Eclairs and extortion, p.14
Eclairs and Extortion, page 14
“Suzy, Angel, Laura, and I are the best of friends. We’re with each other so often everyone calls us the Girlz.” Maddie smiled.
“Yes, I heard that. It’s like a new generation following in Mavis, Gran, and Nora’s footsteps.”
Maddie tilted her head. “I suppose it is. Although you’d have to include Jed in that group.”
“Your Gran’s boyfriend?”
Maddie almost dropped her plates. “They’re just friends.”
“Really? I thought. . . Oh, don’t mind me. I’m a silly old woman who talks too much.” Dinah’s cheeks flushed.
They were interrupted by Mavis, who was desperate to try a brownie off the other plate Maddie held, even though she’d had one a week since Maddie’s shop opened a year ago.
Maddie smiled at them and moved on, a little dazed by Dinah’s words. Gran and Jed were close, and it wasn’t as if she hadn’t thought about the two of them as more than friends, but Gran never indicated it was more. Jed, on the other hand, had several times done so in throwaway comments.
How would she feel about it being true? Why, it wouldn’t be the worst thing. She loved Gran and wanted her to be happy, and never had a cross word with Jed. He was a gentleman in every way and cared very much about Gran’s welfare.
With that foremost in her mind, it was another prompt to tell Ava about the party. The time wasn’t as good as it could be—or was it? Ava seemed to be more receptive to Gran, and if Maddie told her how much it would mean, surly she would want to stay?
The opportunity didn’t present itself, because after William thanked them all for coming, he and Ava decided to walk home. It would take some time, and Maddie guessed they wanted to talk privately. She was disappointed yet relieved.
The Girlz and Gran’s friends would clean up the community center, and this time Maddie didn’t resent her mom for not helping.
Ethan hung around the periphery for the time they were there, eventually disappearing outside. She wasn’t sure where he’d be now, but her feet were complaining about the hours spent on them.
“I’ll take all the dishes back to the bakery, if you are all okay to finish up here?”
“Of course, dear.” Gran waved her away. “Jed’s offered to take me home.”
That made Maddie thoughtful again as Luke helped her load Honey. When she arrived at her garage, she saw a couple across the road at the park under the large Maple tree. Ava and William. She parked Honey and decided on the spur of the moment to broach the subject of the party while she had them alone.
“Sorry to interrupt,” she called as she got closer.
“We’re just having some quiet time,” Ava said gently.
“Thank you for organizing today and making all the food,” William added. “You did Marcus proud.”
“I’m so glad you think so.” Maddie smiled, then began to tap her thigh.
“Is everything okay?” Ava looked pointedly at her fingers.
“I have something to tell you, and I appreciate that now is not the best time, but I know you have plans to leave in a couple of days.”
Ava grimaced. “This doesn’t sound good.”
“No, it’s fine, and whatever you decide won’t change anything but I wanted you to know.”
“Good grief, you sound like Mavis. Get to the point, would you?” Her mom’s impatience won out.
William patted Ava’s leg. “Let the girl speak, dear.”
Maddie smiled her thanks. “It’s Gran’s seventieth birthday Saturday week. I’m organizing a large party at Maple Fields. I’d like you both to be there, but I understand if that’s not possible.”
“We’re leaving in a couple of days.” Ava looked to William.
He shook his head firmly. “Of course we’d love to stay.”
Ava gasped. “But what about Marcus?”
“I think he’d understand. Besides, it won’t matter to him whether he’s here for a few more days or in the family crypt in Devon,” William said solemnly.
“I guess not.” Ava shrugged. “I guess we’ll stay.”
Maddie’s heart did a flip. “That’s wonderful news. It is a surprise, so it would be great if you could formulate an excuse for staying that wouldn’t sound suspicious to Gran.”
“You mean lie? I think I can manage that.” Ava raised an eyebrow, but her tone was definitely teasing.
Maddie smiled at her mom, unsure if Ava was truly happy to stay in Maple Falls for any reason or was simply wanting to please William. Then she decided it didn’t matter, because Gran was going to have the best birthday ever.
