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“Did everything go alright last night?” he asked.
I’d slept horribly. I kept dreaming of him, something I suspected wouldn’t go over well if I mentioned it. “Fine,” I said instead. “Grannie’s doing okay. Now that you’re on the case, she feels much better about the future.” And that was the most important thing, not my crush on Investigator Ice Lord.
“I tossed and turned all night,” he said, releasing my arm. He frowned at his hand, flexing his fingers and turning his hand this way and that.
“Is your hand alright?” I didn’t see a cut there or any reason for concern.
“Yes.” He tucked it into his jeans pocket and flashed me a smile. “Let me talk with Carla and then we can leave.”
At my nod, he went inside. I followed, taking over from Carla, who sauntered over to sit at a table across from him.
While I helped the rest of the customers, I kept my ears cocked in their direction, trying to listen in on their conversation. My insides kept twisting into a knot andreleasing. I wanted to rip out all of Carla’s pretty sunset hair. Claw her face.
Jealousy didn’t taste any better than dirt ice cream.
I served a basilisk a double scoop waffle cone and rang up his order. Smiling, I took care of the next customer, an older woman with bright pink hair.
Elrik asked Carla some basic questions about the church social. She’d arrived not long after Sue and Alfred, though she only knew they were there because their jackets had been hung on the peg by the door. She’d placed her crockpot full of barbecued mini weenies on the table near Grannie’s punch. And no, she hadn’t seen anyone doing anything suspicious with the drink.
“Everyone else arrived after me,” she said, laying her hand on the table near his. Her four-karat diamond ring flashed in the sunlight streaming in from the big window beside them, the sparkle nearly blinding me.
I ran the last customer up and held my smile until they’d left. The door had barely closed before a yeti family of four came in and placed their order. Like usual, this place was hopping. With the sun shining and my location on Main Street, it wasn’t uncommon to have a line out the door and partway down the street. This was why I’d opened Creature Cones in this building, though Grannie gave me a great deal on the rent. Long ago, she’d run an accounting office here, but she let me renovate the space and open my own business.
Fortunately, I was doing great. I could not only make the decent rent I insisted on paying, but I was also able to put some of the profit aside for business savings. Cape Cod was busy in the summer, and almosteveryone loved ice cream. I even offered ten different dairy- and gluten-free varieties for those who were intolerant.
Elrik finished with Carla, and it didn’t sound like he’d obtained much information from her. While he remained seated, she rose and came over to stand with me as the next customers, a human couple in their sixties, strode toward the counter.
“Are you sure you’re okay with me leaving you here alone?” I asked Carla. “It’s busy.”
“Nothing odd about that, right?” She smiled at the woman. “What can I get you, hun?”
The woman studied the offerings. “How about a double cone with a scoop of coconut and a scoop of chocolate?”
We served thirty-two different flavors, and I purchased our stock from a small local supplier who also crafted a few exclusive blends solely for me. Everyone loved what we served at Creature Cones; there had even been a write-up about us in the Boston Globe. Business was even steady during the off-season.
“Coming right up.” Carla opened the sliding glass door and grabbed a scoop, nodding my way. “Go. I’ve got this covered.” She crooked her finger, and I bent close for her to whisper. “That guy only has eyes for you. I envy you, hun. He’s gorgeous, nice, and rich from what I saw.”
“What makes you think he has money?”
She placed a generous ball of coconut on the cone and aimed for the chocolate. “I’d recognize designer clothing and shoes anywhere.”
“Maybe he’s a savvy thrift store shopper. People dumpstuff like that there all the time.” Especially on Cape Cod where many of the wealthy retired.
“Did he thrift a home on the ocean?”
“He has a place on the water?”
“He casually mentioned it—when I asked.” She squished a scoop of chocolate on top of the coconut and handed the cone to the woman, smiling toward the man who was still studying the chalkboard listing all the flavors we offered. “I know the place. It’s gorgeous,” she said softly to me. “A real estate friend told me the new owner paid cash for it.”
Stuff like that didn’t matter to me. I cared more for the person behind the money or the lack thereof.
“He’s a nice guy,” was all I said.
Her smile grew. “I trained you well.”
“I thought you married Walter because you loved him.”
Tears filled her eyes, and I swore they weren’t fake. “I did. The money was just a bonus.” She pinched her eyes shut before opening them again. “I still miss him. I hear him calling my name, but when I turn, he’s not there.” Her long sigh rang out. “He’s never there. I was cheated. I deserved more than four years with the love of my life.”
