by Tonya Kappes
“I’m not buying you.” This was when Tom Moon always turned on the charm. I’d seen him do this a few times at events when he wanted something from someone. “Look at it as a friend helping out a fellow friend. If I needed help, you’d help me.”
“Don’t count on it.” I glared at him and turned my attention to the door when it swung back open.
“Oops.” Hank had popped his head into the door and started to pull it shut as he backed out. “Sorry. I didn’t know you had a guest in here.”
“Come on in,” I told him and watched the door stop moving mid-shut. “I’m finished here.”
“Are you sure?” Hank opened the door. He looked so handsome in the blue suit coat and jeans he’d worn to work today. His green eyes danced when he looked at me. His black hair was nice and short, the way he loved to get it cut.
“Positive.” I waved him in. “In fact, Detective Hank Sharp, this is Tom Moon from Moonbucks Coffee. Tom and I go way back.”
Tom’s posture changed visibly when he heard me say “detective.”
“Tom, Hank is my boyfriend. He lives here in the campground.” I watched as Tom gulped and slid the money back into his pocket as if Hank hadn’t already noticed it. “This is Carl, his lawyer.”
Hank noticed everything, and by the way he walked into the office, positioning himself near me, I could see he knew I was a bit uncomfortable with Tom.
“Tom’s daughter is the one getting married at the Old Train Station in a couple of days.” I lifted my chin at Tom and let a faint smile cross my lips when I saw Tom get all fidgety.
“Congratulations.” Hank put a hand out. “Nice to meet you. I hope you find our town nice and quiet. The way we like it.”
“Yes. It’s fine.” Tom pinched a smile on his fat face and shook Hank’s hand on his way to the door. Carl did too. “Just fine. Mae, it was good talking to you. I hope you reconsider my offer.”
Hank waited a few seconds after Tom had left the office before he started in on his rant.
“I don’t like that guy. What was his offer?” Hank gave me a side eye.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and curled up on my toes. “Don’t you worry about it. It was something with the wedding.” I rolled my eyes and kissed his lips. “Besides, you might have a better offer for me.”
“Yeah.” He kissed me a little deeper this time. “Supper at the festival?”
“Exactly.” My stomach gurgled at the thought. “I’m starving.”
FIVE
Lights were strung all around the trees in the grassy median between the two main streets where the festival was taking place. They twinkled like the lightning bugs we got during the summer months.
I was happy I was wearing my sweatshirt because the nip in the cool autumn air was just enough to send a chill to my bones. The moon hung over Normal, and the stars shone brilliantly.
The Big Dipper and Little Dipper stood out so much that it didn’t take but a glance up into the sky to see them. It was always fun to watch tourists at night in the Daniel Book National Park. Most of them lived in cities where you couldn’t see the brilliance of the nighttime sky. Tonight, Mother Nature was showing off, and it was spectacular.
“We will have two fried chicken platters.” Hank didn’t bother socializing first. He went straight to the Normal Diner’s food booth where Ty Randal was busy doing what he did best: cooking.
“Coming up for two of my favorite people.” Ty smiled and took special interest in our order. He flung his shaggy blond curls to the side, exposing his beautiful blue eyes. His curls were pretty. Not like mine.
“Are you buttering me up for something?” I questioned him.
“That rehearsal dinner party,” he nodded, I turned to see where he was looking. Shay and the girls along with a few of the guys were already sitting at one of the picnic tables near the front of the amphitheater, where Blue Ethel and the Adolescent Farm Boys had taken the stage and were doing their best rendition of The Devil Went Down to Georgia. Trudy Bull, Ty’s waitress, was over there talking to them.
“The bride’s mom gave me five thousand dollars. Cash.” Ty’s blue eyes grew big.
“They can give you more than that.” I rolled my eyes.
“I gave Trudy half, and she’s doing great getting them refills and whatever they need.” He was much happier with them as customers then I was.
