A white SUV limo was making its way slowly up the street. The windows were tinted, but I had a good idea who was inside. “That must be Grant Bateman and his investors,” I said. “Stacey told me she had to rent two of those things just to fit everyone in. It cost a fortune, not to mention the boat they’ve hired for this afternoon.”
“And don’t forget the rental of the gallery for the party, and our catering. The guy has the money, that’s for sure. Here comes the other one.” Ember said, and sure enough, another limo came around the corner and worked its way up the street.
The first limo had pulled over and the other pulled in behind it. For a moment, nothing happened, and then a black convertible sports car with its top down came flying up the street and parked in front of the first limo. A tall man in a three-piece suit eased himself out of the car. He leaned over to his companion in the passenger seat and said something to her as she frantically ran her fingers threw her windblown hair. She gave her hair one last swipe, then got out and ran to his side.
“I guess that’s him,” Ember said, nodding toward the sports car driver. “He doesn’t look much like Seth, does he?”
“Siblings don’t always look alike,” I said. “You look like Dad, Raine looks like mom, and I—”
“Look like the UPS guy,” Ember said and punched me in the arm.
“Ha ha, very funny.”
“I thought so.”
As if on cue, the drivers’ side doors to the limos opened and the chauffeurs stepped out and opened the passengers’ doors. The vehicles were blocking our view of the shops across the street, but I was positive every business owner had their nose pressed up against their windows just like Ember and me. Nothing goes unnoticed in our little town.
We watched as the passengers climbed out of the limos. There seemed to be an equal number of men and women. One man was dressed in shorts and a Hawaiian shirt while the rest were in suits. The women wore cute little sundresses or tailored shorts, and huddled close to the men—the wives, I assumed. Only one of them had been smart enough to wear a coat. I bet when their husbands told them they were going to an island they were thinking more sun, surf, and sand and less drizzle, damp, and clouds.
“That’s a lot of investors for one resort.” Ember observed. “Too many, if you ask me.”
“I don’t think they’re all investors,” I said. “Stacey said there would be employees too.”
“Well, whoever they are, they’re clogging up the street.” She pursed her lips in annoyance. “Can you imagine what it’s going to be like when they actually build the thing? It’ll be wall-to-wall tourists. Ugh.”
“If we didn’t have tourists, we wouldn’t have a business. And it’ll be nice to meet new people.”
“I’ve met enough people to last me a lifetime, thank you very much.”
“And I’m sure those people would say the same about you.”
Ember turned away from the window to look at me. “No need to get snarky. It doesn’t suit you.”
“You should know—you’re the expert.”
“Touché.” She turned back to the window. “What are they doing?” The group on the street had gathered around the man from the sports car. He was gesturing at different things around the street and as he did, everyone’s heads moved in unison. They looked like spectators at a tennis match, their heads bobbing back and forth each time he pointed at something.
“I don’t know. Stacey said they were going to be touring the—”
Before I could finish I heard a car honking. It came racing up the road and screeched to a halt behind the last limo.
“Speak of the devil,” Ember said.
“Looks more like she’s being chased by the devil.” I watched as Stacey Truman, owner of Tru Events, leapt out of her car, waved at the limo group, and dashed across the street straight to our door.
“Quick, get the door before she plows right through,” I said.
Ember pulled the door open just in time. Stacey flew through the opening and came to a dead stop. “Oh my God, they weren’t supposed to be here for half an hour.”
“Here? What do you mean?” I asked. “The party is at the gallery tonight. Why would they be coming to Aura?”
“Didn’t I tell you?” She pulled a clipboard from her oversized purse and ran her finger down a sheet of paper. “Here.” She jabbed at something on the paper. “Cappuccino at Aura.”
“You didn’t tell us that,” Ember said, “We don’t even have a cappuccino machine.”
Stacey looked up from her list. “Wait, what? How can you not have a cappuccino machine?”
