Trouble at TeaFest Read online

  Chapter Three

  Barbara Vance stood in her bedroom and checked herself in the mirror. What she saw these days never ceased to amaze her. Where had the time gone, she thought with a rueful shake of her head. Oh, she’d been there while time had been flying by and she had enjoyed every minute. Well, nearly every minute. She’d certainly loved every minute she’d spent with her husband, Nathan, making a home together and raising their children. It had been losing him that had been difficult.

  The sixty-one year old looking back at her in the mirror now looked like the years had taught her a few things while etching those lines into her face. Some of the lessons had been a little more difficult than others, of course. But Barbara liked to think that she was using her hard-earned wisdom well now. Being the mayor of the town of Teaberry often required her to tap into any wisdom she could find.

  Barbara glanced at her snow white hair, expertly curled, thanks to Irlene at the Teaberry Salon. She was dressed for work in a tailored gray and navy patterned skirt, gray jacket, and a matching pearl gray silk top. Her makeup was light but expertly applied. She gave herself a nod of approval and headed downstairs admiring the view of her house along the way.

  She and Nathan had enjoyed a happy marriage together in their large Queen Anne situated in a quiet section at the edge of town. They’d had a comfortable life, thanks to Nathan. Barbara had spent her time immersed in the community, volunteering for this, helping with that whenever she could.

  The house was empty now except for her. The children had all grown and had begun having children of their own. Little gifts, her grandchildren were. The most amazing gifts anyone could ever receive. Barbara looked around the large, quiet house and smiled. She hoped to see the house come back to life, at least temporarily, this coming weekend. She was having house guests.

  Old friends were gifts, too. You start to realize just how precious they are when you begin to lose them. She was looking forward to seeing them all, though she didn’t have the room to put them all up. Only three would be staying with her for the weekend. But she’d known exactly where to recommend that the others stay. Young Megan Bennet was making such a success of her bed and breakfast. Barbara liked to help out whenever possible and recommend that people stay at Teaberry Farm.

  Barbara had watched from a distance while Megan held her head high during her marriage. Josh had been quite the handful. But Megan had made it through the difficult times and was moving forward again. Barbara heard that Dan Parker had finally made his move and asked her out. True, the first date had only been to a wedding. But at least he’d finally made his move. That boy had been waiting for Megan since grade school. Funny how the young think they have forever to get on with the business of living. Something she had no doubt been guilty of herself at the time.

  She locked the door behind her and began walking across town. The Teaberry House Restaurant was on the other side. The exercise was good for her. It also gave her the opportunity to chat with people she encountered and learn about what was going on in the community. She walked to the first corner and looked around. She could see several of the shops and restaurants from where she stood. There were many others around the corner and on other streets, of course.

  The Jammin’T had a good turnout. It always did during business hours. It was a favorite among locals because Bert was smart enough to know his clientele and cater to them. He’d owned the diner for decades and kept his prices reasonable and his portions large.

  It looked like standing room only at the Teaberry Salon. Like Bert, Irlene knew her customers. Sometimes a little too well, Barbara thought with a smile. If you wanted to know anything, Irlene had probably heard it from one of her customers, but she was smart enough to keep the truly important secrets to herself.

  Caitlyn Anderson was doing very well with the florist shop. Barbara had heard some disturbing news about an increase in her rental agreement recently. The owner of the building was Jason Malone, the photographer who had his own shop next to the florist. Barbara frowned. She’d had such high hopes for his business when he’d first moved into town.

  She’d done some background research on him when he’d first shown up. He was never truly famous but had been relatively well-known in his field and had been doing steady work. He’d traveled the world photographing models for magazine shoots. Barbara had thought someone with his background would have had more success with his business, but Jason seemed to struggle. He didn’t appear to have much repeat business and that troubled her.

  She continued walking and thought of another success story, Lauren Dempsey. She definitely had a lot of repeat business, and so she should. Anything that came out of Lauren’s oven was amazing. And such a stable girl. She and Justin already have two beautiful children of their own.

  She paused when she saw one of the fire trucks go by. No one was in a hurry and no sirens blared. That was a good sign. They must be running some sort of test or performing maintenance. That reminded Barbara of the Teaberry Station Pub & Grill. It was also a town favorite and part of the proceeds went to the volunteer fire department. They did some mean barbeque beef brisket there. Barbara often wondered why most firefighters were such good cooks. It’s like it was part of the job description or something. Applicants must enjoy running into burning buildings and cooking good food.

  As she reached the other end of town, she saw a tall, thin woman cross the street and get into a car. She was both extremely attractive and looked model thin. Barbara knew the camera would love her sharp angles and wondered if she was visiting Teaberry to see Jason. Maybe he was trying to boost his business?

  Walking a little way farther, she saw Jessilyn Brewer standing outside of the Teaberry House Restaurant where they had planned to meet for lunch. It was technically a business meeting, but Barbara always enjoyed spending time with Jessilyn. She was extremely inventive and had the fortunate ability to remain calm during times that most others would find themselves severely tested. They were admirable traits for the town Events Coordinator.

