Iced Raspberry Cookies and a Curse

by RaShelle Workman

  There were new developments though. Like, Lox’s friend Katelyn realized her key was missing and guessed someone must’ve stolen it from her purse. She worked as a receptionist in the town’s mortuary and said it was possible someone could’ve taken it without her notice. She felt horrible, but it wasn’t Katelyn’s fault. Obviously, whoever was doing this knew Lox well, especially if the person knew her friends.

  Other than that piece of news, there hadn’t been anything else out of the ordinary. Ana and Nate talked to everyone on the street, but it was always the same. No one had seen anything. It was like whoever was threatening them suddenly changed their mind.

  After visiting with her sister and family, Ana and Nate would get to the bakery by eight in the morning. Sometimes friends and family would help out too. Between all of them, they made and decorated twenty-six-dozen sugar cookies, as well as several batches of red-velvet bars, chocolate-pecan cookies, and carrot cake cupcakes to sell in the shop each day. And each day they sold out well before closing, but it couldn’t be helped. Doing more was out of the question. They were pushing it to get everything done as it was.

  Ana had no idea how Lox managed to do this day in and day out. It was monotonous. Mostly the same customers came in each morning, including the blue marshmallow woman, though she sometimes wore a different outfit. The crazy old man, Mr. Hollows, was there every day as well, asking about Lox and how she was doing. He still seemed determined to ask Lox on a date, which was creepy. At night, after visiting Lox, Ana and Nate would either eat out or go back to her parents’ house and fix something for all of them. Afterward, they would watch a show or play Rummy or just talk until they went to bed in their separate bedrooms.

  More than once she almost said, “I love you,” but caught herself at the last minute. She wasn’t sure whether he was being nice because of the situation or if he had feelings for her as well. It was more than that too. He said he forgave her, but she was having a hard time believing it, probably because she still couldn’t forgive herself. So, she chickened out and said nothing, but she was determined to change that once Lox was back on her feet and they figured out who hurt her and threatened them all.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Wednesday morning, Ana came into the kitchen, feeling extra raggedy. The thought of yet more baking was worse than pulling a double shift at the hospital. Baking was not her passion like it was Lox’s.

  “You look like you could use a break.” Nate sat at the table eating a pile of bacon, eggs, and toast.

  “Gee, thanks.” She slumped in her chair thinking a break would be a nice change of pace.

  “He’s right, Ace,” her mom said, coming into the kitchen, and sliding some eggs on a plate before handing them to her. “Haven’t you been sleeping well?”

  Her mom had nailed the issue on the head. Ana didn’t know if it was because she wasn’t in her own bed, or because she couldn’t stop thinking about Nate, or because of the case, or the strange magical opossum dreams, but restful sleep had been a struggle. Mostly, it was Nate. She couldn’t believe he was still here, still helping her. The biggest issue? She wasn’t sure she could trust herself to get into a relationship with him again. Especially since there’d been so much pain the first time.

  Ana said none of that. “It’s fine,” she said, flatly. “You’re so thoughtful to make us breakfast, Mom. Thank you.”

  “Oh, of course. Don’t be silly. Your dad hardly eats anything these days, so this has been fun for me having the two of you here. Kind of like old times.” Her mom’s eyes got misty and she cleared her throat. “I think the two of you should do something fun today. We only have another four dozen cookies to make and Swan Lake is completely frozen. Why don’t the two of you go ice skating?” She went to the sink and rinsed out the pan.

  “That sounds fun,” Nate said, smiling around his food.

  Ana had taken lessons as a child and enjoyed skating a lot, but she hadn’t been on the ice in over a decade. “I don’t know. I might’ve forgotten how.” She chewed her eggs and took a bite of toast after slathering it in homemade grape jam.

  “Nonsense.” Her mom came and sat beside them, taking a piece of bacon from the plate in the center of the table and popping it in her mouth. “It’s just like riding a bike.”

  “Only colder and more dangerous.” Ice skating actually did sound like fun, especially if it meant watching Nate try to finagle the ice on those tiny blades with his massive body. “But I’m in if Nate is.”

