Girls' Night Out Murder (Ryli Sinclair 2) (21 page)

“I got it!” Jax yelled a few hours later as she barreled
through the door of my bookstore and bar
Gone
with the Whiskey
. She paused to catch her breath and run her fingers
through her short, black hair. Looking around the dimly lit bar, she finally
spotted Gramps and me behind the counter.

“What’d you get, honey?” Gramps asked as he dried a glass
and put it under the bar.

“The contract with
Plentiful
Grapes Winery
. They’re gonna start carrying my baked goods.”

“Congratulations,” I said, rushing out from behind the bar
to give her a hug. “But I thought they weren’t going to make a decision until
tonight.”

“Antonio called and said he spoke with Paul, the other
partner, and got the go-ahead from him. Antonio said my truffles were to die
for!”

“Of course they are,” Gramps said.

Jax beamed at Gramps. “Every three days they want a dozen of
my Death-by-Chocolate cupcakes, two dozen dark chocolate brownies, and three
dozen truffles. They think the pairing of the wine and chocolate will be a
hit.”

I pointed to the near-empty display case at the end of the
bar. “You know I agree,” I said.

Jax had been providing me with sweet treats to pair with
different drinks I serve for a while now, and my customers loved it. This
month’s special was A Bourbon Delight: a glass of bourbon and a chocolate bourbon
cupcake with Bailey’s frosting.

I bought the bookstore and bar,
Gone with the Whiskey
, about two years ago. Before it was a
bookstore and bar it had been a dingy hole-in-the-wall bar that rarely saw
customers. The previous owner was eager to get rid of the place, and I needed a
change from the hectic job I had in San Francisco. So I called up Gramps and we
took a look at the property. Gramps had the money for the down payment, so he
and I decided to go into business together. My mother was thrilled…she was
tired of him being underfoot all day at the house.

“Very proud of you, Jax,” Gramps said gruffly from behind
the bar. “Good to know one of you got your grandma’s genes. Goodness knows
Jaycee can’t cook or bake,” he chuckled.

I stuck my tongue out at him. He just continued laughing.

“Better watch it, Gramps,” Jax said, “or she may start
charging you for drinks.”

Gramps grinned. “I’d like to see her try.”

Gramps had enlisted during Vietnam and ended up serving
twenty-four years in the Army. Since he had a college degree when he enlisted, he
rose through the ranks as an officer. My mom and grandma followed my Gramps
around from Army base to Army base. When the Colonel finally retired in late
1990, just before the First Gulf War, my grandma was thrilled. Unfortunately,
not long after they started their retirement together, my grandma was diagnosed
with breast cancer. After a long, tough battle, she died when I was only seven and
Jax was five.

I walked back behind the bar and gave him my best stare. He
continued drying glasses and totally ignored me.

“Do you think you could help me deliver the goodies tomorrow?”
Jax asked. “I don’t have enough carriers yet to haul all this in one take. I
don’t want to risk dropping something.”

“Sure,” I said. “What time do you want to leave?”

“How about a little before eight. That will give us plenty
of time to get there, unload, and get you back before you open. Antonio said
he’d meet us there around eight since Rebecca doesn’t usually get there until
nine. He’ll be the one to let us in.”

“Sounds good.”

Jax let out a squeal and clapped her hands together. “I’m so
excited. I better head over to the house and start baking. Now that I have a
contract with this winery, who knows, maybe other wineries will follow. And if
I keep getting clients, I can finally look into buying a place and starting my
own bakery!”

Gramps and I watched Jax dash out the door. “I’m glad she’s
getting some business,” I told Gramps.

Gramps grunted. “Looks like I’ll be using the other half of
my gun range sale to buy her a business like I did you.”

I looked over and grinned at him. He may want to pretend
he’s a toughie, but I knew better.

After grandma died, Gramps didn’t know what to do with
himself, so he did the only thing a retired Colonel could do…he opened his own
gun range. For nearly twenty years he successfully ran the gun range, until one
day he decided to sell. Luckily, when I needed the capital to buy the bookstore
and bar Gramps had it. Looks like he’d be doing the same thing for Jax.

“I’m gonna sit down and have me one of these bourbon cupcakes,”
Gramps suddenly announced.

“Don’t be eating all our profits,” I joked.

Gramps waived his arm at me. “Bah. Don’t go telling your
elder what to do. I may be old, but I could still kick your ass if I had to.”

I loved Gramps’ spunk. He may be going on seventy-five, but
he still had the body of a soldier. I knew for a fact he jogged every morning
and lifted weights every other day. His close-crop salt and pepper hair, green
eyes, and chiseled face still made the ladies swoon. I just wish he’d notice.
Gramps hadn’t dated anyone since grandma died over twenty-three years ago.

“Here’s your bourbon,” I said. “You’ll want to drink it all.
Mom’s having her book club here today, and you know how those women love to
ogle you.”

Gramps groaned. “Better make it a double!”

           
Jenna
is a former court reporter turned educator. She has a Master’s degree in
Special Education, and an Education Specialist degree in Curriculum and
Instruction. She also spent twelve years in the ministry. She currently lives
in Missouri, but has lived in six different states throughout her adult life.
She spends her days teaching reading and writing to students...hoping to
instill in them the same passion she has. When she’s not writing, she likes to
repurpose glassware…making chandeliers, lamps, nightlights, and many other
crafts from bottles. She also writes a blog
http://jennabuhmanmoments.blogspot.com/
.

The first book in the Ryli Sinclair Mystery series is
Picture Perfect Murder.
You can purchase
this book at
http://amazon.com/author/jennastjames
.
Thank you for taking the time to read the Ryli Sinclair books. If you could
please leave a review on Amazon, it would be greatly appreciated.