Strawberries and Suffering

by Katherine Hayton

For a taste of the next treat in store, I’ve included the first chapter of Blueberries & Bereavement in the pages following.

  Blueberries & Bereavement - Chapter One

  The sun was dying away as Aidan dropped Holly Waterston back home. The low rays caught the change of color in the leaves of the old oak trees at the back of her house. After a long summer, they’d finally given in to the change of season and begun to turn to the brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows of fall.

  “Would you like to go to a movie on Saturday?” Aidan asked, releasing the lock on Holly’s door. If she wanted to make a break for freedom, now was her chance. Instead, she turned to look at his twinkling blue eyes and brushed back a strand of hair from his unruly fringe.

  “That sounds delightful,” she said. Not quite the truth, Saturday sounded far too long away for her satisfaction. Still, Holly would be hard at work all week, so she could hardly expect an arrangement any earlier.

  For all the years of her marriage, Holly had considered work as the highlight of her day. Now, although she loved every second of working in the bakery, the days would drag from Monday to Friday. The weekend meant friends and outings, all the things to enjoy. Why did the working week pass so slowly?

  “Did you have anything in mind?”

  A puzzled expression flitted across Aidan’s face and Holly laughed. Although they’d only known each other a few weeks, she already knew him well enough to guess at what he was thinking. “Yes, you did ask me out to the pictures,” she reassured Aidan. “But I meant, which film did you want to see?”

  He laughed and leaned forward to press his cheek against hers in a quick gesture that sent her heart fluttering. “You obviously still think you’re in the big city. Around here, if you go to the movies, you can only see the one show they’ve licensed for the week.”

  “Well, that sounds lovely,” Holly said. “Let me know what time and I’ll be ready and waiting.”

  “Okay.” Aidan stared at Holly for a second, lifting a thumb to trace the contours of her chin. Then he leaned forward and pressed his lips gently against her cheek.

  Before Holly could shift into a different position and direct those lips where she really wanted them to go, Aidan sat back and put his hands on the steering wheel. “I’ll see you on Saturday, then. Say around five?”

  Holly nodded and got out of the car, feeling her knees object to the change to standing. Why did her body protest its age at the same time she felt so young? She hung on the car door for a second, but Aidan stared fixedly ahead until she closed the door and stepped back. He gave her a tiny salute as he pulled out, checking both mirrors and over his shoulder, though he was the only car on their stretch of road.

  Aidan switched between absent-minded and overly conscientious without any middle ground in between.

  “Another hot date comes to an end,” Crystal said behind her, making Holly jump. She slapped at her sister’s shoulder in reprimand, but Crystal just wrapped her arms around Holly’s midriff and perched her chin on Holly’s shoulder.

  “I don’t understand how you’ve been in town five minutes and have a boyfriend, but I’ve lived here my whole life and I’m single.” Crystal sighed so deeply that Holly could feel the movement of her sister’s chest against her shoulder blades.

  “You’re single by choice,” Holly said, placing her arms on top of Crystal’s. “I’m sure if you wanted to, you’d have the men of Hanmer Springs wrapped around your little finger.”

  “I wish.” Crystal stepped back. “Instead, you seem to be on the verge of a proposal and I can’t get anybody even halfway decent on Tinder.” She shook her head. “There’s some leftover lasagna in the oven if you haven’t eaten.”

  “I’m sure that half those profiles on Tinder are perfectly nice men,” Holly said, following her sister into the house with only three quick checks over her shoulder to see if Aidan really had driven away. She felt like a teenager again with all the accompanying anxiety. Last weekend, she’d phoned Aidan and received an engaged signal and actually believed that it might be because he was phoning her at the exact same time.

  Take me out of the oven, I’m done.

  “It’s strange how all those perfectly nice men managed to wind up living in their grandmother’s house between jobs while looking for a woman with a house, car, and job who”—Crystal lifted her fingers into air quotes— “‘knows how to take care of herself.’ I’m sure I’m missing out on a real catch.”

  Holly laughed but Crystal stamped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m serious. You’re practically getting married, and all that’s on offer for me is a bunch of losers.”

  “A bunch of losers who’ll inherit their grandmother’s houses one day. You should swipe right on that.” Holly had moved across to the oven before she connected the rest of Crystal’s sentence. “Hey! I’m not ‘practically’ getting married, either.”

  Holly grabbed a tea towel, then hooked out the earthenware dish half full of lasagna from the oven. “This smells absolutely divine.” She dropped it down on the bench and grabbed a fork, not worried about creating an extra dish that she’d just need to wash.

  “You’ve been on a date every weekend with the same man for months,” Crystal said, jumping up to sit on the kitchen bench and leaning over to snag her own forkful of pasta. “What else am I meant to think?”

  “You’re meant to think that your sister hasn’t even got her divorce settled yet and won’t for at least another year.” Holly stopped to chew down another mouthful and rolled her eyes at the taste. Bechamel sauce was her favorite. Along with all the other things that were her favorite, too.