  He looked up. “Of course, I’m in. Should we go to the bakery first and then skate later tonight?”

  “No need,” her mom said. “Lox and Chandi are meeting me there in…” She glanced at her watch. “Oh my, in ten minutes. Excuse me. I need to finish getting ready before I go out.”

  “Wait, Lox is going?” That was news to her. “She’s well enough?”

  Her mom rolled her eyes. “She refuses to stay in bed another minute. The doctor cleared her anyway and you know your sister. She’s go, go, go.”

  Ana nodded. “True. Well in that case, I say we skate.” She eyed Nate who nodded vigorously.

  “Good. I’ll see you both later.” Her mom kissed the top of Ana’s head and patted Nate’s cheek before leaving the kitchen.

  Ana finished off her eggs and took another piece of bacon, avoiding another slice of toast since she’d eaten more than her share of baked goods in the last few days.

  Nate looked thoughtful. “You think they’re going to have my size of skates?”

  “Let’s hope so.” Ana took her plate to the sink and rinsed it off. She felt instantly lighter, even excited by the prospect of getting away from the bakery and doing something that didn’t revolve around butter, sugar, flour, and eggs.

  Nate brought his dishes over as Ana put some soap and water in the sink. As she washed the plates, it crossed her mind that spending time with him again was as easy as breathing. His hand brushed against hers and her heart thumped in double time. She wanted to reach up and grab his face and kiss him and kiss him and kiss him.

  He seemed to notice her emotions. “Everything all right?” His eyes held hers.

  Ana wanted to jump into his arms, feel his warmth against her. “Sure. Yeah. Why do you ask?” She cleared her throat. “Everything all right with you?”

  “All good here,” he laughed, resting his body against one of the counters as he dried.

  Once they put away the dishes and cleaned the kitchen, Ana found her old skates, then put on her coat, a hat, scarf, and her gloves. Nate had on his boots, gloves, a hat, and his coat, and together and they started walking toward the Lake. It was snowing outside, the large flakes falling lazily. Ana thought it was beautiful. As they walked, she couldn’t help admiring the trees and the houses. It was her favorite time of year. Everything looked new when covered with a fresh coat of snowfall. “I love this,” she whispered, keeping her voice low.

  “It really is a magical town. Maybe a little too slow for my taste—at least right now, but definitely a great spot to come and unwind.”

  Ana whole-heartedly agreed. She liked the busyness of Denver. For now. “Agreed.” They rounded the corner and noticed several dogs with their owners waiting outside the pet salon. “What’s going on?” Ana asked.

  “We don’t know.” A man who looked like Harrison Ford with sunglasses had pronounced himself spokesperson for the group. “It says Poochie’s is closed, but we all have an appointment this morning.”

  A sick feeling clenched in Ana’s stomach. “Hang on a moment. Let me see something.” She grabbed hold of Nate’s arm as they hurried down the alley. Ana knocked on Poochie’s back door. No one answered, but the back door was unlocked. “Should we go in?”

  “Let me go first.” Nate pushed open the door. “Hello? Is anyone in here?” Someone moaned.

  Ana pushed past Nate and found a man on the floor. A little blood pooled around him. “Mr. Wang? What happened?”

  “I don’t know,” he said.

  �
��I’m calling the police.” Nate dialed the number then put the phone on speaker when the dispatcher answered. “Yes, Stacy, we need someone over at the pet salon. Someone hit Mr. Wang on the head. He’s bleeding…”

  Mr. Wang tried to sit up.

  “Don’t move,” Ana said, holding him down. “We’re getting you some help.” Carefully, she began to check him for injuries.

  “Yeah, I feel woozy.”

  “You’ve lost a good amount of blood.” She paused, glancing around the salon, hoping whoever had done this wasn’t still around. “Did you see anyone?”

  “No,” he said softly, closing his eyes.

  “Okay.” She had a thought. “Do you know why someone did this?”

  “I don’t know.” Mr. Wang tried to shake his head, but stopped and moaned. “Ouch.”

