Frosting Disaster

by Zoe Arden

  "Why didn't you? He left you like a million messages."

  She shrugged. "I lost my phone. I never even got them."

  "Oh." What could I say to that? It wasn't like I'd never lost a phone. This just happened to be really bad timing. "What about the shoe we found?"

  "Before I took the ferry to the mainland the morning after the ball, I spent the night in the forest. I wanted to be alone. I was wind sailing and not paying attention. I crashed into a tree, scraped up my leg, and lost my shoe."

  "Well," I said, biting my lip. It all made sense when she laid it out like that. "I guess it's not your fault this all happened then. I mean, if you left a note you had no way of knowing it was gone."

  Betsey set her hands on her hips and looked me in the eyes. "The last time we saw each other, I was a little rude to you. A lot rude, maybe. Damon and I weren't exactly having a great night at the mayor's ball. And then when you interrupted me and Polly..." She shrugged. "Damon told me you've been helping him track me down. He told me what you did."

  "He told you?" I asked. My heart dropped into my stomach and my throat ran dry. I couldn't believe he'd have told her about our kiss.

  "Yeah." She nodded. "I didn't know what to think about it at first but I guess—"

  "I'm sorry," I blurted out. I tried to fill my lungs with air but they didn't want to expand. "I'm sorry," I said again. "It was an accident. Damon didn't mean to kiss me."

  Her eyes darkened. "An accident?"

  "Yeah. Damon was upset. You were missing and he was mad at his mom." I was pacing now, sounding like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "He only did it to make his mom mad, I promise you. He hasn't stopped worrying about you since you've been gone."

  "Damon... kissed you." Her head tilted to the side and her eyes had a strange sheen to them that left me unsettled. "He kissed you," she repeated as if she was trying the words out on her tongue.

  Slowly, I began to realize something. One, that I'd put my foot in my mouth again. And two, that until I'd said anything just now, Betsey had no idea Damon had kissed me.

  "When I said Damon told me what you'd done, I was talking about your breaking into Sweets n' Treats. I was going to thank you for everything you'd done to help him. I was going to apologize to you for misjudging you. But now you tell me you kissed him." Her voice had raised an octave and her eyes sparkled red.

  "Actually, he kissed me," I muttered.

  "I always knew he wasn't over you," she snapped.

  "He is," I said but it sounded false against the weight of the kiss. "Really. You have to believe me. He loves you."

  "Like you love Colt," she suddenly snarled.

  "Yes, like I love Colt."

  "Except that when he's not around, you’re making out with my boyfriend."

  "It was one kiss and it meant nothing. He felt terrible about it afterward."

  "And what about you?" a voice behind me asked. I turned to find Colt standing in the doorway with Dean Lampton.

  "Tell me, Ava," he said. "When Damon kissed you, how did it make you feel? Did you like it?"

  "Colt," I said, my voice hoarse.

  He took a step forward. "Tell me," he repeated. "Did. You. Like. It."

  My mind was racing. I seemed to have lost my voice entirely. I was so busy trying to think of the right thing to say that I failed to realize the one thing I should have said—no.

  * * *

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-FOUR

  .

  .

  .

  * * *

  * * *

  .

  I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. All I could think about was Colt but his image was all mixed and muddled in my mind. His face mixed with Randall's, with Renee's, with Betsey's and Damon's. My thoughts were all running together; I couldn't keep them straight.

  I'd texted Damon last night and he'd never responded. I was worried I'd ruined things for him and Betsey. Then again, I was even more worried that I'd ruined things for me and Colt. He hadn't responded to my texts either. Something told me he wasn't going to.

  I went for a walk at lunch, hoping to clear my head. I tried Colt's phone again but he didn't answer. What if I'd gotten him in trouble with Dean? I'd basically accused his boss of attempted murder; that couldn't have gone over well. Then again, he'd probably scored points with Dean for dumping me. Is that really what happened? Had I just gotten dumped—again? Same thing, different guy.

