Ooey Gooey Bakery Mystery Box Set

by Katherine H Brown

  “Hey!” Sam greeted in a sing-song voice.

  She sounded so cheerful and normal that I almost clapped. I’d been watching her closely for the twinging and creased brows that had been present even when she was trying to hide the headaches; so far today, I hadn’t seen any signs of them. I hoped with all my heart that meant she wouldn’t have to suffer any further effects from the concussion.

  “Y’all are earlier than I thought you would be,” Victoria smiled. “I’m glad you’re both back though. We’ve missed you.” She loaded the last dish into the dishwasher then turned to hug us. “How are you doing, Sam?”

  “I’m wonderful, thank you for asking.”

  “And Piper? How did court go?”

  “Do you have time for a break?” I asked her. She gave a quick nod. “Then let’s go up front so that I can tell you and Gladys at the same time,” I suggested.

  ~

  “Good riddance,” Gladys summed up her opinion with one phrase. She had listened as Sam and I recounted the morning’s events. “You best go tell Flo and the others now,” she told me.

  “Don’t you want me to stay and help?” I asked. “I haven’t even checked with Victoria to see what baking we need to catch up on.”

  “I’ve got it covered,” Victoria assured me as she pushed back through the swinging door and disappeared into the kitchen.

  “I’ll do some cleaning while Sam takes a turn at the counter,” Gladys insisted.

  “I can clean,” Sam frowned.

  “No. Those chemicals may give you a headache and you’ve had enough of those.” Gladys refused to even consider it.

  Halfway to the front door, I paused. A new addition was perched by the door. “Gladys. What is this?” I pointed to the short, potted palm.

  “Mina.”

  “Pardon me?”

  “That’s Mina,” she said. “She’s a mini-palm. I thought you could use someone to stand guard.”

  I looked back at the little palm, stooping to see below the large leaves. I gave a startled laugh; a little face stared back at me, one eyebrow arched and looking uncannily like Sam. “Thank you, Gladys.” I couldn’t wait to show Mina to Griff. And BeeBee! I forgot that she didn’t know about Gladys’s carving talent yet. I stepped out onto the sidewalk and inhaled the salty air as I made the short walk to Flo’s Flowers.

  When I stepped inside the shop, the scent on the air changed; gone was the sharp and salty, replaced by a soft and floral smell. BeeBee worked behind the counter, jotting down things on an order form for an older gentleman. I stepped aside to let him pass when he finished.

  He nodded his thanks. “You kids have a nice day,” he said as he plodded toward the door.

  I grinned. It’d been a long time since anyone referred to me as a kid.

  “I’ll get Flo and Millie,” BeeBee said instantly. “We’ve all been waiting to hear from you.”

  I strolled around the room, admiring the beautiful flowers and taking the time to look for varieties I hadn’t seen before until I heard the three come in from the back. After I told them how things had gone at court, I asked about the business. “Have new sales continued to be good?”

  “Incredible,” Flo smiled at the turn things had taken in such a short time. “I think most of the town has been in here,” she marveled.

  “Seashell Bay takes holidays pretty seriously,” I observed. “Maybe we can think of other big promos throughout the year to keep things steady.”

  “At this rate, I’ll be able to hire full-time help around here soon,” Flo sat down on a stool behind the counter and tugged off one of her shoes. “I may have to buy some thicker floor mats though. All this standing to arrange so many more flowers than usual has done a number on my feet.”

  “Let me see them,” BeeBee reached for the closest sock-covered foot and began pressing and kneading before Flo could protest.

  “No, you don’t have to…oh!” Flo closed her eyes. “You’re good at this. How did you know where it hurts?”

  BeeBee shrugged. “I just thought it might help. Here, I’ll rub the other one.”

  I wondered at the kindness that had survived in this girl when I doubted very little kindness had been shown to her. “You know,” I mused out loud. “BeeBee is hoping to get a job at the spa at the end of the year. I bet she could use the practice between now and then. She can’t technically charge for foot rubs or back rubs, but she can’t stop us from giving her tips either.”

