The three ladies entered the main foyer, laughing and feeling fantastic. They parted ways, each headed for their room to dress for dinner. Missy had selected a red velvet cocktail dress for the occasion, and part of her Christmas gift from Chas was a double strand of pearls, with a matching bracelet and earrings that would be the perfect complement to her outfit. She had black patent leather pumps as a nod to “Santa style,” and was planning to wear her hair up, with a red velvet bow at the back.
Echo was stunning in ice-blue, her long red curls flowing down her back, and Carla, as always, looked elegant in black. Chas wore an ivory colored sport coat with a red rose in the black satin lapel and a Santa hat atop his thick black hair. Spencer and the rest of the gang had dressed in their finest as well, and little Cammie thought she was a princess in her pink satin frock and shiny shoes.
Echo and Carla went to the ballroom a bit early, so there were greetings and tears as a prelude to Missy’s entrance. Echo told Missy to text her when she and Chas were on their way down, under the pretext of having their drinks ready, and when the text came in, everyone was silent, and Spencer closed the heavy double doors, waiting outside them to let Chas and Missy in.
“Spencer! You look wonderful,” Missy embraced the Marine, who was dressed elegantly in a black pinstripe suite with a red shirt and black tie. He still wore his Santa hat, and a wide grin.
“Wow, you look beautiful, Mrs. B,” he returned the compliment and Missy’s hug.
“Merry Christmas, Spence,” Chas shook his hand.
“The merriest that I’ve had in quite some time sir,” he remarked honestly.
“Shall we?” Missy was just hopping to get inside and start enjoying her guests. Little did she know what awaited her.
“We shall,” Spencer agreed, grinning from ear to ear.
He opened the doors and heard a great shout of “Merry Christmas” from the family and friends inside.
“Oh my goodness!” Missy gasped, her hands going to her face as her eyes welled with tears at the sight of the beloved group.
They rushed her en masse with hugs, kisses and wishes for a Merry Christmas, Kel capturing the tender moments with his camera.
“Gamma, gamma!” Cammie jumped up and down, tugging on the bottom of Missy’s skirt.
“Oh, sweet baby girl,” she cooed, scooping up the toddler and hugging her tight.
After his round of hugs and kisses, Chas drifted to the side, where Spencer stood, observing the reunion with a satisfied smile on his face.
“This your doing?” he asked, gesturing to the chattering group with his champagne flute.
“I don’t know what you mean, sir,” the Marine replied, the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement.
“Uh-huh, that’s what I thought,” the detective nodded. He clapped the young man on the shoulder with affection. “You’re a good man, Spence.”
“It’s the company I keep, sir.”
Chapter 24
Missy was in the kitchen, taking a breakfast casserole out of the oven after all of the gifts had been opened on Christmas morning, and Spencer wandered in, asking if she needed any help.
“Come over here, you sweet, kind, amazing young man,” she ordered, holding out her arms for a hug.
The mountain of a Marine went obediently and swallowed his boss in a bear hug, surprised to see tears in her eyes when he stepped back.
“Everything okay, ma’am?” he asked, concerned.
“Everything is way more than okay, Spence. The gang told me what you did for me,” she said, wiping at her eyes.
Missy took one of his large, strong hands in both of hers. “We are so fortunate to have you as part of our family. Every time we’ve needed you, you’ve been there, and you’re just like a son to us,” her kitten grey eyes overflowed with tears and love.
“Thank you Spencer, not just for the Christmas gift, even though that’s probably the most generous thing that anyone has ever done for me, but for just being who you are, and doing what you do…even when I don’t understand it,” she laughed softly through her tears.
The Marine dropped his gaze, his throat working, a muscle in his jaw flexing.
“I…” his voice broke and he stopped, cleared his throat, and tried again. “I’m the one who’s grateful, Mrs. B. You and Chas took me in and treated me like one of the family. I had no one to come back to when my deployment was over. I didn’t fit in as part of the civilian world anymore, I had nowhere to go,” he swallowed hard.
“You and Chas, Maggie, Echo and Kel, the Inn…this place is my world now. I have a chance to be normal again. Well, at least…as normal as I can be,” his laugh was a hiccup.
“Oh, sweetie, none of us around here are normal…that’s why you fit in so well, she laughed, squeezing his hand. “Now you listen to me…as long as I live and breathe, you will have a place to go. A place where you are loved and appreciated and free to be as vague and mysterious as you want to be,” she grinned, tears shining in her eyes.
A single tear rolled down Spencer’s cheek and he covered it by picking up his boss in yet another bear hug and lifting her off the ground. When he set her back down again, both of them looked at each other and laughed.
