The Vampire's Valentine Surprise: A Nocturne Falls Short (2 page)

“As am I. Doesn’t mean I have to like them.” He kissed her once more. “I should let you get to it. I’m sure you have a thousand things to do.”

“Thanks for reminding me.” She smiled. “The rules say I can’t start baking anything yet, but I do have a list of prep to take care of.”

“All right. I’ll be home until it’s time for the judging. Unless you’ve changed your mind and you want me to stay?”

“No. You being here would only make me more nervous. Go home and work on the UV problem. I’ll call if something comes up.”

“Very good. Or call me if you need anything. I’ll run it right over. Best of luck now. Love you.”

“Thanks. Love you, too.” She gave him a little wave, not bothering to tell him that if she had forgotten something, she was out of luck. The contest rules stated that contestants had to have everything with them at the time of check-in. The most an assistant could do was help with the baking or decorating.

He nodded and headed out of the tent, leaving her to work. She moved the coffee to her main worktable, enjoying the smell of it even if she wasn’t going to drink it, then flipped open her notebook and looked at her prep list.

According to the rules, chopping chocolate ahead of the contest’s start time was allowed. Delaney needed white chocolate for the buttercream and dark chocolate for the truffles. She pulled out the two massive blocks of high-end foil-wrapped chocolate she’d brought from her shop and laid them on one of the tables. They were about four times the amount she needed, so no chance of running out.

In fact, based on the contents of the two coolers of supplies she’d let Stanhill help pack, he’d doubled everything on her list.

She crouched down to sort through the plastic bin of tools she’d brought, in search of her chef’s knife and cutting board.

“Cheating already, Ellingham?”

The familiar voice brought her back to her feet, knife in hand. She looked straight into the eyes of Vicky Keller. The woman’s personal vendetta against Hugh and his family went back for years but it had grown noticeably worse after Delaney had opened her shop.

Vicky was the owner of Keller’s Sweets-n-Treats, which had been the only candy store in town until Delaney’s shop had opened. Vicky considered Delaney direct competition, that much was clear, but in Delaney’s mind there was a huge difference between what the two stores sold. Everything in Delaney’s was handmade. Everything in Vicky’s was purchased somewhere else, and while some of it was old-fashioned candy impossible to get in most shops, the rest of it was pretty ordinary fare.

Delaney couldn’t quite bring herself to smile. “Don’t tell me you’re competing.”

Vicky glanced at the knife in Delaney’s hand like it was some kind of unspoken threat. “I’m not, but Mary is.”

“Well, good luck to her.” Mary was Vicky’s very sweet teenage daughter. Delaney liked the girl. So much so, she’d taught her how to make truffles one day when the teenager had stopped in after school. Delaney doubted Mary had told her mother about that or any of the other visits she’d made to Delaney’s shop.

“She’s going to have a hard time winning if this contest is filled with cheaters.”

“Isn’t Mary competing in the junior division?”

Vicky frowned. “So?”

“So I’m in the adult division.” Delaney put the knife down and sighed, trying to find some patience. “And I’m also not cheating, Vicky. I’m prepping. The rules clearly state what kind of prep is allowed and chopping chocolate is fine. I’m not weighing it, I’m not melting it, I’m not making anything early. I’m just chopping. Cool? Or do you want me to call a judge over?”

Vicky sniffed. “I have to go see how Mary’s doing.”

“That’s what I thought.” Delaney turned back to her table. The last thing she needed this morning was to let Vicky get to her.

Delaney unwrapped the block of white chocolate, following Vicky with her eyes until she reached the opposite corner of the tent where Mary’s station was. Delaney caught the teenager’s eye and gave her a wave and a smile.

Mary grinned and waved back, only to be scolded by her mother.

With a shake of her head, Delaney went back to chopping. When she’d finished with the second block, she glanced over at Mary’s station again.

Vicky was gone and Mary looked distraught.

Delaney checked the time. Still an hour and forty-five minutes to go. She wiped her hands off and headed over to talk to Mary. No doubt her mother had said something to upset her.

“Hi, Mary. I didn’t know you were competing.”

Mary turned. She looked on the verge of tears. “Hi, Mrs. Ellingham.”

“You okay? Did your mom upset you? Forget what she said. Whatever you make is going to be fabulous.”

Mary sniffed and shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’m making an orange chocolate pound cake and I forgot my eggs.” She sniffed again. “You can’t make pound cake without eggs. I might as well go home. My mother was right, this was a bad idea.”