“We just don’t,” I answered. “We have regular coffee.”
“But I told them we would be stopping for cappuccinos at a cute little café before we go out on the boat. I want them to experience the town’s ambience.”
“Well, you’ll just have to tell them the ambience here doesn’t include Starbuck’s style coffee. They’ll have to make do with regular old drip.” Ember turned on her heel and walked away.
“You’ll have to excuse her,” I said to Stacey. “She gets a little cranky now and then, and she’s not exactly on board with this catering thing, but she’ll come around.”
“I hope so. This job is a big deal for me, and for you too. If we can impress Grant Bateman it’ll only help us in the future, and my business can use all the help it can get right now.” She quickly patted her unruly red hair. It didn’t help.
I felt a twinge of sympathy for Stacey. When she’d contacted me to hire us to cater the event, she told me she’d moved to Emerald to recharge after years of planning high-powered events for the corporate crowd in Seattle. She figured doing smaller events on the island would be less stressful. It didn’t seem her recharging was going as planned.
“Time to impress. Here he comes.”
Grant Bateman barged through the door, not bothering to hold it for the group following him.
“Now this is what I’m talking about!” His voice boomed through the café. “Look at this.” He stomped his feet on the floor. “Real wood floors, none of that laminate crap. It’s all about authenticity—that’s what’s going to set us apart. Authenticity.” The people in his group nodded and murmured. I had no clue what he was talking about.
“And look there,” he said, indicating something behind my head. “That’s one helluva view.”
I turned around. Against the far wall, the big window overlooking the bay framed a picture perfect scene: Seagulls wheeled over a small group of people on the rocky beach. A kayak was making its way onto the shore, and a dog was running back and forth barking at the kayaker.
“That’s what people come here for. Am I right?” Grant turned to face the group gathered around him. More nodding and murmuring.
“Absolutely, Grant,” the man in the shorts and Hawaiian shirt responded. “That’s what it’s all about. You’re going to make a fortune.”
Grant ignored the man and walked up to Stacey, snapping his fingers like he was summoning a waiter. “Are we going to get some coffee, or what? We don’t have all day.”
The woman from the sports car tottered up to Grant, her stiletto heels clicking loudly on the wood floor. “Be nice, baby, we have time.” She snaked her arm around his and patted his sleeve. The phrase arm candy came to mind. She smiled at me. “Hi, I’m Koral, with a K. You have such a cute little restaurant,” she gushed in a breathy voice. “I just love it. Don’t you love it, Grant?”
“Grant, this is Breeze Middleton. She and her sisters own Aura Café,” Stacey said. “They’ll be catering the event tonight.”
“Nice to meet you. Please, call me Bree.” I stuck out my hand, and it was instantly swallowed by his.
He leaned in close and squeezed my hand a little tighter. “I hope you’re not planning on serving any of that fancy foodie crap. I get enough of that in the city.”
Stacey laughed nervously and clutched her clipboard tighter. “I’m sure whatever Bree is serving, it’ll be wonde
rful.” She looked at me and raised her eyebrows.
I pulled my hand away. “Don’t worry, Mr. Bateman. We’ve taken the ‘foodie crap’ off the menu for tonight,” I said with a tight smile. What an ass. Now I really felt sorry for Stacey.
He looked closely at me, probably trying to decide if I was being sarcastic, but his phone rang before he could come to a conclusion.
He answered it by shouting, “Bateman!” He covered the speaker and looked at Stacey. “Coffee, now!” he hissed and walked away. Koral with a K followed him.
“Sorry about that,” Stacey said as she watched him walk away.
“Don’t worry about it,” I reassured her. “I’ve met worse. We’ll just make sure we give him an authentic Aura experience.” Whatever that meant.
Stacey set her clipboard down on the counter and got everyone seated just as Raine and Ember walked in with two large trays loaded with coffees. They placed them on an empty table and Raine and I started serving, while Ember disappeared back into the kitchen.
