Strawberries and Suffering Read online

Holly had never really wanted children. Once upon a time, she and Simon had given it a lackluster try, both of them sighing with relief when the effort bore no fruit. Now, however, she stroked her abdomen and wondered how it would feel to swell up like a bowling ball, to explore the movement, kicks, and punches as another human being moved inside her.

  Foolish thoughts for a silly old woman. Holly turned over onto her other side to stare blankly at a different wall. Even if she wanted to have kids now, she’d left it too late. With no husband, no partner, and a biological clock that she couldn’t ever remember ticking, it wasn’t something that could happen just from her wishing it into being.

  Besides, did she really want that dreadful love if it could cause the pain that Wendy was no doubt going through tonight? Even putting aside that, how must Brian feel as he waited to hear news about whether his son would live or die?

  And yet… Wouldn’t that pain and worry be counterbalanced by love?

  Holly kicked out at the covers as her legs became tangled. She’d started off with only enough time to get five hours sleep and she’d easily worn that down to four by now. Maybe even three.

  Children. At her age. What was she thinking?

  She turned over again, looking out the window at the rising moon. As the rays bathed her face in silver, Holly closed her eyes again and fell into a dream where babies giggled, and children ran around her feet.

  “Tell me again,” Meggie said. Her face was red with laughter from the events that Holly had recalled. While purposely shying away from the dreadful things that had occurred, Holly managed to package up the rest of the day for her friend’s general amusement.

  “I feel cheated that I didn’t get to attend and see all that!” Meggie dried her eyes and reached for the cup of coffee that she’d let get cold. “There I was, stuck in my hair salon still getting ladies ready for the big day, and the news comes on the radio about the roads being blocked. If I’d have known that such a bundle of misfortune waited on the other side, I’d have made more of an effort to get across.”

  “Just be glad that you missed out on some of it,” Holly said. “It wasn’t all fun and games, as I’m sure you read in the paper this morning.”

  “I’m trying to avoid thinking about that bit,” Meggie admitted. “I can hardly get my head around how somebody could do such an awful thing. I guess that’s the last we’ll see Wendy around the township.”

  “Why?” Holly was genuinely taken aback. Sure, she knew that the townspeople would gossip—the tidbit was too juicy to refrain—but she hadn’t expected Meggie to be leading the charge.

  As the kind woman read her face, her own expression changed to one of horror. “I don’t mean that I’d say or believe anything horrible about her. Goodness knows she’s had a bad run of luck and that was before all this happened. I just meant, with the gossip…”

  Meggie waved her hand about in the air. The color rose in her cheeks as her voice trailed off.

  “Well, I, for one, am not going to let that happen.” Holly smacked her hands together for emphasis. “Wendy will always be welcome in this shop and anyone who tries to say otherwise, they’re invited to stay away.”

  “Okay.” Meggie stood and strode over to the counter, sticking her hand out. “I pledge allegiance to the same cause. Though you know if I turned ladies away for a bit of gossip, then my seats would stay empty all day long.”

  Holly shook her friend’s hand, sealing the pact. “I don’t mind their gossiping, just so long as they’re not vocal enough to drive her out of town and we step in to correct any misinformation being spread.”

  “Oh, I’m always happy to correct my customers. I’m what my elder ladies use instead of Google.” Meggie waved goodbye and walked out of the store as a trio of youngsters walked in.

  Holly recognized all three of them. Elvira walked straight up to the counter while Winter and Midnight sat at the one table inside the bakery, ignoring the vast choice of options outside.

  “Could I have a strawberry surprise, a chocolate delight, and a banana bonanza?” Elvira asked. Her eyes were circled with so much dark makeup that would raise a chill if Holly ran into her on a dark night. “Also, did that lady have a coffee?”

  “That lady did but that lady wasn’t a customer, she was lending me a hand.” Not strictly true, but Meggie had helped Holly out so many times that it felt true even when it wasn’t. “Does your auntie let you drink coffee?”

