“The Liberty Hotel,” I supplied for him.
A classmate of ours, Kat Stinson, had just recently finished renovations on the big place. The beautiful brick hotel was built in eighteen fifty-five, right next to the train station, and served travelers for well over a hundred years. Standing only three stories tall, it boasted several balconies that looked out over a cobblestone courtyard. For the past decade it had been empty and we were all happy to see that someone was bringing it back to life. I hadn’t been down there since she’d opened for business but with Kat’s wonderful taste and artistic skills, I imagined it was beautiful.
“That’s it,” he said, snapping his fingers.
“You didn’t tell him it’s supposed to be haunted,” Barbara Ellen whispered as we watched him walk out the door and climb into a huge black SUV.
“It’s not haunted,” I said to her wondering why he was driving that big machine when he could have walked there in less than five minutes.
Barbara Ellen shrugged. “I’ll bet it is.”
Just before seven, the Jimmy Bones fan club began arriving.
There were probably eight or ten of them, a little bit bigger crowd than usual. All of them were in their late sixties, maybe early seventies. All of them either had blue hair or hair that was way too dark to be real. They wore large hoop earrings and lipstick that was much too red.
And they all had on leopard print leggings.
This wasn’t their usual monthly meeting, but a special one due to his concert coming in just days. I wasn’t surprised to see Gladys right there with them. Luckily, the round table that the farmers used was empty. Joylou’s son helped me set it up for them, but I noticed that he kept his eyes on his work. He wasn’t acting like his normal friendly self.
“You okay?” I asked, when I we were alone for a moment at the pick-up window.
He nodded, looked nervously around, and said, “Those ladies scare me.”
I laughed aloud and gave him a quick hug. “No need to be scared. I’m pretty sure they’re harmless.”
He laughed, too but I wasn’t sure he agreed with me.
I took their orders and made sure they all had an ice filled glass of sweet tea in front of them. They giggled like school girls over one of Jimmy’s latest stunts, which I was pretty sure was nothing more than publicity.
“You know you ladies just missed meeting someone connected to Jimmy,” I told them after placing their orders.
“Who?” one of them asked.
“His business manager, Davis Withrow was just here having his dinner,” I told them.
“I hear they’ve been best friends for years,” Nonnie said as if she knew both of them personally.
“Jimmy wasn’t with him, was he?” one of them gasped.
“No, he was alone but he may have been talking to Jimmy on his phone,” I suggested, more teasing than anything else.
They all appeared to be disappointed to have missed that.
When the orders came up, I enlisted Barbara Ellen to help me serve and we tried to do so without interrupting their president, Nonnie Rupert, who was in the middle of announcing that there was a chance at least one of them would get to go on Jimmy’s tour bus and meet the man in person.
More girlish squealing and a smattering of applause.
“And I’ve heard rumors that the president of his fan club might make an appearance as well,” she continued.
There were ohs and ahs and they dug into their meals
The lively conversation continued until it was getting late and the diner had started to clear out.
“Would either of you ladies care for dessert?” I asked, helping Barbara Ellen clear their table.
“Oh, no,” Nonnie said, as if she’d been elected to answer for all of them.
“I still have a few peanut butter pies left,” I teased.
Nonnie shot me a harsh look. “I can’t believe you’re still selling those things.”
I’m sure the surprise showed in my face.
“Our beloved Jimmy is so deathly allergic to peanuts. How could you even think of selling them?”
“But, he’s not here and—”
“If nothing else, out of respect, young lady,” she huffed.
I plastered a smile on my face and continued clearing the table. Well, at least now I knew the fact that he was allergic to peanuts was really a thing.
Once we were closed, I left the staff to clean up and headed up to my apartment to do research on peanut allergies.
Chapter Four
By midnight I’d read everything I could find about peanut allergies, mostly surprised that the reaction could be life threatening. It sounded horrible and helped me understand why Jimmy was so insistent that no peanuts be anywhere near him. Keeping them out of the whole park was a bit extreme and I doubted it could actually happen, but at least I now understood his fears better.
