Sweets Shop Cozy Mysteries Boxset

by Maisy Morgan

  “They’re from LA,” Cindy said, and Mary was confused for a moment as to why this should be an explanation. Evidently people in Georgia all thought people in California were innately rude to their elders.

  “It’s all right, Hannah,” Mary said. “Don’t worry about me.”

  “All right?” Tripp questioned. “She ran over my foot on purpose!”

  “Prove it,” Hannah retorted.

  “How about we start baking?” Cindy said, putting her hand to her forehead as though her daughter’s behavior was going to make her pass out.

  “I should just go upstairs and get out of your way,” Tripp said.

  “I have a better idea,” Mary said. “Why don’t you and Hannah go into the living room and get started on folding the dessert boxes and putting the stickers I printed on top?”

  Tripp looked at Hannah hesitantly before conceding to this plan, and soon the two high-strung teenagers were out of Mary and Cindy’s hair. “I am so sorry about that,” Cindy muttered quietly as they got to work on desserts. “I don’t know what got into her.”

  “It’s fine,” Mary said. “I think I might just be used to Tripp’s attitude. I’m kind of glad she called him out on it.”

  Cindy smirked. “Hannah will do that.”

  “Good,” Mary said. “I hope she’ll stick around and do it more often for me.”

  As they got to work on some various recipes, their conversation took a rather natural flow towards the teenagers whom they could hear occasionally snipping at each other in the other room. “Do you mind me asking what happened to his father exactly?” Cindy asked.

  Mary nodded. “It was a home robbery,” she said. “Robber shot him.”

  “Oh my goodness,” Cindy said. “Was Tripp home?”

  “Yes. He was upstairs at the time. The robber ran off after he shot Aaron… Tripp’s father,” Mary explained. “Tripp ran downstairs and found his dad who was already dead, I’m afraid.”

  “That’s just awful,” Cindy replied. “Were he and his father close?”

  “Best friends,” Mary said.

  “And his mother?”

  Mary sighed. “I have no idea, honestly. My daughter, who was practically a baby when she gave birth to Tripp, got into drugs a year or so after he was born. Aaron tried to help her get clean, and so did I. But she didn’t want to help herself. Aaron left her, got full custody of Tripp, and then refused her any visitation. I hate to say it because she’s my daughter, but Aaron did the right thing by keeping him away from her. Since I was still trying to help her get clean, he cut me out too. Truthfully, Tripp doesn’t even really know me. Phone calls on his birthday was about the extent of our relationship. His father would send me pictures sometimes, but he was always worried about him coming to see me in case his mother showed up. He wanted to keep him away from her, and I understand… but Tripp…”

  “Tripp is here stuck with a grandparent he hardly knows isn’t he?” Cindy questioned. “I’m so sorry, Mary.”

  “It is what it is,” Mary said, finding it odd how easy it was unloading all this heavy information on Cindy. “You’re very easy to talk to, you know?”

  Cindy smiled. “It’s a gift of mine, I think. I think I missed my calling as a counselor sometimes. So, when is the last you heard from your daughter?”

  “It’s been years,” Mary said. “Aaron had reached out to me recently, and I had been coming around a bit more, trying to get to know my grandson, so at least Tripp sort of knew me. But that was very recent. Aaron was killed less than a year ago. It’s still a pretty fresh wound for him.”

  The oven dinged. Mary had already put in the chocolate chip and pecan cookies, as well as some rainbow cake. Everyone sampled the treats before putting them into the dessert boxes. The rainbow cake turned out to be the biggest hit amongst the group of taste testers. And, much to Mary’s pleasure, Tripp told her he really loved the cookies.

  Chapter Four

  “Okay, I think that’s everything,” Mary said as she closed the back of the Ford Escape, feeling a bit accomplished after the immaculate amount of boxes were at last all tucked away. “Got the table… tablecloth… portable cooler storage… the tent…” she muttered to herself her mental checklist of everything that they would need. It wasn’t as though they had a long drive to the ballfield. It took her less than five minutes to get to the shop from their home, and the ballfield was right across the road and down a steep hill from the shop.

