by Dana Moss
Taffy nodded.
“You’re a nut, you know. A tough nut, sure, but you drive me nuts too.” Maria’s face grew serious. “Why in the world did you come here by yourself, and without telling anyone? You nearly got yourself killed.”
“I guess I was willing to do anything to get out of camping.” Taffy made light of her crazy nut antics, knowing that Maria was clearly aware that she didn’t always know why she did the things she did, like take blind and unnecessary risks that made her friends panic.
“I won’t do it again, I promise.”
Maria smiled and shook her head in disbelief. “You’re like that cat of yours, Midnight. Always landing on your feet, but you’re using up those nine lives, girl. And boy, do you give me a scare sometimes.”
Taffy didn’t tell her how scared she’d been alone in that boat on the lake and then in the water. Surrounded by all that nature. It really could kill a person. And how, when she’d been on the brink of taking her last breath, all she could think about was Ethan, Nana, Maria, and Rosa and this nutty small town she’d now thought of as home.
Ethan joined them. He tucked Taffy’s blanket more tightly around her. “Can I take her home, Detective?”
Maria nodded. “Get her out of here before she stirs up any more trouble.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
In the coming days, it turned out that Todd had meant to kill himself that night. He’d written an email sent to his own account—his own suicide note. He confirmed his relationship with his stepmom, Rita, his one-time encounter with Cara, and his wish to have a true family. He admitted to giving Tyler a fatal amount of prescription and street drugs in a fit of anger and vengeance. He’d been wracked with guilt ever since and had been struggling to live with himself. Only the thought of Cara’s baby had kept him going. He exonerated Rex, confessing he’d planted the baggies of drugs to point the blame at him. He said goodbye to Jenny in the letter and asked for her forgiveness. Perhaps he’d had some vague hope to build some kind of future with her. And he said, “Whether Cara’s baby is mine or not, I hope it has a chance for a better life than mine.” He’d written and sent the note from Cara’s phone that night at the cabin. Before he’d shot himself.
Tyler and Todd, two peas in a pod.
It was a tragedy that made headlines and drew unwanted attention to the little town of Abandon, much to the mayor’s chagrin. He was so busy trying to keep his revitalizing tourism plans afloat that he neglected to keep an eye on his grandson, and one day just before graduation, Malcolm pulled Rex over for speeding and found a bag of marijuana in the glove box. Rex claimed it was for personal use, not selling, but the charge was enough to make Mr. Ainsley and the college baseball scouts sit up and take notice. Finally. He had to spend the summer at a juvey sports rehab center, and then in the fall he would go to a small state college, where he might possibly be allowed to try out for the team, but the scholarships would have to wait.
Monica, who wouldn’t exactly admit she’d helped Todd plant drugs in Rex’s locker and the campground, also didn’t deny it. She did admit that it was good for everyone, her included, that he would be moving away. With Rex out of the picture, Jenny started to get healthy. She mourned Todd and, of course was shocked along with everyone else when the news of his relationship with his stepmom and Cara came out. By then, Cara had hightailed it to San Diego to lick her wounds with her golf buddies, at least those who’d remained friends after the scandal.
Taffy had visited her one last time as she was packing to leave. It was over with Noel, who’d been mortified by the latest developments in his family’s drama, including the airing of his own infidelity. He and Shannon had decided to leave Oregon and settle in Seattle. The pro shop, cabin, and house were all for sale, and Noel was staying with Shannon in Eugene for the time being.
“She can have him,” Cara had sniffed when Taffy had stopped by the house for the last time the day before Cara’s one-way flight to San Diego. She’d told the police everything she knew and had given them full access to all of her emails and correspondence between her and Todd and said she would cooperate in any way she could, but she really had to get out of this small town.
“What about the baby?” Taffy had wanted to know. The two of them were drinking canned Diet Cokes—no more iced tea ever again—and Cara had been zipping up the last of her suitcases after finishing boxing up her two best sets of golf clubs. “Maybe I’ll play amateur for a while. I’ve still got the chops.”
“So you won’t keep the baby then?”
Cara frowned and clicked her nail against the tab of the Coke can. “There’s a chance it might not be his. Todd’s I mean.”
Taffy raised an eyebrow.
“A couple of times, down in San Diego, the parties got out of hand. There was a weekend when I … Well, it was around the time with Todd. I’d kind of left the gates open, because Noel hadn’t knocked me up yet, and I got a bit drunk with my old golfing pal, Gordie. So, who knows? I’ll get that DNA test maybe.”
She took a swig from her can. “I know you probably think I’d make a terrible mother after all this.”
Taffy shrugged. “Hard to say. It’s really none of my business.”
“People will talk.”
“It’s nobody else’s business either.”
And it really wasn’t. Taffy had thought about Monica’s accusations about nosing into everyone else’s business because maybe she had something to prove or liked knowing things other people didn’t. Taffy had decided she’d best mind her own business—literally and figuratively.
