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A fire truck pulls up across the street and a small yet familiar crowd gathers around it.
And I’m more than tempted to do the same.
“I’ll be right back,” I say, taking Lyla Nell and stepping outside into the warm air scented with both my infamous cinnamon rolls and a hint of honeysuckle.
Before I can head in my intended direction, my sister appears before me.
“Charlie.” I give her a quick hug and Lyla Nell clings to her like a koala bear. It’s only then I note that she’s still holding Teeny Weenie firmly in her chubby little hands. “Oh, Charlie, I’m so sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused. How are you doing?” I glance past her and frown.
“I’m fine. I’m alive, and I’m also staring down the barrel of a lengthy prison sentence.” She hikes her brows at me. “What are you looking at?” She looks across the street. “Oh, I see. It’s your mother and her cohorts hamming it up for the fire department.”
“I’m going over to say hello,” I tell her as I watch my mother speak to Forest and a few other firefighters—most of which are dressed in their official khaki duds. “And don’t you worry about that prison sentence. There’s no way in heck I’m going to let you take the heat for me.”
“Mommy.” Lyla Nell plants a wet one on my sister’s cheek while climbing into her arms.
“Well, it’s nice to know while I’m in prison, Lyla Nell will have you to remove the sting.” I’m only half-kidding. “Go in and get yourself a fresh baked cinnamon roll. I’ll be right back.”
She heads inside with the baby, and I make a beeline over to where my mother and her cohorts are chatting it up with Forest and a few men from the fire department.
My mother might call those three women she’s standing with her writing buddies, but I call them something else.
Suspects.
LOTTIE
“Oh yes, I did,” Marlena, the pretty brunette who teamed up with Bella to write a book, nods to my mother as I cross the cobbled street in an effort to join them. “It’s not like it was breaking and entering. Bella and I knew everything there was to know about one another. It’s not like she was hiding any secrets from me.” She blinks a smile at Forest and his cohorts. “Besides, she gave me a key to her place. Believe me, we had a pact. If anything happened to either one of us, there were some vital implements we needed to procure. Not only that, but most of the notes for our new book series are in her office. I’ll need all that now that I’m going at it alone.”
“Don’t worry.” Mom slings an arm over the woman’s shoulder. “We’re all here to help you.” She offers a sincere smile before blinking my way. “Oh, Lottie, hello. We were just on our way into the bakery. We’re running a bit behind. I thought we should come and say hello to these handsome fellows before they head off to Mangias for lunch.” She winks at her son-in-law.
“I can’t believe this.” Crane shakes her head at Marlena, seemingly oblivious to the handsome men among us. “Would you mind?” She hitches her head to the side, and both Marlena and Danya follow her a few feet away before a bona fide bickering session breaks out among them.
“Looks as if you’re off to a rough start today,” I point out to my mother.
“I’m sure it’s nothing.” Mom waves it off. “I’ll go get a table ready and order up some coffee and scones. That’ll put them right back in a good mood.” She nods to Forest. “Expect more emails from me today. I’ll be seeing a fertility doctor later this afternoon.” She wrinkles her nose my way. “Research for one of my novels. But don’t think for a minute I’ll be missing a chance to pick up a few baby-making tips and tricks for my girls.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I mutter as she takes off. “Forest, I’m so sorry she’s subjecting you and Lainey to this baby-making madness, too. She’s been sending Everett and me X-rated emails all week,” I say emails in air quotes because that’s what my mother chooses to call text messages.
Forest laughs it off. “Don’t worry about it, Lot. I love your sister so much I can overlook a nutty relative or two.”
“Or two?”
Another firefighter shouts his name and he excuses himself before taking off.
Did he just call my mother nutty?
It might very well be true, but still.
And why do I get the feeling I’m the second nut in the bunch?
The rest of the men drift off in their own conversations, but Lou Norris offers a sheepish smile my way.
Leave it to my mother to make everyone on the planet uncomfortable.
“It looks as if all of your cohorts are here,” I point out. “Don’t tell me there was another fire.”
“Nope, they were just running some drills.” He glances down at his jeans and T-shirt. “I’m off today, but I thought I’d join the guys for lunch.”
“Lunch at Mangias is sort of hard to pass up,” I say with a laugh. “And thank goodness they were just running drills. If you had said there was another fire, I would have thought we had an arsonist running around.”
