Cold Hollow (Cold Hollow Mysteries Book 1) (7 page)

As soon as they spread a huge blanket out on the sand of the beach, Myrna braided Layla’s long hair for her. Sophia had tried several times to do it, but it always came out lopsided or too loose. She was glad that the children had taken to Myrna so easily. She was quickly becoming like an aunt to them, and Sophia could not have been happier about it. She and Angus had been only children, and their parents were long ago deceased. She always felt bad for the children. They would never know what aunts and uncles were like. Worse, they would never meet their grandparents.

They stripped their clothes off, revealing their bathing suits, and took to the water. Before long, more town inhabitants showed up and water sports began. The sound of bold laughter and splashing filled the area. A net of sorts was erected and beach balls went into action.

Myrna did not remember having so much fun in her entire life and eagerly joined in the games. She stopped when she heard Sophia clear her throat and stare at the beach. Doctor Tom was spreading a small blanket beside theirs and taking his clothes off. He had a miniscule lunch with him and plopped it down. Myrna gasped when she saw his physique and plunged beneath the water. Sophia began giggling like a child, and Angus was rolling his eyes.

Liam swam up to his mother. “I think Myrna has goo-goo eyes for that guy coming toward us.”

Sophia smiled and whispered, “Me too.” As the good doctor waded through the water toward them, Sophia introduced him to her entire family. When Myrna finally popped her head from the water, he smiled. “You have some color on your face, Myrna, and your freckles are out! You never looked better.”

She blushed and thanked him in a timid voice, but somehow she steeled her nerves and said, “We’ve brought a lot of food with us, Doctor Tom. We’d be happy if you joined us for lunch.”

He smiled brightly and widely. “I’d be happy to be in the company of so many pretty ladies.” He looked at Myrna, Sophia, and Layla.

Angus cleared his throat. “Um, the one with the ridiculous grin on her face and the shorty are mine.”

Tom and Angus laughed and joined in an impromptu volleyball game played with beach balls. They ate their fill, built sand castles, dove in the water, and then ate some more. The temperature stayed steady, and the water was refreshing. It was the type of day where you could feel the sun working its magic on your complexion. Sophia and Myrna had slathered the children with sunblock, but waited until they had some color before applying it to themselves.

At the end of the day, Doctor Tom pulled Myrna to one side under a pine tree and spoke privately with her. Sophia saw him pull an envelope out of his pants pocket and hand it to her. When he didn’t let go of it, she watched his fingers trace along the top of Myrna’s hand before he released it. She saw Myrna blush and nod; they spoke for a few moments longer and then rejoined the group. Myrna immediately placed the envelope in her beach bag.

When Tom was busy speaking with Angus, Myrna leaned over to Sophia and whispered, “That was my husband’s official death certificate. Oh, he’s also taking me out for supper tonight!”

Sophia shot her best smile at her friend and squeezed her hand in excitement. “You better tell me
all
of the details.”

Myrna nodded and shook a bit in excitement. She never in a million years thought she would ever find another man who would even give her a second glance, so this came as an absolute surprise. She knew Doctor Tom had been a bachelor his whole life, but she was not looking for another husband. She would be more than happy if they could just be companions, or boyfriend and girlfriend forever—either way was positively fine with her.

***

They didn’t see Myrna for the rest of the weekend. Sophia could hardly wait for Monday morning to get the gossip about their date. She wanted to know what they had done on Saturday and Sunday. She was not a snoop and did not want intimate details. She was just overjoyed for her friend. To have overcome an abusive husband, his death, and to gain the confidence she had in such a short time span was an awesome feat for one woman. Sophia found herself admiring Myrna more and more.

CHAPTER 6

Myrna met Sophia at the bakery right on time. She was smiling from ear to ear as she described her multiple dates with Doctor Tom over the weekend. He had taken her to a restaurant in town one night, and then the following night they went to the town tavern, had a few drinks, and danced. On the last night, she cooked him supper and they watched movies all night. Yes, he had kissed her, and she hadn’t wanted him to stop kissing her for the rest of her life.

Sophia was elated for her friend and gave her a fierce hug. “We’ll have to do a game night soon with the two of you. What do you think?”

“Absolutely.” Myrna tied on her apron over her work clothes and went to the front of the bakery.

The customers were already lining up outside the bakery doors, and it was only seven in the morning. Sophia and Myrna put the rest of the toppings on the muffins and brought them to the display cases.

Layla tightened her apron and eyed her mother. “I’m going to get a workout today!”

Sophia laughed, “You bet! Just be sure to warn Myrna and me if we get low on any one particular item, so we can scoot in the back and throw more of it in the oven.”

The three women went to open the bakery doors. Angus and Liam were in line and said they were “reporting for duty.” Sophia ushered them in the back room, where they immediately picked up push brooms. The townsfolk piled in; some placed their orders at the counter to go while others sat down and waited for Layla to take their orders. Myrna handled the to-go orders with phenomenal swiftness, and Sophia helped Layla take orders and serve. Espresso flew out the doors and all the customers whispered comments about how much energy the sugar content in the goods would give them. They would be able to work hard and make the till. The Carlisle sisters showed up and immediately ordered ice-cold glasses of milk and cinnamon buns. Sophia was currently being put to test. She hoped her buns were just as good as Ma’s
had been
.

