Raspberry Coulis Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy - Book 38 (Donut Hole Cozy Mystery)
Page 7
“Excuse me, little girl?” Lemon smirked at her.
Boy, had Heather gotten his character wrong. She’d seen him as a hapless accessory to a con woman.
“I said, you’re a bully. That’s all you are. And that’s sad,” Lilly said. She shook her head and her long locks bounced. “You’re an adult, aren’t you supposed to behave like one?”
“Ooooh,” Jamie said, and gave her thumbs up.
Oh yeah, Amy and Jamie suited each other just fine.
“Kid, you don’t –”
“That’s enough,” Ryan said, and rose from his seat. “If you don’t leave this establishment, I’ll have to escort you out. And arrest you for harassment.”
“Detective Shepherd,” Lemon said, and gulped. “I didn’t notice you there in, uh, your plain clothes. How are you doing, sir?”
“I’m agitated, Lemon. Leave.”
Lemon didn’t have to be told twice. He spun on his heel and slammed back out into the street. The end of his trench coat caught in the door and he gave it two big tugs before it slipped free.
“There he goes,” Col said. “Off to whatever sewer hole he crawled out of.”
“What a horrible man,” Mona said. “You know, you should fight fire with fire.”
“What do you mean?” Ryan asked, and sat back down, hitching up his pants’ legs in the process.
“Well, I heard that it’s Kate Laverne behind the nasty articles. Maybe, Heather should go to the papers with some stories of her own,” Mona said.
Heather chuckled in spite of it all. “That’s really not my style. If Kate wants to play dirty, then so be it. As long as we keep our heads down and work hard, everything will turn out all right.”
“I guess,” Mona said, and shrugged her bony shoulders.
“Excuse me a second.” Heather rose from her seat and crossed to Lilly’s table, then bent and swept her girl into a hug. “Thank you, honey, but you didn’t have to do that.”
Lilly wrapped her arms around her neck and squeezed. “I know, but he is a bully. I don’t like people like that. He thinks he can do whatever he wants and get away with it. But he can’t.”
Heather kissed Lilly on the cheek, then let her get back to her table and writing.
She stood straight in the front of her store, her hand on the back of Lilly’s wrought iron chair, and stared at the street. The Sunday doldrums didn’t set in for her. No matter what, she had all she needed every day.
She had a warm bed to sleep in. A roof over her head. Food in her belly. And beautiful family and friends.
Heather couldn’t have asked for more and she wouldn’t dream of it.
THE END
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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Susan Gillard