Two Wicked Desserts

by Lynn Cahoon

  Pushing down the negative thought, she took a deep breath. Stating that you forgave someone and living it were two totally different things. Besides, she had an urgent issue before her. Was it just a random person, strolling down the street for their evening walk, or was it something more sinister? With the week she’d had, she wouldn’t be surprised if a cartoon character from one of her favorite Saturday morning shows greeted her in a few seconds.

  The barking continued until the dark figure knelt and called out, “Muffy, come see me. Come here, sweet boy.”

  Muffy ran out to the end of his leash, and Mia realized that the figure was Christina. She blew out a shaky breath that turned into a short laugh. “Christina, you’re home early.”

  She stood up and walked over to take Muffy’s leash from Grans. “I told you it was just a couple of drinks. Bethanie wanted to gripe about her boss. She’s tired of being treated like an assistant. He sends her on personal errands all the time. She has to pick up his dry cleaning and take it to his wife at the house. And she’s doing the grocery shopping, because Carol is busy with some society thing. And it’s not just going to Majors. She has to go to the bakery, the fruit stand, and the meat market as well.”

  “Sounds like she’s acting like an assistant,” Grans said.

  “Yeah, but Bethanie thought she’d be helping with real estate stuff. She wants to get her license and work in Sun Valley with all the big dogs. I told her she needed to learn the ropes first. I mean, that would be like me just opening up my own breakfast bar and expecting to know how to cook eggs.” Christina chatted all the way up the driveway. “She’s just impatient.”

  “And I bet working for John Louis isn’t the most pleasant environment,” Mia added as she opened the front door.

  “Ha, that’s an understatement. She says he’s really moody. He yelled at someone on the phone a few days ago. Something about not following through on a contract. Bethanie said he was hot.” Christina gave Mia a quick hug after letting Muffy off the leash.

  “What was that for?” Mia smiled as she locked the front door and set the alarm.

  Christina paused in the middle of the first flight of stairs. “For being easy to work with. Bethanie’s job reminds me of what my life could be if I had to work with Isaac. You saved me from my crazy family.”

  Mia watched as the young woman bounded up the stairs to the apartment, Muffy on her heels.

  Grans put a hand on Mia’s arm as they walked slowly up the stairs. “The girl’s not wrong, you know. You did take one good thing out of that relationship. And she’s already upstairs reheating her dinner.”

  “Christina isn’t Isaac,” Mia said, but her thoughts were on curses and family dynamics. She’d start reading Dorian’s journal tonight. Maybe that would help her figure out what was going on in her house.

  Mia hadn’t found out anything by the time she found herself yawning in her bed a few hours later. Dorian was painstakingly detailed about every part of his life. Which meant she’d gone through pages and pages about his import business and his traveling. Being detailed didn’t mean it wasn’t interesting and—she smiled as she set the book on the table—he had been funny and intelligent. It was hard to believe all that was left of him was currently stuck in her cat. And, worse, was watching her read as he sat on the bed.

  She reached over and rubbed Mr. Darcy’s head before turning off her reading light. “Good night, Mr. Darcy. Good night, Dorian. Sleep well.”

  * * *

  The next morning she stayed in bed longer than usual. She had no plans today except finishing laundry and planning next week’s schedule. She thought about reading more of Dorian’s journal, but she really wanted some coffee. If she could get in and out of the kitchen without anyone noticing, she’d come back to bed to read. If not, it was a sign she should get up. The Goddess liked sending signs. Or at least that was the way her life felt to Mia. She was always looking for the next sign to know what to do. Coffee first, plan the day next.

  She almost got out of the kitchen without running into anyone. A sleepy Christina had Muffy in her arms and was heading to the front door when she ran into her in the hallway. “Good morning.”

  “Yeah, whatever. Muffy has decided that waking up your grandmother to go outside is rude and because I’m young, he’s picked me as his personal assistant,” Christina groused. She smelled Mia’s coffee. “Can I snatch that and take it down with me? Please?”