  “A piece of paper won’t stop you from moving in with him or reaching an understanding, as the young kids call it.”

  “What young kids do you know?” Holly asked, flapping the tea towel at her sister. “Especially ones who are moving in with their boyfriends?”

  “You’d be surprised.” Crystal may have been aiming for mysterious but overflew that to land squarely in comical. Holly burst out laughing, holding a hand up in case her mouthful of food made a run for it.

  “Oh, yeah. Laugh at me, why don’t you? It’ll all be a different story when you bury me alone in the graveyard. Then, who’ll be laughing?”

  “Neither of us, I should think.” Holly scooped up another mouthful and offered the dish to Crystal. Another forkful of damage each and the lasagna was gone.

  “Oh,” Holly said, rubbing her stomach. “That was good.”

  “Doesn’t your boyfriend take you out for a meal? I thought that’s what most dates centered around.”

  “Can you just call him Aidan?” Holly said, pouring hot water into the sink. “When we’re at the stage that you can define him by our relationship, I’ll let you know.”

  “Like that, is it?” Crystal teased but Holly refused to let herself be drawn. She quickly dispatched the few dishes, then smothered a yawn against the back of her hand.

  “I’m going to bed. I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.”

  “Night,” Crystal said. “I’ll stay up and troll the single men of Hanmer Springs online for a while.”

  Holly laughed as she walked out of the room. “I don’t know whether to be scared for them, or for you.”

  The next morning, Holly was out front and center in the bakery, wishing that the weekend would hurry up and get there. The bakery was nicely warm, with the redolent sweet smell of vanilla cupcakes baking. A far cry from the chill that had been in the morning air when Holly and Crystal had walked to work that morning. The faint dusting of snow on the surrounding mountaintops indicated that summer was well and truly over for the year.

  The tinkle of the bell on the front door brought Holly out of her reverie. “Meggie!” she said, delighted to see her friend. “Do you have time for a coffee?”

  “You certainly know the way to a girl’s heart,” Meggie said, walking behind the counter to give Holly a quick hug. “I’ve no appointments booked until midday, can y
ou believe it? I thought it would be much nicer to hide away in here for the time being.”

  “Stay as long as you like. I’ll just rustle up a latte out back.”

  “Thanks. You know, you should drop in some time and let me give you a free trim in return. Otherwise, I’ll start to feel guilty for taking advantage of your hospitality all the time.”

  “Nonsense,” Holly replied, bustling back through with coffee and cake. “It gives me an excuse to make one for me and Crystal as well.” She gave a quick glance over her shoulder to check her sister hadn’t followed her through to the shop. “Otherwise, she’d never let me have a break.”

  “I can hear you, you know,” Crystal called out. “And it’s your bakery, too. If you want the two of us to sit around all day eating our own product rather than selling, then you’re welcome to the bills.”

  There was a second’s pause while Meggie’s eyes widened with shock, then Crystal’s laugh came tinkling through from the baking room, and Meggie joined in with relief.

  “And I will take you up on that trim,” Holly said, fingering the curls that kept falling into her eyes. “Perhaps you could squeeze me in before next weekend?”

  “Got a date, do you?”

  Holly blushed while Crystal gave a wolf whistle from out the back. She stuck her head around the doorway. “Holly’s always got a date these days. She and Aidan are practically inseparable.”

  “That’s not true!” Holly protested, then laughed and shrugged when her sister crossed her eyes. “I only have dates on the weekend. If you listen to Crystal for too long, she’d have you thinking I’m about to waltz up the aisle.”

  Meggie held her hand up. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not have another wedding in town for a while. Not after what happened with the last one.”

  “Oh, go on.” Crystal stuck her head back through again. “I’m sure that Inglefield Manor would offer you a discount, if you asked them nicely.”

  “Both of you stop this at once.” Holly banged her hands down flat on the table. “I’ll have you know that Aidan hasn’t even kissed me on the lips yet. So stop this foolish nonsense about me getting married.”

  Meggie shifted uncomfortably at the vehement outburst, but Crystal took the whole thing in stride. Teasing was a sibling’s forte, after all. She caught Meggie’s eyes and winked. “You wouldn’t protest so much if there wasn’t something to protest about.”

  Holly picked up her cupcake wrapper and threw it across the room at her sister. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very aerodynamic and hit the counter front, then fell limply to the floor.

  Meggie gave a small giggle and finished off her cupcake. “I must say, whatever the status of your relationship, it’s doing wonders for your complexion. When I saw you walking in this morning, I thought you’d lost ten years.”

  Holly shook her head and smiled as she cleared away their table. “If I’d known how much trouble this relationship would be, I would never have bothered to embark upon it.”

  “But aren’t you so glad that you did?” Meggie asked with a twinkle in her eye.

  Holly nodded before she could stop herself. “Okay. I’ll admit it. There are certain attractions.”