“Wait a sec. How many eggs do you need?”

Mary screwed up her face in an expression of gloom. “It’s pound cake. I need, like, all the eggs.”

“Which is how many exactly.”

Mary frowned. “A dozen. A whole freaking dozen.”

Delaney winked at her. “I can cover that.”

Mary’s mouth came open in surprise. “For real? Is that legal?”

“I’m not sure, but let’s find out. If it is, I’ll hook you up.” She raised her hand and gave a wave to one of the bake-off contest officials walking around.

The woman, wearing a hot-pink apron emblazoned with the contest’s heart-shaped cupcake logo, came over. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, we have a question. What do the rules say about giving another contestant ingredients?”

“There are no additional outside ingredients allowed. If you have some you feel are extra and you wish to give those away, that’s all right. What sort of ingredients are we talking about here?”

“Eggs. They’re definitely extra and they came in with me. You can check my cooler if you want.”

The woman smiled. “No need. You’re good to go.”

“Great, thanks.” Delaney gave Mary a thumbs-up. “We’re in the clear.”

Mary grabbed her arm. “Mrs. Ellingham, are you sure you can spare a whole dozen eggs?”

“I have three times as much stuff as I need. I’ll be fine.”

“You’re the best. Thank you!” Mary hugged her.

Delaney gave her a squeeze. “You’re very welcome. I’ll go get them and be right back.”

Mary let her go and Delaney started through the tent toward her station. It was really getting packed as the last of the contestants and their assistants arrived in a flurry of activity. Delaney went around the center aisle and looked toward her spot at the opposite end of the tent.

Someone was walking out of her station. Someone who looked very much like Vicky Keller.

H
ugh and Stanhill
sat in Mummy’s Diner, enjoying a rare breakfast out. Hugh had told Delaney he would be home, but the diner was closer and he wasn’t keen on going home just yet in case she needed him. This way, he could be nearby and ready to help. Although what he was going to do after breakfast, he wasn’t sure. Maybe Delaney would call before then.

As if on cue, his phone buzzed. He answered it after the first ring. “What can I do for you, my love?”

“You’re never going to believe this.”

“I hope I didn’t leave anything off her list,” Stanhill said softly.

Hugh held up a finger. “Let me guess—you forgot something.”

“No, I have more than enough of everything. I think Stanhill doubled everything I asked him to pack. But that’s not what I called about.”

“That’s good.” Hugh looked at his rook. “You’re in the clear.”

The server came over with the coffee carafe. “Warm you boys up?”

“Warm you up? Where are you,” Delaney asked.

“Stanhill and I are at Mummy’s having breakfast.” He nodded at the server so she’d freshen up his coffee. “What am I never going to believe?”

After a dramatic pause, Delaney said, “I stepped away from my station for about five minutes and when I headed back, Vicky Keller was in it. In my station! Right smack dab in the middle of it.”

“Delaney, think now,” Hugh said. “Are you absolutely sure that’s what you saw? That tent was already starting to fill up with people when I left. Maybe it was someone else. A judge checking that everything was in place.”

“Oh no, it was Icky Vicky, all right. She was behind my front table.”

“You’re positive. She wasn’t just walking by?”

“Yes. My eyesight is better than it ever was when I was human. She was
in
my station. Don’t you believe me?”

“Of course I believe you, my love. I just can’t imagine that woman would be so bold.”

“That makes two of us.”

“What’s going on?” Stanhill asked.

Hugh put his hand over the receiver on his cell phone. “Delaney says Vicky Keller was in her station.”

Stanhill’s brows shot up. “I smell trouble.”

“She
was
in my station,” Delaney repeated.

“I wouldn’t put it past her. She’s not an Ellingham fan.” Hugh sipped his coffee. “What do you think she was up to?”

“I think she was looking for eggs. Mary’s in the bake-off and she forgot hers. Poor kid. I’m going to give her a dozen because I have plenty, but I think her mother was hoping to steal them from me, which would be a double win as far as Vicky’s concerned. Screw me while helping her kid.”

“Are you missing eggs?”

“Not that I can tell. But I’m not really sure how many dozen Stanhill put in the cooler. Can you ask him?”

Hugh looked up from his phone again. “How many dozen eggs did you put in Delaney’s cooler for the bake-off?”

