by Diana Orgain | May 27, 2021 | Cooking up Murder, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss part one of Chapter One? From Murder as Savory as Biscuits Chapter One Continued… “So . . . where is she?” he asked. Vicki put her hands on her hips. “Aha! Are you finally going to ask her out?” “I’d like to,” Leo said. “And I’d like to do it without you being so nosy about it.” Vicki pumped her fist triumphantly. “You know I want my best friend to be my sister-in-law. Get to it.” “Well, where is she, for crying out loud?” Leo asked, exasperated. “She’ll be here soon. She was running over to talk to some of the people at the cheese booth to see if they could pair some dry cheeses with her jam.” Leo nodded. Mona was a workaholic. It was one of the things he liked about her. Before long, he glimpsed her honey-colored hair through the crowd, and a warm feeling filled his chest. A shy smile crossed Mona’s face when she saw him, and the warm feeling grew. “Hey!” Mona said. “Are you hungry? I’ve wrangled some cheese samples.” She unpackaged the bundle she was carrying, and Leo dug into some cheese and grapes. “Well . . . I had another reason for coming,” he said after he swal‐ lowed. “Although this cheese is excellent.” Mona looked at him expectantly, and Vicki ducked down as if she were digging more product out of the boxes underneath the table. He paused, then blurted, “I was wondering if maybe you had time Wednesday afternoon. I have the day off. I wanted to hike up to the falls, maybe have a...
by Diana Orgain | May 27, 2021 | Cooking up Murder, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
From Murder as Sweet as Honey Chapter One Vicki Lawson pulled into the parking lot three minutes late. That was fashionably late, right? She took a breath as she grabbed her wicker basket of samples. “Breathe,” she whispered. “This will go great.” She’d known it was a long shot when she dialed the phone number on the flyer. After last year’s debacle, she hadn’t expected to get a booth at the Fall Festival—Julia, the festival chair, had absolutely hated Mona’s jam and Vicki’s honey and had sent them packing. Her exact words had been something like, “You’ll get a booth here over my dead body.” But Vicki had decided to try again this year—she and her best friend, Mona, needed a venue to sell their products while Jammin’ Honey was being rebuilt. If Vicki could move some of her products at the Fall Festival, she’d buy herself—and her dwindling savings account—a little more time. And the long shot might be about to pay off. When Vicki had called, she’d found out that Julia wasn’t the festival chair this year, and that the new chair would be delighted to take a look at Vicki’s samples. Vicki opened the car door and headed toward the warehouse. The exterior of the warehouse looked festival ready. Straw bales and pumpkins lined the outside, alongside a few scarecrows. Some leaves were scattered by the entrance, and a large sign on the roof announced the dates of the festival. Pretty good advertising, Vicki thought. I feel festive already! Then Vicki caught sight of Julia near the corner of the building. Less festive, now. What’s she...
by Diana Orgain | May 27, 2021 | Cooking up Murder, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter One? Did you miss Chapter Two? Did you miss Chapter Three part one? From Murder as Sweet as Honey Chapter Three Continued… “Wha—” Her attention snapped to the salad bowl on the counter. A certain white duck was beak-first in the romaine lettuce, looking entirely too satisfied with herself. “Sunny!” she shrieked. “How did you—” But the answer presented itself immediately when she looked at the window she’d left half-open. “Sunny, did you come in for more blueberries and then decide to eat our salad?” Leo nodded solemnly. “It appears that’s exactly what happened. We can now refer this case to the district attorney.” With a long hiss through her teeth, Vicki said, “Well, we can eat stew? Or order takeout?” Leo grabbed a spoon and sampled a bite of stew. “The stew will be fine,” he declared. “Do you have biscuits or anything to go with it?” “Mmm, I think I still have some frozen breadsticks we could heat up.” “Perfect.” Ten minutes later, they sat down to a cobbled-together meal of stew and breadsticks. An odd pairing, thought Vicki as she took her first bite. But it works, somehow. “So,” said Leo. “Grinding the herbs was actually kind of relaxing. Do you need any help getting your things ready to sell at the festival?” “I was hoping you’d ask,” said Vicki. “Would you be able to come over Sunday and help me make a few things?” “Sure.” Leo grabbed a breadstick. “Festival starts soon, doesn’t it? I’m happy to help. Just don’t make me a guinea pig too often.” He stuck his...
by Diana Orgain | May 27, 2021 | Cooking up Murder, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter One? Did you miss Chapter Two? From Murder as Sweet as Honey Chapter Three By the time Vicki and Leo finished the scrub, anticipation pulsed through her. “Time to test it!” she cried, snatching the bowl from the counter. “Hold on,” said Leo, his face a picture of resignation. “You’ve already given yourself a sunburn. Let me try it on one of my arms.” “Are you sure, Grinch? You swore you were done being my guinea pig,” Vicki teased. Leo rolled his eyes. “Give me that,” he said, taking the bowl out of Vicki’s hands. He bounded up the steps, and by the time Vicki caught back up with him, he’d rubbed the scrub on the underside of his arm. They stood there and waited. “How does it feel?” Vicki asked hesitantly. “Is there a tingling sensation?” “Yeah, it tingles,” said Leo. Then he started screaming, “It burns! It burns!” Vicki gasped and dove for the sink. But Leo burst into uproarious laughter, and she whirled back around. “You should have seen your face!” Leo crowed. “You actually turned pale.” Vicki’s heartbeat slowed its gallop, but she couldn’t help a grin. “That was not funny. Seriously, how does it feel?” GRAB YOUR COPY OF MURDER AS SWEET AS HONEY HERE “It feels really good. It’s definitely energizing.” “Good,” said Vicki. “I wrote down the measurements, so I should be able to recreate it.” She turned on the faucet so Leo could wash his arm, then she splashed him with cold water and bolted down the stairs. “Now we’re even!” she called. And now...
by Diana Orgain | May 27, 2021 | Cooking up Murder, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter One? Did you miss part one of Chapter Two? From Murder as Sweet as Honey Chapter Two Continued… Was that gel in his hair? Leo never paid much attention to how he looked, but today his hair was slicked back and he looked downright dashing in his well-fitted button-up. Interesting. Vicki closed the door and led Leo into the kitchen. He looked around and seemed to deflate a little. “Just us?” he said. “Mona’s not here?” Vicki bit back a grin. So that was why he’d taken a little more time with his appearance. “She couldn’t come today. She got tied up waiting for the construction manager at the store. That rebuild has been a headache and a half.” “Oh, did that Mark guy not work out? The contractor?” “No. And too bad. He was cute.” She looked up at the clock. “Lunch is almost done. Cornbread will be out of the oven in fifteen minutes.” “Everything okay?” Leo asked after a long pause, studying her. Vicki bustled to the stove and tasted the stew to check how it was coming along. Savory and delicious, just like the recipe had promised. “Aww, were you worried about me?” Leo could read her better than anyone, and he always did feel like he needed to protect her. Plus, after what had happened with her last boyfriend, that big-brother instinct wasn’t going away anytime soon. Not to mention that he was a cop and ex-military, she thought wryly. No, there would be no dissuading him from the idea that he needed to keep an eye on her....
