by Diana Orgain
Walking to the back, she was tempted to burst out in song. She loved everything about her new shop, it was truly a dream come true; thanks to Aunt Cee’s investment and belief in her.
She turned off the burner and unplugged it for safe measure.
Aunt Bee’s coupon clippers would have to wait for their special, at least for the moment. Then, sliding her purse onto her shoulder, she walked out of the store and locked the front door.
<><><>
The bell above the door chimed cheerfully as Mona walked into the bakery. A quick glance at her watch confirmed that there was no time to spare in her hectic schedule for this last-minute errand. Checking off the items on the endless to do list was Mona’s priority, not placating the caterer.
Fresh baked bread and sweet pastries crowded the glass cases, and their aroma combined to create a decadent ambrosia. Mona inhaled the soothing scent, surprised that a woman as cold as Lacey MacInroy could create warm and delicious baked goods.
“Can I help you?” asked a freckle-faced young man.
Glancing at her watch once more, Mona answered, “I’m here to see Lacey.”
The man disappeared behind the door that said Kitchen.
The door swung open, and a woman wearing a white apron over tailored capris and a crisp pink polo greeted Mona, “Mona, please join me in the kitchen.”
As Mona crossed toward the kitchen door, Lacey smiled and wiggled her fingers in a friendly wave at an older gentleman waiting in line. With her shoulder length honey-blond hair pulled back in a ponytail and only a hint of bronzer on her cheeks, Lacey appeared to be as fresh faced and beautiful as she had been in high school.
That’s Lacey, everyone’s friend except mine.
Whatever did I do to get on her bad side?
Lacey’s warm smile disappeared as the kitchen door closed behind them.
“Do you have any idea how difficult it has been to find that gluten-free flour you wanted?” Lacey asked with a frown.
The grand opening was only days away, and Mona didn’t want risk upsetting Lacey. If the caterer backed out now Mona didn’t know what she would do.
Mona met Lacey’s frown with a smile, it wasn’t sincere, but it was the best she could muster under the stress. “Lacey, I don’t understand why your supplier was out of this flour, gluten-free is popular. My request wasn’t that unusual, I have seen that flour at all the big grocery chains.”
“That’s just it, it’s very trendy, so every bakery from San Francisco to New York is using it for wedding cakes, breads, you name it. My supplier told me I should have ordered it over two weeks in advance.”
I tried to book your catering service for over a month.
Hiding her frustration, Mona tried a different approach and said diplomatically, “I appreciate your efforts to find a solution. You said you may have found a suitable substitute?”
Opening a drawer, Lacey pulled out a card that was covered in neat rows of handwriting. Handing the card to Mona she asked, “What do you think of the recipe? I can use half gluten-free almond flour I found at the health food market and half gluten-free self-rising flour.”
“What’s in the self-rising flour, and will it taste the same?” asked Mona.
Mona planned to offer samples of her jams and Vicki’s honey along with the pastries. They had to be good!
“Garbanzo beans, ground fava beans, it sounds disgusting, but by the time it’s all mixed up, no one can tell the difference,” Lacey answered.
Mona was certain that she would be able to tell a difference between almond flour and ground beans, but it was too late to argue over ingredients. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, she was almost willing to agree to the changes in the recipe when a question popped into her head, “If you could find almond flour at the health food market, why can’t you buy enough of that to use instead of using it for half of the recipe?”
Lacey rolled her eyes as she answered, “Do you have any idea how much that stuff costs? I’m already doing you an enormous favor just accepting this job, and now you want me to not make any money on it?”
Her first impulse was to tell Lacey to forget it, instead Mona said, “Lacey, I understand you have to make money, just bill me for the additional amount and please use the good flour, no ground beans.”
The tension between them was palpable. In ten years, nothing had changed, Lacey still treated Mona with contempt, when it should have been the other way around, after all Lacey won the heart of Leo.