“Now, make yourself a useful member of the family and go make sure there’s plenty of coffee and orange juice in the dining room,” she ordered affectionately.
“Yes ma’am,” the Marine turned to do his boss’s bidding with a smile.
The timer for another oven went off and Missy pulled a batch of fresh, hot, Morning Glory muffins out to cool.
“Hey, Mrs. B,” Cheryl came into the kitchen. “Need any help?”
“As a matter of fact, you can dice up this melon for the fruit cups while I take these muffins out of the pan,” Missy replied, handing her a cutting board and a knife.
“I’m glad you came back here to see me, darlin. How are you doing? I haven’t had much of a chance to talk to you when you’re by yourself. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there when you went through such a difficult time. I can’t even imagine what that must’ve felt like,” she teared up again.
“I never knew something could hurt so much. Not physically, emotionally. Even though I never had a chance to meet that precious little guy, I had felt him kicking and moving inside of me. It’s silly, but…I miss him. I really do,” Cheryl sighed, her lower lip trembling a bit.
“Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry. It’s not silly at all. He was a part of you, and a part of Ben, and it’s perfectly sensible and right to miss him,” Missy pulled the beautiful young mother close.
“I know. I’m okay most days, but sometimes it’s more difficult. Ben was my rock though the whole thing. He’s such a good man.”
“Yes, he is. I’m so glad that the two of you found each other. Such a sweet family. I think about y’all every day and miss you so much.”
“We miss you too. I can’t tell you how many times Cammie asks us “Where Gamma?” Cherly smiled fondly.
“That precious girl,” Missy grinned. “I’m so glad y’all are here.”
“Me too,” Cheryl gave her another hug. “Now we’d better get on this fruit salad before those hungry people start a riot in the dining room,” she said, turning back to the cutting board.
“You’re really okay?”
“I’m really okay. Especially today.”
“That’s my girl.”
Chapter 25
Most of the family and friends at the Inn were either napping, reading, or talking quietly on Christmas afternoon. The gifts had been opened, another spectacular meal had been consumed, and all was right in their collective worlds. Spencer Bengal donned his running gear and went for a long run, his feet eating up the miles as he breathed deeply and cleared his head.
He loved being with everyone, loved the fun and laughter, but it seemed like whenever he was indoors for too long, the walls tended to close in on him. It felt really good to push his body and work off some of the extra calories in which he’d indulge
d over the past couple of days. He was in great shape and never had to worry about his weight, but when he ate too many things that were outside of his typical fare, his body let him know about it.
There was no one on the beach on the sunny and beautiful December afternoon, as he ran along the water’s edge, just before sunset. He didn’t even keep track of how many miles he’d put on his jogging shoes, preferring to just enjoy the salty air and let his mind roam free. Returning to the Inn before he got truly fatigued, he showered, changed into casual clothes and headed for the company car.
The drive out into the country seemed to drag on forever, probably because the Marine was looking forward to seeing his former teammate, but after an eternity, he finally came to the end of the dirt road that led to the cabin. He didn’t use a flashlight to guide his way, preferring not to alert anyone who might be in the area to his presence. He knew that Janssen would see him, and that’s what he wanted.
He headed for the cabin at a fast walk, knowing that the FBI would’ve gotten everything they needed from it and would no longer be in the area, having moved on to other cases. He mounted the steps to the front porch and sat down with his back against the hand hewn siding to wait. After hanging out for about an hour, with no sign of Janssen, Spencer decided to go inside and check things out.
The cabin had been cleaned, and was spotless. The broken handles on the cupboards had been repaired, as had the leaky faucet in the kitchen and the switch on the ancient battery operated lantern. Janssen had been here alright, and had apparently been determined to leave the cabin in better shape than he’d found it. Spencer hoped that meant that his fellow Marine would be staying in the area for a while, then he saw the cooler.
Sitting on the rickety coffee table, whose legs had also been repaired by Janssen, sat a simple white Styrofoam cooler. Curious, the Marine opened the cover and what he saw made him smile sadly. A six pack of beer, and a large chunk of gator tail wrapped in paper were inside, along with a note that was scrawled, quite obviously with Janssen’s right hand (he was a lefty), in block letters, so that no handwriting expert could ever have traced it. It was a method that he and those like him employed in order to stay below the radar, leaving no trail.
“THIS TIME THE BEER IS ON ME, BROTHER. FOR A WHILE, I WAS ABLE TO FORGET THAT I’M NOT FIT TO BE AROUND NORMAL PEOPLE. FOR A WHILE, I WAS ALMOST NORMAL, AND IT WAS GOOD. STAY SAFE AND LAY LOW – MAYBE SOMEDAY, WE’LL SHARE STORIES OVER A COLD ONE. MERRY CHRISTMAS.”
