Lethal Lemon Bars: MURDER IN THE MIX 9

by Moore, Addison

“You never cease to surprise me, that’s for sure.” He pauses to look at me, his eyes stealing a moment to study my features. “You cracked another case, Lemon. You did good.” His muscles tense as if there was more to say.

  “Why do I feel a but coming on?”

  “But I don’t want you rolling around in anyone’s trunk ever again.”

  “I can’t promise you that.”

  “I know.” He lands a gentle kiss to the top of my forehead. “And that is the only thing that scares me.”

  Chapter 23

  A few nights later, in light of the horrific events that unfolded at the B&B a few weeks back, my mother has decided to host a christening for the conservatory to rid it of all the bad juju before Lainey’s bridal shower.

  Everyone has shown up this evening. Keelie, Naomi, Becca, and both Noah and Everett are here standing behind me as I line up with my sisters, Lainey and Meg. Even Cormack and Landon have bothered to make a guest appearance after a hard day in my mother’s garden. Their fingers clasp over their champagne flutes as I spy their matching newly acquired gardener’s manicure. They look equally agitated and fatigued beyond measure.

  Both Noah and Everett gave them a good talking to, and I’m fairly certain that’s the extent of their legal ramifications. Cormack is very fortunate to have a longstanding history with both the lead detective in her case and the judge who perhaps wouldn’t have been so kind otherwise. And as it turns out, Clayton and Ryan were cleared of any wrongdoing. It was truly just Blythe who was guilty of killing Vanessa St. James. Clayton and Ryan concocted that lie about the gardener in an effort to put their friends at ease the night of the masquerade. Oddly enough, it seemed to work. The art center raised more money that night than it has all year.

  I startle back to reality as my eyes stray into the small crowd gathered in the conservatory. Even Britney has made her presence known this evening by hanging all over Noah’s shoulder—and legally, she has every right to that shoulder and the rest of him, too.

  “And on this great day”—Mom holds a glass of sparkling cider high in the air, and the small crowd mimics her action—“I’ve asked my very good friend, Mayor Harry Nash, to do the honors for me.” There’s a gleam in her eyes as she looks to the conservatively handsome fellow before her.

  Rich Dallas clenches his teeth. His face pinches red in an instant, the color of an angry fire.

  Meg—who I have not stopped apologizing to about her dented car—leans in toward Lainey and me. “Ten bucks says he pops like a piñata the next time Mom just so happens to touch Mayor Nash.”

  Lainey makes a face. “She has been awful touchy-feely this evening.”

  My lips twist over at Miranda Lemon with her best friend, Chrissy Nash, standing dutifully by her side.

  “I still think she’s breaking girl code by making a play for her bestie’s ex.” I can’t help but cringe over at Carlotta who seems to be doing her darnedest to catch Rich Dallas’ eyes, but he’s not falling for it. “Poor Carlotta hasn’t exactly been successful in stealing away Mom’s man.”

  “What?” Lainey squawks.

  Meg shakes her head. “Don’t worry. It was a poorly hatched plan by our harebrained mother. She needs to leave this to the pros. Mark my words. In less than a month, that man won’t be able to get within feet of our mother.”

  “What makes you think that?” I ask. “He’s got her surrounded like a psychotic Fort Knox. He’s not going anywhere.”

  Meg shudders. “I don’t know. I just have a feeling. It’s not a good one either.”

  Lainey sucks in a quick breath. “You think Rich is going to off her, don’t you?”

  Meg growls as if that’s exactly what she was thinking.

  “Meg”—I spin her close by the crook of her elbow—“do you think Mom is in danger?” Honestly, it sounds like a rather stupid question as it streams from my lips. Obviously, Rich is one sandwich short of a picnic, but a killer? God help us all.

  “I don’t know.” My sister doesn’t take her lucent blue eyes off of them. “But something sinister is hovering over Honey Hollow. That much I know is true.”

