Pumpkin Pie Parting

by Addison Moore

  I keep meaning to threaten them within an inch of their lives to get them to leave the seedy organization, but the right opportunity never seems to present itself. Besides, from what I hear, they don’t have to sleep with anyone. The girls control how far they want their so-called dates to go, and according to both of them they leave after dinner. I’m sure they wouldn’t confess to the contrary to me anyhow. We’re not exactly what I would consider close.

  My phone pings and it’s a response from Aspen.

  Hello, Lottie. (I can practically feel the sarcasm coming off the screen.) That was Annette Havershem. She’s a good friend from work—yes, that work. And yes, I realize that she was at the charity event the night of the murder. I also realize that she didn’t leave her sweater behind at your bakery since she almost did and I made it a point to give it back her. Do you know what else I realize?

  Her message cuts off with the cliffhanger.

  Great. I slump into the sofa as Pancake looks up at me with a bored look on his face.

  What else do you realize, Aspen? I’m sure you’re dying to let me know.

  My phone pings again.

  You’re investigating her, just like you investigated me. I get it. And no, I won’t say anything. But I will tell you that Nettie had nothing to do with the murder of that woman.

  I sniff at the phone, a little indignant that she called me out so boldly. And, fine, she just so happened to humble me all at the same time.

  Where can I find Nettie? I hit send and can practically feel her sighing as she inspects my text.

  A few minutes drift by, and just when I’m about to doze off with my head against Pancake’s body, my phone pings back to life.

  There’s a mixer tonight in the Onyx Lounge at the Regal Hotel. Most of the EE will be there. I’m pretty sure she won’t miss it. There’s a huge business convention being held there all week, lots of fertile ground to cover. I suppose we’ll see you there.

  Ugh. Fertile ground? Any of the girls in the Elite Entourage will be lucky if they don’t find themselves in my position. Not that I’m unlucky. Quite frankly, single mother or not, I’m the luckiest girl in the world. My hand floats to my belly as I look over at Everett and my heart swells to the size of the room.

  He gives my knee a quick pat. “Don’t worry, Lemon. We’re doing this together.”

  “Good, because we have a date in the Onyx Lounge at the Regal Hotel in just a few short hours.”

  “No way, no how. I smell an investigation afoot and I want you to consider bowing out of this one—and perhaps every one after that.”

  “No way, no how, Baxter. I’ll be at the Onyx room tonight whether you’ll be there or not.”

  Everett purses his lips, his stony blue eyes pressed hard over mine.

  “I guess it’s a date.”

  “I guess it is.”

  And I couldn’t be happier.

  For whatever reason, my need for justice feels just as necessary as my need to breathe.

  Besides, Trisha Maples still needs justice. And I plan on giving it to her.

  Chapter 9

  The Regal Hotel in downtown Fallbrook stands erect like a glittering tower with its gold embossed signage. The ten-foot-tall glass doors give way to a sweeping marble entry dripping with rows of crystal chandeliers and a reception counter that looks as if it goes on for miles. There’s a black rhinestone sign that reads Onyx Lounge to our left and our party moves as one large procession in that direction.

  Of course, once I found out the Onyx Lounge was open to any and everyone, I invited Keelie and Bear to tag along. And you have no idea how hard it was not to blurt out my good news to Keelie about the baby—but, seeing that Noah’s ghost could be roaming just about anywhere at any given time, I’m afraid he might hear the good news from someone other than me. Keelie has never professed to be an expert at keeping secrets.

  Both Everett and I agreed that I should consider it carefully before telling Noah about the baby at all. He could either be so thrilled that the news makes him fight harder to live or despondent over the idea that he may not be here to help raise our child—it could do him in quickly. I feel like I’m playing with fire, and I’ll do anything to protect Noah from getting burned.

  Keelie and Bear quickly arrive with Keelie in a fitted blue dress and Bear looking as if he just stepped off a construction site. Bear has sandy blond shaggy hair and a ruddy complexion from spending his fair share of time outdoors. He owns and operates his own construction company. In fact, he’s the one that Nell hired to put together the bakery.