  “Easy,” Ana said, thinking. “None of this makes sense.” Ana could see through to the front of the store and the impatient people waiting outside. Beyond that was Joli, the new clothing store with the grand opening sign on it. A sudden thought made her shiver. “Did someone offer to buy your store?”

  Mr. Wang opened his eyes. “Yes, about a month ago. Why?”

  “Just a hunch.” She could hear the sirens in the distance. “Hang on. Help is coming.”

  Once Mr. Wang was loaded into the ambulance, Ana and Nate gave their statements. Lox, her mom, and Katelyn stopped by as well to find out what all of the fuss was about. Sheriff Buck kept making eyes at Lox, but not before doing his job and making sure his deputies were doing theirs. Ana had an inkling the man liked his sister. By the time they were done, the snow stopped falling and the sun came out, turning the winter day almost balmy. She and Nate said good-bye to her family and watched as they went back into her sister’s bakery, Goldie’s.

  “Still want to go ice skating?” Nate asked, a hopeful look on his gorgeous face.

  “Sure,” Ana replied, but she was feeling distracted. “Can we stop by Joli’s really quick? I need a new… shirt.” It wasn’t a lie, but truthfully she wanted to poke around. She was a Oldenberg sibling after all and they tended to be nosy.

  Nate gave her a strange look. “Let’s go.” When they were out of earshot, he asked her another question. “What’s going on in that beautiful mind of yours?”

  They walked out of the alley and across the street.

  She shook her head. “I’m not sure yet. It’s just a guess, but I want to talk to someone who works there.”

  “I’m with ya.” He brushed some hair out of her eyes.

  When they got to Joli’s, Nate held open the door. Inside, the boutique was stark and very modern, nothing like the way it was before. All of the coziness and warmth was gone. A young woman looked up. “Welcome to Joli’s. Can I help you find anything?”

  “Just looking,” Ana said, blinking several times as she glanced around the store. It was like the clean and simple lines that made up the new store were a façade. That underneath the real store was still there. Like a witch’s glamour, she thought and then shook it away. She didn’t know anything about witches and had no idea where the thought came from. Weirded out, she went over to one of the racks and studied the clothes, pulling on the fabrics and checking the stitching. She was no seamstress, just like she was no master pizza person, but she knew what quality looked like and this wasn’t it. She brought a shirt up to the register.

  The young woman popped her gum. “Did you want to try that on or just purchase it?”

  “Are you the manager?” she asked, ignoring the girl’s question.

  “No. That’s Ari, but she isn’t here and won’t be in until tomorrow.”

  “Ari? I know her.” They’d gone to school together. Ari was a couple of years younger. “Who owns this place?”

  The girl shrugged. “I don’t know.” She lowered her voice. “Not even Ari has met the owner yet. She was hired via email a few days ago.”

  Ana nodded, her suspicions going into hyper drive. “Thanks. I’m going to skip the shirt for now, but I might be back.”

  “No problem.” The girl took the shirt and hung it back on the rack.

  Once Ana and Nate were outside, Nate gave her a quizzical look. “What was that about?”

  Ana answered his question with a question of her own. “Don’t you find it odd that the pizza place and this clothing store are both owned by a new, secret person?”

  “That does seem unusual, but it isn’t unheard of. I’m a silent partner in a new software development company. They’re working on a new generation of phones. In the next decade, we’ll have a chip inside our mind and be able to dial with the blink of an eye.”

  Ana stopped and studied him. “Are you serious?”

  “No.” He chuckled. “Just saying silent partners are pretty common.”

  “Point taken.” She was quiet a moment, mulling her thoughts. “That’s really awesome you’re investing in things outside of football. Do you get to attend meetings and have a say?”

  “Nope. I’m silent.” He held a finger to his lips. “I’ll get a share of the profits, but have no input, except when they want someone to try out their latest product.”

  “Okay, so I guess it could be totally normal. But something feels off.”

