"The truth has a nasty habit of revealing itself.”
Who am I? Just a struggling young woman trying to make ends meet cleaning up after all the rich people in town who treat me like I don’t even exist...
Even a pillow over my head couldn’t silence the racket in the morning. Between Jasper’s barking and someone’s frantic pounding on my front door, I gave up trying to get an extra few winks. I glanced at my bedside clock and moaned. Half past six. Was another half hour of sleep asking too much? Jasper’s wet tongue on my face answered that question. “Okay, okay. What’s the emergency?” I asked her, sniffing the air. Nope, no fire. Glad I eliminated that potential catastrophe, but I smelled something. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled my nose. What? I leaped out of bed and dashed down the stairs. Hitch, all bright eyed and ready for the day, stood in my kitchen in his snug jeans and a t-shirt that hugged his muscles. But I wasn’t paying attention to his sculpted body. “Did you sneak in through Jasper’s doggie door?” I asked, leaning against the door frame with my arms crossed. I snorted, imagining him half-way in and half-way out like he’d found me.
“Didn’t have to,” he said, handing me a cup of steaming coffee with just enough cream to turn it a sweet caramel color. My heart flipped when I realized he’d remembered how I liked it. “Jasper let me in.” Hitch made a grand gesture for me to sit down at my own kitchen chair like I was his guest. A bag from A Donut A Day shop on the table tempted me. “Actually, your door wasn’t locked, Sunny. You really need to be more careful, especially—”
“Because anyone will just walk inside, Hitch? I don’t think so. Not with Jasper on the inside sounding like he’s ready to bite an intruder’s head off. You know, I’ve managed a-okay while you were off in New York playing security guard and getting yourself shot. So, which one of us needs to be more careful?” I shot him a glare that I hoped let him know that I got him on that one. His lips twitched at the edge. Not, the response I was going for. I resented how he thought he could just swoop back into my life and take charge like he hadn’t broken my heart once already.
“We’re business partners,” I spit at him as if that explained all my hurt feelings. “And, business partners make kind gestures for each other. That’s all this is.” He swept his hand over the table. “Coffee and something from your favorite shop in town to get your day off to a good start.” He leaned toward me. “What did you think I was proposing?” “Oh.” Maybe I had read more into his visit than necessary. “I thought I did lock my door,” I added a bit defensively as I opened the bag expecting my favorite cinnamon covered donut holes. Instead, I found a toasted breakfast bagel with egg and melted cheese on a layer of cream cheese, topped with a sprinkle of chopped chives. That was a close second.
“I already ate mine,” he said. “Dig in.” He pulled a giant dog bone from his pocket for Jasper who’d been sitting politely while a pool of drool puddled on the floor in front of her. At least I hadn’t drooled on the table. Hitch leaned back and stretched out his long legs, bumping into my foot. “Here’s what I’m thinking, Sunshine. Since it’s still bright and early, we’ll get our list of supplies put together to get started on the Kitty Castle, then drop in on Gina.”
“Why Gina?” I said around a mouthful of bagel, spraying more than a few crumbs on the table. “Sorry.” I covered my mouth. Hitch grinned. “I’m glad that you’re just being yourself around me, messy hair, pj’s, and talking with your mouth full. Kind of like we’re brother and sister, don’t you think?”
“No! That’s not at all what I’m thinking. You barged in without an invitation, and I had to see what was going on. If I’d known you were planning to visit—”
“You would have showered and put on clothes?” He hitched his eyebrows up in question marks. “I would have double-checked that the door was locked,” I shot back. Hitch let out a deep belly laugh. “Well, I’m glad that’s cleared up.” He tapped his lip. “You have a big blob of cream cheese right there, Sunshine.” I finished the bagel in a pouty silence. “Hey… truce? I’m sorry I barged in and woke you up. It’s just that this missing bonsai tree is really bothering me.” I sipped my coffee. Perfection. “Harry hired me to protect it, and I don’t like to leave a job unfinished even though it’s not really my job anymore. I don’t know why, but I still feel responsible.”
“Responsible or needing to find answers?” I asked. “I mean, Maxine’s involved. How did she get Harry’s collection of orchids and the bonsai tree to begin with? And, Conrad’s story seems logical, but who knows, especially with Charlotte going missing all of a sudden. Is he really looking out for her interest or his own? It’s awfully convenient for Conrad that Harry isn’t around to weigh in on his version of the whole break-in mess. Was it really Harry’s idea to steal the bonsai tree and make an insurance claim?” Hitch looked at me without commenting. “I don’t know, Hitch, this is a big tangled mess.” I took another big bite. I could easily get used to this kind of surprise every morning. Hitch crumpled up the bagel bag and threw it in my recycling bin, then sat down again. “I couldn’t agree more, and you summed it up well. That’s why I want to go to Gina’s house. Just a friendly drop-in to find out what she knows about the bonsai tree.”
“To catch her off-guard, you mean?” He chuckled. “That’s usually the best way to get information. If she came back and took the tree from your yard, I don’t want to give her a chance to ditch it if she knows we’re coming. But I’m not convinced that she does have it.” “I agree. What would be the point? If she was after money, how would she find a buyer? That leaves Maxine and Conrad.”
