Double Trouble (Maternal Instincts Mystery Series: Book Twelve) Sneak Peek – Chapter One | Diana Orgain

Double Trouble (Maternal Instincts Mystery Series: Book Twelve) Sneak Peek – Chapter One

From Double Trouble 

Chapter One

Chapter One

To-Do:

  1. Throw Laurie’s birthday party.
  2. Organize pantry.
  3. Repack hospital bag more efficiently.
  4. Clean bathroom.
  5. Fix crooked poster in nursery.
  6. Vacuum everything.
  7. Vacuum everything again.
  8. Find a case? No, not this month. No time.

 

“Girl’s day!” shrieked my best friend Paula, clinking an imaginary champagne glass as the automatic doors opened in front of us. “Time for a shopping spree!”

I tugged at a red shopping cart nested inside another cart. “Well, the budget is exactly two hundred dollars, so I’m not sure how much room that’s going to leave for spreeing.”

The shopping cart didn’t budge. I grimaced and pulled harder.

Paula threw out her arms, looking far too fashionable in her belted teal shirtdress and brown ankle boots. “Conveniently, my friend, you happen to know an event planner extraordinaire. I can throw the world’s best first birthday party on even the most shoestring of budgets.”

Shoestring budget? I jerked, startled. It’s Laurie’s first birthday party, not the Met Gala. Shouldn’t two hundred dollars be enough? Am I . . . shortchanging my baby girl?

Someone tapped my shoulder, and I waddle-pivoted to find an elderly Hispanic gentleman offering me a cart. “Here, señora,” he said in a thick accent, his gaze flicking to my heavily pregnant belly. “For you.”

I let out a little sigh of gratitude and accepted the cart. “Thank you.”

I was almost thirty-six weeks pregnant with the twins, and a lot of everyday tasks weren’t coming as easily as they used to. Gripping the handle, I leaned forward to let the cart bear the brunt of my extra weight and followed Paula into the store.

Our first stop: the crowded clearance aisle.

“We’ll just see what we have here,” said Paula, “before we wander over to the party section. Since we’re keeping the budget modest, we want to stretch every dollar.”

I bit my lip, a wave of guilt washing over me. Should we have set aside a bigger budget for the party? Maybe I should call Jim, and we can agree on an extra hundred dollars?

My husband was working from home with Laurie and Paula’s two kids, but surely he had time for a quick phone call . . .

I shook my head and chided myself. She’s not even going to remember this party. She’ll just be happy that she gets to smear chocolate cake all over her face. And our expenses are going to go way, way up when the twins are born.

I pawed through the nearest rack, looking through the haphazard collection of scented candles, mermaid-print bandanas, and fidget toys. I picked up a patriotic-looking snow globe and squinted at the figure of George Washington in the center.

What in the world?

I shook it, and red-white-and-blue sparkles blizzarded around George Washington.

Leftover Fourth of July merchandise.

I snorted and set the snow globe back down, moving on to inspect a bin full of umbrellas emblazoned with phrases like “dance in puddles” and “rain waters my soul.”

“There’s not a whole lot of party stuff here,” I called to Paula.

But my friend was bending over, digging deep into the bowels of a display rack.

Movement in the corner of the store caught my eye. I turned my head, glimpsing a collection of giant inflatables peering down at me from several aisles over—a witch with a cauldron, a stack of leering pumpkins, and a purple dragon.

My chest tightened. That’s right—Halloween’s next month, and I still need to get Laurie a costume! And what about the twins? They’re due in four short weeks!

Dry panic flooded my mouth.

I’m never going to get everything done!

“Got it!” called Paula triumphantly. She waved a roll of yellow crepe streamers in the air. “In duck-yellow, just like Laurie’s ducky-themed bedroom. And they’re buy-one-get-one-free!”

“Oh, those are very pretty!” I exclaimed, but my gaze flicked back to the Halloween inflatables.

I didn’t like the witch inflatable, I decided. She had a judgmental expression on her face—like she disapproved of my paltry party budget.

Or maybe she just knew that I’d never accomplish everything on my list.

“Should we go to the party section now?” I asked. “I’d like to get back home soon so I can vacuum.”

Paula dropped the streamers into the cart and put her hands on her hips. “You vacuumed yesterday, Kate.”

“So?” I shrugged nonchalantly, trying to play it casual. “We can’t have it dusty at Laurie’s party.”

“And Jim said he couldn’t stop you from organizing the pantry on Tuesday.”

I frowned. “It was in dire need of organization. I think it hadn’t been done in a whole year.”

“A year,” said Paula, overenunciating the words. “What happened a year ago?”

Oooooooh. I pushed the cart forward a few steps, feeling sheepish. “Okay, so maybe I go into nesting mode in the last month of a pregnancy. Is that a crime? Should we call a detective?”

Paula’s serious expression wavered, and she suppressed a giggle. “You are a detective. Wait—you don’t have any cases on your plate right now, do you?”

I shook my head. “No. No way. The next few months are going to be crazy busy, and I can’t take on any new cases. I told Galigani that already. He agrees.  I deserve a little maternity leave.”

GRAB YOUR COPY OF DOUBLE TROUBLE HERE

I pawed through the nearest rack, looking through the haphazard collection of scented candles, mermaid-print bandanas, and fidget toys. I picked up a patriotic-looking snow globe and squinted at the figure of George Washington in the center.

What in the world?

I shook it, and red-white-and-blue sparkles blizzarded around George Washington.

Leftover Fourth of July merchandise.

I snorted and set the snow globe back down, moving on to inspect a bin full of umbrellas emblazoned with phrases like “dance in puddles” and “rain waters my soul.”

“There’s not a whole lot of party stuff here,” I called to Paula.

But my friend was bending over, digging deep into the bowels of a display rack.

Movement in the corner of the store caught my eye. I turned my head, glimpsing a collection of giant inflatables peering down at me from several aisles over—a witch with a cauldron, a stack of leering pumpkins, and a purple dragon.

My chest tightened. That’s right—Halloween’s next month, and I still need to get Laurie a costume! And what about the twins? They’re due in four short weeks!

Dry panic flooded my mouth.

I’m never going to get everything done!

“Got it!” called Paula triumphantly. She waved a roll of yellow crepe streamers in the air. “In duck-yellow, just like Laurie’s ducky-themed bedroom. And they’re buy-one-get-one-free!”

“Oh, those are very pretty!” I exclaimed, but my gaze flicked back to the Halloween inflatables.

I didn’t like the witch inflatable, I decided. She had a judgmental expression on her face—like she disapproved of my paltry party budget.

Or maybe she just knew that I’d never accomplish everything on my list.

“Should we go to the party section now?” I asked. “I’d like to get back home soon so I can vacuum.”

Paula dropped the streamers into the cart and put her hands on her hips. “You vacuumed yesterday, Kate.”

“So?” I shrugged nonchalantly, trying to play it casual. “We can’t have it dusty at Laurie’s party.”

“And Jim said he couldn’t stop you from organizing the pantry on Tuesday.”

 

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Diana Orgain is the USA Today Bestselling Author of the Maternal Instincts Mystery Series, Love or Money Mystery series, and The Roundup Crew Mysteries. Diana is also the New York Times Bestselling co-author of the Scrapbooking Mystery Series with Laura Childs. To keep up to date with the latest releases visit Diana at www.dianaorgain.com

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