Free Invitation to Murder (Book 1 in the Candlemaking Mysteries) by Tim Myers Page A

choice,
do I?” he asked. Then, adding a slight smile, he said, “Don’t sweat
it, Jennifer. It was just an idea.”
    When I got back to the car, Lillian asked,
“What was that all about?”
    “ You’re not going to
believe this, but Wayne Davidson just asked me out.”
    “ So when are you
going?”
    “ Lillian, I’ve got too
many complications in my life without adding a man to
them.”
    My aunt laughed dryly. “My dear, there’s
always room for that particular complication.”
    By the time I was back home with my car
parked in front of my apartment building, I began to wonder Lillian
was right. I knew there was more to life than work, but did I
really want to go out with one of my Brother’s deputies? I’d known
Wayne casually for rears, and in all honesty, I wasn’t exactly
attracted to him that way. It was hard for me to make the
transition from a man who was a friend to someone who could be
more. When I fell, and it had happened a few times in my life, it
was usually for a man I didn’t already know, a mystery to be
unveiled, not a guy I’d seen play junior varsity basketball or eat
watermelon on my back porch with my older brother. No, Wayne was
just going to have to go in the file of “Might Have Been but Never
Would,” a folder that seemed to grow thicker with each year.
    There was a sound behind me of scuffling
shoes as I approached my front door. It was all I could do not to
run when I heard someone behind me say, “It’s okay, Jennifer. It’s
just me.”
    “ Why did you follow me
home, Wayne? Wait, let me guess. It was my dear brother’s idea,
wasn’t it?”
    “ I won’t deny it or
confirm it,” he said. “I’m just glad you’re home safe.” He lingered
near me, and for the oddest reason, I thought he was about to try
to kiss me. That was the last thing on earth I wanted him to do,
and I knew in an instant that I’d made the right decision earlier
about turning him down.
    “ If that’s all, I need to
get inside so I can feed my cats.”
    “ Good night,” he said,
showing no signs of moving on.
    I unbolted my door and rushed inside,
suddenly glad to have a lock between us. As I turned around, Oggie
stood there staring at me, and Nash ran and hid under the sofa. I
couldn’t figure out what had gotten into my weird cats when I
suddenly realized that I was still in disguise. As I pulled off the
wig and tossed the coat on the sofa, I could swear Oggie nodded in
approval.
    I wanted to tell someone about it, but there
was no one I could call. I knew I’d done the right thing turning
down Wayne’s invitation, but it still would have been nice to have
someone there.

Chapter 6

    When I got to the card shop the next
morning, I half expected Lillian to be waiting for me on the front
stoop, but there was no sign of my aunt as I unlocked the door and
prepared to get ready for a new day. I thought about calling her at
home, but with Lillian, the only thing that was predictable was her
eccentric behavior.
    I was pleasantly surprised when a woman came
in precisely at ten o’clock. She had the most lustrous natural red
hair—nothing like the sharp henna of my aunt’s dye job—and a figure
that made me wish for just a second that I’d skipped dessert for
the last six or seven years. “May I help you?”
    “ Oh, I’m just, looking
around,” she said in a soft and wispy voice. “I absolutely adore
your store, but I don’t recall ever seeing it here before. How long
have you been open?”
    “ We’ve been in business
about a week,” I said.
    “ Well, that explains that.
So tell me, what’s the easiest card there is to make?”
    I grabbed a piece of scrap stock six inches
square and handed it to her. “There you go. I’ve got envelopes that
match it, too.” Well, they were close enough.
    She laughed. “My, aren’t you the
underachiever?”
    “ Darlin’, if you’re going
to stay open another week, you’re going to have to push a little
harder than that.”
    I couldn’t help