Aunt Millie could be a real handful when she wanted to. Sometimes, she wished she could be the owner of a store that wasn’t haunted by the former owner. “Oh for Pete’s sake, settle down, Millie,” she whispered.
The laughing faded away. Sue sighed heavily and pushed her magazine aside. “I’ll get more tape,” she said.
Chapter Two
Darcy turned the sign on the door from “OPEN a good book today” to “CLOSED, THE END” and pulled the door tightly shut behind her. She’d had a few sales today and tomorrow a shipment of books was due in for their Valentine’s Day display, and even Great Aunt Millie had settled down after her one act of mischief. All in all, it had been a good day.
As she was locking up, she thought about how she would soon be able to ride her bike to work once again. Small patches of snow still spotted the streets and lawns around her from the freak storm they’d had just three days ago, but the weather looked like it was starting to fine up a bit. February and March were traditionally mild months in Misty Hollow. No reason to think this year would be any different.
It was still really cold right now, though, and as she headed over to the Bean There Bakery and Café on foot she huddled deep into her warm winter coat, the white one with the fake fur ruff around the hood. Jon had given it to her as a belated Christmas gift. Or, so he said. Sometimes she thought he just liked to spend money on her. Not that she minded. As long as he didn’t go overboard. She was just a simple country girl, after all.
She laughed at her joke, knowing full well there was nothing simple about her life. “Darcy Sweet,” she thought to herself, “you are a complicated woman with a full life. Just accept it.”
She pushed the door to the café open and could see her friend Helen Nelson working behind the counter. Helen was the owner of the café but she had also become the mayor of Misty Hollow after the previous mayor, her husband, had been arrested. That had been when Darcy and Jon had first met. What a way to start a relationship.
The place was almost empty at this time of the day, closing time, when most everyone in town was either headed home or going to work in the next town over for a night shift.
“Hi Helen,” Darcy called out as she approached the counter. The warmth in the place was penetrating through her coat and into her body. She shrugged off her coat and laid it over the back of a chair. She’d always liked the cozy, comfortable place Helen had created here. Everyone in town came through here at least once a week. Helen was as much of a mainstay in the town as the persistent mists that gave their town its name.
“Oh, why hello Darcy,” Helen greeted her with a warm smile. “Would you like a coffee?” She had been busy rolling dough for some sweet confection, but when she saw Darcy she set that aside and wiped her floured hands off on a cloth and then tidied her graying hair.
“A coffee sounds wonderful, Helen,” Darcy told her as she stood at the low glass counter. “It’s very chilly out. Mind if I stay here for a while and chat?”
“You know you’re always welcome in my store. Take a seat. Anywhere will do. I’ll bring you that coffee. And maybe a blueberry muffin?”
Darcy said yes to the muffin—she would have been a fool not to say yes to Helen’s baking—and then sat down at a nearby table and sighed. The day hadn’t been any longer than most, but it sure felt like it had. Rubbing a hand over her face she tried to stifle a yawn just as Helen set a cup of fragrant coffee in front of her along with a huge muffin on a little plate. Darcy smiled at her friend as Helen sat down across from her.
“You look really tired, Darcy,” Helen said to her, holding a ceramic coffee cup of her own between her hands. It was one of those oversized ones, glossed in a riot of colors. Helen didn’t
The laughing faded away. Sue sighed heavily and pushed her magazine aside. “I’ll get more tape,” she said.
Chapter Two
Darcy turned the sign on the door from “OPEN a good book today” to “CLOSED, THE END” and pulled the door tightly shut behind her. She’d had a few sales today and tomorrow a shipment of books was due in for their Valentine’s Day display, and even Great Aunt Millie had settled down after her one act of mischief. All in all, it had been a good day.
As she was locking up, she thought about how she would soon be able to ride her bike to work once again. Small patches of snow still spotted the streets and lawns around her from the freak storm they’d had just three days ago, but the weather looked like it was starting to fine up a bit. February and March were traditionally mild months in Misty Hollow. No reason to think this year would be any different.
It was still really cold right now, though, and as she headed over to the Bean There Bakery and Café on foot she huddled deep into her warm winter coat, the white one with the fake fur ruff around the hood. Jon had given it to her as a belated Christmas gift. Or, so he said. Sometimes she thought he just liked to spend money on her. Not that she minded. As long as he didn’t go overboard. She was just a simple country girl, after all.
She laughed at her joke, knowing full well there was nothing simple about her life. “Darcy Sweet,” she thought to herself, “you are a complicated woman with a full life. Just accept it.”
She pushed the door to the café open and could see her friend Helen Nelson working behind the counter. Helen was the owner of the café but she had also become the mayor of Misty Hollow after the previous mayor, her husband, had been arrested. That had been when Darcy and Jon had first met. What a way to start a relationship.
The place was almost empty at this time of the day, closing time, when most everyone in town was either headed home or going to work in the next town over for a night shift.
“Hi Helen,” Darcy called out as she approached the counter. The warmth in the place was penetrating through her coat and into her body. She shrugged off her coat and laid it over the back of a chair. She’d always liked the cozy, comfortable place Helen had created here. Everyone in town came through here at least once a week. Helen was as much of a mainstay in the town as the persistent mists that gave their town its name.
“Oh, why hello Darcy,” Helen greeted her with a warm smile. “Would you like a coffee?” She had been busy rolling dough for some sweet confection, but when she saw Darcy she set that aside and wiped her floured hands off on a cloth and then tidied her graying hair.
“A coffee sounds wonderful, Helen,” Darcy told her as she stood at the low glass counter. “It’s very chilly out. Mind if I stay here for a while and chat?”
“You know you’re always welcome in my store. Take a seat. Anywhere will do. I’ll bring you that coffee. And maybe a blueberry muffin?”
Darcy said yes to the muffin—she would have been a fool not to say yes to Helen’s baking—and then sat down at a nearby table and sighed. The day hadn’t been any longer than most, but it sure felt like it had. Rubbing a hand over her face she tried to stifle a yawn just as Helen set a cup of fragrant coffee in front of her along with a huge muffin on a little plate. Darcy smiled at her friend as Helen sat down across from her.
“You look really tired, Darcy,” Helen said to her, holding a ceramic coffee cup of her own between her hands. It was one of those oversized ones, glossed in a riot of colors. Helen didn’t
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