Peppermint Fudge Killer: A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 13 by Kathleen Suzette (universal ebook reader .TXT) 📗

about the argument the two of them had. There’s no way he could have thought he was going to get away with the lie. I mean, I know sometimes people don’t want to admit that they argued about something, but he had so many witnesses. And the person he argued with ended up dead. Everyone’s talking about it. He had to know that.”

“Well if he got angry about it, maybe he didn’t know it,” he pointed out. “But it’s interesting that he got angry about it. Would you say he was really angry?”

“Yes, he pointed out that it was her fault. That she was acting like a spoiled brat, and she had no right to tell him how to play Santa.”

He looked at me and chuckled. “She was telling him how to play Santa Claus?”

I laughed. “She was telling him how to play Santa Claus. He got offended of course, and when they took a break behind the backdrop of Santa’s workshop, they got into an argument.”

“Well can you blame him? I wouldn’t want anyone telling me how to play Santa Claus.” He laughed. “I don’t think I’m ever going to play Santa Claus though.”

“I think it would take about thirty years before you’re ready, but you would make an adorable Santa Claus,” I said.

“Will you play Mrs. Claus?” he asked me.

I stopped what I was doing and looked at him. “Mrs. Claus?” My cheeks went pink at the question.

He shrugged and looked away. “Why not? We’ve got all that candy at your mother’s candy store to eat over the next thirty years to help us prepare for the part. If we both ate enough candy to gain some weight, it would be for the greater good.”

I laughed. “I think I’m going to rely on pillows.”

“Robert De Niro put on sixty pounds for his role in Raging Bull,” he said. “Seems like you could get in the spirit of the season and eat a whole lot of candy with me.”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t going to eat a lot of candy,” I said. “I just said I’m not going to put on sixty pounds for the part.”

He laughed. “Spoilsport.” He went back to forming the bottom ball of the snow woman.

“I just can’t get over how upset Lawrence was yesterday,” I said. I hadn’t had a chance to talk to Ethan until this morning. He had been busy, and I didn’t want to bother him with it. “Have you interviewed him yet?”

“Oh yeah,” he said. “I’ve talked to him a couple of times. He did finally mention the argument, of course. But it’s definitely worth talking to him again.”

I sighed and looked up at the bright blue sky. “I think we need to go Christmas caroling soon,” I said. It was ten days away from Christmas and the season would be over before we knew it. I wanted to enjoy every minute of it before it was over.

“I’ll see if I can squeeze that in,” he said without looking at me.

“They’re going to have moonlight hayrides at the haunted farmhouse. I heard the farmhouse is decorated for Christmas and there’s caroling and bonfires in the evenings. It sounds incredibly romantic to me.”

“I heard a rumor of all of that going on out there,” he said, looking at me. “Let’s make it a date. How about Wednesday?”

I grinned at him. “We could get a bite to eat and then go out there and enjoy the bonfire and a hayride around the farm. They’re selling those great big marshmallows to roast over the bonfire, as well as cocoa, coffee, and other snacks.”

“Well if there are snacks, count me in.” He finished making the bottom part of the snow woman and patted it. “I hope temperatures don’t warm up or we’re going to have a melted snow woman.”

“Temperatures are forecast to be freezing for the foreseeable future,” I told him. “Don’t forget we have to make snowcats.”

“I would never forget that,” he said, glancing at my front step. Boo was sitting on the welcome mat watching us work. “You could come over here and help us, Boo.”

“He’s overseeing the entire operation. And you know what I’m wondering? Lawrence really wanted Katrina to play that elf part. I mean, he really wanted her. Why would he be so insistent on that? And of course, Katrina now has the job as the lead elf.”

“It’s a coveted part,” he said with a chuckle. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t think he would care one way or another who played the lead elf. If it were me anyway, I wouldn’t care. As long as I’ve got you for Mrs. Claus, what else would I need? The elves don’t play that important of a role.”

“That’s right,” I agreed. “All you need is me as Mrs. Claus and you’ll be happy.”  I looked up at him as he worked on the snow woman, then turned back to the head I was working on.

“I’d be happy if you were my Mrs. anything,” he said quietly.

I turned toward him, and our eyes met. “Would you?”

He nodded. “I would.” I watched him as he stood up and rolled the snowball into position. “You never know. Maybe one of these days.”

I narrowed my eyes at his back. Was he serious? He sounded like he was. I wondered if it wouldn’t be so outlandish to ask him myself. Ethan was so calm and easy-going, I didn’t think he would take offense to it. Would he?

I finished up the head for my snow woman. What I was wondering was, did Katrina want the part of the lead elf as badly as Lawrence wanted her to be that lead elf? She had the part now, so both of them were happy. But, what cost were they willing to pay for her to get that part?