Candy Apple Dead Read Free Page B

small parking areas are carved into the spaces between shops up and down the street. To keep the town beautiful for tourists, the parking areas are also cleverly disguised as mini-parks, complete with benches and flower-filled planters.
    Divinity shares one of these flowery parking lots with a neighbor up the hill, so there was a good chance the shadow belonged to a passerby or a customer at Picture Perfect. I stepped into the gathering shadows anyway and tried to make Brandon appear. I was already limping, thanks to the heels, and I wondered how I’d make the walk from here to Romano’s and maintain my dignity.
    It had been a warm day, but cool air from the nearby mountains brushed the evening with a hint of autumn, and the golden shimmer of aspens made the hillside look as if someone had poured peanut-brittle syrup over everything. The hills were so beautiful, they almost took my breath away.
    I couldn’t make Brandon miraculously materialize out of thin air, so I turned back toward the candy kitchen. A figure loomed in the doorway. I let out a little cry of alarm, and Stella Farmer moved farther into the light so I could see her.
    “Abby? Are you all right?”
    Clasping a hand to my chest, I grabbed the back of a park bench to keep from falling. “I’m fine. You just startled me. I didn’t see you standing there.”
    Stella’s lips curved slightly. She’s a tall, sturdy woman with mint-green eyes and firm, broad hands. The only time she’s not wearing jeans and a man’s shirt with the tails out is when she’s in the church, and that only happens when there’s a funeral.
    “Sorry,” she said, and she almost looked as if she meant it. “I’ve been looking all over for you. We need to talk before you go inside.”
    Stella is one of the town’s strongest opponents to changing the Arts Festival. I’d already heard what she had to say more than once, and talking to her about it right now wasn’t high on my list of priorities. “The meeting’s about to start,” I said. “Can it wait?”
    The half-smile that had been playing at the corners of her mouth faded. “I’m afraid not. Duncan and I have been taking a straw poll, and we’re concerned. I hope you’re prepared to stand with us at the city council meeting next week.”
    I was annoyed with Brandon, but that didn’t mean I’d turn on him in a fit of feminine spite. I shoved past her into the kitchen, picked up a tray of cream-cheese mints from the counter, and headed for the back staircase. “You know how I feel about this, Stella. You’re wasting your breath.”
    “I know,” Stella said, trailing behind me, “but have you really thought this through?”
    “Of course I have. Not that my opinion matters. I don’t have a vote, remember?”
    “No, but you’re a member of the Alliance. If we present a united front, the city council will have to take notice.”
    I laughed in disbelief and turned back to look at her. “You don’t really expect to get everyone on the Alliance to agree with you?”
    “We can try.” Stella glanced up the stairs over my shoulder and lowered her voice. “Look, Abby, I know Brandon’s been paying attention to you the last little while, and believe me I know how seductive something like that can be. But don’t let it go to your head, and for God’s sake, don’t let it affect your business judgment.”
    I’ve never been a violent person, but the pitying smile on her face made me itch to wipe it right off again. “I haven’t based my decision on hormones, Stella. Now, if you’ll excuse me—”
    She snagged my sleeve to keep me from leaving. “Your Aunt Grace would never have approved of this ridiculous idea.”
    “Aunt Grace would have been first in line to vote yes,” I assured her, “and I’m more than capable of making this decision without your help.”
    Stella leaned in closer, and something flashed in her eyes that left me feeling a little nervous. “Decisions like this need to be made with the