  I turned past Wanda's Willow, thinking that I ought to just stop asking people questions. No one liked a busybody and lately it seemed that I'd become the queen of them. I was so lost in my thoughts that I almost ran into Sally. I managed to sidestep her and ended up hitting Bebe instead. Her nose crunched into my head.

  "Ouch!" she yelled, rubbing her nose. "Watch it!"

  "Sorry," I said.

  Vivian was with them. They were like the Three Stooges. If Renee had been here, she'd have made a fourth. Since there could only be three stooges, I imagined that Renee would be butting heads with someone trying to keep her claim as Moe.

  Vivian took a step toward me at the same time as Sally and they smacked into each other.

  "For crying out loud!" Sally shouted. "You're as bad as this witch here."

  "It wasn't my fault," Vivian yelled back. "Why don't you watch where you're going?"

  The day was almost as hot as their tempers. I turned around while they were distracted and tried to duck away before they could start back in on me. I'd rather have them at each other's throats than mine.

  "Hey!" Sally shouted. "Ava!"

  I stopped, sighing, and turned back to them.

  "Why don't you three go home already?" I asked.

  "Because unlike you, we have a job to do. My mother was killed by one your kind when I was a kid, just like Renee's husband. I'm not about to let either of their deaths go unpunished."

  "My brother has a big scar on his neck from when he was attacked by a vampire," Bebe said.

  "And my sister's heart was broken by a warlock," said Vivian. "He promised to marry her but it was all a lie."

  "But the things you're describing are things that could have happened to anyone, by anyone," I said, trying to reason with them. "I mean, a broken heart? It could have been a human who broke your sister's heart just as easily as a warlock. A scar on a neck? What if he'd been in a car accident instead? I'm sorry for any deaths that have occurred but even that isn't paranormal specific. There are plenty of human serial killers out there."

  Sally glowered at me but the other two looked less certain. It was Sally who spoke next. "The only reason we're talking to you now is because I thought you'd like to know that Renee is gonna be just fine. Dr. Dunne says that she can be released in a few days. I know how worried you've been." It would have been a nice thing to hear if Sally's voice hadn't been dripping with sarcasm.

  "Watch it, Sally," Bebe said. "She'll probably try to kill us next if you're not careful."

  "You're one to talk," I snapped back.

  "Excuse me?" Bebe said.

  It had just occurred to me that my accusations against Dean might have been misplaced. Who else had reason to want Randall dead? I thought the answer to my question was staring me in the face. Maybe it had been all along.

  "Where were you guys when Randall was killed? I know you were outside our bakery right before it happened but when I looked up again, you were gone."

  The three of them froze. Their faces turned pink.

  "What are you saying?" asked Vivian haughtily. "That we left our friend when she needed us?"

  "No, that wasn't at all what I was saying." My mind was turning now. "Where'd you go when you left Mystic that day? Why run off, anyhow?"

  "We're not stupid," Sally sputtered. "We know what you're implying."

  "Do you?" Maybe Sally did but the other two looked confused. Had it never crossed their minds that someone might consider them suspects in Randall's death? "Then why don't you answer my question and save me the tr
ouble of repeating it?"

  I paused, giving Sally a chance to answer. She turned to her friends. "She's saying we killed Randall."

  Bebe's mouth dropped open. Vivian let out a high-pitched squeak. "I told you we should have stayed in Mistmoor," she snapped at her friends. "The beach here is no better than the one over there. And we haven't found a single vampire. I thought you said Sweetland was crawling with them." She looked accusingly at Sally, who seemed to be ignoring her.

  I let my mind take over my voice, just for a minute. Long enough to explain things to them. "Randall was in favor of telling humans the truth about paranormals, which is something you all want. But what you don't want is the two groups mingling. Interacting. You want paranormals gone and humans in charge. Randall wanted us all to co-exist."

