Read Online The Chocolate Jewel Case: A Chocoholic Mystery by JoAnna Carl - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: JoAnna Carl
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I could see a light in Darrell’s camper, though, andwhen I checked upstairs Gina was lying on her bed, reading. I handed over her library books. Brenda and Tracy hadn’t come home, she said.
I went down to the kitchen, poured myself a Diet Coke, and started assembling the stew. What I really wanted was a long, cool shower and a back rub from my bridegroom. A Diet Coke wasn’t a good substitute.
I had the stew together and was rearranging the refrigeratorso that I could cram the Crock-Pot into it when Joe and Pete came in the back door.
“Where have y’all been?” I said
“We’ve just been over at Darrell’s,” Joe said. “We’re going to have a beer.”
Joe got two bottles from the refrigerator, and he and Pete sat at the dining table. They were looking at Pete’s digital camera, but when I came through the room, Pete laid it on the table with the screendown. They didn’t invite me to sit with them. It was definitely a stag conference.
I was too tired to try to horn my way into the conversation. I said good night to Pete, then took a shower. It was still so hot and so humid that I felt soggy when I got out. It was almost impossible to dry off.
Then I got into bed. I was so tired that I don’t even remember Joe coming in, which might be considereda disgraceful way for a bride of three months to behave. He swears he kissed me good night, but I suspect he was as tired as I was and was careful not to disturb me. The next thing I knew it was six thirty a.m. It was still dark in the bedroom, even though we were a week past the summer solstice.
I love Michigan, but it has trees. In the case of Aunt Nettie’s house—our house—there are a lot oftrees, ranging from ten feet to a hundred feet tall, on the east side of the lot. The downstairs bedroom is on the west side of the house. This means we get up in the dark year-round, and in the summer even the dining room—on the east side of the house and with lots of windows—doesn’t see any sun until midmorning. This is hard for a gal from the Texas plains to get used to.
But when the alarmwent off, I got up, put on a pot of coffee, and got out the toast and cereal supplies. I left them on the dining table and got dressed in a chocolate brown TenHuis polo shirt and khaki slacks. Then I wrote a note about the dinner for Gina and headed for the office, leaving the do-it-yourself meal behind me. For once, the day at TenHuis Chocolade was routine. The counter help showed up, no unexpectedemergency orders came in, and the tourists were no more obnoxious than usual. The air-conditioning limped along. With one unit doing the work of two, it wasn’t exactly cool in the kitchens. Dolly watched the temperature in the storerooms carefully, and she had more boxes moved into the front of the shop. But the AC didn’t break down completely.
I talked to Mrs. Vandemann, but all she could dowas assure me that she was calling all over the state looking for a compressor for our system.
At five p.m., I left. When I arrived home—miracle of miracles—Gina had plugged in the Crock-Pot at the right time and seemed to grasp the concept of instant mashed potatoes and deli coleslaw. She called me “hon” only twice.
Darrell and Joe were working outside the bathroom, building forms for the foundation,but when they saw I was home, Joe declared the workday over. Joe got into the shower. Since I’d had the benefit of air-conditioning—my office was the coolest place at TenHuis Chocolade—I just changed into cream slacks and a shirt printed with green leaves on a cream background. I hoped it looked cool. Joe and I were ready to walk over to the Garretts’ house at six thirty.
As we crossed Lake ShoreDrive, I was glad to see that the Garretts had begun to make efforts at clearing out some of the brush that had made the Double Diamond cottage look spooky. It was a lovely old place. Garnet came to meet us as we walked up the steps.
“What’s happened to the cool Michigan
I went down to the kitchen, poured myself a Diet Coke, and started assembling the stew. What I really wanted was a long, cool shower and a back rub from my bridegroom. A Diet Coke wasn’t a good substitute.
I had the stew together and was rearranging the refrigeratorso that I could cram the Crock-Pot into it when Joe and Pete came in the back door.
“Where have y’all been?” I said
“We’ve just been over at Darrell’s,” Joe said. “We’re going to have a beer.”
Joe got two bottles from the refrigerator, and he and Pete sat at the dining table. They were looking at Pete’s digital camera, but when I came through the room, Pete laid it on the table with the screendown. They didn’t invite me to sit with them. It was definitely a stag conference.
I was too tired to try to horn my way into the conversation. I said good night to Pete, then took a shower. It was still so hot and so humid that I felt soggy when I got out. It was almost impossible to dry off.
Then I got into bed. I was so tired that I don’t even remember Joe coming in, which might be considereda disgraceful way for a bride of three months to behave. He swears he kissed me good night, but I suspect he was as tired as I was and was careful not to disturb me. The next thing I knew it was six thirty a.m. It was still dark in the bedroom, even though we were a week past the summer solstice.
I love Michigan, but it has trees. In the case of Aunt Nettie’s house—our house—there are a lot oftrees, ranging from ten feet to a hundred feet tall, on the east side of the lot. The downstairs bedroom is on the west side of the house. This means we get up in the dark year-round, and in the summer even the dining room—on the east side of the house and with lots of windows—doesn’t see any sun until midmorning. This is hard for a gal from the Texas plains to get used to.
But when the alarmwent off, I got up, put on a pot of coffee, and got out the toast and cereal supplies. I left them on the dining table and got dressed in a chocolate brown TenHuis polo shirt and khaki slacks. Then I wrote a note about the dinner for Gina and headed for the office, leaving the do-it-yourself meal behind me. For once, the day at TenHuis Chocolade was routine. The counter help showed up, no unexpectedemergency orders came in, and the tourists were no more obnoxious than usual. The air-conditioning limped along. With one unit doing the work of two, it wasn’t exactly cool in the kitchens. Dolly watched the temperature in the storerooms carefully, and she had more boxes moved into the front of the shop. But the AC didn’t break down completely.
I talked to Mrs. Vandemann, but all she could dowas assure me that she was calling all over the state looking for a compressor for our system.
At five p.m., I left. When I arrived home—miracle of miracles—Gina had plugged in the Crock-Pot at the right time and seemed to grasp the concept of instant mashed potatoes and deli coleslaw. She called me “hon” only twice.
Darrell and Joe were working outside the bathroom, building forms for the foundation,but when they saw I was home, Joe declared the workday over. Joe got into the shower. Since I’d had the benefit of air-conditioning—my office was the coolest place at TenHuis Chocolade—I just changed into cream slacks and a shirt printed with green leaves on a cream background. I hoped it looked cool. Joe and I were ready to walk over to the Garretts’ house at six thirty.
As we crossed Lake ShoreDrive, I was glad to see that the Garretts had begun to make efforts at clearing out some of the brush that had made the Double Diamond cottage look spooky. It was a lovely old place. Garnet came to meet us as we walked up the steps.
“What’s happened to the cool Michigan
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