  “Write me down for a weekly foot massage,” Flo said without hesitation as she pulled her shoes back on and stood. “For now, it’s back to work we go.”

  Before she could leave, the door opened and in stepped Gladys, Sam and Victoria. Victoria carried a platter with several generous slices of cake on it. “What are you all doing here?” I asked.

  Griff and Landon squeezed into the room behind them. “Are we late?” Griff asked.

  “Ta-da!” Victoria and Sam exclaimed.

  I looked more closely at the cake. Chocolate cake. “Is that…?”

  “Peanut butter frosting,” Victoria answered with a nod. “And inside are chopped bits of peanut butter cups.”

  “Who’s watching the bakery?” I hated to seem ungrateful, but worry niggled at my brain.

  “Don’t worry,” Gladys waved her hand. “We left the rest of the cake sliced into tiny squares as free samples in the middle of the room. Nobody’s passing that up,” she winked. “The whole group will still be happy as a hog in mud when we’re done here.”

  “And we will go back over there as soon as we share a slice with you,” Sam promised. Probably to prevent a mini-heart attack on my part.

  “I lucked out with the best friends in the world!” I accepted my slice of cake and plastic fork.

  “You haven’t heard the best part,” Victoria looked over at Griff and Landon.

  Everyone seemed to be smiling at some secret that I didn’t know. “If it’s better than cake, somebody better tell me because I can’t fathom it getting better than this.” I licked frosting off of my fork and looked around expectantly.

  “Goodness, I’ll tell her. These two,” Gladys did her best Vanna White impersonation from Wheel of Fortune by waving her arms around Griff and Landon, “repaired your apartment from the door down to the sweeping.”

  My jaw dropped and my plate nearly followed.

  Griff nodded, shuffling on his feet. “It’s just waiting for you to pick out some new paint colors.”

  “Sam suggested the two of you could go shopping. Maybe redecorate a little while you’re at it,” Landon glanced at Sam, his gaze lingering, then looked back at me. “Everything else is good to go like Griff said.”

  “I don’t know what to say,” tears welled in my eyes. “Thank you so much! I don’t know how you even had time to do that, but thank you.”

  Chapter 30

  Back into our busy routines, the week flew by smoothly and Friday snuck up on us before we knew it. Our largest disaster occurred on Wednesday when we ran out of dark chocolate chips for the first time in history. Gladys and Sam implied that the double handfuls I’d been throwing back every hour or so had something to do with that but I ignored the insinuations.

  Here we were baking up a storm, boxing up to-go orders, and readying to close early so that we could each go to the Independence Day Parade. The Fourth had finally arrived and excitement buzzed in the air.

  “Have you seen Sam yet?” It was the third time that I’d been asked that question this morning. First by Victoria, then Millie, now Gladys. It seemed most of today’s anticipation hinged on seeing Sam’s new hair color than on the Independence Day Parade later today.

  “No.”

  “And you have no idea what she meant by patriotic hair?”

  “Not a clue. It must be pretty wild though.”

  “Hmmm. Maybe she bought a wig.” Gladys looked thoughtful.

  “I don’t think so,” I shook my head. “She made an appointment at the salon. Not to mention, I’ve seen S
am sport some pretty crazy colors and still, she said I would die when I saw her hair today.”

  Gladys beat out a drum roll on the kitchen island where we sat awaiting Sam to make her grand entrance. “I can’t wait. I should have colored my hair, too.”

  The clock showed seven; much later than her normal arrival to the bakery and I hoped nothing was wrong. She told me she would be late, but not how late.

  A key scraped in the lock and I rushed to the back door, unlocking it from the inside and flinging it open.

  “Oh. My. Gosh.” Victoria’s phrase leaped to my mouth, the only thing I could think to say.

  “Let me see, let me see.”

  I stepped aside, giving Sam room to enter so that Gladys could see. Victoria appeared from the walk-in fridge. They both froze in place.

  “What do you think?” Sam spun as if we couldn’t already see the outrageous new hair. Her long locks were not one, not two, but three colors. Yep. She did it. Red, white, and blue hair.

