Brewing Trouble Read online

  Brewing Trouble

  by

  Sara Bourgeois

  Chapter One

  The sound of a waiter's tray full of food and drinks dropping to the floor behind Nathan didn't startle him nearly as much as it did me. I jumped halfway out of my skin, but he was barely rattled. I got the feeling he was focused on something, and by the look in his eyes, that something was me. Things had headed towards this evening being one of the most romantic of my life, and that meant that someone inevitably had to end up dead.

  "I'm glad you agreed to go out with me again," Nate said to me in an adorable over-formal tone.

  It's not like we didn't hang out all of the time, but whenever he took me out on dates, suddenly everything got really serious. He tried so hard to impress me, and I ate up every second of it. Except for tonight. I was watching the waiter scramble to pick up the broken dishes and spilled tea cups, and my attention was drawn to the red carpet covered in Asian symbols I couldn't read or understand.

  He’d brought me to a fancy French-Korean fusion place in a town about ninety minutes away from Tree's Hollow. It's hard for me to describe the decor without sounding like a dumb hick, but in my mind, it's somewhere between a French madam's bedroom and a tranquil indoor Zen garden. Can you picture that?

  The way the restaurant smelled was something else, though. It’s a heady mixture of browned butter and something else savory and salty too. You could almost taste it, and it certainly stimulated the appetite. The music lilted through the air in staccato notes that perked up the spirit as much as the scent inspired hunger.

  "I'd like to make things official," Nathan says and breaks me out of my reverie about the decor.

  "You'd like to make what official?"

  It figures that I'd finally be getting a little taste of what I missed out on with Devon, and I'm completely flaked out. Before I could apologize for being a terrible date, the waitress came to take our order.

  "Please, just don't give me anything with snails." I pleaded with her.

  "Gotcha." She scribbled something on her pad and gave me a knowing wink. "Sir, would you also like our no snails special?"

  "That sounds great," Nathan said with relief.

  It occurred to me that he'd brought me here to make a good impression, but that he might have been a little bit outside of his comfort zone. Instead of dwelling on the fact that I was analyzing the restaurant's decor while he was attempting to have a serious conversation, I reached out and took his hand across the table. It was warm, and his palm against mine made my heart do a little flutter.

  "Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" I asked and squeezed his hand. "Like, officially?"

  "Yes." He beamed at me. "And, I got you this."

  Nathan pulled a flat, square jewelry box out of his pocket and slid it across the table to me. I opened it up, and inside was a platinum necklace with a key shaped pendant. The key was about the size of a half dollar and made of delicate filigree. There was one diamond and two emerald accents.

  "It's beautiful."

  I took the necklace out of the box and put it on immediately. I have to say, I liked the way it felt against my skin. I felt my heart thumping in my chest, and I prayed that Nathan was sincere because I was falling for him hard.

  "Is it supposed to be the key to your heart?" I asked with a chuckle.

  Nate's face turned bright red. "That's what the guy at the jewelry store said, but I couldn't bring myself to say it to you. It was so cheesy. There’s also the part about your heart being the diamond and the emeralds matching your eyes." He turned an even deeper shade of scarlet.

  "I love it, and I love you."

  Now it was my turn to turn every shade of crimson. I brought my hand up to cover my mouth and stifle my gasp. I could feel nausea boiling in my stomach. What had I just done?

  "I love you too, Lenny. I have since the moment I first saw you, I think. I would have told you sooner, but I didn’t want to scare you off. You’re the most wonderful and downright magical thing that’s ever happened to me."

  Wait. Did Nate just say that he loves me too? I'm pretty sure that's what Ranger McDreamy, the most handsome, rugged, and completely adorable man I've ever met just said.

  Holy carp.

  I'm almost positive that my jaw is on the floor and that at any moment I'm about to find out that I'm being pranked on some stupid kid's YouTube channel when Nate speaks again.

