by Tonya Kappes
I tiptoed down the path, giving them plenty of space. When I heard their footsteps stop, I stopped as well.
“I told you. I told you and her this was no good.” There was anger in Leslie’s hushed voice.
“You have to stay silent. No one knows but me and you. It needs to stay that way.” Drew found his voice that I thought was so quiet. “Just let it go. Now we can all move on, put it all behind us.”
“You think forgetting something like this is so easy for me?” Leslie’s voice cracked and followed up by a sniffle. “She was my mother.”
“You didn’t even get along with her. Just take the bookstore over, like she planned and move on. Forget about what happened.” Drew was doing his best to talk her into not going public with the big secret that I could only believe was that she murdered her mother.
Visions of her and Alexis fighting in the office where I found her body bounced in my head. My imagination even went as far as Leslie knocking her mother on the head. But what was Drew’s stake in this?
“I’d get rid of the banned books section because I just can’t. . .” Her voiced trailed off.
“If you get rid of the section right away, people will gossip about it and then. . .” His voice stopped. “You’ve got to take it slow. Let things play out. Don’t do anything abrupt. Our lives depend on it.” There was a pause. “Don’t go near the store. Don’t open the store until the grieving period is over. Do not,” he stressed, “bring attention to us.”
“I’m not guaranteeing anything.” Leslie’s voice was very low and non-committal.
A sudden movement forced me to rush back down the trail and fade into the crowd as it moved to the honey extraction, leaving me with a good view of Drew and Leslie as they hurried back on the ferry boat just before it took off to go get another group from the marina. They obviously didn’t care about the bee farm tour. They just wanted to get out of sight of the people who might see them together. It gave them a place to talk.
They weren’t going to let people know their murderous secret, but I sure was. There was a line at the Pet Palace table when I got back from the bee farm. There were more questions than ever that I needed answered. Now Drew and Leslie seemed like the killers to me instead of Patrick. I was more confused than ever and wished I could drop it, but again, it was just my nature to follow through with what I’d started. Exonerate Aunt Maxi on all levels, even though she didn’t seem to be a suspect anymore, though Patrick did put that doubt in my head when he told me that Spencer would have me believe anything.
“Roxy.” Louise sounded happy to see me. She held out a packet. “This is Sassy’s packet and I need Patrick to fill out the paperwork so I can send it in. Do you think you could get him to sign them for me?”
“Sure.” I took them and looked inside the coffeehouse where Aunt Maxi and Bunny had everything under control. “I’ll take them to him now. Can I borrow your car keys since I don’t have my car here?”
“Sure.” She took them out of her pocket. “Only one dog left.” She informed me the other two had been adopted already.
“This is great. I’m so glad we thought of this.” I was very pleased. “Since we only have today left, maybe we can come up with something on a regular basis.”
I wasn’t sure what that was going to be, but I knew with the exposure on the boardwalk we’d get most of the animals into good homes. There was no time to brainstorm. I was feeling guilty about mentally accusing Patrick of killing Alexis, but he didn’t need to know that. Taking him the packet would make me feel better.
The address on the label of the packet wasn’t familiar to me. It was close to Aunt Maxi’s old house, but Honey Springs had grown in the past twelve years. It was probably a new development from Cane Contractors.
The closer my phone GPS took me, the more I realized the address was part of Aunt Maxi’s old property that they’d bought from her years ago. They’d divided the land and built custom houses. A knot formed in my throat as the familiar driveway matched the red end dot on my phone.
I made the turn into Aunt Maxi’s old driveway and drove up as the sadness built up inside of me. Patrick was living in Aunt Maxi’s dream home. The home that I loved so much. It had the best view of Lake Honey Springs. Before I could turn around and run off, Patrick came out of the house and stood on the wrap-around porch in the exact same spot where he’d first kissed me so many years ago.
Our eyes met.
Scones with a Flavor Twist
Submitted by Joanne Kocourek
Base Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup whipping cream,
Sweet Variation Ingredients:
Chocolate-Cherry Scones: Stir in 1/4 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped, and 2 oz. coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate with the cream.
Apricot-Ginger Scones: Stir in 1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots and 2 Tbsp. finely chopped crystallized ginger with the cream. Drizzle with Vanilla Glaze after baking.
Cranberry-Pistachio Scones: Stir in 1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries and 1/4 cup coarsely chopped roasted salted pistachios with the cream.
Brown Sugar-Pecan Scones: Substitute brown sugar for granulated sugar. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans with the cream.
Glaze Ingredients: 1 cup confectioners' sugar 3 Tablespoons heavy cream (or half-and-half or milk) 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450°. Stir together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender (or two knives) until crumbly and mixture resembles small peas. Freeze 5 minutes. Add 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. cream, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. 2. Turn dough out onto wax paper; gently press or pat dough into a 7-inch round (mixture will be crumbly). Cut round into 8 wedges. Place wedges 2 inches apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush tops of wedges with remaining 2 Tbsp. cream just until moistened. 3. Bake at 450° for 15-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown. 4. To make the glaze, simply whisk all of the glaze ingredients together and drizzle lightly over scones right before serving. Scones are best enjoyed fresh from the oven
Special Instructions:
Here’s my trick for light-textured (not heavy!) scones: avoid overworking the dough. Scone dough is fragile. Like muffin batter or cookie dough, try to avoid over-mixing and over-handling. If you over mix the dough it will over develop the gluten. Thus resulting in a tough textured scone.
