Duck Disaster Read online

  Anne clicked off the television and plodded upstairs to bed where a black ball of fur took center place on her pillow.

  “Mouser, you do not get to hog my pillow.” She picked up the cat, who responded with a grievous meow at being displaced. Anne punched her pillow and flipped it to the cooler side before turning off the light. She lay in the dark, her mind a blank. As her eyes closed in sleep, she dreamed of television cameras, tables stacked with cakes made of lemon curd, and her running in slow motion, her feet encased in towering stilettoes, her hair covered by a blond wig. A cameraman followed behind with others, yelling out, “What’s your plans for your life?”

  Chapter Two

  Sunlight spilled through the window, announcing the new day. Anne moaned and rolled away from the brightness, pulling the covers over her head. She’d had a fitful night, coming in and out of dreams, waking up, and struggling to fall back to sleep.

  Anne yawned loudly, causing Mouser to jump up from his spot and pad off the bed until his paws hit the floor. Thank heavens for the automatic feeders, so she didn’t have to get up right away, though she couldn’t stay in bed too long, as she had a full day ahead of her. She turned over on her back, pulling the covers down before raising her arms and stretching. Another loud yawn escaped. She would need some good, strong coffee this morning after that restless night.

  The thought came unbidden: What if you didn’t have to do or go anywhere? What if you could choose what and when and how you spent your days? She pictured herself waking up next to Carson, able to spend their days however they chose.

  “So, why are you dragging your feet, then?”

  Her question lingered in the air with no answer returned. Why was she dragging her feet on moving forward with a man she loved?

  Anne glanced over to the clock. Seven-thirty. She didn’t have to be over to the Inn until later. She knew Kandi would already be busy in the kitchen there, as she was one of those crazy early bird people who loved rising with the crack of dawn. A thought came to her. She could create a bouquet for the Coles and include a plate of Kandi’s confections as well. Maybe Hope was right, and they hadn’t been good neighbors. She could at least attempt to make amends.

  After she’d dressed in jeans and a chambray shirt, she made her way downstairs to where Mouser sat licking his paw. He’d eaten his earlier treats and was now ready for the main course. He meowed as she came into the kitchen.

  “Yes, master. I am getting your food right now.” She popped open a small can and set it in his bowl before taking it over to his preferred spot in the kitchen. A deep purring sounded in the room as he tucked into his feast of fishy delight. Anne pulled a straw hat from the rack and shucked her feet into slides before making her way over to the Inn. The day was warm, and birds trilled their songs from within the branches of the lilac hedge.

  Anne entered the kitchen to find Kandi singing along to music only she could hear in her earbuds. She grinned as she saw Anne and pointed to the coffeepot.

  “Ahh, you know me.” Anne poured a cup of the hot, dark brew, adding in some cream before pointing to Kandi’s ear.

  “Hiya. What’s up?”

  Anne explained her plan to Kandi.

  “That’s, like, a great idea. I have some fresh blueberry and lemon scones I can send as well. Let me make up a gift basket while you’re doing the flowers.”

  “Great. If you need me, I’ll be in the dining room.” While they prepared for the upcoming event, Anne had garnished the dining room for her prep work since she knew Kandi would require the entire kitchen. The dining chairs had been moved into the other room, and the table was covered with plastic and newspaper. Various vases sat on the sideboard, awaiting the arrangements from the coolers.

  Anne got busy creating an arrangement of ranunculus, dahlias, and snapdragons. She finished it with some bright yellow daffodils. Then she went in to where Kandi had created a lovely basket of goodies for the couple. “Oh, that’s lovely. I’m sure we’ll be able to win them over with those goodies and the flowers.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure. Mrs. Cole was pretty upset when she found out about the wedding events. She said it was the last straw.”

  “You don’t think she’d cause any issues, do you?”

  Kandi shrugged. “Who knows? When people get upset, there’s no telling what they might do. Though she’s always been nice before. I’ve never seen her so upset.”

