Decaffeinated Scandal: A Cozy Mystery (A Killer Coffee Mystery Series) Read online

  I excused myself through the kitchen door to retrieve the three carafes of coffee I needed to brew. School would be letting out for the day and that was when Camey picked up the last hospitality coffee for the day for her guests.

  Laughter filtered through the door and I knew Louise and Bev were still talking about Bev’s situation. I was really sad for Jimmer. Especially if he was in an environment where Bev didn’t want to keep him for the summer and his grandfather was always working.

  The afternoon was getting away from me, so instead of baking something new, I decided to get Snickerdoodle Mini-Cheesecakes out of the freezer along with some Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies. These were items I’d baked ahead of time and frozen to serve later. Setting them out now would give them the perfect amount of time to thaw.

  The white single platter with the thick stand was perfect for displaying the Red Velvets. A dome lid I’d picked up from Wild and Whimsy was a perfect fit. I stacked a few on there and went back into the coffeehouse, placing the stand on the counter at the corner of L shape. It was a perfect place to let them sit and thaw as the warmth of the fire glowed from the fireplace.

  “We do love it here. I’m sure you will too.” Louise touched Bev’s arm and got up from the stool she’d pulled over. “Looky there.” She pointed to one of the couches in front of the fireplace.

  Jimmer had nestled his back up against the couch and Norman had snuggled in next to him. Jimmer slowly rubbed his hand down the pug as he stared into the fire. Norman’s little eyes were closed and the loudest snoring I’d ever heard came out of him.

  “Big sounds come from that little dog.” I shook my head and prayed his cuteness would get him in a forever home. I walked over to the fall tree and rearranged some of the ornaments as I liked to do each day.

  I liked to rotate the pumpkins, leaves, acorns, pine cones, and coffee-themed ornaments so they each got equal time on the front of the tree to be seen by the customers. The orange lights glowed, adding a warm touch to the seasonal display.

  “I didn’t mean to come in here and take up your time.” Bev pushed the coffee mug away from her. “I wanted to come in and apologize for Ron’s behavior. I keep telling him that if he does buy the land on the Bee Farm and open the resort, that I’m the one who’ll be involved in the community like every other time he’s opened a new resort and moved me there for a few years.”

  “Resort?” I stuck the pine cone back on the tree without worrying about its placement. I hurried over to her. Was Camey right?

  “I’ve said too much. Jimmer, Mimi says it’s time to go,” she referred to herself in third person.

  “What resort?” I wasn’t about to let her leave without getting at least one detail.

  “My husband has a company that buys uninhabited land all over the world. For the last five years he’s been looking for the right sleepy little town for a resort and golf course. The Bee Farm is perfect.” There was sheer delight on her face.

  “I didn’t know the Bee Farm was for sale.” Louise’s brows knitted together.

  “Honey, anything is for sale for the right price.” Bev waved Jimmer over. “Thank you for the fancy coffee, Roxy. It was delicious.”

  “Roxanne. My name is Roxanne,” I muttered under my breath as Bev and Jimmer walked out of the coffeehouse .

  Four

  During the school year, a few seniors from Honey Springs High School worked the last couple hours of the day at the Bean Hive. The economics teacher had asked me to speak to the class about how I started my business and while I was there I’d met the home economics teacher, who then asked me to come speak to her class about how I made the coffee and baked goods.

  It was a pleasant surprise to see how eager the students were to learn how to run a small business as well as learn to bake. One of the seniors interested in baking was Kelly Spark, Brother Mitchell Spark’s daughter. Brother Spark was the preacher at Honey Springs Baptist Church.

  Kelly had a twin, Kristine, who didn’t like coffee. Yeah. I rolled my eyes when she told me she didn’t like coffee. But Kelly, now she was a different story. She jumped at the chance to work at the Bean Hive. She worked the afternoon shift and was always on time. Usually early, in fact.

  Kelly had replaced Emily Rich, a young woman who’d worked for me during her senior year of high school and had recently opened the Bee’s Knees Bakery in Honey Springs.