  No sooner do we exchange a quick greeting than I note Alex and Lily heading this way.

  Lily has her hair down in long, luscious, dark waves and she’s poured herself into a little black dress that comes up high on the neck and short around the thighs. I don’t see any sign of Naomi, so it looks as if Lily is winning this round in the fight for Alex Fox’s heart. Alex looks so much like Noah tonight. My eyes burn with tears at the sight of him.

  “Sorry, Lot.” Keelie wraps an arm around my shoulders as we watch them head this way. “Lily was there when you threw out the invite.”

  “I don’t mind one bit.”

  Lily flexes a smile. “Naomi said she’d be here soon. Let’s head in. Maybe there’s still time to lose her in the crowd.”

  Keelie, Bear, and Lily speed into the Onyx Lounge, but Alex steps in close to Everett and me as if he were about to say something profound.

  My God, what if he knows about the baby? But how would he know? It’s not like there’s a neon sign going off in my belly that’s exposing my secret.

  And then it hits me.

  “Is it Noah?” A horrible feeling grips my chest. “We can leave right now and be at Honey Hollow General in twenty minutes. Twenty minutes. That’s enough time for the world to change.”

  “Noah is fine. In fact, I just left the hospital.” Alex flexes those dimples and my heart breaks for his brother all over again. What I wouldn’t do to get those dimples of Noah’s to dig in one more time for me. “I just wanted to let the two of you know I finally tracked down my mother. She was in Hawaii at some technology-free resort. But she’s home now in Florida and come tomorrow she’ll be on the first flight to Vermont. I’m picking her up in Burlington.”

  A breath gets caught in my throat. “Your mom?” I forgot all about the fact he’s been trying to reach her. Tears moisten my eyes once again. Noah has only ever spoken briefly of his mother. All I know is that she lives in Florida. I don’t even know why Noah and Alex ended up moving from one bad marriage to the next with their swindler of a father. Noah’s father has long since passed away, and that’s about all I know regarding his family history.

  “That’s great,” Everett says, picking up my hand and it feels so natural this way with him. “I look forward to seeing Suze again.”

  “Suze? Short for Suzanna?” I inquire, completely thrilled at the prospect of meeting the woman who is basically my mother-in-law and the grandmother to my child.

  Alex cinches his lips. “Yes, but if you call her that, she’ll shoot on sight. It’s just Suze. Don’t get your hopes up for any warm and fuzzy meeting. Our mother is a special brand of woman. She’s maternal to a point.”

  Everett nods as if acknowledging this. “And she’s likable to a point.”

  They share a brief chuckle on her behalf, and now I’m worried about whether or not Suze will find me likable to a point. I want her to like me. Heck, I want her to love me.

  We head into the club and are immediately engulfed with the thumping of thrashing loud music. It’s wall-to-wall bodies in here as if the entire adult population of the hotel had drained into this orifice. The floor is glossy and black, there are tables set out everywhere along with round white sofas, and every spare seat is filled. The bar is lined with people all clamoring for a drink, and I can’t help but notice how glamorous all the women look, so young and beautiful. The men are all dressed in suits, looking every bit as dapper as Everett, al
beit they’re nowhere near his league.

  The scent of alcohol mingling with expensive perfume fills our senses and my nose twitches as if it’s had its fill of both.

  Lily scuttles back over to Alex and hooks her arm through his. “This place is crawling with hookers! Lottie, attach yourself to Everett lest one of these floozies tries to steal your man.”

  I do as I’m told, and I do it quickly. Everett belongs to me. I’ve licked him in more places than one. He’s definitely mine.

  I lean toward Lily. “How can you tell these women are hookers? They look gorgeous, young, and healthy. They could be anybody.” Like my half-sisters, but I leave Kelleth and Aspen out of it for now. Naomi, too. She’s worked for the EE before. A fact that I’m willing to bet she doesn’t plan on showing off to Alex.

  Lily scoffs. “One of my old sorority sisters is a higher-up in the organization. She’s here, of course, and she tipped me off that every girl with one of those thick rose gold bangles on her wrist belongs to them. It’s like a calling card so the men looking for a good time will be able to identify who to flock to.”