  Elvira raised her nose up into the air, a gesture probably meant to indicate it was none of Holly’s business but the turn of her head and purse of her mouth mimicked Esmerelda so closely that Holly had to hide a laugh.

  “There’s a café opposite if you want to have a coffee,” Holly said, pointing across the courtyard to Bean There, Done That. “They’re delicious.”

  The teenager turned to look then shook her head. “I’d rather stay in here. My cousin is coming to pick me up in half an hour, and I don’t want to confuse him any more than necessary. He gets distracted at the best of times.”

  “Fair enough. Take a seat, and I’ll bring your order over.” Holly busied herself with picking up the cakes with tongs and arranging them on plates, so she didn’t have to query why her cheeks were flushing red, or her heart was beating faster.

  “There you go,” she said a minute later as she placed the cupcakes down in front of the girls. The strawberry she put in front of Elvira, the chocolate in front of Midnight and the banana in front of Winter.

  “Hey,” Elvira said with a frown. “How did you know who wanted what?”

  “Oh, girls,” Holly leaned forward and lowered her voice into a tone stuffed full of mystery. “It’s my job to know.”

  Without any further customers filing in, Holly was left alone behind the counter to ponder the imminent arrival of Aidan. At least, she presumed it was him that Elvira referred to. For all Holly knew, perhaps the girl had a dozen male cousins and was talking about a completely different one.

  “These were divine,” Winter said, bringing the empty plates back to the counter.

  “Oh, thank you. You didn’t need to do that,” Holly said, picking them up ready to take out the back. “I’m glad you enjoyed them, though.”

  “I’ve been trying to convince Elvira that we should come back and do the same thing tomorrow. I’m sure that my schoolwork would improve if I had this to look forward to every day.” She then turned a critical glance down at her belly, rubbing it with her hand and frowning. “Although, my scales wouldn’t thank me for it.”

  “You’ve got nothing to worry about on that score,” Holly said. “None of you. That’s the truth, too, even though as the co-owner of this fine establishment, it’s my sole mission in life to sell you cakes, no matter what.”

  Winter shot her a shy grin before moving back to the table. As Holly took the dishes out to the back, Crystal returned from her deliveries.

  “Do you want a coffee?” Crystal didn’t wait for an answer before adding some beans into the grinder. “I’m just about dead on my feet.”

  “Just had one,” Holly replied. Even though she’d thought this morning that she would need a regular cup to keep her functioning throughout the day, a lightness was now lifting her step and making her buzz with energy. “Is there any news on Derek?”

  “He’s being moved out onto the general ward already,” Crystal said, a smile brightening her face. “Although it’s thrown his dad into a tizzy trying to buy him a private room that the hospital doesn’t have spare.”

  “Maybe he can give them a sizeable enough donation that they build one just for him.”

  “If he was staying there for a few years longer, maybe. Either way, it’s excellent news. Derek passed all his function checks with flying colors, so at this rate, he’ll be back home in a couple of days.”

  “That is good news.” Holly heard the door to the bakery opening and cut her conversation with her sister abruptly short. Even though it was only a few yards back to the front of the store, she’d
missed Aidan. His tall figure was already halfway out to the road, with the three dark-dressed teenagers hurrying to catch up.

  All Holly’s energy disappeared in an instant. Instead, an empty feeling carved out a hole in her chest, and the effort of standing began to feel too great to continue on for long.

  “I will have that coffee after all,” Holly said, trudging back the few steps to the door. Crystal nodded and held up two fingers. Two minutes.

  The bell over the door jingled again, and Holly turned to see Aidan standing in the doorway with a sheepish expression on his face. “I’ve been sent back inside to ask you something,” he said. “Elvira insisted that I wasn’t allowed to leave until I did.”

  Over the increase in Holly’s heartrate, she found it hard to get the words out, “Ask me what?”

