by K. J. Emrick
Darcy turned the sign on the door from “OPEN a good book today” to “CLOSED, THE END” and pulled the door tightly shut behind her. She’d had a few sales today and tomorrow a shipment of books was due in for their Valentine’s Day display, and even Great Aunt Millie had settled down after her one act of mischief. All in all, it had been a good day.
As she was locking up, she thought about how she would soon be able to ride her bike to work once again. Small patches of snow still spotted the streets and lawns around her from the freak storm they’d had just three days ago, but the weather looked like it was starting to fine up a bit. February and March were traditionally mild months in Misty Hollow. No reason to think this year would be any different.
It was still really cold right now, though, and as she headed over to the Bean There Bakery and Café on foot she huddled deep into her warm winter coat, the white one with the fake fur ruff around the hood. Jon had given it to her as a belated Christmas gift. Or, so he said. Sometimes she thought he just liked to spend money on her. Not that she minded. As long as he didn’t go overboard. She was just a simple country girl, after all.
She laughed at her joke, knowing full well there was nothing simple about her life. “Darcy Sweet,” she thought to herself, “you are a complicated woman with a full life. Just accept it.”
She pushed the door to the café open and could see her friend Helen Nelson working behind the counter. Helen was the owner of the café but she had also become the mayor of Misty Hollow after the previous mayor, her husband, had been arrested. That had been when Darcy and Jon had first met. What a way to start a relationship.
The place was almost empty at this time of the day, closing time, when most everyone in town was either headed home or going to work in the next town over for a night shift.
“Hi Helen,” Darcy called out as she approached the counter. The warmth in the place was penetrating through her coat and into her body. She shrugged off her coat and laid it over the back of a chair. She’d always liked the cozy, comfortable place Helen had created here. Everyone in town came through here at least once a week. Helen was as much of a mainstay in the town as the persistent mists that gave their town its name.
“Oh, why hello Darcy,” Helen greeted her with a warm smile. “Would you like a coffee?” She had been busy rolling dough for some sweet confection, but when she saw Darcy she set that aside and wiped her floured hands off on a cloth and then tidied her graying hair.
“A coffee sounds wonderful, Helen,” Darcy told her as she stood at the low glass counter. “It’s very chilly out. Mind if I stay here for a while and chat?”
“You know you’re always welcome in my store. Take a seat. Anywhere will do. I’ll bring you that coffee. And maybe a blueberry muffin?”
Darcy said yes to the muffin—she would have been a fool not to say yes to Helen’s baking—and then sat down at a nearby table and sighed. The day hadn’t been any longer than most, but it sure felt like it had. Rubbing a hand over her face she tried to stifle a yawn just as Helen set a cup of fragrant coffee in front of her along with a huge muffin on a little plate. Darcy smiled at her friend as Helen sat down across from her.
“You look really tired, Darcy,” Helen said to her, holding a ceramic coffee cup of her own between her hands. It was one of those oversized ones, glossed in a riot of colors. Helen didn’t bring them out much because people kept walking off with them. “Now, you aren’t working too hard, I hope?”
“Look who’s talking,” Darcy said back to her with a teasing smile. “I’m not the one working two jobs.”
“Bah. Running a town like this doesn’t take a whole lot of time when you’ve got good people working for you. And the bakery is just fun. Oh, did I tell you I’m going to hire another worker?”
Darcy started to say something about the last few workers Helen had hired, but thought better of it. No sense dragging up bad memories. “Someone from in town?” she asked instead.
“Um, no. No. I met him on that trip I took a few weeks back. The cooking convention? He really enjoys cooking.”
Helen realized she was rambling and stopped herself by taking a sip of her coffee. Darcy noticed the way the older woman’s eyes grew distant. She suspected that there was more to Helen wanting to hire this man than just his being a good cook. Good for her, Darcy thought to herself. She and her husband had divorced already, and Darcy knew Helen had been lonely. Apparently not any more.
