Read Online Ginny Gold - Early Bird Café 03 - Dead and Berried by Ginny Gold - Free Book Online Page A

Monday meant they loved it and wanted more.
    There were still plenty of fresh strawberries as well as rhubarb, so she decided on fresh muffins. And finally she added veggie omelets. When she’d left Nora’s last night, she took plenty of eggs, spinach, tomatoes and onions with her. With only four items, her menu was extra simple, but for a Monday she hoped no one would mind.
    Kori then set to work on the muffins. The strawberries were already chopped so she peeled and chopped the rhubarb, mixed together the muffin base and added the fruits. Just after five, she was ready to stick the first pan in the oven. As she closed the oven door, she heard the café’s front door open.
    Mom , Kori thought to herself. It was Monday morning and Gale always stopped by on her way to her spin class.
    “Morning Kori,” Gale said as she placed a nonchalant kiss on her daughter’s cheek and made her way to the fridge. She poured herself a glass of juice and then launched into the drama Kori was waiting for. “Well, Mayor Devlin and I are over.”
    “I didn’t know you two were official already,” Kori said, not meaning to sound snide but Gale seemed to miss the tone of her words.
    “I t just wasn’t going to work out. We have different needs.” Gale took a big swallow of juice. “I wouldn’t know what to do in the spotlight.”
    Kori knew that wasn’t true. Gale would thrive in the spotlight. She was always trying to point the spotlight at herself. But she let it go. Clearly there was something else going on that she was likely going to tell Kori.
    “He just has too many girlfriends.”
    And there it is, Kori thought, trying not to chuckle out loud. Instead she told her mom, “Sorry to hear that.”
    “I’m over it.” Gale placed her empty glass in the sink, waved her hand in the air like she was brushing away the nuisance of Mayor Devlin and turned back toward the front door. “Gotta go to spin. You gonna make it to yoga with me this week? Tomorrow at one thirty.”
    “I’ll let you know tomorrow. I close at one so that’s cutting it close.”
    “Okay. See you.” Gale waved again as she left.
    Kori glanced at the clock and saw that it was already five thirty—time to flip the sign to open. Even though the door was already unlocked, she found that customers didn’t just let themselves in like her mother did if the sign still said Closed . For that, she was grateful.
    With the warm June-nearly-July air, Kori propped the front door open when she flipped the sign around. She put her head outside to take a breath of fresh air and saw her heartthrob walking toward her. Zach waved and Kori fully stepped out onto the sidewalk, a smile nearly hurting her cheeks. She loved seeing him before he went to work.
    This morning Kori didn’t hold back with her greeting. She knew he’d had a tough weekend with the murder investigation, and she couldn’t say that hers had been particularly easy with the festival and the investigation she was conducting on the side. When he was just a few paces away, she took a big step and opened her arms to him. He wrapped his own strong arms around her body and kissed her cheek. She didn’t think she’d ever get sick of feeling his body against hers.
    “Good morning,” he said into her ear and she flinched as his breath bushed against her hair and tickled her neck.
    “Good morning,” she said back between her childish giggles. “No one else is here yet. Come on in for a cup of coffee. And breakfast if you want,” she quickly added.
    Zach took her up on the invitation and helped himself to a cup of coffee while she checked on the first two dozen muffins. She pulled them out of the oven and placed the muffin tins on cooling racks, scooping two of them out before they cooled. She ended up with crumbled messes but they would still be delicious. She added a scoop of yogurt on each and placed them on the counter where Zach could reach them. Then Kori joined him on the other side of the counter on