  “Well, we can at least try. Let me wash my hands, and then I’ll take these items over to her.”

  “Oh, good. I don’t want to be in the line of fire again.”

  “When I get back, I’ll work on putting the dining room back properly before everyone arrives, so they’ll be able to use the space.”

  “Ah, yes. Good point,” Kandi answered.

  Anne made her way to the bathroom, where she washed her hands and spent a few minutes enjoying the ducks, who were nibbling on some herbs from the gardens. Back in the kitchen, she picked up the basket and mouthed, “Wish me luck” to Kandi, who replied by making a goofy face. Anne chuckled and shook her head before retrieving the flowers. She made her way across the street and noticed some painters working on the Coles’ curb, painting it white. She said hello and made her way up to the door. Transferring the vase to her other hand, she rang the bell.

  Mrs. Cole, a stout woman with a dour expression, answered. Her gray hair was clipped short and beady eyes stared at Anne. From what Anne had heard from Kandi, Mrs. Cole had been a teacher in her youth, and she would have been able to stop any commotion with that look. “Yeah, what can I do for you?”

  Anne forced herself to smile. “Mrs. Cole, we wanted to give you and Mr. Cole a basket of goodies and some flowers from us and the Brandywine Inn.”

  “You ain’t going to bribe me.”

  “What? I’m sorry—”

  “Code enforcement. I called them on you all.” She pointed with a bony finger toward the Inn. “Disgraceful. Ruining our neighborhood. Coming in here, changing everything without so much as a—well, it doesn’t matter. That place needs shutting down.”

  “Mrs. Cole. I assure you that we got all the permits—”

  “I don’t care what you have to say. You don’t have events registration and parking.”

  A noise caught Anne’s attention. A young man in biker’s clothes—shoes, hat and gloves—was toting an expensive bike out onto the porch next door.

  “See what I mean? You did this!” She pointed at Anne.

  Flustered and almost at her breaking point, Anne knew she had to get away before she did or said something she’d regret. “I wanted to bring this over to you.”

  The woman stood with her arms folded, unmoving.

  Anne spied a table next to a glider on the porch. “I’ll just set it here.” She placed the basket on the table before turning back to see the woman had already shut her front door. So much for goodwill.

  As Anne made her way back to the Inn, she glanced to what the men were painting onto the curb. No Parking. Great. That would mean extra hauling of items or figuring out parking in each of the drives.

  She returned to the Inn and told Kandi about the encounter with Mrs. Cole.

  “I told you. She’s so mean. I didn’t have her in high school, but everyone who got her tried as hard as they could to get in a different class. I bet she’ll take the goodies, though. She has a sweet tooth. And I’ve taken her things before during the holidays or when they’ve been sick.”

  “Who knows? But I did my part. You have any more coffee left?”

  “Yep. I just made a new pot,” Kandi said.

  Anne refilled her cup from earlier and made her way to the dining room. She pulled back the lacy curtains and, sure enough, the flowers and basket were no longer on the table outside. Anne picked at her cuticles. If Mrs. Cole complained to the code enforcement office, that could cause some big problems for them. She hadn’t thought about events needing a different permit. Mrs. Cole was definitely serious if she’d have no parking pain
ted on her curb. What else was the woman willing to do to hinder the event going forward?

  Anne dressed in a mint sheath to welcome the wedding party and production crew. Hope and Kandi were already at the Inn, working on trays of canapes and other light refreshments. Today would be about finalizing everything before the rehearsal dinner tomorrow. Anne and Hope had made it out onto the front porch when an expensive Mercedes pulled up.

  A gentleman appeared from the driver’s side. He was tall and well-built, with a chiseled jaw and head full of jet black hair. His posture was erect, and he bore the signs of wealth like someone else wore clothing. Surveying the area, he closed his door before coming around and opening the door for the woman in the passenger seat. Rayne Phillips emerged from the vehicle dressed in an expensive white pants suit. She reached out to take the man’s hand, and her substantial engagement ring caught the light. Anne waited as the man shut the door behind her, and they advanced up the sidewalk.

