Cake and Criminals: A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery by Kathleen Suzette

Author:Kathleen Suzette [Suzette, Kathleen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-06-28T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

“Oh, my goodness, Lilly, look at how tall you’re getting!” I swept my granddaughter into my arms and gave her kisses while she giggled hysterically. She had gone from an infant to a toddler lickety-split, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

“Look at Lilly getting kisses from her Mimi,” my daughter-in-law Sarah said. “She loves her Mimi.”

“Of course she’s getting kisses from her Mimi; she’s the sweetest thing in the entire world,” I said, balancing her on my hip.

“What about kisses for her granddad?” Alec asked.

I scooted over and leaned toward him, and Lilly leaned back and giggled at him. He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “You’ll be signed up for ballet class before we know it.”

“I can hardly wait,” I said. “Pink tutus and tiaras.”

Lucy held her arms out to Lilly. “Her Auntie Lucy needs her now.”

Reluctantly, I handed her over to Lucy. Lucy kissed her cheek, and Lilly just ate it up.

I had invited Lucy and Ed, and my son Thad and his family for dinner. We were barbecuing steaks and burgers, and the house smelled delicious from the barbecue out on the patio.

“Steaks are almost done,” Thad said, entering the house from the sliding glass doors. “Oh hey, Ed, Lucy. Nice to see you.”

Ed gave Lilly a quick kiss on the cheek. “Good to see you too, Thad. What’s new?”

Thad shook his head, a barbecue tong in one hand. “Just enjoying the summer off.”

Ed nodded. “I hear you. Teachers gotta enjoy their time off while they can.” Thad and Sarah were teachers at the local high school. Having two months off during the summer was exciting for them.

Lilly squealed when Lucy tickled her.

“Lilly’s going to be so wired by the time y’all get home; she’ll never go to sleep tonight,” I said.

“That’s okay, she loves being around family.” Sarah was chopping the vegetables for the salad.

“You’ll think otherwise when she screams in the middle of the night because she can’t sleep,” Lucy said. “Not that I’m going to stop tickling her, though.”

“I think everything is just about ready for dinner.” I looked up as Jennifer entered the kitchen. “Hey, Jennifer, how come you didn’t invite your boyfriend?”

Jennifer smiled. “Soon. Someday soon, you’ll get to meet him.”

“Oh, I can’t wait,” Sarah said. “What’s he like?”

“He’s cute,” Jennifer chuckled. “I only date cute guys.”

I watched my daughter as she grinned and giggled. I love to see my family happy.

“Jennifer, if you could get some glasses and fill them with ice, that would be wonderful.” I went to the refrigerator, and got the potato salad I made earlier in the day, and brought it to the table.

“I’d help you, Allie, but my hands are full,” Lucy said as she tickled Lilly.

I smiled. “That’s okay. Some things are more important than others.”

We got to work putting the food, iced tea, and lemonade on the table. Thad went out to get the steaks and burgers off the grill, and the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it.

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