“I should get back to work,” she said, getting up from the white couch one last time. “The whole elf team is frantic about the Fourth of July parade. We still have to make additions to the float.” Ellie had convinced her to dress up the Bentley to be a big candy house, like the one from the Hansel and Gretel story, and the tall chimney needed extra stabilizing. Jenny’s mom had decided to keep her Jeep after all, and Taffy didn’t mind. She’d replace the Bentley eventually, after it made its debut in the parade.
“I’ll be sorry to miss it.” Cara walked her to the door. “Send me pictures?”
They agreed to stay in touch.
“I know I wasn’t much of a friend to you, Taffy,” Cara said. “But thanks for trying to be such a good friend to me.”
Taffy gave her a hug, and they said goodbye.
~
Ethan had insisted on a camping do-over. They started with two joined-sleeping bag nights on air mattresses at the local campground, and then the following weekend, Ethan took Taffy on a hike-in adventure at Umpqua National Forest. Taffy got ants in her pants, sticks in her hair, and dirt between her toes. She also learned to kindle her own campfire, and she braved two bruise-inducing nights on Thermarests and several brain-numbing bird-watching sessions. But she’d never breathed sweeter air or seen more stars at night.
On their way back from that trip, before going home to shower, they stopped in at the Magpie.
Ethan had a quick call to make, so Taffy went in on her own to order their real coffees after two days of freeze-dried coffee crystals.
When Kyle saw her coming, looking wrinkled and disheveled, he did a double take.
“Wow, I’ve never seen you look so … less like yourself.”
“Once in a while, that could be a good thing.” Taffy grinned.
Kyle sniffed. “Or smelled less like yourself. Is that eau de campfire?”
Behind Kyle, another barista was busy at work.
“You’ve got to be kidding. Ethan hired her?”
Kyle glanced over his shoulder. “She just started. Yeah, she’s great. Though technically, I hired her.”
Jayda, Finn’s old coffee-spilling temp, set a frothy latte on the counter in front of Taffy.
Smiling, she said, “The only place I can’t seem to spill a drop is in an actual coffee shop.”
Taffy looked down at the heart pattern in the foam. “Looks better than yours, Kyle.”
“Hey.”
The bells on the door jangled, and Maria walked in.
“Hey, Taff, what are you up to this afternoon? I’ve got a missing pet boa constrictor to track down. Thought you might want to help me. Get a taste of some real detective work.”
“Actually, I have plans. Mel’s giving me swimming lessons down at the lake later.”
Maria raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t worry,” Taffy said. “Mel and I are only good friends. You’re still my best friend.”
Maria smiled and said, “That wasn’t my worry. But my sympathy is with Mel. I’ll tell you what, if she can successfully teach you to swim, I will relent and let you take me to New York to shop for a wedding dress.”
“Really??”
“Finn thinks I should enjoy a girls’ weekend away, and the chief said he could swing a four day weekend if I give him enough notice, so I guess—
Taffy was so excited she could squeal. She squeezed Maria in a tight hug.
Gasping for breath, Maria said, “But it means at least ten minutes of treading water and several lengths to and from the swimming dock. Deal?”
“Dog paddling is okay though, right?”
“I guess so.”
“Rosa wouldn’t mind the trip?” She was ten times better, health wise, but Taffy knew Maria still harbored a few worries, though she was most concerned that Rosa might give herself a heart attack in her enthusiasm to plan a December wedding.
“Maybe we’ll bring her to keep Nana company. It’s been a long time since we both visited the Big Apple.”
Seemed ages to Taffy, too. Nearly a year. Long enough to feel like it wasn’t home anymore, yet it was. It was where she grew up. But if home was where the heart was, then it wasn’t New York anymore, it was here with her friends in Abandon.
Ethan came in after finishing his call in the truck. “My usual, Kyle.”
“On it, boss.”
Taffy slipped her arm under Ethan’s. He smelled smoky, too, and he looked ruggedly handsome with his four-day growth of beard. When he saw Maria, he said, “Salinas, you still owe me a camping weekend.”
“I don’t know. Work’s pretty busy, and—”
Taffy said, “What, is there a cobra loose, too?”
Ethan looked confused. Then Finn walked in.
“Hey, how are the happy campers?”
“Not happy enough. You and your fiancée have to dig up your sleeping bags,” Ethan said.
“Mine’s been ready to go for weeks,” Finn said as he slipped his arm around Maria. “Can’t wait!”
Maria rolled her eyes. “All right, fine.”
