by Tonya Kappes
The kitchen door swayed back and forth a little bit. Norman was starting to get comfortable and curious. This was a good sign. I smiled when the door nudged open a little more the next time. Then finally it opened just enough for his portly body to come through.
After a few grunts and sniffs, he looked over at me. His little tail wagged a quick few times before he decided to come to me. I quickly opened the can of pumpkin and swiped my fingertip in it, giving Norman a taste.
“Pumpkin will be good for your issues,” I told him like I didn’t want to offend him with any impolite words, like farts. “Now that you’re here, what do you think about the possibilities of the resort?” I asked Norman and grabbed a mixing bowl along with a set of measuring cups. “Patrick doesn’t seem to think it’s truly going to go anywhere, but if Ron is having all his people come here, whatever that means,” I waved the whisk at Norman. He grunted and went after the drop of pumpkin that had fallen off the utensil. “People. Who on earth has people?”
Norman stood next to me, looking around my feet for any more little morsels that might’ve dropped to the ground. I might’ve helped a few times. I was making all natural treats and I couldn’t wait for him to try them.
The buttery smell of the pastries mixed with a hint of blueberry and other fall ingredients that were in the ovens began to dance in the air and fill the space. I took in a deep inhale while Norman grunted when he lay down. This little bit of joy made me forget about Ron and his big, ridiculous idea as I kneaded the ingredients together to form the dough for the dog treats.
There was a loud knock at the front door of the coffeehouse. I glanced at the timer on the oven to make sure it wasn’t about to go off before I pushed through the door.
“Camey,” I said and picked up the edges of my apron to clean my hands before I opened the door to let her in. “What on earth are you doing out here at this time?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I went for a walk down on the beach and noticed your light was already on.” She had the tired eyes of a middle-aged woman that I’d never seen on her face before. “I’ll just take the hospitality items back with me to save you a trip.”
“I was just making some treats for the Pet Palace booth. Grab a cup of coffee and come on back.” I nodded my head towards the kitchen for her to follow me. “You’re just in time for some goodies right out of the oven,” I called over my shoulder and passed through the kitchen door.
I knew if I kept it light and did not ask what was wrong right away, the coffee time would do its magic and open her up without me having to probe. Lightly, I threw flour on the surface of the work island and began to roll out the dough.
“Who is this little feller?” Camey blew over the top of the mug, the steam curled up around her nose.
“That’s Norman. Did you smell anything unusual while you were out there?” I asked.
“Just the delicious smells coming from in here.” She looked over at the oven when the timer dinged. “Do you want me to get that?”
“Sure.” I held up my hands that were covered with the oatmeal pumpkin dough. “You can take some of these to Felix.”
Felix was the cat Walker had adopted for Amelia. He was a very shy cat and hid from everyone that came into the shop. I had been so worried Felix wasn’t going to find his forever home. Every time Walker came into the coffeehouse, Felix darted to his side. It was a perfect match. I guess it was true that a cat picked its owner and not the other way around.
As I floured the pumpkin cookie cutter, I watched Camey grab the potholders and take out the baking sheets out of the corner of my eye.
“You can put them on the cooling racks.” There was a tall steel shelf next to the ovens. “I thought Amelia was going to stop by yesterday after school to take Pepper for a walk.”
“I told her that she’d see him all night at the festival. I have so much on my mind that I can’t even think straight.” She shut the oven door. “Do you want me to turn the oven off?”
“No. I’ve got to bake these treats and Bunny should be here soon. We’ll need to put more people treats in.” I looked at the four baking sheets to try to calculate just how much more I was going to need to bake for the short time we were open today. “I’ve got all the items for the festival all ready to go and Kelly will be taking off school at noon to help warm them and bring them down to the tent.”
“Those are so cute.” She peeked over at the baking sheet where I’d started to put the dog treats. “I swear I can’t imagine what Honey Springs would be like if you hadn’t moved here.”
