Tea Cups and Carnage (2 page)

We’d also hired Nick Michaels for the summer. His mom ran Sadie’s Pies on the Fly and was one of my BFF’s. This would be the kid’s first full-time week since he came home from Stanford for the summer. I hoped he was up to the challenge.

As I considered our staffing for the Summer Beach Blast, I noticed the table had gone quiet. Mary had sat down and Bill, and the rest of the table, was looking at me. “Sorry, what?”

“Way to pay attention,” Josh muttered. “He asked you if you wanted to attend the city council session next time to present our results.”

“Oh, yeah, I could do that.” I looked at Mary. “Aren’t you going to be there?”

“Our daughter is expecting our first grandchild this month, so I’m heading to Idaho as soon as labor starts.” Mary smiled at Bill. “I know I’m leaving at a bad time, but you can’t plan babies.”

“As long as you leave me talking points, I’d love to step in for you.” Okay, so love wasn’t quite the emotion I was feeling. I wrote a note so I’d remember to attend. I tended to file my liaison reports electronically and hadn’t been present at a council meeting for months. Both Mayor Baylor and I liked it that way. He didn’t have to pretend he liked me and I didn’t have to be around the guy.

We finished off the rest of the agenda in record time. I looked at Bill, hoping he’d close the meeting early rather than opening the agenda up for new business. Josh fumbled with a list from the pocket of his black suit and ran his hand over the wrinkles in the page that had been folded and unfolded several times. I snuck a peek at the list and groaned. All the items he tried to get onto the committee’s agenda month after month were on the list. He must have read my thoughts because he narrowed his eyes and moved the paper out of my line of sight.

“Now, since we have a little time,” Bill said and I watched Josh sit forward in his chair waiting to pounce on the opening. Bill didn’t even look Josh’s way as he continued. “I’d love to learn more about our newest member. Kathi, can you tell us a little about you, your new store, and why you came to South Cove?”

The men around the table broke into applause as Kathi stood, blushing. “Why, aren’t you all the sweetest things?”

I looked at Aunt Jackie across the table who shrugged. I guess I just didn’t get why Kathi was a big deal. Yes, she had a southern drawl, and, I’ll admit she was beautiful, but the men in the room were treating her like some Hollywood starlet had arrived in our little town. I realized Kathi had started talking and I was still zoned out.

“So, I decided to take my love for china into a specialty shop that only sells tea-related items. Tea Hee will sell specialty teas, teacups, saucers, and tea pots. The idea came to me one day when I was in my grandmother’s china cabinet and noticed how many different sets of good china we’d collected over the years. Of course, many of the sets were missing pieces, but they all had enough cups and saucers to put on a good tea party with the girls. And who doesn’t like a good tea party on a sunny afternoon?” Kathi paused, looking around the room focusing her attention at me. “I’m sure Jill and her friends often get together in the afternoons for tea and gossip. Am I right?”

I froze as every member of the table turned their attention to me, shook their heads, and went back to watching Kathi. That just ticked me off. “Actually, no, most of my friends have jobs during the day so afternoon get-togethers are kind of hard to plan. We do like to do girls’ night at Darla’s winery every week or so.”

A flicker of anger or disappointment passed behind Kathi’s eyes and then her mask was back on and I questioned even seeing it. “Well, that’s just sad. Women need more time to bond. There’s nothing like girlfriends to keep your life settled. Men come and go, but a good girlfriend is gold.” She shook a finger at me. “That was what my mama always told me when I was a child. You’d be happier if you followed Mama’s advice.”

I wanted to tell her I had plenty of strong friendships with women, but Amy and I had just gone through a rough patch and I had made Sadie mad a few months ago by not telling her that Greg was going to question her kid. OK, maybe my female relationships weren’t as strong as they needed to be. However, I didn’t think that an afternoon of serving tea and cookies at the house was going to make my friendships stronger. Besides, with Kathi’s description of her new business, I was sure she’d be back on the train to Texas in less than three months. Teacups were too specialized a niche to generate business for a new shop.

So I smiled and nodded. “Your mother sounds like a smart woman.”

“Oh, she was a bit of a drunk and had the worst taste in men, but she did have a good point once in a while.” Kathi turned and looked at Mayor Baylor. “Even a blind dog can find a bone once in a while, am I right?”