  “Yes,” Meggie said with a teasing smile. “I see it every time that Aidan walks away from me.”

  Holly picked up a towel from the counter and flapped it at her friend before wiping down the table. “Has your work really slowed down that much? Or is it just a one-off today?”

  Meggie sighed and shook her head. “It always slows down a bit as winter comes along. Hair doesn’t grow as fast and no one likes to leave their homes for anything unnecessary. The tourists get so cold on the trip from the pools to the changing sheds that they can’t be bothered to stop by any of the shops before leaving town.”

  Holly cast a worried glance at her friend. After the trouble that both their businesses had suffered at the hands of a thieving accountant, she wasn’t sure that there was any fat in Meggie’s ledger to withstand a lackluster season. Perhaps picking up that vibe from her expression, Meggie shook her head and a smile suddenly lit up her face.

  “I forgot to tell you something.” She gestured for Holly to lean in closer. “Guess who’s been helping my business out with a loan that doesn’t need to be paid back?”

  Holly’s eyes widened as she ran through a list of the townsfolk, but she shook her head as she got to the end, still coming up blank. “Who?”

  “I suppose I should have prefaced that by saying you’ll never guess. It’s Brian Masters. He’s been doing it for a few of the businesses around town.”

  Although Meggie looked pleased with herself, Holly felt a thrill of trepidation run from the nape of her neck down to her toes. “Are you sure?”

  “Sure that he lent me the money or sure that he doesn’t need it back?”

  “Either. Both.”

  Meggie nodded. “I’m sure. After everything that’s come to light this year, I made sure to pass it in front of a lawyer before I signed anything. Not a local one either,” she hastened to add, perhaps reading Holly’s expression. “I traveled up to Christchurch and hired one specifically for purpose. He swears that everything’s on the up-and-up.”

  “Well, that must be a relief!” Without any firm evidence to the contrary, Holly decided that congratulations were in order. “I’m thrilled for you, Meggie. I hope it all works out.”

  “I’m sure it will.” Her friend stood and dusted off the crumbs from her skirt. “Even with the slow season coming, I’m still clearing a lot more income now that I don’t have someone skimming off the top. Even though Brian said I didn’t need to pay him back, I think by this time next year, I’ll be able to do that and be in the clear.”

  She waved goodbye, and Holly smiled as Meggie left, then wandered back to the internal doorway with an eyebrow cocked in Crystal’s direction. “Did you hear that?”

  Crystal nodded. “I heard. I’ve also heard it from the horse’s mouth when Derek and I’ve gotten together for support.”

  Although not common knowledge, Crystal was Derek’s AA sponsor, a job that she took even more seriously than the bakery—if that was possible.

  “I think that two close calls in such quick succession might have led Mr. Masters to reevaluate his business ventures. I’m not saying that he believes that putting money back into the community will stop people from trying to murder him and his family, but I’m sure it crossed his mind that it couldn’t hurt.”

  “Well, I won’t say that I’m glad that either attack happened, but I am glad that he’s able to lend a helping hand.” Holly glanced back out the front door as though seeing an echo of Meggie still standing there. “It would have been terrible if shops closed down when he had the ability to prevent it.”

  “I think it’s really helped Derek with his recovery, too.” Crystal pulled out a batch of cupcakes and slammed the oven door closed with her hip. “I’m sure that people having a bad opinion of his dad didn’t help out any.”

  “Do you want a hand with decorating?” Holly asked as her sister waved an oven tray over the cakes to cool them down more quickly. “Foot traffic seems to have died off this morning.”

  “Mm. I’ll need to start scaling back on the bakes if this keeps up. No use making the same amount just to feed more stale cakes to the pigs.”

  While Crystal continued to encourage the vanilla cupcakes to cool, Holly started to whip up a ganache to cover the chocolate ones baked earlier. She walked a line from bench to doorway as she did so, keeping one eye on the entrance.

  When a man came striding in through the door, in a suit that Holly was sure would cost at least a month’s income if not more, she put down her bowl of ganache and went to greet him.

  “How can I help you?” Holly asked with a broad smile.

  “You’re—” he paused to look down at the notepad in his hand “—Holly Waterston, daughter of Trevor Waterston?”

  Holly nodded, not sure she liked this stranger knowing her nam
e. The surname may be emblazoned on the shop frontage under Sweet Baked Treats, but her given name shouldn’t be such fair game.

  “I’m sorry,” the man said, extending his hand. When Holly went to shake it—a puzzled frown on her face—he clasped it and gave it a squeeze instead.

  “I’m sorry to have to tell you that Steven Willoughby is dead.”

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  About the Author

  Katherine Hayton is a middle-aged woman who works in insurance, doesn't have children or pets, can't drive, has lived in Christchurch her entire life, and resides a two-minute walk from where she was born.

  For some reason, she's developed a rich fantasy life.

  www.katherinehayton.com

  Also by Katherine Hayton

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