  Anne spoke first, extending her hand. “Hello, I’m Anne Freemont. Welcome to Brandywine Inn.”

  The handsome gentleman responded, “Very good to meet you. My name is Richard Redmond-Burley.”

  Rayne spoke up. “Ral, I left my purse in the car. Would you be a dear and fetch it for me?”

  “Certainly, love.” He nodded to Anne before making his way back to the car.

  “I wanted to have him out of earshot for a bit. He doesn’t need to be bothered with all the ins and outs of this. If we could have one of your people take care of him, that will be helpful.”

  One of our people? Anne shot Hope a quick glance. They’d dealt with persnickety patrons before, and this looked to be no different. Having worked with the assistant, things would be much easier if she continued handling things now.

  Hope responded, “We have prepared some light hors d’oeurves and drinks inside. Once the rest of your group arrive, we can go over everything for tomorrow and the following days if that works for you.”

  “Fine. Has Casey Hudson arrived yet?” She glanced toward the door.

  “No, not yet.”

  “Not surprising. She’s always up to something to cause me angst. Oh, well. Shall we?”

  “Hope, can you escort Ms. Phillips inside, please?”

  Kandi had joined them unbeknownst to Anne, and she bobbed with excitement. “I can do it!”

  “Wonderful. If you’ll follow Kandi, she’ll escort you upstairs. Do you have any bags that need to be brought in?”

  “We do. Ral can take care of them for me. Ral, you coming?”

  “On my way, dearest.”

  He made his way to her side, wrapping his arm around her waist in a protective mode for a brief moment before following behind holding the bags.

  “This way.” Kandi held the door open for Rayne.

  After Kandi took the pair inside, Hope whispered, “What have you gotten us into this time?”

  Anne replied, “A lot of money to replace the furnace with a new, efficient model and free publicity for the Inn.”

  “Yes, but at what cost?”

  Anne shrugged. “Probably our sanity.”

  “Well, at least you’re honest there. Plus, all that PDA feels like a show. Wonder how long that’s going to last?”

  Anne didn’t have time to respond as they turned at the sound of other vehicles arriving. One was a gray sedan holding Casey Hudson, the cameraman, Lee Branson, and another woman. The vehicle that followed them was a white Sprinter van driven by a male. As the others got out of their vehicles and approached the house, the driver went around to the back of the van and climbed inside.

  Casey strode confidently toward the pair. “Hello! I’m Casey Hudson. You must be Anne, and you’re Hope.” She held out her hand. Unlike the snootiness they’d felt from Rayne, Kasey appeared to be more down-to-earth in her approach to others. “This is Lee. I think you may have already met. He’ll be doing most of the camera work. The other gentleman, Scott, will also be doing camera work, and there should be a photographer also arriving tomorrow. Oh, and this is Jodie Miller. She’s our producer. She won’t be here tomorrow but will be here on Saturday.”

  After they finished introductions, another van pulled up with a dress shop logo on the side. Anne watched as two individuals went around to the back of the van, pulling out garment bags. “Ah, here’s the wedding attire for the next few days.”

  The two ladies walked over to the steps, where Hope stepped forward to greet them.

  “I’ll take them up to the rooms,” she said. After she’d ushered the group up the steps, they followed Hope inside. As Anne allowed everyone to go in, she turned to see Mrs. Cole on her porch, arms crossed against her chest, a scowl on her face. Not knowing what else to do, Anne waved at the woman, who turned and disappeared back into her house.

  Great. A diva in the house and an adversary on the outside.

  The ladies from the dress shop made their way down the stairs, having deposited the bags of clothing upstairs. They spoke with Rayne and Ral, who had moved into the living area where Kandi had set trays of refreshments on a mahogany pie crust table. In the corner, a glass-topped trolley held buckets of ice with drinks in them, along with tall glasses and an assortment of water and soda. Kandi had outdone herself on making everything look perfect for when they arrived. The others had joined Rayne as well. Beside Ral, Lee had grabbed a soda and was sitting in a chair, fiddling with his camera. Candace’s voice was intent as she spoke to Rayne and Casey about some notes she held in her hand. As Anne studied the group, she realized that Rayne was shorter than Casey by at least a few inches. Casey wore ballet flats while Rayne had on a pair of stacked sandals.