Spencer read and re-read the message a few times, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. He’d been able to adapt, to play at being normal for long enough to embrace it. Guys like Janssen couldn’t do it, and after a while, didn’t want to. So he was off again, to find another place to hang his well-worn camouflage cap, leaving a kindred soul behind to hope that he’d make his way in the world, hiding and hurting with no relief.
Chapter 26
Carla and Echo sat, dressed in pajama pants and t-shirts, in front of the fireplace in the Wedgewood parlor, drinking cocoa, eating marshmallow treats that Cammie had “helped” make for them, and feeling nostalgic.
“How did this year pass so quickly?” Carla said, shaking her head and chewing a bite of marshmallow treat.
“I know,” Echo nodded her agreement. “It seems like I just got here.”
“I remember the first time I met you. I instantly disliked you,” Carla laughed.
“Oh, it was totally mutual, girlfriend. I was such an insecure mess back then. Smack dab in the midst of a mid-life crisis, not knowing where I belonged, or who I was, or what I wanted to be when I grew up.”
“So, what’s changed?” Carla teased. Echo threw a chunk of marshmallow treat at her. “To be fair, I was more of a mess than you were,” she admitted, eating the chunk that she’d caught.
“So, what’s changed?” Echo retorted with a grin. “I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up,” she mused.
“That’s easy to solve, just don’t grow up.”
“That theory seems to work well for you.”
“Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it, dearest,” Carla drawled, licking the cocoa mustache from her top lip as she sprawled on one of the formal sofas.
“What mischief are you ladies up to?” Missy padded in, wearing bunny slippers that Cammie had given her for Christmas, sweat pants and a t-shirt with cartoon characters on it. Her hair was tossed up in a messy bun, and she looked totally relaxed and happy.
“We’re discussing the fact that we choose to never grow up,” Echo brought her up to speed on the conversation.
“Works for me,” she plopped down into a wing-back chair by the fireplace, dangling her legs over the arm of the elegant piece.
“Cammie down for the night?” Carla asked.
“Yep, and the kids have all gone into town for a movie. It’s so nice having all that laughter and love around. I wish they didn’t live so far away,” Missy commented.
“Well, at least they’ve been able to come down for the two major holidays since you’ve been here,” Echo pointed out. “But yeah, I miss them too.”
“I have a lovely batch of cupcakes in the kitchen if you guys are so inclined,” Missy offered, changing the subject.
“I’m in,” Carla said immediately.
“Me too,” Echo piped up. “Need help?”
“Nope, you two sit tight, I’ll be right back,” she said, getting out of the chair and stretching before heading to the kitchen.
When she came in with the tray of freshly frosted vanilla bean cupcakes, Echo inhaled deeply.
“Mmm…those smell amazing,” she said appreciatively.
“They sure do,” Carla agreed. “Sometimes I wish that I could just have the scent of cupcakes in my house, rather than having to bake and eat them.”
“That’s it!” Echo exclaimed, startling them.
“Umm…what’s it? What are we talking about here?” Carla was confused.
“That’s what I want to be when I grow up, I’ve figured it out.”
“A cupcake baker? Cuz…you’re kind of already doing that.”
“No, a candle maker,” she replied excitedly.
“Am I the only one who’s not following what’s going on here?” Missy asked, passing around the cupcakes.
“If you want to smell cupcakes without having to bake them and eat them, you can. I can make scented candles in all the flavors of your cupcakes and sell them in your shop,” Echo explained. “I took a candle making class at the community college in Louisiana and I loved it. I could make all sorts of beautiful scented candles and sell them.”
“That’s a great idea,” Carla sat up. “I use candles in my client’s homes all the time, and there’s no one around here who does custom work. I could tailor the scents to match the feel they’re trying to achieve in their home. I love it! How soon can you get started?”
“I’ll have to order some bulk supplies, but I can have it up and running right after the first of the year. What do you think, Missy?”
“I love the idea, and I know just the spot where we can display them in the shop. We should also have some for sale over here at the Inn for the guests who don’t wander over to the shop.”
“Wait, does that mean I’ll officially qualify as being an adult?” Echo worried.
“Nahhh…we’ll still know who you are,” Carla grinned.
“Okay, good.”
Missy laughed and held up her cocoa mug for a toast. “To cupcakes, candles and friendship,” she laughed.
Copyright 2015 Summer Prescott Books
All Rights Reserved.
A letter from the Author
To each and every one of my Amazing readers: I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Let me know what you think by leaving a review!
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Summe
r Prescott
Peanut Brittle Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 25 (A Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) Page 6