Chapter Twenty
The next week was taken up with people dropping by the bakery to ask about the party. With the town sworn to secrecy, Maddie worried every second that someone would let slip the plans.
Ava and William proved to be brilliant allies and were keeping Gran entertained by getting her to show William around town and the countryside. In Maddie’s eyes, the man deserved a medal!
The Monday cooking class was going well, with her students making a huge effort so they could contribute to the table at the birthday with a new recipe—ginger biscuits.
The men were improving and taking things more seriously. In fact, there was talk of a competition between them. As they loaded the trays into the cabinet oven, Maddie could see that their biscuits were uniform and looked a good consistency.
Mavis giddily clapped her hands in delight when the door closed on them. She’d been looking likely to explode any minute, and Maddie suspected it was around all the secrecy of the party. Hopefully, Gran was too busy to spend much time with her, and Mavis seemed to be taken with her new neighbor.
“Dinah Dolomore is a wonderful cook, isn’t she, Nora?”
Nora shrugged while wiping down her portion of the counter. “Pretty good.”
“Oh, you! That curry she cooked us last night was divine.”
“I’m not much of a curry person.” Nora screwed up her face.
Mavis elbowed her, sending small bits of batter from her fingers over the clean space. “Then why would you have two helpings?”
“Your biscuits are burning,” Nora told her, wiping the surface.
“No!” Mavis shot across the room as though she’d been fired from a cannon.
Maddie tutted as the rest of the group followed Mavis to check on their prized efforts. “Nora, that’s not kind. I just checked, and all the biscuits are doing just fine.”
“My mistake,” Nora said, straight-faced, but a twinkle in her eye told a different story.
Maddie didn’t pursue it. “Nora, I need you to get Gran to the party at 3:30 p.m. precisely on Friday.”
“Why me?” Genuinely shocked, Nora exploded.
Maddie lowered her voice. “Because you won’t give the game away and you’ll make sure everyone’s on time.”
The older woman preened a little. “I’ll get Jed to bring us.”
“Good. Now we need a pretense.”
“I’ll say that we need to look at the new rotunda at the resort. Mavis has been talking about it for ages, and it’s on the way. That should appease Gran, since she’s mentioned it once or twice.”
Relieved, Maddie was in danger of hugging her. “I knew you were the right choice.”
“Okay. Don’t overdo it.” Nora laughed, taking a step back.
The sight was such a rare occurrence that Maddie didn’t know what to say. With a raised eyebrow and lingering self-satisfied smile, Nora headed to the oven.
Chapter Twenty-One
The day of the party dawned as a particularly beautiful spring day. The view from Maddie’s bedroom showed spring flowers blooming not only in her garden but across the road in the park. Underneath the massive maple tree, daffodils waved in a gentle breeze. Maddie sighed happily as she and Big Red went downstairs.
Jed had been charged with taking Gran to Destiny yesterday, meaning that the baking could begin in earnest.
Nora had asked Gran to stop by today and help her with her knitting, which would hopefully prevent Gran from turning up, since Nora never asked for help. Maddie had said business was slow as another deterrent.
Cakes, slices, and pies were now packaged for the trip to Maple Fields. Cupcakes awaiting their frosting sat in boxes in the walk-in chiller, along with mini eclairs. This morning was all about bacon and egg pies, quiches, and sandwiches added to the usual baking for a Saturday.
Luke looked after the shop while Laura, Suzy, and Maddie made delicate club sandwiches. Three layers of bread with fillings like egg, lettuce, tomato, or ham, cheese, and pickle took time and patience, but Maddie knew they were worth the effort.
“Mine aren’t looking as nice as yours,” Suzy noted with a frown.
“They look fine. Besides, trust me, no one will notice how they look once they start on the food.”
Suzy laughed. “Having seen the townsfolk in action, you might be right.”
“What time will Gran arrive at Maple Fields?” Laura asked.
