At Wick's End (Book 1 in the Candlemaking Mysteries) (11 page)

Thankfully, Eve was gone by the time I got
back to the store. I had two options: call her at home and ruin her
weekend, or wait until tomorrow.

Okay, I never said I was the bravest soul in
the world. The bad news could wait.

I tore up the deposit slip, subtracted the
healthy cash amount from the total and drove that truck straight to
the bank, not even stopping to have the glass fixed along the way.
That’s what I should have done in the first place. How simple it
seemed in hindsight, to take care of business first and save my
research for later. I’d learned a valuable, though rather costly
lesson, one I swore I’d always remember.

I’d forgotten all about eating, I’d been so
upset by the theft I’d invited by leaving the deposit unattended
and in plain sight. Millie found me on the steps of the river as
she locked up The Crocked Pot. I had no idea how long I’d been
sitting there, watching the current flow past in its relentless
journey south.

“
Hungry?” she asked,
shaking a bag at me.

“
Not really,” I said as my
stomach rumbled, proving me a liar.

She sat beside me on the step and forced the
bag on me. “I saw you moping out here like you’d just lost your
last friend. What troubles can you have that a sandwich can’t
fix?”

I shook my head, then told her about my
incredible lapse in judgment.

I half-expected her to rebuke me, but
instead I found understanding in Millie’s gaze. “Harrison, you’re
entitled to a few boneheaded mistakes at the beginning. That’s part
and parcel of running your own business. You want to hear my
biggest blunder?”

“
I can’t imagine you doing
anything as bad as I did.”

She laughed heartily, and I found myself
smiling despite my gloom. “Don’t bet the farm on it, my friend. I
was catering a big affair for the mayor the first week I opened. I
had four turkeys in my ovens, all the extras made ahead of time, a
waitstaff hired, everything in its place. I had a thousand things
to do, and when I came back into the kitchen to check on the birds
for the first basting a few hours later, I didn’t smell a thing.
That’s when I realized that though I’d set the temperatures on
every oven, I’d neglected to turn any of them on.”

I chuckled gently. “That’s terrible. What
did you do?”

“
I ran by the grocery
store, wiped out their deli and lost my shirt on the deal. I
couldn’t even salvage the turkeys, they’d been sitting out uncooked
too long. Things are bound to happen, Harrison.”

“
How am I going to face
Eve?”

Millie said, “She’s a wonderful employee,
and you’re lucky to have her, but remember, she works for you,
Harrison. Nobody’s going to lose financially from your mistake but
you. That’s another thing about running a business. The buck starts
and stops with you. That includes the good, the bad and everything
in between.” She stood, and I joined her.

“
Thanks, Millie, you’ve
helped a lot.”

“
All part of being a
friend, Harrison. Now if you’ll excuse me, George is taking me out
for dinner tonight, and I’d better get home and change.”

“
Where can he possibly take
a woman who cooks as wonderfully as you do?”

Millie smiled. “We’re going to a pig
picking. I can barbecue pork if I have to, but it’s a real luxury
to have someone else cook for me. Care to join us? Lots of eligible
gals will be around, you can bet on that.”

“
I’m not in the mood or the
market just now,” I said. “I’ve got my hands full with At Wick’s
End.”

“
There’s always time for a
little romance,” Millie said, the twinkle nearly blinding in her
eyes.

Heather walked out of her shop and saw us
standing there. “Hey you two, what’s up?”

Millie raised an eyebrow at me, one Heather
couldn’t see, and said, “I was just leaving, but you could keep
Harrison company if you’ve a mind to.” She got up and looked back
at me and said, “Don’t forget, Harrison, there’s always time for
that.”

Heather said, “What was that all about?”

“
Millie was just cheering
me up.” I wasn’t about to go into my story again. Much of the sting
was gone, salved by Millie’s soft words. Besides, I didn’t want
everyone at River’s Edge to know what a knucklehead I’d
been.

“
Yeah, I saw your truck
window out back. You need to get some cardboard in that if you
can’t get it fixed right away. It’s supposed to rain
tonight.”

