A Bad Day for Sunshine (Sunshine Vicram #1) - Darynda Jones Page 0,26
others know?”
“You mean everyone at the station? Let’s just say your muffins have become legendary.”
“Oh, well, that’s good. I guess.” She picked up the tray and walked into the living room.
“It’s about time,” Wanda said to her, eyeing the muffins. “We’re starving.”
“The jig’s up, guys.”
“Already? We just got here.”
Ruby put the tray on the coffee table. “No, I mean, she knows.”
But Sun’s interest rocketed to her mom’s best friend, Darlene Tapia. Because when Ruby made the announcement about the jig being up, all expressions morphed into one of mass confusion. All except Darlene’s. Darlene went white, and as a gorgeous Latina with sable hair and bronze skin, white was not her best color.
Elaine looked from Sun to Ruby and back again. “What exactly does my daughter know?”
“That I use my powers for good.”
The entire room gasped. Well, almost the entire room. Quincy sat in a beige recliner, clearly amused. But Darlene had a different take as well.
Sun knew better than to look directly at her, and she studied the woman from her periphery. When Ruby had announced that Sun knew, Darlene went white. But when Ruby commented about using her powers for good, everyone except Darlene gasped. Darlene did just the opposite. She let out a breath, clearly relieved. What did she think Ruby had been talking about?
Quincy cleared his throat, and asked, “So, they’re magic muffins? Is that your power?”
He was covering. He’d noticed Darlene’s behavior as well and let his gaze flit to Sun for the briefest of moments to confirm the fact that she’d noticed too.
As expected, the ladies laughed at his query. Even Darlene, whose laugh stemmed more from nerves than amusement.
“I’m not magic. I just sort of sense things.”
He nodded. “So, you can sense when things in Del Sol are tanking?”
“What did you sense today?” Sun asked, not convinced of Ruby’s abilities in the least. But what could it hurt to ask?
“Two days ago, actually. I knew something bad was going to happen, and I just wanted our finest to enjoy a muffin or two before it all went belly-up.”
Elaine chimed in then. “I promise you, ladies, our secret is safe with my daughter.”
A That was sweet.
She reached over and grabbed a muffin, before adding, “She doesn’t believe a word of any of this.”
Several sets of eyes landed on Sun in horror.
Oh, well. She needed a segue, anyway. “Actually, I need to know what you ladies have heard about the St. Aubins.”
“He’s a handsome thing,” Wanda said, and Sun could only assume she was talking about Mr. St. Aubin.
The fastest way to get the lowdown was to pass the info along to the Book Babes and see what sprang up. It had been a time-honored tradition since Sun was a kid. “Any dirt? I know they’re new, but—”
“There’s always dirt,” Elaine said. “But Marianna genuinely seems to be in love with her husband.”
The others agreed with a nod.
“I think she had a rough life growing up,” a dark-haired Book Babe named Karen said.
Sun nodded. “I only know that she was a waitress when she met Forest St. Aubin in Chicago.”
“Yes, she was.” Karen seemed to know more about the family than the rest. “But before that, well, let’s just say she emancipated herself from her parents when she was sixteen.”
“Do you know why?” Sun’s question took Karen aback, but she needed everything she could get, so she explained, “Their daughter may be missing.”
Every face showed genuine surprise, but Karen seemed to catch on the quickest. “And you think Forest and Mari had something to do with it?”
“Honestly, no, but I can’t afford to form any opinions just yet. I’m trying to stay open to all possibilities.”
When Karen’s expression hardened, Elaine added, “As any good law enforcement officer would.” Her tone was sharp, and Karen reined in her offended posture immediately.
“I don’t know why she emancipated herself,” she said, brushing crumbs off her slacks. “I just know that Mari’s parents were not nice people, and she divorced them at sixteen.”
“Tell her what they’ve been up to lately,” Wanda encouraged, elated with the juicy gossip to which she’d been privy.
“They?” Quincy asked.
Wanda scooted to the edge of her seat. “Mari’s deadbeat parents.”
“Actually, that’s been going on for a while, now,” Karen corrected. “Ever since Marianna married into money, they’ve been trying to get their hands on it.”
Sun tamped down the adrenaline that had spiked within her, and asked calmly, “Trying how?”
“I’m not sure. We’ve had coffee a few times. Mari is really nice, and she adores her