  “You think this event is going to be everything that Cindy says it’s cracked up to be?” Tripp asked once they got into the front seats of the car.

  “I mean, it’s probably not going to be like a festival you would go to in LA,” Mary admitted. “Brooks is a really small town.”

  “No kidding, there are more cows here than people,” Tripp said, huffing discontent as they drove past one of the two cow fields they always passed by on their way to the shop.

  “Don’t you think that’s kind of neat though?” Mary asked. “I saw someone on a horse the other day on the road! Apparently, that’s not really even that normal for Brooks because there were a few people taking pictures. The girl told me she ran out of gas, so she was taking her horse to the station so she didn’t have to walk with the heavy gas can, but you definitely wouldn’t see something like that in LA.”

  “You are trying way too hard to make all of this sound exciting,” Tripp said.

  They pulled up in front of the shop first, dropping off some of the excess boxes of treats as they only had so much room in the little portable cooler. Worst came to worst, she could send Tripp back to get more. Once the snacks were stored away in the shop’s cooler, they turned the car around and headed across some abandoned train tracks before pulling down a painfully steep hill arriving at the ball park.

  The place was still a bit deserted that early in the morning, but there were vendors getting set up. Mary laughed to see that a dunk tank would be part of the celebration. Under the large, covered picnic area, people were moving benches out of the way to make room for a stage for some of the performances. “This looks like it will actually be a pretty interesting little event,” Mary said hopefully.

  Someone in a brightly colored vest was pointing toward where they should park, and Mary cringed to see he wanted them to park at the top of another hill.

  “They picked a weird place to build a ballfield,” Tripp said. “I mean, look at all these hills! The fields are flat, sure, but they had to have carved all that out to get it level, right?”

  Mary laughed. “It looks nice though, doesn’t it?”

  “I guess,” Tripp unenthusiastically replied.

  They parked, and Mary jumped out perkily and ran around to the back where she could access the tent and table first. “This is going to be a lot of fun,” Mary said. “You might even meet some more kids your age.”

  “Hey Trippy!” a familiar voice called out. This caused Tripp to wince and give Mary a disgusted look.

  Mary ignored it and laughed to see Cindy pushing Hannah through the rocky gravel, causing her wheelchair to bounce around a bit. Tripp gazed at Hannah for a moment with a disgruntled look before his eyes looked towards the steep hill they were going to have to go down. “Umm, can you two use a hand getting the chair down?” he asked.

  Hannah looked towards the hill and seemed to relent for some assistance. “Probably a good idea, Mom,” she said to Cindy. “I don’t want to take a nose dive today.”

  Mary smiled approvingly at her grandson who held the back handlebars of Hannah’s chair while Cindy walked in front. “This is why you’re supposed to buckle into your chair,” Cindy scorned.

  “Nah,” Hannah said.

  “You could have brought the electric one, but you insisted on this one,” Cindy said, as they slowly made their way down the steep hill with Hannah.

  “You and I both know the electric one doesn’t work well in the grass or gravel,” Hannah said. “It’s fine for school and all, but if we’re going to an outdoo
r event, I’d much rather use this one. That electric one slows down so bad in the grass.”

  “Fine, but if you get stuck in the mud because you insisted on this one, you’re on your own,” Cindy teased.

  Tripp laughed, and Hannah reached back and gave him a friendly punch. “Shut up, or I’ll sock you in the face next time,” she said.

  “Can you even reach my face from down there?” Tripp teased right back.

  Mary, who had at last managed to pull the tent out of her car on her own, felt a warm sensation in her chest. Tripp was actually goofing around with Hannah now. She had been worried after their first interaction at the house that they were always going to bicker, but they seemed to be joking around now. Mary was glad, Tripp really needed to make some friends, and she personally adored Cindy and her spitfire of a daughter.

