Doughnuts and Disaster by C. A. Phipps

Author:C. A. Phipps [Phipps, C. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cheryl Phipps

Chapter Thirteen

When Maddie walked through the shop doorway, Luke and Laura looked ready to pounce with questions, but thankfully there were customers. Making the appropriate noises of welcome, she made her escape to the kitchen.

Gran sat at the table peeling apples from her trees. “There you are. All sorted?” she asked innocently.

“Hopefully it will be soon. Did Laura call you?”

“Why do you ask?”

If sweetness had a limit, Gran was dangerously close to it.

“You could have peeled apples at the cottage.”

“Yes, I could have, but perhaps I’m needed here?”

Maddie hesitated. Gran had always been her confidante, along with Big Red, and she would like to hear what she thought about the whole thing, but right now she had something more important to do.

“I need to call Ethan. I’ll use the phone upstairs, then I’ll be right back down.”

She was already on the bottom step when Gran’s voice stopped her.

“I’ll be expecting the whole story, not some watered-down version.” Gran’s no-nonsense statement brooked no argument.

Maddie forced a smile. “Let’s wait until the shop empties so I can talk to Laura and Luke at the same time.”

Gran gave an impatient nod. “Hurry then.”

Maddie took the stairs two at a time followed by Big Red. She grabbed the phone and ran to her bedroom where Big Red joined her on the bed. His head pushed under her elbow, and he gave her a keen look as if he knew she was disturbed and he’d like to fix it.

Ethan answered on the second ring. “Morning, beautiful. How’s your day.”

She never disturbed him to chat, so his question held a small degree of wariness.

“Not as good as it could be. Can you talk?”

She heard his chair scrape.

“Just a minute while I close the door.”

Their shorthand had developed without any pre-determined intention, and Maddie relaxed a little, knowing Ethan would help because he was a great sheriff who cared about every member of Maple Falls. Even the ones who caused him headaches.

After she’d inundated him with most of the information she could recall and not too many embellishments or theories, Ethan stopped her mid-sentence.

“Hold that thought. I can’t take all this in. Let’s meet face to face. I could do with seeing a friendly one after the last twenty-four hours.”

Maddie desperately wanted to ask what had happened, but she’d wait until they saw each other and could talk plainly. “Where shall we meet?”

“Anywhere near the salon is out. How about the park? We can both get there quickly, and if anyone sees us, they won’t think it out of the ordinary for us to be catching up with some private time.”

“Perfect. I’ll leave as soon as I’ve told Gran.”

“Maddie . . .”

“Sorry, Ethan. I promised, and she knows Brad. She may have some insights. I won’t be long.”

She tucked the phone into the pocket of her jeans and ran downstairs, knowing that poor Ethan struggled with her inability to keep information to herself, but Gran and the Girlz were different, and it was true that Gran had an uncanny ability to read people and remember anyone she came into contact with.

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