“Jed’s going to stop by Nora’s and explain that it was such a lovely day he figured they should take a drive out to the resort to see the new rotunda and have some afternoon tea for 3:00 p.m.”
“Good plan. What time will we need to take the food?”
“Bernie and Chris Jamieson are coming here with their car and van. I’ll take the last in Honey and close up about two.”
“Do you think you’ll get any complaints about closing early?” Laura wondered.
Maddie snorted. “When most of the town is coming, I don’t think there will be too many.”
“I wonder if Gran suspects anything?” Luke asked as he piped cream into eclairs between serving customers.
Maddie shrugged. “I hope not, but she could just be playing along. Actually, I’m okay with that. When she sees everyone, I think she’ll be pleased. Even though being the center of attention isn’t her favorite thing.”
Luke nodded. “Without making things depressing, I’m so glad everything was resolved enough to carry on with the party.”
“Me too. Gran deserves to see how much she’s loved in Maple Falls.” Maddie said.
Suzy nodded. “She’s helped nearly every single person here in one way or another.”
This talk made Maddie a little misty. Gran was just Gran to her, but she really was so much more. President of the community center, catalyst for the gray brigade at the country club being more tolerant of those less fortunate, a stalwart of child and animal rights, and a pillar of the community in general.
No matter how she tried, Maddie could never say enough about the woman who raised her. She hoped when it came time for speeches, others charged with doing so would do Gran justice.
Bernie and Chris bounded up the steps on cue. Maple Falls would be looking like a ghost town right now, with most of the shops shut, but Gran wouldn’t notice if she stayed where she was.
“Luke, could you help load the vehicles, please? I’ll watch the shop.”
“I’ll help too.” Laura began to take off her apron.
“No need.” Deputy Jacobs came through the door. “I’d like to help.”
Out of uniform, he looked younger, with a sweet self-consciousness about him when he was near Laura. Her intern awkwardly put her apron back on, face suffused with color, patting her hair, which was in its usual red bun.
Maddie put the last of the sandwiches in a box. “Thank you, Rob. Another vehicle is a bonus too. When you’re loaded, it would make sense for you to go with Rob, Laura. You’ll be able to get some of the setup done before I get there.”
Rob and Laura looked at each other, both pink-cheeked. Maddie could see that Rob was looking forward to spending time with Laura again, and her friend didn’t protest. Laura wasn’t playing hard to get, she was simply scared of letting Rob get any closer. Today it seemed that she was less agitated about that.
Maddie totally appreciated her dilemma, having fought against the attraction to Ethan. The difference was Maddie had known Ethan most of her life and they had been boyfriend and girlfriend for many years as teenagers. Laura once mentioned that she’d never had a boyfriend, and the rest of the Girlz imagined it would be rather terrifying to be in their late twenties with no experience of men.
Solving crimes might be something Maddie inherited from her grandad, but her matchmaking genes came purely from Gran. She wanted her friends to find happiness just as she had, and in her not so humble opinion, Laura and Rob were ideal for each other.
“If that’s what you need?” Laura removed her apron, smoothing down a gorgeous green dress she’d snuck out of the cottage last week and left in Maddie’s bedroom.
“Yes, thanks.” Maddie noticed how Rob’s eyes widened, then remained on Laura the whole time she organized his load.
With the vehicles full, the others set off. Luke and Maddie gathered serving platters, frosting, piping bags and other necessities, plus the cake. Then they locked up and headed out to Honey.
Big Red sat beside the rear door, and Maddie stopped dead. She hadn’t thought to take him. Did cats belong at a party miles from home? But he was family. She opened the door, and he jumped in, giving the full back seat a grumpy glance.
“It’s the floor or stay behind,” she told him.
He fluffed himself into a ball and curled up behind the driver seat, much to Luke’s amusement.
“He really does understand you.”
“I suspect far more than he lets on as well.” Maddie shut the door with a laugh.