  “We are making Bundt cakes next week.” Kelly threw her backpack behind the counter and picked up Pepper, giving him smooches. She had long red hair that hung down her back. Today she had it braided in low pigtails and wore a pair of blue jean overalls with white Converse tennis shoes. Her blue eyes sparkled. “I’m so excited for any suggestions you might have.”

  “Hmmm.” I untied my apron and exchanged it for my jacket. “I think I have a great recipe for the drizzling icing at home. Let me check and I’ll get back to you.”

  While I gathered everything I needed to take home, Kelly scanned down the bakery counter for an after-school treat. She filled a big glass with milk and settled for a Snickerdoodle Mini-Cheesecake. She pulled up on her tiptoes and looked over the counter when she heard a few grunts.

  “Oh my gosh. Is that the new Pet Palace animal?” She squealed as she put down her sweet treat and ran around the counter. “I’ve been trying to get my dad to let us have a dog. Can you imagine a dog in church?”

  “Be careful,” I warned. I’d come to realize that every time Norman grunted, he expelled gas. “It’d for sure keep the congregation awake,” I joked because some members of Honey Springs Baptist Church took the hour to keep their eyes closed.

  I’m not saying they weren’t listening, but when eyes are closed and mouths are gaped open, it’d be a safe bet they were napping.

  “Whoa!” I swear Kelly’s pigtails stood on end after she bent down to rub on him and quickly stumbled backwards. “Is that coming from him?”

  “It sure isn’t any of my food or coffee.” I started to laugh. “Yeah, he’s got some gastrointestinal issues that you have to disclose to people who might be interested.” I patted the packet next to the cash register where Louise had left his paperwork. “His name is Norman.”

  Kelly took a step forward and braved the stink to pet him more.

  “Everything is stocked. Just make sure you turn out the lights and lock the door.” I always reminded her to lock the door. Not that Honey Springs was crime ridden, but an unlocked door called for uninvited guests. “I’m going to be late for my wedding planning appointment if we don’t get out of here.”

  “Go. I’ve got this,” Kelly said and walked back behind the counter to wash her hands. “I’d love for Pepper to keep me and Norman company since it looks like you’ve already cleaned and restocked.

  “Are you sure?” I grabbed three to-go cups. I wanted to take Patrick and Babette a treat and salted caramel coffee and pumpkin and chocolate chip scones were a perfect combination. I put caramel in the bottom of the cups along with a little salt before I filled them to the brim with coffee. “He can go with me.”

  “No. I’m fine. Go, before Patrick comes down and drags you out of here.” She was joking, but he was always complaining that I spent all my time in the coffeehouse.

  “Okay,” I ho-hummed and grabbed a couple of scones before I stopped shy of the door. “And your dad is all on board for the festival?”

  “Totally.” She grinned about our little scheme and gave me the okay sign with her fingers.

  The jacket I was wearing was almost too light for the current cool weather we were having. The weather forecast was calling for a few unseasonably cold weeks, but that was fine by me because it made it feel like the holidays and this was my favorite time of the year.

  All the signs, literally, pointed to how amazing Honey Springs was this time of the year. Small banners hung from the tall lampposts every ten feet on the boardwalk along with colorful hanging baskets of flowers that I was sure Jean Hill had donated. The trees along the lake had th
e burnt orange, setting sun behind them, casting a shadow into the lake.

  All About The Details was two shops down from the coffeehouse. It was a cute, blue clapboard house with two stories that had been completely gutted and transformed with an open concept floor plan. The boardwalk had had a facelift about a year ago, the same time I’d opened the Bean Hive, and they were able to keep the cute exterior of the building with a remodeled and updated inside.

  You’d never know it looking at the outside. When you walked through the double doors, they opened into an entryway decorated with seasonal items. This time of the year, Babette filled it with fall garland, pumpkins, and bales of hay with a lot of scarecrows. A hallway led to the back of the building and a large ballroom addition with round tables covered in white linens and ten chairs around each. It was a perfect place to host a wedding reception during the winter months or the heat of the summer since most weddings in Honey Springs took place outside.

  “I was getting worried.” Patrick Cane’s big brown eyes searched my face as he heaved big breaths in and out like he was looking for validation that I was going to marry him.