What could one use in case of exposure?
The Accu-Click Injector seemed to be the answer. It delivered a measured dose of medication into the thigh with just one click, providing relief until the paramedics could get there. After reading that, I was sure Jimmy and Davis Withrow probably had one within reach at all times.
Now, what to use as a substitute for peanut butter?
My vision was getting blurry when I found the answer to that. According to popular belief, the best thing to use in place of peanut butter was sunflower butter. It seems other nut butters could cause the same but lesser reaction, and I didn’t want to take a chance.
I hated to admit it, but the Lord sisters might be right about seeds.
Now, to find it in bulk. Another thing to consider was that I might have to tweak my grandmother’s recipe. One thing for sure, I wasn’t going to let something like a peanut allergy wreck our plans to celebrate Jimmy’s last concert or bring a bad name to the Dixie Cupp Diner.
The next morning I shared my findings with Poppy while we prepared for the morning rush. Then I told her about the fan club that met the night before and how they were so defensive of Jimmy Bones that they wouldn’t even have peanut butter pie for dessert.
Glancing over her shoulder at Gladys, who wore leopard print leggings again, Poppy shook her head. “I know Jimmy is a celebrity and all, but that’s taking it a bit far.”
“I found a place online that sells sunflower seed butter in bulk,” I told her. “Thought I would order it this morning.”
“We don’t have much time left,” she said, little worry lines forming between her eyes.
“I’ll pay extra to get it here in time,” I promised.
Those worry lines disappeared immediately when Poppy spotted Tom entering the diner.
“Good morning, my angel,” he said, stopped by the register, kissed her cheek and accepted the coffee she handed him with a grateful smile.
“Angel? Ha! He doesn’t know you like I do,” I teased.
Giggling, Poppy threw an order pad at me.
He’s early,” I noted when he’d settled into a booth near the door with the morning paper.
“He has all of the sales booths finished for the businesses in town that wanted one and now they’ve got him helping with the stage construction,” she told me. “We haven’t been able to work on any wedding plans all week.”
“Depending on when the sunflower seed butter gets here, we won’t have much time either,” I said. “We may be up all night the night before, but that’s the way we roll,” I told her.
“That’s the way we roll,” she agreed, laughing.
In the kitchen, Gladys danced to a Jimmy Bones song and we laughed about that as well.
“I need to try some sunflower seed butter in my grandmother’s original recipe first,” I said after thinking about our dilemma for a while. “I guess I’m going to have to bite the bullet and go see Tiffany Samples.”
“We’ll stop by on our way back from the bank,” Poppy suggested.
She carried Tom’s order over to his table, with an extra cup of coffee
for herself, and slid in beside him. I smiled and took her place at the register. She deserved a break.
We finished up with the first busy period of the day. Construction workers, already wearing their hard hats, and a few newcomers showed up eager for their early morning coffee and sausage biscuits to get their day started. The newcomers turned out to be men hired to help Tom work on building the stage.
Like the day before, our trip to the bank took longer than usual because of the car traffic and the foot traffic. Everyone wanted to talk to us. People we barely recognized stopped us to say hello, ask how we were doing and promising to stop by the diner before they left town. All I could think about was the stop at the health food store on the way back from the bank.
“I’m dreading this,” I said when Poppy pushed open the door to her shop.
“Hush. It’ll be fine,” Poppy assured me.
Tiffany Samples looked up from the book she’d been reading when Poppy and I entered Naturally Yours. It smelled of some kind of spices that I couldn’t place and was quiet as a tomb. I wondered how she stood it being so quiet in here all day.
“Can I help you ladies?” she asked, that ever present snide little smirk on her face.
“I think we can find it,” I said. Spotting jars of nut butter lined up on a low shelf on one of the small aisles, I darted off in that direction. My mission was to get out of there as soon as I could. Poppy followed.
