A Fresh Brew Read online

  Contents

  Title

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Hill Country Mysteries

  Author's Biography

  A FRESH BREW

  A Dragon Cozy Mystery

  Hill Country Mysteries Book 1

  by Verena DeLuca

  To Jess,

  my first reader

  CHAPTER ONE

  Monday, February 17th

  My coffee tasted bitter, and I do not think it was because of the blended latte I brewed this morning. With a cafe at my disposal, it was rare to create a bitter cup of coffee. I guess standing in the front row of my Great Aunt Tona's funeral left life with a bitter aftertaste. The sun hid behind the clouds, but the humidity of the day ensured I was sweating in my black dress.

  A knee-length, fitted thrift store special with a flowing sheer overlay, picked out by Tona herself. All of my favorite outfits had been gifts from her. I wonder if she knew I would wear it to her funeral when she bought it?

  Might not have been the best idea to pair it with a floppy brim, black hat, but it sure had stopped the wandering eyes. Why did death turn the grieving into a spectacle?

  Yup, my eyes are puffy and bloodshot Laura, you can stop craning your neck to analyze my level of grief any time now.

  I guess I should be thankful I remembered to put my tangled mess of chestnut hair into a low messy bun. Living in Texas with thick shoulder length hair could be a death sentence.

  ". . . passing of our beloved Tona Simpson leaves many in despair . . ." the pastor droned on.

  It was strange to have him lead the funeral since I was not a churchgoer myself. But if I was being honest, Tona was never big on church either and I doubt they had spoken more than a handful of times. But in a small town like Marble Falls, everyone knew everyone and to be a part of the community one had to follow tradition.

  Thankfully, Tona had her funeral planned out down to the bean. It would not have flowed as well otherwise. The thought of all the strange details in her will made me crack a smile. Leave it to her to pick the grave furthest from the entrance, always adding spice to everything she touched even after death.

  The love for her was palpable, with so many people gathered in the small space at the oldest part of the cemetery. How did she even manage this spot?

  Too bad February in Central Texas meant the grass and flowers were still dormant. Tona would have loved a burial with the wildflowers in full bloom.

  Across the grave Victoria—Tona's go to bakery owner for pastries for as long as I could remember—stood with a group of eccentric women. Aside from the bright clothes they chose to wear to a funeral, the cats circling their feet stood out like a sore thumb. What was the deal with cats at funerals?

  Tona requested Azure's presence and given her status as a local spinster cat lady, I did not think twice about it. But I had not expected to see others bringing cats. Their constant whispering made me uneasy, why come to a funeral just to have a conversation during the service?

  From the way they stood so close to one another, they had to know each other well. Not that I could recall ever seeing any of them around town.

  Azure leapt out of my arms and darted toward the other cats as they gathered around Tona's casket, as if to mourn her passing. His black fur matched the somber air of the place. The pastor's speech ended, and it was time for the lowering of Tona's body into the ground to meet her final resting place.

  I promised myself I would not cry. Not again. I had buried my face in my pillow all weekend, bawling my eyes out. If not for Aubrey checking up on me, I would have starved. As a mother of two children, she knew how to cook the best casseroles. Closest I came to cooking was adding chocolate chips to pre-made cinnamon rolls, and baking at 375° for 25 minutes (22, on sweltering summer days).

  "Hailey," Aubrey placed her hand upon my shoulder. "We're going now. Can you make it home okay?"

  "Yeah," I said, more out of instinct than actual conviction.

  I took my eyes off the cats to look at her, but a flash of sparks from the casket area drew me back. What the tea was that? Did the cats know who was in the casket? They seemed to bow their heads in prayer.

  Stop being crazy Hailey, cats are not sapient.

  I forced myself to look at anything else. It seemed like half the town had shown up, not that my own parents bothered to make the trip. I rolled my eyes at the thought as I watched the sea of people begin the hike back to the cars and bikes along the perimeter of the cemetery road.

  Sheriff William Brooks had come, of course, as he was Aubrey's husband, but so too did his Deputy Barry West—or as I prefer to call him "Barry Bear". If those adorable brown bears were human, they would resemble Barry. Today he had his wavy shoulder length chestnut hair pulled back into a man bun, and his tanned muscular skin glistened from the humidity. Police uniforms never looked so good to me. He must be on duty. I loved how cute he looked when his cheeks flushed each time I called him by the nickname.

  To my shock, Sam showed up. He and Tona had been feuding for twenty years. Tona always claimed it was over the superior caffeinated drink: tea or coffee. Coffee, obviously! But her under the breath comments towards him made me feel that there was a bigger dispute going on.

  His grandson Tanner must have stayed back to operate the tea shop. It would obviously be blasphemy to miss out on a day of commerce, especially when the competition was closed to mourn the loss of the owner. I rolled my eyes to resist the urge to walk over and tell him off.

  I took another sip from my travel mug, only to find my nose tightened from the bitter taste. Might have to add sugar to the next cup. It was not as if I could stop drinking coffee. If Tona was not already dead, the idea of me not drinking coffee would surely have killed her.

