Drowning the Daffodils (A Heavenly Highland Inn Cozy Mystery) Read Free Page B

stammered, her eyes wide. The tattoo was well done, but it was surprising to see one on her aunt's ankle and leg.
    “ It's beautiful,” Vicky said quickly, though even she was more than a little shocked. Of all the crazy antics that Aunt Ida could get up to, Vicky never expected her to get a tattoo. Even she didn't have any tattoos.
    “ Why?” Sarah asked as she began to recover from her surprise. “Why did you get a tattoo?” she looked at Aunt Ida as if she was a rebellious teenager that had sneaked out in the middle of the night.
    “ Oh, I don't know,” Aunt Ida sighed, though her lips were curved into a gleeful smile. “I was feeling a little bored. Not much spice in my life,” she frowned at that and then smiled admiringly at her tattoo. “I met this amazing man, his name was Stone, or Rock, it could have even been Pebble, I don't really remember. Anyway, he kept going on and on about how beautiful my ankle was, and that it needed to be accentuated,” she purred the word, drawing it out in a seductive tone.
    “ With a rose?” Sarah asked with disbelief. “Didn't it hurt?”
    “ Well, with a tattoo,” Ida admitted. “He suggested something a little more dangerous, like a snake or a skull, but I told him absolutely not. I told him I wanted something delicate and pretty, so he suggested a daffodil, I think because he is Welsh and they are the national flower of Wales. But, after thinking about it I decided on a rose because it is one my favorite flowers,” she smiled. “Yes it did hurt, but not too bad. The whole time he told me stories about the tattoos on his body, and by the time he was done, I was smitten. With the tattoo I mean,” she added quickly. “Pebble on the other hand, I decided was just a little too artsy for me.”
    “ It's very pretty,” Vicky volunteered and earned a dirty look from Sarah. “What?” she asked as she looked at her sister. “Are we not going to talk about that four leaf clover on your…”
    “ Vicky!” Sarah growled in warning. Aunt Ida laughed and covered up the rose with her skirt again.
    “ Don't worry girls it's just a tattoo. It's not like I got a piercing.”
    “ Were you considering a piercing?” Sarah asked with wide eyes. “Aunt Ida, they can lead to infections and…”
    “ Come along, Sarah,” Aunt Ida giggled as she led her away from the pool. “I'd like to see that four leaf clover of yours.”
    Sarah shot a glare over her shoulder at Vicky who smiled innocently before turning back to the tables. One of the waiters who worked in the restaurant attached to the inn came out with a few platters of snacks for the guests to dine on while they waited for their lunch. As if smelling the food, Mike Carter suddenly appeared.
    “ Oh, that looks great, I’m starving,” he moaned as he settled into one of the empty chairs.
    “ Enjoy,” Vicky smiled as she filled his glass with wine. Soon the entire Carter clan was joining each other at the tables.
    Even though it had seemed as if they might try to tear each other apart earlier, Simon and Mike seemed to fall into easy banter, exchanging memories of their childhood with their cousins. The spouses looked on with amusement. Alina and Lawrence continually asked for refills of their wine glasses and everyone seemed generally relaxed and glad to be together. Vicky was relieved that the lunch had gone much better than she expected. She stepped back into the inn to grab another bottle of wine and noticed that Jane followed after her.
    “ Do you need something?” Vicky asked kindly.
    “ No, I think I just need to rest a little bit,” she admitted. “It was a long drive and I'm not used to so much wine,” she added. Vicky smiled at her with compassion.
    “ If you need something to settle your stomach…” she began to offer, but Jane waved her hand dismissively.
    “ Oh no, thank you, I'm sure I'll be fine,” she promised as she walked towards the elevator. Vicky watched to make sure she got to the