  "What, you didn't know that I love you?" Nathan says with an impish grin. "I mean, I know we've never said it, but I thought it was evident. I'm completely smitten with you. I've never met anyone like you, Lenny Brewer."

  "Me?" I'm fairly sure that I'm about to start drooling at this point.

  "Haha. Lenny, of course, you. What's not to love? You're beautiful, sweet, smart, and one of the funniest women I've ever met. I've been helplessly at your mercy since the first time I looked into those big, emerald green eyes."

  This is hands down the most surreal and idealistic romantic moment I’d ever experienced. I had a legion of butterflies doing interpretive dance in my stomach, my heart was racing, and I had that one, solitary tear of joy about to run down my cheek. It was like something out of a heart-wrenching romantic movie, and I could barely breathe I was so excited. These things never happen to real people, but it was happening for me right at that moment.

  So, cue the dead body.

  Just as I'm about to tell Nathan everything that I love about him, the guy one table over who was working on his third deep fried lobster grabs his chest, shouts something in what I thought was Russian, and drops dead of a massive heart attack.

  Of course, Ranger McDreamy, the man that I was now convinced is the love of my life sprang into immediate action. Chaos ensued around us, but Nathan was like the eye of the hurricane. He was so calm and collected that even I couldn't properly freak out.

  He called for the restaurant's portable defibrillator and started giving the man chest compressions. I called 911, but the operator told me that paramedics were already on their way.

  Nathan swept the man's airway to ensure it was clear, ripped his dress shirt open in one swift move, and then attached the defibrillator pads to his chest.

  I watched in awe as my new boyfriend handled the situation like a professional. He must have had training in case someone was hurt or had a medical emergency at the National Park.

  "I don't think I'm going to make it." The thick Russian accent made me cringe.

  I looked to my left, and there he was. It was none other than the spirit of the man that Nate tried desperately to save. I almost laughed out loud because the ghost had a plate of spectral deep fried lobster, and he was still smacking his jaw on it even in death.

  “Can you hear me?” He asked impatiently.

  I looked at him with wide eyes and shook my head no.

  “Well, if you can’t hear me, then why are you telling me that you can’t hear me?”

  I looked around and found an escape route through the chaos. I knew that I only had a few minutes before the paramedics arrived and Nate would want to know why I’d walked off in the middle of the crisis. I suppose I could say that it was just too troubling to watch, although then my boyfriend would think I was a big baby. There was also the small matter of me being an investigative journalist, so I’m not too sure that story would hold water. I definitely couldn’t tell him that I needed a private place to talk to the dead guy.

  Could I?

  There was an opening in the crowd I could use to get to the coat closet, so I took it. Once inside, I closed the door behind me. Unfortunately, the dead Russian did follow.

  “I can’t talk to you in front of those people,” I said as politely as possible. “How can I help you?”

  “You se
em a bit snippy.” He observed.

  “Well, you did just die right in the middle of the most romantic dinner of my life.” I didn’t even hide the snippy. “That’s my boyfriend out there trying to save your life.”

  “Sorry I had to die at a time that was inopportune for you.” He said sarcastically.

  I took a deep breath and let out a sigh that was just loud enough to vent my frustrations but not noisy enough to draw attention to the coat closet. Two more breaths and I had my attitude back under control.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.” I said sincerely. “Now, how can I help you?”

  “Did you see the beautiful young woman sitting at the table with me?” He asked.

  I hadn’t noticed.

  “Yeah, sure,” I said hoping to move the conversation along.

  “She was my girlfriend. I think she killed me.” He said, and I noticed that his ghostly plate of fried lobster had disappeared.

  “No offense, sir, but are you sure your death wasn’t more… I don’t know… lifestyle related?”

  “What are you trying to say, little girl?”

  Oh lord, here we go. I do not need a ticked off spirit right now.