  As people passed me they continued to touch my shoulder, offering condolences. The constant human contact was making me itch. It was far past my usual comfort level. I needed them to clear out so I could have my time with Tona.

  "I'm sorry for your loss," Brett said from behind me.

  I turned around to face him, "Thank you."

  In his outstretched hand he held a business card for me to take.

  "Your aunt and I were discussing the sale of the cafe. When you're ready, give me a call."

  Sell the cafe? Never. I would rather die.

  "When did she agree to sell?" I asked, like Tona would ever agree to something so ridiculous.

  "Um, well. . ." Brett stammered, "We hadn't settled on an exact date. We were still discussing the final price."

  Victoria walked up behind me, and Brett looked over my shoulder, "We can discuss this later. Again, my condolences for your loss."

  I could not be sure, but he seemed nervous at the sight of her. He tripped over his own feet as he walked away. Not exactly impressive for a real estate agent. I bet he had clients falling over themselves to work with him.

  "I'm so sorry," Victoria gave me a hug. "I can't even begin to imagine the pain you are going through. Tona was a ray of sunshine, and we will miss her dearly."

  One of my biggest pet peeves was people touching me, and even though I had known her for years, Victoria and I were more acquaintances than friends.

  "Th
ank you," I said.

  How many more times would that have to happen? Between the touching and fake sympathy I had zero desire to attend another funeral any time soon.

  "I'm sure you have enough on your mind today, so we can discuss business later" she continued. "We just wanted you to know we're here for you if you need to talk," she gestured to the crowd of cat ladies with her.

  She gave me another pat on my shoulder, "If you decide to reopen the cafe just give me a call and we can go over deliveries."

  I gave her a flat look, the gossip mill must be working on overdrive with all these naysayers.

  The group of ladies turned to walk down the row of graves toward their parked cars, and Victoria followed.

  "Oh, almost forgot," she called over her shoulder. "We'll see you Thursday regardless.

  "What? . . . Why?" I asked.

  "Oh, don't worry hon, Azure will explain," She gave me a knowing smirk and winked. "If it's too much just let us know, running a business can be overwhelming."

  What the tea did that mean? Why did everyone think I would close the cafe? These crazy cat ladies were too much. Knowing Tona, I was probably about to get baited into some cat cult. If Azure thought for a second that he would continue to receive pampering like a king, he was in for a rude awakening.

  As if sensing my thoughts, Azure came to my legs and began rubbing his head against me.

  "Are you hungry?" I asked.

  He meowed as if to say, "Yes, woman, feed me!"

  "Fine, fine," I said. "Let me say goodbye to Tona then we'll head home."

  I walked up to her plot and looked down at her casket. Tona picked it out of course, a deep blue. The longer I stared at it, the more it seemed to sparkle. Did the paint have glitter in it? I could not recall from the viewing in the funeral home.

  Tona, you were my rock. My dearest second mom. I would not be who I am today without your guidance. I hope you are watching over me, because I am going to make you proud. Know that I do not believe for a second that you would want to sell the cafe. Love you to the bean and back.

  Azure put his paws on my waist, kneading and stretching his back as if he wanted me to pick him up. I lifted him up and cuddled my face into his warm fur as I scratched his head. Looks like it is just the two of us fluff ball. Azure's purrs comforted my broken heart.

  I glanced back down at the casket one last time before heading to my bicycle to take Azure back to the cafe apartment. It put a smile on my face to see him try to curl his fat belly up in the handlebar basket. Cats were strange.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Monday, February 17th

  It was late, and I knew I needed to get to bed, but I continued to clean. Aunt Tona would have wanted me to open the cafe right away, not mope around for another few days. At least the bustle of customers would help ease my thoughts.

  With it already having been closed for three days there was a light layer of dust beginning to form. The rock crushing plants in our area would be the death of us, no thanks to the city council. What will they spend all that sweet tax money on, when their citizens are moving out of town because of air quality?

  I glanced around my home away from home.

  The cafe was decorated in cozy browns, a lush armchair reading area for two greeted customers at the entrance. Then to the right, the focal point of the front windows, sat the brass bean roaster. To the average tourist it might seem like a decorative piece, but each week Tona roasted a fresh batch of beans in it.

  Oh tea, I would have to brush up on my roasting skills. I shuffled around in the drawer under the counter for a pad of paper and pen. It was time to create an operations list for the cafe.

  To offer the most seating, Tona liked the register area in the L-shaped counter's bend, with a flap at each wall to exit the server area. I convinced her to upgrade to a tablet for orders when I came back from college. It was a hard persuasion, but she ended up loving how it opened up the counter space.

  It was surreal to think it was all mine now, and it warmed my heart to know Tona trusted me enough to leave me her life's work.

  I had only learned of the will hours before the funeral, but Tona left me the cafe, which included the apartment upstairs—no more renting for me—along with everything in her bank accounts. Nearly fifty years of running the cafe added up to quite the estate.