  “It’s definitely patriotic,” I told her as I studied her. Parted in the middle, one half of her hair was a deep red. The other half was white from the root down to about four inches from the bottom where a royal blue color took over to the ends.

  “Wow! My mother would kill me if I did that to my hair,” Victoria’s eyes widened to nearly the size of dessert plates.

  “I approve.” Gladys clapped her hands.

  “Your mother may not kill you,” I told Sam. “But don’t you think this might be the last straw that makes her keel over and die of embarrassment and disappointment?”

  Sam laughed. “It may do just that. So. Are you going to come with me and film her reaction when I greet her and Dad on the courthouse lawn before the Independence Day parade tonight?”

  I gave my best evil cackle followed by a wide grin. “You better believe it!”

  Note from the Author

  Hey there! Thank you again, wonderful readers, for coming back for book 3. Piper and Sam would be so sad without you.

  Keep reading for a sneak peek at book 4!

  Also, did you know you can sign up for my newsletter to receive updates and deals before anyone else? My newsletter subscribers even took a survey and helped me choose the title of book #4. Does that sound like something you want to get in on?

  Yes! Keep me informed please.

  If you have enjoyed the books, I would really appreciate you leaving a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or BookBub as well. Reviews are a great way to help my book reach other readers like yourself.

  Thanks again!

  Sincerely,

  Katherine

  Book 4 Sneak Peek: Savory, Sweet, & Scandalous

  “Where’s Gladys?” I asked Sam as I entered the Ooey Gooey Goodness bakery café through the swinging kitchen door.

  “Two guesses.”

  I thought about it a moment; today was Friday. “I don’t know. Cooking class?” I lifted my arms, palms face up, in a who knows gesture.

  Sam gave me a thumbs up. “Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner.”

  “I don’t know what to think about the fact that she never brings Chef Fabio here.”

  “Frédéric,” Sam corrected me automatically. Fabio, we had learned from Gladys, was part of his cooking persona title but not his actual name.

  “Right. Hey, weren’t cooking classes supposed to be over last week?”

  “What are you saying?”

  I waggled my eyebrows at Sam suggestively. “I’m saying, I think we’ve moved from assisting in cooking classes to actual date nights and someone is embarrassed to tell us.”

  “Maybe so.” Sam chewed on her bottom lip, a habit I was shocked had survived her childhood with Sam’s mother, Deidra, pushing her in and out of etiquette classes, ladylike behaviors, and so on. “Well? Are we going to snoop?” Sam rubbed the palms of her hands together.

  “We can’t snoop with your hair like that; it’s a beacon to everyone around. If Gladys didn’t spot us herself, everyone else talking about the woman with red, white, and blue hair would tip her off that we were following her.” I shook my head. Sam had outdone herself with her promise to dye her hair patriotic as an incentive to boost sales at Flo’s Flowers and the Ooey Gooey Goodness Bakery a few weeks ago, right before the Independence Day Parade.

  “Are you saying you think it’s time to change it?” she fingered the white and blue strands on one side of her head.

  “I’m only pointing out that it isn’t exactly clandestine snooping material.”

  “Good point. I guess it might be time to change it. It has been worth it to see the pained expression on Mother’s face whenever I’m around though.”

  I laughed. Deidra Lowe had nearly fainted on the spot when Sam appeared on the courthouse lawn beside them on July Fourth. Deidra’s pallor had first gone ashy-white and then flushed a deep crimson. Sam’s father hadn’t even had time to say hello before Deidra shooed us out of the spotlight. So determined was she to send Sam away before the press arrived, that she nearly broke an ankle in a gopher hole rushing us away from the courthouse steps. I pity the poor gophers who called that lawn their home; Deidra had been on a crusade to capture and kill every gopher in a five-mile radius ever since.

  “Earth to Piper!” Sam spoke, breaking through my thoughts.

  “Hmm?”

  “Are you going to come with me to the salon? You could get your hair touched up.”