  A male voice startled her. Lee must have moved while she’d been watching the women. For a large man, he moved quietly from one place to the other. “I said, hard to tell them apart, huh?”

  Anne turned toward the cameraman. “Um, yes, they look so much alike.”

  “They really don’t. It’s the makeup, hair color and style, and of course, clothing. Away from the studio, they get to enjoy being a bit different.”

  “What’s the purpose of them looking so much alike? You’d think that they’d want to look different for the camera.”

  He shook his head. “Nope. You have to realize that television news is a bit like grabbing a burger from a fast-food joint. You go there because it’s always the same. You want the same thing every time. So, when one person is off, you still get the same. You know they’re different, but subconsciously, your mind is calmed. Same clothing, hair, look.”

  “Ah, I always wondered about it. Those same clothes, normally red or blue, with three-quarter sleeves. Makes more sense now.”

  “Yes. And the wavy, blonde hair as well. But trust me, they’re not the same. Especially where it counts. One is an angel, and one is a devil.” He winked and walked away, leaving Anne’s mouth gaping.

  If what he’d said were true, which was which? And why would he even say such a thing? She turned back to the party. Hope was showing Rayne the seating chart for the dinner, but it was the look on one person’s face that grabbed her attention.

  Love.

  It was written all over Ral’s face, but his gaze didn’t rest on Rayne, it rested on Casey.

  Chapter Three

  Cars started arriving early the next morning. Rayne had arrived with her assistant, who must be the Ivy Kandi had referred to during their conversation. Ivy looked to be in her late teens or early twenties. Compared to the highly made-up persona of her employer, Ivy was a mousey woman who trailed behind Rayne with a clipboard.

  Anne stood outside, directing vehicles to park in her driveway or in Kandi’s if they weren’t unloading. She couldn’t figure out why they needed so many things for a small wedding. Thankfully, it was only a couple of days, and the crew would be gone.

  A voice called out. It was Rayne’s assistant. Anne faced her.

  “Oh, sorry, you startled me. There seems like a lot of stuff coming and going for their wedding.” br />
  “Especially after the fact,” Ivy said.

  “After the fact?” Anne asked.

  The woman sighed, tapping her palm to her forehead. “Ugh, I have to learn to keep my mouth shut.”

  Anne laughed. “No worries. That would make two of us. Don’t worry. I keep secrets. But if it can help us, I’d really like to know so we can ensure that everything runs smoothly. I’m Anne, by the way.”

  The woman took Anne’s offered hand. “Ivy. Since I’ve already let some of it out of the bag, I might as well finish it. The fact is Rayne and Richard are already married. They did it when they were on vacation in the Bahamas. This is for one thing and one thing only.”

  It came to Anne immediately. Money. They needed pictures of the couple exchanging vows, having the fancy reception so they could sell the photos to the media. No wonder Rayne had requested ten courses. It’s not that she wanted them so much as she wanted to be known as having them.

  Anne couldn’t help herself as curiosity took over. “How much are we talking?”

  “Hundreds of thousands. Then there are the designers for the clothing, the jewelry, etc.”

  Anne waved to the Inn. “Why our little spot?”

  “Rayne had me pick somewhere outside of Denver. Not too far. She said that the chances of things being leaked are less out here, but it’s close enough to get back for evening shows.”

  “Will she still be going on television tonight?”

  Ivy shook her head. “No, but Casey will front the 10 pm news with the co-host, Brandon Sanders.”

  A large van pulled up just as two men exited the house next door to the Coles. One was the biker Anne had seen the other day, and one was dressed in a priest’s dark black robe. Her attention returned to the media van. “What’s this doing here?”