  "I don't know anything about Randall," Sally said, "except that he deserved what he got."

  Bebe and Vivian shot her a look. "I don't know that he deserved to die," Vivian said, looking uncertain. "He was certainly misguided but so are all witches and warlocks. Off the island and out of our lives would have been enough for me."

  Bebe said nothing. Her face was emotionless but her eyes fluttered nervously from one person to the next. They landed on me and slowly one side of her mouth began to curl up. Her eyes went from nervous to angry, and her face went from emotionless to full of rage.

  "How DARE you?!" she yelled, loud enough to draw people's attention.

  Natalie Vargas was walking by. She paused when she saw me facing off with the women and started toward us.

  "I never touched Randall!" Bebe was still yelling. "When he died, we went back to our hotel and waited for Renee's call. That was it."

  "Hello," Natalie said smoothly, looking at me. She arched her eyebrows and cocked her head to the side as if asking if I needed help. "Everything okay here?" She narrowed her eyes at the women. "Because if it's not, I've got a trick or two I've been working on and I'm more than happy to try it out on you." Her smile widened. "I mean for you, of course."

  "It's just fine," I told her. "We were just having a little discussion about Renee. And Randall."

  "Actually, we were just leaving," Sally said. She spun around and walked off as if expecting Bebe and Vivian would just follow after her. She was right.

  I let out the breath I'd been holding and turned to Natalie. "Thanks."

  "No problem. They're quite a little bunch, aren't they? Frankly, I'm surprised they haven't turned tail and run off the island by now. Swum, even."

  "I know. I guess that the one thing they really have going for them is their dedication." I shot Natalie a sideways glance. "Can I ask you something?" I said, hating that I'd started my question that way. It sounded so trite.

  "You want to know about me and Randall."

  I blinked, surprised. "Yeah. How did you know?"

  Now it was her turn to let out a sigh. "I ran into Betsey the other day when I was out for a walk. She mentioned that she'd told you about us." She paused. "I think she felt guilty about it, like she'd let something slip. But it was never a big secret."

  "How come I never knew about it then?"

  She shrugged. "Because Randall and I dated a long time ago. Long before you came to the island. Why should I have mentioned it? Have your aunts told you everyone they've ever gone out with? Would you be surprised to learn that Trixie and William Carney went out a few times a number of years ago? What about Sheriff Knoxx? Do you know who he took to his prom?"

  "No," I said, feeling silly.

  "Because you never thought to ask, right? Just like I never thought to mention it to you. It was in the past. I never stopped liking Randall as a friend but my husband is the only one I've ever really loved."

  Talking like this with Natalie made my heart ache for Colt, as if the memory of him had already begun the process of burrowing deep down into my heart and suddenly it had been yanked back.

  Natalie and I walked a little ways together, each of us lost in our thoughts. We separated just outside of Mystic. I opened the door to chaos.

  "Ava!" Eleanor shouted when she saw me. "Otis called. The new mayor's ball is this weekend! I haven't even started on the sugar cookies yet." She was about to pull her hair out of her head.

  "It's okay," I told her. "Where should I start?"

  * * *

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-FIVE

  .

  .

  .

  * * *

  * * *

  .

  "I told you not to trust her," Dean Lampton said, narrowing his eyes at me later that afternoon when I tracked Colt down at Betsey’s mother’s house. "She's always getting herself into trouble. Maybe next time, you'll listen to me."

  My jaw dropped open. Colt said nothing, he simply turned and walked out the door.

  "Colt!" I called after him. "Colt, wait!"

  He was moving so fast he was almost sliding down the ladder. He dropped to the ground with a thump and moving quickly to the car he and Dean had arrived in. Dean stood on the deck surrounding the treehouse, looking down and watching us.

  "Wait!" I shouted.

  Colt rounded on me. "So, that's what you were doing with Damon that day in the woods. I thought it was strange when you told me that you'd just casually happened across Betsey's sneaker. At least now I know the truth."