“They are the Moons of Moonbucks.”
My words almost made Ty fall over. “I’ll bring your order over. The girls already have a spot on the other side of the median.”
I looked over there, and the Laundry Club women were already taking up a picnic table about midway to the stage. I got a good view of the bridal party, and I didn’t see Tom Moon or his employees.
“I swear, Otis Gullett sure can play that fiddle.” Queenie wiggled her shoulders up and down.
“How’s the wedding plans?” Betts Hager, the owner of the actual Laundry Club laundromat, leaned over and nudged me a little.
“This will be the last time I take in a full wedding party where the groom’s parents and bride’s parents are involved.” I looked up underneath my brows and took the extra beer bottle Dottie had pushed over my way. “If they can’t get along now, they’ll never get along when they have grandchildren.”
“The Malones turned in their bungalow keys before I left to come down here,” Dottie said, catching me off guard.
“They did?” I took a drink of beer.
“Mmhhmm.” Her unlit cigarette danced in the corner of her mouth as she talked. “Said they weren’t going to stay in the same place as the Moons.”
“Speaking of the Moon wedding…” Betts nodded toward the side of the stage.
We all turned to look. The bridal party was enjoying a few beverages.
“The bride doesn’t look too upset about things,” Betts commented, making me think Dottie had filled her in on what had taken place at the campground earlier tonight.
She was right. Shay wore that bride sash and held a cocktail in one hand and a fried chicken leg in the other.
“Yep. Next thing”—Dottie blew some smoke out of her mouth—“you’ll be blamed for her not being able to fit into her wedding dress.”
We were all so busy being entertained by Shay and the group trying to dance to the bluegrass music Blue Ethel and the Adolescent Farm Boys started playing that I didn’t even realize Hank had dropped off my platter of fried chicken before he moved on to talk to other locals.
The bridal party looked so confused but were still having a good time. I guessed that was what it was all about. While they kept us laughing, I finished my food and leaned my elbows on the table. I couldn’t help but think how different my life was a few years ago and not much different from the girls I watched trying to fit in.
Even though Shay wanted to fit in, she didn’t. I knew how she lived, and her privileged life made her seem so out of place. I wondered if that was what my friends at the picnic table with me now thought when they saw me drive into Normal. I couldn’t imagine going back to the way I used to live.
“You want another beer?” Dottie asked when she stood up.
“Nah. I think I’m going to go get a coffee from Gert and see how her convention has gone.” I looked over at the cute booth Gert had set up, though it wasn’t far from the actual coffee shop.
She’d put down an oriental rug with a couple of metal café tables and chairs. She had an old chipped blue dresser with a couple of coffee carafes on top and all the stuff needed to doctor up a coffee the way anyone would like it. Me, I preferred black these days.
The screeching sound of RV wheels caught my ear. I turned to the left to make sure it wasn’t barreling down the one-way street, which was blocked off for the event. The police officer had stopped the RV at the barrier block, and Tom Moon emerged.
The officer and Tom exchanged a few words before the officer moved the cone and directed the RV driver in all the parking spots in front of Normal Diner, Deter’s Feed-N-Seed an
d the Trails Coffee Shop.
I shook my head and wondered exactly what Tom said to the officer to weasel his way into parking there. Lord forbid the man get any exercise because he sure did need it.
“That man thinks he can do whatever he likes.” Gert Hobson walked up to me and crossed her arms as we stood on the outskirts of her booth.
“I guess you would know the coffee king.” I joked and smiled at her. “How was your convention?”
“He was there.” The look of disgust on her face sent a chill across my spine.
I’d never know Gert Hobson to have such ill feelings against anyone, which was especially surprising since she was around gossip all day long. It was no secret the locals loved to visit the coffee shop first thing in the morning to catch up on any late-breaking news from the day before.
“Yeah. He told me.” I still wanted to change the subject, but I thought I’d tell her about the coffee. “He also loved your coffee.”