Our creepy mayor laughed and smirked at me. “Go on Kathi, tell us more about the tea shop. It sounds fascinating.”

I tried not to gag, but I must have made some noise in the back of my throat as Bill looked at me. Leaning over the table, he whispered, “Are you all right?”

I was far from all right, but before I could do more than nod, Sherry King pushed open the door to the shop, letting it slam into a table that was sitting a little too close. Pat Williams, her sidekick, rolled her eyes and gently shut the door.

“I’m so sorry I’m late. We had such awful traffic on Highway One from Bakerstown today. Pat and I had our weekly mani-pedi appointment this morning. Frighteningly early, but you all know how hard finding personal time is when you run a successful shop.” Sherry pulled a chair up next to Mayor Baylor but twisted her head when she saw Kathi. “Who is she?”

Now, this was getting entertaining. I leaned back in my chair and waved a hand toward Bill, encouraging him to answer Sherry’s question.

He coughed into his hand, then made the introductions. “Sherry, this is our newest member, Kathi Corbin. She’s opening the shop next to The Glass Slipper.” Bill looked at Kathi. “Sherry and Pat run Vintage Duds. Go ahead Kathi, you were saying?”

And with that, he turned the floor back to Kathi, who spoke for over twenty minutes on the subject of Tea Hee, her time in the pageant world, and how she’d made the decision to move because Texas was just so freaking hot.

Sherry’s face turned pink five minutes into Kathi’s discourse, red at ten, and by the time Bill closed the meeting, I would say Sherry’s face was a lovely shade of royal purple. The girl didn’t like anyone stealing her limelight and especially not someone who, to be frank, was prettier.

I thought I might just give Sherry a mirror and tell her it was magic. She was acting more like the evil queen than I’d ever seen her reveal in public. And I loved it.

Sue me, I’m shallow. Especially when it comes to my boyfriend’s ex-wife. Yep. Greg King, South Cove police detective, and also my boyfriend, had once been married to the woman.

Of course, I knew she didn’t see me as competition. How? She’d told me so on more than one occasion.

A smile still curved my lips as I cleaned up after the business meeting. I shoved a chair back under a table and wiped the top of the table clean.

“That was some show.” Sasha put two more chairs under the table.

I put the last chair in place and looked around the room. The shop was back in order in a total of eight minutes. We were getting better at this cleanup process. “I wasn’t sure you were watching. I saw you over on the couch reading.”

“Trying to read. The circus was just too entertaining.” Sasha stretched. “I’ll watch the shop until Toby gets here. Don’t you have a class with Amy this morning?”

“Yeah.” I glanced at the clock. I still had ten minutes before I was supposed to meet Amy Newman at the city gym. I retrieved my gym bag from the back office and strolled down Main Street to the building that housed the rec center along with a small day care. Sasha had Olivia on the waiting list for the next open slot.

South Cove sat smack dab in the center of the coast line. We got our traffic from tourists wandering down Highway One and looking for a quick bite to eat or a break away from the road. The town had one diner, one coffee shop – mine, one bookstore – mine, and a ton of artists’ shops including The Glass Slipper, across the street from my coffee shop. Tourists could choose from a variety of lodging options, from one of our upscale bed and breakfasts, to a lower-priced hotel on the main highway, to a luxury villa at The Castle. Oh, and we had South Cove Winery. Now, isn’t that the perfect tourist town?

The morning air was cool and helped me get the meeting out of my head. The only good thing that had happened was how mad Sherry had been when she stomped out. Someday that woman would realize the world didn’t revolve around her. And with Kathi around, someday could be sooner than Sherry knew.

I opened the door to the gym and went straight to the women’s locker room. Greg had convinced Mayor Baylor to sponsor a martial arts class at the gym mostly so his deputies could fit it into their schedule. Greg, Tim, and Toby were already playing a quick game of hoops to pass the time. The men were already dressed in shorts and t-shirts by the time I walked into the gym. Greg looked over at me and his eyes crinkled and he winked at me. Then he threw a three-pointer and gave me a full-on smile. The boy was a showoff, but he was my showoff.

Amy waved me over to the mat where she was stretching out. She patted the place next to her. “I didn’t think you were going to make it. Long meeting?”