  Mayor Nash clears his throat. “To Honey Hollow’s premier haunted B&B. May it be filled with prosperity and poltergeists long into the future—and may this beautiful conservatory be its crowning jewel forever more. And a special toast to the feisty woman who commandeers this place like the stunning little nugget she is. May you continue to find favor with the fine people of Honey Hollow and tourists alike.”

  He picks up her hand and gently kisses the back of it as the crowd breaks out into cheers. And all the while, Rich Dallas seethes and vibrates by her side like a malfunctioning motor ready to detonate into a pile of useless shrapnel.

  Mom lifts a hand to the excitable crowd. “And don’t forget to vote Mayor Nash for reelection in just a couple of weeks! As the number one volunteer of his campaign league, be forewarned I’ll be staking a sign in each of your yards bright and early tomorrow morning!”

  A light round of laughter encircles the room.

  I spot Carlotta chattering away with Greer Giles and Winslow Decker, and I turn back to Noah and Everett and excuse myself momentarily.

  Carlotta glowers my way as I come upon her.

  She leans in. “You do realize that I don’t take rejection lightly.”

  “Says the woman who dropped me to the floor of a firehouse on her way out of town.”

  Greer leans in. “That was cold, Carlotta.”

  My bio mother rolls her eyes at the thought. “She was swaddled in a blanket, and I watched from across the street as Joseph Lemon scooped her up into his arms. She had him wrapped around his finger before he ever got a look at her cute little face, and speaking of faces—I’m difficult to resist. I’ve taken offense to Rich Dallas and his aggressive rebuffing tactics.”

  “I guess it’s true then. He only has eyes for my mother.”

  Carlotta shudders. “She can’t shake him.”

  Winslow Decker takes an unneeded breath. His hair is slicked back, and if you look closely, you can see the traces of a slight scar on his right cheek. “That man is not in love. He’s in lust.” He shoots the side-eye at Greer. “Much like someone else was with that Finmore kid.”

  Greer moans like a wounded dove. “I’ve been nonstop apologizing for my rude behavior. How much does a girl have to grovel in order to gain your affection once again?”

  Winslow brushes his thumb over Greer’s cheek. “My love, my affection never left you. It was you who strayed. I fear I’m not enough for someone as cosmopolitan as you are. I’m a simple farm boy who came from meager beginnings.”

  Greer swats his lapel playfully. “Winslow, you know money means nothing to me anymore. Now wrap those ghostly muscles around me, and let’s shake that chandelier up above the old-fashioned way.”

  His cheek flinches with the lewd promise. “Only because you’re so irresistible.”

  He whisks her into the air, and their lips are locked before they ever hit that chandelier. The lights flicker as the crystal begins to shake, and the room ignites with an approving applause.

  Carlotta leans in. “I’m irresistible, too. And so are you by default.” She gives my cheek a light pinch.

  “Yes,” I murmur. “And, oddly enough, every time I look in the mirror, I see you.” It’s true. Up until I met Carlotta back in January, I thought I was one of a kind—or in the least, my sister Lainey’s look-alike.

  Her forehead wrinkles. “Aren’t you at all curious who your daddy is? And don’t bother giving me that Joseph Lemon spiel again. I get it.”

  “No.” I bite the air between us. “My life is complicated enough as it is. I don’t need another person mucking up the waters.”

  “Have it your way, but he’s been chattin’ to me as of late, and I’m sick of his high and mighty ways. Always judging me, making me feel as if I haven’t amounted to anything. I’m about ready to pop him with a left baby hook he’ll never see coming.” She takes off befor
e I can protest.

  Noah and Everett step up, both with a devilish gleam in their eyes, and suddenly Carlotta and my imaginary father have all but evaporated from the forefront of my mind.

  “Why are the two of you looking at me that way?”

  Noah sags, his demeanor far more sorrowful than it was a moment before. “We’d like to speak to you for a moment, Lottie.”

  An icy chill runs through me as I examine them this way—united, and it’s a terrifying look.

  Everett seems steely and pensive, but then, that is his go-to expression.

  “Sure, let’s head to the living room. There’s plenty of privacy there.”

  I lead them over, and the three of us take a seat, with me on the lounger and Noah and Everett parked on the sofa leaning hard over the coffee table as if to close the gap between us.

