes tipped up in the corners with giddiness.

“I wanted to thank you for the coffee. My men appreciate your kindness.” His features were familiar. His big brown eyes were warm and matched the tender smile.

“I’m glad to see the two of you have mended ways. You know I believe everything happens for a reason.” Aunt Maxi walked over to the door as she recited her favorite saying. “I’ll have these back to you in a couple of hours. See you later, Patrick.”

Patrick? I took a deeper look at the man standing in front of me. Patrick Cane? I looked a little deeper. Patrick Cane.

My heart sank.

Recipes from The Bean Hive

Christmas Harvest Blend Coffee

Made by Roxy Bloom from The Bean Hive Coffeehouse

Ingredients:

- 1 pound of French Dark Roast Ground coffee
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 vanilla bean

Directions:

Combine the coffee, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in a bowl. Scrap the vanilla bean and add that to the bowl. Mix together and put into a container. Use the coffee just like you’d use your regular coffee.

Soul Harvest Chicken Soup

INGREDIENTS:

- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups less sodium chicken broth
- 8 oz can tomato sauce

- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (plus more for garnish)

- 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 skinless chicken breasts (16 oz total)

For topping:

- 3/4 cup shredded part skim cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped scallions
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 4 oz (1 small) haas avocado, diced
- 6 tbsp reduced fat sour cream, optional

DIRECTIONS:

Slow Cooker:

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft, 3-4 minutes. Slowly add the chicken broth, tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Add cilantro and remove from heat. Pour into crock pot.

2. Add the drained beans, diced tomatoes, corn, cumin, oregano and stir. Add the chicken breasts; cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours.

3. Remove chicken and shred with two forks. Add chicken back into the soup, adjust salt and cumin to taste. Serve in bowls and top with cheese, avocado, scallions and cilantro. Also great with sour cream or crushed tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Gingerbread Mischiefs Animal Treats

Ingredients

- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4  teaspoon  ground cloves
- 1/4  cup molasses
- 1/4  cup water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together molasses, water, and oil. Using a wooden spoon, slowly mix liquid ingredients into the flour mixture, stirring until well-combined.

4. Roll dough out to 1/4-inch thick and cut out shapes, gathering dough and re-rolling as necessary. I use a cute gingerbread cutter.

5. Bake for 20 minutes and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet.

Praline Liqueur Cake

Submitted from reader Connie Walker.

Ingredients:

Cake Ingredients:

Up to 1 cup chopped pecans

4 eggs

1 – 18 oz. yellow cake mix

1/4 cup cold water

1 – 3.4 oz. (small) package Jello Instant Vanilla pudding

1/2 cup Wesson Oil

1/2 cup Pecan

Praline Liqueur Glaze Ingredients:

1/4 lb. butter (1 stick)

1/4 cup water

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup Pecan Praline Liqueur

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 Grease and flour a bundt or tube pan (I use Crisco butter flavor and dry cake mix in place of flour). Sprinkle up to 1 cup chopped pecans in bottom of pan if desired. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, cake mix, water, Jello, oil and Liqueur until well mixed. Pour into bundt pan and bake for approximately 1 hour @ 325. While cake is cooling in pan; in medium saucepan, melt butter, water and sugar. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup Pecan Praline Liqueur. With cake still in pan, poke holes in cake. (the round end of a wooden spoon works great) Pour glaze over cake slowly, letting the glaze soak down in the holes. Let cake stand for a minute until all the glaze is absorbed into cake. Turn cake out onto serving platter.

Note: anytime you pour liqueur from the bottle, you should carefully wipe any drips from the bottle rim so that they don’t crystallize and get sticky. A good way to clean the bottle rim is to take your finger and run around the rim, licking your finger to clean. You’ll also want to clean the liqueur measuring cup the same way (no need to waste any of that good liqueur). And don’t forget to pre-clean the glaze from the saucepan and spoon. Yeah, the glaze is so good, warm and buttery that you’ll want to stand in front of the sink and lick the spoon and saucepan clean before you put in the sink to wash.

Christmas Coffee Bean Bark

Submitted by reader Diana Borgstedt.

Ingredients:

1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup of French roast coffee beans

Directions:

Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Pour melted chocolate into an 8x8 pan add coffee beans stir or press into chocolate. Cool until harden & cut into squares.

Any Specials Instructions:

If you line your pan with plastic wrap it pops out easier.

Memaw's Christmas Coffee Punch

Submitted by reader Lynn Wood.

Ingredients:

1 gal strong black coffee

2 C sugar

1 qt. Half and Half

1 gal vanilla ice cream

Directions:

Make strong black coffee, add sugar. Chill overnight. When ready to serve, add Half and Half and vanilla cream (in scoops) in punch bowl.

Any Specials Instructions:

This is a family favorite. You can't drink just one cup!

Pumpkin Cookies

The Bean Hive calls these Santa Kiss Cookies

Submitted by reader Stormi.

Ingredients:

2 Eggs

3 cups Sugar

1 and 1/4 stick butter

1 16 oz can of Pumpkin

1 pkg. chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

3 tsp. cinnamon

1 and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 and 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

3 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

6 cups of flour.

You can add raisins if you want.

Directions:

Cream together eggs, sugar, stick butter, then add can of pumpkin, chocolate chips and walnuts. Mix it all together. Shift together the cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, cream of tartar and flour. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well. Add raisins here. The stiring might take some muscles. :) Makes a large batch of cookies. Bake at 425 for 12-14 minutes.

Also by Tonya Kappes

A Killer Coffee Mystery

Magical Cures Mystery Series

A Ghostly Southern Mystery Series

Spies and Spells Mystery Series

Kenni Lowry Mystery Series

A Laurel London Mystery Series

A Divorced Diva Beading Mystery Series

Olivia Davis Paranormal Mystery Series

Bluegrass Romance Series

Women’s Fiction

Young Adult

Grandberry Falls Series

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