Cheesecake and Confusion (Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery Book 18) by Frost Agatha

Author:Frost, Agatha [Frost, Agatha]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Pink Tree Publishing LTD
Published: 2019-09-26T16:00:00+00:00

10

After the wasp sting and the revelation of what had happened to Samantha during the storm, Julia wasn’t in the mood to continue her romantic picnic with Barker. Instead, she had him drop her off at the café, where she hid in the kitchen until the end of the workday.

Perhaps sensing something was wrong, Jessie didn’t interrupt Julia for most of the day. When the clock struck 5:30pm, Jessie ventured into the kitchen and didn’t immediately leave.

“What’s going on?” Jessie demanded, standing in front of the beaded curtain with her feet planted wide and her arms folded. “And don’t tell me nothing because you’ve filled that fridge with a dozen raspberry cheesecakes you’ve stress baked.”

Julia picked up the final cheesecake and opened the fridge. In her trance, she hadn’t realised how many she had made, slightly varying the recipe each time. She crammed in the final tray for overnight setting, with no idea what she was going to do with twelve cheesecakes tomorrow if somehow, they didn’t all sell.

“Does it have anything to do with that hit and run everyone was talking about today?” Jessie asked, her voice rising. “Talk to me, Mum. I hate seeing you like this. You look drained.”

“I’m sorry, love.” Julia smiled, hoping to ease the worry in Jessie’s eyes. “It’s been a tough couple of days. Do you ever just feel like the sky is falling in and you’re barely able to hold it up?”

“Not particularly.” Jessie arched a brow. “Is this your elaborate way of trying to tell me that you’re stressed?”

“You could say that.” Julia leaned against the island, glad to give her feet the relief. “I feel like I’ve been sucked into a tornado, and everything around me is spinning just out of view.”

“Okay, metaphor machine!” Jessie cried. “Can you stop talking in old people riddles and just spit out what’s wrong with you? You’ve been acting weird, and now I’m all worried.”

Julia laughed, glad of Jessie’s blunt honesty. She could always rely on her daughter to pick her up, she just wished she remembered how well it worked when she was avoiding being open. She might not have carried Jessie in her womb for nine months or even known her for the first sixteen years of her life, but nobody could deny they were mother and daughter.

“How about I tell you over a cup of tea?” Julia asked, already grabbing her coat off the hook. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a proper chat. I have some things I need to tell you, and other things I need to ask you, and Dot always says some things are best shared over a cup of tea. And I promise I’ll leave the metaphors and riddles behind.”

“Finally!” Jessie grabbed her grey denim jacket from the hook. “I’ve wanted to tell you that forever, but it never felt like the right time.”

“I understand the feeling.”

“You’re still doing it.” Jessie narrowed her eyes. “No more vagueness. C’mon. The sooner I get the kettle on, the sooner I find out why you’ve been replaced by an alien.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.