Cinnamon rolls and corps.., p.1
Cinnamon Rolls and Corpses, page 1
Cinnamon Rolls and Corpses
Snow Falls Alaska Cozy - 1
Wendy Meadows
Copyright © 2022 by Wendy Meadows
All rights reserved.
* * *
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
* * *
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
* * *
Majestic Owl Publishing LLC
P.O. Box 997
Newport, NH 03773
Created with Vellum
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
More from Wendy
About Wendy Meadows
Chapter One
Bethany Lights could hardly stand still. Excitement layered on top of fearful anticipation sounded through her heart like a million angels singing to scared children riding a frightening rollercoaster. For the first time in her life, Bethany was on her own—all alone. Usually, a courageous step out into the unknown wouldn't have been such a nerve-racking experiment, but Bethany was forty-five years old. At forty-five, a woman wanted to be settled down and secure; at least, that's what Bethany's overbearing mother had always claimed. It wasn't good for a “widow” to start over all alone, especially in Alaska.
My mother is enough to give me a migraine. Besides, she was never aware of how bad my marriage was, Bethany thought as a tall, rough-looking man in his late sixties closed a brown envelope. That's it. The deal is closed. I now own my first cabin. Now I can get settled in and focus on the coffee shop I bought from Sarah Spencer.
“All the papers are signed,” Greg Cranmore grunted unpleasantly. “You can move into the cabin, Ms. Lights.” Greg tossed a hard eye at the pretty woman standing at the end of a brown table. Bethany Lights reminded him of a red-headed Jane Wyatt. No matter. Greg didn't like new faces. New faces always brought trouble and caused him headaches. “Here's your check, Sarah Garland—”
Sarah Spencer sighed. Greg was in a very cantankerous mood. “My married name is Sarah Spencer, Greg. You know that.”
“The property is still under Sarah Garland,” Greg griped. He shoved the brown envelope across toward Sarah with a grumpy hand. “If you and Detective Spencer sell your cabin, I'll call you Sarah Spencer, but the coffee shop is being sold under the name Sarah Garland.”
Sarah caught the envelope that slid toward her. “You're still upset because Amanda and I bought O'Mally's,” she complained in a tone that told Greg to stop being so crotchety. “Don't you think it's time you stop frowning, Greg?”
“I'm upset because of the knife you put in my back,” Greg snapped. He rose on a pair of painful legs, grabbed a red and green coat, and pointed a pair of hard eyes at Sarah. “You stole O'Mally's out from under me, Sarah, and you know it. You and that aggravating rodent from London.”
“Amanda Hardcastle is—” Sarah fought back.
“I had a developer all lined up!” Greg slung on his coat. “You and your friend sweet-talked a dying old man into selling you his store and land. Pathetic!” Greg snapped up a pair of black gloves sitting on the table. “You're lucky I'm the only realtor in town...but the next time you want to sell something, find someone else!”
Greg stormed out of the small, warm room that held a single brown table, an old filing cabinet, and four wooden walls that still clung to the year 1971.
Sarah shook her head. “I'm sorry, Bethany. Greg Cranmore isn't the nicest man in Snow Falls. As a matter of fact, most people in Snow Falls avoid him. Unfortunately, he's the only licensed realtor in town.” Sarah quickly used her left hand to brush a few pieces of dog hair off a dark green sweater before standing up. “Amanda has a new puppy,” she said, trying to lighten the mood.
Bethany forced a grateful smile to her lips. Maybe Greg Cranmore was a rude man, but Sarah was definitely a tender blessing. Bethany just knew she and Sarah would be good friends. “I grew up in a house full of shedding dogs. My daddy, rest his soul, brought home every stray dog that crossed his path.”
“I have a friend who does the same thing,” Sarah laughed a little. “When you meet Amanda, you'll see what I'm talking about. In the meantime, I'm sure you have lots to do.” She stared at the lovely woman wearing a brown dress that was noticeably new. Bethany was trying too hard to dress like a “Snow Fallian,” as Sarah often called the people who lived in Snow Falls.
“The movers should be arriving around lunch time,” Bethany smiled, allowing excitement and happiness to return to her heart. “I have about two hours. I think I'll go explore my new coffee shop in the meanwhile.”
Sarah smiled again—but in the mind of the homicide detective she had once been, Sarah wondered why a widow appeared so happy. The urge to pry into Bethany's life scratched Sarah on the shoulder. “Amanda is babysitting Little Sarah. I have a little time. Want some company?”
“That would be great.” Bethany glanced down at the wooden table, where two sets of keys were sitting at the end of the table. Those keys represent my new life. My home...my coffee shop. I'm officially concreted in. Snow Falls is now my home. “I suppose I am nervous,” she confessed. “My entire family thinks I'm insane for moving to Alaska alone. After my husband died, my family expected me to move back to North Carolina. I was living in Tennessee at the time of his death.”
“I did notice a little southern accent.” Sarah watched as Bethany continued to stare down at the table. She understood how Bethany was feeling. Happy. Excited. Scared. A flood of overwhelming emotions.