  “Sure, I can make another one. It’s black, though.” Mia handed over her coffee.

  “That will work. I’m trying to cut down on the sugar. Bethanie says it messes with your chi. Of course, she’s always buying herself crap at the bakery when she runs errands.” Christina opened the apartment door. “She’s one of those listen-to-what-I-say-not-what-I-do kind of people.”

  “Thanks for taking Muffy out,” Mia called after her.

  She went back to the kitchen and made a second cup of coffee. This time, no one met her there or in the hallway, and she got back to her room with her coffee intact. Curling back up in bed, she opened the journal and continued reading.

  A knock on the door brought her out of the book. “Come in.”

  Christina came in, dressed in jeans and a tank. “Hey. I just wanted to let you know I was going downstairs to get that last load of laundry done. Then you can relax today.”

  “Thanks. I could have done it.” Mia glanced at her empty cup. She’d been reading for a while.

  “Not a biggie. I’ve got a lot of energy today. Levi’s coming by later and we’re going for a hike.” Christina came inside Mia’s bedroom and plopped down on the bed. Fingering the quilt, she sighed.

  “Are you worried about the date?”

  Christina shrugged. “Maybe. I just don’t want to get in too deep and then find out he’s not the one, you know, like you and Isaac.”

  “Isaac was never the one. I should have known that early in the relationship, but I kept excusing away all the things that bothered me. You know who you are and I’ve never known you to do the easy thing. Even with your parents and your future. You could be in some swank college sorority right now, getting ready for the spring formal, not worried about working for another two or more years.” Mia knew Christina was strong. Christina just needed to know that.

  “That’s true. I would have had salon appointments today to be pampered before going out with some doofus my mom would love because of the family name and money.” Christina glanced at her nails, which were sans polish but clean. “Bethanie would have loved being friends with that girl.”

  “Bethanie is that girl. Levi isn’t a doofus, though sometimes, like all men, he’s a little dense. Don’t give up on him so quickly. You two hit it off really fast. Maybe it’s time to step back and get to know each other, so you can trust each other too.” Mia stretched her arms, the journal upside down on her lap.

  “You’re a fountain of wisdom today, Mia.” Christina bounced up off the bed and headed for the door. “If you want my opinion on what you’re wearing for your date tonight, let me know before eleven. That’s when Levi’s picking me up. I’m not sure I’ll be back before six. I might score a free dinner out of this hike as well.”

  Mia glanced at the bedside table. It was already nine and way past time for her to get going. With Christina handling the laundry and her talk with Grans dealt with last night, she already had two things off her to-do list. Now to finish the journal, plan next week, and figure out what she needed to do about the library. Oh, and figure out who was trying to wreck her business.

  After grabbing a muffin and another cup of coffee, she headed downstairs to deal with next week’s orders and planning. She turned on the answering machine to listen to the missed calls. She had two more events that needed to be scheduled if she was staying in business. Odd way to put it, but Mia took down the information and called the numbers back to confirm. Both were businesses, so they’d be closed until Monday, but she’d get her acceptance in their hands as soon as someone liste
ned to the message.

  She marked off the days on the calendar and then worked with the calendar to set up classes. She’d been adding names bit by bit and sale by sale to her contact list for the newsletter she’d been planning. Now she needed to reach out and actually give them the newsletter that had been promised for a few months.

  She wrote about what was going on at the schoolhouse and Mia’s Morsels. Leaving out the break-ins and the dead guy in the back, of course. She thought that wouldn’t sell food very well.

  She sent the newsletter to Grans and Christina, asking them to proofread the thing. Once she got that done, she’d read it again and hit Send. What could it hurt? She glanced at her calendar and set up a recurring Newsletter Reminder to pop up once a month. She’d question the frequency later. If it wasn’t being sent on an effective schedule, it didn’t keep people invested.