  “Well, hello. I hope I’m not late,” Barbara said with a smile.

  Jessilyn smiled back. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a neat French twist. Her rose colored dress complemented the healthy color in her cheeks. The warm smile reached her deep blue eyes. “Not at all. I was just taking advantage of the beautiful weather but the smells from the restaurant are driving me crazy.”

  Barbara laughed. “Let’s go find out what they have cooking today.” They were seated quickly and the iced tea arrived immediately. After placing their lunch orders, they decided to get the business part of the meal out of the way.

  “How are we situated for the Annual Teaberry Festival?” Barbara asked. The festival was a town favorite and was well attended each year. Barbara particularly enjoyed it because it showcased the town of Teaberry and some of what it had to offer. Known locally as the TeaFest, they had tweaked things over the years for the format and continued to add new components. It was now a major tourist draw for the town and attendance for the two day event continued to grow each year.

  “The police department has their plan in place and my contact there has indicated that they’re good to go. They’ll be handling the traffic flow as usual. The buses will be running to transport people from the designated parking areas. We have agreements in place with the various businesses in town that want to either deny parking or open their lots and charge for parking.” Jessilyn paused and took a sip of her tea.

  Barbara nodded. “Sounds good. Have all of the vendors been confirmed?”

  “Yes, and we’ll have the new section open allowing us to expand the number of vendors this year by adding many more craft vendors and several additional food trucks. We had to turn some of the craft vendors away last year because we’d run out of space. There are also way more applications for the antique car show and we’re using several more streets this year as part of the car show.”

  “Any problems I should know about?” Barbara asked.

>   Jessilyn grinned. “Not today but wait until the first day of the TeaFest and I’ll have a different story.”

  Barbara laughed. “I’m sure you’ll deal with whatever comes up. You always do.”

  Chapter Four

  The secret to success is low and slow, thought Doug Kendall as he finished preparing the last of the beef brisket with their signature spices for the day to go into the smoker behind the restaurant. He glanced at the clock in the kitchen of the Teaberry Station Pub & Grill and quickly washed his hands. The meeting was about to start, and he needed to get to it.

  Doug glanced around the bustling kitchen and didn’t see anything else that needed his attention. The rest of the staff were working, and the kitchen was in good hands. He moved through the restaurant and into the back room where the group had been gathering for the meeting.

  Doug walked in and saw that everyone else had already arrived. Most had already gotten some iced tea, soda, or water and they were listening to Seth Cramer tell a fishing story. Story being the operative word, Doug thought with a smile.

  He and Seth and been friends for as long as Doug could remember. And Seth had been telling stories for as long as Doug could remember. Usually imbued with facts and always entertaining, Seth had a special skill relating stories that made you feel like you were there when it happened.

  “And after he snapped my line with the net when I had the monster this close to the boat, he watched it swim away. Then he sat back and had the audacity to say, ‘Wow. That was the biggest fish I have ever seen.’”

  Seth looked over at Zach Adkins and shook his head in mock disgust. Doug knew that Seth wasn’t really annoyed with Zach for prematurely releasing the monster. Although Seth would have liked to get the fish in the boat and take a picture before releasing it, he was already looking forward to going back out on the lake to find his monster again. For Seth, just getting out on the lake meant he was having a good day. Catching something while he was there was just a bonus.

  Zach’s cheeks were showing a flush of red. Both men were firefighters but that was where the similarities ended. While Seth was the older of the two at twenty-nine, he was also taller at six two with short black hair and blue eyes. Doug wasn’t entirely certain he remembered what color hair Zach had other than to say it seemed light. At twenty-six and five ten, Zach had been buzz cutting his hair short for so long, Doug couldn’t remember what it ever looked like grown out.

  Listening to the story were other firefighters that Doug was proud to say he worked with. As one of two co-Captains of the Teaberry volunteer fire department, Doug had had the honor of working beside some special people, both men and women. Doug and the other co-Captain, Jim Baxter, were also co-owners of the Teaberry Station Pub & Grill.

  As the laughter died down, all eyes turned to Doug standing in the doorway. He nodded to the group and took a seat. Looking around the table, in addition to Zach and Seth, he also saw Amy Callahan, Jim Baxter, and Steve Marshall.

  “Thanks for coming in. This shouldn’t take long.” Doug glanced over at Jim. “We think we’re ready for the fund raiser that we have planned as part of this year’s TeaFest, but we like to touch base the week before the event. Make sure our I’s are dotted and our T’s are the only thing crossed. We can’t have anyone confused about who is supposed to be doing what.”

  Jim nodded. “Last year we topped our record for the pounds of barbeque meat that we sold at the TeaFest. So far, the weather forecasts indicate a beautiful weekend. We’re assuming that we’re going to do at least as well as the year before.”