  Noah takes a deep breath as his dimples dig in. “Lottie, you know I love you.”

  My fingers float up to my lips in horror as it becomes apparent Noah is about to break up with me. And then it hits me, we’re no longer together to begin with.

  Noah clears his throat. “I realize that you have been”—he scowls over at Everett—“entertaining yourself with him. I want you to know I’m still very interested in pursuing a relationship with you. And I know you’re opposed to it due to my unfortunate matrimonial standing, but as soon as I get out from under that legal nightmare, I fully intend to restore everything we lost.” He bows his head for a moment. “I guess what I’m getting at is—would you please stop entertaining yourself with this moron?” His jaw clenches, and I’m positive his fist is itching to connect with that alarmingly sexy stubble gracing Everett’s face. He’s clearly worked himself up with images of me entertaining myself with his old stepbrother.

  I come shy of huffing at him. “Would you please stop being married?”

  Everett chuckles as Noah growls his way.

  Noah takes another quick breath. “Would you at least consider slowing your frequency?”

  A breath of my own gets caught in my throat. “Would you slow the frequency in which you acquire wives and girlfriends?”

  Everett ticks his head to the side. “She’s got you there.”

  “Lottie”—Noah inches back—“I only have eyes for you. Please ditch this bag of bones. We can still make this work.”

  Everett glances over to him. “Motion denied. Feel free to entertain yourself, Detective.” He turns back my way, those comforting blue eyes penetrating me deeply. “Sorry for the derailment. It appears Detective Fox tried to use this opportunity to add yet another female to his collection.” Everett blinks his way. “Not happening on my watch.”

  “Why exactly did the two of you call me over?”

  Noah pulls out a small black box adorned with a red ribbon from his pocket, no bigger than the size of his hand, and lands it gently on the table.

  My adrenaline spikes at the sight of it, and my ears pulsate with a heartbeat of their own.

  I clear my throat. “If this is some sort of dual proposal, I can assure you this will get awkward quickly.”

  “He’ll never propose,” they say in unison before exchanging dirty looks.

  Noah’s chest bounces with a silent laugh. “He’s not proposing to you anytime soon.”

  Everett lifts a brow my way. “Cupcake, I wouldn’t hold your breath for the married man by my side to offer you a ring either. His wife would never approve.”

  Noah’s jaw tenses once again. “Nobody calls her Cupcake but me. I’m still fighting for you, Lottie.”

  “So am I,” Everett growls at him.

  “Onto the gift,” I say rather aggressively before a true fistfight breaks out.

  Noah slides the box across the table my way. “I picked it out.”

  “We picked it out,” Everett is quick to correct. “I paid for it.”

  My fingers tremble as I take up the little black box. It’s heavier than it looks, and that surprises me. The thought of Everett and Noah doing anything together boggles the mind.

  I pluck the red ribbon loose and lift the lid off the box. It takes a moment for me to wrap my head around what I’m looking at as a svelte black weapon stares back at me.

  “A gun,” I say, stunned. “The two of you bought me a gun?” I bring it closer and read the words, Glock 26 Gen4. It’s small, no bigger than six inches.

  “That’s right,” Noah says. “And it comes with as many lessons as you’ll need down at the range. I’ll make sure you’re safe with it.”

  Everett hitches his head toward Noah. “Feel free to use him as target practice.”

  Noah’s chest bucks with his next breath. “Shoot him first.”

  “I’m not sure I’m going to shoot anything. I don’t even know if I want it,” I say, slipping the box back onto the table.

  Everett leans in. “We wouldn’t have given this to you if we didn’t think you needed it. Lemon, you need to have protection. That woman almost killed you the other night.”

  A shiver runs through me.

  Everett presses his gaze to mine. “I love you, Lemon. I’m not about to let anything happen to you.”

  Noah growls at the proclamation of affection. “Neither am I,” he echoes.

