A Zest for Murder (Sky High Pies Cozy Mysteries Book 5) Read Free

impeccable.
When I couldn’t reach the Fiddle Faddle on the top shelf, Kyle very gallantly
stepped in to lend a hand—literally!”
    I forced a smile at the pun. “What
a gentleman! We can’t wait to meet him.”
    “Yeah,” Zack said, lightly wedging
one elbow into my side. “Crescent Creek needs as many chivalrous men as
possible.”
    “I so agree!” Blanche announced,
pirouetting on her tiny feet. “And I shall return!”
    “She’s a firecracker,” Zack
whispered once we were alone. “I hope we’re that lively when we’re eighty.”
    “I hope to be that lively next
week,” I joked. “We’re going to be working really long days between now and
then with all of the special orders and catering jobs.”
    “I’ve got some free time tomorrow
afternoon. Want me to come help you and Julia?”
    I leaned over and pressed my lips
against his. We lingered in the moment while Blanche hummed loudly in the
kitchen. When she reappeared in the living room, my forehead was pressed
against Zack’s cheek and our eyes were closed.
    “Goodness me!” she exclaimed. “Do
you need a minute?”
    Zack cleared his throat, squared
his shoulders and smiled.
    “Oh, not at all,” I said. “Zack
just offered to help out at Sky High tomorrow. We’re pretty swamped with
special orders and he’s handy in the kitchen.”
    Blanche shifted her gaze slowly
from me to Zack. “I have every confidence,” she said in a low rasp, “that he’s
quite handy wherever he goes.”
    I felt my cheeks redden. “Well,
uh…”
    “Oh, now!” Blanche said, handing me
a glass of chardonnay. “We’re all adults here!”
    “Yes, but…” I sipped the wine to
try and think of what to say next. I didn’t want to offend our hostess, but I didn’t
want to wander into a discussion that might become uncomfortable. “Well, you
were right, Blanche,” I said finally. “The chardonnay really is lovely!”
    “I thought you’d like it, dear.”
She offered a bottle of ale to Zack. “The sales clerk at the liquor store said
it’s one of their best sellers.” She stood with both hands pressed together for
a moment before announcing that she was returning to the kitchen for
appetizers. “I won’t be but a minute or two,” she promised. “And it’ll give you
lovebirds more time to canoodle.”
    As soon as we were alone again,
Zack asked what Blanche was talking about.
    “Canoodling?” I said.
    He nodded. “Yeah, what’s that
mean?”
    I put down my glass. Then I wrapped
my arms around him and kissed his cheek.
    “Oh!” His eyes went wide. “I never
knew for sure what that word meant, but I definitely like doing it!”
    As we canoodled a bit more, Blanche
yelped loudly.
    “Did you hear that?” I asked Zack.
    He started to get up, but I pressed
one hand on his arm and told him that I’d check on our energetic hostess. When
I walked into the kitchen, Blanche was angrily jabbing one bony finger at her
mobile phone.
    “Do you know how to work this
thing, Katie?”
    “Most of the time,” I said. “What’s
wrong?”
    “Well, it’s Tipper.”
    “Did she just call?”
    Blanche jeered at the blank screen.
“No, she sent one of those little message thingies.”
    “A text?”
    “Yeah, sure. Whatever you call
them.”
    “Is everything okay?”
    Blanche sighed. “How should I know?
The minute I tapped the screen like my grandson told me to do, all of the words
disappeared. The only thing I saw was ‘Sorry for the late notice, but…’”
    “Sounds like Tipper’s not going to
make it tonight, huh?”
    The elderly woman stopped fussing
with her phone long enough to turn and glare at me. “Will you please see if you
can get this dagnabbit gizmo to work properly?”
    I took the phone, pressed the power
switch and the screen blazed back to life. Then I tapped and swiped until the
text from Tipper was on the screen. I read the message twice before sharing it
with Blanche.
    “This is very peculiar,” I said.
“Tipper’s message