“Isn’t this cute? Mine has a whale on it,” one woman said to her tablemate.
“I’ve got a seagull,” her friend replied. “That’s so adorable.”
I had no idea what they were talking about until I glanced down at the cups I was serving. In each one there was a layer of foam with a design drawn in it. The coffee in my left hand featured a tiny sailboat, and the one in my right featured a winking starfish with a cheeky grin.
I looked over at Raine, who was serving the last group. She caught my eye and winked, then went back to talking to the people at the table. She had them laughing and smiling at whatever it was she was saying.
I grabbed one of the empty trays and headed into the kitchen.
“What is going on?” I demanded as I pushed through the swinging doors.
“What are you talking about?” Ember said, flashing me a fake smile. I looked down at the tray in my hands and contemplated whacking her over the head with it.
“Don’t play innocent. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Who did it?”
The door swung open behind me and Raine walked in. “They loved it. That was such a great idea, Ember.”
“So you did do it.” I shot Ember a dirty look.
“It was a tiny spell.” She shrugged. “I was just trying to help. What’s the harm?”
“You know what the harm is. We don’t go around exposing ourselves like that.”
“Technically speaking, I didn’t perform the spell, Raine did.”
“You told me it was okay.” Raine glared at Ember.
“Well, it’s not okay,” I said. “You should know better.”
“I think that’s stupid,” Raine argued. “What’s the point of being a witch if we can’t use our powers?”
“The point is, there’s a time and a place, and this wasn’t it,” I said.
“I don’t see what the big deal is anyway. People know we’re witches,” Raine said, pushing her lips into a pout.
“Some people,” I corrected her. “The ones we trust. Anyone else who believes we’re witches just assumes we’re the weird family that dances around under the moonlight. And I’d like to keep it that way.”
“I don’t know why you’re so worried,” Ember said. “It’s not like she cast the spell in front of everybody.” She folded her arms across her chest and looked me straight in the eye. “But then what do I know, seeing as how I’m so cranky.” She cocked one eyebrow at me and I realized she’d overheard what I had said to Stacey, and this was her payback. I should have clued in sooner, when she’d said she was trying to help—being helpful was not on Ember’s list of positive character traits. It was a short list.
“You can’t be serious,” I said. “Just because—”
I stopped talking. The door swung open and Stacey poked her head in. “Hey, you guys, that was fantastic! And you said you didn’t have a cappuccino machine.” She waggled a finger at us. “Someone pulled a little magic out of their hat.”
I glanced at Raine and Ember and widened my eyes. They both shrugged.
“Um, we don’t have a machine,” Raine said. I slid over to her and poked her in the hip. She looked at me and I grimaced. Say something else!
“Oh! Uh, it’s something I learned when I was in Europe.”
“Really?” Stacey sounded doubtful. Five minutes ago, we didn’t have a cappuccino machine, now we had an expert barista.
“Yeah, when my cousins and I were in France we went to this cute little café, and the owner showed us how to steam milk without a machine, and then he showed us how to make designs in the foam. It was super easy, you just take a—” I stepped on Raine’s foot to get her to stop talking.
“Raine, I don’t think Stacey needs to hear all the details. She’s a busy woman, and it looks like her guests are getting ready to leave.”
Stacey looked at Raine for another moment and then turned around. People were getting up from the tables.
“Oh, yes, goodness.” She glanced down at her clipboard. “Boat tour,” she read out loud. “Wish me luck. It could get interesting. Some of them complained about seasickness on the ferry.”
“Then you might want to have a few bags ready,” I warned.
“Already have that covered,” she said, patting her purse. “I’ll see you all tonight at the gallery.”
I followed her out into the café and watched as the group piled back into the waiting limos. Stacey raced off with tires squealing, the limos and Grant’s sports car close behind.
Ember came up behind me. “Must be nice to ride around in a chauffeur-driven car.”