Two teenage boys showed up and ordered milk and oatmeal cookies with raisins. Layla served them and curiously watched as they bit into the cookies, pulled the raisins out, and placed them on their napkins. When they checked out, she saw them bundle up the raisins and jam them in their pants pocket before hotfooting it out of the shop.

Artie Lavoie showed up and ordered a cherry turnover and a coffee. He devoured it in nanoseconds and ordered another.

Wally and Alice Dumont arrived and ordered maple-walnut muffins. Sophia would have thought they’d had enough of maple syrup merchandise, but apparently she was wrong. They scoffed down two each and took four to go.

Nazar did not show up, but approximately one hour later the crowd dispersed and went to their jobs. There were a few who wandered in afterward, but they took their time and were busy conversing more than anything. Sophia turned and looked at her display cases to find them nearly cleaned out.

She pointed at Myrna and saw her hair disheveled and her cheeks flushed behind the counter. She was breathing hard, and Sophia let a hearty laugh loose. She said, “I think we better get cooking, because I heard a lot of them saying they would be back for lunch.”

Myrna swallowed hard and went to the cash register. She pulled out two twenties and told Sophia she would be right back; she had to run to the bank to get more change.

Layla was handling the stragglers, so Sophia went to the back to begin the long process all over again. The goods would change for the lunch crowd. She would make ham-and-cheese croissants and more lunch items, along with a few desserts. The men were in the back and had finally finished scouring down the kitchen, only to have Sophia come in and mess it up again.

Angus kissed her cheek in congratulations and said he was going to go to the bank to open their joint account. Sophia narrowed her eyes at him and whispered, “Remember what I told you about the out-of-state accounts?” He nodded, placed his fingers to his lips, and pretended to turn a key.

Ten minutes later, Myrna blew back into the shop and plopped down on a stool at the prepping station in the back room. She looked at Sophia and said, “I have to eat something before I begin cooking again.” Sophia slid two hot croissants in front of her with a hot cup of coffee. Liam sat beside her, gnawing and savoring his chocolate-chip cookie, a reward for cleaning and for finishing his own lunch.

Layla came in the back room and sat with the bunch. She emptied her tips into the jug that the three women would split. Sophia slid Layla’s lunch to her and watched her daughter dig in. She had already cleaned down the tables and refilled the sugar containers. All was temporarily silent in their little bakery.

The lunch crowd was worse. People pushed and shoved their way in the doors at noon and didn’t stop coming inside until one o’clock. The display cases were empty again, except for a single slice of apple pie. They closed and locked the doors at three-thirty and cleaned until they were exhausted. Myrna had dark circles forming under her eyes, and Sophia sent her home. She took stock of what needed to be done rather early the following morning, and emptied the cash drawer into a small bank bag. She would tally the receipts and cash at home.

Liam stood by her side, yawning. She patted his shoulder and said, “Come on, trooper. Let’s go home and see what Dad and Layla made us for supper.”

“Layla snuck out early on purpose.”

Sophia laughed. “Yes, but her feet were swollen. She worked her toes off today.”

“I better check mine when we get home. I wouldn’t like it if
my
toes fell off.”

***

Sophia inhaled her supper as Angus sat watching her with a grin on his face. The children were already yawning and stretching. They both swore they were going to force themselves to stay awake to watch some television, but Sophia could see that the minute they hit the couches, they would be lost to slumber. Angus and Sophia would have to carry them to bed.

It seemed to Sophia that she had just closed her eyes, but her alarm clock told her otherwise. She had set it for three in the morning. She opened her eyes and tapped her hand down on the button to stop the obnoxious noise. After rubbing her eyes and running her hands through her hair, she slipped into her running gear. Angus mumbled from his pillow for her to take a flashlight. She promised she would.

As she exited the home, she found it was a full moon and though she might not even need the small flashlight, she brought it with her anyway. The trails were not far from their home and as she passed the ranger station, she swiped a ticket from the machine mounted on the side of a huge tree. She held it in her hand as she ran the usual trail. The wildlife was abundant, and she startled more than one deer, but the oddity was that it seemed they were becoming more and more accustomed to her presence each day. They did not move far from her—just enough to let her pass. She loved how their ears perked and their tails twitched, and how their nostrils flared to take in her scent. When they bent their necks to resume grazing, she knew it was safe to pass. A few coyotes raced past her, obviously on the hunt for much smaller prey than a full-grown woman. She heard the growl of a big cat, so she quickened her pace, and so did the deer. The beating of their hooves was deafening as they dashed off in unison deeper into the forest.

