The Heart of Teaberry

by R A Wallace

  Within a few moments, another musical note played. She refreshed the message board and saw that Ward had posted a comment in response to hers. He had heard the same thing from someone in his neighborhood. He wondered what that meant for their writing class. After all, they’d only just begun the class. There were still three months left in the semester. What was the college going to do? If they cancelled the class, they should refund the money.

  Teri replied that she had no idea and asked him for any details about what he had heard about Chad’s death. Before long, several other students in the writing class had logged on and were also posting comments. It seemed that no one really knew anything about Chad’s death. They were all asking the same question. What would it mean for their writing class? Several of them made comments about getting a substitute teacher. They wondered if it were even possible once the course had already begun.

  As the messages continued to appear from other students, Teri thought about the last conversation she’d had with Chad. She had been surprised at his suggestion and wondered now if it could possibly have had anything to do with his death. She refreshed the message board again and saw a posting by Fern.

  Fern clicked submit and sat on the edge of her seat waiting for another posting from someone else. It took her a moment to remember to refresh the screen so she could see the new postings. When she did, she opened her mouth in surprise. The more she thought about what Doris had written, the more she wondered. Maybe that was why Chad was killed?

  Doris read the response to her comment that Annie had written. She thought about the thirty-something with an interest in witches and warlocks. She knew that Annie was busy with her work and writing. She wasn’t surprised to see what Annie had told Chad.

  Oliver posted a comment that caused everyone else to reconsider their initial thoughts. Oliver waited several minutes for anyone to respond. He kept refreshing his screen, but nothing ever appeared. After waiting twenty minutes, he assumed that everyone else agreed with him, and that’s why they hadn’t responded.

  He got up from his computer and wondered what to do next. Obviously, he didn’t have to worry about completing the writing assignment. Chances were, there wouldn’t be anyone to grade it. At least, not for a while. He doubted the college could find a replacement quickly.

  ***

  Harriet locked the front door of her house behind her after entering and stood in the hallway for several moments before removing her coat. She dragged her feet as she moved slowly into her bedroom. After changing her clothes, she turned on the television to a news channel. It wasn’t yet time for the news to be on, but she thought the news program might break into the regular broadcasting if they learned anything.

  She left the channel on, retrieved her notebook computer, and sat on the couch. As she searched on the Internet for something about the murder, she heard a sound from her computer indicating that new messages had been posted on the message board for the class. Wondering what the other students were saying, she logged in and read through them. She thought about posting a response, but after reading the comment from Oliver, she wasn’t sure that she had anything useful to add.

  Chapter Fifteen

  They had left their place later than they had intended to. Russ knew it was partly his fault. He wasn’t particularly looking forward to the weekend and hadn’t wrapped things up at work as quickly as he could have. He could tell that Celia was upset when he did get home but by the time they were on the road she started talking to him again.

  “I didn’t think the traffic would be this bad,” Celia said. She hated the silence between them.

  Russ glanced down at his gas gauge. “I think we’re going to have to stop for gas.”

  “I thought you were going to fill up before we left?” Celia said sharply.

  Russ didn’t answer at first. She was right. He was supposed to. He had forgotten.

  “We’ve been pretty busy lately,” he pointed out.

  Celia turned to look at him. “I thought you liked being busy?”

  Russ didn’t want to argue with her.

  “Yeah,” he said without any feeling.

  Celia pulled her tablet from her purse.

  “I found a lot of things for us to do this weekend.” She began reading some of the suggestions to him.

  He thought again about a quiet weekend at home.

  “Which of those sound good?” Celia asked.

  “What’s that?” He hadn’t been listening.

  “Were you even listening?” Celia demanded.

  “Sure. Why don’t you just pick something to do?” he suggested.

  Celia put her tablet away and stared out the window.

  Russ realized that he was being unfair. Before they’d married, he’d enjoyed doing things with Celia every night of the week. It was even better if all of their friends were with them. The more the merrier. It just seemed that, lately, he didn’t feel the same way about it. It wasn’t Celia’s fault. He stole a glance at her. He could tell by her rigid pose that she wasn’t happy. He felt like a heel. It was their anniversary. He needed to adjust his attitude a bit.

  “Look, there’s a sign for a gas station coming up. I’ll stop here and fill up. Do you want to run inside and pick anything up?”

  Celia threw him a glance. She could tell that he was trying.

  “Sure. Do you want me to get you anything?” she offered.

  “I’m still pretty full from dinner but you might want to get something for a snack later,” he suggested as he pulled into the gas station.

  He watched her cross the parking lot and go into the little store while he pumped the gas. He could see that the lines inside were long. They had two different cashiers and the lines still snaked through the store. When he finished filling the tank, he returned the nozzle to the dispenser and got back into the car. Someone pulled in behind him and another car quickly joined the line.

  He glanced over at the store. He couldn’t see Celia, but he was pretty sure she was still in line. He started the car and glanced around the lot. He wanted to move so that the cars behind him could get their gas. All of the parking spots in front of the store were taken. He pulled over to a parking spot on the side of the lot.