“Fine, have it your way, but I promise you it will be expensive, and I’ll bill you. I don’t care if your shop doesn’t sell a single jar of jelly, I expect to be paid on time,” Lacey snapped as she snatched the card out of Mona’s hand and scribbled the changes to the recipe.
Silently seething, Mona wanted to tell Lacey that the deal was off, but common sense prevailed, “Lacey, I’ll pay you in advance if that’s what you want.”
Lacey opened her mouth to answer but was drowned out by the wail of fire-truck sirens.
Forgetting their argument over gluten-free almond flour, the two women stared at each other before Mona said in a loud voice, “That sounded close.”
Lacey nodded and walked out of the kitchen followed by Mona.
Stepping onto the red brick sidewalk, Mona was startled when a fire truck with its lights flashing sped past. The sirens were louder outside the bakery, she could smell smoke which meant the fire was really close.
A plume of dark smoke rose only a few blocks from the bakery. Slowly, Mona came to the awful realization that the smoke was coming from the direction of her shop.
Oh God, please no, not Jammin’ Honey!
Chapter Two
Without saying a word to Lacey, Mona ran to her car and jumped in the driver’s seat. Jamming the gear shift into drive, she tore out of the parking space, driving like a racecar driver speeding toward Jammin’ Honey. Praying as she drove, she ran a red light and a stop sign. Frantically hoping that it was not her shop on fire, although she had a sinking feeling with each passing block that she’d arrive to find her place, her dream fully engulfed.
How could this happen?
Fear gripped her heart as she saw a police barricade surrounding the street where Jammin’ Honey sat. The barricade prevented her from driving any closer to the scene of the fire, but she didn’t need to be any closer to realize the awful truth.
My shop is on fire!
Her heart raced, and a wave of nausea broke over her as she parked the car. Flashing red lights, smoke and the crackling of fire consuming her building created a surreal scene that would be etched into her memory for the rest of her life.
Running down the street toward the fire, she was stopped by a police officer she didn’t recognize. He held her back from getting any closer to the structure fire that was her lifelong dream being destroyed right in front of her eyes.
“It’s my shop,” she wailed.
The officer nodded. “Is anyone in there?”
Mona shook her head. “No. Just my…just…my…inventory.” Her knees felt weak. “And my recipe book, too.”
Yellow and orange flames climbed into the sky, and the smoke carried the sweet scent of sugar, making Mona think of all the boxes of jam in the kitchen and strewn all over the floor of the shop.
Tears spilled from her eyes and fell down her cheeks, as she sunk to her knees on the sidewalk. The police officer helped her to a bench across the street.
“Ma’am, are you going to be alright?” the police officer asked.
Mona was too stunned to answer, she sat still on the bench feeling the weight of his eyes on her.
“Ma’am, if it’s any consolation, the fire department is doing everything they can to save it. Is there anyone I can call for you?”
“No, I mean yes, I mean - “Just as Mona was about to say Vicki’s name, her voice rang out.
“Mona!” Vicki rushed across the street arms outstretched as she raced to pull Mona into an embrace. “Oh my Lord! I was so s
cared you were in there! Thank goodness you got out!”
The police officer nodded, glad to see Mona taken care of. “Ma’am, I’ll be right over there if you need anything.” He walked across the street just as curious onlookers were approaching the scene.
Mona’s chest ached with the weight of a broken heart as another fire truck approached.
She gasped as sharp pain assaulted her with a shortness of breath.
Vicki rubbed her back. “You’re freezing. Let me get a blanket from my car.”
More flames plumed over the top of the building as Vicki ran to her vehicle.
I can’t watch this. Mona thought
She turned the other way and saw a group of people gathered looking at the blaze. It made her nauseous to see everyone staring at the blaze that had just moments ago held so much promise for her.
Using all her strength, she managed to stand, her hand on the bench to steady herself. Her head was swimming, her breath shallow, she knew she should sit back on the bench before she crumpled into a heap on the ground. She dug deep and found a reserve of strength inside.