  “Hey, Grandma! I’m going to go with Ms. Cindy and Hannah to the sound booth! Ms. Cindy said she’s here to help set it up!” Tripp called.

  Her first instinct was to tell him no, that she needed help unloading things, but he looked so thrilled to have bumped into people he actually knew that she couldn’t resist granting him this small ounce of enthusiasm he was experiencing. “Go right ahead! Stay out of trouble!” she called down the hill towards him, as he pushed Hannah off while Cindy shot her an apologetic look before following the teenagers.

  Mary headed down the hill with the tent first, and it was in this moment that she realized how many times she was going to need to go up and down this hill. “Perfect,” she groaned. An event personnel helped Mary find the spot for setting up her booth and assured her that as soon as one of the event workers became available, she’d send them Mary’s way to help unload everything from her car. Looking around at how busy all the event workers were, helping those who had arrived before her, she didn’t think she would be so lucky, and so she accepted her fate of walking up and down that hill ten times.

  She went ahead and set up the large green tent excited that she had managed to find a green one to go with her lily pad theme. Then she began her march back up the hill, and once she reached her car, she then realized that she was indeed in the grandma stage of her life. Her feet were already hurting. She started to pull the chair out of the back when someone tapped on the bumper of her car to get her attention. Glancing up, she spied a handsome man near her age smiling back at her with a crooked grin. “You look like you could use some help,” he said.

  “I would love some help,” she responded.

  He pulled the table and chairs from the back of the car as he introduced himself. “I’m Preston,” he told her. “And you?”

  “Mary,” she said.

  “I don’t recognize you Mary,” he said. “I normally see the same booth setups year after year here. What is your booth for?”

  “I’m opening up a sweets shop here in Brooks,” she said. “I was told about this event earlier this week and managed to get lucky enough to get on the vendor list so that I could promote it.”

  “Wait, is it Lily Pad Snacks?” he asked.

  Mary beamed. “That’s me! You’ve been by the shop?”

  “Yeah. I got curious when I passed by and took a peek through the window. I love that mural on the back. Did you do that?” he asked.

  “I did,” she said, beaming.

  They got the table and chairs set up, and Preston followed her back up the hill to gather some additional supplies. “That’s really awesome – you’re talented,” Preston said. “Where are you from? You must be new in town.

  “LA, actually,” she said.

  “LA as in Lower Alabama or LA as in Los Angeles, California?” Preston curiously asked.

  Giggling inside, Mary responded, “That would be LA as in Los Angeles, California.”

  “Whoa, you sure did travel far to open up a sweets shop,” he said, unloading some storage boxes that Mary had filled with supplies to spice up her booth décor.

  “This man bothering you?” another man asked, stepping around the car and placing his hand on Preston’s shoulder. The younger man winked a bit at Mary.

  Mary laughed. “I don’t think so. Don’t tell me he’s the local creep or anything?”

  “Ha-ha, very funny,” Preston said. “Mary, this is Pastor Michael. He’s the preacher of the little white church a few doors down from your shop – the one with the bright red door.”

  “Oh, that place looks so adorable,” Mary said. “You don’t see a lot of stuff like that in LA. Churches there tend to be run out of abandoned warehouses or department buildings. There’s a handful of cathedrals there, but I just love the cute little church.”

  “You should pay us a visit sometime,” Pastor Michael said, and without even asking if she needed any help, he proceeded to pick up the décor box Preston had put down.

  “I’ve got to say, I’m really loving this whole Southern gentleman thing,” she said. Both of the men laughed at her comment.

  “Are you by yourself,” Preston asked, grabbing the cooler. “and couldn’t drag your husband out to help?”

  Pastor Michael gave Preston a look. “That wasn’t as smooth as you think it was,” he teased, and Preston blushed. “Just ask the woman if she’s single. That is if you’re interested. Don’t be weird.”

  Mary couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m single,” she stated, and Preston shook his head at the pastor.

  “Green tent?” Pastor Michael asked to divert the awkwardness as he began walking down the hill.