“Or our friendly Officer Mick Walker. Don’t forget that he was poking around.” I almost spit out the last bit of coffee I’d just gulped. “I’m not a fan of Mick, but I’m not sure he’d cross the line into stealing something, valuable or not.” “No, but I don’t think he’d hesitate to help Maxine if he thought there’d be a nice payoff waiting. Maybe she said she owned it, and he believed her.” “Great. We have to watch our backs around that guy. I thought with the state police involved, we could forget about Mick.” Hitch drummed his fingers on the table, mulling over our puzzle. “Look at it this way, Sunshine. If Mick is involved with something illegal or unethical, he might have to resign.” I felt my lips spread into a big grin.
“What are we waiting for?” “For you to get dressed?” I looked down at my cartoon jammies and felt my cheeks heat up. While sitting here with Hitch, eating and bickering like… well, brother and sister, I grudgingly admitted to myself that I’d completely forgotten I’d jumped out of bed and rushed downstairs half-dressed. “Feed the kittens while I make myself presentable?” I said.
~~~~~~
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If there's a cat on the cover of a book, more than likely I'll be buying it...
This is Gabby and I take full responsibility for adding this video...
This book starts off with a bang! Actually several different kinds! The first is the auctioneer looking at our main character, Sunny Shaw, and yelling SOLD! Sunny, of course, is looking around to see who had bought the building that was once owned by her grandparents... Only to discover that, supposedly, she had...
Sunny had been talking with the man who had come to stand by her during the auction. He mentioned that he had hoped to buy the building that had just been sold. But accepted she had won and walked away... Shaw looked around and was trying to figure out what was going on...
But before long, there were screams and shouts of alarm. A murder had occurred! Sunny was to discover that it was the man who had just left her side... Now what?!
“Harry shot you?” was all I managed to say. My kitchen door slammed, and I heard footsteps approaching. “What happened to the two of you?” Tilly shouted. “Did you forget about me and my coffee?” “Does she know?” I whispered to Hitch. He nodded. “Oh,” Tilly said after she took one look at what had to be our glum expressions. She set the coffee carafe on my little side table. “Here, I brought some magic to cheer you up.” She pulled Stash out of her pocket. “This little puffball has been sleeping in here since you handed her to me.” “Poor thing.” I took her in my arms and stroked her soft fur. She rewarded me with a satisfied purr, a magic spell that instantly made me feel better. “She must have been terrified in that big empty abandoned building.” Stash stood on all fours, arched her back, and jumped off my lap, curling up between Jasper’s big front paws. Jasper sniffed the tiny kitten and wagged her tail, which made Princess Muffin jump out of Hitch’s arm and pounce again. “Well, look at that—Jasper, the kitten whisperer. Stash and Jasper are best friends already. Jasper can be the nanny in our new Kitty Castle.” From Hitch’s raised eyebrows, I remembered that I hadn’t shared my plan with him yet. “There’s plenty of room for your orchids and my shakes and cakes plus kitties.”
Two main themes concurrently run in this delightful story. One is that two friends have reunited after Hatch had taken a job in New York and left Sunny behind in a town where Sunny had lived most of her life. Now he was back with a big surprise! He has purchased a building that had been owned by her family and was now proposing that they go into business together...
Second, of course, is a murder that took place in the first few pages and continues as a mystery to be solved throughout the book. I confess I missed identifying the villain before the book ended. Kudos to Emmie Lyn who kept me guessing all the way through!
Lyn has also provided great characters... One main neighbor who lives across the street from Sunny, admittedly, provides most of the humor that is spotlighted in the subtitle...
“Tilly!” I yelled as I barged inside without knocking. “In here, Sunny,” she answered, wiping drool from the edge of her mouth and trying to sound like she hadn’t just woken up. I’d seen this act before. “Where’s the fire?” she asked like I was overreacting “I haven’t seen anything happen on our street.” She blinked several times, giving me her innocent look. What could I say? At this point, I supposed it didn’t matter. She looked at me, then out the window. “Oh. Did I fall asleep for a minute?” “Probably more than a minute.” I sank onto her couch. “The bonsai tree is gone.” “And, my flamingoes?” I knew she was trying to lighten up my mood. “All dead.” I tried to grin but couldn’t manage.
I slid the card out and read, “To my dearest friend, Charlotte. Your loss is my loss. Harry is forever in my heart. Love, Mildred.” I choked. “Mildred? Who are you pretending to be?” “If you must know, that’s my legal name. I’ve never liked it, and I don’t even know when my father started calling me Tilly. I think it had something to do with me running around singing Silly Tilly instead of Silly Milly which I guess I couldn’t say. Anyway, it made my father laugh and the nickname stuck. I was always Silly Tilly in my father’s eyes.” Hitch grunted and mumbled, “Silly Tilly and nothing has changed.” She swatted his arm, but we all chuckled because the name fit her to a T.
And it had really all started back in New York, when Hatch had been working as a bodyguard...for...plants... One in particular, a Bonsai Tree
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