Chapter 1
Anna glanced at the strawberry ice cream cone clock on the wall.
It was 12:15, which meant that Jack was already fifteen minutes late. This was not like Anna’s sixteen-year-old employee. Jack had proven himself to be a responsible teenager over the four months since Anna opened her ice cream shop, Bella’s Dream, in the coastal Massachusetts town of Seagull Cove.
As much as Anna tried to push it aside, a feeling that something wasn’t right settled into her chest.
Anna’s cell phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out with lighting speed. Jack’s name had popped onto her screen.
“Hey, Jack. Where are you? Is everything okay?”
“I’m so sorry, Anna, but I woke up with a bad case of the flu this morning. I planned to call, but I fell back asleep and just woke up. I’m not going to be able to help you with the hot fudge sundae bar at that party this afternoon. I would try to find a replacement, but I think I’m too sick to even do that, and it’s probably too late, anyway. I’m so sorry for the last-minute notice.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Jack. I hope you feel…” Anna started to say before Jack cut her off.
“I have to go. Right now!”
Anna was about to say, “Feel better soon,” but Jack disconnected the call before she could get the words out.
She tried not to panic. She could do this alone if she absolutely had to.
At least she hoped she could. It was her first hot fudge sundae bar, and she really could use an extra set of hands.
“Hey, Anna, you look as white as a ghost. Are you okay?” She hadn’t noticed Kathy, one of her staff members, standing a short distance away. A recently retired executive assistant, Kathy was good at thinking under pressure. Maybe she could help.
“Remember that anniversary party this afternoon?”
“The one celebrating Allie and Jackson’s first anniversary? Aren’t you hosting a hot-fudge sundae bar at that party?” Allie and Jackson were regulars at Bella’s Dream, so most of the staff knew them.
“Yes. I’m supposed to be set up and ready to go by 2:00. Jack was supposed to help me, but he just called to tell me that he has a bad case of the flu.”
“Yikes. Do you want me to help you, instead?”
Anna looked at her other two employees. Ethan and Sarah were both in high school, and Anna liked to have three employees in the shop, including one adult, on weekends. And it was shaping up to be a sunny day. The busy summer season was over, so she dropped down to two employees on weekdays, but weekends could still get busy. People came from far and wide to enjoy the New England fall foliage. “I don’t think so, Kathy. I need you here. It’s a beautiful October Saturday, and it’s bound to get busy.”
“It will be hard to find a replacement for Jack on such short notice. Too bad Velma’s at a wedding. Can you manage the sundae bar by yourself?” Kathy asked.
“I suppose I’ll have to. But it’s my first one, so I thought it would go more smoothly with two people. Besides, there’s a lot of stuff to lug in and out of Allie’s and Jackson’s house.”
“I can help,” came a voice from across the counter.
Anna turned around to find Todd Devonshire, one of her regular customers, grinning in her direction.
“I couldn’t help but overhear. I just finished meeting with a client, and I have the rest of the afternoon free. I’d be happy to lend a hand.” Todd was a financial planner who lived in nearby Gloucester. He had several clients in Seagull Cove, and whenever he came to town for a meeting, he would make it a point to stop in Bella’s Dream for an ice cream. Velma thought it had more to do with his interest in Anna than in ice cream. Todd was cute. And charming. But Anna had more than enough to do with a new business and her search for her sister. Investing in a new relationship wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon.
“I can’t ask you to give up a Saturday afternoon to help me run a hot fudge sundae bar.” But even as she spoke those words, Anna had a feeling she was going to ask, anyway. Fortunately, Todd made it easy.
“You didn’t ask. I offered. Besides, it’s not like I’m doing it for free. I will expect payment in the form of a hot fudge sundae,” he said with a wink.
“I would be forever grateful,” Anna said in relief.
“It’s my pleasure. Just tell me what to do.”
Anna led Todd into the supply room, where the previous evening she had filled plastic boxes with jars of toppings and paper goods in order to save time today.
“You can start by helping me load these supplies into my car,” Anna said. “Allie and Jackson have a second freezer in their basement, so I brought the ice cream over last night.”
Anna and Todd each grabbed two boxes and brought them to the alley out back, where Anna had parked her car.
“This one smells delicious,” Todd said, pulling the box to his nose and breathing in the sweet scents.
“You’ve got one of the boxes with the dry toppings. I got off easy with the paper goods,” Anna chuckled.
