Christmas In Paradise (Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries Book 4) (7 page)

“He
’s coming later with Josh and Captain Brown,” Tj answered.

“How did things go with Bonnie and her new guy?”
Nikki asked.

While the situation with Jordan was a secret
, most people in town knew that Bonnie had become engaged to a man no one had ever met. It had been the hot topic on the Serenity gossip lines for weeks.

“Not well,” Tj admitted. “
There were more fireworks in the Elston household yesterday than there were in last summer’s July Fourth extravaganza over the lake. I’m hoping we don’t have an encore today. Have either of you seen Bonnie?”

Kallie looked around the room.
“I don’t see her. Maybe she stepped out for some fresh air.”

“It’s freezing outside,” Nikki pointed out.

“I haven’t seen Bob all day. Bonnie may have gone over to his cabin to fetch him,” Tj offered. “It really is rude of him to be so late when he knows Bonnie is here waiting.”

“It does seem odd that the guy would come all the way to Serenity to see her and then totally ignore her once he g
ot here,” Nikki agreed. “Maybe he’s having second thoughts about the engagement now that he’s met her family. Dennis can be pretty formidable when he’s upset about something.”

“Yeah
, maybe,” Tj said.

“I think I’m going to
go see if Jenna needs help,” Kallie told them. “If I don’t move away from this dip, I’m not going to be able to eat my dinner.”

“Okay. Tel
l her to holler if she needs me,” Tj called after her.

“
Kallie seems to be sort of fidgety today,” Nikki observed as Kallie left the room. “Is she nervous about something?”

“
I suspect there may be a situation with her family,” Tj answered. “She hasn’t said anything, but originally she was really excited to have two weeks off to go home for a visit, and then all of a sudden she told me her plans had changed and she was staying in the area. I could sense a feeling of genuine distress.”

“And you didn’t ask her about it?”

“I don’t know her well enough to nose around in her life.”

Nikki laughed. “Who are you kidding? You nose around in everyone’s life.”

“Yeah,” Tj admitted, “I guess I do. But in this case it didn’t seem appropriate, and I’ve been pretty distracted with my own life drama.”

Nikki picked up a stuffed mushroom and plopped it in
to her mouth. “And how is that life drama working out?”

“So far
, so good. I’m not quite ready to let my guard down completely, but it appears Captain Tanner genuinely just wants to spend the holiday with Gracie before heading back out to sea.”

“I’m sure you
’re right.” Nikki gave Tj a quick hug. “If you need me for any reason, you know you can call me day or night.”

“I know. And thanks. I would never have been able to deal with all this uncertainty without the support of my friends.”

“Oh, hey, there’s Bonnie.” Nikki pointed across the room. “She just came in the front door. It looks like she’s headed over to speak to Helen, Hazel, and Frannie.”

Tj looked across the room where she’d last seen Helen holding court with all of the other hens in town. If you tossed in Harriet Kramer
, you’d have the core of the Serenity gossip society. Everyone paused in their conversation to greet Bonnie, who looked flushed, as if she had just undergone some strenuous physical activity.

“
So if Bonnie is talking to Helen, Hazel, and Frannie, where is
her date?” Tj wondered as she watched the group. “You would think that if she was at his cabin fetching him, he would have come back with her.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never met the man
, so I’m not sure what he looks like, but I didn’t see anyone walk in with Bonnie. Maybe he wasn’t ready and told her that he’d meet her here.”

There was something nagging at Tj about the entire situation with
Bob King. He didn’t seem to be acting like a man in love. In fact, it didn’t seem like he’d spent any time at all with his new fiancée since he’d arrived.

“So how is everything?” Jenna asked
as she walked up behind them.

“Delicious,
” Nikki gushed.

“I’m ready to start serving dinner whenever everyone gets here.”

“I think we’re just missing a few people,” Tj said. “Where’s Kallie?”

“I haven’t seen her
,” Jenna answered.

Tj frowned. “She said she was going to go help you in the kitchen.”

Jenna picked up a radish and began to nibble on it. “I guess she got distracted. I didn’t need the help anyway; other than finishing browning the rolls, we’re good to go. Kyle sliced the turkey and Bookman mashed the potatoes. Doc is fussing with the gravy as we speak. He swears he has a secret recipe; knowing Doc, most likely that translates to hot, so be careful when you taste it.”

“If Doc and Bookman are helping you
, where’s Grandpa?” Tj asked.

“He
was out helping your dad with the snow, but I just saw them heading this way, so I think almost everyone should be here.” Jenna looked around the room. “Where’s Bob?”

“I haven’t seen him,” Tj
said. “I’ll go knock on his door to let him know we’re almost ready to eat.”

“
I’ll go with you,” Nikki offered. “If I don’t stop eating all of these fabulous appetizers, I’m not going to have room for dinner.”

“
It looks like Pastor Dan just walked in with Bren and Hannah. I guess I should go say hi,” Jenna announced. “And I’ll stop to grab a drink from the bar on my way over. It looks like it’s time for the cook to relax and join the party.”

“
Grandpa and the guys mixed the rum punch, so it’s bound to be strong.”

“I
tried the punch,” Nikki commented. “From this point forward, I’m sticking with wine.”

“Personally,
right now I’m thinking the stronger the better,” Jenna countered.

Tj watched as Jenna made her way across the room. It seemed everyone in attendance stopped her to tell her how fantastic her appetizers were. Jenna would be lucky to make her way to the bar before it was time to start serving dinner.

“It looks like Hazel is waving to you,” Nikki said to Tj. “I’ll knock on the guest of honor’s door while you say hi.”

Tj shrugged. “Okay, thanks.
He’s in cabin two.”

