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

not even if you plan on doing something with Christy, but don’t expect me to be happy about it. I’ve got to get back to work now. I’ll tell her you’re in town.”

“Thanks,” he said as I moved past him.

I shook my head and pressed my lips together to keep from saying anything more as I went. Honestly, it wasn’t my business. But Christy was my little sister and I couldn’t stand that he was going to just waltz in again and tear her apart just by his presence alone.

I walked faster than I realized and became slightly out of breath by the time I got to the candy store. I inhaled and tried to steady my breathing before opening the door. When I got myself settled, I pushed the door open and stepped inside. “Coffee!” I sang out.

“Oh, yum!” Lisa said, and she hurried over to me. The candy store was empty, and we’d be closing soon. As I glanced around, I was pleased to see that it looked like we were all set for the big day. The shelves were stocked, and we’d added a few more Halloween decorations to the ones we’d bought for Pumpkin Hollow Days. Mom had bought fabric vintage-look streamers that hung across the ceiling from corner to corner and also along the perimeter of the ceiling. The streamers were black and orange and we had hung tiny clear lights around the window and door.

Lisa took her coffee and I headed back to the kitchen. Only Mom and Christy were there. The other employees had gone home early in anticipation of the beginning of the Halloween season. I pasted a smile on my face. “I’ve got coffee.”

Christy turned to me. “Oh, good. I am starting to drag.” She headed over to me and took her coffee from the cardboard carrier. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” I said and took my own coffee from the carrier. “So, how are things going back here?” My voice had suddenly become high pitched, and I wondered if anyone noticed. I didn’t want to tell Christy that John was in town, but I didn’t want her to be surprised by running into him.

“Great. We’ve got all of the Internet orders packed and ready to ship first thing in the morning. Tomorrow morning we’ll have a fresh start without any orders backed up on us.”

“I’ve got things set up so when I get here first thing in the morning, I can get right on the candy making. I think I’ve got that maple fudge recipe perfected.” Mom picked up a dish towel and wiped her hands.

“What about the apple cider fudge recipe?” Christy asked her.

“I think that one is ready, too. We’ll have those two along with the pumpkin spice fudge and candy corn fudge as our specialty flavors for the Halloween season. I’m sure they'll all be big sellers.” She laid the dish towel down on the counter. “Now I’ll just clean up around here and I think we can all go home.”

“Yay,” Christy said and took a sip of her coffee. She closed her eyes and groaned. “I love coffee far too much. I can’t help it.”

I looked at her. “Christy, there’s something I need to tell you.” Maybe it wasn’t the best thing to do, but she’d run into John eventually and she might as well be prepared.

Her eyes went to me. “That sounds ominous.”

I smiled and shrugged. “No, not ominous. Not exactly.” I suddenly didn’t want to tell her that her ex-husband was back in town. The one that had caused her so much pain.

“Well? Spill it,” she said when I didn’t continue.

I glanced at Mom. She had turned toward me, waiting expectantly.

I sighed. “John is in town.”

Christy’s eyes went wide as she held the coffee cup in front of herself. “What do you mean he’s here in town?”

“I just ran into him after I picked up the coffee. He said he was here to take in the Halloween season.” I nodded, feeling like an idiot. So what if her ex-husband was in town? He had a right to come here and enjoy the festivities, didn’t he? His parents still lived here, after all.

She licked her lips and took another sip of her coffee, taking this in. “Okay. Okay. So he’s here in town. That doesn’t mean anything.” Her eyes darted to Mom and then back to me.

“It doesn’t mean a thing,” Mom said. “He’s probably visiting his parents.” She blinked and then sighed. “He has a right to be here.”

I nodded. “Exactly. He has a right to be here.”

“How did he seem?” Christy asked me.

I shrugged. “He seemed good. He seemed happy, I guess.” Was that the right word? I wasn’t sure.

She nodded and turned away. “No big deal. He’s visiting his parents, not me. I don’t want to see him.” She turned back to me. “Did you tell him that? Did you tell him I don’t want to see him?” Her voice cracked on the last word.

“I told him you were busy and there wasn’t any reason for him to stop by. Look, it’s fine. He’s visiting for the weekend. You don’t want to see him, right?”

She hesitated and her eyes suddenly turned shiny from unshed tears. “I don’t want to see him. I’m going to put the packing materials away and get this place cleaned up so we can go home.”

It was good to hear her say she didn’t want to see him, but I wasn’t sure it was true. But Christy was an adult. She could make up her own mind about what she wanted to do. I just didn’t want to see her hurt.

“Well,” I said slowly. “I guess I’ll go out front and take another look around and make sure everything is ready to go.” I waited for Christy to say something, but she didn’t