“I will never understand why it’s taking Keely so long to show Matt her vault,” Dee Madison said as we waited for Keely at the Smugglers’ Tavern.
Dee was my best friend, so I accepted that she sometimes spoke a little thoughtlessly and without consideration for double-entendres. Especially after she’d had a full mug of hard pear cider. “You probably shouldn’t mention it while she’s here.”
“It’s the truth,” Dee said. “Matt Viera isn’t just an excellent reporter. He’s one fine-looking man. And it’s not like Keely has anything to hide. Other than her tendency to faint, of course.”
“She prefers to call it passing out,” I reminded her. “Promise you won’t upset her. We need her help.”
“All right, all right.” Dee signaled for another drink.
The Tavern’s owner, Hope Ramsay, was behind the bar, and she knew us. This second mug was unlikely to have any alcohol in it.
“For someone who’s a lot younger than me,” Dee said, “you fuss over me like a mother hen.”
Keely came into the room just then. “Dee, Emma.” She tossed her quilted messenger bag onto the bench beside me and slid in next to Dee. “I hope you haven’t been waiting too long.”
“Not as long as Matt’s been—”
I cut Dee off. “I’m starved. Let’s order.”
Dee barely waited until we’d placed three identical orders for the seafood special before getting down to business. “The quilt guild is organizing a workshop to make ornaments for a Christmas tree in the lobby of the Danger Cove Historical Museum. We’ve hired an instructor to motivate the die-hard quilters, but we’d like to offer something for people who own quilts but haven’t made one. Yet.”
Keely didn’t hesitate. “How can I help?”
Dee had already moved on to her second mug of cider, as if everything had been settled. That left me to work out the details. “We were hoping you’d offer to do some appraisals for a nominal cost. Perhaps limit them to holiday quilts, given the time of year.”
Keely considered me for a long moment. “Okay, what aren’t you telling me?”
Dee set down her empty mug. “You’re such a suspicious person.”
“Just realistic,” Keely said. “I’ve been through too many situations where clients held back important information. The best way to ensure a perfect event is to know all the risks in advance.”
“You’re as much of a downer as Emma,” Dee grumbled. “And you don’t even have the excuse of being an old fuddy-duddy.”
I knew she didn’t mean it the way it sounded. And, to be honest, I was something of a fuddy-duddy.
I directed my response to Keely. “There shouldn’t be any problems. The guild will organize everything. But people can be somewhat emotional about their quilts, especially the ones associated with holiday memories.”
Keely looked at me skeptically. “That’s all? No protest marches? No Plan B’s that involve hiring a hit man? No match-making?”
Fortunately, Dee was working on her third mug of cider, and couldn’t swallow fast enough to answer before I did. “No match-making.”
Dee set down her mug. “Speak for yourself, Emma. Matt will be there to report on the event for the Cove Chronicles and he said he’d make a few ornaments. It would be a crime if Keely missed the chance to see him operating a sewing machine. There’s nothing quite as sexy as a man who knows how to use power tools. It’s bound to convince her she should learn to quilt.”
Keely laughed. “If that’s all you’re planning to do, I think I can resist the urge to throw myself at Matt. Or at the sewing machine. But what about the protests and hit men?”
Dee shrugged. “I can’t think of anyone I want to picket or kill.”
“Then you can count on me,” Keely said.
I could relax and enjoy my own cider now.
Dee might not mean it when she said she wished someone was dead, but there were too many people, even here in quaint little Danger Cove who did mean it.
Fortunately, that wasn’t my problem. All I had to do was organize the volunteers for the event. Then, if anyone ended up dead, well, that was just one more reason why we needed Keely there. She knew what to do about dead bodies.
Gin Jones’s Tree of Life and Death is the seventh book in the multi-author Danger Cove Mysteries series, and the second in the Danger Cove Quilting Mysteries subseries, published by Gemma Halliday Publishing. The first book of the overall series is Secret of the Painted Lady, and the first quilting mystery is Four-Patch of Trouble.
GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment by 12 a.m. eastern on November 30 for your chance to win a digital copy of TREE OF LIFE AND DEATH. Good luck everyone!
About the author
Gin Jones is a lawyer who specializes in ghost-writing for other lawyers. She also makes quilts, grows garlic and serves on the board of directors of the XLH Network. Visit Gin at her website, www.ginjones.com.
Thanks for the chance to win. This sounds like a funny and wacky series to relax with.
Sounds good! I’d like to add it to the rest of the series that I have. Thankyou for the opportunity!
Tree of Life and Death sounds like a fun mystery! Thank you for the giveaway.
myrifraf(at)gmail(dot)com
New author to me. Sounds like a great series.
As a quilter, I wan g r to have this.
Sounds like a fun read
I look forward to reading the latest in this interesting series. I am amazed at how well the stories flow with the many different authors involved! Of course Gin has had previous experience, so I am sure this will be another great book. A book for quilters and non-quilters alike! Thanks Dru for the feature today! Thanks Gin for the chance to win a copy! 🙂
I love holiday themed cozies and this is right up that alley. Thanks for introducing it to me. robeader53@yahoo.com
This book sounds like a hoot.
A series I have missed. Think I need to catch up.
New author to me. I really liked the teaser and hoping. Thanks for this chance at a new series. I’ve mentioned this book to my daughter she likes quilting. Not much of a reader. But every now and then. So she’s thinking about it. I’m not. I want to read it. I have it on my TBR list. My book dealer LOVES me.
I haven’t read any of these books and am looking forward to adding this to my reading list.
Fascinating excerpt. Looks like a fun read. It sure sounds like me and my friends bantering and bickering.
Sounds interesting. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
Sounds like a fun series that I have been missing out on.
Bring on the cider and let the good times roll!
Sounds like a great start to a new series.
Tree of Life and Death sounds like a fun mystery! Thank you for the chance to win a copy of this book.
Tree of life and death, sounds cute and wachy, would love to win, ty ty
How have I missed this series?!?!
Thank you for the giveaway….
This book looks great, can’t wait to read it. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
Love this series!
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