  “Well, Elvira has been insisting all day long that I ask you out on a date. You don’t have to go,” he said, holding his hand up as though Holly had violently protested. “I just thought that we seemed to hit it off and you know…”

  He trailed off and jerked his head back toward the parked car. “It seems I’ll never hear the end of it if I don’t at least give it a shot.”

  Aidan leaned over the counter, his face moving so close to Holly’s that she could feel his warm breath on her cheek. “Do you know what it’s like to ferry around three teenage girls who are all equally disappointed in you? I feel like the worst Dad in the world, and I didn’t even have the pleasure of playing with them as babies.”

  Holly swallowed around a lump in her throat. “You still haven’t asked me anything. Am I meant to guess?”

  “Hm. That does sound like fun. However, since I have a car full of mischief to get back to, I’ll cut down on time and just say, would you like to go on a date with me?”

  “You understand I’m a married woman.”

  “I understand you’re a soon-to-be-divorced woman. Why? Is your husband about to pop up out of nowhere and sweep you back off your feet?”

  The thought of Simon lifting anything off its feet made Holly giggle. Or maybe that was just the endorphins rushing up to her head.

  “Just letting you know what you’d be getting yourself into.”

  “I know quite well, thank you. That’s why I asked.”

  Holly nodded. “Then, yes. I would love to go on a date with you.”

  As he double-pumped his fist into the air, Holly could hear the shriek of triumph coming from his car, even parked all the way over on the curb.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Are you sure this is where you meant to bring me?” Holly asked as they pulled up outside the church at Inglewood. “I mean, it’s very honorable of you to take me to church, but perhaps not on the very first date.”

  “I’m not taking you to the church,” Aidan said, reaching over into the backseat and trying to snag some items stored there. He gave up when the picnic basket wouldn’t make it over the seat back, instead clambering out and opening the back door to retrieve the set.

  “Well, where are you taking me?” Holly asked. “The field?”

  “No. The graveyard.” As Holly raised her eyebrows in surprise, Aidan shook his head. “I don’t need to hear about your objections. I promise you, if you have any love of history and place then this will be a date to remember.”

  “It’s already a date to remember,” Holly said. “That started as soon as you said the word graveyard. I can already see the story I’ll be spinning for my kids.”

  Aidan stopped dead in his tracks, frowning. “I thought you said you didn’t have children.”

  “I don’t. A girl can dream, can’t she?”

  Aidan swung his arm around her waist. “Better dream fast there, missy. I know as a male I have no right to pass judgment but…”

  “But you will, anyway.”

  Aidan laughed and nodded. “But I will. Tick-tock.”

  Holly joined in with his laughter, but felt a tug on her abdomen all the same. Since the night after the wedding, the thought of children kept recurring to her. The idea of someone to pass the bakery down to, a little person who she’d get the excitement of seeing grow into an adult.

  Only if she got a move on, though. On that point, Aidan was perfectly correct. Especially since longevity wasn’t a family trait.

  “Mrs. Henderson told me that you do gravestone rubbings,” Holly mused as they walked around the side of the church and out to the back. “How does that work?”

  “It’s very complicated,” Aidan said, juggling the basket and rug and a tube tucked under his arm. When it seemed he was about to drop the lot, Holly sprang forward, but he recovered nicely.

  “First off, you have to find a gravestone. It’s not as easy as you think because they only allow them in small, contained areas. If you go searching for them higgledy-piggledy, then you’ll probably return home without any luck.”

  “Ah, yes.” Holly cast a radiant smile his way. The man was so silly that she couldn’t help but find it endearing. Silly, but as she already knew from his firm stance on the wedding day from hell, he had a backbone and didn’t mind fighting his corner if need be.

  “I think I’ve heard of these places you speak of,” she continued. “In fact”—she held a hand up to her shocked face—“I think we’re standing in one right now.”

  “Well-spotted. You’re a natural.” Aidan placed the picnic basket down on the ground, the rest of the perilously positioned items tumbling down on top of it. “Once you’ve located a cemetery teeming with stones, then the next step is to choose one.”

