End of the Lane Read online

Abby could not believe her ex had lodged a complaint about her slashing his favorite suit.

  “I’m sure there’s a story in there,” Joshua said.

  Abby folded the piece of paper and, smiling at Faith, said, “I’ll tell you all about it tonight.”

  The door opened again and Sebastian Cavendish strode in. “I see someone beat me to it. I came to take you both out for morning coffee.” He handed Abby an envelope.

  Her marching orders?

  He smiled and said, “I figured you needed a new contract.”

  * * * * *

  I hoped you enjoyed End of the Lane!

  Abby Maguire and Doyle will be back with book 2 - Be Still My Heart!

  If you enjoyed reading this book, follow me on BookBub and never miss out on news about my next book!

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  Be Still My Heart

  A Dear Abby Cozy Mystery

  Book 2

  Chapter One

  “Are you mad? If you print this, the whole town will rise up against you and then I’ll have to write your obituary. Abby Maguire, who would have guessed you’d turn out to be such a killjoy?”

  Abby waved at a passer-by and then looked at Faith. The young office assistant sat at her desk scowling.

  “You haven’t listened to a word I’ve said,” Faith complained.

  Abby swung her feet off the desk and sat up. “I have been listening and every word in that article I wrote is true. The world is running out of cocoa beans putting the production of chocolate at risk. I’m merely reporting a scientific fact.”

  Faith gave a slow shake of her head. Tapping her computer screen, she said, “This is irresponsible reporting. I’m afraid I’ll have to put my foot down. I know I’m only the office assistant here, but I have a say in what is included in the weekly paper.”

  “Faith, you play a pivotal role in the Eden Rise Gazette and I wouldn’t be able to do my job without your valuable assistance, but the story will go ahead.” Abby tried to keep a straight face. “People need to know.”

  Faith looked around the office. When her gaze landed on the storefront window, she grimaced. “People will throw stones through the window. I can picture the mob, armed with pitchforks and crying for your blood.”

  “Nonsense. You underestimate the average person’s desire to be kept informed.”

  Faith pursed her lips. “The writing is atrocious.”

  “What?” Abby leaned forward and looked at her computer screen. “The delicate cacao plant is under threat as rising temperatures are sucking moisture from the soils where the trees grow.” She looked up. “What’s wrong with that?”

  “It’s morbid.” Faith threw her hands up in the air. “Experts believe the cacao plant will be impossible to grow after the year 2050. That’s within my lifetime. How could you?”

  “I’m sure we’ll all find a substitute for chocolate. Did you know there’s a fruit that tastes like chocolate?” Abby did a quick search online. “The Black Sapote, otherwise known as the chocolate pudding fruit. It grows in Florida, the Philippines and there’s an Australian variety called Bernicker. See, all’s well. In fact, it’s even better than that because you get to eat healthy chocolate.”

  “Are you quite finished?”

  “You feel really strongly about this.” Abby cocked her head in amusement. “I read the article to Doyle last night and he seemed to like it.”

  “Doyle? He’s a dog and he doesn’t eat chocolate. What would he know?” Faith wagged her finger at Abby. “The ink on your contract with Sebastian Cavendish is not dry yet. I’m sure there’s a cooling off period and once he hears of this—”

  Abby laughed. “You think this is grounds for dismissal?”

  “Fine. Run the article, but don’t blame me when you’re run out of town. We’ve taken you in, we’ve accepted you and treated you as one of our own and this is the thanks we get. You’re asking for trouble, Abby Maguire.” Faith huffed out a breath and got busy working on the layout for the next edition of the Eden Rise Gazette.

  “Coffee?” Abby offered. “I’m headed down to Joyce’s Café.”

  “Throw in some cake and I might decide to forgive you. Oh, and hurry back. We still need to put the finishing touches to the annual picnic announcement. The posters are going up tomorrow but I think it’ll be a great idea if we run it first.”

  The timing could not have been better, Abby thought. The town was still recovering from its recent loss of one of its most prominent members. The owner of the Gazette, Dermot Cavendish, had been greatly admired by everyone. Instead of fading, his memory was kept alive. Not a day went by when she didn’t hear his name weaving into a conversation.

  Grabbing Doyle’s harness, she strode out of the newspaper office only to stop and say, “I suppose this isn’t the best time to let you know I’ll be doing a follow up article about the possible extinction of bees…”

  Growling, Faith muttered something about fire and brimstone raining upon her…

  * * * * *

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  Lamingtons

  Ingredients

  3 eggs

  ½ cup butter

  ½ cup sugar

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1 cup self-raising flour

  ½ milk

  Beat the eggs well, gradually adding the sugar until dissolved. Add the milk and vanilla extract and then stir in the self-raising flour and whip the butter into the mixture. Pour the mixture into a cake tin or lamington baking dish and bake in a moderate oven of 180 degrees Celsius/350F for 35 minutes. Allow the cake to cool for at least 10 minutes and then stand for 24 hours preferably in the refrigerator, before applying the icing.

  Chocolate Icing

  4 cups icing sugar

  1/3 cup cocoa

  2 tablespoons butter

  ½ cup milk

  4 tablespoons boiling water

  3 cups desiccated coconut

  Stir the cocoa and icing sugar vigorously in a large bowl, adding the milk, butter and boiling water, warming the chocolate mixture over a very low heat until it has a smooth creamy texture. Cut the sponge cake into equal squares about 4cm x 5cm / 1.5 x 1.5 inches and, using a fork or thin skewer, dip each piece into the chocolate mixture ensuring that the mixture is liberally and evenly applied. Dip each piece into the desiccated coconut, allowing the lamingtons to cool on a wire tray for several hours.

  Enjoy!

  Books by Sonia Parin

  A Dear Abby Cozy Mystery series

  End of the Lane

  Be Still My Heart

  The Last Ride

  A Deadline Cozy Mystery series

  Sunny Side Up

  Snuffed Out

  All Tied Up

  The Last Bite

  Final Cut

  Sleeping With the Fishes

  A Kink in the Road

  The Merry Widow

  A Mackenzie Coven Mystery series

  Witch Inheritance

  Witch Indeed

  Witch Cast

  Witch Charm

  Witch Trials

  A Mackenzie Witch Collection: Witch Namaste, Good Witch Hunting & ‘Tis the Season to be Creepy

  Witch in Exile

  Witch Namaste (Novella)

  Good Witch Hunting (Novella)

  ‘Tis the Season to be Creepy (Short)

 

 

 
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