  I glance around, and sure enough there’s a thick rose gold bracelet on just about every girl here.

  “I suppose if you didn’t belong to the EE and you happened to stumble into club Onyx, it would be a bad time to wear a rose gold bracelet tonight,” I say.

  Lily nods. “You’d better tell your new sisters. I saw both Kelleth and Aspen in the back wearing that exact same hardware on their wrists.” She tugs at Alex. “Come on. Let’s dance. Then I’ll let you ply me with drinks and take me to your place.”

  “Not so fast,” a female voice calls from behind and we turn to find Naomi standing tall in a stunning pink number that clings to her skin—and an all too familiar face by her side, my half-brother.

  “Finn!” I say as I leap over and offer him a firm embrace. Finn and I get along a heck of a lot better than I do with my new sisters. He’s down-to-earth and sweet and funny—and dating Britney, not Naomi. And then it hits me why Britney threatened to murder Naomi earlier today. “You’re not cheating on Britney with Naomi, are you?”

  Finn stiffens. Finn has that handsome, wholesome boy next-door appeal, with caramel wavy hair and dark eyes. He’s the manager up at the Sugar Bowl Resort, but seems to be spending most of his time in Honey Hollow as of late—or Fallbrook as it were.

  “No, I’m not,” he says as Naomi and Lily begin to squabble. “Naomi said she wanted to talk about coordinating clients and events between the Evergreen and the Sugar Bowl, but I’m beginning to feel I was ambushed. Brit is going to kill me. She’s been telling me all along that Naomi was after me.”

  “It looks like she’s right,” Everett says.

  I wince over at Alex, who’s currently trying to break up the hostilities between the two ex-friends.

  “Actually, she might be wrong,” I say. “I think Naomi is using you to try to make Alex jealous.”

  Finn closes his eyes a moment. “Great. I’ve always wanted to be used to help someone out with another relationship.” His chest bounces with the prospect. “You know what, I’ll do it. One and done. But she just gets tonight. In fact, I’ll text Brit and let her know I’m helping out a friend. And when I see her later, I’ll let her know exactly what happened.”

  Everett takes a breath. “Good luck with that. I’ve met Brit. She could take you. Venture carefully.”

  Everett moves us deeper into the club, and we weave and bob our way through partially clad bodies, each one more beautiful than the last, until I spot a cluster of familiar faces near the back right where Lily said they would be.

  “Look at that, Everett.” I casually nod to the rear of the room. “My sisters are there and so is Annette.” The copper-haired beauty stands tall in a silver dress that looks ten sizes too small. It scoops low in the front and hardly covers the top of her thighs.

  She glances this way and immediately her eyes hook to Everett. I can’t help but make a face at the sight. Sure, I get it. Everett is hard to resist, but something about the way her face brightens every time she sees him doesn’t sit well with me.

  “Maybe you should go over and talk to her?” I frown as I say it. “As much as I hate the thought of her thinking that you want to take her to your room, I think she’d sell you the moon just as quick as she’d sell you her body.”

  Everett presses those gorgeous eyes to mine. “I’ll head over and see what she has to say about that night and about Trisha. Just remember this. I love you, Lemon—and I love that baby. There’s not a woman in the world who has the power to lure me to her room but you.” He gives my hand a squeeze before ditching into the crowd, and I swoon hard at the way Everett Baxter loves me.

  I’m about to head over to my sisters when a brilliant shock of light erupts over the dance floor, and soon I’m being swayed to the rhythm of the music by a dashing ghost—the exact ghost who just so happened to have knocked me up.

  “Noah!” I wrap my arms around him and he feels incredibly solid. I pull his cheeks forward and land a long, smothering kiss over his lips and I don’t care how insane I happen to look.

  “Whoa.” A laugh gets caught in his throat. His dark hair is slicked back, and he’s dressed in a suit, blending in impeccably with the men in this room. “I’m glad you’re happy to see me, Lot.” He looks around. “Where did Gemma go? We arrived at the very same time.”

