Page 15 of Donut Disaster
We all head the long two-block trek back to Country Cottage Road, and I think about Noah and Everett, and how I dread breaking anyone’s heart.
I think about Dr. Morgan Dawson and how someone made sure his heart stopped.
Cookie barks from the seat next to mine as I pull into my driveway, and I give him a scratch behind the ears.
“Whoever did this to Dr. Dawson is going to pay. And you and I, my friend, are going to make sure they do it soon.”
There’s a killer on the loose, and that killer just so happened to have access to some very powerful drugs.
I’m betting that dwindles our pool of suspects down a notch.
But something in me says it doesn’t.
Chapter 5
The next morning, the Cutie Pie Bakery and Cakery is bustling with its early riser crowd, followed by a gaggle of women who just finished up from a Swift Cycle class—and that includes Britney herself and Noah’s other ex, Cormack Featherby.
Britney, Noah’s almost ex, usually sends her sweaty clientele my way to restore all the calories they sweated off to the oldies. It’s a shrewd business plan that works for us both.
The interior of the bakery glows a butter soft yellow as the warm sun streams in from outside. My ex, Bear, helped collect all the furniture for the café from various thrift stores around the area, and he painted them all in various shades of pastels. I love the mix and match appeal of it all. The bakery is downright adorable if I do say so myself.
There’s a giant walkway blown through the wall that connects us to the Honey Pot Diner next door. The Honey Pot was my grandmother Nell’s first retail baby. She loved it so much she had a large resin oak tree installed in the middle of the restaurant. Its branches extend over all the ceiling and even creep over the ceiling of my café. Each branch is intertwined with twinkle lights and it gives it a magical appeal. Nell Sawyer was magical as well. How I miss her horribly.
Britney and Cormack head my way, both with matching black yoga pants, matching black tank tops. Come to think of it, every woman who poured in here from Swift Cycle is wearing just about the same thing. The uniform of the young and supple.
“What can I get for you, ladies?” I step up to the register, next to Lily Swanson who’s been working with me since the beginning. Lily and I haven’t always gotten along. Okay, so we’re still not on solid ground. She’s best friends with Keelie’s twin sister, Naomi—Keelie is my best friend. And as fate and my lack of popularity with Naomi would have it, Lily has remained loyal to some silly grudge Naomi is still upholding since high school. That’s back when I dated Bear Fisher, and Naomi thought he should be dating her. Ironically, Naomi was just about the only girl Bear didn’t cheat on me with.
Hey? Maybe he had an inkling way back when that he would one day get serious with her sister? Bear is with Keelie now, and thankfully Naomi doesn’t seem to have a problem with it.
Britney taps her bright red nails over the counter. She takes a moment to frown at my bruised eye. It’s gotten a bit better, but there wasn’t anything in my cosmetic arsenal that was effectively able to cover it up. “The smoky eye look isn’t for you, Lenann. Coffee, black, throw on a glazed donut. I had one the night of Noah’s party and they were todiefor.” She gives a sly wink as she makes a joke at the expense of the deceased.
“Now, now, Britney,” I tease. “You’re better than that. How’s Finn doing?”
“I don’t know.” She glances to her phone. “He hasn’t texted me since last night.”
“Last night?” I raise a brow at both her and Cormack. “It sounds to me as if someone is in l-o-v-e.”
Britney growls as if the very thought offended her.
“Fine.” She swipes the coffee and the treat her way. “But don’t tell Noah. I want him to hear it from me once the divorce is final. I’m not sure if he mentioned it, but I had a propensity to take a lover or two during the short duration of our marriage. It’s not something I’m particularly proud of, so I thought I’d keep Noah in the dark that I’ve given my heart to someone else yet again—at least until the ink dries on the divorce papers.” She takes off and finds a seat near the window.
“Can you believe that?” I whisper to Cormack. “Britney and my new brother?”
Cormack is quick to wave her off. “Oh, who cares about that witch. On tome.” An obnoxious grin blooms on her hot pink lips. She holds out her left hand, and I can’t help but frown at the sparkler on her finger. Noah bought me an engagement ring earlier this summer—something he was hoping to give me one day. Cormack found it while rummaging in his closet and quickly made a replica of the giant rock and gave Noah the original to keep in his safe. Noah says he tried to explain to Cormack that the ring wasn’t for her, but she’s too lost in her delusions for anyone to pull her out. I can’t help but think about that every time I see it.
She leans over the counter. “Guess who I’m meeting right here in five minutes?”
“A nice man from the local psychiatric clinic who wields a big net?” Here’s hoping.
“No, silly. Amanda Wellington. I’ve hired her company, Make it Happen, to help with the wedding.”
“What wedding?”
Lainey is already hitched and… my mind draws a blank as to whom she might be talking about.
“My wedding to Noah.”
Before I can properly process her newfound madness—or I suppose it’s old hat by now, the chime on the door rattles and Amanda walks in with a wave. Her strawberry red hair is pulled back into a bun and she’s wearing a hot pink skirt with a matching silk blazer. Amanda is always impeccably dressed.