  "No, Colt. I swear it was nothing like that."

  How did I continually get myself into these situations? Why hadn't I kept my mouth shut and just let Betsey keep talking? Why hadn't I just told Colt the truth from the beginning? Then I could have avoided this whole mess. Now Damon would be in trouble with Betsey, too, and after he'd just gotten her back. If I could have reached, I'd have kicked myself in the back.

  "Really? Why should I believe you?" Colt’s eyes were burning a dark fire.

  I looked at him, pleading with my eyes for him to calm down. To listen to me. It wasn't working. He could hardly even look at me.

  "You know me," I said. "You know that I love you."

  He folded his arms across his chest. "Really? Is kissing another man how you show your love?"

  "No, I didn't kiss him. He kissed me."

  "Did you stop him?" he asked. I bit my bottom lip. "Did you push him away or slap him or do anything at all to let him know you weren't interested?"

  "I told him that I loved you and he could never do that again."

  "Gee. Thanks."

  "What did you want me to do? Kill him?"

  "If it had been me... if I was the one getting kissed by an ex-girlfriend... what would you want me to do?"

  "Colt, please. You're not even listening."

  "What would you want me to do, Ava?" he pressed.

  Tears were filling my eyes now.

  "I'd want you to yell at her and tell her you'd never see her again."

  "Did you tell Damon that?" he asked.

  I shook my head.

  "I can never believe anything you say again." He took a deep breath. "If the kiss really meant nothing... if you really didn't care for Damon... then you would have told me about it the second it happened."

  "No, I wouldn't have because I was afraid this was exactly how you'd react."

  "Well, congratulations," he said. "I guess you know me better than I know you."

  Dean laughed from up in the tree. I looked up and saw him peering down at us, looking all high and mighty.

  "You have nothing to laugh about!" I shouted up at him. "You probably tried to kill Renee yourself!"

  His face turned red.

  "You... I... how could you say something like that?! Don't you know who I am?"

  "Ava..." Colt said in a low, warning voice. "What are you doing?"

  I turned back to him. "It makes sense," I said, forcing my mind off of my problems with Colt for just a minute while I made a new connection.

  "On what planet does it make sense?" Colt asked. "You're accusing the head of the Council on Magic and Human Affairs of attempted murder. Does this mean you think he kill
ed Randall, too?"

  "No," I snapped. "But think about it. Dean hates Renee. He knows there's a killer on the loose—Randall's killer. He thinks this is the perfect opportunity to frame that person for Renee's murder, too, only it didn't work. For whatever reason, Renee lived and Dean's plan got foiled."

  I could tell that Colt was considering my words. Dean was on the bottom rung of the ladder now. I wasn't sure how much he'd heard but based on the way he stomped toward me, I guessed that it was a good amount.

  "How dare you accuse me of such a crime?" he snarled. "Is there nothing you won't say or do to make yourself look good?"

  "I'm not trying to make myself look good or to deflect blame or anything like that. I'm just telling it like it is."

  Dean looked at Colt. "I came here with you today to ask Miss LaGrange a few questions. I had no idea that I'd get into a spitting match with your girlfriend."

  "Ex-girlfriend," Colt said, and my heart snapped in two.

  "What?" I said, spinning around to face him. "You don't really mean that."

  "Don't I?"

  "But... I love you."

  "Well, you should have thought of that when you were kissing Damon."

  He opened the door to his car and got in. A second later, Dean followed, and then they were gone.

  * * *

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-SIX

  .

  .

  .

  * * *

  * * *

  .

  The band playing the ball was different. The last one had refused to come back. This time, instead of slow orchestral music, Otis had opted for a funky jump, jive, and wail kind of band. The music was fast with an easy dance beat. Even if you couldn't swing, there was room out on the dance floor for you. People were shaking and jiggling and swinging their arms from side to side. Even people who claimed they couldn't dance, like Melbourne, were too pumped up by the music to sit out.