  “I agree. If it were just the two stores getting bought out, that would be one thing, but the fact that someone tried to run you over, knocked out your sister, and now Mr. Wang… It all seems like too much of a coincidence and I’m not a big believer in coincidences.”

  “Me either.” She started down the sidewalk.

  Chapter Fourteen

  They walked through the park toward Swan Lake, each lost in their own thoughts. Could someone be trying to take over Main Street? Or the whole town? It made sense monetarily. If one person owned every shop, it meant more money for them. Could she find out who the unidentified purchaser was? Maybe she could kindly ask the mayor. She’d thought about it before. After ice skating, she would head over to town hall and find out what she could.

  Thankfully, Gone Fishing and Tackle (they also rented snowboards, ski gear, and snowmobiles and just about anything necessary for the outdoors in Fable Town), the store near the pond had a pair of skates that fit Nate. The only problem was the skates looked kind of sketchy. Ana worried he might break an ankle, but Nate didn’t seem concerned, so she went along with it. Once they were out on the lake, Ana realized her mom was right. Ice skating was like riding a bike. It didn’t take long before she relaxed enough to enjoy herself.

  Music blared from speakers. It wasn’t too busy yet. That meant Nate was able to take some skating risks. Apparently, he played ice hockey in high school and it was all coming back to him. He kept zig-zagging across the ice, making Ana laugh while he pretended he had the puck and the opposing team was after him. The little kids on the ice with their parents thought he was the best thing since sliced bread. He would talk to them and smile and joke and wave. Several of the moms looked like they might pass out. She couldn’t blame them. The man really was magnificent—like a real life Hercules.

  Could they find their way back to each other once again? Nate acted like he believed in them. Their time together the last few days had been natural and like old times… before Gus got sick. Her mind flashed to the last time she held Gus’s hand. He smiled as though trying to make her feel better. Then he closed his eyes and was gone, his hand going limp in hers. At the thought she shuddered and shook those thoughts away, wishing and wondering whether she could ever let go of the past.

  After a couple of hours skating, she and Nate took a break and went to get some hot chocolate and a pretzel at the food truck beside the lake. The man who ran the truck looked familiar, but Ana couldn’t remember his name. Snacks in hand, they sat at a picnic table to eat. Ana hadn’t had a food cart pretzel in a long, long time. After the first bite, she wondered why. It was delicious. “This is so good.” Nate had ordered nacho cheese to dip the pretzel in and she dunked a piece.

  “True. I should’ve ordered like s
ix more and some nachos and a double cheeseburger and some fries.” He grinned as he spoke.

  “You’re hungry?”

  “Just a smidge.” He shoved the rest of the pretzel in his mouth. “Be right back.”

  He went back to the truck and spoke to the man behind the glass for several minutes. From the look of it, Ana guessed he was ordering one of everything. When he returned, he carried a tray filled with two bowls of chili, french fries, three corn dogs, two more pretzels, and a plate of nachos.

  “Wow, Nate. You gonna eat all that?” She eyed one of the chili bowls. It smelled amazing and she was still hungry too.

  “No. This is for you.” He handed her one of the bowls of chili.

  She clapped her gloved hands together. “You’re a good man Nathan Decker.” She’d been warm while they skated, but she was starting to get cold again.

  He chuckled. “Thanks, Ace. Help yourself to anything else you want. This tray is for the table.” He placed the other bowl of chili in front of him and took a bite.

  “Excellent.” She didn’t think she could eat more after the chili, but she might have some fries too. “One thing you forgot.”

  He glanced at the tray, surprised. “I did?” He wasn’t convinced.

  The moment went slowly between them and her heart sped up a notch. Without thinking, she leaned in, enjoying the scent of him, and brushed her lips against his. They were warm and soft, and she knew she could lose herself in the moment—in him. “Ketchup. I can’t eat fries without ketchup.” She stood, looking at him in mock severity.

  A huge grin splayed across his face, his eyes lingering on her mouth. “How could I have forgotten that?” he asked playfully, shoving a fry in his mouth.

  “You’re losing it, Decker.” She winked and headed over to the truck.