There was every kind of nut butter imaginable and I whispered to Poppy, “I never realized they made butter out of so many different kinds of nuts.”
“Or that it was so expensive,” Poppy whispered back.
“Yes, they’re very popular right now,” Tiffany said, right at my elbow.
Startled, I jumped about a foot and stifled a little squeal. Did she sneak up on all of her customers like that? Maybe that’s why the store was so empty.
“Still, I wouldn’t chance using them in anything your Jimmy Bones might be eating. They could have the same effect as peanuts.”
“Yes, I’d already thought of that,” I told her, forcing a smile.
“We’ve decided to use sunflower seed butter,” Poppy told her.
I hadn’t seen that anywhere on the neatly stocked shelves.
“Oh, sorry, I’m all out of that,” she said, not looking or sounding sorry about that at all. “Sold the last jar just a few minutes ago to Eva Lord. I think they’re going to sell sunflower butter fudge at the concert.”
“Any idea where we can get a small jar?” I asked. “You know, just to test my recipe.”
“They sell it down at the IGA,” she said wrinkling her nose in distaste. “I can’t vouch for its purity but it might work for your little experiment.” I didn’t miss the mean little smile sneaking across her face.
“Thanks,” Poppy said and then asked, “What are you selling at the show?”
“Sunflower seed butter cookies. I’m calling them sun cookies, cutting them in the shapes of smiling little sunshines. I’m sure they’ll be a hit.”
“I’m sure they will,” Poppy said.
I bit my tongue and headed for the door. Tiffany followed us all the way and then out onto the sidewalk. “Sorry I couldn’t be of more help,” she called out.
“She’s not sorry,” I fussed, once we were far enough away that she couldn’t hear us.
“Calm down,” Poppy said, hurrying to keep up with me. “We’ll just go down to the IGA and read the labels carefully.”
Poppy’s car was parked behind the diner, next to mine. It was stifling hot inside so we stood there a moment with the doors open letting the seats cool down. Then we climbed in and drove out to face the unusually heavy traffic that this birthday celebration had brought to our little town.
“Just wait until Jimmy Bones gets here this weekend,” Poppy said. “It’s going to get even worse.”
“Great.”
The IGA was packed with customers. A mother with two screaming toddlers passed us. She looked exhausted. A little old lady pushed a small cart filled with cans of cat food up to the extended checkout lane. I hoped she bought them just because they were on sale - or she had twenty cats.
We finally found the nut butters right along with the sugar free jam and all-natural peanut butter (whatever that meant). Right there, prominently displayed front and center on an eye-level shelf, was a small jar of sunflower seed butter. It also appeared to be the last one.
“People are taking this nut allergy thing seriously, aren’t they?” Poppy mused, checking to see if there was more or a larger jar further down.
“Looks like it,” I muttered, snatching the jar off the shelf. “I wouldn’t put it past Tiffany to come down here and buy all of it up just to keep me from getting any.”
Poppy rolled her eyes. “Really?”
“Just sayin’,” I said with a shrug.
“I think you’re taking this rivalry thing too much to heart,” she said, shaking her head and then pointed at the jar in my hand. “Check the ingredients.”
The ingredients consisted of roasted sunflower seeds and salt.
Perfect.
About that time there was a crash and then moments later an announcement, “Clean up on aisle seven.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Poppy said.
Clearly, we weren’t used to these kinds of crowds.
I thought we would never make it back to the diner. The closer to Jimmy’s arrival, the more people poured into our tiny town. On our way back, we passed the football field at the high school. It was filled with RVs, campers and SUVs, people milling about, visiting each other, looking as if they planned to stay a while. It reminded me that some people had planned their yearly vacation around Sugar Hill’s birthday party.
