“I think I can give her the best of the best,” Juni says, looking at the tiny Yorkie. “What do you think, kid? You want to do this thing called life with me? I promise to give you lots of cuddles, kisses, and bacon. Do we got a deal?”
Sprinkles lets out a jovial bark. We’ve got a deal, Juni! She barks down at Sherlock and Fish. Hear that? I’ve got my forever home! And she she’s going to give me bacon! She yips out another series of happy barks, and we all share a warm laugh.
“I think she’s thrilled,” I tell Juni as I give Sprinkles a stroke along her back. “In fact, I know she is. Welcome to the family, Sprinkles. You’re going to be seeing a lot of us from here on out.”
“All right, kid.” Georgie slings an arm around Juni’s shoulder. “I knew you’d give me a grandbaby one day. And now that the day is here, let’s go get her settled in. But let’s get one thing straight. I’m the one that gets to spoil her with bacon.”
“No way, Mama. I’m spoiling this one.”
“You can’t do that,” Georgie protests. “I spoiled you, and now look at the mess we’re in?”
They take off, arguing down the cobbled path until the night swallows them whole.
“Oh no,” I say, looking down at Annabeth. “Georgie forgot about this girl. Sorry, Annabeth, it looks as if you were traded in for a dog.”
Emmie shrugs. “Such is the life of a doll. Maybe you and Jasper can adopt her?” she teases. “Leo and I will be the uncle and aunt who refuse to babysit.”
“Very funny,” Jasper muses. “I think we should put her back in her glass house and not throw any stones at it. We don’t want her getting out again.”
I nod up at him. “Good thinking. We should probably chain her inside just to be sure she doesn’t escape. I don’t think I’d make a very good parent to a haunted doll.”
Leo ticks his head to the side. “You don’t really think she’s haunted, do you?”
“No way.” I hold Annabeth out and take a look at her eerie grimace, those vacant wide eyes. “She’s nothing but a clump of glorified porcelain.” No sooner do the words leave my mouth than a flicker of lightning illuminates the sky as if it were noon, followed by a peal of thunder that shakes the ground beneath us. I jump so high and fast, I nearly drop Annabeth in the process.
“Ma-ma,” Annabeth bleats as she gives a wide-eyed blink my way, and both Emmie and I let out a shriek of terror.
Leo laughs, but Jasper remains stoic.
“What’s the matter, Jasper?” Leo nods his way. “Talking doll got you a little freaked out?”
Jasper shakes his head. “More than a little. I talked to the guy from Madame Tarantula’s the day I found Annabeth with that threatening note on her, and he said Annabeth was thought to be one of the most haunted artifacts in all of North America. And then he reassured me she wasn’t all that menacing, because Annabeth doesn’t have a talking mechanism like the other dolls do.”
A muffled giggle comes from the porcelain girl in my arms and I drill out another scream.
Another flash of lightning lights up the sky once again, followed by an angry bark of thunder. Then, as if it were a reflex, I launch Annabeth skyward and she lingers overhead far longer than the laws of physics should ever allow. Her skin glows an eerie green hue as she cries out Ma-ma one more time.
And it’s a fitting end to a very haunted Halloween.
Need more Cider Cove? Pick up A Frightening Fangs-giving (Country Cottage Mysteries 11)! It’s Thanksgiving in Cider Cove!
An innkeeper who reads minds. An ornery detective. And a trail of bodies. Cider Cove is the premiere destination for murder.
***Includes RECIPE
My name is Bizzy Baker, and I can read minds—not every mind, not every time but most of the time and believe me when I say it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
It’s Thanksgiving in Cider Cove and the whole town is coming out for the Founder’s Day Festival—including a killer.
The Country Cottage Inn is known for its hospitality. Leaving can be murder.
Pick up A Frightening Fangs-giving (Country Cottage Mysteries 11) ! It’s Thanksgiving in Cider Cove
Need a little more holiday fun? You will not want to miss the Murder in the Mix series, Spooky Spice Cake Curse (Murder in the Mix 26). Things get scary, things change, and things are never the same. Warning, lots of fun up ahead!
My name is Lottie Lemon, and I see dead people. Okay, so I rarely see dead people, mostly I see furry creatures of the dearly departed variety, who have come back from the other side to warn me of their previous owner’s impending doom.
It’s October in Honey Hollow. Halloween is at hand and there’s a horror around every corner. And then there’s that curse—and that body…
What do a haunted house, a headless horseman, and a chainsaw have in common? They all culminate in the very worst way on the most haunted night of the year. Nell has warned me emphatically to steer clear of this homicide investigation, but never has there been such a case, such a fright, such a nightmare to come to our cozy little town. No, this killer has to be stopped in their tracks—that is, if their tracks are human at all.
PICK IT UP TODAY! You will not want to miss this book , Spooky Spice Cake Curse (Murder in the Mix 26). I promise! Be sure to grab it NOW!
***Love Janet Evanovich? You’ll have a blast with Meow for Murder. Enjoy the sneak peek!
Pick it up NOW! —> An Awful Cat-titude
A highly inaccurate psychic. A grumpy writer. And a corpse. Welcome to Starry Falls. Running from the mob can