“Four,” Stanhill answered. Then he squinted. “Or five. Captain kept jumping in the cooler when I was loading it and now I can’t remember.”

“Stanhill said he doesn’t remember if he put four or five dozen in because your chubby cat was in the way.”

“I heard what he said and he did not say Captain was in the way. Or chubby.”

Hugh’s smirk changed to a grin. “How many dozen are in there now?”

A few moments went by before Delaney answered. “Four, so that tells me nothing.” She made a disgusted little noise. “Never mind. There’s nothing you can do without proof. And I don’t want to get Mary disqualified. But I’m keeping my eye on her mother.”

“I think that’s wise. If anything else happens, you let me know right away. I won’t have Vicky adding to your stress.”

“Okay. Thanks for listening. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” He hung up.

Stanhill leaned forward. “You think Keller did something? Or intended to?

Hugh shook his head. “I don’t doubt for a moment that Victoria Keller is up to something but what can we do? We have no proof and we weren’t there to witness it.”

Stanhill finished a bite of his pancakes and a sly smile crossed his face. “Corette’s a judge this year. I wasn’t supposed to say anything because that’s all supposed to be secret but it’s the day of the contest and the judges’ list will be announced soon enough.”

“Is that so?” Corette Williams was not only a skilled witch, she was Stanhill’s betrothed. She ran the bridal shop in town and was well liked by everyone. It was no surprise that she’d been chosen as a judge for this year’s bake-off.

Stanhill nodded. “She’s head of the Cake category. I guess they figured with her having the bridal shop, cakes weren’t too far out of her field, even if they weren’t for weddings. You want me to call her? Tell her something’s up?”

Hugh shook his head. “Not yet. Again, without proof Keller did anything, what can we say? But it’s good to know you have Corette on speed dial.” He picked up his coffee. “Just in case.”

T
he air horn
signaling the start of the bake-off had been blown half an hour ago and Delaney had just put her cake pans in the oven. She wiped her forehead and leaned against her worktable. Somehow, despite having the strength and fortitude of a vampire, she was feeling a little wiped out. It was the stress. She knew that.

She just didn’t know what to do about it.

She turned to her table to start cleaning up and begin the mascarpone frosting that would anchor the raspberries in each layer of her red velvet cake. And saw the coffee Hugh had bought her.

She smiled and picked up the cup. That man was just perfect. The coffee had gone cold, but she popped it in the small microwave the contest had provided and reheated it.

The first sip told her this was just what she needed. The tent was a little chilly, although she knew it would soon heat up as the ovens were being used, but for now, hot coffee—even if it was reheated—was just the thing.

She peeked at the cakes through the oven door. She’d programed the timer to go off about ten minutes early so she could monitor the progress and make a judgment call before they had any chance of being overcooked. The temperature gauge she’d set on the first rack was reading a little high compared to what the temperature was supposed to be, so she lowered the oven by ten degrees.

Satisfied, she got to work on her frosting, losing herself in the process she so enjoyed. By the time the timer went off, she had finished the mascarpone frosting and was halfway through the white chocolate buttercream.

She whipped around to get the cakes out and a wave of dizziness hit her. It felt like the sort of thing that sometimes happened when she hadn’t fed for a while. She chalked it up to being overstressed because she’d fed yesterday morning, a necessity to keep herself healthy as a vampire. She could easily go two or three days between feedings.

As far as normal food went, she’d had two pieces of toast this morning and nothing else. Her nerves made it seem like anything more would be risking an upset stomach.

Steadying herself, she got the cakes out and put them on racks to cool.

Could vampires get upset stomachs? Because she kind of felt like hers was about to rebel. Her mouth watered and a sudden swell of nausea spun through her.

What on earth was going on?

She leaned against her worktable, her gaze landing on her coffee. The cup had been in her station even while she’d been talking to Mary. And then again when she’d taken the eggs back to Mary.

Holy fudgeballs. Had Vicky Keller put something in her coffee? She’d certainly had the chance.

Delaney blew out a long, slow breath in an effort to calm herself. She straightened and stared at the cakes she’d just taken out, not really seeing them as she tried to determine if Vicky was really that awful of a person.

“Hey you.”

Delaney turned. Carefully. Then her jaw fell open. “Roxy? You’re here?”

The woman standing in the tent aisle grinned. “Yep.” She pulled off her sunglasses and raised her hands. “Surprise!”