“He came into my shop?” Her brows lifted, and her mouth flew open, slowly closing when she let out a long sigh.
“Noooo.” I suddenly become very aware of her dislike for him. “Do you not care for him?”
“What made you think that?” She shook her head and uncrossed her arms. “I don’t like people who throw their money around and are just dishonest.” She turned around and walked inside her booth.
I followed her. She grabbed a mug on her way past the coffee bar and walked behind the glass display case where Christine Watson had teamed up with her to sell their sweet treats.
“That’s one thing he did pass down to his daughter.” I took a few dollars out of my back pocket and perused the sweets. “One coffee of the specialty blend and a mini apple pie.”
“I don’t have that tonight, since it’s a Christmas blend.” She looked over her shoulder at me. The mug dangled from her finger. “We have…” she paused. “Did you let Tom Moon taste my blend?” She seemed to take a minute to process what I had said about her coffee at the campground.
“I had made some for myself in the office when he busted in, another story for later.” My uh-oh meter went off again. This was beginning to be a regular thing since the Moons’ arrival. “Did I mess up? I feel like I totally messed up.”
“If it’s not Gertrude Hobson.” Tom Moon’s voice booming into the booth should’ve made me jerk around.
It didn’t.
The shattering mug and broken glass on the display counter was what stopped everyone in their tracks.
The Laundry Club ladies had rushed over faster than anything I’d ever seen and immediately went to work on cleaning up the broken glass. Christine Watson had grabbed one of the industrial trashcans and dumped all the sweet treats along with the trays, which were also broken.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea you’d react this way seeing me.” Tom grinned, keeping his eyes on Gert. Amy and Carl stood behind him on opposite sides of his shoulders.
“I oughta smack that grin off his daggum face,” Dottie spat through her gritted teeth.
“Shhh. Just help clean up.” I tried not to look up at the meeting between people who appeared to be old friends or at least friends from long ago. “He called her Gertrude.”
“That’s her name,” Dottie whispered as we bent down to pick up the same piece of glass. We stayed there for a second or two.
“I know that, but we all call her Gert. He looks like he’s enjoying watching her squirm.” I was literally tail end up, head down, and twisted to see Gert and Tom trying to have somewhat of a conversation.
“Did she say anything before he walked up?” Dottie had bent down in front of me, and our noses were practically touching.
“She just said he was a liar.” I shrugged.
“Just like his daughter.” Dottie wiggled her brows, and we both stood up.
We continued to pick up what large pieces we could. Ty had brought over his big push broom so we could sweep the sidewalk off really well.
“I told one of the city workers to be sure they cleaned extra good here overnight.” Christine had come back with a pushcart and more desserts on it. Luckily, she had plenty more to replace what was lost.
“I had no idea you were here or even in the coffee business.” I overheard Tom talking to Gert. “In fact, when Mae told me the coffee she had in her office was yours, I got a little nervous.”
Nervous? Why would he be nervous? Gert was one of the nicest people I knew and never made anyone anxious. She was the exact opposite.
“You never know when old secrets decide to rear their ugly heads.” When Gert said that, my head twisted to look at her. She was staring him right in the eyes and didn’t flinch when he smiled so big that the astronauts in outer space could see it. She’d reached over and put her hand on a shiny knife that looked very sharp. “You think I’m joking?”
“Don’t be going and threatening me,” he warned her, still grinning like he’d just made a bazillion more dollars. His eyes suddenly moved to the knife. He took a step back. “Gertrude, that was always your problem. Trusting everyone and not following through.”
“Yeah, well, one of these days you’re gonna cross the wrong person and get what’s due to you. And I’ll be standing back clapping the entire time.” Gert took her hand off the knife and put her hands together to clap a few times.
“I’m Mr. Moon’s legal counsel.” For some reason, Carl stepped up and somehow I missed something because he seemed to understand what Gert and Tom were talking about.