“Oh, by the way, Helen. That reminds me. I’m not going to be able to work the dance on Valentine’s night. I’ll still help you guys decorate for it, of course, but I really want to go with Jon to the dance itself. I hope that’s okay?”
Helen laughed. “That’s totally fine, I understand.”
They chatted for a while about mundane things while they drank their coffee. Darcy left a little later and headed over to the police station to see Jon.
Chapter 3
As Darcy entered the police station she dropped a brown paper bag onto the counter in front of Sergeant Fitzwallis, one of the front desk sergeants of the Misty Hollow police department. Darcy had gotten to know most of the men and women who worked here on a first name basis. That was what happened when you were dating a police officer.
The gray-haired man’s eyes looked eagerly at the bag. “What’s this, then?”
Darcy smiled at him. “Oh it’s just a little gift from me to you, Sean. You work too hard.”
“Muffins, is it?” He opened the bag and inhaled deeply. “Ah, I’d recognize the smell of Helen’s baking anywhere. Thanks, Darcy. You know you don’t have to bribe me, right?”
“I’d never dream of bribing a police officer. That’s illegal.”
They shared a little laugh as Sergeant Fitzwallis buzzed the connecting door open between the station’s lobby and the inner areas where the officers did their work. “You bring anything for Jon, did you?”
“Just me,” she answered him.
Darcy found Jon and her sister Grace both at their separate desks bent over case files, busily scribbling notes or turning papers. Grace lifted her head as she heard Darcy come in. She was dressed in a button-up white shirt and her short dark hair was perfectly in place, as usual. She smiled at Darcy, but in a distracted way.
“Hi sis,” Grace said. “What’s up?”
“Nothing. I just came to see Jon for a few minutes before I head home.” He stood up as she got closer, her ruggedly handsome dark haired man, and their kiss was gentle and loving. She caught her sister’s carefully schooled expression. Grace was happy for them. For the longest time, Darcy had been sour on the whole prospect of love, after her husband had divorced her and become a jerk.
She caught herself. Best not to talk that way about the dead. Not even Jeff. Not when the dead had a habit of talking back to her.
“I thought you’d be on your way home by now,” Jon said to her as he touched her forehead quickly with his and then sat down again. His slacks and dark blue dress shirt were wrinkled, his tie loosened at his neck. His blue eyes lit up, though, as he looked at her. “We weren’t supposed to go anywhere tonight, were we?”
“No, no,” she told him. Sometimes he got so caught up in his work that he forgot dinners or other small things he’d promised to take care of, like how he was constantly forgetting to pick up milk. “I wouldn’t mind a ride home, though. It’s cold out there!”
Grace laughed from her desk as she closed one folder and opened another. “You only live just outside of town, Darcy. You always used to walk without complaint before you met Jon.”
“Well. I guess I’m getting soft. Or maybe I just want to spend time with him.”
“Ah, young love,” Grace said in a teasing voice. Darcy stuck her tongue out at her.
Grace pretended not to notice, but Darcy could tell. “Jon was just telling me all about his plans for Valentine’s Day,” Grace said to her, an eyebrow arched.
Darcy sat down in the chair in front of Jon’s desk. “Ooh. Tell me.”
He shook his head, though, with a glare at Grace for spilling that out. “I have some plans. It’s supposed to be a surprise, though.”
“Well, I do like surprises. Hey, I was going to suggest we go to the Valentine’s Day dance in town here. You up for that?”
He paused, and she could see him thinking about it. “That should fit in with my plans. You know I can’t dance to save my life, though.”
“That’s okay. You’ve got your surprise to fall back on, don’t you?”
He put a finger up against his lips, silently telling her that she’d have to wait to find out.
Darcy felt warmer inside knowing he was planning something as a surprise. She wished she had thought of something for him by now. For all her talk to Sue about getting something from the heart for the one you loved, she knew it wasn’t always that easy.
Darcy turned the question back around on Grace. “What are you and Aaron doing?”
