Buried in Bargains

by Josie Belle

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, and stepped forward to hand them to her.

  “Thank you,” Lizzie said, and gave him a small smile. “Looks like you’re staying for dinner. Don’t you think you should be serving soon, Maggie?”

  “It’ll be just a few more minutes, Mom,” Maggie said. “Maybe you could tell everyone to wash up?”

  Lizzie studied them both for a moment and then gave them a warning look. “Just remember, Sam Collins, I have my eye on you.”

  She turned and left the room. Sam gave Maggie a concerned look.

  “Does that mean she approves?” he asked.

  “Well, she didn’t toss you out into the snow,” Maggie said, “so, we’ll just cling to that victory for now.”

  “I’d rather cling to you,” Sam said. He put the wine down and pulled her close, and then he kissed her like he meant it.

  As if by mutual agreement, no one spoke about the horror of the past few days during dinner. Talk was kept light and teasing as everyone watched Josh get more and more excited for the coming morning. Maggie glanced around the table, studying the faces of everyone she loved and gave silent thanks that they were all here together.

  Jake and Sandy were just taking Josh to bed when the faint sound of singing came from outside. Maggie went to the front door to peer out, and there in front of her house were the GBGs and all of their families—Claire and Pete, Joanne and Michael, Ginger and Roger and all four of their boys—as well as Bianca and Max and, in a happy surprise, Doc and Alice Franklin.

  Josh hurried to the front door and his round little face split into a grin as he joined in with his favorite song, about a red-nosed reindeer. When it was over, Maggie ushered everyone into the house for cookies and cocoa.

  The small house was now full to bursting with people. Michael and Joanne were talking to Jake and Sandy while they watched Josh with the wonder of being new parents. Pete and Claire were in the kitchen with Max and Bianca making more cocoa for everyone. Laura and the Lancaster boys had taken over the living room and were watching It’s a Wonderful Life. Maggie’s mother was talking with Doc and Alice while Maggie’s sister chatted with Ginger and Roger, and Maggie noted that the six of them frequently gave Maggie and Sam knowing looks. Whatever.

  When Sam slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, he whispered in her ear, “Are you all right?”

  “Never better,” Maggie said.

  She didn’t know what the future held for her and Sam, for her daughter or for any of the GBGs. But if the past week had taught her anything, it was to be grateful for the perfect moments, like this one, for they were what made life worth living.

  Money Saving Holiday Tips

  Maggie likes to send holiday cards to all of her friends, but since she is a single mom and now owns a small business, she has to get the most bang for her postal buck so she sends festive holiday postcards that she creates by cutting regular holiday cards, that she bought on sale after the previous Christmas, in half and mailing them as postcards.

  Joanne loves to decorate for the holidays and she does it by bringing the outdoors inside. Pinecones and pine boughs, which make the house smell wonderful, as well as holly berries and dried vines are all favorites for the mantel piece as well the table centerpiece.

  Claire loves to send gifts to her family, who live far away, but she also wants to make it personal, so she and the Good Buy Girls get together with several of their friends and have a cookie exchange. Each of the participants bakes a dozen of one type of cookie for each person attending. Once the exchange is done, Claire has enough to send to her family as gifts.

  Ginger has four growing boys to feed and the holidays give her plenty of opportunities to save money on groceries. When buying produce, she always makes sure it’s dry. Vegetables that have been sprayed with water weigh more and cost more. Also, when her boys don’t eat every bit of meat and vegetables, she takes what’s left in the serving dishes and scrapes them into a one gallon sealable bucket that she keeps in her freezer. When it’s full, she puts it in a big pot with some canned tomatoes or broth along with some cooked cubed chicken or beef and makes a hearty soup.

  Maggie has lived in St. Stanley her entire life and her list of people to give gifts is almost as long as the phone book. The most economical way for her to give gifts to everyone is to make them herself. Her favorite gift to give is a consumable gift. To fight off the winter’s chilly weather she recommends hot chocolate.

  Maggie’s Go-To Gift: Hot Chocolate for Two You will need (per gift):

  1 pint-sized canning jar with lid (clean and dry) 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 cup powdered milk Pinch of salt

  Crushed peppermint candy (optional for peppermint cocoa) Mini marshmallows

  Layer sugar, cocoa, powdered milk, and salt in jar. Next layer peppermint (optional) and marshmallows. Seal the jar with the lid. Now decorate the jar with the ribbons and bows of your choice. Lastly, add a decorative tag with the instructions: Mix contents in a medium pot with 2 2/3 cups boiling water. Makes 2 servings.

  Happy Holidays from the Good Buy Girls!

  Read below for a preview of

  Josie Belle’s next Good Buy Girls Mystery . . .

  Marked Down for Murder

  Coming soon from Berkley Prime Crime!

  “More flowers?” Ginger Lancaster asked as she walked into My Sister’s Closet, her best friend’s secondhand store, behind Henry Dawson, the local florist. Joanne Claramotta and Claire Freemont followed right behind her.

  The women belonged to a self-named group called the Good Buy Girls. They were friends who were all about bargain hunting and thrift, and since Maggie had opened her shop, it had become the hub of their operation and their unofficial meeting place.

  “Yep, she’s got another one,” Henry said. “Looks like someone’s got quite the admirer.”

  For the past three days, Henry had delivered a single red rose to Maggie Gerber with a card with one word on it. Maggie took the rose from Henry and felt her face grow warm. She was embarrassed but also a bit giddy from the attention.

  “Thank you so much,” she said. She tried to offer him a tip but he waved her away.

  “You keep your money, Maggie,” he said. “I’ve been paid more than enough.”

  Maggie gave him a chagrinned look and his wrinkled, old face split into a smile that showed off his dentures.