I won’t pass out! She promised herself.
Summoning all her strength, she willed her legs to move forward.
She couldn’t sit still. She had to help the firefighters.
Vicki ran back to Mona. “What are you doing? Get back!” She pulled Mona back to the bench and wrapped the crocheted afghan she’d retrieved from her car around Mona’s shoulders. “Come on, girl. Don’t get all crazy on me. There’s no way I’m going to let you run back inside that building. Is that what you were trying to do?”
Mona shook her head. “I wanted to help.”
Vicki grabbed Mona’s hand. “The best help we can offer is to stay out of the way.” Vicki rubbed Mona’s fingers. “Honey, you’re frozen.”
Mona was stunned that she could be cold with an enormous fire in front of her. And yet, she did feel chilled.
Shock.
“When I heard about the fire, I called your cell. But when you didn’t answer your phone, I thought you might have been in the shop when it, the fire, happened. I was so worried”
Mona nodded numbly, “I was at Lacey’s when it happened. If only I had been in the shop, I could have stopped it. It’s all my fault for leaving.”
Vicki kneeled down on the pavement by Mona’s side and declared, “Mona, you can’t say that, if you were there you may have been killed. I’m glad you weren’t.”
“Vicki, everything is gone. It’s horrible,” Mona said, tears running down her face.
“Not everything is gone. Not you! Not you or me. That’s the important thing. We can start over, honey.”
“My Aunt Cee’s investment … it’s …” A wail bubbled up in Mona’s throat, and she let her best friend pull her to her chest to cry.
How will I ever repay Aunt Cee now?
After a moment of release Mona managed to say, “How did you hear about the fire?”
Vicki motioned over to the crowd of bystanders. “Alexander called me.”
Alexander Kaas was the owner of Magnolia Falls Wine and Cheese shop, As You Slice It. Mona and Vicki had worked at the shop for many years before Mona left in the spring to open her own store. Mona turned to the crowd and saw Alexander. There was a grim expression on his face, and he gave her a meek wave.
Mona remembered the day she told him she was leaving to begin her business; he was so mad that he turned bright red. He was furious and told her she had no business experience and her store would fail.
“He was right,” Mona said.
“What?” Vicki asked.
“I had no business trying to run a store. Alexander told me the shop would fail and now look—”
Vicki rubbed Mona’s back. “Don’t say that! This isn’t your fault—” Vicki’s hand froze mid-way down Mona’s back. “Oh … gosh, honey. When you left to go to Lacey’s shop … were you making jam—?”
“I turned off the burner! Vicki, I swear,” Mona said, a lump forming again in her chest.
I did turn off the burner, didn’t I?
***
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About the Author
Diana Orgain is the USA Today Bestselling author of the MATERNAL INSTINCTS MYSTERY SERIES, the iWITCH MYSTERY SERIES and the GLUTEN-FREE MYSTERY SERIES. She is the co-author of NY Times Bestselling Scrapbooking Mystery Series with Laura Childs. Diana’s FOR LOVE OR MONEY SERIES is now available as is her ROUNDUP CREW MYSTERY SERIES: Yappy Hour and Trigger Yappy. For a complete listing of books, as well as excerpts and contests, and to connect with Diana:
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Other Titles by Diana Orgain
IN THE MATERNAL INSTINCTS MYSTERY SERIES
Bundle of Trouble
Motherhood is Murder
Formula for Murder
Nursing a Grudge
Pampered to Death
Killer Cravings
IN THE IWITCH MYSTERY SERIES
A Witch Called Wanda
I Wanda put a spell on you
Brewing Up Murder
IN THE GLUTEN FREE MYSTERY SERIES
Murder as Sticky as Jam
Murder as Sweet as Honey (Coming Soon)
For a full and updated list of Diana’s books visit her website at www.dianaorgain.com
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