Miranda smiled adoringly at her bald Bingo caller and held his arm with both of her hands.
“Trevor,” Hildie said, with a glare toward the Pastor and a mischievous smile, “why don’t you let Pastor Cassidy hold Miss Pickles?”
“No, Trev!” That old girl was jealous of the Pastor!
“Hildie, what are you doing here?”
She snapped back to reality now and gave me a powerful hug. “I was worried about you, Lily. Everyone at the coffee shop was getting phone calls and texts about the creature being found at the cemetery, and I knew you would be here with Eli.”
She held on for a long time, and I liked it.
“Pastor,” Harvey said, “In case you’re thinking that I’m available because I’m a widower, I have to tell you that I’m interested in another lady, even though I don’t think she feels the same way about me.”
I saw Hildie smile just a little.
“Oh, no, Harvey,” Miranda patted him on the back one last time. “I’m just very proud of the lamb who will lead my flock on Tuesday nights.”
Then she took a step towards Eli and put her hand on his cheek and looked in his eyes. “But your son here is quite handsome.”
Oh, no you didn’t. “Give her the cat, Trev.”
Okay, I didn’t say it out loud.
Chapter Ten
“Here’s to 66 more, Harvey!”
Toe raised his beer can and the rest of us all raised our mugs of beer (well, white wine for Jules and cranberry juice for me) and toasted Harvey on his birthday.
The Coffee Cabana was probably empty tonight, because everyone was at Clancy’s Bar to celebrate Harvey’s birthday.
“Happy birthday, Dad.” Eli shook his dad’s hand and gave him a hug.
“Happy birthday, Harvey.” Hildie gave her dear friend a long hug and then actually kissed him on the cheek. I’d never seen her do anything like that before.
“Ooo-eee!” Harvey got red in the face, but obviously enjoyed the rare moment of affection from the woman that he had eyes for. “Are you getting even better looking, Hildie, or did that fancy baking trophy just make you a little bit more confident and attractive.”
The others who were lined up to wish him well had to wait for Harvey to give his favorite girl another hug.
Essie waited for a minute and then stepped in for her turn. “That’s enough, now. You kids are going to burn Clancy’s place down to the ground. Happy birthday, you old goat.”
She was happy to see her sister show a little emotion and gave Hildie a big hug too.
Jules and I walked over to the food table and got some chips and cocktail meatballs. “Halloween tomorrow, Jules. Are you dressing up in a costume for work?”
“Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.”
“You look like Dorothy everyday. All you need are the pigtails. Why don’t you go for something a little more gruesome once in a while?”
“Well, I would have had some chupacabra masks made if I had a little more time.”
“Yeah, but I bet a Harvey Davis mask would have sold even better.”
That got a little chuckle from her. “How about you? What are you going to wear to the Cabana, Lily?”
“I was going to do the sexy vampire again, but Eli said he got a Frankenstein mask, so…”
Jules gasped and smiled. “So you’re going to be the Bride of Frankenstein, and I’m coming over in the morning to do your hair and makeup!”
“I thought it would take a little more coaxing than that.”
“Ha! This will be fun! And I’m going to be a zombie preacher, all ready to perform the ceremony.”
“Let’s not get too carried away now. Besides, you can save yourself an hour of time putting on zombie makeup and just get Toe a white collar.”
“Hahaha! Poor Toe…he’s so pale. You’re just awful, Lily.”
“I try.”
Eli was actually in blue jeans and a plaid shirt today, and he walked up behind me. He put his chin on my shoulder and his arms around my waist. “How’s my girl doing?”
If this were as good as life ever got, I wouldn’t complain. He might not be the most romantic guy in the world by TV and movie standards, and he might not say all the words that most women want to hear, but he always makes me feel like we’re a couple. And I always feel loved. Heck, if he would let a chupacabra eat him so I could get away, well…girl can’t ask for much more than that.
*****
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You can read my books for free with Kindle Unlimited. These books are all from my Caesars Creek Series
A Frozen Scoop of Murder (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book One)
Death by Chocolate Sundae (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book Two)
Soft Serve Secrets (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book Three)
Ice Cream You Scream (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book Four)
Double Dip Dilemma (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book Five)
Melted Memories (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book Six)
Triple Dip Debacle(Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book Seven)
Whipped Wedding Woes(Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book Eight)
And my new mystery series: Sweet Home Mystery Series
Creamed at the Coffee Cabana (Sweet Home Mystery Series Book One)
A Caffeinated Crunch (Sweet Home Mystery Series Book Two)
A Frothy Fiasco (Sweet Home Mystery Series Book Three)
Punked by the Pumpkin: A Cozy Mystery (Sweet Home Mystery Series Book 4) Page 10