Grace rolled her eyes. “I’m not sure. I haven’t been feeling that great lately. I’ve just got no energy to do anything.”
“You work too many hours,” Jon said to her.
“Look who’s talking,” she shot back.
“Wait, sis,” Darcy said to her. “If you aren’t feeling well then you should go see Doctor Sandal.”
Grace waved her off. “I’ve already got an appointment for tomorrow morning. I swear, Darcy, between you and Aaron I can’t step sideways without somebody worrying I’m going to break a nail or something.”
Darcy would never tell her tough cop sister this, but she did worry about Grace. Especially after she’d been attacked right here in town and almost ended up in the hospital. She knew it was Grace’s job, and police work was dangerous, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t worry.
The phone at Jon’s desk rang at that moment and Darcy’s hopes for a ride home sank. “Misty Hollow Police Department, Detective Tinker speaking. Yes. No, I can do that now.” He smiled apologetically at Darcy. She nodded and leaned over the desk to kiss the top of his head. Oh well.
Thankfully, Grace took pity on her. “I’ll drive you home, sis. Come on.” She stood up, grabbing her jacket from the back of the chair. “You and me can catch up on the way. Then I think I might go home. Get some of that rest I’ve obviously been missing out on.”
Darcy noticed how pale her sister’s face looked. She hoped whatever was going on with Grace it wasn’t serious.
Chapter 4
Darcy drained the pasta and stirred in the sauce. She dumped the salad that she’d just made into a bowl and then the pasta went into another serving bowl with the creamy white sauce. It was a little after seven o’clock now. Later than she liked to eat dinner to be sure, but Jon’s shift was only just now getting over. He’d be home soon and she wanted to have dinner waiting for him. She wasn’t always able to do it for him.
He did this for her every once in a while, too, only Jon wasn’t the greatest cook, outside of a few recipes he knew like his grandmother’s apple pie. When he made dinner it usually consisted of take-out pizza or fried chicken.
She had been working on autopilot as she tried to think up the perfect Valentine’s gift for Jon. He had one already planned for her. Why had she waited so long to start thinking about this?
She brought the plates and silverware over to arrange on the table and then sat down to think some more. She’d already thought of getting him some of her favorite books, but as much as she loved the man, reading just wasn’t one of his hobbies. Jon didn’t have a lot of time for reading. They watched movies, usually, when they were home together. She’d have to think of something else.
Dinner plates set and food on the table, she blew an errant strand of hair out of her face and looked at the white plastic clock up on the wall. Hmm. Where was he?
A knock on the front door surprised her. She looked over to her black and white cat, Smudge, laying peacefully in the middle of the kitchen floor. Smudge would have jumped up and hissed or ran away if he sensed anything wrong. The only person she was expecting, though, was Jon.
“Jon?” she asked out loud as she went to open the door. “Why are you knocking?”
She opened it to find her sister Grace standing there. “Uh, hi sis,” she said. “What’s up? I was expecting Jon.”
“Jon got stuck working late. There was a break in to someone’s house and he needed to go to the scene. He won’t be too late. I told him I’d let you know since I, uh, wanted to come over anyway. Can I come in? It’s freezing out here.”
Darcy noticed the odd expression on Grace’s face almost immediately. At first she attributed it to how her sister had said she’d been feeling tired, but it was more than that. Grace had changed out of her work clothes into jeans and a black sweater under her puffy white winter coat. For all of that, Darcy could see how tense her sister was.
She stepped back for Grace to move into the house. They went into the kitchen, Darcy waiting for her sister to explain what was going on. Shaking her head, Grace went to the table, sat down, and looked up at Darcy.
“I’m pregnant,” she said.
Darcy blinked at her. “Wait. What?”
Grace laughed. “I know. I can’t believe it either.”
“But…how do you…when did you…Grace!” Darcy couldn’t make herself finish a thought. Laughing, she went over to her sister and hugged her fiercely. “This is wonderful! Wait, I thought you weren’t going to the doctor’s until tomorrow?”
