A Twinkle of Trouble by Daryl Wood Gerber

Author:Daryl Wood Gerber [Gerber, Daryl Wood]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2024-02-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

But a sunbeam entered softly

And touched her hair, as she lay.

Whispering that ’twas morning

And fairies must away.

—Laura Ingalls Wilder, “When Sunshine Fairies Rest”

Brady and I ate a simple meal of stir-fried chicken, snow peas, green onions, and mushrooms on rice. My father, who was a good cook, had always added mustard to the sauce, and I carried on the tradition. Brady raved about my culinary expertise—that made me snort wine out my nose; I liked to eat, but I was no chef—and at ten, after a tender kiss good night and me admitting out loud that I loved him, too, he left.

When I retired to the bedroom, I saw Fiona and Eveleen skipping through the dollhouse, which made me smile. They had resolved their issues for the time being.

Tuesday morning arrived fast. I stretched, ran on the beach, fed the fairies and Pixie, made a peach protein smoothie for myself, and headed to the shop. After dusting and rearranging items that were slightly askew on the shelves, I completed the text I’d started yesterday to Detective Summers regarding the dismissive post by Genevieve about Bentley Bramble. Three dots appeared, followed by the words Thank you. I wasn’t miffed that he wouldn’t elaborate, but I would have appreciated a tad more, like I’ll check it out or You’re the best or What would I do without you? I considered asking him whether Oliver Killian’s wife had an alibi for Thursday night, but let it go, knowing he wouldn’t tell me. Certainly not in a text.

“Morning, boss,” Joss said, as she entered carrying a tower of packages so tall that I couldn’t see her face behind them.

“What are those?” I asked, hurrying to help her before any fell. “I didn’t see any standing outside when I got here.”

“The UPS guy swung by as I arrived. I think they’re the fairy solar globes you ordered.”

Fairy solar globes were about eight to ten inches in diameter and made of durable resin that resembled crushed stone. The ones I’d ordered had a bronze fairy sitting atop and after a day of sunlight would glow into the night. Like many people, I loved stringing LED fairy lights in my garden, but a solar globe would add one more touch of whimsy. I believed my customers would feel the same. I set the stack on the sales counter, unpacked one box, and positioned the globe beside the array of wind chimes. I placed another on the patio, where it could absorb sunlight. We closed too early for our customers to really experience the beauty of the globes in the dark, but they would get the general idea. Pixie, who was nestled in a spot of sunlight, peered up at me.

I said, “Go to sleep, girl.” I didn’t have to tell her twice. When I went back inside, I said, “Joss, how’s your mom?”

“Not bad.” She smoothed the front of her moss-green, fairy-grunge T-shirt. The fairy was pale blue and stepping through a portal. “But she’s sort of falling into gibberish now.

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