With the edge of my fork, I cut into Gran’s chocolate chip marshmallow pie. “I doubt city folks would understand, but in a small town, it’s a matter of pride to be thought of as a good cook.” I brought the delectable morsel to my lips. “I’ve seen sweet old ladies who normally wouldn’t harm a fly ready to slit their neighbor’s throat with a cake knife when they suspected that their secret family recipe had been stolen or replicated.”
We finished our desserts in companionable silence; then as Poppy scoured her dish for crumbs, she said, “I just realized that I haven’t seen Harlee today. I know she didn’t answer her phone when Ronni tried to contact her about Fallon and she didn’t come to the door when you went by last night, but was she at the village square this afternoon for the Cupcake Weekend kickoff? I didn’t notice her up on the bandstand with Winnie and the other committee heads.”
“I don’t think so. But we weren’t up there, either.” I craned my neck and scanned the church hall. “It doesn’t look as if Harlee’s here.” My chest tightened. “You don’t think anything has happened to her, do you?”
“Surely Ronni’s been in touch with her,” Poppy said, frowning. “She’s called and texted me a bazillion times today to make sure Gossip Central is all set for the after-hours party tonight.”
“Yeah. Ronni’s on top of things and she certainly would have said something if Harlee was AWOL.” I scanned the room one more time but still didn’t seeHarlee anywhere. “There’s a full house for the fashion show. We sold the last pair of tickets for the show by three o’clock.”
“Mystery solved.” Poppy’s brow smoothed. “Harlee probably was too busy getting everything ready for the show to come here for dinner. I was amazed that she managed to talk the school board into letting us use the high school auditorium.”
“That was quite a coup.” I sat back and sipped my coffee. “The board doesn’t usually allow groups to rent out the school facilities.”
“The hefty donation that Kizzy Cutler’s Cupcakes made probably was more persuasive than anything Harlee said at the meeting.” Poppy smirked. “I heard that even the superintendent was impressed.”
“I wonder why Boone isn’t here.” I didn’t have to look around. If Boone St. Onge had been at the dinner, he would have been sitting with Poppy and me. The three of us had been best friends since childhood. “He was invited, wasn’t he?” Boone was one of only three attorneys in Shadow Bend and had done all the legal work for the contest weekend, so he should have been given a ticket for the dinner.
“It’s his folks’ fortieth anniversary. The three of them were going to Kansas City for dinner and a show,” Poppy explained.
“Seriously?” I asked. “Mr. and Mrs. St. Onge celebrate their anniversary?” Except for a brief time when Boone was falsely accused of murder, his folks hadn’t spoken to each other since he was five. They were still married and still lived together in the same house, but they only communicated through notes. The invention of e-mail and texting had saved both Boone’s sanity and a couple of dozen forests.
“What can I say?” Poppy shrugged, not much forincongruity. “They must figure if they’re still married, they’ve earned an anniversary celebration, even if Boone has to go along as their private interpreter.”
“I suppose.” Now that everyone was accounted for, I glanced at my watch. It was seven thirty-five. “We should start to head over to the high school. The fashion show starts in less than half an hour.”
“Speaking of missing in action,” Poppy said, picking up her purse and standing, “have you heard anything from either of your hot hunks lately?”
“No.” I shook my head. “But Noah just left this morning and it’s hard for Jake to call.”
“So you subscribe to the theory that if you love someone, you should let him
We finished our desserts in companionable silence; then as Poppy scoured her dish for crumbs, she said, “I just realized that I haven’t seen Harlee today. I know she didn’t answer her phone when Ronni tried to contact her about Fallon and she didn’t come to the door when you went by last night, but was she at the village square this afternoon for the Cupcake Weekend kickoff? I didn’t notice her up on the bandstand with Winnie and the other committee heads.”
“I don’t think so. But we weren’t up there, either.” I craned my neck and scanned the church hall. “It doesn’t look as if Harlee’s here.” My chest tightened. “You don’t think anything has happened to her, do you?”
“Surely Ronni’s been in touch with her,” Poppy said, frowning. “She’s called and texted me a bazillion times today to make sure Gossip Central is all set for the after-hours party tonight.”
“Yeah. Ronni’s on top of things and she certainly would have said something if Harlee was AWOL.” I scanned the room one more time but still didn’t seeHarlee anywhere. “There’s a full house for the fashion show. We sold the last pair of tickets for the show by three o’clock.”
“Mystery solved.” Poppy’s brow smoothed. “Harlee probably was too busy getting everything ready for the show to come here for dinner. I was amazed that she managed to talk the school board into letting us use the high school auditorium.”
“That was quite a coup.” I sat back and sipped my coffee. “The board doesn’t usually allow groups to rent out the school facilities.”
“The hefty donation that Kizzy Cutler’s Cupcakes made probably was more persuasive than anything Harlee said at the meeting.” Poppy smirked. “I heard that even the superintendent was impressed.”
“I wonder why Boone isn’t here.” I didn’t have to look around. If Boone St. Onge had been at the dinner, he would have been sitting with Poppy and me. The three of us had been best friends since childhood. “He was invited, wasn’t he?” Boone was one of only three attorneys in Shadow Bend and had done all the legal work for the contest weekend, so he should have been given a ticket for the dinner.
“It’s his folks’ fortieth anniversary. The three of them were going to Kansas City for dinner and a show,” Poppy explained.
“Seriously?” I asked. “Mr. and Mrs. St. Onge celebrate their anniversary?” Except for a brief time when Boone was falsely accused of murder, his folks hadn’t spoken to each other since he was five. They were still married and still lived together in the same house, but they only communicated through notes. The invention of e-mail and texting had saved both Boone’s sanity and a couple of dozen forests.
“What can I say?” Poppy shrugged, not much forincongruity. “They must figure if they’re still married, they’ve earned an anniversary celebration, even if Boone has to go along as their private interpreter.”
“I suppose.” Now that everyone was accounted for, I glanced at my watch. It was seven thirty-five. “We should start to head over to the high school. The fashion show starts in less than half an hour.”
“Speaking of missing in action,” Poppy said, picking up her purse and standing, “have you heard anything from either of your hot hunks lately?”
“No.” I shook my head. “But Noah just left this morning and it’s hard for Jake to call.”
“So you subscribe to the theory that if you love someone, you should let him
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