Elementary in Teaberry Read online

  Elementary in Teaberry

  A Teaberry Farm Bed & Breakfast Cozy Mystery

  R. A. Wallace

  2020

  Book 30

  Author’s Note

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, dialogue, places, and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Material in this book is not intended as a substitute for legal or medical advice from qualified professionals. The author has no connection to any software or website mentioned.

  © 2020 R. A. Wallace. All rights reserved.

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Megan’s Recipe

  Books by R. A. Wallace

  Chapter One

  “So what have we learned?” Eric stood behind Sharon.

  They were enjoying the view through the sliding glass door to the field behind their house. His wife of several decades leaned back against him with her coffee cup cradled in her hands.

  “If we come north too early in the spring, we risk seeing snow.” Sharon took a sip of her coffee.

  “We could have stayed in Florida longer,” he pointed out.

  She laughed. “You had the car fully packed a week before we left.”

  He conceded the point. “You helped.”

  The smile was still on her lips. “Okay, we’re both guilty of wanting to see our grandson in person. All the pictures Megan and Dan sent weren’t enough.”

  “He grew a lot,” Eric murmured. “Did Megan grow that fast?”

  She tilted her head to rest against his neck a little closer. “At the time we didn’t think so. It seems like a blur now.”

  “Lightning fast,” he agreed. “All the more reason to enjoy Aaron while we can.”

  “Seeing a little snow would be worth it.” She drank the last of her coffee.

  “Mother nature is waking things up. There are flowers and the promise of warmer days ahead.” He reached for her empty coffee cup.

  She turned to follow him to the kitchen counter. “I wasn’t complaining. I love this time of year. Maybe just as much as autumn. Everything is so new. Like a chance to start over again.”

  “Wipe the slate clean?” He set the cups down next to the coffee pot and began to fill them. “I like the sound of that.”

  “You’re off to a good start.” She watched him doctor up her coffee. “You have a new job at the feed store with our son-in-law.”

  “I do like it there.” He held out her cup.

  She smiled as she took the cup from him. “You like working with Dan.”

  “Our daughter chose well this time.” The lines between his eyes deepened. “I was sorry when Josh died.”

  “But her marriage to Josh was doomed from the beginning.” She turned to walk back to the sliding glass door. “She seems to have learned a lot from it. She and Dan have a good start to their marriage. And their family.”

  He stopped behind her and briefly lifted his cup in a toast. “To new beginnings.”

  She leaned back against him with her coffee cup cradled in her hands. “Yeah. Now it’s my turn to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.”

  ***

  Caitlyn took another hunk of pork from the container before closing the lid. “I should make a sandwich for my lunch.”

  “You have a busy schedule planned today.” Doug lifted the coffee pot and refilled their cups. “Are you all set for the town business council meeting?”

  She took the lid back off the container of pork. “I hope so.”

  He watched her take some bread from the refrigerator. “You don’t sound certain.”

  She made a face as she opened the bag of bread. “Everyone agreed in theory to marketing the town of Teaberry as a destination place whenever they do any advertising for their own business.”

  “In theory,” Doug said. “It’s not working in practice?”

  She sighed as she cut some meat for the sandwich. “Not yet.”

  “It’s a new concept. It’ll take time.”

  It was something in his voice. She turned to look at him. “You don’t think it’s a good idea?”

  “It isn’t that.” He rubbed a hand against the stubble on his face. “To be honest, I just don’t have an image of it in my head either.”

  “Okay.” She continued constructing her sandwich in silence as she considered it.

  “I didn’t mean to imply it wasn’t a good idea…”

  “No.” She ate another chunk of pork. “It’s good to get feedback. If you’re thinking it, other business owners probably are too.”

  “It would help if there were concrete examples,” he said. “Something that spelled it out a little better.”

  That reminded her. “Speaking of which, Megan found out something about the people that owned the shop space before my mother bought it to open Anderson Florist.”

  “Yeah?” He picked his empty breakfast plate up and carried it over to the sink.

  “She said it was toys.” Caitlyn began wrapping the pork back up.

  Doug snagged a hunk before she did. “They sold toys?”

  “Made toys and sold them.” She put the container of pork into the fridge. When she turned back, he was pulling a hunk of pork from her sandwich. “Hey.”

  “It was going to fall out,” he said defensively.

  She opened the cupboard to find something to wrap the sandwich in. “I’m going to try to learn more.”

  “About the toy company?”

  “Yeah. I don’t know why, but it really interests me.”

  He pulled another hunk of pork from her sandwich. “Sounds safer than solving puzzles about murders.”

  ***

  “One more sausage?” Megan held the link in front of her son. Aaron immediately reached for it.

  Dan was still buttoning his shirt sleeve when he walked into the kitchen. “When has he ever said no to that?”