  He watched the door of the store as he waited for Celia. Finally, she emerged. He saw her glance in the direction of the pump where he had filled the car. When she didn’t see him, she began scanning the whole lot. He could tell by the expression on her face that she still hadn’t seen him. He was about to open the door to step out and wave when he saw her take a step forward as she continued scanning the lot for him.

  She was so busy looking for him that she didn’t notice the step down from the curb. One minute he could see her looking around the lot. The next moment she had hit the pavement and was writhing in pain.

  ***

  Megan checked the time and wondered again where her guests might be. They hadn’t contacted her to cancel. She hoped they hadn’t met with some accident. She put the final touches on a snack that she had made for them and set the tray in the fridge before returning to the living room.

  “No messages?” Dan asked.

  “No. I’m sure they’ll be here soon.” She sat down next to him on the sofa. He had the fire lit and it was nice and warm.

  Dan set aside his ebook reader. “Tell me again about your visitors earlier today.”

  “It sounds like half of Teaberry is planning to get engaged.”

  “Good for them.” Dan hoped they were as happy as he was.

  “Not if they can’t get to their engagement rings,” Megan explained.

  “Good point,” he agreed. “With Miles in jail, there isn’t anyone else who can handle the transaction.”

  “I’m not sure how much of the jewelry is actually part of the crime scene investigation either,” Megan added.

  “You mean, the rings might be part of evidence?” He hadn’t thought of that.

  Megan shrugged. “I honestly don’t know yet. Jerry didn
’t give me many details.”

  “What about Rhys?” Dan asked.

  “He isn’t technically working the case. He was just worried about the ring he had ordered for Ava.”

  “What are you planning on doing?”

  Megan hadn’t figured it out yet.

  “I don’t know.” She turned to look at him. “What do you think?”

  Dan thought about the men who had come to Megan for help. He knew that she wanted to help them.

  “Do you know what our guests are planning to do while they’re here?” Dan asked.

  Megan shook her head.

  Dan shifted his weight and put his arm around her.

  “I can hang around this weekend in case our guests need anything,” he offered.

  She leaned against his shoulder and smiled. Before she could respond they heard the doorbell.

  “Speaking of guests.” Megan got up quickly and went to the front door. She opened it and found a frantic-looking man. She guessed he was in his twenties.

  “Is this the Teaberry Farm?” Russ asked.

  Megan looked behind him. She could see a woman in the car.

  “Yes. You are?”

  “Russ and Celia Franklin. My wife had an accident and hurt her ankle on the way here. I didn’t want her to get out of the car until I was sure we were in the right place.” Russ turned to look back at the car.

  “Is she alright?” Megan asked.

  “I’m not sure how bad it is. She’s says she’s fine. We were almost here when it happened. It was closer to just come here,” Russ explained.

  Megan turned when she felt Dan behind her.

  “We need to help his wife into the house,” she told Dan.

  He pulled a jacket from the hall tree and went out with Russ. Between the two of them, they managed to get Celia into the house and on the sofa with her foot propped up.

  “I’m sorry I’m being so much trouble,” Celia said.

  Megan looked at Celia’s ankle. It didn’t look bad.

  “Where does it hurt?” Megan asked.

  “It’s not that bad, honest. Russ is worrying too much. I think as long as I stay off of it for a while, it will be just fine,” Celia said.

  Megan looked at Celia’s knee and saw that her pant leg was a little torn.

  “What about your knee?”

  Celia pulled her pant leg up and displayed her skinned knee.

  “That’s why that burns,” Celia laughed.

  “Maybe you should get everything checked out at the emergency room,” Dan suggested.

  Celia shook her head.

  “It’s really not that bad. I’ve had way worse injuries, honest. Russ and I are pretty active including even some extreme sports. Sports injuries aren’t that uncommon for us. If I could just trouble you for some peroxide and some gauze, I’ll be fine. Really.” Celia looked sincere.

  Megan glanced at Russ. He didn’t look nearly as panicked at this point.

  “Sure, I have some in the guest bath. I’ll go get it.”

  “I’ll bring our luggage in,” Russ said.

  “I can help,” Dan offered as he followed Russ out.

  Megan returned a moment later. She cleaned up Celia’s knee before the men returned.

  “I’ll put this in the bathroom in your suite,” Megan offered.

  “Sounds great. Thanks so much for your help. Again, I’m sorry we made our arrival more exciting than it needed to be. I’m sure all my ankle needs is a little rest.”

  “Do you want some ice for it?” Megan asked.

  “Actually, heat sounds better,” Celia said as she waved at the fire. “This feels really nice.”

  “You’re in luck. There’s a gas fireplace in your room and a large jacuzzi.”

  Celia smiled. “That does sound great.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  He knew that Ethan could handle the morning chores on his own but geared up to go outside anyway. As he walked to the barn, he mentally ran through the conversation he had planned one more time. He found Ethan in the barn mucking out one of the stalls. Casey stayed on the other side of the open stall gate and watched as Ethan forked the muck into a wheelbarrow just outside the stall.