I ignored the comment. “You shouldn’t have told Raine to do that. We could have managed with regular coffee.”
“Maybe, but look at how well it turned out. They loved it.”
“That’s not the point. Raine shouldn’t be casting spells.”
“Listen,” Ember said. “You’re the one who wanted to do this catering thing. And besides, it was just a simple little illusion spell. Nothing went wrong.”
“This time,” I said. Illusions spells were the easiest to cast, and they only lasted a few minutes, but Raine’s track record with spells wasn’t great. It could have been disastrous.
Behind us, the door to the restroom opened and the woman who had been the only one wearing a coat emerged. “Excuse me, but I wonder if I might be able to use your phone. The battery on mine just died.”
“Of course,” I said, “but you’ve missed your group. They just left.”
“That’s okay, I wasn’t going with them. I get seasick on small boats.” She held her hand out to me. “I’m Lydia Bateman, Grant’s sister.”
She had a soft voice, and her tiny frame was weighed down by the heavy coat she wore. Oversized glasses covered half her face, and her muddy-brown hair straggled across her shoulders.
I shook her hand. “We know your other brother, Seth. He comes into the café once or twice a month.” Seth Bateman had moved to the island a few years ago, and lived in a cottage down at Breaker’s Beach. While he didn’t resemble his brother in looks, they definitely had the same personality—they were both a pain in the butt.
“Actually, that’s who I was trying to call when my battery died.”
I led Lydia over to the old pushbutton phone beside the cash register.
She dialed the number, listened for a few moments, and then hung up. “Is there a taxi company on the island? I think I’ll just go and see if I can catch Seth at the cottage.”
“Well, there is—Maynard’s, but I wouldn’t exactly call it a ‘company.’ It’s just one car and it’s kind of a hit-or-miss affair this time of year.” Lonnie Maynard owned the only taxi service on the island, aside from the pedicabs that were available only in the summer. But Lonnie only worked when he was short of cash.
“Why don’t I take you,” I suggested. “I know where the cottage is.”
“That’s very kind of you, but I couldn’t impose.”
“It’s not
an imposition at all. I wouldn’t mind a break, and my sisters can manage.” I looked over at Ember.
She forced a smile at Lydia. “Excuse us for just a moment.” She pulled me away from the counter.
“Yes?” I said sweetly.
“You can’t leave now,” she said. She looked over at Lydia, and smiled again, then turned her back to her and lowered her voice. “The lunch crowd will be in soon. How are we supposed to manage with just the two of us?”
When it came to divvying up duties, Raine did the serving, I did the cooking, and Ember helped wherever she was needed most. In the summer, we usually hired a couple of high school kids to help. But it wasn’t summer yet.
I patted her on the back. “You’ll be fine. You proved this morning that the two of you work well together. I’m quite confident in your capabilities. Buh-bye.”
I didn’t give her a chance to say anything. Instead, I dashed into the kitchen and grabbed my jacket off the hook. “Have fun,” I called to Raine who was at the sink, elbow-deep in soap suds. She looked up in surprise as I ran past her and back into the café.
“Let’s go,” I said and took Lydia by the arm. “The girls have everything under control.” I gave Ember a little wave and rushed Lydia out the door.
Chapter 4
“I hope I didn’t cause any trouble between you and your sister,” Lydia said as we got into my car.
“Not at all,” I assured her. “It’s always fun to boss your older sibling around. She did it to me enough when we were kids. Actually, she’s never stopped doing it.”
“Grant was the same way when we were growing up, and still is. But you probably noticed that.”
“Well,” I said, trying to choose my words carefully and not offend her. “He does seem to like to take control.”
She smiled. “That’s an understatement.”
“I take it you’re not close?”
“No. This is the first time I’ve seen him in months. I get emails from him, but they’re always about the property. I guess you know about that?”
Stuck in the Middle Witch You (A Middle Witch Mystery Book 1) Page 2