  “Your mom says it comes from your side.” Megan released the sausage link when Aaron wrapped his sticky fingers around it.

  “No doubt.” His voice was muffled with his head in the refrigerator. When he backed out, he closed the door and carried his lunch cooler to the table.

  Megan rinsed her hands in the sink then took a fork from the drawer. “Staring at the cake won’t make it cool any faster.”

  “It’s already been out of the oven for fifteen minutes. That’s long enough, right?” Dan looked at the fork in her hand. “Is that for me?”

  “Don’t get your hopes up. It isn’t done yet.” She began pricking the cake with the fork in half inch intervals.

  “What are you doing?” His voice sounded slightly panicked.

  Megan chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m not hurting it.”

  “I don’t understand. Why the holes?” He glanced over at the counter. “And what’s the strawberry gelatin for?”

  She finished pricking the cake and pointed at the gelatin with the fork
. “That’s the secret ingredient.”

  He watched her retrieve the large glass measuring cup of strawberry gelatin. “You’re pouring it over the cake?”

  “It’s called rainbow cake. It used to be pretty popular back in the early nineteen eighties.” She finished pouring the gelatin all over the cake. “It works with any homemade or packaged cake mix. Usually white or yellow. Then you pick a gelatin flavor.”

  “Now what?” Dan reached for his lunch cooler.

  “Now we put it in the fridge for about three or four hours. After that, we put whipped topping on it. You can add strawberries or whatever fruit on top if you want.” Megan lifted the cake and headed for the fridge. “I’m trying to come up with as many recipes as possible around certain types of food that we grow.”

  “You’re thinking of selling the recipes with your produce?” He leaned down to kiss the top of Aaron’s head.

  She closed the fridge and gave a shrug. “I thought about it. Maybe even doing something like a collection of them.”

  “A collection of recipes.” He grinned. “A cookbook?”

  “Maybe.” She reached up to kiss him goodbye. “I haven’t decided yet.”

  “I vote yes, especially if I get to sample all of them before they go into your cookbook.” He wiggled his brows then reached for the kitchen door just as the handle turned. “Hey, Sharon. Eric.”

  “Have a good day at work.” Sharon slid past him and went to the stove.

  “See you a little later,” Eric said as Dan paused in the door.

  “You don’t have to come in today if you’re still trying to get settled,” Dan said.

  Eric waved his hand. “I’m using it as an excuse.”

  “He thinks I’m going to unpack everything for him while he’s at work.” Sharon laughed then picked up a plate. “Thanks for saving us some breakfast. I need to get to the store and stock up.”

  Eric made a face at Sharon as he took his turn filling his plate. “You’re just mad because I have a job.”

  Sharon smiled at Aaron as she took a seat next to him. “I technically have a job. I’m babysitting Aaron today.”

  “Did you come to any decisions about what else you might do for the time you live in the north?” Megan wet a rag to clean Aaron and his high chair.

  Sharon made a face. “No. Which is another reason why I’m happy to babysit. It gives me more time to think about it.”

  “You like throwing parties.” Megan carried her teacup to the table and took a seat.

  “I do. I spent all winter thinking about whether or not I should try to start an event coordinator business.” Sharon reached for the knife Eric had on his plate to cut her sausage. “I just haven’t decided if I want the sole responsibility and the stress that goes with it.”

  Megan blew on her tea. “I can see that.”

  “Something you deal with on a certain level with the bed and breakfast,” Eric said. “Anytime you’re trying to please a paying customer.”

  “There was a learning curve to it,” Megan murmured before sipping her tea. “The people that are coming next weekend are some long-time customers from when I first started.”

  “Which shows that you did something right even when you were just starting out. I do plan to help friends if they ask and if it fits into my schedule,” Sharon said. “But I’m not going to dive into anything else just yet.”

  “That sounds like you’ve made part of a decision,” Megan pointed out.

  Sharon pushed her empty plate away with a sigh. “Yeah. I guess I have. Now I just need to figure out the rest. If I’m not going to do that, what am I going to do?”

  “The produce stand out front is taking shape.” Eric lifted Sharon’s plate and stacked it on his own before picking them both up. “I can help finish it now that I’m here.”

  “Gabe has been by to help with it too,” Megan said.

  “How has he been doing?” Sharon stood to lift Aaron from the high chair. She set him down and held his hands.

  Megan smiled at Aaron’s happy noises when his feet touched the floor. “Gabe seems to have his life in better shape.”

  “You said he’s been seeing a lot of LeAnn,” Sharon said. “Maybe it’s because LeAnn is keeping him straight.”

  “Maybe,” Megan agreed.

  Chapter Two

  The view in front of her began to blur together. LeAnn reached for the volume on the radio and turned it up. It didn’t matter that it was another commercial about something she had no interest in. It kept her awake. At the moment, that was the important thing.