  “There’s an extra pitchfork, you know,” Ethan suggested with a grin.

  “I have more fun watching you do it,” Casey retorted happily as he pushed away from the gate.

  He found the other pitchfork and went into the next stall. He couldn’t see Ethan, but he could hear him working on the other side of the wall.

  “How has school been going?” Casey asked as he loaded up the pitchfork and tossed it out to the wheelbarrow.

  “Okay.”

  “No problems with the other kids?” Casey was sure that Ethan was tired of him asking all the time, but he had no other way of knowing if the bullying was still going on.

  “No. Maybe everyone is too worried about the test coming up.”

  “That one everyone has to take?” Casey asked.

  “The high school kids, yeah. And Bella.”

  “She’s taking it?” He shouldn’t be surprised. He knew that she also took some of her classes at the high school even though she was only thirteen.

  “Yeah.”

  Casey continued working in silence as he debated what to say next. Finally, he couldn’t take the not knowing anymore.

  “Listen, I was wondering,” Casey said.

  “Yeah?”

  “You know how much I care for your mom, right?”

  “I guess.”

  Casey paused what he was doing and looked at the wall between them before digging the pitchfork in again.

  “I was thinking maybe it was time to make our relationship more permanent,” Casey said. He held his breath.

  “You mean, like get married?” Ethan asked.

  “Yeah. Just like that.”

  “Have you asked mom yet?” Ethan asked.

  “No, I wanted to talk to you first.” He stopped moving again and waited for Ethan’s response. When he didn’t get one, he got worried. “Do you have any questions?”

  “Yeah. Can I come to work with you today?” Ethan asked. “I like helping you with the animals.”

  Casey walked outside of his stall and found Ethan lounging against the wall with his pitchfork propped next to him.

  “What are you doing?” Casey asked, his eyes narrowed at Ethan.

  “Waiting for you to get up the courage to ask for my mom’s hand in marriage.” Ethan flashed him a grin. “It’s about time.”

  Casey propped his pitchfork next to Ethan’s. He’d been agonizing over the conversation for days. Was it really going to be this easy?

  “Does that mean I have your approval?” He wanted to hear Ethan say it.

  “Yeah. I never understood why you waited so long,” Ethan replied with a laugh.

  Casey was beginning to wonder the same thing.

  “It’s complicated. Wait till it’s your turn, you’ll see. I doubt you’ll be laughing then.”

  Ethan thought about Bella. He stopped laughing and reached for the wheelbarrow.

  ***

  Rhys spent part of his morning off catching up on chores but mostly stressing about what he was going to do without the engagement ring he had ordered. Though, he had to be honest with himself, that wasn’t what was really stressing him. He also had another chore to complete before he went to work.

  Glancing at the clock, he told himself to just man up and get it over with. No sense putting it off any longer. He reached his destination much sooner than he wanted to. After climbing the outside stairs to the small apartment above, he tapped on the door. It took a few minutes before Bella answered it.

  “Sorry, I was downstairs with Ham and Joni,” Bella said when she opened the door. “I saw your car in the driveway and figured you were here, but I wasn’t sure why. Mom is doing some training sessions today.”

  Bella moved back into the living area of the apartment. Rhys followed her in.

  “I can’t
stay long. I have to get to work. I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes, if that’s okay?” Rhys sat in one of the chairs.

  Bella sank into the couch and pulled her feet under her.

  “Sure, but school is going okay. Honest.” She was getting used to everyone asking her all the time, but she hadn’t really had much trouble since the time she’d called Rhys into the principal’s office after an incident at school.

  Rhys smiled. “That’s good. And the test you have coming up. What about that?”

  Bella shrugged. “I’m not worried about it.”

  “Good.” Rhys looked down at his hands. “Listen, I just wanted to check and make sure that you were okay with me and your mom, and the way things are.”

  Bella wasn’t sure what to say, but she could tell that Rhys was hoping to hear something.

  “Sure.”

  “Really?” Rhys asked.

  Bella could hear a hopeful note in his voice. She didn’t want to disappoint him.

  “Yeah.”

  “Great.” Rhys stood. “I should get going. I have a lot going on at work.”

  Bella frowned as she watched him leave. She had really hoped that he was going to ask her mom to marry him. It sounded like he was planning to leave things the way they were. She hoped her mother wouldn’t be too upset. Bella wondered if she should say something to her. After thinking about it for a while, she decided not to. Not for now, anyway. Bella was much more subdued when she returned to the first floor to check on Ham and Joni. She had really had her heart set on being a family with Rhys.

  Rhys climbed into his car feeling much better. He didn’t think Bella would be upset when he proposed to Ava, but he wanted to make sure. At least that was one big thing off his mind. Now he just had to figure out what to do about the ring.

  He was supposed to pick it up on Monday because that was his day off and the day he’d planned to propose. He knew that Valentine’s Day would have been better, but he was scheduled to work that day. One part of him said there was no way that anyone was going to solve this puzzle before Monday. The other part of him hoped that Megan found a way to do it anyway.

  ***