“You can't take North Carolina out of a woman,” Bethany told Sarah, unable to take her eyes off the keys she was staring at. Ken was such a cruel man. For twenty-one years of my life, that man mentally and emotionally abused me. Now that's he's dead, I'm free of that awful monster. Now I can start all over. Now I can have a home of my own. Now I can finally live...in a new state, a new town...in the snow. Oh, I have always loved the snow so much.
“Uh, Bethany...are you all right?” Sarah asked as gentle tears fell from Bethany's eyes.
“What?” Bethany asked, confused.
“You're crying.”
“Am I? Oh my...” Bethany quickly raised her head. She wiped at her eyes with a gentle, soft hand. “I guess I got lost in memory lane for a second.”
“Want to talk about it?” Sarah asked gingerly.
Bethany felt a fresh tear leave her eye. “You're wondering why a widow moved to your cozy little town, right? You're wondering why I seem so happy and excited when I should be sad and upset, right?”
“How bad was your marriage?” Sarah patted a brown-cushioned chair. “Please, sit down.”
Bethany stared into a set of warm, loving eyes that melted her heart. Sarah Spencer was sincere inside and out. There was nothing fake about her.
“I need to stand,” she told Sarah as another tear slipped from her eye. Sarah waited patiently. “For twenty-one years, Ken Branson dedicated his life to abusing me. Mentally and emotionally, never physically. Sometimes I wish he would have hit me with his hand instead of his words.”
Sarah felt anger grip her heart. She knew monsters like Ken Branson all too well. “I'm sorry.”
“So was I,” Bethany confessed as a hard, icy wind howled outside. She turned away from the table, walked over to a small window covered by a brown curtain, and stopped. “Everyone thought I had the perfect marriage. I had to pretend.” Bethany eased the curtain back with a trembling hand. A soft snow was falling outside—beautiful snow, a clean snow that had no memory of her life. “Ken was a heart surgeon. My family adored him. I had to pretend...it's complicated.”
“I'm a good listener.” Sarah approached Bethany, peeked outside at the snow, and waited.
Bethany stood silent for a few seconds, struggling to hold onto hope and the joy of beginning a new life. Sadness and bitterness were slowly washing up on the shores of a broken heart. “My family is very wealthy, Sarah. My daddy, rest his soul, owned a chain of toy stores throughout the southeast region of the lower states. My mother's family were all lawyers—rich lawyers.” Bethany kept her eyes on the fresh, pure snow blanketing Snow Falls. “In the South, a woman is raised to be a certain way...a certain type of wife. You didn't throw light on your problems…especially your marital problems. No—a woman simply swept her problems under the rug and put on a brave face to keep her family name safe and respected.”
Sarah heard a deep bitterness leave Bethany's heart. “I grew up in Los Angeles. I suppose we grew up in two different worlds.”
“Not really,” Bethany objected. “It doesn't matter where a woman lives. Abuse is abuse. The monsters carrying out the abuse are all the same.”
“Yes, that's true.”
Bethany forced her eyes away from the snow. She turned and focused on Sarah's caring eyes. “My husband had a one-million-dollar life insurance policy. He put me down a
s the benefactor, but…but he was planning to divorce me and marry the woman he began...well...there's no point in going into detail.”
“I understand.”
Bethany felt more tears slip from her eyes as one wave of bitterness after another tore down a wall of hope. “My husband didn't expect to die. He was hit by a drunk driver. Both he and the woman he was planning to marry were killed...and I...Sarah, I was left everything. It wasn't meant to be that way. Absolutely not.” Bethany wiped at her tears. “I was meant to be given walking papers that included a five-thousand-dollar lifetime monthly allowance and a lousy BMW that leaked oil. But before my husband could get all his ducks in a row, he was killed. I learned this from my husband's attorney. Many ugly secrets were revealed.”
“I can't imagine how hurt you felt.”
Bethany heard a sour laugh leave her mouth. “My husband—my dead husband—would have removed me as his benefactor the day he was killed. As a matter of fact, Sarah—and you may not believe this—but he was actually driving to his attorney's office when a twenty-two-year-old drunk college student ended his life. Can you believe that?”
Sarah watched as more tears slipped from Bethany's eyes. Bless her heart, Sarah thought. Bethany was a hurt and broken woman. “Seems like maybe God had different plans?”
“I've considered that,” Bethany nodded. “As horrible as the last twenty-one years were, I have always known that God was with me.” Bethany turned back to the falling snow. “I got rid of my husband's last name. I freed myself of that horrible name. I sold a house that had become my prison, sold the stocks left to me, that lousy BMW—everything—and moved to Alaska.”
“Why Alaska?” Sarah carefully inquired.
Bethany continued to stare at the snow. “I love the snow, Sarah, and that's the truth. When I was a little girl, I would dream of living in the North Pole where it snowed all the time. I dreamed of living on an arctic island filled with Christmas trees, toys, talking reindeer...” Bethany closed her soft eyes and allowed her heart to travel to a faraway land. “When I was sixteen, I traveled to Alaska with my daddy, rest his soul. Daddy's brother had been killed in a hunting accident and he was determined to be with the body instead of allowing the body to be flown back to North Carolina like a piece of luggage. Daddy had such a kind heart. Sometimes, deep down, I think he knew how bad my marriage was.”