Driving slowly, worried for her full car, Maddie concentrated on missing any potholes, while Luke held firmly to the cake. It was a giant teacup and saucer done as Gran’s real set. Lilacs adorned the rim of the saucer, and on top sat a fondant rolling pin, an 70th flag stuck in the middle of it. Happy Birthday Gran was written across the front of the cake in delicate petals in a variety of colors. Maddie couldn’t be prouder of a cake she’d made and knew Gran would love it.
When they got to Maple Fields at two thirty, the car park was already filling. Maddie had a space reserved for her, which made things easier. Together she and Luke took the cake to the area that had been set up for the food under the tent. A single round table covered in lacework donated by Mavis stood front and center, and carefully they positioned the cake to face the room.
Behind this were several trestle tables, already groaning with the food her team had prepared, plus other plates from the townspeople. The result was more gorgeous food than she could imagine being eaten in a couple of days, but as more and more people arrived, her opinion on that changed dramatically.
At 3:00 p.m., everything was done. Stragglers continued to arrive, but most people had found a place to sit and were taking constant note of the time, just as Maddie was.
Ethan entered the area, followed by Ava and William. Ava was stunning in a blue trouser suit with gold shot through the jacket, while William wore his standard black suit. Ethan, resplendent in his dress uniform and looking more handsome than ever, waved to her.
Maddie was relatively convinced the thudding of her heart was caused by seeing him come toward her. Although, having her mom at a family occasion was such a major thing, so she couldn’t be sure.
“You’ve done an amazing job,” Ava said, holding on to William with a white-knuckled grip. “I wish I could have contributed.”
“Gran would have suspected something if you’d been at the bakery, and we have plenty.” Maddie waved at the food. “It was a team effort with lots of other people helping too. I’m just glad you’re here.” Maddie added this awkwardly, because she wanted to say so much more, but didn’t know how.
Her mom gave her a wry smile without relaxing her grip.
William smiled at them. “It looks wonderful. Your gran can only be delighted by this show of affection. Now, where should we sit?”
“We have a family table in front of the cake,” Maddie interjected before Ava could steer him to the back of the tent as she surely would prefer. “The big comfy chair is for Gran. Perhaps you could sit one side of her and I could sit the other?” she suggested.
“Really? Couldn’t I sit somewhere less . . .?"
William pulled her close. “Ava, we talked about this. It’s just a few hours. I’m right beside you, and so are Maddie and her friends.”
“But they don’t want me here,” Ava said, so softly Maddie almost missed it.
“Who? The townsfolk?” Maddie asked.
Ava nodded.
“You’re not here for them, dear. Your mother should have your support today.” William adopted a no-nonsense tone that magically made a difference.
Ava straightened her back and allowed him to lead her to the table. Maddie, while grateful to William, was sorry that her mother couldn’t let her past go enough to enjoy the now.
Angel had enlisted the Girlz to man a refreshment counter with fruit punch, bottles of grape juice, and beer. Champagne sat waiting to be opened when Gran arrived, and Maddie felt the bubbles of excitement swirling around her. If she wasn’t careful, she’d wind up as giddy as Mavis.
“The decorations are awesome, Angel.”
Angel grinned. “Thanks. I had plenty of help from Ethan’s sister Layla. Plus her twins, and Noah and Beth. It’s been fun.”
When no amount of searching could find one tent large enough for so many people, they settled on opening the back so everyone could see Gran and feel a part of the event, hoping it wouldn’t rain.
Pots of purple irises decorated the entrance at the front of the tent, which Gran would be brought through. Each table had a round glass bowl with a different colored flower floating in shallow water. Fairy lights dangled over the roof and down the poles, and almost everyone commented on how beautiful the place looked.
With minutes until Gran arrived, Maddie made sure all the final touches were in place. She was close to the front of the tent when Big Red made a run for the opening, and Maddie grabbed him just as she heard a car drive up. Turning to the crowd, she waved furiously. The motion was seen by her crew, and in a few seconds, everyone stood and was impressively quiet. Even the children seemed to appreciate the moment.