  “Patrick.” I handed him the coffees. “I’m not going to be a runaway bride.”

  “I know you’re gun shy about it and I just want to make sure before we go in there with Babette and your mom and Maxi…” he started to say.

  “What?” I nearly dropped the bags with the scones. “Why are they here?” I looked over his shoulder searching for them.

  “Just hear me out.” He put his hand out in front of me like to shh me. “Your mom wasn’t at your first wedding, which is why she says there was bad juju from the beginning and Maxi doesn’t want Penny to one up her.” His eyes softened, as did his chiseled jaw, as a tender smile crossed his lips. “If you just let them sit in for our first session with Babette and give them some sort of easy job, I’m sure they’ll be out of your hair. Our hair.”

  “I’m sure you’re all sorts of wrong.” I waved my free hand around in the air. “We are talking about Penny and Maxine Bloom. When have they ever kept their noses out of anyone’s business? Especially mine.”

  “There you are!” Penny Bloom, my mother, took off in a dead sprint towards us as she emerged from the hallway, nearly knocking over Aunt Maxi.

  “Penny, I’ve done warned you.” Aunt Maxi’s face looked like it’d been weaned on a pickle.

  “I gave birth to her and I’m the mother of the bride, so listen here,” Penny jerked around, put her hands on her hips, and flicked a brow.

  “Ladies, this is my bride and we were gracious enough to let you come today.” Babette emerged from the hallway with a stack of magazines and a pen stuck in her messy blonde topknot. “I only care about Roxy and Patrick right now. So if you two can’t get along, then I guess you’re going to have to find yourself out that door.”

  Babette didn’t give them no time to fuss back at her nor did she bother to stop and look at them. She trotted on past the feuding pair and headed over to the couches where she put the stack of magazines on the coffee table.

  “Roxy, you come sit right here.” She patted one side of the couch. “And Patrick, you come sit right here.” She patted the opposite side of the couch. She gave one good stern pointed finger to Penny and Aunt Maxi. “You go sit on that stool and you sit on that one.”

  “But those are far away and I’ve got bad hearing,” Aunt Maxi protested.

  “And I’m the mother of the bride.” Penny stomped.

  “And that’s the door.” Babette took a seat between me and Patrick.

  “I didn’t know we were going to have company or I’d brought them a coffee too.” I felt bad. Even though Mom and Aunt Maxi wore me out, I still loved them and never wanted to leave anyone out when it came to coffee. That’d be a sin.

  “They don’t need it.” Babette reached for one of the coffees.

  There were some grunts and groans coming from Mom and Aunt Maxi in disapproval of them not getting coffee. When I went to look at them, Babette snapped her fingers to bring me back to her.

  “I’ve been working with Honey Comb Salon to get you on the schedule for a few hair appointments.” She took a spiral notebook off the top of the pile of magazines and flipped it open.

  There was a big photo of me and Patrick from the Honey Springs Tribune from the article Aunt Maxi had put in about the wedding of Honey Springs’s lifetime. Yeah. She did that. She went so far as to say in the article how everyone in Honey Springs was invited and you didn’t want to miss this grandiose affair. We’d not even picked a date, much less decided anything else about the wedding.

  “This is your wedding planner.” She proudly patted the page. “Here are some suggested wedding dresses.” She flipped the page.

  “I think you should get the first one,” Mom spouted out.

  “That’s the one we can agree on.” Aunt Maxi dug in her purse and pulled out a big can of hairspray. She fluffed her hair up so high, I swear it had its own zip code. “You’re gonna look prettier than a store-bought doll.” She nodded with pinched lips.

  I gulped and looked at the dress again.

  “I’m not sure if I want to wear big puffy sleeves and a big bell around my waist. I was thinking more along the lines of a simple dress that I can get over at the boutique. Nothing real fancy.” My words were met with gasps from the three women. “Y’all, I’ve had the fancy wedding.”

  “But Patrick hasn’t.” Mom jumped off her stool. She ignored Babette’s warning to stay put. “He’s waited all these years to marry you when I know he could’ve had any woman in Honey Springs, available or not.”

  “I think we can skip this part of the planning process and let Roxy think about it.” Patrick got up from his side of the couch and sat down next to me. “Here are the things we do know.” He squeezed my shoulder.

