“Thank you.” I sigh as I take a crunchy bite. “Carlotta, that painting is creepy. I’m shocked you wanted it. And I don’t even want to know how much it set you back.”
Evie nods. “She spent three thousand dollars on that Van Gauche.”
Keelie and I suck in a quick breath.
“Three thousand American dollars? Are you insane?” I shriek her way. “Never mind. I know the answer. Boy, someone out there is getting the last laugh. That painting isn’t haunted, Carlotta. You and I can both attest to that.”
Neither Evie nor Keelie has any idea about our transmundane status, and I plan on keeping it like that for a long time to come. Evie has enough to deal with, especially now that she’ll be living under the same roof as Carlotta—not that she hasn’t been. It’s just that things are about to get a little more official.
Evie was living with Everett next door, and now we’ll all be one big family. I’m pretty sure there’s an adjective that belongs before the word family, I’m just not all that sure what it is. And it may not be all that nice.
Keelie shakes her head. “I don’t know, Aunt Carlotta. That’s a lot of dough to blow right before Christmas. Unless, of course, you bought it as a gift for someone.”
Carlotta tips her head and gives me the side-eye. “Why, I bought it for my Lot Lot. Surprise! It’s the housewarming gift you didn’t know you needed.”
“And that I’m sure I don’t want.” I shoot her a look. “Keelie is right. You should have spent your money on something else.”
“Don’t worry about me, Lottie Dottie,” Carlotta says, plucking those pricey jar candles she’s peddling out of her tote bag. “Between the greasy palm biz and my new kinky candle gig, I’m going to be raking it in this holiday season. And I didn’t have to shoot a woman in the back to do it.” She points an accusing finger my way, and I hear Lily snicker from the register.
Keelie chuckles. “She’s got you there, Lot.”
Evie peers into Carlotta’s oversized tote bag. “Is Kringle in here?”
“Who’s Kringle?” I ask while noshing on the rest of my pickle.
“It’s Carlotta’s emotional support mouse,” Evie says while poking around in Carlotta’s bag. “Each month she finds another invisible pet from the realm of the dead to keep her company, and this month she’s chosen a cute little brown mouse by the name of Kringle. He’s a boy, and he likes to eat your trifle. Oh, and he’s not sure about Pancake or Waffles just yet, but he’s really digging Toby.”
“Carlotta,” I growl out her name. I’m guessing Kringle is the cute little ghost who has come back to help solve Gloria’s murder. And I discovered a few months back, thanks to my transmundane friend, Bizzy Baker, that my sweet cats, a couple of Himalayan brothers, Pancake and Waffles, can indeed sense the animals that come back to help me. I’m guessing they’re rather amused by the mouse.
Toby, Noah’s golden retriever, pretty much gets along with any and everything, so it’s no surprise that Kringle has taken to him.
Evie’s phone bleats, and she gives an enthusiastic cry at whatever just popped up on her screen.
“Yes!” She shakes a fist in the air. “Guess what? A couple of kids from school and I are headed to the Maple Meadows Lodge for a ski trip weekend. Don’t worry, Mom. I’m rooming with Dash. Conner and Kyle are staying in a separate part of the lodge. But there’s going to be, like, sixteen of us, so I’m sure we’ll all be sleeping in each other’s rooms anyway.”
Dash is Evie’s best friend. And Conner and Kyle are Evie’s boyfriends.
Yeah. Everett and I aren’t that thrilled.
Carlotta nods. “That’s the best way to do it. That way the party never stops.”
“The party is never going to start,” I say. “You’re not going,” I tell her.
Evie’s blue eyes light up with rage. “But it’s at the lodge. That place you bought with Dad and Uncle Noah. I already told everyone we could stay in the rooms for free. Mom, I have to ski, it’s in my blood. You can take away my right to a private bathroom, but you can’t take away my right to glide down a snow-covered mountain while blaring my favorite playlist through the speaker system built into my helmet. Did you hear the word helmet? I plan on using protection.”
Carlotta shakes her head. “That’s not the kind of protection she’s concerned about you using, hon.”
Carlotta is right.
“Ugh!” Evie howls at the top of her lungs. “I just hate that you and Dad don’t trust me. Just because I’m dating two guys doesn’t mean I’m sleeping with both of them.”
“You had better not be sleeping with either of them,” I shoot back.
“I can’t believe you think the worst of me.” She taps furiously into her phone. “Dash is outside. We’re going shopping. Ironically, I’m looking for something for you. I’ll be home in time for dinner. Try not to stalk me.” She snatches the gingerbread cookie from Carlotta’s hand before darting out of the bakery.
“Evie!” I shout, but it’s too late.
Carlotta chuckles. “Don’t worry, Lot Lot. I’ll handle the sex ed portion of her childhood. She needs a good influence to keep her in line.”
Keelie bursts out laughing. “Good one, Aunt Carlotta.”
“I’m not laughing,” I grit it through my teeth. “Do not breathe a word about anything coital to my dear daughter. I’ll be the one handling the sex ed portion of her childhood.”
Keelie takes the last bite of her trifle. “I’m not sure that’s any better, Lot.” She shrugs out a silent apology.
Carlotta finishes cluttering up my counter with those tiny fire hazards she’s hauling around.
“And keep your kinky candles to yourself, too,” I say. “The last thing I need is to burn down the bakery.”
Carlotta ticks her head to the side. “With that Hearst curse still hovering around you like a dark cloud, it’s bound to happen sooner or later. I figure why not get a few candle sales in while I can.”
The Hearst family once lived in Honey Hollow and basically amassed a ton of wealth, and a ton of attention from the Grim Reaper at the very same time. One of the Hearst family members was murdered in town this past October. And just before that, the ghost of my grandmother Nell came back to warn me not to get involved. She said it had the power to negatively affect not only my own life, but that of my baby’s as well. And, as fate and my poor judgment would have it, I stepped right in the middle of that cursed investigation. I brought down the killer, too. And once I thought everything was wrapped up in a neat little bow, my house and Everett’s burned to the ground that very night.
I’ll admit, I’ve been looking over my shoulder ever since.
“I don’t believe in curses,” I say just as one of the gingerbread houses on the counter collapses in on itself.
Both Carlotta and Keelie let out a little scream.
“Oh stop,” I say, breaking off a piece of it and taking a bite. “It’s simply a case of not enough frosting to hold it together.” Although, I’ll admit I made sure to glue that sucker together with enough royal icing to withstand a hurricane.