Poison Apple Crisp

by Addison Moore

  Ginger howls ten times louder, while Thirteen uses my shoulder as a springboard and lands square over the woman’s face, causing her grip on me to loosen.

  Ginger barks her way over and gives my ankle a hard bite.

  “Ginger!” I howl as my mouth escapes Rachelle’s clutches. “That’s my leg!”

  “Sorry!” The tiny pooch yips before clamping her mouth down over Rachelle’s bare leg instead.

  Rachelle belts out a howl, and in the distance I hear a man’s voice calling my name.

  “In the parking lot!” I riot back as I try to break free of Rachelle’s hold on me.

  Ginger shakes her body with a marked aggression as she hops up Rachelle’s body like a ladder and bites down over her nose so hard I hear a distinct crunch.

  Rachelle’s arms recoil to her face, and I manage to stagger away just as Noah and Everett run this way full force.

  “Freeze!” Noah thunders with his gun drawn, and Everett scoops me away in his arms.

  “Lottie!” Ginger yips as the ghostly pooch rises to the sky, and Thirteen floats up as far as he can go. “I’m leaving now. I suppose I should have told you earlier. I remember now who the litter belonged to! They were—”

  And just like that, her voice and her furry body get lost in a blaze of shining orange stars before blipping right out of existence.

  So much for getting some supernatural help in the paternity department.

  “Lemon.” Everett lands a feverish kiss to my lips. “Are you okay? Is the baby all right?”

  “Yes,” I pant as I land my feet back on the ground. “Noah, she’s guilty!” I shout. “She confessed to killing Brenda, and she’s Desmond Meadows’ girlfriend. She wrote the ransom note. She planted those books in Cokie’s office, and she stole the book from my house.”

  Noah quickly has her subdued and cuffed just as the parking lot fills with deputies.

  A deep purple haze fills the woods just beyond us, and for a moment I think I’m about to see Thirteen, but I don’t. I see that large beast, dark as night, ears sharp as razors that point straight to the sky.

  “Lemon?” Everett bows down until we’re eye to eye. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m positive.” I wrap my arms around him tightly and lose myself in the safety of Everett Baxter’s embrace for a moment. “Thank you for finding me. I don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t.”

  “Don’t think about that.” He lands a heavy kiss to my lips before pulling away abruptly. “I’m sorry. But there’s one more thing we need to do.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Find Evie.”

  I glance past him at that purple glow in the woods.

  “Don’t worry. I know exactly how to do just that.”

  I call Thirteen over, and he leads the charge past the parking lot and into a clearing that sits just behind a row of evergreens. A group of teenagers, mostly boys, stands in a thick circle and in the middle is a row of girls, each wearing what looks to be skimpy French maid’s costumes.

  Evie’s voice emits from the middle of it, barking out commands.

  “Shake it to the left. Shake it to the right. Shake it, shake it, shake it, all all night!”

  The girls turn around at the very same time and flip up the back of their skirts, effectively mooning the crowd with their barely there underwear, and I gasp at the horror. But the boys all around us—they belt out a cheer of their own, of primal approval.

  “Lemon?” Everett’s voice is tight. “I don’t see kick pants.” His voice booms as he parts the sea of high school boys, causing them to all but scatter.

  “Dad!” Evie snaps. “You’re ruining everything!”

  I’m about to join the effort to ruin things when I spot my older look-alike stuffed into one of these ridiculous French maid’s uniforms.

  “Carlotta? What in the hell are you doing?” I wail as I latch onto her shoulders. “Are you insane?”

  “Come on, Lot,” she whines. “This is our debut. Find another bush to entertain the mister in. This is our space.”

  “Your space to do what?”

  Evie scoffs as she folds her arms across her chest tightly, and I can’t help but notice the way she’s bulging out of her top.

  “Okay, fine,” Evie huffs. “I give up. You win, Dad.”

  “Don’t do it!” Carlotta lifts a finger. “You’ll ruin everything we worked for. All those hours at Red Sa—”

  She stops cold, but both Everett and I glower at her.

  “You were about to say Red Satin, weren’t you?” I gasp. “You took these girls there to learn dicey dance moves! No wonder Lainey thought you’d need permission slips. What in the heck is going on here?”