  “Nothing. Nothing at all. So, you think this girlfriend of yours killed you?” I could hear the siren from the ambulance as it approached. I only had a couple of minutes left.

  “Mama!” He said to someone behind me. “Yes, Mama. I’m coming home.”

  I turned around, and there was nothing but a bunch of expensive coats. He walked right through me and the wall of coats. Before the dead Russian could finish regaling me with his theory about his murderous girlfriend, his mom had arrived to take him to the other side.

  I hurried back out to the table just in time to watch the paramedics come running through the front doors of the restaurant and to the dead man sprawled out on the floor. They started working on him, but I knew he was already good and gone.

  “You did your best,” I said to Nate as I took his hand.

  “There’s still a chance.” He said hopefully, but I could tell he didn’t totally believe that.

  “Pie?” I asked and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  You see, pie is how we work things out. We had just officially become a couple, but Nate and I already had our rituals. He looked at me and nodded. We left the restaurant as they were covering the Russian up with a white sheet.

  “That’s sad,” Nathan said sullenly.

  “I’m sure he’s gone on to a better place. I mean, the guys probably got a loving Russian mother waiting for him on the other side.” I tried not to sound too specific and failed.

  “That is a much happier way to look at the situation.” Nathan looked at me adoringly and opened his car door for me.

  “Silver linings,” I said as he closed the door.

  We drove back to Tree’s Hollow in silence. Typically we talk about something in the car, but I could tell that the Russian’s death was troubling Nate. I let him be. About halfway home, he realized we weren’t holding hands, so Nate reached out and laced his fingers through mine without a word.

  The smell coming from our favorite pie shop, Sugar Maple Sweets, seemed to perk him up. The warm scents of vanilla, sugar and berry compote wafted out of the restaurant, and Nate couldn’t help but smile. That man loves pie.

  “Oooh. Today’s pie of the day is berry bliss. I can smell it already.” I hoped that would cheer Nate up since it was his favorite.

  I felt bad letting him be sad. I knew the Russian had gone somewhere better and was happy to see his Mama, but I was keeping that information from Nathan because I was afraid. It didn’t quite feel right.

  How do you tell the man you love that you’re a witch, you have a talking cat, and you can communicate randomly with the dead? Oh well, that’s not a conversation I’m comfortable having on the night we made our relationship officially exclusive.

  The prospect of pie cheers Nate up enough that my guilt fades away. Once we’re seated in our favorite booth, I relax and let something slip that probably should have stayed in my head.

  “Did you see the Russian’s girlfriend?” I ask, and Nate raises his eyebrow at me. “I mean, what if she killed him?”

  “How do you know he was Russian?”

  Chapter Two

  Fortunately, Nathan believes me when I told him that I knew the guy was Russian because I heard him speaking. I mean, it’s the truth. Right?

  After we had pie, Nathan drove me back to the bed and breakfast. I was a little surprised when I walked through the lobby doors and saw my Aunt at the check in desk with Nick.

  “Oh, hi!” She said with a friendly wave. “Come here. Come see what Nick and I have put together.”

  I walked over behind the desk and looked at Nick’s computer screen. They’d been designing a poster for a contest. It appeared that Aunt Kara had decided to rename the Tree’s Hollow Bed and Breakfast, and she was going to hold a competition to select the new name.

  The winner not only got to pick the new name, but they also would receive a free weekend at the Inn, tickets to the show of their choice at the nearby university auditorium, and a gift card to pay for dinner and transportation.

  “What do you think?” Aunt Kara asked.

  “I think I’ll write a story about it and put it in the paper.” She smiled so wide I thought it would crack her face when I said this.

  “Would you really?”

  “Yep. You’ll get so many suggestions, you’ll have to hire someone to choose a name.”

  “Oh, that won’t be a problem. I’m going to put the suggestions in a hat and draw them out.”

  She laughed at the horrified expression on my face. I couldn’t believe Aunt Kara was going to leave something as important as the name of her business to chance.