“I love it here.” I noticed she’d had some of the talking serum I called coffee. “It was perfect for what I needed in my life. Honey Springs was a hug to my soul.”
“You mean the small town and the community to go with it?” She took another drink. “Because that couple I pointed to when you were leaving yesterday, they want to build a big resort on the Bee Farm.”
“I heard.” My lips dipped into a frown as did my brows. “I can’t imagine looking over there and seeing a bunch of lights on all day and night.”
“It wouldn’t be so bad if they weren’t so rude.” She took a deep breath and let it out through her nose like a bull. “Ron came into the Cocoon Inn and ripped it apart. At first I thought he was just a guest and then he started to tell me how his big resorts catered to each individual guest. They didn’t have just a couple of choices on their menu like we do and how he had a famous chef at each of his resorts. Then he proceeded to tell me about the linens on the beds and how they were bamboo compared to my cotton ones.” She looked at me over top of her mug. “Apparently, bamboo lets the body breathe at night, allowing for a more restful sleep. That man!” she spat.
“I’m sorry. I wish I could say Ron wasn’t serious, but Patrick mentioned he’d called and talked to Debbie about setting up a meeting.” I filled a few of the baking sheets with the pumpkin dog treats and put them in the oven. Debbie was going to be at the Neewollah Festival with Timmy and I knew I’d see them, so it would be a great opportunity to ask her about the phone call she’d received from Ron. “Ron’s wife doesn’t seem too happy.”
I turned the timer to thirty minutes. They might need to bake a few minutes more, but I’d rather check them before they got too done. Furry friends were picky when it came to treats. If they were too done, they didn’t want to eat them. A little hard on the outside with a bit mush on the inside seemed to be their perfect combination.
“Their grandson is so mean to them. I overheard him tell Ron he was mean and he knew why his mom had kept him from away from them for so long. Walker would never let Amelia talk that way to us.” She tipped up the mug, getting out every single drop.
“Amelia has been and is being raised properly,” I reminded her. “When I see and hear children that come in the coffeehouse and act spoiled, I know it’s how they are raised.”
“I need more coffee, do you?” She looked in my empty mug.
“I needed a refill a long time ago.” I winked and rolled out more dog treat dough. “Bev did mention how they didn’t have a great relationship with Ron’s daughter.”
I continued to cut out cookies while she went back into the coffeehouse to refill our drinks.
“She said that in front of Ron? She seems so timid when he’s around.” She put my cup on the counter in front of me. “She gets all tight-lipped.”
“Really? I didn’t get that impression of her at all.” I thought back to how snotty she acted. “She came back in with Jimmer without Ron. I guess it was when Ron was making all his phone calls.” I ran my hand down my apron and pulled my phone out of my back pocket. “Which reminds me. Patrick said Ron had made an appointment with my mom to see the property. I want to call her about it but it’s too early.”
“So you are bothered by it too?” Camey looked up at me.
“I don’t think we need a big resort.” I shrugged. “We’ve got the bed and breakfast in town and your inn. Plus we have all the rental cabins around th
e lake. There’s no need for a big resort.”
“I agree. But Ron continues to make little nasty comments about the inn like it smells musty. Do you think it smells musty?” She bit the edge of her lip.
“No. I’m hoping to find out more when I talk to my mom.” I filled up three more baking sheets, confident these would be enough to start Louise off with. Kelly was going to make more for me this afternoon. We’d have plenty for the festival.
“Penny is pretty confidential about her clients,” Camey noted. She was right. Mom didn’t like to talk about potential sales because she said it put bad things out into the universe.
“I’ve got something that’ll make her talk.” I wiggled my ring finger in the air. “A wedding.”
“You are so evil, Roxy Bloom. And I love it.” Camey’s nose curled and she wrapped her hands around her mug, bringing it up to her lips. “I wish the ferry would capsize and he’d drown. Not your mom of course,” she threw that in. “Be sure to make some chocolate treats for the festival. I can’t get enough.” She looked at her watch.
