Fudgy Fatality: A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 10 by Kathleen Suzette (good books for high schoolers .txt) 📗

It did sound like nothing. But you never knew when nothing could turn into something. “Some people are impossible to work with. I had a part-time job in college and there was a girl there that had it in for me. She was always telling the manager that I was messing up. She was lying, and I never could understand why she did it. The manager finally caught on and fired her. She was causing trouble for a lot of people.”

She nodded. “I think everyone in the workforce runs into that kind of person at some point. Has Ethan talked to the people at her job?”

“Yes, he has. He’ll probably talk to them again at some point if he feels like there’s something going on there.” I sat back in my seat and looked at her. “So, how’s married life?”

“Great!” she said. “I love being married. I think you’d love it, too. When is Ethan going to pop the question?”

I grinned. “Stop it. We haven’t even talked about it. Not seriously, anyway. One of these days, maybe. I’m glad you’re happy. That makes me happy, too.”

“You know what you could do? You could ask him to marry you. Buy him a ring. Get down on one knee and propose.”

I stared at her. It had never occurred to me to do that, but I wasn’t sure I liked the idea. “That’s crazy.”

“What? Why do you think it’s crazy? You’re a modern woman. You can ask him to marry you.”

I took a sip of my coffee, thinking it over. “That has never crossed my mind.” What would Ethan do if I asked him? Would he like it? Would it annoy him? Would he say yes? Or?

“Well it should cross your mind. Honestly, if Brian hadn’t asked me, I was considering asking him.”

“Really?” I couldn’t imagine Amanda doing that.

She nodded. “I was thinking about how I would do it. I thought I might pack a picnic lunch and go out to the lake and ask him. There’s that rowboat out there that everyone borrows. How romantic would that have been?”

The lake she was talking about wasn’t very big. There was a rowboat that someone had brought and moored to the dilapidated dock that everyone used. I smiled at her, imagining it. “You softie you, Amanda. That would have been wonderfully romantic.”

“You could do it on a night when there’s a full moon. Row out to the middle of the lake and pop the question.”

I might not have thought of it before now, but I could suddenly see it. It would be so sweet. And then the thought of him refusing me dashed those romantic ideas. “I could never do that.”

“Why not? I think Ethan would be touched by it.”

“It’s not time yet. We’re just happy being together. We’ve got our cats and we like hanging out together and going out on dates. There’s nothing wrong with taking things slow.” I looked down at my cup and took another sip of my pumpkin spice latte.

“Sure, sure. I know. Brian and I took it slow, too. There’s nothing wrong with that. But if he doesn’t make a move, then you should.”

“Maybe,” I said, looking up at her again.

We turned to look at the door as it opened, and John Green walked in. He glanced at me and then went to the counter as the other customer left.

“What’s up with him?” Amanda asked.

“He says he’s moving back to Pumpkin Hollow.” We whispered so he couldn’t hear us, but he glanced in our direction again.

“What? Why?”

“He says he lost his job,” I said. “I hope he stays away from Christy.”

“I can hear you, you know,” he said, looking in our direction.

“Good. Stay away from Christy,” I said louder.

He chuckled. “I have no intention of hanging around Christy. Don’t worry about it.”

“Have you found a job yet?” I asked him

“It’s been like three days. No. I don’t have a job. I don’t suppose you’re hiring, are you, Amanda?”

“Nope. We aren’t hiring,” she said.

“That’s a shame. I like coffee and I’m really good at drinking it. What about the candy store? Is your mom hiring, Mia?” He grinned at me when he said it.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Nope. Sadly, we just hired a couple of people. You’re too late.”

He chuckled and placed his order.

Three more people walked into the coffee shop and got into line. Amanda turned back to me. “Tell Ethan I hope he finds the killer soon. I should get back to work.”

“I will. I had better get back to work, too.” I picked up my coffee and headed for the door.

“Hey, Mia,” John said as I got to my car. I turned to look at him.

“What?”

“We don’t have to be enemies, do we? Just because Christy and I got a divorce?” He walked up to me, and that grin was back on his face.

“Probably. You hurt my sister, why shouldn’t we be enemies?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Honestly, Christy and I are fine. We parted peacefully.”

“You might be fine, but she thought she was going to be married forever. Congratulations. I’m glad you got out of your marriage without any mess.”

His mouth made a straight line. “I guess I had that coming. I’m sorry things didn’t work out between us. Sometimes things don’t.”

“Sure,” I said with a curt nod. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

“Say, has Ethan figured out who killed Olivia?”

“No, it’s a little early yet. Why do you ask?”

He shrugged. “I just wondered. It’s a shame she was killed, that’s all.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’ll tell Ethan you’re concerned.”

He shook his head. “All right Mia. I can see this isn’t going to end well. I need