Anna filled one more box with items from the refrigerator, then they piled the rest of the boxes into Anna’s backseat and trunk and drove across town to Jackson’s and Allie’s home. Anna glanced at the clock on her dashboard. “We’re just on time. Guests should be in the middle of lunch now, so that will give us enough time to set up before they are ready for dessert. I can’t thank you enough, Todd. Without your help, I would have been late.”
“Don’t mention it. This was a fun change to my afternoon plans. I’m glad to see you’re branching out and getting creative with business opportunities. Hosting sundae bars at events like this is a great idea to expand your business now that the summer foot traffic has died down on Main Street.”
“It came about spontaneously. Jackson and Allie, the guests of honor, were in my shop a couple of weeks ago talking about their first anniversary party. So, I pitched the idea of a hot fudge sundae bar, and they loved it. I’ve never done it before, but what could possibly go wrong?”
“Hopefully, satisfied guests will spread the word, and more opportunities will come your way.”
“That’s what I’m counting on,” Anna said, patting her pocket. “Jackson and Allie agreed to let me put out some business cards, so I brought plenty.”
They unloaded the car and hauled the boxes into the living room, which was strangely somber for an anniversary celebration. It was a small house with an open concept living room and dining room, so guests were mostly scattered about between those two rooms.
Todd looked at the quiet crowd and gave Anna a confused look.
She shrugged her shoulders.
“Excuse me, Uncle Chester,” Allie said, practically leaping up to greet Anna and Todd. “Boy, am I glad to see you,” she said softly. “This party is dull. Jackson was right. We should have had a separate gathering for our friends and family, but I thought it would be a good chance to bring everyone together. My family is bringing this party down big time.”
“Maybe the ice cream sundaes will liven things up,” Todd said.
“Allie, this is Todd Devonshire. He’s my assistant for the day,” Anna said.
“The guests are just finishing lunch, so we’ll be ready for you soon. You can start setting up now,” Allie said, looking over at Jackson, who was talking to an older woman and sending her a look that seemed to plead, ‘help me.’ Allie directed Anna to a long folding table covered by a plastic red and white checkered tablecloth. “You can set up here. I’d better go. Aunt Violet cornered Jackson ten minutes ago, and she hasn’t come up for air since.”
“Leave everything to us,” Anna said. “We’ll be ready for customers in no time.”
Allie turned to head toward Jackson, but the man whom she had addressed earlier as ‘Uncle Chester’ waved her over to where he was sitting. “Allie, please come over here and tell me where you ordered this food from. You should really ask for a refund. The chicken is dry, and the vegetables are soggy.”
Violet, the woman Jackson had been talking to, rushed to Chester’s side.
Allie rolled her eyes at Anna and Todd. “Uncle Chester is being his usual difficult self. If you need anything, let me know. And if you get thirsty, drinks are in the kitchen.”
“Good luck,” Anna mouthed.
“Put me to work,” Todd said. “What can I do?”
“How about if you unload the boxes from the car, and I’ll start setting up the table?”
“Works for me. You can be the brains of the operation, and I’ll be the brawn.”
Anna set glass serving bowls and decorative spoons onto the table and began filling them with colorful, sweet-smelling toppings. Then she went to the kitchen to warm up the hot fudge and caramel and sent Todd to the freezer in the basement for the tubs of ice cream she had brought the night before.
After she had transformed the folding table into a hot fudge sundae bar, Anna stepped back to admire the spread. It was a colorful smorgasbord of toppings, including hot fudge, caramel, syrupy strawberries, nuts, cherries, jimmies, multicolored sprinkles, chocolate chips, coconut flakes, crushed cookies, peanut butter cups, crushed Heath bars, whipped cream, and marshmallows.
“It looks delicious, if I do say so myself,” Anna said.
“I want to eat it all,” Todd said.
“How about if you scoop the chocolate, and I’ll scoop the vanilla? The guests can help themselves to the toppings.”
“Of course. That’s half the fun.”
Allie and Jackson invited their guests to the sundae bar, which seemed to inject a bit of energy into the previously lifeless crowd.
The couple stood next to Anna and Todd, greeting their guests as they approached the table.
Anna glanced at the front door and had to laugh. “What is Casper doing here?”
Allie rolled her eyes. “Someone let him in earlier, and I didn’t have the heart to throw him out. But I think he’s ready to leave, now that lunch is over. I’ll let him out.”
Chester was the first one at the hot fudge sundae bar, with Violet next to him.
“What a great idea, Allie!” Violet said, her eyes wide open as Anna handed her a bowl of vanilla ice cream.
She made her way through the bar, piling a little of everything into her bowl. “More scooping and less talking, Violet. You’re standing in front of the sprinkles,” Chester said.