  Evie holds up a hand to Carlotta. “I’m sorry, Cray-Cray, but Mom’s too good of a detective. I might as well spill it. Carlotta dreamed up this whole idea of cheer after dark. Hot uniforms and even hotter moves. We only perform at parties.” She looks to Everett. “So far we’re booked for three. We’re already making a killing, Dad. You don’t want to shoot down my very first business venture, do you?”

  He gives a long blink. “Consider yourself unbooked. Your dirty dancing career ends tonight.”

  Evie clucks her tongue. “I hate everything.” She plucks her hair out of her ponytail with an aggressive yank. “Come on, Dash. Let’s go change.” She stalks off and links arms with her blonde bestie. “At least we still have cheer.”

  Everett growls as he looks to Carlotta, and I lift a finger.

  “Allow me,” I say.

  All the way home I give Carlotta a piece of my mind.

  I wish I could say that she’ll never pull a stunt like that again, but I’m pretty much a realist when it comes to her and her harebrained shenanigans.

  Carlotta is going to be Carlotta, and for as long as she’s in my life, things are going to get a little Cray-Cray.

  Chapter 19

  The end of September ushers in every bit of fall’s splendor—the bold red and orange maple leaves raining down over our world, the crisp air, the scent of apple cider warming our senses, and the overall jovial atmosphere it sponsors. Of course, it’s ten times more magnified here at the Grand Apple Orchard that sits on the outskirts of Honey Hollow.

  Evie changed her mind about having a few friends over at Everett’s place once she realized we weren’t about to let her have the house to herself. Instead, she opted for something a little roomier that could fit every student at Honey Hollow High and then some—the Apple Orchard itself.

  It’s early evening on the last Friday of September, the exact day that Everly Baxter turns sweet sixteen, and just about everyone who’s anyone in Honey Hollow is here to celebrate the big day. The sky is welted with dark purple clouds that seem to be boiling overhead as if they were percolating in a cauldron, but we’re not paying them any mind at the moment. This evening isn’t just Evie’s birthday. It’s the official fall kickoff here at the orchard. There are bounce houses, and trampolines, dunk booths, rows and rows of carnival games with loads of cheap but adorable prizes, candy apples, caramel apples, a cider press, and there’s even a face-painting station where Evie and all of her friends have spent the last twenty minutes disguising themselves as every animal known to man.

  But now it’s time for Evie’s cake, as her friends and all of those who love her gather around and we sing to her at top volume.

  The cake is a three-tiered pink wonder, covered with glitter. The top tier has an iridescent unicorn horn sticking out of it at an angle, and there are large holographic looking eyes adhered to the second tier. Evie helped me designed it, and she even helped me decorate it. And the best part? She said she enjoyed the process.

  I hope to spend much more time with her in the kitchen in the future. Nothing would please me more. I’ve also provided every cookie, cupcake, and sweet treat you can imagine for tonight’s event, along with a few of my beer-battered pickles, of course.

  We finish up with the song and Evie does he
r best to blow out the candles, and once a plume of smoke envelops the cake, the crowd lets out a raucous cheer.

  Meg is playing the part of photographer tonight and is kindly documenting the entire event. She says she wants to make a scrapbook for Evie’s sixteenth birthday, the same way our mother did for us.

  Cressida hops up next to Evie just as Meg snaps another shot, and Evie promptly pushes the blonde’s face into the cake.

  The crowd lets out another cheer, and I give a little squeal of excitement, too.

  “Arrrgh!” Cressida spins in a circle. “Cormack!” she shrieks as her featherheaded bestie takes an apprehensive step forward. “Quick, give me your scarf. This sugar is ruining my skin!”

  “Not on your life.” Cormack shrinks back in horror while clutching at the plaid swath of fabric wrapped around her neck. “This is a Hermes. You’re not getting near it.” She takes off, and Cressida gives chase.

  I can’t help but indulge in a full-blown belly laugh on their behalf.

  Noah offers Evie a quick embrace.

  “Happy Birthday, kiddo. You’re doing it right. Great party.”

