Pumpkins in Paradise (Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery Book 1) Read Free Page B

right answered .
    “We won an all-expense-paid trip,” the twin on the left added.
    “That’s great. Radio contest?” Tj smiled at the pair, each of whom looked a lot like Aunt Bea from The Andy Griffith Show . Tj hadn’t even been born when the show first aired, but her Grandma Maggie used to watch the reruns on cable before she passed away.
    “No,” Maude answered, “we received a letter in the mail informing us that we’d been chosen to receive a ten day trip . We don’t remember entering a contest, but at our age we usually can’t remember what we had for breakfast.”
    “This isn’t a time-share, is it? ” Millie asked.
    “No, I can assure you the trip wasn’t sponsored by Maggie’s Hideaway. ” Tj glanced at the computer screen. “The reservation simply states that the cabin was prepaid in full. Perhaps the trip was sponsored by one of the casinos? They sometimes offer special incentives to seniors.”
    “We’re not here to gamble,” Maude assured her.
    “We’re here to meet men,” Millie added.
    “Well, I’ll be sure to keep my eyes open for good catches.” Tj smiled . “I see you’re staying in cabin twelve,” she continued. “It’s one of our nicer two bedrooms. Right on the beach, in an isolated cove surrounded by old growth pines, with its own deck and hot tub. Very private for entertaining.” Tj waved over a dark-haired teenager who had wandered in while she was speaking to the women. “This is Emily,” she introduced her to the sisters. “She’ll show you to your cabin and answer any questions you have along the way.”
    “Oh, aren’t you adorable,” Maude gushed . Emily possessed a petite doll-like figure, huge blue eyes framed with thick dark lashes, and fistfuls of thick curly hair.
    “Love your shoes,” Emily complimented the two women on their shiny new white Skechers as she reached down to pick up one of their bags, causing a book to fall from the top in the process. “ Twenty-five Ways to Please a Man ,” Emily read aloud as she picked up the book.
    “Sister and I figured we were a bit late out of the starting gate so could use some advice,” Maude explained.
    “Just read the first five,” Millie joined in. “Figured you really only need the first two, but we brought the book along just in case.”
    Tj and Emily looked at each other, trying not to laugh.
    “Still that thing with the whipped cream sounded fun,” Maude reminded her sister. “Maybe we should have brought some.”
    “If you decide you need it just let me know and I’ll have some brought to your cabin,” Tj promised.
    Tj watched the group walk away. She certainly didn’t want to be Maude and Millie’s age and still looking for a man. After her mom died and her sisters came to live with her, she and Tyler had parted ways. Tj knew he wasn’t looking for anything serious, but it hurt that he’d tossed her aside like yesterday’s laundry once it had become apparent that carefree and unencumbered were things of the past.
    Tj had come to terms with her separation from Tyler, but it would be nice to have a date for the upcoming Black and Black Ball. Dotty Harris had tried to set her up with her son David. Maybe she’d been too hasty in turning her down. David was an okay guy, in a nerdy sort of way. He’d bought the local pharmacy two years earlier, when Barry Holden retired and moved to Florida. He was clean cut, dressed nice, and smelled better than any man she had ever met. He wasn’t the type of guy to make her heart pound or her palms sweat, but maybe…Tj sighed as she looked around the room for Echo, who had vacated his napping spot behind the registration desk and wandered over to the seating area near the fireplace, where a man who appeared to be in his early thirties, with wavy blond hair, deep blue eyes, and a body an underwear model would envy, was reading an R. L. Hellerman mystery. Tj made it a policy never to get involved with guests, but she had to admit this one was