  Her mind drifted back to her night at work. As a customer service liaison employee of the hospital, it was technically her job to act as an intermediary between the hospital staff and the patient, including their family members. When that wasn’t enough to occupy every moment that she was on shift, she was also expected to pitch in and clean medical equipment or help with coding and data entry into the system.

  Her mind began to drift as the view in front of her blurred again. With a start, she realized that she was nodding off. She pushed the button to roll her window down. The fresh air was almost shockingly cold but had the impact on her brain that she needed.

  She was nearly home now. The thought made her smile. The small efficiency that she’d rented after her divorce was hardly a home. It was barely large enough for her. When Gabe was there, it shrunk down in size to almost nothing. She glanced at the clock on the dash. He might still be there, even now. When she’d left for work the night before, he’d been too tired to drive to his own dismal place above the garage.

  Boy, they sure were a pair. She checked the rearview mirror for traffic behind her and saw the wry smile on her own lips. Their marriage had ended in divorce. In an attempt to move on, she’d sold the house. The money from the sale, what little there was, mostly went to her. Gabe had refused his fair share of it.

  She was holding on to the money tightly now. It was all she had left of the years they’d been married. She’d never had much of a career. She’d moved from job to job while Gabe traveled all over the country following the racing circuit. Whenever he would call, and it happened often, he would ask her to send him money. As a result, she’d never managed to save anything.

  She wondered what their future would bring them now as she pulled into the parking lot of her apartment building. Gabe wasn’t making any promises. He told her that they wouldn’t mean anything if he did. Instead, he wanted to show her that he could be a better man than the one she’d divorced.

  As she dragged herself from her car, she hoped he was right. If ever she needed someone she could trust, now was the time. She climbed the stairs slowly, wondering the whole time if she would unlock her door and step into an empty space. She paused outside of the door as she fumbled in her purse for the keys. Her hand froze in her purse at a sound from the other side of the door.

  When the door swung open, Gabe stood waiting for her with a smile. She felt her lower lip tremble. The smile on his face turned to concern.

  “Hey, hey. What’s this?” Gabe pulled her close with one arm as he pushed the door closed with the other. “Bad night at work?”

  She tried to shake her head, but he was holding her so tightly with one arm that she couldn’t move. She felt his other hand slide up her back. He began to rub her neck. She felt his breath on her ear as he leaned down to whisper to her.

  “It’s going to be okay. You’ll see.”

  She knew it was probably a mistake, but she chose to believe him. Maybe it was simply because she had to. She struggled against his hold.

  He loosened his grip enough to let her tilt her head up. “Better?” He kissed her forehead.

  She nodded against his lips. “I’m sorry. I’m just tired.”

  “Uh-uh. You don’t have to be sorry.” He freed her from his hug but grabbed her hand instead and tugged gently. “Come on. Sit down. Relax. It was a long night. You want me to get you something?”

  She shook her head but d
id what he said. When she slid into one end of the couch, he snuggled up next to her. She leaned against his shoulder and sighed. “I think I hate my job.”

  His chuckle rumbled in his chest. His hand came up and began rubbing her neck again.

  “It’s not a bad job. I was really happy to get it at the time.” She knew she was rambling but she didn’t care. He wasn’t around to talk to when she initially made the decision to take the job. She missed her chance to have a sounding board then. She was going to enjoy the option now, just for the moment.

  “You said some of the people were nice.” His voice was low and soothing.

  She nodded against his shoulder. “They are. More than just some of them.”

  “What has changed?”

  She was silent for several moments as she considered his question. What had changed? What had caused her to go from fairly happy to have a paycheck to the LeAnn that suddenly wanted more? She thought she knew the answer, but she didn’t want to say it out loud. She wasn’t ready to say it out loud. She shook her head and chose to change the subject.

  “Maybe I just need a little time off.” Once it was out of her mouth, the idea took on life of its own. “Doesn’t that sound nice?”

  “What would you do?” His hand was still rubbing her neck.

  She burrowed deeper into his shoulder as she allowed her mind to run with the thought. “I don’t know.” She’d never considered it before.

  “How much time are we talking here?” He shifted a bit to make her more comfortable. “What if you had enough time to do what you really wanted to do? What would you do then?”

  “Mm.” She tried to remember back to the dreams of her youth. “I don’t know. Something other than what I’m doing.”

  His hand was slowly rubbing up and down her spine now. “Would you stay in Teaberry?”

  Her eyes fluttered open for a moment. “My mom wants me to move away.” She made a noise. “My whole family wants me to move away.”

  His hand stilled for a moment. “They want you to move away from me.” His hand began moving again. “I can’t blame them.”

  She shook her head once. “It’s not like they were any help all those years that you were gone. They ignored me completely. When they did talk to me, it was to point out how much of a mistake I had made.” She stopped mid-sentence.