  “I’m here,” the warbling voice of a female trills from behind and I look to find my favorite llama swaying from side to side as if trying to keep up with the funky beat pumping from the speakers. “Goodness, Lottie, you’ve put on your dancing shoes. And Noah, you do look mighty handsome. Is there a suspect in the vicinity?” She cranes her incredibly long neck as she peruses the dance floor.

  “Over there in the back with Everett.” I quickly orient them to where he is and spot Annette giggling up at him, flipping her hair, and batting her lashes. “She works for the Elite Entourage. They’re hosting a function tonight, so I thought this would be a great time to catch up with her.” I sway to the music in the event anyone sees me, they might just think I’m singing along.

  Gemma brays out a laugh. “Hey? I can really get into this!” She trots in front of us, her long neck swaying to the rhythm of the music as her feet enjoy an odd little tap dance. “I’ll head over and listen in, Lottie. Don’t you worry. We’ll find Trisha’s killer together. They won’t get away with this!” Her voice begins to grow faint as she moves through the crowd. “They won’t get away with murder!”

  “I should hope not.”

  Noah sighs as he wraps an arm around me, our gaze still set in their direction. “Ivy and I were getting close to doing a complete shutdown of this twisted organization. And here they are, out in full force.”

  “See? The world needs you, Noah. You have to come back to us.” My hand flits to my belly as if it were trying to clue him in on what I have cooking in there.

  “I’m trying, Lot. I’m trying my hardest. It’s always good to hear your voice. As much as I don’t want you camping out at the hospital, it is a treat to hear you. Alex dropped by a little while ago.”

  “Did he tell you your mother is coming out tomorrow? I can’t wait to meet her.”

  His eyes grow large. “Lottie, I don’t recommend you meet my mother.”

  “What? Don’t be silly. Of course, I’m going to meet her. I’m dying to meet her. She’s your mother and my mother-in-law. I’m going to love her.”

  He shakes his head. “No, you won’t.”

  I swat him on the arm as we share a quiet laugh.

  “I will. And I’m hoping she’ll love me, too.”

  He winces. “Okay, but don’t set your hopes up for something you might not get. And don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He ticks his head to the back again. “So how are you and Everett?”

  “We’re fine. And we’re just friends. We’re keeping it chaste. I’m still your wife, Noah. Come back to me, and we’ll get right back to
where we were.”

  He sighs as he wraps his arms low around my waist while those sad evergreen eyes bear hard into mine.

  “Lottie”—he presses it out with grief—“don’t let me drive a wedge between you and Everett. You do what you need to do. I just need to know that you’re happy. You should forget about me, Lottie.”

  My heart breaks hearing him speak those words. He’s acquiescing to his dismal physical state and I hate it.

  “Noah, I miss you far too much to ever forget about you.”

  A couple bumps into us from behind and we turn to find a familiar blonde bopping alongside a silver-haired wily fox who is in the process of breaking my mother’s heart.

  “Cormack. Topper,” I say, glaring hard at him.

  He squints over at me. “Hey ho! What do you know? Are you up for a party with two lovely singles ready to mingle?”

  I suck in a quick breath. “You don’t even recognize me! My mother is Miranda Lemon in the event you’ve forgotten her as well. She actually thinks the two of you are dating. Please give her the common courtesy of letting her know what a jackhole you are before traipsing about looking for a threesome!”

  “Um buh duh—” his mouth hangs open as he inspects me. “Ah, yes, the baker.” It comes out with far less enthusiasm. “Cormie, why don’t I get us a drink?” He takes off, and no sooner does he belly up to the bar than he’s flanked by a couple of rose gold wearing bracelets.

  Noah grunts, “ Cormack is really seeing this guy, huh?”

  “Don’t let your ego take a hit,” I’m quick to tell him.

  Cormack postures herself while taking pouting to a whole new level. “Thanks, Linda. But look at those girls crawling all over him. Topper is such a catch. It’ll be a miracle if I can hold onto a man like that.”

  I’d ask whatever happened to Noah, but Noah happens to be front and center and I’d hate for him to hear it.

  “If only my Noah were here.” Her entire body sags and that emerald green strapless gown she’s donned looks as if it’s about to slip right off her body.