  Doug leaned forward in his seat and rested his elbows on the table. “As you know, we do most of the actual prep work and cooking here and then we transport the cooked meat to the TeaFest where it’s kept warm in large portable ovens. While we do have a small smoker on site for the smell and visual, there’s no way we could handle that volume of meat on site.”

  “We’re going to need people to help with smoking the meat here at the restaurant, some help transporting the cooked meat, and help staffing the booth at the TeaFest for two long days,” Jim said. He watched as several around the table nodded. “We’ll need help setting up the booth on Friday afternoon.”

  “In the past, we’ve been lucky to also have help from other volunteers from the community including members of our own families and we’re planning on that being the case again this year. We already have several volunteers who have confirmed. A few more volunteers wouldn’t hurt,” Doug added.

  “We’ll also have a display of a couple of our engines in another area of town near the station. The display is in an open house format. We tried that out last year and it seemed to work well. We’d prefer to have those who are experienced with using the equipment to staff that area. The hope is that we may be visited by future firefighters. We’d like to give them the chance to speak with real firefighters and ask questions. Get to know what we’re all about,” Jim said.

  Doug picked up the pile of printouts sitting in front of him and passed them around the table. I have a list here of where we need people and at what times. The list includes the names of those who have already volunteered. We’ve begun plugging their names into slots based on any preferences they’ve indicated. As you can see, there are slots still empty. We need to get this buttoned up.”

  “Who should people contact if they want to volunteer?” Amy asked. Doug looked over at the young strawberry blonde. She had only been with the department for a couple of years, but she had already shown herself to be bright and capable many times over.

  “They can contact me,” Jim said. “My information is on the printout.”

  “Any other questions?” Doug asked. He watched as everyone in the group shook their heads and stood. “Okay, if they come up don’t hesitate to contact either one of us.” Doug indicated Jim with a nod of his head in Jim’s direction.

  The voices in the room grew louder as everyone stood and began talking about the TeaFest. “What about your new girlfriend?” Seth asked Doug as he walked over to him.

  Doug thought about pretending he didn’t know who Seth was talking about but then decided it wasn’t worth the effort. Seth had already correctly interpreted Doug’s interest in Caitlyn, a woman Doug had met on a recent call out. There was no way Doug was going to convince him otherwise and no real reason to try. Other than to avoid the ribbing he might get if he gets shot down.

  “I’m planning to head there next and see if she’s free this weekend and willing to help,” Doug acknowledged.

  Seth grinned. “I didn’t think you’d own up to it that easily.”

  Doug thought about the attractive ball of energy that had captured his interest. “Yeah, and I’m probably an idiot. Wish me luck. I may need all I can get.” He heard Seth laughing as he left the room.

  Chapter Five

  Megan parked her truck on Main Street near the florist shop and got out with half of the Fruit Cocktail cake. The bells on the door rang as she entered the shop and Caitlyn popped out from the rear where she created her floral displays.

  “Hey, is that for me?” Caitlyn asked with a gleam in her eye.

  “How did you know it was food?” Megan demanded. She swore Caitlyn had a sixth sense whenever food was involved.

  “Does it have sugar? I could use sugar. C’mon in the back. You can keep me company while I work and I have some fresh coffee on.” Caitlyn turned and disappeared into the back room.

  “Whatever happened with your electrical issues?” Megan asked, setting the cake down on a side counter near the coffee pot. Caitlyn kept paper plates and plastic utensils there also.

  Caitlyn looked up from the display she was working on. “The electrician was able to rewire it all so that wasn’t a problem. It’s figuring out who should pay what and who’s fault it was that’s the issue.”

  Megan cut a large piece of the cake and poured a cup of coffee into two mugs with the Anderson Florist logo on the side. She mixed both coffees the way they liked them and the
n brought the cake and one mug over to Caitlyn. She knew from past experience that Caitlyn had mastered the art of eating and working at the same time.

  “Mmmm, this is really good! Have you made this before?” Caitlyn asked before taking another bite.

  “It’s been a really long time. My grandmother used to make it. I’d almost forgotten about it altogether but I was going through old recipes the other day and found it in her handwriting.” Megan had extremely fond memories of cooking with her grandmother. “From what I can remember, she said it was a fairly popular variation of a recipe from the 1970s. I’d like to adapt it a little and use only fresh fruit from the farm. As it is, the recipe just calls for a can of fruit cocktail.”

  “It’s seriously moist, that’s for sure. How are your issues with my least favorite landlord?”

  The building that the florist shop was in was owned by Jason Malone. He had recently given Caitlyn a letter threatening to raise her rent. Caitlyn considered the amount above and beyond what was reasonable. She feared that she may no longer be able to afford the space her mother had initially leased for the florist shop before Caitlyn was born.

  “I really don’t know. My lawyer is still looking into it. In her defense, I just emailed the letter to her yesterday. I’m sure it will take some time to figure everything out and she said Jason’s lawyer has been trying to dodge her questions for whatever reason.” Megan blew on her coffee and took a sip as she watched Caitlyn finish the piece of cake with one hand while inserting another flower into the vase with her other hand.