  “I concur,” I say as I land a kiss to her cheek.

  “Come here.” Everett pulls his baby girl in and lands a kiss to the top of her head. “Thank you for choosing such a wholesome venue. You sure you’re really okay with this?”

  Evie nods up at him. Her hair is in long dark ringlets and her makeup is sparkly, and pink, and all around perfect. She’s wearing a pair of bright yellow wedges that puts her at just about her father’s height. Evie is stunning, and smart, and sweet all the way around. And I’m proud to be her mother.

  I sniff back tears.

  “There she goes again,” Evie teases as she pulls me in as well. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ve decided to go easy on you since you’re expecting. No wild parties.” She winks over at someone, and I glance back to see Carlotta pretending to look the other way in a hurry.

  “Thank you for that, Evie,” I say. “I appreciate it.”

  She takes off as my mother and Wiley help cut the cake.

  Meg swoops over with her phone pointed our way.

  “Wave to Lainey and baby Josie.”

  “Hello, girls!” I say as Noah, Everett, and I give a cheery hello. Lainey doesn’t have any plans on ever leaving the house again. She let us know flu season was just kicking off, and there was no way she was going to risk it. Lainey has been more than a little protective over her sweet angel, and now that I have a little sugar cookie growing inside of me, I understand her reasoning completely.

  “Lottie!” a shrill voice calls out, and I turn to see Keelie jogging over with a baby pouch secured to her chest. I can see a pair of tiny legs dangling out the bottom with adorable fuzzy socks attached and a head poking out of the top with an orange knit pumpkin hat on. “I missed everything, didn’t I?”

  “No, you’re fine.”

  “Bear is getting me a caramel apple, but I made a beeline right over.” She lets us peer inside her pouch and a tiny blue-eyed baby blinks up at us.

  “Oh, Keelie, he’s so precious.” My hand presses to my chest. “I’m so glad you came.”

  “I’d better say hello to the birthday girl. And to think, you’ll be the one with a baby strapped to your chest this time next year. It’s all happening so fast, Lottie. Everything is going to change, but you’re going to love it,” she says as she heads toward Evie.

  Carlotta comes up next. “Good party, Lot.” She looks out at the festivities underway as Evie whoops it up with her friends. “I’d like to think this is the kind of sweet sixteen I would have thrown you, but I think we both know if I’d have raised you there would have been the three B’s in play—beer, boys, and one wild bender.”

  “Don’t be too hard on yourself,” I tell her. “You just described my sweet sixteen perfectly. But there was one more B in there you left out—Bear, my cheating boyfriend.”

  Carlotta pretends to gag. “Some friend you are. You gave your bestie a dud-muffin and kept a surplus of stud-muffins for yourself.” She winks at Noah and Everett. “I still can’t believe you landed two of the hottest commodities in the Western Hemisphere. I always knew you were an overachiever.” A howl goes off in the distance, and her head jerks that way. “Did you hear that?” She shudders. “A chill just went down my spine.”

  A flicker of lightning brightens the sky, and the crowd lets out a collective ooh. A rumble of thunder growls from above, and I’d swear on all that is holy the ground just shook beneath my feet.

  Carlotta pulls her cardigan tight over her body. “I don’t get chills often, but when I do, I like to pair it with booze. I’d better hunt down Harry and see if he can rustle up some hard apple cider.”

  Noah washes those verdant green eyes over my features.

  “Lottie Lemon, you are glowing tonight.” His dimples dig in. “It’s chilly out. How about I get you some hot apple cider?”

  “I’d love that.”

  He takes off, and Everett cups his hand over his mouth.

  “Make it two,” Everett shouts, and Noah gives a thumbs-up from afar. “See that, Lemon?” He wraps his arms around me. “We’ve got our very own cabana boy.”

  “Ha-ha.” I give his ribs a quick squeeze. “You’re very funny,” I tease. “I’m just glad the two of you are getting along.”

  “I’d get along with my worst enemy for you—oh, wait.” A dark chuckle pulsates through his chest.

  “You’re two-for-two, Judge Baxter. You’re a real comedian.”

  A dark shadow catches the corner of my eye, and I turn my head a notch but don’t see a thing.