  She was just finishing up the week’s shopping list when she realized it was already close to five. Where had the day gone? She locked up the office and glanced at the kitchen door. Just to reassure herself, she unlocked the door and did a walk-through. No one was in there. Christina had finished the last of the laundry, as she’d said she was going to do, and everything was in order.

  Mia let out a breath and was just about to check the back door when she saw someone in the backyard. Over by where she was planning on putting in the herb garden. Or had been before they’d found Denny there. She couldn’t see the person’s face, so she double-checked the locks and then went out the other door. Quickly locking it too, she put her cell in one pocket of her jacket and her keys in the other and went out the front door.

  She ran around the house to the back and right up to the tree that indicated the start of the garden border. No one was there. No figure. No person. Nothing.

  Glancing around the yard, she didn’t see anyone at all. How could someone have disappeared so quickly?

  She heard a noise coming from the front of the building and ran back around. Trent was just getting out of his truck. He saw her and waved, but must have seen something on her face because he hurried over to her side. “What’s wrong?”

  She glanced around the parking lot that held her beat-up van, Trent’s pickup, and her grandmother’s car. Other than those three items, the lot was empty. There was no one out here.

  She felt Trent’s hand on her shoulder.

  “Mia? What’s wrong?” he asked a second time.

  She looked up at him and shook her head. “I was in the kitchen right now and I swore I saw someone in the backyard. But when I came around, they were gone. How could they have just disappeared?”

  He looked at her and then pointed to the house. “Go inside and check out the chemistry lab. I’ll go check out the tunnel. Be careful; he might be in the house.”

  Chapter 16

  No one was in the house. The room where the secret passage entered the house still had the double locks sealed. Mia unlocked the one from the room to the rest of the house. Then she moved stealthily toward the second barrier, the door and lock to the actual passage. It was undamaged. When she tested the doorknob, the lock was still engaged. She listened to see if she could hear any sounds and jumped when her phone rang. “Hello?”

  “I’m in the tunnel at the bottom of the stairs. I can see the door, but no one’s here.” His voice crackled on the speaker. “What do you see?”

  “Nothing. The locks were still engaged. I checked the barrier door, and it’s solid.” She sighed. “Maybe I imagined seeing someone?”

  “No, I believe you saw someone. I’m sure you scared them away, however.” He paused, then continued. “I’m getting out of here. I’ll meet you at the front door.”

  She jiggled the doorknob one more time, just to be sure, then glanced around the classroom. They’d taken most of the chairs out of here, so only the desk and the chemistry lab stands remained. No one was here. She walked out of the room and relocked it. If anyone was somehow hiding in here, she had them boxed in now. She hurried downstairs to meet Trent.

  He stood there on the porch, dust and spiderwebs all over his hair and clothes. “I’m a mess. And it feels like I’ve got cobwebs all over me.”

  “That’s because you do.” She opened the door wider to let him inside. “Maybe we should cancel tonight.”

  “Are you kidding? Just because someone’s playing games with you? You’re stronger than that.” He shook his head and used his hands to brush off any loose cobwebs or dirt on his clothes before he came inside. “I’ll take out a broom and clean off your porch before we leave.”

  “Okay, but I’m fine with rescheduling if we need to.” He leaned in and kissed her. “We don’t need to. It might have been someone from the trails. And you do have a habit of seeing the local spirits. Are you sure it wasn’t one of those?”

  Mia thought. She’d only gotten a glance at the figure. “It looked like a normal person.”

  “Man, woman?” Trent pressed.

  Mia shook her head. “I was trying to get a better look, but I wanted to surprise them too. So I just took off running to see if I could catch them.”

  He shrugged. “I’d give you a hug, but I feel gross right now. Go get ready for dinner and I’ll get cleaned up. Are there towels in the bathroom down here?”

  “Yes, the gym bathrooms have walk-in showers and towels.” She felt her face heat. “I was hoping to put an indoor swimming pool in the gym area, or at least a hot tub. But I’ve got to get the business settled first.”