“Give Aunt Violet a break,” a tall man wearing round eyeglasses and a tweed jacket said.
“That’s my cousin, Drake,” Allie whispered to Anna.
“Don’t worry,” Anna assured the guests. “We brought plenty of everything. Here, I’ll just make a second dish of sprinkles and put it on the other side of the table.”
“Don’t mind Uncle Chester,” Drake said under his breath. “He’s in quite the mood today.”
Jackson nodded. “We noticed.”
Drake leaned toward to the man standing next him. “Your brother is a piece of work, Dad.”
“Always has been, always will be,” the man said, glaring at his brother and not bothering to whisper.
“What’s that, Nicholas?” Chester asked.
“Nothing, Chester. I was talking to Drake.”
“Quiet, Uncle Nick,” Allie said, putting her finger to her lips. “If he hears you, you’ll put him in an even worse mood.”
Nick shook his head. “I’ll never understand why my brother insists on calling me Nicholas. I’ve gone by Nick since high school.”
“Probably because he knows you prefer Nick,” Drake said. “Uncle Chester’s grumpiness has been getting worse. I don’t know how Aunt Violet puts up with him.”
Nick looked thoughtfully at Chester and Violet. “She seems to have more patience with him now than ever before. I don’t know how she does it. Or why, for that matter.”
As the guests made their way through the line and began enjoying their sundaes, the mood of the party seemed to lift. Once they settled down with their ice creams, chatter filled the room.
Allie and Jackson noticed, too.
“It’s the magic of ice cream,” Anna said with a satisfied smile.
Before the last guest had gone through the line, Chester stood up, wearing a sour expression, and made a beeline to the sundae bar.
“Oh, great,” Allie said under her breath. “What now?”
“My hot fudge tastes funny,” Chester said, holding his face a few inches from Anna’s. Then he turned to face the others. “Does anyone else’s hot fudge taste strange?”
“Oh, quiet down,” a woman said. “First, you complained about the food, which was absolutely delicious, by the way. Now you’re complaining about the hot fudge.”
“Don’t tell me to be quiet, Dorothea. I’m telling you, the hot fudge doesn’t taste right. Don’t you pay for this, Jackson. Do you hear me?”
Anna took a clean plastic spoon and tasted the fudge from one of the glass bowls. It was perfect. “It tastes fine to me,” Anna said to Allie.
Todd did the same thing. “It’s wonderful. I can’t imagine what he’s complaining about.”
Anna offered Chester another sundae with a different topping. “We also have caramel and strawberries, if you’re not a fan of the fudge.”
“Maybe I will,” Chester said.
Anna gave him another scoop of vanilla, and this time he filled his dish with warm caramel and an array of toppings.
“Much better,” he said.
“Don’t mind Chester,” a woman wearing grey dress slacks and a navy cardigan said. “I’ve worked for that man for fifteen years, and he’s never satisfied with anything. The fudge is heavenly.”
Anna smiled. “Thank you.”
The woman grabbed one of Anna’s business cards. “My name is Eliza. I may be interested in having a sundae bar at my son’s graduation party in the spring.”
“Wonderful!” Anna said. “Call me anytime.”
After all the guests had been served and those who wanted seconds returned, Anna and Todd began emptying the toppings back into their jars and loading them into the plastic boxes they had brought.
“Todd brought the leftover ice cream to the freezer downstairs,” Anna said to Allie and Jackson. “I’ll leave that here for the two of you.”
“Awesome,” Jackson said. “Wait here, and I’ll get your check.”
Chester wandered back up to the now-empty table. “Uncle Chester, your skin looks yellow. Are you feeling okay?” Allie asked, taking the bowl of ice cream from his hands.
“I’m getting a headache. Maybe I ate too much.”
Allie put her hand on her uncle’s forehead. “Your skin feels cold and clammy.”
Chester leaned on the table. “I’m feeling a little lightheaded.”
Allie walked Chester back to the couch, while Anna and Todd piled the boxes by the door. As Jackson returned and handed Anna a white envelope, a scream came from the living room. Anna turned and saw Chester on the floor with Violet kneeling over him.
Everyone turned toward Chester, who was clutching his throat.
“Help!” Violet cried.
Anna called 9-1-1, and within a few minutes, the paramedics were rushing Chester onto a stretcher and into an ambulance. He began to convulse as they wheeled him into the vehicle.
“I don’t think this is what Allie and Jackson had in mind when they said they wanted to add some excitement to this party,” Todd whispered to Anna.