  “Aunt Kara, do you really think that’s a good idea? What if the name is horrible? Please tell me you’re not going to do the drawing in public. That way if you get a horrible name you can just keep drawing.”

  “That’s one idea.” Nick chimed in. “Or, if we do the drawing publicly, we could just put the names we actually like into the hat.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. At least someone around here was thinking straight. I don’t like to think about what this place could end up named if every suggestion is given an equal chance.

  Aunt Kara wanted to go over a few more designs with Nick, and she asked me to give them a look in the morning. I told her that I would, and I’d pick my favorite to go in the paper. I had to laugh when she squealed with delight. It was obvious that this place meant the world to her.

  Upstairs in my room, I found Jezebel lounging on the desk. She was licking a paw, and I could swear that she rolled her eyes at me when I walked through the door.

  “How was your date?” Jezzy asked with complete and utter insincerity.

  “I brought your favorite,” I said and showed her the bag I had hidden behind my back.

  Inside of it was Jezebel's absolute favorite treat: one glazed donut. She got so excited when she caught the scent that Jez almost fell off the desk. I reached out and helped her hoist her big tabby butt back up, so she didn’t kill herself over a donut.

  “I would have been fine.” She said.

  “Sure. I know. Anyway, here’s your treat, Cat.”

  “Thanks, Lady.”

  I laid the bag out flat on the desk and tore the donut into little pieces for her. She gobbled them up almost as fast as I could put them down. When she was done eating, I changed her water bowl and let her out the window so she could make her way down to the garden for her nightly constitutional.

  While Jezzy was outside, I got myself ready for bed. I heard a clawing at the window and assumed it was Jez trying to get back in. I almost screamed when I saw the woman outside my window.

  At first, she was just far enough back that her face and long, dark hair were shrouded in darkness. She seriously looked like something that crawled out of a well in a horror movie that I swear I’ll ne
ver watch again.

  Then she leaned in and pressed her face to the glass. Her nose got squished, and I couldn’t help but laugh. She must have heard me because her eyes met mine and she started gesturing wildly towards the window latch.

  What do you do when a woman is hovering outside of your second story window? Well, if you’re Lenny Brewer, I guess you open it. I slid the window up and stepped back as she wrestled her way through the frame.

  She was shorter than I expected given the circumstances in which I’d first laid eyes on her. The stranger smoothed down the front of her black dress and then ran her hands through her thick, chocolate brown hair. Her smile reached all the way to her sapphire blue eyes.

  “It’s a good thing I’ve got these leggings on under my dress, or you’d have gotten a good look at my undercarriage when I climbed in that window.” She said with a laugh.

  “How did you…” I trailed off because I was partially in shock and also not sure if she was flying or hovering.

  “I’m Esmerelda. People call me Esme.” She stuck out her hand for me to shake.

  “Like the chick from the sparkly vampire movie?” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

  “Haha. Don’t judge. I liked those movies.”

  “I’m not sure I’d go around admitting that to people I just met,” I said and shook her hand.

  Esme’s jaw dropped, and I quickly followed up with, “I’m kidding. I liked them too. I’m Lenora, but people call me Lenny.”

  “Like a dude’s name?” She responded and then laughed. “Just kidding, and Lenny, I already knew who you were.”

  “Oh great, another one,” Jezebel said as she sauntered in the open window. “It’s not like one of you wasn’t enough.”

  “Your familiar is a cat,” Esme observed. “Mine’s a chicken named Herb.”

  “You named your chicken Herb?” I asked, “Don’t you think that’s a little insensitive?”

  “Maybe, but I don’t eat meat. So, I prefer to think of it as lovingly ironic.”

  “Good job, Lady. You’ve let a hippie-dippy woo woo into our room.” Jezebel said before flopping on the bed.

  “Ooooh. I like her. She’s sassy.” Esme said before reaching out and scratching Jez under the chin.