At the junction of the usual trail, she saw a new path had been started and decided to be daring. She veered to the right and jogged uphill, working up a good sweat. The trail did not seem to go far before it abruptly ended. There was a big, flat rock at the end of it. She stood atop the flat rock to notice a cliff that dropped off about twenty feet below her. She turned on her flashlight and pointed the beam downward into the pit. What she saw astounded her. There were piles of discarded furniture, some of it upholstered, its fabric filled with green moss and dirt. Wooden furniture had broken upon landing, and she saw shards of glass from vases and various knickknacks. She thought she even saw a framed photo, but her beam did not reach far enough down to identify anyone. She took affront to people dumping in a wooded area. There were refuse stations for that kind of thing, and it turned her stomach to see these beautiful woods desecrated. She grinned when she saw a chipmunk pop its head from the moldy cushion of the beat-up sofa. She heard rustling in the underbrush behind her, so she turned and made her way back to her original trail.

As she rounded the final bend toward the trail’s entrance, she pulled her ticket from her pocket and shoved it on the ranger’s station post. As she turned, she ran straight into a brick wall that smelled of musk. She stumbled backward and slowly regained her footing. When she looked up, the forest ranger was standing there with his hands on his hips. He was wearing a frown. “Nazar doesn’t like people running around here late at night.” His voice was a deep baritone.

She bent and placed her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Sweat dripped from her forehead. When she could talk, she said, “Well, you’re here now. So I’m safe.”

He growled, “I wasn’t here earlier, so you were far from safe!”

She stood tall and explained, “I have a bakery to open in just a few hours. This is the only time I can enjoy the trails.”

He nearly barked, “It ain’t safe, is what I’m telling you!”

She raised her tiny flashlight and showed it to him. “I came prepared.”

He walked toward his post and replied, “Sure you did.”

She began running home and glanced over her shoulder to see him examining her ticket and lifting it to his nose to smell it. Her eyes rolled as she thought,
he is
a class-A weirdo.
He was a tall, big man with muscles that nearly cut into his shirtsleeves. She had never seen him out of his uniform. Not even in town. He always wore a crisp, short-sleeved, button-down, beige shirt with dark-brown pants. His black leather hiking boots were always polished, and he wore his badge proudly on his chest. He also had a brown felt hat with a wide brim. His eyes were dark brown, and his face had a strong jawline.

She was surprised his nametag didn’t read Ranger Rick, but it only read Ranger Bullock. In any other scenario other than tonight, many a woman would have considered him good-looking. However, on this night he made her shudder.

When she arrived home, she met Angus at their front door. He held out a bottle of ice-cold water to her, and she downed it in mere moments. She went to the kitchen, pulled a banana-nut muffin out of the refrigerator, and toasted it. After spreading some butter on it, she sat at the counter with her husband and savored her breakfast. When she told him about her run, he placed his hand over hers and squeezed it. “If you’re going to take chances in those woods at night, I’m not going to allow you to go alone anymore.”

She opened her mouth to object, but saw that he was more than serious. She nodded and agreed. “I’ll have to rearrange my personal schedule a little and go after I close the bakery each day.”

“Which brings up another point, when do you plan on actually
closing
the bakery? Do you plan to be open seven days a week?”

She stared at the kitchen counter and made a quick decision. “I
want
to close up on weekends, but I don’t honestly know. I’m afraid that once the tourist season hits, I would lose too much business.”

“Do it for now, but warn your customers. That way they can load up on items on Fridays to get them through the weekend. When tourist season starts, close up shop on Tuesdays and Wednesdays instead, but keep the town apprised of all the changes.”

She smiled. She liked the idea. She would be sure to keep her customers informed by posting a custom sign on the door.

***

Myrna arrived at the bakery a half an hour early. She unlocked the door and flipped the lights on. When she entered the kitchen in the back, she pulled down five bowls, began mixing the dry batter, and slid the recipe cards closer. When she turned to the large refrigerator, she noticed it wasn’t humming. She opened the doors and found it was not cold in the least and the light didn’t turn on. She reached out and touched the milk and cream containers to find they had turned warm. All of their dairy supplies were ruined.

Frowning, she bent down and extended her hand down to where the fan should have been running at the base of the device. Her lip went up in a snarl, and she got down on all fours and crept around to the back of it. She examined the wire and plug to find it dislodged. When she looked closer, she saw that the long black cord looked as though it was gnawed upon. After standing up, she went to the sink, washed her hands, and went to the cash drawer just as Sophia entered the shop. Sophia was smiling, but when she noticed Myrna’s expression, the smile slid away.

Myrna’s face was flushed. She shoved the cash drawer shut with her hip and stared at Sophia. “We got trouble, but don’t worry about it. I’ll be back in twenty minutes and everything will be solved. I had to take the fifty you left behind from the drawer.”

“Where are you going?”

Myrna blew past her and out the door. As she passed, she growled, “I’m going to assert myself.” She shut the shop door so hard it sent the bell atop it into a frenzy. Sophia watched her jump in her truck and speed away down Main Street.

Sophia went to the kitchen and saw the refrigerator doors open. Upon closer inspection, she saw the plug dislodged and the cord a gnarled mess. She began the sad task of emptying the refrigerator. She hated to waste money, and here it was there second week in business and disaster had struck. Sophia only hoped that Myrna was successful at whatever she was about to do.