Hearty Homestyle Murder: Book 9 in The Darling Deli Series Read Free Page A

a tall, cheerful man maybe a decade older than herself. His face was red from sunburn, and he was wearing a broad smile.
    “Ms. Darling,” he said. “How are you doing?”
    “Quite well, thank you. How about yourself?” she said. “Is there anything I can get you?”
    “Nothing at the moment, other than a few minutes of your time. As I’m sure you remember, you catered my daughter’s graduation party a few years ago.” He paused, and Moira nodded. Elli Willis’s college graduation party had been her very first catering event. She had been grateful to the mayor for taking a chance on the newly opened deli, and the occasion had gone off without a hitch.
    “Well,” he continued. “My baby girl just announced her engagement. I want to throw her an engagement party, and you’re the only one she’ll accept as caterer. The party is the Saturday after the fair. I’ve already got the gazebo and band shell in the park booked.”
    “Oh, I’m touched.” She hesitated. It was true; it was touching to know that Elli wanted her and only her to cater, but the thought of adding so much extra work on top of manning the booth at the fair, keeping the deli itself running, and taking care of Maverick and Diamond at home seemed overwhelming.
    “She has a few specific requests, but wants you to have freedom for your own creative flair.” He must have seen the look on her face, because his own expression fell.
    “You’re already booked, aren’t you?” he asked.
    “No, I’m not,” she assured him, forcing a smile onto her face. She would just have to make time, that was all. “Feel free to tell Elli that I’ll do it. Here, take one of the deli’s cards—she and I will have to talk about what exactly she wants.”
    “Thank you, Ms. Darling,” Mayor Willis said as he took the card from her. “You have no idea what this means to her—and to me. I’ll let you two talk about price, but don’t be afraid to ask for a little extra. I know it’s a busy season, and this is very short notice.”
    “Don’t worry, Mr. Willis, it will be my pleasure to do business again with you.” She shot him a smile and pocketed his card, making a mental note to call his daughter as soon as possible. She couldn’t help but wonder exactly how many people would be at the young woman’s engagement party. I hope my employees have clear schedules , she thought. Because I might have to ask them to do some overtime.
    It was with relief that she flipped the open sign over to closed a few hours later. Since David, Candice, and Eli were due to show up soon, she didn’t bother to lock the door, but instead went straight back to the kitchen where three of her employees were preparing their ingredients on the kitchen counters. She hadn’t asked any of them what exactly they were planning on making, so the soups would be as much a surprise to her as they were to the three judges. The fair’s theme this year was “Hearty Homestyle,” which allowed a lot of room for creativity. For the official competition at the fair, each contestant was allowed one side—bread, chips, or something similar—to go with their soup, so Moira had allowed the same for the store’s own competition.
    “Does anyone need anything?” she asked them. “You each have all of the ingredients that you need?” Nods all around.
    “Allison thinks hers will take the longest,” Darrin said. “So we should be ready in just about an hour.”
    “All right. Remember, the important thing is to have fun. David, Candice, and Eli will have no idea who is making which dish, so the competition should be completely fair.” She paused, interrupted by the jingle of the bells on the deli’s front door as someone came in. “That’s probably David. If you need me, I’ll be with him and the others. Good luck. I can’t wait to taste the soups that you make.”
    She smiled once more, glancing at each of them. She was glad that she had made the decision to let her employees have a