  He grinned at her. “Sounds like fun. I’ll give you some pool contractor names to get you an estimate. And if you do it off season because it’s indoors, I bet they’ll cut the cost so it might just be affordable this year.”

  “You’re assuming I’m going to stay in business. If someone doesn’t stop telling people I’m closing, I won’t have any business.” She tapped her finger on her lips. “I should call Elizabeth back. Maybe she’d remembered where she heard the rumor.”

  He took her arm and moved her toward the stairs. “Go get ready. You’re doing Elizabeth’s library thing next week. You can grill her then. And a lot of residents are attending, so you could just make an announcement when she calls you up to thank you for catering the event.”

  “You know, sometimes you have really great ideas.” She kissed him lightly on the lips, not wanting to get too close to the dirt and grime. “I’ll see you in fifteen.”

  “Perfect. I’ll wait down here if I get done first.” He nodded to the couch set Mia had bought for the lobby area. “I’ve got a few things I can handle on my phone if you need more time.”

  “I’m probably faster at getting ready than you are.” She took in his clothes. “Casual, but not beachwear. I think I know exactly what to wear.”

  “Will I like it?” His dark eyes danced with humor.

  It was her turn to shrug. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll both be surprised.”

  She took off up the stairs, leaving him at the bottom, watching her. And he was watching. She could feel his gaze burning through her clothes. Yes, life with Trent was never boring. Mia knew things didn’t always stay that way, but for right now, she was happy. At least in her love life. The rest of her life was teetering on the edge, and she was watching with bated breath for what shoe or boot was going to fall next.

  She’d been right; she was the first one down in the lobby waiting. Of course, she had the advantage of being in her own apartment. Trent was having to make do with a large, well-stocked, gym-type bathroom. The area was divided into girls and boys, but Mia had only updated one so far. Before the classes got too busy, she needed to get the second bathroom set up a little better. Right now, it was functional, but not remodeled.

  Both bathrooms did have the old-fashioned weight scale you’d find in a doctor’s office. That was a cool remembrance from the past and the school’s history.

  She scrolled through her phone and realized she’d missed a call. She hit the Recall button and waited.

  A woman answered th
e phone, her tone upbeat. “Good evening, Magic Springs Winery. Do you wish to make a reservation?”

  Mia hung up the phone. Why had someone from the winery called her just a few minutes before the man disappeared in her backyard? Priscilla Powers was the owner/manager and a coven member. Had she been trying to distract Mia while someone broke in? And if so, why? Mia didn’t want to be friends with Priscilla, but she drank wine from the winery, and she used it in her cooking. She even named the wine type when she put it in a recipe or paired it with a meal.

  Or had the caller been someone other than Priscilla? That made even less sense, but Mia had the feeling she didn’t know all the players in this game. She looked up and Trent stood next to the couch.

  “Are you ready?” he asked as if this was a normal, everyday occurrence.

  She decided to play along and put the troubles of the last week behind her. There was plenty of time to worry and think, though the one thing she did before standing up was to make a note in her journal about calling Priscilla on Monday. Maybe she could fake a friendly tone for at least a few minutes. Priscilla didn’t make small talk easily. Mia tucked her phone and her journal into her tote bag and followed Trent out to the truck.

  It was date time.

  Except the first thing he did as they drove was apologize. “Look, I know this is date night, but I think you need to hear this.”

  “Hear what?” Mia assumed it was about the building. Or the feud. Or the guy who broke into her house. Then she stopped. She couldn’t assume anything anymore. She smiled at Trent, who’d been watching her. “Sorry, it’s been a weird few days.”

  “I think it’s going to get weirder. My mom wants to talk to you.”

  “What?” The word came out more as a little scream than a question. She hadn’t met Trent’s parents yet, and with the problems she’d had with her last set of potential in-laws, she’d hoped to keep away from them for a long while.