“Got somewhere to be?” I asked.
“Walker is going to go get his mom from Glad Tiding Nursing Home so she can enjoy the festival.” She took a few more drinks of her coffee. “I know he loves her so much, but she doesn’t know him and the dementia has progressed to where she’s got to be in a wheelchair.”
Walker’s mom had gotten her first signs of dementia over thirty years ago when he was just about ready to graduate from high school. She’d been in Glad Tidings Nursing home ever since.
“He knows that she’s getting worse and he said that he doesn’t care that she doesn’t recognize him. He wants Amelia to know her great grandmother and how family takes care of family.” She stood up and tapped the edge of the counter with her hand.
“At least he’s loyal and you are lucky.” I took her cup and put it in plastic holder to go into the commercial dishwasher when it was full. “Are you going to be okay with having all of Ron’s staff here?”
“I had a meeting with my staff and told them to put in one hundred percent or else. I have to show this group how amazing my Inn is and that they won’t be able to compete with it with some big shot resort.” Her response was crisp and to a point where it appeared she was on edge. “I swear,” she said as anger swept across her face. Her jaw tightened. Her eyes snapped. “I’d rather drown that man in the lake than let him cross it on the ferry to ruin our town.”
“I’m sure it’ll all be good. Have you gone to see Loretta Bebe?” I wondered. Camey’s brows shot up. “She’s the president of the Beautification Committee and she works with the town council. I’m sure Ron would have to check out the town’s requirements for building such a thing.”
“Good idea.” Camey went over to the coffee bar where I’d put the commercial coffee carafes and the box of goodies for her hospitality room. “She’ll be up in my stuff all day with getting the festival all set up and ready to go at four p.m.”
I glanced up at the clock.
“Four will be here quicker than we realize and I’ve got a lot to do get my booth ready.” I said and walked her to the door.
We said our goodbyes and I watched her walk down the boardwalk until I couldn’t see her anymore. My eyes shifted across the lake to where the sun was popping up over the trees. I tugged my lips together, my brows knitted at the thought of the landscape of such a beautiful sunrise changing with one single business decision that I hoped the Honey Springs town council took under great consideration.
It was for the view, after all, that I’d put the long bar along the front of the coffeehouse so my customers could sit here and relax while enjoying a great cup of coffee.
Six
The morning went smoothly. There were a lot more tourists than I’d anticipated, which made me pull out some quiches just in case. Bunny and I’d been working so hard that when Patrick came in with Pepper, I didn’t get to talk to him.
“Oh my stars, did you hear about the big resort going in on at Bee Farm?” Mae Belle Donovan shuffled through the door.
“You’re late today.” I glanced up at the clock. Mae Belle was usually the Bean Hive’s first customer of the day.
“Me and Bunny are going over to see Babette. She picked something up for us today while she was in Lexington.” Mae Belle swept her shawl off her shoulders and plopped down at one of the café tables. “I’ll have one of them caramel thingies.” She rolled her finger in the air to the chalkboard with the specials on it.
She and Bunny were best friends. They even looked alike: their hair, housedresses, thick-soled shoes, and shawls. They both always wore some sort of hat or bow on their heads. Today, Mae Belle had on a hat, which is probably why Bunny had hairpins in her hair.
Since we did wear hairnets sometimes, Bunny didn’t wear her hat while she was working, but she sure did once she hung that apron up for the day.
“What was it you were saying about the farm?” I asked and poured all the ingredients in her mug before I poured the coffee over it, giving her an extra dose of whipped cream on top.
Bunny was making conversation with a few customers over by the coffee bar where she was restocking the to-go cups, sleeves, stirrers, and a variety of creamers.
“I heard all sorts of rumblings at the Southern Women’s Club and your Aunt Maxi is on it.” Mae Belle and a few of the swanky women in Honey Springs had a special club they made up.
