Wicked by Any Other Name Read Free Page A

it came to baked goods. The elderly woman had drawn herself up to her full barely five-foot height and informed the eighty-three-year-old widower who had been courting her for the last fifteen years that he shouldn’t expect ever to have another bite of her pot roast and to just forget about Thanksgiving dinner. To date she had kept her word, and he now ate his meals at the local restaurants instead of the widow’s cozy cottage. “He cut his own throat with that remark.”
    â€œAnd now he’s eating all his meals at Sit ’N Eat and Grady’s BBQ Pit.”
    â€œHe had no choice after he set fire to his kitchen when he tried heating up some baked beans.”
    Stasi poured hot water over the tea bags, then carried the mugs over to the table. She picked up a lemon square and bit into it, moaning with joy as the tart taste of lemon exploded in her mouth. “Everyone loves the bakery, but all I know is that I tried one of their sugar cookies and ended up with horrible heartburn. Give me Mrs. Benedict’s lemon squares any day.” She paused and lifted her head, almost sniffing the air. She couldn’t put a name to it, but she knew something was very different.
    â€œYou feel it too?” Blair asked, stirring her tea with a spoon even though she hadn’t added anything to it.
    Stasi, who always smiled and was cheerful, looked glum enough to double as the Grinch. “The disorder in the air is probably because of the lawsuit,” she said without much conviction. “It’s nothing around here. It’s all me.”
    Blair shook her head. “No, I think there’s more to it than that. This has been slowly building up for a while and it feels heavier now. More unsettling.”
    â€œWell, it can’t happen now.” Stasi selected another lemon square and ate this one more slowly, savoring the combination of buttery pastry and tangy citrus. “I’m planning on a wonderful Samhain. Jazz, Thea, and Lili promised they’d be here. Maggie might even make it, and she hasn’t been able to come for the last three years.”
    â€œI’ll be surprised if Thea stays more than twenty-four hours. She’d want to spend most of her time up at one of the resorts having massages and spa treatments. And Lili said the hospital is shorthanded again and she doesn’t see how she can get away right now.”
    Stasi pinched off a bit of lemon square and offered it to Bogie, who gobbled it down and gave her his best cute pathetic puppy expression in hopes of getting more.
    â€œWe have a lunar eclipse coming, coupled with Mercury retrograde,” Blair reminded her. “Along with warnings of early snow storms and a long and cold winter. It’s as if everything’s happening at once.”
    â€œFresh snow means skiers, which also means tourists in town and even some staying for a few days at the B&B.” Stasi hesitated over another lemon square, shrugged “why not?” and picked it up.
    â€œTrue. I have all those vintage Halloween cards and decorations I need to get out.” Blair didn’t hesitate taking another square. Mrs. Benedict’s baked goods were too excellent to pass up.
    â€œI think we need to check the lake.” Stasi threw the end of her shawl over her shoulder and looked toward the kitchen window that faced the woods. The burnt orange and cream print tiers were pulled across the bottom part of the window, but she knew what she would see out there anyway.
    â€œMoonstone Lake isn’t going anywhere. What we need to do is find you a good lawyer.”
    â€œI would need more than a good lawyer. I’d need an awesome one. Trevor Barnes is considered the best, and he’s lost so few cases other attorneys don’t even like to go up against him. They always urge their clients to settle.”
    â€œSays who? Besides, he’s never gone up against any of us.” Blair put on her “revenge is