I suddenly realized Heather’s storeroom had
a window that looked out onto the parking lot in back of River’s
Edge. Some of the grapevine started to make more sense once I got a
better lay of the land.

“
I’ll do that,” I said.
Suddenly I realized I wasn’t all that crazy about being alone.
“Listen, I can’t afford anything fancy, but I was wondering if
you’d like to catch a bite with me tonight. Unless you already have
plans,” I added. “I know it’s short notice, being Saturday night
and all.”

Heather said, “I don’t have a plan in the
world. I was just going to get a pizza and chill out.”

“
That sounds great,” I
said. “Do you know any good places around here?”

“
Have you ever been to A
Slice of Heaven?”

“
I’ve never heard of it,” I
admitted.

“
Harrison, you are in for a
real treat. Why don’t I drive, though. There’s no glass on my
seats.”

I said, “We can take my other truck, if
you’d like.”

“
The Dodge?” she asked. “No
thanks, but I might want to borrow it sometime. Now there’s a truck
bed I wouldn’t feel guilty scratching up with my rocks. Why don’t
we take my Beetle?”

Heather led me to her brand-new
green-sherbet Volkswagen Beetle. I felt silly carrying Millie’s
sandwich with me, but I’d save it for the next day. They were
certainly too good to just abandon.

I said, “I’ve never ridden in one of the new
Bugs. How is it?”

She lifted the plastic red rose out of the
built-in bud vase and pretended to smell it. “It’s wonderful,
absolutely perfect for what I need.”

As she drove toward the pizzeria, I said,
“Do you mind me asking how well your store does? I’m new to all
this, and I’ve got nothing to go by.”

Heather scolded me. “Harrison, there are
three things you must never ask a woman: her age, her weight, and
her income.”

“
Sorry, I was just
curious.”

Heather grinned. “Okay, I’ll share it with
you, but you can’t tell a soul. Do you promise?”

“
You have my word,” I
said.

“
Last year I cleared seven
figures,” she said solemnly.

From selling rocks? I was in the wrong
business. Headier waited a beat or two, then added with a smile,
“If you don’t count the decimal point, and put two of the zeros
after it.”

“
That’s cute,” I said.
“Mind if I steal it?”

“
It’s yours for the
taking,” she said.

I said, “Remember, dinner’s on me,” as we
pulled into the crowded parking lot.

“
Hey, I asked you. I should
get to pay,” Heather said.

“
You bought lunch
yesterday, I’ll buy tonight. It’s not like this is a date or
anything.”

Heather’s face tightened for a split second,
and I knew I’d stepped into it again.

“
Not that I wouldn’t enjoy
dating you sometime,” I added lamely.

It took me a second to see the smile on
Heather’s face. “Of course this isn’t a date.” She added
mischievously, “I’m sure you’ll take me somewhere much nicer when
we start officially going out.”

I started to backpedal again when she
slapped my shoulder. “Harrison, you are just too easy. I’ve got to
stop teasing you.”

“
I wouldn’t know how to
act,” I said.

It looked like Belle had given me a great
deal more than a business and a building full of tenants. She’d
given me something much more important; a group of people who could
easily become new friends.

Chapter 8

A Slice of Heaven was hopping with
customers. Since it was Saturday night, I expected the place to be
swamped by teenagers, but I was surprised by the range of folks
there enjoying a night out. The booths were all black vinyl, the
carpeting an industrial gray, and the walls painted an audacious
red. Vintage music from the jukebox barely made a dent in the
clatter of conversations. Bill Haley and the Comets were rocking
around the clock one minute, then Patsy Cline was belting out
“Crazy” the next. The smells coming from the kitchen were no doubt
part of the reason for the place’s popularity. It was worth the
trip even if you didn’t eat anything, just to catch a whiff of that
aroma.

Heather guided me to one of the only open
booths, a spot far away from the jukebox, and said, “Wait right
here. I’ll be back in a second.” She took three steps, paused, then
yelled back, “What do you like on your pizza?”