“No kidding! Wow!” Delaney rushed around the front table to hug her friend. Roxy St. James was one of Delaney’s besties from college and they’d recently reconnected on social media.

Delaney released Roxy enough to see her friend better. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? Where are you staying? Are you here by yourself? Are you looking at houses?”

Roxy shrugged, her pretty hazel eyes crinkling at the corners. “I didn’t tell you I was coming because I knew you were competing today and I didn’t want you to worry about me when you had so much other stuff to focus on.” She settled her sunglasses on the top of her head and leaned in to say in a mock whisper, “Plus, you know, paparazzi.”

Delaney laughed, instantly feeling better. The petite brunette was sharp, funny and, in some circles, kind of famous. The woman had made a name for herself writing paranormal romance novels. She’d just gone through an awful divorce and when she’d mentioned wanting a fresh start, Delaney had told her about Nocturne Falls. Not
everything
about Nocturne Falls. Roxy was human, after all. “It’s so good to see you.”

“You too.” Roxy squinted. “I hate to even say this, but are you feeling okay? You look a little…I don’t know. Tired. I’m sorry, never mind. I’m sure it’s just a busy day, huh?”

“It is, but I don’t feel like myself at all.” Delaney grabbed Roxy’s hand and pulled her into the baking station to get her away from the milling crowds. “Don’t laugh, but I think someone might have slipped something into my coffee.”

“What?” Roxy’s eyes rounded. “For real?”

Delaney nodded. She’d known immediately Roxy wouldn’t blow it off. Her writer’s brain probably knew everything was a possibility. “It’s a long story, but the woman in question has a big grudge against me and my husband’s family. Her daughter is competing today and the kid is as sweet as can be, but her mother is real piece of work.”

“What can I do to help? You want me to find a cop or something?”

“No. I can’t prove anything.”

Roxy looked around, her gaze stopping on the coffee cup Hugh had brought. “Is that the coffee?”

Delaney nodded.

Roxy stared at the cup for a second, tapping her bottom lip with one short pink fingernail. “You could get the coffee tested. Do you know anyone?”

Delaney retied her apron, which had been slipping loose. “I know the sheriff. But I’m not sure our little town has the resources. He could probably send it off though.” Or she could get one of the witches to test it. That would be a hell of a lot faster, but she couldn’t quite explain that to Roxy.

“Do it then. Why not? If this woman really did something, you can’t just let that go.”

“And if she didn’t?”

Roxy waggled her brows. “Then I won’t have to kill her off in a book.”

Delaney grinned. “Please tell me that you’re moving and you’re here to stay.”

“Not this time. I just came to have a look around at this place you keep telling me is so awesome.” She grinned. “It really is. At least what I’ve seen so far.”

“And?”

Roxy laughed. “And I’m coming back in a month or two to look at some houses. I talked to that realtor you hooked me up with, Pandora Williams. As soon as I finalize a few things at home, I’ll be back.” Her eyes lit up. “For good.”

“You mean it?”

Roxy nodded. “I need a fresh start and with my new series doing so well, I can afford a lot of things I couldn’t before. Really, though, it’s more about getting away from all the bad memories and creating new ones that have nothing to do with Dean.”

Delaney sighed. Roxy’s ex-husband had been a controlling jerk. “You’ll love it here. I promise. And with what you write, this town is perfect. C’mon, a town that celebrates Halloween three hundred and sixty-five days a year? What better place for a paranormal romance author to live?”

“Yeah, that part kind of got me. Plus, it feels like there’s a great sense of community here. A real small-town, neighborly kind of vibe. Except for the neighbors trying to poison you.”

They both laughed, then Roxy tucked a strand of hair behind one ear. “Listen, we can catch up some more later, after you win this thing. I don’t want to be the reason that doesn’t happen.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that. Hey, you know, there’s a chocolate sampling going on in the main tent.”

“Why do you think I’m ditching you?” Roxy winked. “I’ll be back to watch you get crowned.”

Delaney shook her head. “There’s no tiara involved.”

“There should be. There should be tiaras for everything. Call me if you need anything. I need to see about getting some chocolate in my system. Writers live on that, you know.” Roxy gave Delaney another hug, then with a little wave she disappeared into the crowd.

Delaney went back to work, her spirits lightened by the arrival of her friend. It would be great having her around. The coffee cup caught her eye again. She sighed. Whatever Vicky had slipped in there had not only made her queasy but forgetful. She picked up her phone and dialed Hugh again.