And so they had a camping double date. Taffy brought the marshmallows left over from the parade. And Mel stopped by, too, late one evening, just as Taffy was snuggling into her sleeping bag. Ethan had gone off to brush his teeth, and a few minutes later she thought she heard him whispering to someone. There was some shuffling, and then the tent zipper gave a rasp. She fully expected Ethan to climb in and snuggle up, but the zipper closed almost as quickly as it opened, and then Taffy heard giggling. She flicked on her flashlight. At the end of her sleeping bag, she saw a huge spider! She jumped up, screaming, and knocked the tent on its side. Mel and Ethan had to unzip and untangle her, and they were all laughing through tears by the end of it.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Melanie and Taffy established a little sister–big sister relationship. By the end of the summer, Taffy was not only a fully initiated camper but a fair swimmer too. She wouldn’t be drowning in a lake anytime soon. In exchange for swimming lessons, Taffy was giving Mel… well, “girl” lessons. Melanie from Mendocino had once been Melvin from Modesto. Taffy really had gotten it all wrong. Mel had never been interested in Ethan but had admired Taffy from the start as some kind of role model. Taffy told her she could probably do better, since she herself had a lot to improve upon.
“None of us can be perfect,” Mel said. “But I kind of like your style.”
She’d confided in Ethan at her job interview and eventually to Maria, but no one else in the town needed to know unless Melanie chose to confide in them herself. There was a difference between privacy and secrets, and Taffy had learned it her own way. It wasn’t just girl advice that Taffy gave Mel. She also suggested she not do quite so many things in town.
“Ethan says people in small towns usually do two or three things, not ten like you.”
“Two or three,” Mel repeated, as if making a mental note. “Okay, got it.” She saluted. Taffy made her put her hand down. “Why do you always do that?”
Mel shrugged. “Could be the four years of cadets.”
Taffy rolled her eyes and sighed. “Two or three things, right?”
Mel nodded and smiled. “I can do this!”
And it turned out as no surprise to Taffy that when it came to karaoke nights—which became a regular Friday night event when they weren’t camping or catching local flick—Mel had a set of pipes to rival Justin Bieber’s.
~
At the end of August, Taffy received a letter from Cara.
Dear Taffy,
The baby wasn’t Todd’s after all. And when I told my friend Gordie it was likely his, he was simply ecstatic. Asked me to marry him on the spot. The wedding will be at Christmas. Can you come? I’ll probably look like I swallowed a bar fridge by then but I won’t care. I love Gordie more than I ever loved Noel. And Gordie says he’ll love me forever. He loves me unconditionally. I told him everything, Taffy. He’s accepted it all. I know I’ve found my true home now. Whatever you do, Taff, wherever you go, remember that your home is with those you love fully, but it’s only a true home when they truly love you back.
I don’t expect everything to be perfectly peachy keen (and yes, I admit I had Annabelle run a background check on Gordie, but I also gave him her contact info so he could do the same on me and we had a good laugh about it), but I’m going to work my now-ballooning bottom off to make sure I put as much in as I take out. Or more. That’s the prescription for a healthy relationship. Equal give and take. I’m sorry you got mixed up in all our family drama, but I’m most sorry, and forever will be, that Tyler and Todd were lost to us all. We can’t bring them back. We can only go on. A little wiser, a little kinder than before.
She was folding up the letter and tucking it into the built-in desk in the parlor when she heard the Blue Bear pull into the driveway and a light honk as Ethan tapped the horn. She grabbed the packed picnic basket from the table on the foyer. They had plans to take the rowboat across Lake Shelby and have that romantic picnic they once talked about. She picked up her hat and a beach towel too. As she headed toward the door, Midnight got underfoot and nearly tripped her. When she tried to push him out of the way, he reached out his paw and lightly clawed her sandaled foot.
“Ouch.”
She opened the door to wave to Ethan, and then she bent down to stroke Midnight under the chin.
“Listen, Mister. You are my first love, when it comes to four-legged, furry felines…” He started purring. “But you are going to have to get used to the fact that that two-legged, handsome hunk out there is my first love when it comes to humans. And I’m a human. So you’re going to have to cut us some slack.”
Midnight purred louder and rubbed against her shin. “You got that? I love you both. But Ethan’s my first true love.”
She paused, feeling the truth and weight of her own words. She glanced at Ethan in the driver’s seat of the truck, where he waited mostly patiently for her to come out and join him.
She gave Midnight a final scratch, and he seemed satisfied. He preceded her out to the porch and hopped up onto the railing to have a good look at the human he had to share Taffy’s heart with.
Taffy closed the front door and delayed her departure by one more moment so she could peer up at the rafters of the porch roof. A new robin couple, or maybe it was the same one, was in the process of bui
lding a new nest in the same spot.
Taffy smiled. Nature might make all creatures, humans included, face death, destruction, and unforeseen danger whether they liked it or not. But nature also ensured that they could adapt and rebuild too. That life, in some form, would carry on for those willing and able to ride it out.
Taffy hefted the picnic basket onto one arm and assessed her present situation: Deliriously happy woman in love with and loved by one hunky male human. Oh, and a frisky feline, too.
She skipped down the steps to join Ethan. Whatever life and nature had in store for her, she was ready for the ride.
* * *
Sweet Taffy & The Marshmallow Murder
Sweet Taffy Cozy Mysteries - Book #2
Dana Moss
| FIRST EDITION |
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