“
You decide. I’ll eat just
about anything.” Heather nodded, then came back a few minutes later
after fighting through the crowd to place our order.

“
So what are we having?” I
asked.

“
I ordered us a garbage
pizza.”

I smiled gently. “This place might be doing
great, but they should probably work on the names of their
specials.”

Heather laughed, showing dimples I hadn’t
seen before. “Okay, they call it the Heaven Scent, but it’s got
everything on it they don’t throw away, so I call it a garbage
pizza. It doesn’t sound very appetizing, does it?”

“
Are you kidding me? I
can’t wait.” The music in the background shifted to an old Frank
Sinatra tune, and I said, “The musical tastes around here are
eclectic, aren’t they?”

Heather said, “You can request a new record
for the jukebox with every tenth pizza you buy. There are only a
couple of conditions, but they’re written in stone. Your pick has
to be from the ‘50s or ‘60s, that’s the only music the owner, April
May, really likes, and if you don’t renew it every two months, the
song gets pulled if it hasn’t fallen out of the rotation by
then.”

“
Please tell me you’re
kidding.”

Heather said, “It’s the truth. I had The
Purple People Eaters on last month.”

“
I’m not talking about the
music. Are you telling me the woman who owns this place is really
named April May?”

Heather grinned and waved to an older woman
standing behind the counter with an easy smile and flaming red
hair. She had on an apron that said, “Kiss your Momma” and was
sporting a pair of green bibbed overalls underneath it.

“
What can I get you, love?”
she said to Heather as the crowd parted for her when she walked
toward us.

“
April, I’d like you to
meet Harrison. Black. He was Belle’s great-nephew.”

April patted my shoulder. “She was a good
woman, Harrison. You have my deepest sympathy.”

“
Thank you,
ma’am.”

Heather grinned, then said, “Harrison
doesn’t believe your name is real.”

April laughed. “Oh, it’s real enough. Mother
wanted to name me March and make April my middle name, but Dad put
his foot down. Can you imagine? I would have been March April May.
That’s more of a burden than any kid should have.”

“
So what is your middle
name?” I asked.

“
It’s Garnet, after my
grandmother. And Dad thought he was doing me a favor. There was no
way I was going to go by that, so I went through school as the
Calendar Girl. Now I kind of like it. It sets me apart from the
rest of the herd.”

There was a call for April from the counter,
and she said, “Gotta go. Nice meeting you, Harrison. Come back when
we have more time to chat.”

As she left us, I asked, “Did Belle come
here a lot?” There was so much I didn’t know about my great-aunt,
and talking to her friends was the only way I had left to get to
know the woman she had been, not just my great-aunt.

“
Oh, Belle was a huge fan
of pizza. We used to eat here together just about every Saturday
night.” Heather paused, then added, “I wasn’t going to say
anything, but this is kind of in her honor. I needed something,
some way to mourn, you know? Don’t get me wrong, I knew Belle’s
wishes as well as anyone else did. The woman absolutely detested
funerals. But still, I never got to say good-bye.”

“
I know just what you mean.
I’ve got a candle she made. From what Eve said it was the last one
she ever poured, and I’ve been burning it an hour a night in her
memory.”

Heather touched my hand. “That’s the
sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”

April joined us again at the booth, carrying
a monstrous pizza in one hand and a tray holding three beers.

Heather protested, “Hey, I ordered a small
pizza.”

April nodded and said with a grin, “I need
to take a break and get off my feet for a while, so I thought I’d
join you.” The pizzeria owner looked uncertain for a moment, then
added, “Unless this is a date. My goodness, I’ve put my foot in it
again, haven’t I?”

Heather and I spoke simultaneously. “This
isn’t a date.”

We stared at each other, then laughed at the
same time.

April said, “Okay, I get it, no need to
shout. So would you two like some company?”

I scooted over to make room for her. “That
would be great.”

After we ate, I offered to pay. April looked
at my money as if it were tainted with sludge. “Save it, Harrison.
I just hope I get the chance to earn that and more.”