  “And how do you decide which one it is that you want?” Holly stepped forward, reading one of the engravings from the stone nearest her. “Would Alice MacKenzie and her husband Robert be a good pick?”

  “They would do if you intended to record the hum-drum of daily life in gravestone form. If you’re after a bit more excitement with a touch of familiarity, then you might instead start here.”

  He pointed at a simple stone of black granite. The carved letters were so old that the wind and rains of time had worn them down almost flat.

  “I can’t make this one out at all,” Holly said. “Why would this be better than the poor MacKenzies?”

  “Well, first off, the MacKenzies were notorious thieves.” He held up a finger as Holly opened her mouth. “And not of the interesting kind, either. Robert MacKenzie ran the butcher store in town for many years, and all the anecdotal evidence suggests that he liked to place his thumb upon the scale.”

  Holly faked a look of horror. “The dastardly fellow. Cheating those poor settler folks out of their hard-earned cash.”

  “Indeed. I can’t say that the man’s wife was as dishonest, but she certainly didn’t lift a finger to make him change his ways.” He nodded at the carved angel perched atop their extravagant stone. “That’s what happened to the money the good people of Hanmer Springs were cheated out of. It was invested in their lavish stones.”

  The ridiculousness stuck Holly’s funny bone, and she burst out laughing. What with the sun overhead and just a smattering of puffy clouds for sky decoration, it seemed set to be a lovely day. There was no way for her to know if Aidan’s tale held any truth at all but for the moment it didn’t matter.

  “So, who does this stone belong to, then? Since it’s not ostentatious at all, I presume that it belonged to one of the folks that the dreaded MacKenzie’s cheated?”

  “Almost definitely,” Aidan said, placing a hand lightly on the top of the stone as he placed a sheet of tracing paper flat against it. “Now, if you give me a few moments, I’ll show you what we’re dealing with.”

  Holly sat down on the spread blanket, feeling the sun warming the top of her head. In a few hours, it would become uncomfortable, but for now, with the mid-morning breeze lightly teasing at the tree-tops, it was pleasant.

  Aidan kneeled in front of the gravestone, taking much the same posture that he’d been in when Holly first spied him and asked him to move his car. With a long piece of charcoal, h
e gently pressed against the paper, drawing it across in slow sweeps until the carved symbols that had almost evaporated became visible once again.

  “Oh!” Holly sat up, seeing words she hadn’t expected to read appearing across the paper. “That’s Celia. That’s my great-great-granny!”

  Aidan turned with a wide smile. “I told you that she was buried out here. It took quite a bit of locating, seeing how worn away the letters are.”

  Holly leaned forward, pressing up against Aidan’s back as she peered intently over his shoulder. “How did you ever find it? I couldn’t read that at all!”

  “Just perseverance,” he said with an air of nobility. “Hours and hours of searching among the stones until I found the one I was seeking.”

  As Holly turned to read his face, trying to work out if that was the truth, she saw the twitch of a smile.

  “Or I asked Minister Woodfield for a guide that he keeps in the church office and scanned the columns for a few minutes. One of those.”

  Holly collapsed into giggles while she watched him draw her relative’s grave into legibility. A first date in a cemetery. That seemed like the kind of anecdote an old married couple would tell.

  Three catastrophes and a funeral

  When Holly Waterston is asked to cater for a wake, she believes the job will be straightforward although a little sad. Instead, the funeral service has been designed by the deceased to drop a bombshell on his grieving family.

  With Holly embroiled in the family's dirty laundry, she finds herself pulled into the web of distrust and dark secrets. A situation that grows even murkier when one of the siblings is attacked and murder raises its ugly head.

  As suspicions shines a spotlight in all directions, Holly must keep her wits about her if she's to unveil the truth and uncover a killer. Not to mention baking up a swathe of blueberry cupcakes!