  My heart demands to burst with unmitigated joy as I look to these two unbelievably handsome men. It’s not fair they’ve both infiltrated my heart so completely. I wish I didn’t have the need for such a dangerous weapon. I certainly wish I didn’t have two brilliant men vying for my affection when I’ve already given my heart to them both. It’s unfair. It’s irresponsible. It’s downright confusing is what it is.

  “I’d do anything to have Nell here with me right now.” I sigh under my breath, and a quiver of light catches my eye by the entry.

  I spot my mother and Rich walking Becca, Keelie, and Naomi to the door, and my feet walk me to the mouth of the living room without my permission. And what catches my eye next leaves me struggling for my next breath.

  Standing staunchly between Becca and Keelie is an all too familiar frame of an older woman, her back slightly bent, her wrinkled face breaking out into a sea of commas as she smiles my way.

  “Nell?” I say her name just under my breath, and sure enough she glides right on over. In an instant, her face is transformed to a far younger version, stunningly beautiful before she reverts to her wrinkled far more familiar likeness. Her hair is short and wiry, silver in color, and it glistens like snow.

  “I’m only donning this old mask for you, my love.” She winks as she presses a kiss to the side of my cheek, and my entire body tingles with delight.

  “Oh, Nell.” I wrap my arms around her tightly, my body trembling as every emotion runs through me at once. “You’ve come back to me. I need you so much—so much has happened since you’ve been gone. I could really use your advice on just about everything.”

  “Lottie?” Noah calls to me from behind, and I hear Everett whispering something to him.

  Nell nods up at me, her glowing eyes never leaving mine. “I’ll be around for a bit, my dear.” She looks to the small crowd edging its way to the door. “I’m afraid I’ve been called to duty.”

  “What?” My heart sinks clear past the floorboards. “No. It can’t be,” I say, looking at those I love as my sisters join them, and the crowd gives a collective warm laugh.

  Nell floats back over to them as one by one they file out of the B&B. Nell lifts a hand my way as she glides out the door in a ball of sparkling light.

  Nell is back, and she’s here to usher someone I love to the other side. It can’t be. I won’t let it. Nell and I will stop this coming plague. There has to be some perk that comes with my supersensual standing that doesn’t involve death—that can possibly stop it.

  Noah and Everett come up on either side of me, and I can feel the weight of their affection, the pressing heft of my own confusion.

  Nell is back, and she’ll help me wade through the madness of my own tangled emotions. I just know she will.

>   Everett wraps an arm around my shoulder. “Everything okay, Lemon?”

  “It will be,” I say, looking back at the entry. “It had better be.”

  Noah nods us toward the front door. “I’m craving a pizza. How about hitting up Mangia with me?” He glares over at Everett for a second. “Fine. You can come, too.”

  Everett gives me a gentle squeeze. “I have a feeling he likes it when I pay the bill.”

  “I heard that,” Noah quips. “This one is on me.”

  Everett pumps a dry smile. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

  “This one is on me,” I say. And so is the burden of all three of our hearts.

  As much as I can’t wait to have a nice long chat with Nell, I’m not looking forward to the impending danger headed our way.

  Meg was right. Something sinister has come to Honey Hollow, and I have a feeling it’s about to make its presence known in a very big way.

  We head outside, and I spot Nell as she sparkles and shines as she stands amidst the small circle of all of my favorite people on the planet, her arm entangled with my mother’s, and a cold chill runs through me.

  Nell Sawyer is back, and I’ll move heaven and earth to make sure she stays for good this time.

  But something tells me, I might just wish that she never returned at all.

  It looks to me, someone very close to me is about to bite the big one.

  *Pick up Macaron Massacre (Murder in the Mix 10) coming up next!

  ***Haven’t read the rest of the MURDER IN THE MIX mysteries? Start at the beginning! Cutie Pies and Deadly Lies (Murder in the Mix 1)

  A Note from the Author

  Pick up Macaron Massacre (Murder in the Mix 10) coming up next!

  Thank you for reading Lethal Lemon Bars (Murder in the Mix 9). If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review at your point of purchase. Even a sentence or two makes a difference to an author. Thank you so very much in advance! Your effort is very much appreciated.

  Books by Addison Moore