  “Well, don’t hold back,” Joanne said. “What’s the word of the day?”

  Maggie put the red rose in a vase with two others and opened the small card. The word You was scrawled in a blocky script in a black felt-tip pen. She knew that handwriting. It belonged to her boyfriend, Sam Collins, who happened to be the police chief of St. Stanley, their small Virginia town. Of course when she had questioned him the previous two days, he had denied all knowledge of any flowers or cards.

  When put together in order the cards read, Maggie, Will You.

  “Squee!” Joanne let out a squeal. Her long brown ponytail swung back and forth as she bounced up and down on her feet.

  “That is just the most romantic gesture ever,” Claire sighed. She pushed her black rectangular glasses up on her nose. “I wonder what he’s going to ask you.”

  “I don’t know,” Henry said. “But I’m betting I’ll see you tomorrow and every day right up until Valentine’s Day.”

  Maggie and the others waved to him as he left the shop. Ginger turned back to face Maggie and rested her chin on her hand as she leaned on the counter and studied the cards.

  “So, what do you think he’s going to ask you?” Her teeth flashed white against her brown skin and her dark eyes gleamed with delight.

  “I don’t know,” Maggie said. “I keep asking him, but he keeps denying that it’s him.”

  Ginger’s eyebrows rose. “Do you think it’s someone else?”

  “No,” Maggie said. “I recognize the handwriting.”

  “Don’t freak out on me,” Claire said. “But do you think he�
��s going to propose?”

  “No!” Maggie said. “No, no, no.”

  “Well, don’t beat around the bush,” Ginger said. “Tell us how you feel.”

  “We’ve only been dating for two months, not even, a proposal would be . . .”

  “Romantic?” Joanne sighed and the others did, too.

  “I was thinking premature,” Maggie said. She frowned at them. “Besides, logically speaking it doesn’t work.”

  “What do you mean?” Ginger asked.

  Maggie leaned toward the cards and a hank of her auburn hair fell over her face. She tucked it behind her ear as she tapped the counter with her index finger.

  “There are four more days to Valentine’s Day,” she said. “So if he did have a rose and a card delivered every day then a proposal really wouldn’t work because marry and me would only be two more days.”

  “Unless he’s planning something even more spectacular for the next two days,” Joanne said. She started jumping up and down again and Ginger put an arm around her.

  “Settle down girl,” she said. “You are going to jiggle that baby right out.”

  Joanne instantly put her hands on her belly and her eyes grew wide. “You think so?”

  “No,” Ginger said as she gave her a half hug. “I’m just teasing.”

  “How long now?” Claire asked.

  “I’m eight months give or take a few days,” Joanne said. “My OB says it could be anytime if the baby decides to come early.”

  “A baby,” Maggie sighed. “It seems like ages since I’ve held a newborn.”

  “So, if you and Sam do get married, will you have another baby?” Claire asked.

  “I . . . uh . . . huh?” Maggie stammered. “Sorry, I think I just swallowed my tongue.”

  Ginger hooted with laughter. “You could, you know.”

  “Yeah, you’re still young enough,” Joanne said. “Just think, our babies would be close enough in age to play together.”

  “Aw,” Claire said. “That would be so cute.”

  Maggie glanced at Claire. “Don’t you start. You and Pete could get married and have kid, too, you know.”

  Claire shook her head. “No, that’s not in the cards for me. I knew long ago that I was not mother material. My cat, Mr. Tumnus, is all the dependent I can handle, thank you very much.”

  “Is Pete okay with that?” Joanne asked.

  “Yes,” Claire said. “We had a long frank talk when we first started dating and we both decided that parenting was not our calling, so it looks like it’s all on Maggie and you, unless of course Ginger wants to try again for a girl.”

  “Oh, gracious, no,” Ginger said. “Four boys are all I can handle, besides after Dante came along, I had them take out all of my plumbing since it had begun to collapse. So, it’s just Maggie then.”

  Maggie put a hand to her forehead as a sudden attack of woozy hit her like a freight train. Did Sam want kids? She had no idea. They’d never discussed it.

  The bells on the front door jangled and Maggie glanced up, willing someone, anyone to arrive and save her from this conversation.

  The woman who arrived was not her first or even her last pick but times being desperate she decided not to quibble.

  “Summer Phillips,” Maggie cried. She came around the counter and greeted the woman who had been her lifelong nemesis with a wide warm smile. “Come in, how are you, dear?”

  Summer froze in mid-step. She looked at Maggie as if she was worried that she was ill with something that could be contagious and deadly.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Summer asked. She tossed her long, bottle-bleached hair over her shoulder and held out a well-manicured hand to ward Maggie off.

  “Not a thing,” Maggie lied. “I’m just being neighborly. What can I do for you, Summer?”

  “She’s panicking,” Ginger whispered to Claire and Joanne, and Maggie heard them all giggle.

  “Nothing,” Summer said. “I don’t want anything from you.”

  A woman nudged into the shop behind Summer. She had the same pretty face as Summer, with an upturned nose and prominent cheekbones, but she was obviously older with very fine lines around her eyes and mouth. Her hair was cut in a dark brown bob and it swung about her face in graceful sweeps as she looked Maggie up and down.

  “Mom, this is Maggie Gerber,” Summer said. She stood aside and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Your mother?” Maggie asked. She glanced at the woman still scrutinizing her. Yes, she vaguely remembered Summer’s mother, Blair Phillips, from their high school days but she knew Blair had been married at least three times since then and she had no idea what her name was now.

  Blair’s lips pursed to the side and her eyes narrowed. Then she shook her head. “No, no, I refuse to believe it. There is absolutely no way that Sam Collins threw you over for this.”