Murder in the Mix Boxed Set 28-30: Cozy Mystery Addison Moore (the reading strategies book .txt) š
- Author: Addison Moore
Book online Ā«Murder in the Mix Boxed Set 28-30: Cozy Mystery Addison Moore (the reading strategies book .txt) šĀ». Author Addison Moore
āWhat did you read in the book, Cormack?ā I ask as my patience begins to wane. My eyes flit to the entrance for any sign of Fiona, but thereās none just yet.
Cormackās hands snake around my body, and I carefully pluck her off, much to her dismay.
āFine,ā she pouts. āOn page thirteen, Bambi states she had an infamous friendship with the famed Verity Prescott, which went off like a bottle rocket then dissipated just as quickly.ā
Lottie scoffs. āThatās hardly any evidence.ā
āOh yeah?ā Cormack takes a step in Lottieās direction. āAnd then she said, āVerity Prescott has hair that I would kill for.āā
Lottie chokes on a laugh. āCormack, I read that, too. Itās hardly a motive for murder.ā
āNo, itās not a motive.ā Cormack shoots daggers at Lottie. āItās a confession.ā
āAll right.ā Everett rocks back on his heels. āGood effort, Cormack. But the killer was Juliet Jackowski. Her family canned jam for a living, and she had working knowledge of botulism.ā
Lottie nods. āBotulism is an adverse effect of canning gone wrong. Juliet confessed to killing Verity in order to keep from going to prison over the fact she was stealing from the Craft Emporium. Verity was using their theft as leverage over her. And it was Juliet who was sending those cryptic messages to Evie. But then, you probably have no clue about the other component to this case.ā
Cormack gasps. āYou mean there were two killers? I donāt even know how that works.ā She looks my way. āDonāt worry, Big Boss. Iāll be at your place later and you can teach me a few lessons on how to improve my sleuthing skills.ā She licks her lips. āAnd Iām not talking about detective work.ā She takes off before I can reject the offer.
āDonāt worry, Lot,ā I tell her. āI have a deadbolt, and Iām not afraid to use it.ā
My attention shifts to Everett for a moment. āWould you mind if I had a private word with Lottie? Just for a moment?ā
Everett takes a breath, and I can tell heās as stressed out as heās ever been.
āNo problem.ā He glances to the door. āI think Iāll head out front and see if I can spot Fiona.ā He brushes a kiss to Lottieās cheek. āIf he tries to steal second base again, knee him in the cookies.ā He takes off, and Lottie presses out a shy smile.
āIāve been given strict orders,ā she teases.
The music shifts to something moodier, and I hold out a hand her way.
āCan I have this dance?ā
āI would never deny you,ā she says, falling into my arms, and it feels right.
As if it were a reflex, I plant a kiss over the top of her head.
āHappy Valentineās Day, Lottie.ā
āSame to you, Big Boss.ā She gives a cheeky wink, and we share a warm laugh on Cormackās behalf.
I swallow hard as I take in her beauty. āThe thing I wanted to tell you is thatāyou own me, Lottie Lemon.ā
āAnd you very much own me, in a very strange way, Noah Fox.ā She shrugs. āIām sorry.ā
āDonāt ever apologize for giving me the best news ever.ā
Her stomach jumps, and I feel it up against my hip.
āWhoa.ā I land a hand over her stomach and canāt help but grin. āHappy Valentineās Day to you, too, kiddo. I guess weāre going to meet you soon enough.ā
āNoahāāLottie breathes my name in a sighāāitās all happening so fast, I canāt bear it. And yet it canāt get here fast enough all at the same time.ā
āI feel the exact same way.ā
āAnd donāt worry.ā She gives my tie a playful tug. āI want you to know that whether or not this is your baby, you are going to play a vital role in its life. Just like you are with Evie.ā
I give a solemn nod. āThank you for that.ā
Lottie blinks up at me with those doe eyes of hers, and I canāt help diving in and getting lost in them.
Here I hold the holy grail to Everettās defense, and a small, selfish part of me says donāt give it. Let him go away so I can have Lottie all to myself. And try as I might to stomp that horrible, fiery thought out of my mind, the flames keep popping right back up again.
A part of me wishes someone else had thought up the defense, that the burden of Everettās future lay in anyone elseās hands other than my own. But at the end of the day, Essex Everett Baxter is my brother just as much as Alex is. And I need to protect him. I need to save him from this unfortunate position that I landed him in to begin with.
Lottie pulls my head down to hers, and for a moment I think sheās going to plant one on me. Not that I would stop her. Not that I could stop Lottie Lemon from doing just about anything. But she rests her forehead against mine instead, and I appreciate the proximity to her lips nonetheless.
āNoahāāshe whispersāāIām so very grateful to have you in my life.ā She sniffs back tears. āI donāt think I could bear to not have you in it. You live in my heart now and you will forevermore.ā
And just like that, Lottie gives me the best gift I could ever ask for.
A cool breeze moves past us, and we look up to see Everett and Fiona Dagmeyer stepping this way.
Itās showtime.
Everett
Noah has his arms wrapped around Lemon as if he were about to pull her from a burning building. No doubt Iām the raging fire looking to burn down Noahās world.
I can relate, I thought the same of him for almost the entire duration of time he was with Lemon.
Fiona clears her throat, and Noah is slow to remove his grip on Lemon.
āDetective FoxāāFiona lifts her chinā āif you donāt mind speeding things along, I donāt like to hang out in haunted houses any longer than need be. What
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