Tj kept her eye on the room
as she chatted with Hazel, and after an appropriate amount of time excused herself to say hi to Bren, who had been left standing alone after Dan wandered away to speak to Hunter and Jenna returned to the kitchen.

“So did
you meet Bonnie’s new guy?” Bren asked.

“Yeah. Did you?”

“Unfortunately. I very unwisely decided to stop by Jenna’s yesterday and walked into the middle of Armageddon. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dennis quite that irate.”

“Poor Bonnie. What was
Bob doing while Dennis was tearing into him?” Tj wondered.

“Drinking Dennis’
s scotch. The guy seems like a real toad. I don’t know what Bonnie sees in him.”

“Yeah, I’m afraid toad is the consensu
s. Did you happen to see him walking around outside when you drove up from the road? I sent Nikki to his cabin, but she said he didn’t answer when she knocked on his door. We’re still waiting for a couple of other guests, but the food is ready and I think Jenna is anxious to start serving.”

“
I saw him outside by the woodshed, talking to Captain Brown.”

Tj frowned. “I didn’t think Captain Brown and the others were here yet.”

“I didn’t see Josh or Dennis, but Brown is here with the fire truck. Maybe Dennis and Josh headed over to the house. Actually, here they are now.”

Tj looked where Bren was pointing. Dennis
had walked in with Josh and Captain Brown on his heels, but there was no sign of Bob King. Maybe Captain Brown had convinced him to keep his distance from Dennis for everyone’s sake. Tj certainly hoped so. In fact, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if Bob decided to stay in his cabin and skip dinner altogether.

“It looks like Bonnie is going over to talk to Dennis. Should we intervene? Or maybe get Jenna?”

Tj watched as Bonnie said something to Dennis. He appeared to be listening to her request because he nodded before he ordered a drink. Bonnie went back to Hazel, who was sitting alone at the table. Tj noticed that Frannie’s date was chatting with Helen near the bar, so maybe Frannie had gone to the ladies’ room to freshen up.

“So far
, so good.” Hunter walked up and put his arm around Tj.

“Yeah
. I can’t believe we’ve managed to avoid having any fireworks. Where’s Jake?”

“Talking to your grandpa, Doc, and Bookman. I’m afraid my grand
father is trying to convince Doc to be our next mayor.”

“What? Doc would never want to be mayor. He hates following the rules. Besides
, being mayor is a full-time job. Doc is retired. I don’t think he’s looking for full-time work.”

“I have to agree
, but Grandpa heard that a couple members of the council have been talking about looking for a mayor from out of the area. Jake thinks that’s a mistake. He’s actually proposing hiring a town manager to do the grunt work and making the position of mayor a part-time position that can be fulfilled by a local business owner, or maybe a retiree.”

“
I like Jake’s idea, but Doc will never do it. You need to find someone who loves the town, has the time, and is likely to want to play by the rules. Someone like you.” Tj grinned.

“Trust me
, I don’t have the time. What about your dad?”

Tj thought about it. “I doubt he has the time either. Jenna is waving at me
; I should get back to the kitchen.”

“I’ll help,” Hunter offered.

“I’d like to make a toast,” Mike began
a short while later, after everyone had gathered around and the food had been set out on the buffet tables in preparation for the big feast. “To family, friends, and neighbors. I feel so blessed to share this very snowy holiday with you all. Dig in and enjoy.”

“Short and sweet,” Hunter whispered to Tj.

“Dad isn’t really a speech sort of guy. In fact, I’m surprised he said anything at all. My guess is that Rosalie nudged him into it.”

“It seems like they
’re getting pretty serious,” Hunter said.

“Yes and no. They spend a lot of time together
, but she never stays over, and Dad is home every night, so I know he doesn’t stay with her. If I had to guess, I’d say they’ve settled into a comfortable companionship. It’s hard to tell at this point if it will develop into more.”

“Would you care if it did?” Hunter wondered.

Tj thought about it. “No. I really like Rosalie. If at some point she and Dad decided to get married, I’d be happy for them both.”

“It looks like you
r dinner is a success,” Kyle said as the people seated at the table closest to the food—Ashley, Gracie, Kristi, Kari, Jordan, Kiara, Annabeth, Bren, Dan, Hannah, and Kyle’s mom, Vicki—got up and began filling their plates.

“It looks like your mom is enjoying sitting with the kids,” Tj commented as she watched
them. “Is she enjoying being a mom to Annabeth?”

“She really is. I’m not sure why she didn’t have a house
ful of children. She always has been drawn to them. And, thankfully, with Annabeth to mother, she’s stopped smothering me.”

“Come on now
; your mom is a doll. I bet you at least miss the hot cocoa before bed since she moved into her own place.” Tj grinned.

“Okay, I guess I miss
the attention at times, but I don’t miss her doing my laundry or throwing away all my junk food. The entire time she lived with me, I had to hide a stash of chips and candy bars in my bedroom closet.”

Tj laughed. “That
would
be a drag.” She turned to Jenna, who seemed to be staring into space. “Are you okay?”

“I
was just wondering how the conversation is going over at the table where Bob is seated. It looks like Bonnie has a scowl on her face that seems to become more and more pronounced the longer he talks. I find myself hoping all is not well in love land and Bob will go home early and never return.”

Tj looked to the table
Bob shared with Bonnie, Ben, Doc, Bookman, Helen, Jake, Mike, Rosalie, and Hazel. “She does look pretty irritated,” Tj agreed, “but I hope the lack of fireworks we’ve enjoyed so far continues for another couple of hours at least.”

“At least Dennis seems content to stay out of things,” Kyle
said.

Dennis, Josh,
and Captain Brown were eating at the bar.

“Looks like our table is up next,” Frannie
announced.

Tj followed Frannie as she stood up along with her date,
Kyle, Jenna, Hunter, Kallie, and Nikki.