After parking the car, Poppy and I hurried upstairs to my apartment. I opened the jar of sunflower seed butter, grabbed a spoon and tasted it. It tasted exactly like roasted or toasted sunflower seeds. Not sweet at all and kind of buttery tasting. Not what I was used to by a long shot.
Poppy wrinkled her nose when she tasted it. “I guess with enough butter and sugar it might taste better,” she announced.
“All we can do is try,” I said, although I wasn’t too disappointed in the taste.
Poppy and I shared lunch and I pored over my recipes, just in case my grandmother’s original one would work.
“Maybe you should just try something new,” Poppy suggested. She poured more lemonade into her ice filled glass and added a bit more to mine.
Lunch had been ham sandwiches and a salad. Perfect for a hot summer day. Hers was already gone. I’d barely touched mine.
“Jimmy loved her peanut butter pies,” I said. “I really want to make sure they’re as close to hers as possible.”
“Well, good luck with that,” Poppy said, making the same face she’d made earlier when she tasted the sunflower seed butter.
After Poppy left, I took a nap. Just as I dozed off, it dawned on me that Tucker hadn’t come by for lunch. Then I remembered the busy streets and told myself that he was probably too busy to even get a lunch.
When I woke up, I went downstairs to see if Barbara Ellen needed help. She did, even with the extra staff we’d called in. In between waiting on customers and running the register, I told her about the sunflower seed butter episode. She wanted to taste it so I ran upstairs to grab the jar.
Her reaction was pretty much the same as Poppy’s. “Add plenty of sugar and butter. No one will know the difference.”
The bells over the door tinkled and Barbara Ellen and I exchanged glances. The place was already packed and more customers were coming in. Yeah, it was great for the bottom line, but we were quickly running out of tables. And was it ever noisy - in a good way. Old friends were jumping up and greeting each other with hugs and laughter. Introductions were made of new husbands and girlfriends and children.
Davis Withrow, Jimmy’s manager, arrived with a couple of other men. One was older but looked fit and clean cut. The other was a young
man with a beard and several tattoos showing on his arms and hands.
I managed to find a table that Josh had just cleared and seated them quickly.
Jimmy’s manager had been eating either lunch or dinner in the diner almost every day since he’d arrived in town, but I didn’t recognize the two men with him.
He made no move to introduce them and I didn’t pry. I poured ice filled glasses of tea for them, took their order and returned to the rest of my customers. I was so busy waiting tables, talking with old classmates and telling first time visitors about our town’s history that I didn’t even see Tucker arrive.
I found him sitting alone at a booth about midway back by one of the windows, head resting in hands.
“You okay?” I asked, genuinely concerned about him.
“Yeah. Just tired,” he said, lifting his head and giving me his good ole’ boy grin and that wink that turned my insides to mush.
Even exhausted, he had that effect on me. I suspected he knew but we avoided that subject like the plague.
“Only a few more days and it’ll all be over,” I told him. “Coffee?”
He nodded.
I turned the thick mug on the table right side up and filled to the brim.
“I’ll be okay once Bones gets here and I see where we stand with everything. It’s the prep and planning that gets to me.”
“And the traffic,” I added.
“Oh, Lord, don’t even get me started on that.”
“Is Kellen still planning on doing his K-9 demonstration Saturday morning?” I asked. “I’m really looking forward to that.”
Tucker nodded. “Lucky me. I get to wear the bite suit.”
“You’ll be okay,” I said. “I’ve seen you run. Maybe you can outrun Axel.”
Tucker laughed which was what I was aiming for. “I don’t think so.”
Dressed impeccably, as usual, Vic slid into the seat across from him. “Mind if I join you for dinner?” she asked.
“Not at all,” Tucker said.
I took their orders, placed them at the window and continued working. While waiting on other customers and helping at the register, I couldn’t help but sneak a peek at them every once in a while from the corner of my eye. More than once, she laughed and reached out to touch his arm or his hand. And each time, that now familiar jealous dragon reared its head.
Peanut Butter Pies & Dangerous Lies Page 3