Twenty-one
“I’m here to deliver these to you.” I handed the packet out of the window when he walked over.
My mouth was dry. I couldn’t bring myself to get out of the car. Even though I knew the truth now, I’d harbored the ill feelings for so long, I wasn’t sure how to process how I was now feeling. There was a sense of how Aunt Maxi would still love to live here, but another sense that if she couldn’t, I was happy Patrick did.
“I didn’t plan on you finding out about this until I told you.” He didn’t have to make small talk. He always got to the heart of the matter. This house was part of my heart. “Can you come in and have a regular cup of coffee?” He smiled, referring to my ability to make a pretty good cup.
“Sure.” I nodded and turned Louise’s car off.
“I guess I never figured you needed a car while at The Bean Hive.” He’d opened the door. I stood up and we were face-to-face. “I only wanted to keep you safe,” he whispered.
I swallowed and sucked in a deep breath. Was this it? The moment we kissed as adults?
Arf, arf. Sassy stood at the open door of the house, pulling us apart.
“That’s a needy girl.” He laughed and slammed the car door behind me.
Even though I knew the house like it was my own, I let him lead the way. The house had a big open floor plan. As soon as you walked in, the vaulted ceilings caugh
t the eye. It was one of the things Aunt Maxi loved so many years ago. The back wall of the house, including all the rooms that were separate from the living area, was almost entirely clear glass windows. This gave the most spectacular view of the lake from every single room in the custom house.
“Funny how Aunt Maxi contracted your father to build this place and now you live here.” I had to find something to be positive about. After all, all these years I’d harbored feelings that they’d taken it from her when I’d just found out they hadn’t.
“The day Dad bought it from Maxine, he told her that he’d never sell it to anyone.” Patrick stood in the kitchen with his back to me. He took two coffee cups from the cabinet and said, “It wasn’t until Dad started to develop the land and I was on the property on a daily basis that my heart would dip when I’d see the place standing empty with no one living here. There was such a heartbeat in the home when Maxine lived here.”
I was glad his back was to me. My eyes filled with tears and I gulped them back.
“I lived in town and went to Dad with the idea of me buying the place.” His voice cracked.
I wasn’t sure, but I had a sneaky suspicion that he didn’t want to turn around to face me for the same reason I didn’t want him to turn around and see me.
He’d updated the kitchen from the old dark wood cabinets to white ones and changed out the old granite countertops to the modern concrete countertops with stainless steel accents. He pulled out the carafe from the built-in wall coffee maker. I’d seen one of those at a trade show for new custom kitchens and loved it.
“Is that. . .” A knot formed in my throat when I saw the old tin plate still screwed in the wall where Aunt Maxi had put it.
“It is.” Patrick’s eyes softened.
“I got that for her the first summer I was here.” I walked over and ran my hand over the tin plate. “Maxine’s kitchen.” I smiled and then ran my hand over the picture of the two white ducks before I ran a fingertip over Aunt Maxi’s name.
“I couldn’t take it down.” He walked over and stood behind me.
I turned around. Both of us staring at each other with tears in our eyes. He set down the mugs. He curled me into his arms and I nestled my head into his chest. He inhaled deeply into my hair.
“I’ve missed this smell.” His lips hot against my head. “I’ve missed this hair. I’ve missed you.”
He took his finger and placed it under my chin, tipping it up to his lips. Standing on my tiptoes, my lips met his velvety warm kiss, flooding my memory with the compassion and affection we’d had for each other at such a young age.
Sassy tried to get our attention by nudging her nose between our knees, but Patrick pressed them tighter to mine as we deepened our kiss.
After we pulled away, he ran his hand down my cheek. His eyes bore into my soul.
“You’ve been hurt.” He referred to my life before I’d moved back to Honey Springs. “I love you. I love this house. I love Maxine. I love Sassy and I love Pepper. My life has been nothing but working and trying to forget you for the past twelve years. Now that you are back, I won’t let you out of my heart again.”
A tear escaped and trailed down my cheek. He used the pad of his thumb to brush it away.
“I’ve not felt this alive since the day you told me goodbye. My heart feels whole again and I won’t be able to live if you aren’t in my life. However you choose it to be. As long as you are in it.” A loud exhausted sigh escaped him as he closed his eyes and pulled me back into his arms, hugging me as though I would melt away like snow.
This was about the only time that I didn’t mind a fresh cup of coffee getting cold. There was no place I’d rather be than in his arms, even though a few hours earlier I’d let my imagination get the better of me. Patrick Cane was no killer.
Sassy wasn’t taking no for an answer. She continued to tap dance around us.
“There is only one princess in this house.” I smiled at Patrick before I pulled away and bent down to pat Sassy. “And it’s me.”
“Are you serious?” Patrick dragged me back up to him. His eyes darted between mine searching for the answer.