  “That’s right,” she said, and the pastor went on ahead of them. “I was married once, but the creep left me.”

  Preston leaned into the car to grab some dessert boxes, and when he did so, his shirt came up a bit, and Mary jumped in surprise when she noticed his firearm. Preston seemed to have noticed her discomfort, and he stood upright and hid the gun under his shirt again. “I’m a cop,” he told her, and she breathed a sigh of relief. “But I’ve got to be honest with you, nine out of ten men around here are probably carrying – cop or not. I’m pretty sure even Pastor Michael has a pistol at his side.”

  “Seriously?” she asked, taking some boxes into her arms as well.

  “We’re in Georgia,” he said matter-of-factly. “And not only that, but you’re in the middle of redneck country, darlin’.”

  “In LA, a gun at the side usually screams gang member,” Mary admitted. “I should probably get used to that.”

  “Welcome to Georgia, Mary,” Preston said, smirking as they walked down the hill together, being passed by Pastor Michael who was now heading up the hill to collect more dessert boxes for her. She was pleased to see when she arrived at the booth that Pastor Michael had already set up her cooler for her so she was able to put some of the boxes down in there.

  “I’m very excited to be here,” she said and nodded towards the picnic coverings. “That little trouble maker is my grandson. He came here with me.”

  Preston smiled. “Just you two?” he asked.

  Mary could tell this man was really trying to feel her out. He was handsome and seemed like an honest sort; he was on a first name basis with the local pastor after all, so she caved in and told him a bit more about herself. “Yeah, just us two. Tripp has lived with his father most his life. My daughter, his mother, was a wild child who lost custody, so I never got to know my grandson very well. His father was recently killed during a home break-in, so now he’s with me.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Preston said, realizing that he had been prying and felt ashamed to bring up such a sensitive topic.

  “It’s all right,” Mary assured him. “I didn’t know his father very well, truthfully. Things spiraled rather quickly after my daughter became pregnant. She had just been a kid at fourteen years old.”

  “This is the last of it,” they heard Pastor Michael say as he met them halfway down the hill.

  Mary thanked him and proceeded to lock up the car, and she and Preston walked back down together. She could see that Pastor Michael was already assisting someone else with un
loading, and she smiled at the man’s friendliness. “That must have been hard on you,” Preston said, returning to their conversation.

  “It was harder on my husband,” Mary said with a slight eye roll. “He couldn’t handle the whole pregnant-teenage-daughter thing. We got into it a lot after finding out she was pregnant. He actually wanted to throw her out over it. I felt like our daughter needed support. He was just embarrassed by her, and he wasn’t afraid to let her know it. Eventually, he left me. And I haven’t heard from him since. After Tripp was born, I did my best to balance my daughter’s new drug problems with being grandma, but eventually Tripp’s father had to make a choice for his child. He went to court, got custody, and made sure my daughter couldn’t come around. It was the right call, but I had my daughter to take care of – trying to help her get clean, but because she was always hanging around, Tripp’s father gave me the boot as well. It wasn’t until recently that he started letting me come back around. My daughter went MIA a few years ago. After Tripp’s father was killed, he came to live with me. At that time though, I had already set this move into motion. I’d invested a lot of my money into the new house and the shop. We didn’t really have much of a choice; otherwise, I wouldn’t have just uprooted him like this.”

  “That’s a pretty messed up situation,” Preston said, as he seemed to not know how else to respond to it.

  “Well, that’s why we’re here, really,” Mary said. “Fresh start. And, I think it’s just what my grandson and I need. I didn’t scare you off throwing my life story at you like that, did I?”

  Officer Preston smiled at her. “Not at all.” He nodded towards the picnic covering where Tripp and Hannah were talking away. “I will say this though. That, right there, is probably going to turn out to be one of the best things that has ever happened to your grandson. Cindy and Hannah are really good people. He’ll be lucky to have that girl as a friend.”

  Mary smiled at him. “Good. I think so too.”