Eggnog Trifle Trouble (Murder in the Mix #28) - Addison Moore Page 0,3
in flight.
“I’ll go with you,” Everett offers.
“Me too,” Noah says, wrapping an arm around my waist. “Have you felt the baby move again?”
“Sorry.” I grimace. “Not since that day in the back of the sheriff’s cruiser.”
Right after Thanksgiving dinner, the sheriff’s deputies thought it best to haul me down to the Ashford Police Department for questioning. It turns out, I accidentally put a hit out on Noah last month.
Of course, I didn’t mean to do it. I was investigating a suspect, a hitman by the name of the Mad Hatter, and suffice it to say, things went sideways. Long story short, the Mad Hatter graciously poisoned Noah for me pro bono, much to my protest. Thankfully, Noah lived to tell about it. And between Noah and Everett, they made sure the charges went away—more or less. But Sheriff Turner let me know in no uncertain terms I’m still under the watchful eye of the department as they continue to carry out the bigger mob-related investigation related to the Mad Hatter.
Noah, Everett, and I take off for the kitchen, and about halfway there the abomination of desolation sets foot in our path—Noah’s mother, Suze, and another woman with her, who just so happens to be dressed as the head elf’s official plus one, Mrs. Claus.
My nausea kicks in full tilt without warning. It’s funny how it’s not coming around as much as it did in the beginning, but for some reason, every time I bump into Suze Fox it seems to show up front and stomach-churning center. It’s not a shocker to me that Suze has the distinct power to make me sick. She never hesitates to let me know that I’m not her favorite person.
Suze has short blonde hair with longer bangs that sweep over her eyes. She’s a staunch woman who perennially wears a sour expression and has the sour persona to match. She shares Noah’s deep green eyes, but that’s about where the similarities end. Suze has been living at my mother’s B&B for so long I forget why and when she moved in. My guess is she’s not so hot on committing to Honey Hollow, but this way she’s still in close proximity to her two sons. And her ex-husband just so happens to be shacking up with my mother at the B&B as well. I can’t imagine living with my ex. That sounds like a nightmare. Unless, of course, the ex in question is Noah Fox. And that happens to be my exact living situation today.
“Son.” She bares her fangs at her oldest child before looking to Everett. “Essex.” Her lips pull tug to the side with disapproval at the sight of me. “Lottie.” She sighs as if it were a chore to merely say my name. “I’d love for you all to meet my good friend, Gloria Abner, the chair of the Christmas Angels—aka Mrs. Claus.” She nods to the woman with short red hair and topaz eyes. She looks to be about the same age as Noah’s mother, mid-to-late sixties, but unlike Suze, she has a sassy smile and a naughty gleam in her eyes. The woman takes a moment to size up both Noah and Everett, and I can’t help but frown at that.
“Well, well”—Gloria shakes Noah’s hand first, then Everett’s—“it seems Christmas came early.” She gives a husky laugh, and her bosom does its best to bounce right out of the tight little sparkly number that’s piped with a feather white boa. She’s more of a naughty Mrs. Claus in that vampy little sequin getup, and it makes me wonder if she bought that outfit in the lingerie section rather than a costume shop. “Who in the heck knew Honey Hollow was where all the handsome men were hiding? And that Wiley?” She fans herself at the mention of Noah’s father. “Suze, I have to question your sanity as to why you’d ever let a man like that go.” She leans toward the three of us. “Don’t tell Santa I said so. He just so happens to be my fiancé.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Well, your secret is safe with us.”
Noah nods. “Great party, Mom. The Christmas Angels really pulled off an extravaganza.”
“It’s a Marshmallow World” begins to play overhead, and I can’t help but rock to the cheery music. It happens to be one of my favorite Christmas songs. And it always has the ability to put me in a good mood—despite the presence of the queen of mean.