The Peridale Cafe Cozy Box Set 2 by Agatha Frost

Author:Agatha Frost [Frost, Agatha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pink Tree Publishing LTD
Published: 2020-03-16T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Two

Monday mornings in Peridale always felt like an extension of Sunday evening. The village moved slowly, as though not wanting to admit that the weekend was over. It was always the quietest day of the week in Julia’s small café, and even though this Monday morning was no exception, she had noticed a certain buzz in the air.

She almost felt foolish for not knowing about the Peridale Green Fingers, considering it appeared that half of the village were members. Word of the magazine had travelled quickly, and by the time Julia and Jessie drove to work, half of the villagers were already awake and tending to their gardens.

“I don’t see the point,” Dot, Julia’s gran, announced as she sipped her tea from the seat nearest the counter in Julia’s café. “It’s all a bit useless. You plant the bulbs in winter, so they bloom in spring. They look pretty through the summer, but they’re shrivelling up and dead by autumn, and then you have to start the whole cycle again in winter. I can find better uses for my time!”

“Are you sure the real reason you don’t see the point is because you’re hopeless at gardening?” Julia asked as she painted the edges of a marzipan flower with a small brush dipped in pink food colouring.

“I don’t need to be good at it,” Dot said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I pay Billy’s dad, Jeffrey, to cut the grass once a month and I let the rest grow. It’s natural. How is Billy, Jessie?”

Jessie looked up from the cake display stand she was polishing. Her cheeks flushed, and her eyes narrowed.

“How should I know?” she snapped, before picking up the bottle of window cleaner and hurrying into the kitchen.

“Young love,” Dot sighed as she stared off into the corner of the room. “I almost can’t remember what it feels like.”

Julia glanced through the beaded curtain into the kitchen where her young apprentice was checking her phone. Jessie had yet to admit that she was seeing local troublemaker, Billy Matthews, but Jessie did not know Julia had caught them kissing behind the café a couple of weeks ago. Even if she had not caught them, the way Jessie looked at her phone whenever it announced the arrival of a new text message gave everything away. It was the same look Julia found herself giving Barker whenever she saw him.

“How do these look?” Julia asked as she placed the final rose on top of the last cupcake. “I had some free time, so I thought I would make these for the Green Fingers.”

Dot cast her eyes over the delicate handcrafted edible flowers of all colours, which lay on top of a dozen lemon buttercream cupcakes. Her tongue poked out of the side of her mouth as her hand reached out for the one adorned with a yellow daffodil. Julia slapped her hand away and secured them under a plastic lid.

“How am I supposed to tell you if they’re any good?” Dot mumbled through pursed lips.

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