  “Dad?” Evie calls out. “Can you help load my presents into this wagon? I’d like to take them home and open them tomorrow. You’ll have to make two trips to the car at least.”

  “Sure thing,” he says before turning back my way. “You want to hang out here? I’ll be right back.” His brows dip a notch. “On second thought, I have a feeling I’d better keep an eye on you.”

  “Now you’re pushing it,” I tease as I dot his lips with a kiss. “I love you, Everett.” I swoon as I look up at his blessed by God features.

  “And I love you, Lemon. You make me the luckiest man alive.” He lands a heated kiss over my lips and makes my heart thump wildly. “I’ll be right back.”

  “You’d better be,” I say. “That was one heck of an appetizer. I can’t wait for the meal.”

  “I like how you think.” His brows twitch as he takes off.

  I head for the refreshment table and come upon it just as a juicy red apple rolls right off. I take a few steps forward in an attempt to pick it up, but it inches out of my grasp and begins to pick up pace as it rolls its way into the orchard to the left.

  A breath gets locked in my throat as I slowly follow it.

  There’s nothing natural about the way this apple is moving on its own. I watch with morbid fascination as it hurries along, and my feet match its clip as I drift farther from the crowd.

  The sky lights up with a shard of fractured light, followed by an intense peal of thunder—so loud, so horrifically barbaric, my eardrums feel as if they’re about to burst from the trembling effect.

  That shiny red apple stops cold, and just as I’m about to pick it up, the sound of something rushing in this direction comes from behind.

  I spin on my heels just in time to see an enormous Great Dane, black as night, with pointed ears, and a thick spiked collar around its neck bolting in this direction. He scoops the apple up into his mouth and trots right off with it.

  It’s him!

  It’s that dark shadow I’ve been seeing all over town.

  “Wait!” I call after him as he takes off into the night and disappears into a swirl of black stars. “Come back!” I shout as my feet slow to a stop.

  Another smattering of stars appears in a rainbow of pastel colors—pink, blue, and yellow—as slowly a familiar form begins to appear, and a small cry evicts from me.

 
“Nell!” I shout as I wrap my arms hard around her and take in the faint scent of lilacs emanating from her skin. For all my life I’ve just called her Nell. I didn’t find out she was my grandmother until she passed away a little over a year and a half ago. But as my transmundane status is lucky enough to afford me, I get to see her ghost every now and again. “Oh, you’re here.” I pull back to get a better look at her curly gray hair with a twinge of lavender. Her eyes seem to be the same matching hue, but her friendly face and that warm smile—it’s just the way I remember. “Oh, Nell, so much has happened since I last saw you. I’m having a baby.” I place my hand over my stomach. “But you probably already know that. I mean, you all but told me I was going to be a mother a few months back. And now it’s happening. Nell”—I pant out a laugh—“it’s happening, and I’m so glad I get to share it with you.”

  “I’m happy for you, Lottie.” She gives a frenetic nod, but her face—it’s rife with worry. “You must listen to me.” She grabs ahold of my shoulders just as Everett runs up.

  “Lottie?” he shouts, and in a moment he’s holding my hand. “What’s going on?”

  “It’s Nell,” I whisper as if I’m in a trance, and it’s just about true since I can’t seem to take my eyes off of her. I give his hand a squeeze, assuring him he can hear her, too.

  “That creature you saw”—Nell’s voice trembles in a manner I’m unfamiliar with—“you must never follow it ever again. You have to promise me, Lottie. Listen up. There’s going to be another murder in Honey Hollow, very, very soon. And this time, I’m imploring you to not have anything to do with it. Do you hear me?” Her voice hikes an octave, and I inch back. I’ve never heard Nell speak to me this way. “I mean it, Lottie. You can’t step into the middle of this one. I forbid you to involve yourself in the case. It poses a very large risk to both you and your unborn child. There are some realms of darkness we simply aren’t allowed to tread, and this is one of them.” She looks past me. “Everett, watch over my granddaughter. Promise me you won’t let her get caught up in the evil coming this way. Make Noah promise, too. Promise me, Lottie.” Her lavender eyes bear into mine as she evaporates to nothing.