Cake and Taxes: A Yellow Rose Cozy Mystery (Yellow Rose Mystery Series Book 2) Read Free

busy.”
     
    “That's good to hear. What about your job?”
     
    “Things are busy at the medical center. I'm almost done with the breaking in period for physical therapy, so I should be getting more responsibility soon. I had a couple of personal days saved up, so decided to use them and come see you and Brianna. Where is she, anyway?”
     
    “In her room, resting. Think she may have that stomach bug that's going around.”
     
    “Poor thing. I'll peek in on her later,” Bobbi said.
     
    Betty finished cubing the potatoes. She added in some herbs and garlic to the mix, then retrieved a spoon from a nearby drawer and sampled the soup. Satisfied, she placed the lid on the pot, then lowered the flame a fraction.
     
    “From what you've said, everything seems to be going well for you.”
     
    “It is,” Bobbi said. “Which is why Gary and I are thinking about buying a house.”
     
    Betty rinsed her hands in the sink. “Wow. That's a big step. Are you sure you're ready for that? Financially, I mean.”
     
    Bobbi shifted in her seat and glanced down at the table before looking directly at her mother. The corners of her mouth slowly edged up into a smile. Betty knew the look well. Her daughter was about to give her the, I'm all grown up and have it all figured out speech. Which she was. All grown up, that is. But she was as stubborn as her mother and tended to learn life's lessons the hard way. Betty simply wanted her children to listen to her once in a while and take advantage of the hard-fought knowledge she'd earned over the years.
     
    But she knew that wasn't going to happen today. She sighed resolutely, mentally braced herself, and waited for Bobbi to continue.
     
    “We're both making good money. Plus, other than my student loans, which are almost paid off, we're pretty much debt free, and interest rates are still low. Really, this is great time to find a good starter home.”
     
    “Since your jobs are there, I'm guessing you'll buy in or around Austin?”
     
    “Yes. We're thinking about the northwest part of town and have started looking at homes in several neighborhoods.”
     
    Betty stirred the soup with a wooden spoon. As she took in the aroma she said, “Homes in Austin are expensive. And the prices keep going up.”
     
    “Which is another reason we want to buy now, before everything gets out of our price range. We've saved up a down payment and can squeak out a mortgage payment each month and still have enough to pay our other bills.”
     
    “That's the part that worries me,” Betty said, turning to her daughter again and shaking her head. “If you're financially maxed out and one of you loses your job, then what? After making a down payment, will you have anything else in savings? Any kind of emergency fund?”
     
    “Oh, Mom. Don't worry, Gary and I have a plan. It'll all work out. You'll see.”
     
    Betty pulled a ladle from a drawer. She poured soup into two bowls which she then placed on the table. “Well,” she replied, going to the refrigerator to get some sweet tea. “It's like the boxer Mike Tyson once said – 'Everybody’s got a plan, till they get punched in the face.'”
     
    Bobbi looked like she was trying to figure out what her mother was trying to tell her. But after several seconds she merely smiled, picked up her spoon, and started in on the soup, which she announced was quite good. Betty was quiet for a spell as she ate and formulated her own plan, one she hoped wouldn't get her punched once she was done.

Chapter 5
     
    An hour later, Betty was back at the bakery. She was hard at work on a bowl of batter when Martin poked his head in from out front. He cleared his throat in a loud manner to get her attention. Betty looked up and motioned him in. He walked over and sat at a small table off to the side that Betty used to decorate her cakes. Placing a small leather case on the table's surface, he zipped open the sides, pulled out a laptop and flipped it open.
     
    “Be