Grace smile was a little hesitant. “Well, I wasn’t feeling good like I told you and after I got home Aaron pointed out to me that I hadn’t had my…you know, yet. So I put two and two together and went to the store for a pregnancy test.”
Darcy couldn’t help herself from teasing a little as she brought a chair over closer to Grace and sat with her. “Way to go, detective.”
Grace rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’ve been busy. Me and Aaron both. There’s just so much…and now a baby…oh, man!”
Darcy laughed with her sister and they hugged again. She was very happy for Grace. She and Aaron had talked before about starting a family, Darcy knew, but like Grace had said something always seemed to get in the way. Grace’s job as a police detective, mostly. “Are you and Aaron okay with this?”
“Well, we have to be, don’t we? But, yeah. We’re good with it. You should have seen him when I told him, Darcy. He was more excited than I was. I’ve never been so happy. I still want to go to the doctor tomorrow to confirm it and have everything checked out, but this is for real.”
Jon came home not long after that. Darcy had convinced Grace to stay for dinner and talk longer, and he stopped still as he walked into the kitchen to find the two of them staring at him with big smiles on their faces.
“What?” he asked.
Darcy and Grace both spilled the news at once, and after a moment to let the information sink in, Jon hugged Grace and congratulated her.
“Well,” he grumbled, “I guess I really better have something good to give Darcy for Valentine’s Day, if this is what you’re giving Aaron!”
Chapter 5
Darcy woke the next morning with Jon’s arms wrapped around her. She snuggled into his warmth for a while, just enjoying the feel of him. When she checked the clock on their bedside table it was five minutes before the alarm was due to go off. She decided to let Jon rest and slipped out from under the covers to tiptoe out of the bedroom and to the shower.
Smudge trailed along behind her and jumped up onto the bathroom sink to curl his tail around his feet and blink at Darcy.
She shivered a little as she slipped out of her pajamas and turned the water on steaming hot. Then she reached over and scratched Smudge’s chin. He leaned into her and started purring.
“What do you think, Smudge? Am I ready to be an aunty?” Remembering Grace’s news from last night she smiled. Smudge smiled at her, his expression almost human. Darcy could hear his thoughts, almost, telling her that she’d be a great aunt. After all, she always kep
t his food dish full and his water fresh, didn’t she?
Looking at her reflection in the mirror, at her heart-shaped face and her green eyes still a little red with sleep, she ran a hand down the flat of her stomach. Maybe there’d be a baby in her future someday, too. It had been what she always wanted with Jeff, until it became obvious that she and her now deceased husband weren’t going to be able to stay together. Now with Jon, she wanted to try again. When they were ready.
She could hear the alarm going off in the bedroom and quickly stepped into the shower, drawing the curtain closed behind her. She let the water slough down her shoulders, then lathered her poof and got to washing up. She knew she’d have to be ready when Jon left if she wanted to ride into town with him.
Hmm, she thought to herself with a wicked smile. Maybe it would be quicker if he joined her…
Jon let her out at the intersection where he had to turn right to get to the station and she had to turn left to get to the bookstore. He offered to drive her all the way but she told him it was okay and she could walk. She was glad she had when she saw Grace walking into the Bean There Bakery and Café. She hurried over in the direction of the café to catch up with her sister.
She found Grace just giving her order at the head of the short line of customers. Elizabeth Archer was working the counter today, her auburn hair pulled back into a net to reveal the scars on the left side of her face. Elizabeth was still short tempered whenever anyone talked to her, but she’d been in town long enough now to be comfortable with letting those scars show. It hadn’t always been that way.
Darcy waved to her sister as Grace took her purchase from Elizabeth in a small brown paper bag and turned to leave. They went over to one of the small tables near the front windows instead, and leaned in close to whisper.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at the doctor’s?” Darcy asked.
Grace laughed, genuinely more happy than Darcy had seen her in a while. “Stop pushing me, sis. My appointment isn’t until ten. I’ve got time.”