“I'm sure he did.”
Bethany nodded. “Daddy and I were close, but sadly, my mother dominated him. Anyway, Sarah, Daddy and I stopped right here in this little town. Right here in Snow Falls...this is where the authorities brought the body. Thirty-two years ago, there wasn't much to Snow Falls—”
“There still isn't much to Snow Falls now,” Sarah said, trying to make Bethany smile a little.
“Enough to call home.” Bethany's eyes slowly opened. “When my husband was killed, I knew I couldn't move back home, but where could I go? I visited my daddy's grave, rest his soul, and began talking to him. And Sarah, on a cold, rainy day while I was talking to Daddy, I remember the trip I took with him to Snow Falls. As sad as the trip had been for Daddy, for me, the trip was the greatest memory I have of my daddy. Daddy and I had a wonderful time together, as strange as that might sound.”
“Not strange at all.”
Bethany let out a deep breath. “Daddy's brother was a hard man. Daddy wasn't very close to him, but Daddy was the type of man who carried out family obligations. That's the way it is in the South.” Bethany's tears began to dry up. “I remember sitting in a little building right out there on the main street and sharing a coffee with Daddy. We got caught in a snowstorm and couldn't leave town for a week—oh, what a wonderful week that was.” Bethany forced a smile to her eyes. “I wanted to return to the happiest time of my life, Sarah…and so here I am.”
Sarah reached out and offered a warm hug. “You're not going to be alone, Bethany,” she promised. “You have a friend now.”
Bethany hugged Sarah back. “I know, and thank you.” Bethany slowly let go of Sarah. “Want to know a little secret? Well, more like a miracle?”
“Sure.”
“Your coffee shop...that's the same building where Daddy and I shared a cup of coffee,” Bethany confessed. “When I arrived in town and saw your coffee shop was up for sale, I knew Daddy was with me. I knew my heart had led me home.” Bethany fought back a few tears—happy tears—as the waves of bitterness crashing down into her heart were quickly dragged back out to sea by tender memories. “Well, there's my life story. I hope you don't think I'm insane.”
“I think you're great,” Sarah smiled. “If I told you my life story, I think you would have me locked away in a mental home.”
“Actually, I'm aware of your life story. You're quite famous in Snow Falls, you know.” Bethany patted Sarah's arm. “Let's grab our coats and talk more at the coffee shop,” she stated in a voice that slowly began to fill with excitement and hope again. Ken is dead. Why should I let that awful monster destroy my joy? Besides, I know Daddy is with me. I know I was meant to return to Snow Falls. No more tears. No more bitterness. I'm determined to put the past into a deep hole and grab a handful of fresh snow...healing, beautiful snow.
Sarah examined Bethany's eyes. She expected there was more to the woman—far more than what appeared on the surface. Time, Sarah knew, would open up more chapters. But for the time being, Sarah was happy knowing that Bethany Lights was going to become a new member of her family.
“Well, here we are,” Bethany spoke in a low but happy whisper as she stepped through a thick wooden door. The smell of forgotten coffee struck her nose like the words of a sleepy poet suddenly rising up from a closed, dusty book.
“It's a bit dusty,” Sarah apologized, stepping into her old coffee shop covered with snow. Warm, inviting heat immediately greeted her frozen face. “I haven't been inside this coffee shop for over a year. Amanda and I have been very busy, and Little Sarah keeps me very busy as well.”
“I can imagine,” Bethany smiled as Sarah found a light switch. A sea of soft yellow light shone from a wooden ceiling and brought life to a room straight out of 1947. Bethany adored the atmosphere of the room.
“Dust or no dust, this little coffee shop is my new home,” she said, beaming, then hurried to a long front counter that sung happy, nostalgic songs into the dusty air. “Oh, Sarah, this is my new life. I'm so happy...so grateful,” she gushed, setting down a green purse.
A warm coffee shop is better than a creepy snowman wearing a leather jacket, Sarah thought as she watched Bethany place a loving hand onto the front counter. “Well, I don't mean to be a rock in your shoe, but remember, Bethany, this is Snow Falls. Don't expect a lot of business. I only opened the coffee shop two or three days a week. When the hard snows arrive, most people stay home or go to the local diner up the street.”
“Oh, I'm not interested in money,” Bethany assured Sarah. “My financial situation is secure.” She turned to face Sarah, wearing a bright smile. “I have always been the type of woman who could make a penny stretch into a mile. I've never been very materialistic, either. I've always been happy with the little things in life. Buying your coffee shop was the first major gift I've ever given myself...and probably the last.” A warm, though somewhat nervous happiness glowed in Bethany's eyes, and she looked around the front room. “I bought this coffee shop because I believe God brought me to Snow Falls. I'm not in business to get rich. I'm in business to...find peace.”
“And you will find peace,” Sarah promised in a gentle voice. She approached Bethany and touched the woman's arm with a kind hand. “I've already showed you around the coffee shop a few days ago, so you know where everything is. I think you need to have some alone time, but I do want to see you tonight for dinner at my cabin. Please.”
Bethany smiled. “I would like that very much, Sarah. Thank you.”