  “Emily Rich will be making my cake. I want the wedding to be simple and in front of the Cocoon Inn. I only want my few family and friends.” I shot Aunt Maxi a look when she opened her mouth to say something, but clapped it shut when our eyes met. “I’m going to pick out my dress.” I turned to Babette. “All I need you to do is to set me up a hair appointment with Crissy Lane.”

  “Oh, dear,” Aunt Maxi groaned. “Her hair is gonna look like it was chucked right on out the side of a lawnmower.”

  Aunt Maxi wasn’t a big fan of Crissy Lane’s ability to do hair. I knew Crissy would do exactly what I asked her to do and was fine with using her.

  “We’ll just have to put extra lipstick on Roxy,” Mom assured, making Aunt Maxi happy since Aunt Maxi always thought you could never wear too much lipstick.

  “That’s it.” I put my hands on my legs and pushed up to stand. I’d had enough planning for one evening and, really, my mind wasn’t on it.

  “That’s it?” Patrick looked up at me. “I thought we were going to set a date.”

  “We will.” I held my hand out. “Me and you.” I looked at Babette. “I’ll get back to you.”

  “I’ve got to run anyways.” Mom brushed her hands down her sweater. “I’ve got an important client to meet with and I’d like to get there early to prepare.”

  My mom had never been a fan of Honey Springs when I was growing up, before my father died. He’d bring me here for the summers because he had loved it here as a boy. Plus, he loved visiting Aunt Maxi, who was his great aunt.

  I gave Mom, Aunt Maxi, and Babette a hug. Patrick was holding the door for me.

  “How about some supper?” He ran his hand down my back. “I’ll grab some takeout from the Watershed.”

  “That sounds amazing.” The Watershed was a floating restaurant on the lake located on the left side of the far end of the boardwalk. They also hosted romantic dinner cruises. Patrick and I had yet to go on one, but we would eventually.

  “You want to grab Pepper and your bike and wait for me at the truck?” He suggested.

  “Actually, I’m going to enjoy this nice evening and ride us back to the cabin.” I looked
up at the darkening sky and noticed the blanket of stars. It was going to be a gorgeous night and I wanted to take every opportunity to be wrapped up in it. “We will meet you and Sassy at my place.”

  Sassy was Patrick’s black Standard Poodle who had also been adopted from the Pet Palace.

  “Great. She’s at my office, so I’ll be right there.” He lowered his chin, meeting his lips with mine, sending a wave of flutters straight to my heart. This was exactly what I needed to end my day.

  We walked down the boardwalk, hand in hand and love between us. We didn’t have to speak. It was something that we’d been comfortable with since the first time I’d met him after my father had dropped me off for the summer. Patrick and I were teens. He’d worked for his father’s construction company, Cane Construction. He’d actually come to do some work on Aunt Maxi’s house. My heart still flipped over him like it did the first time I saw him.

  We spent every waking moment together that summer and every summer after. Aunt Maxi lost her house in a recession and he bought it from her. At the time, I was too young and stupid to understand that he was helping her. I felt like he was taking her house from her when in reality, he was keeping her from going bankrupt. That’s when I tried to put Patrick Cane out of my head. I hunkered down to go to college and law school and then met and married a fellow law student, Kirk, only to open a law firm with Kirk and find him doing more with a client than offering legal advice. That’s when I realized I wasn’t in love with him, quit being a lawyer, and found myself in my Aunt Maxi’s arms here in Honey Springs where I’d always found comfort.

  “I’ll see you soon.” I let go of his hand when we made it to the Bean Hive.

  I stood at the entrance and watched him walk down the boardwalk, remembering the first time I’d seen him after I’d moved back. He was in charge of Cane Construction and doing all the boardwalk renovations. I’d felt sorry for the crew since they were there as early as I was and took them some coffee. We’d grown up into adults and though I recognized his eyes, I couldn’t place them. When he came to the shop to do some repair work for my landlord, Aunt Maxi, it was then that I’d realized who he was. Leave it to Aunt Maxi to know exactly who and what I needed because she set the entire thing up.