Of course, Low-retta Bebe was the president of that too. I wasn’t swanky enough to be invited and that was fine by me because that meant they paid me to cater their meetings. Making money off them was a-okay by me.
“Really?” I eased down into the chair across from Mae Belle after I set her coffee down on the table.
“Do you think Maxine Bloom is going to let something so big in Honey Springs go by her big ears?” Mae Belle picked up the coffee mug, pinky sticking out, and took a sip.
“I mentioned something to her earlier, but she didn’t seem so interested.” I wondered what changed her mind.
You never knew with Aunt Maxi.
“She was writing away on that notepad of her like she was that Diane Sawyer or something.” Mae Belle’s nose snarled. “You know she’s from Kentucky.”
The bell over the door dinged. Mae Belle’s head was in the way of a full view, but the big pink peacock feather waving in the air clued me in.
“Speak of Aunt Maxi.” I leaned to the right. Aunt Maxi stood right inside of the door looking around. She had on a pink pair of hot pants, pink boots with pink fur along the top, and a pink overcoat, topped off with a pink headband around her forehead with a pink feather stuck in it.
Our eyes met and she waved, trotting over. There was a much happier giddy-up in her step compared to yesterday.
“Mae Belle.” She looked down at Mae Belle in her way of greeting her. Mae Belle looked at her blankly. “Roxanne, I need to see you.” Her brows rose. “Alone. In the back.”
Aunt Maxi didn’t bother asking me if I was busy. She simply walked past us. Pepper jumped up from his bed next to Norman’s cage. His nails ticked across the floor, rushing behind her. She stopped at the tea bar and picked up one of the jars of honey from the Bee Farm. She looked at it from all angles before she put it back and headed through the kitchen door with Pepper on her heels.
“She thinks she’s something special with this column she writes. But she’s just an old lady like me.” Mae Belle lifted her chin and looked down her nose at me.
“Aww. I love all y’all.” I reached over and patted her hand. “I do have to check on some things in the oven.” I winked. “I gave you a little extra whip.”
“You are a dear. Just like your daddy.” She smiled.
I got up and stopped at Norman’s cage before I went to see exactly what Aunt Maxi needed.
“Hey, Norman.” I peeked in and put my hand in when I saw his head pop up. “Want to come get a treat?”
He grunted. I prayed for a stink-free zone and felt
confident his special food and my pumpkin treats would get the little feller back on track.
There was one thing Norman wasn’t. Fast. He took his time following me into the kitchen where we found Aunt Maxi already giving Pepper treats. When Norman saw Pepper eating something, he got a little bit faster.
“If you are here to get on me about our little meeting with Babette yesterday, you can just walk back out that door.” I watched her grab a few more of the pumpkin-shaped dog treats.
“I don’t care when or how you get married as long as you don’t let that hunk move on to someone else.” She snapped the treat in half. “Just as long as Penny doesn’t have a leg up on me.”
I stared blankly at her. Mom and Aunt Maxi had really put their differences behind them over the last few months, but she had to stop talking like this.
“You want something, sweet pea?” Aunt Maxi had taken her overcoat off and had hung it on the hook inside of the door. The gray sweater underneath wasn’t much better, but it did break up her pink outfit. “What’s your name, baby?”
“That’s Norman. Louise gave me a farting dog.” I loved how Aunt Maxi cared for animals like me. “I hear you’re now all over the situation with the Bee Farm.”
“I guess my interest is piqued, so I started to look into it.” She dragged a stool up to the steel island and threw her big bag on the top. She dug down into it and pulled out a glittery notepad and pen.
I took the time to get out some frozen pastries for the festival so they could thaw. As soon as Kelly got here, I was going to start taking things down to the booth.
“I went over to the Bee Farm and they wouldn’t tell me a thing. Said I’d ruin the deal they needed.” The “they” was Andrew and Kayla Noro, the owners of the Bee Farm. “I have a feeling they don’t want to sell. But I noticed you do need some new honey. I mean, look at that bottle out there. All gummed up and sticky.”