  I considered it, holding the ends of my hair up right in front of my nose. Tipped in turquoise and silver, the ends of my hair were definitely sporting some major split ends. She was right; it was time to trim and re-color the ends. Before I could answer, the bell over the door jingled, signaling a customer entering.

  The Ooey Gooey Goodness Bakery, owned and operated by myself and Sam, had become more and more popular over the last few weeks, thanks in part to a publicized fundraising campaign to raise awareness of human trafficking, and then, more recently, to a promotional strategy where we joined forces with Flo’s Flowers next door to increase Fourth of July flower and cookie orders. Still, the last hour had been dead; we had been about to close up. I looked over, quite surprised, to see who might be coming in for a cookie this late.

  My jaw dropped. Speak of the devil.

  “Mother?” Sam asked, eyebrows raised in disbelief.

  As long as we had owned the Ooey Gooey, Deidra had not set foot inside. Until today. One time, only one, she had sent an assistant over to place a cookie order but it had been more about PR for her than support of us. This didn’t bode well.

  “Good evening, Mrs. Lowe,” the greeting felt thick and awkward even as it slid over my tongue. “Can we get you something?”

  Deidra glowered. Her fist clenched tighter around a folded newspaper in her hand. “How dare you?”

  I swiveled my head to Sam. She looked at me in confusion then back to her mother.

  “How dare who, what?” Sam blew out a breath. Deidra’s penchant for drama wasn’t new in her life.

  “This, this….” Deidra stalked forward. She waved her free hand in a circle, motioning to Sam’s head, or rather her hair. “This atrocity is more than enough to bring embarrassment to your father and I. But you couldn’t stop there, could you?”

  “Mrs. Lowe,” I stepped up beside Sam, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “I don’t think anyone is judging you for Sam’s hair color. Really.”

  “You. You stay out of this. You’ve done enough to drag my children down into some mediocre, ambitionless life. This doesn’t concern you.” Her eyes flashed daggers at me. I felt Sam stiffen at my side.

  “Get out.”

  “Excuse me?” Deidra’s voice grew cold.

  I whipped my head to face Sam, concerned as I felt her begin to shake.

  “Get out and don’t come back. I don’t know what it is you think I’ve done, but you will not come in our bakery and be disrespectful to me or my best friend. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” Sam crossed her arms, matching her moth
er stare for stare.

  “Well. Don’t think we are finished, young lady. This is far from over.” Deidra shoved the paper into Sam’s folded arms and stormed out, high-heel pumps tapping out the drum beats of impending war on her way.

  CHAPTER 1

  “Where’s Gladys?” I asked Sam as I entered the Ooey Gooey Goodness bakery café through the swinging kitchen door.

  “Two guesses.”

  I thought about it a moment; today was Friday. “I don’t know. Cooking class?” I lifted my arms, palms face up, in a who knows gesture.

  Sam gave me a thumbs up. “Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner.”

  “I don’t know what to think about the fact that she never brings Chef Fabio here.”

  “Frédéric,” Sam corrected me automatically. Fabio, we had learned from Gladys, was part of his cooking persona title but not his actual name.

  “Right. Hey, weren’t cooking classes supposed to be over last week?”

  “What are you saying?”

  I waggled my eyebrows at Sam suggestively. “I’m saying, I think we’ve moved from assisting in cooking classes to actual date nights and someone is embarrassed to tell us.”

  “Maybe so.” Sam chewed on her bottom lip, a habit I was shocked had survived her childhood with Sam’s mother, Deidra, pushing her in and out of etiquette classes, ladylike behaviors, and so on. “Well? Are we going to snoop?” Sam rubbed the palms of her hands together.

  “We can’t snoop with your hair like that; it’s a beacon to everyone around. If Gladys didn’t spot us herself, everyone else talking about the woman with red, white, and blue hair would tip her off that we were following her.” I shook my head. Sam had outdone herself with her promise to dye her hair patriotic as an incentive to boost sales at Flo’s Flowers and the Ooey Gooey Goodness Bakery a few weeks ago, right before the Independence Day Parade.

  “Are you saying you think it’s time to change it?” she fingered the white and blue strands on one side of her head.