I sank down to the floor and stretched over my legs. “Don’t ask. It was brutal, and, since Mary’s going to Idaho, I have to go to the next city council meeting to do the report. Can’t I just give it to you? You have to go anyway.”

“No way. Mayor Baylor has made it perfectly clear I’m there in an administrative role only. He’d crap if he saw my first draft of notes. I’m always planning tomorrow’s to-do list or writing my shopping list.” She nudged me. “Look at that fine piece of man. Who is he?”

Two men had just strolled into the gym. Matt, one of the newest South Cove residents who worked at the winery and was also Darla’s boyfriend, and another guy, tall, dark and handsome, with a touch of scruff on his face. Bad boy incarnate. I recognized the guy as one of the band members who were playing the winery this week. He’d come over to the table where Darla and Matt sat with Greg and I.

“One of Matt’s friends, Blake something. He sings lead for Atomic Power, the band playing at the winery.” I stretched over my straight legs watching as the newcomer was introduced to the group. “Are we the only women in this class?”

Amy grinned and stood as the instructor called the group over toward the middle of the gym floor. “Isn’t it amazing?”

Ninety minutes later, Amy and I were in our favorite booth at Diamond Lille’s eating lunch. I watched as my friend inhaled her burger and I went back to my fish fry basket. The food made me forget about the stiffness and pain my body was going to feel just as soon as I stood up. “I think your exercise class is going to kill me.”

“It’s a great workout. You have to be on a waiting list for months to get into Tony’s classes. I can’t believe Greg convinced him to come here.” Amy took a sip of her vanilla milkshake. “What’s up with that?”

“I have no clue.” I looked thoughtfully at the French fry in my hand. “I think they were college friends or something.”

After one class, I was already rethinking my decision to sign up for the class so I decided to change the subject. Amy and I had gone through a rough patch a few months ago and we were still being careful of each other’s feelings. Maybe a little too careful. I missed the ease our friendship had before the fight. Greg kept telling me to just be patient, that it would regain its temperament, but I wondered, not for the first time, if Amy and I could be who we had been. “Have you met Kathi Corbin yet?”

Amy served as the city receptionist, Mayor Baylor’s secretary, the city council’s scribe, and the city planner. She had a degree in the planning stuff, but it took all the jobs cobbled together to make a full-time position. She liked the freedom working for South Cove gave her. Especially since she got to surf most evenings and weekends. “Kathi’s been in the offices a lot lately. She’s definitely a looker. I swear, Marvin can be downstairs in the staff kitchen but as soon as she walks in the door, he’s right there. It’s kind of creepy.”

“I bet if Tina was there he wouldn’t be so quick to fawn over Kathi.” The mayor’s wife Tina had an iron fist when it came to her husband and their marriage. What Tina wanted, Tina got. And she didn’t take kindly to him even looking at other women.

“Tina’s out of town with the girls. They went to LA for a spa week.” Amy grinned. “They’re probably eating seaweed and doing who knows what to their bodies.”

“Our honorable mayor better watch his actions. Tina may be out of town, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have spies watching out for her interests.” Carrie, our waitress, stood next to our table. She’d worked at Diamond Lille’s since before I’d moved to South Cove. She refilled my iced tea glass and Amy’s water. “Tina won’t take kindly to him sniffing around the new shop owner.”

“Seriously? You really think Tina has someone watching him?” I stared at Carrie as she paused perching the two pitchers on the edge of the table.

“I know she does. You girls are both naïve. Tina Baylor didn’t get to be the mayor’s wife by letting things fall to chance.” A man yelled her name out from the kitchen. “Tiny’s in a mood today. I better run. You almost ready for your checks?”

“Sure.” I waited until Carrie was out of earshot before turning toward Amy. I’d lived in South Cove for almost six years now but the ins and outs of life in a small town still surprised me. “Did you know about Tina’s spies?”

“No, but I wouldn’t put it past her. The woman reviews our phone records monthly. She says she’s looking for any potential campaign contributor so she can reach out when he’s running for office. But Carrie’s explanation makes more sense.” Amy picked up her milkshake, looked at the creamy concoction, and set it aside. “I’d dump Justin before I’d put myself through all that to make sure he was faithful.”