I was left out. Why would Carl need to tell her he was a lawyer?
“Is everything okay here?” I decided it was high time for me to step in. “Tom, this is Christine Watson. She’s baking Shay’s cakes for the big day.” I looked around at the group of groomsmen who’d come off the bus. “Where’s Dan and Lewis? I’d like them to meet her too.”
“They decided to leave the campground and stay at the Old Train Station.” He snickered. He just had an arrogance about him that I’d totally forgotten about since I’d not been around this circle of people Paul hung around with. “Apparently, they didn’t want to be around us any more than they have to be. I’m sure they’ll be here shortly.”
Dottie patted each pocket.
“Dang, forgot my cigarettes at the picnic table.” She looked at Gert. “You all right?”
Gert nodded.
“Then I’m gonna go back over there and have me a smoke and try to enjoy some good music.” She swung her gaze to Tom. “Unless I need to fix somethin’ here.”
“No. We are all fine. Thank you for cleaning up.” Gert opened and closed her hand a few times. “I think I might be getting some carpel tunnel or something.”
Was Gert making up carpel tunnel for an excuse to have dropped the mug? My uh-oh meter went off.
“Daddy!” Shay’s shrill voice bit right through me. She ran over all perky like. “Did you meet Christine? She’s going to make a daddy’s cake just for you.”
“Red velvet?” He grinned and looked at Christine.
“Yes, sir.” Christine nodded. “In fact, I’d like to drop it off sometime tomorrow if you don’t mind for a tasting before I make the final cake for the wedding. I have a couple of different frostings I’d like you to pick from.”
“I told her that you’d eat anything as long as the cake was red velvet.” Shay shoved her hand in the crock of her father’s arm and wrapped her hands around his biceps before she brought her shoulders up to her ears. “My daddy loves to eat.”
Gert had rushed off and out of sight by the time I realized she was no longer around, but that only made me want to be nosier about how she and Tom knew each other. They clearly had a history—enough to have made her drop the mug.
Carpel tunnel, my patootie.
“I love red velvet cake too.” I smiled to hide my concern for what took place between Gert and Tom.
“You love everything I love. Or I love everything you love, Mae.” Shay flipped her hair behind her back. “That’s why I want to of
ficially have Daddy pay you to be my wedding planner this weekend.”
“What?” Tom jerked his head up.
“I’m not a wedding planner,” I insisted. “In fact, I don’t even do marriage well, much less plan well.”
“You have a keen eye. I’ve been asking around about you.” She pinched a smile. “Mae West, you have a better sense of business than Paul West did. And it’s legal.”
“Shay, honey, Mae doesn’t want…” Tom tried to stop her.
“Daddy.” She stomped. “Don’t you want us to have the best layout ever in High Society?”
About the time the magazine’s name left her lips, a bright flash of light seared through me.
Pierce.
“Smile for the article,” he said in a chipper voice that had more bite than fun. He knew he was getting a photo of me and trying to be candid about it.
“Smile here!” Violet appeared out of nowhere with her camera.
I grabbed Shay and swung her around, putting the biggest grin on my face.
“Look good, Shay,” I told her. “I’ve got my own paparazzi here.”
After all, it was the only reason Pierce was here, only they didn’t like the word…
Paparazzi.
“I’ve got the exclusive.” Pierce glared at me and then focused on Violet.
“Can’t we all get along?” Shay asked before she started to bounce on her tiptoes when she saw Lewis and his parents walking up.
She ran off and threw her arms around him before she dragged him and his parents off to the picnic table to be with the rest of the group.
The shrill echo of the microphone on stage brought all the chatter, laughter, and dancing to a halt.
Everyone turned to the stage to see what on earth happened to Blue Ethel. We were greeted with a smiling Shay Moon, who held the microphone in her hand like she was brandishing a weapon. She flung it one way and then the next before she finally brought it up to her mouth.