  Before that morning, I never gave much consideration to how much she earned. She always paid me well. When I went to college, she covered everything that my scholarship did not. For my entire life she had always given a helping hand to anyone in the community that needed it.

  The espresso machine beside me looked brand new, though it was well over thirty years old. I must have polished the copper frame three times. Another Tona special was the layout of the bar area.

  We created drinks facing the customer—to the left of the bend—giving a more friendly and inviting feel to the coffee experience. "Turning your back to a customer is unprofessional." So the thin counter against the wall behind the bar only held decorative items and coffee related books.

  Everything was just as Tona would have wanted it. As I looked down the counter, I went through the inventory in my head. The mugs sat washed and stacked, the pastry display was pristine and dust free. Oh tea, pastries. I leaned my forehead onto the counter.

  How would I do this alone? I could not run the cafe by myself. Aunt Tona managed so much of the day-to-day affairs. I had never so much as made a supply run. She had always preferred to take care of those things, and of course did not have a routine written anywhere.

  "The customers prefer a pretty face serving them their coffee dear," was her go to reason when I offered to take on more manager tasks.

  I checked the mini fridge under the counter and the full size fridge in the supply room and found just enough pastries to cover tomorrow.

  I picked up the store phone–a replica antique spin dial–and flipped through the Rolodex for Victoria's number. More than once I tried to convince Aunt Tona to switch over to a computer system, but she insisted that, "If it's not broke, don't fix it," and I admit, now that she is gone there is no way I will upgrade this relic.

  The answering machine picked up, "Thank you for calling The Sweet Side, we are currently closed. Please leave a detailed message and we will call you back as soon as possible. Donut worry, we're open seven days a week from 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Have a sugary sweet day."

  "Hey Victoria, it's Hailey Morton. I know it's last minute, but if there's any way I can get a delivery tomorrow, you'd be a lifesaver. Thank you."

  I hung up the phone confident that no one would starve tomorrow. Some old men were extra grumpy before they had their cup of coffee and a freshly baked, buttery snack.

  Azure meowed from upstairs, and I looked to the clock. It was already past 10:00 PM, and no doubt past his dinner time. It always shocked me that he was not too fat to walk, because Aunt Tona snuck him sweets on a daily basis. That was one thing that I was determined to change. The fluff ball had to be at least twenty-years old, and he could not keep up his poor diet.

  I put the pad and pen back in the drawer. I guess the operations list would have to wait until tomorrow. I panicked in realizing it would end up a failure if I did not find some help. Hopefully Azure did not die from starvation while I begged my favorite person for reinforcements.

  Aubrey and I had been best friends since kindergarten, we were team pink rug. For the first day of class my mother teased my bangs into a six-inch poof, and during recess Tanner Wilcox followed me around making fun of it until Aubrey punched him in the gut, making him cry.

  We all ended up in the principal's office with our parents. My mother said Tanner did it because he liked me, but what I took away from it was Aubrey had my back. From that day forward we were inseparable.

  "Hey, how are you holding up?" Aubrey said from the other end.

  "Hey. Sorry to call so late."

  "Oh no, it's fine. It's Hailey," she said to William, most likely. "Are you okay
?"

  "Yeah, it's nothing serious–or emotional. It's just. . ."

  I did not know how to ask.

  "It's okay to ask if you need a bedtime story." Aubrey always knew when to ease the tension.

  "Real funny mom. Is there any way you could help me at the cafe tomorrow? I'm going to open in the morning, but it's always been a two-woman job, and I don't know who else to ask."

  "Of course," Aubrey said. "I'll have to take the kids to school, but I can come over after that."

  "You are seriously the best. I just need to get a new normal figured out. I can't thank you enough for all that you've done for me this weekend."

  "Stop it, you'd do the same for me. What is family for?"

  "I love you."

  "Love you too," she said. "Are you sure you're fine by yourself tonight?"

  "Yes, I've decided to stay here at the cafe so I'll have Azure to keep me company."

  "Okay, well I'll see you tomorrow then."

  "Thank you and tell William I said not to let the bedbugs bite."

  She laughed, "Will do."

  That took care of that fire, only ninety-nine more to go.

  "MEOW!"

  "All right!" I yelled, "I'll feed you. No reason to get your panties in a bunch."

  I turned the single cafe light off. Double checked that I locked the doors and climbed the stairs in the supply room to the second-floor apartment.

  Azure waited impatiently at the top, looking down on me as if I was a disappointing excuse for a replacement food giver.

  "I know, I know. You're a hungry fluff ball." I gave him a few pats on the head while he tried to evade my touches, "You're a pretty kitty when you get feisty."

  The foam on this bitter latte of a day had been discovering Aunt Tona was a hoarder. I do not mean that she liked to collect nicknacks, but that she seemed to have kept every little piece of paper from her life. Stacks and stacks of boxes filled the apartment. The bedroom was so full that I had to walk through a narrow gap to find the bed. I do not know how she slept there—the wall of boxes made me feel claustrophobic.