Fireworks & Fraud: Sassy Supplies Cozy Mystery Book 8 by Katherine H. Brown

Author:Katherine H. Brown [Brown, Katherine H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

Six

After the awkward introduction with August and Nina, Deegan’s parents, and his brother Dan, I couldn’t shake the embarrassment that settled over me like a heavy cloak. Dan gave a brief apology before taking his dog Tobi for a run down the little black top road in front of the inn. All attempted small talk fell flat. Deegan insisted his parents were probably tired from the flight but to my fragile nervous system, it felt more like they were disappointed in me when they excused themselves after only ten minutes.

I needed air.

Yes, we were already outside but that was completely beside the point. I felt unable to breathe deeply. The lightness and cheer of the luncheon had slipped away as people set about straightening up the mess made by the animals.

“Let’s go find the gardener,” I blurted.

Deegan paused with his glass of tea raised halfway to his lips. His brows crinkled. “The gardener?”

I nodded, my sudden idea grabbing hold. “The gardener, Heather, is in charge of our flowers for the ceremony and my bouquet tomorrow. We should go check on things. After all, if the storm impacted the cake, goodness knows it could have upset the flowers, too.” I held up a hand for Deegan to wait right there. “I’ll go ask Sybil where we can find Heather at the moment. I haven’t seen her since I arrived, come to think of it.”

“Okay,” he said. “I’m going to see if I can salvage some snacks.”

“Heather? Oh, sure,” Sybil said. “You can probably find her in her greenhouse. It’s just on the other side of the inn.” She pointed and I was relieved to see it was in a direction I hadn’t been on the property yet. In other words, I didn’t have to pass the place where we had found the body which was fine by me.

I returned to Deegan only to find him on the phone. He nodded solemnly a few times and spoke in a hushed voice. Deciding to give him a moment, I scanned the crowd and saw Lola sitting alone, chewing her bottom lip.

“What’s with the frown?” I asked her.

She jumped in surprise. “Charity, I didn’t see you. No frown. I’m just thinking.”

“About?”

She ducked her head, hair falling across her face. I couldn’t see her expression but I could almost hear her roll her eyes. “It’s silly,” she said. “I just wondered if Felix already left town after claiming his inheritance. I had sort of hoped to see him again. I really thought he would be back by now and might even come hang out and eat but Sybil said she’s had no sign of him either.”

“Maybe a bunch of cantankerous family showed up at the reading of the will,” I offered. “You never know, he could be sitting in a long, argumentative meeting wishing he were here with you.”

“Unlikely,” she smirked. “But thanks for trying to make me feel better.”

“Did it work?”

“Yep.” Lola shoved off the bench.

I watched her go hug Becca and smiled as the two talked.

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.