“I love you too,” I said laughing, throwing my head back. The joy welled up inside of me. “I’ve never stopped.” I shook my head at him and gave kisses between him and Sassy. “When Aunt Maxi told me about the space becoming available, the idea of us floated in my mind but I didn’t want to ask if you were married or single. Of course over the years she’d throw your name out. You know who,” I referred to my ex, “would get so mad when she did that. He always said that I’d never gotten over you. He was right. I knew he was right, but I’d say that you were my first love and no one forgets their first love when really you’re my only love.”
He ran his hand over my head and continued to kiss my forehead over and over. There was a sense of relief that settled him down.
“Do want to know how many times I dreamed of bringing you here and asking you to marry me?” His eyes grew big. “I didn’t mean. . .”
“Are you asking me to marry you?” My heart leapt and my hands took his.
“I. . .” He smiled. “I know it’s a little fast, but I’ve known you for so long and loved you just as long. It just seems right that you and Pepper live here with me and Sassy. It’s your home.”
“Our home.” I squeezed his fingers.
“So you’re saying yes?” He tilted his head slightly.
“To what?” I teased.
“Roxanne Bloom,” he adjusted himself down on one knee, “will you marry me?”
“Yes. Yes. Yes!” I cried and threw my arms around his neck.
Some might say it was too soon. Some might say it was not soon enough. I’d say it was perfect and I wasn’t going to let one more day go by without Patrick Cane being in my life as much as I’d tried to push him away over the past few days. If there was one thing I did learn from the death of Alexis Roarke, life was short. I wasn’t getting any younger and I was going to life the life I wanted. With Patrick, Pepper, Sassy, and The Bean Hive. Of course, Aunt Maxi too. And the rest of Honey Springs.
“Are you happy?” Patrick asked.
We’d finally gotten around to drinking that coffee on the back porch of the house. Thank goodness the house was secluded.
“I’m very happy.” I looked back as I sat in his lap in the Adirondack chair. “I have to tell you that for a moment I thought you might’ve killed Alexis.”
“What?” He jerked his head back to look at me. I shifted in the seat and faced him. “What?” he asked again in disbelief.
“Well, I’d heard all about how she wanted to buy a shop and didn’t win the bid. And how the lease agreement was so much money.” There wasn’t any sense in getting into all of it. “But I think that Leslie and Drew are somehow behind it. I followed them to the bee farm.”
“What did Spencer and I tell you?” He smiled. “I can’t wait until he finds out that you and I are getting hitched.”
“Stop it. He’s not interested in me.” I shook my head and curled back into Patrick’s arms with my hot cup of coffee. “I know you wanted me to stop snooping, but I’m a lawyer.”
I turned my head toward Lake Honey Springs. It was a gorgeous view. And the company didn’t hurt either. But I couldn’t put the image of the sparkling boat I’d seen that morning speeding off—in the no-wake zone, no less—around the time of Alexis’s death. I’d not done a very good job at looking around the marina. Maybe I could do that tomorrow since my day was rushing by.
“Were a lawyer. That life is behind us. Way behind us. And this murder is behind us with Maxine off the list of suspects. What exactly is your plan and when are you going to drop this sleuthing business?” he asked a very good question.
“I’m going to get one bit of information tonight from the Southern Women’s Club. From what I understand, Loretta and Leslie are friends and she might have some insight on what’s going on.” I knew I should drop it, but I couldn’t. I wanted to
finish what I started. “If she doesn’t know anything, then I’m going to drop it.”
“Promise?” He cocked a brow and I criss-crossed my finger on my chest. He sighed a happy sigh. “I love you. I can’t stop saying it.”
“I love you,” I whispered, feeling his heartbeat against my back.
A few kisses later, I sat up and looked back over the lake.
“Is that boat dock yours?” I asked after I’d noticed the new addition.
Aunt Maxi didn’t have a boat nor did she have the land excavated for a dock.
“It is.” I could feel him staring at me like he’d done when we were teenagers. The way his eyes wrapped me up, made me feel so safe and loved. “Buying a boat was the first thing I did when I bought the place. I built that deck with my own hands. It was a good distraction from thinking about you all the time.” He used his finger to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Are you listening to me?”
“I can’t stop thinking about Alexis and that sparkly boat I’d seen zooming off from underneath the pier the morning she was killed.”
“Sparkly boat?” He took an interest. “You never told me that.” His face was shaded by the branches on the trees from the sun starting to go down. This told me that I had to get back to The Bean Hive because it’d be closing soon, if Aunt Maxi and Bunny hadn’t already killed each other.
“Yeah.” I quickly told him about how Pepper barked and growled at the boat speeding off in the no wake zone around the time Alexis was murdered.
“I’ve been here all my life. Fishing and swimming on this lake, and I’ve never seen a sparkly boat.” He would know, I guess.
“Maybe it was something I needed to look into or tell Spencer,” I suggested.
“There are people who launch their boats during their vacation. If it’s not someone local, it’d be kinda hard to pinpoint who the boat belonged to. And you need more description than sparkly. You aren’t going to let this go, are you?” he asked.