“Shelby Hart, as beautiful as ever.”
I straightened from planting the last poinsettia in a sea of red to face my ex. “Well, if isn’t Donald Trayer.” I lifted my chin. I wouldn’t smile or shake his hand. Not after he’d ditched me at the altar months ago. Several Shady Acres residents watched, curiosity etched on their faces. It wasn’t often a man other than my new love, Heath McLeroy, spoke with me. Unless it was a police officer, that is.
“How are you?” He tilted his head.
“Peachy. You?” What was he doing here?
“Well, I’m getting married.” He grinned.
“To the woman you left me for?” What, he wanted a congratulations?
“No, that didn’t work out. My bride-to-be is Sasha Woodrow.”
I raised my eyebrows. Donald did get around. My best friend Cheryl Leroix kept me abreast of things that went on at the elementary school where I used to work. “What do you want? I’m busy.”
“Well,” he took a deep breath. “I, uh, can I have back the jewelry I gave you?”
At least he had the decency to look ashamed.
“I sold it at a yard sale.”
“What?” He jerked, his face as red as the Christmas plants behind me. “Do you know how much they were worth?” He ran his hands through his hair. “I can’t believe even you could be that stupid!”
“They weren’t worth anything to me, and you had given them to me as gifts. That meant I could do with them as I pleased.” I eyed the three pronged garden tool in my wheelbarrow. If he got aggressive…
“I ought to ring your…” he growled and turned away. “Of all the idiotic, hare-brained—”
Wow. His ditching me at the altar turned out to be the best thing that could have happened. I wouldn’t have liked spending the rest of my life with such a sharp-tempered man.
He whirled back to face me. “You’re lying. No one would have sold jewelry as expensive as what I gave you at a yard sale. This isn’t over, Shelby.”
“Drop dead.” I planted my gloved hands on my hips. “Whatever we had is over and done with. I’ve moved on and you’re doing the same.”
He glared, then stormed away.
Someone must have alerted Heath because he rushed toward us. “Is everything all right?” He put a hand on my shoulder and glanced to where Donald had stormed away.
“It’s wonderful.” I smiled and waved a hand toward the onlookers. “I’m closing a chapter of my life for good. All you looky-loos can go away now. The show is over.”
The crowd dispersed.
“My ex is getting remarried and wanted some of the things he’d given me back. I told him I sold them.”
“I remember. He had given you a lot of jewelry.” Pain clouded his eyes. “I’ll never be able to give you that, Shelby.”
“Maybe not, but you love me and only me. I won’t have to share you with other women. That is far more precious.” I caressed his cheek. “Want to help me put these tools away and string Christmas lights?”
“I’d love to.” The pain faded, to be replaced by a twinkle. “Obviously you plan on hanging them everywhere.”
“Obviously. You can’t have too many lights at Christmas.”
Heath grabbed the handles of the wheelbarrow and led the way to the far corner of the community to where my garden shed and greenhouse were. “Where did you get all the poinsettia’s? I’ve never seen so many in one place.”
“I ordered them. Alice gave me a Christmas decorating budget. I spent it all on flowers and lights.” I grinned and unlocked the shed door.
Once we stepped inside, Heath released the wheelbarrow and pulled me into a hug. “Want me to kiss you hard enough to make you forget that jerk of an ex?”
I wrapped my arms around his neck. “That would be wonderful.”
He lowered his head and engulfed all my senses until someone cleared their throat. I lifted my head.
Donald stood in the doorway. “I forgot to give you this.” He handed me a box containing a watch and money clip I’d given him. “Some of us keep the gifts.”
“They’re yours. I don’t want them.” I stepped away from Heath. A rustling sound drew my attention to the window where purple-haired Birdie ducked out of sight. Nosy woman. “I asked you to go away. There should be no reason for us to ever have to see or speak to each other again.” The pain of betrayal and humiliation washed over me as it had on what would have been our wedding day.
“You heard her.” Heath motioned toward the door.
Donald shook his head, grabbed the box he had given me out of my hands, and muttered something about crazy women as he marched away.
I sagged against a work bench. Why did he still affect me so? Because I thought I’d loved him. I’d given him my heart only to have it trampled on. I glanced up at Heath. Now, I had a wonderful man and I was afraid to give him the same commitment.
“Come on.” He held out his hand with a smile. “Let’s go string lights and turn this place as bright at night as it is during the day.”
I slipped my hand in his and let him lead me to the storage shed where boxes and boxes of lights waited. I clapped my hands and ripped into the first one. “I hope we have enough.”
“Sweetheart, you have more than enough.” He shook his head. “You can cover every bush along the walkways.”
“Don’t forget the pool area. I wanted to decorate the maze, too, but I ran out of money.”
“My back will be very grateful.” He loaded a box onto a wheeled cart. “Alice gave me a list of repairs, but they won’t take long.”
“Thank you for helping me.”
He winked. “I’d rather do this than fix toilets and leaky faucets.”
By the time all the lights were strung, I lost count of how many strands, I barely had time to take a shower before the supper bell rang. I met up with Mom and Grandma on the way to the dining hall and flipped the switch near the door that would turn on the timer for the lights to come on at dusk.
“I heard Donald came by,” Grandma said as we entered the hall. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. He wanted his gifts back.”
“I’m not giving back the necklace I bought.” She narrowed her eyes.
“There’s no need to. He knows they’re gone.” I headed for the buffet and filled my plate with a large salad, fried chicken, and fried potatoes. I needed the sustenance after the day I’d had. Plate full I joined Heath at our usual table.
It had once been designated the employee table, but my family and friends took it over as our place to sit. The other employees sat wherever they could find an empty seat. Except for Alice Johnson, the manager. She’d integrated herself into our group.
She now approached the table, clomping on high heels she couldn’t gracefully walk in, and plopped next to me. “Shelby, this community has had enough drama. Please take care of past business off campus.”
“He wasn’t invited.” I drizzled ranch dressing over my salad. “I don’t think he’ll be back.”
“See that he isn’t. The complex is at full capacity, for once. No more deaths, thefts, or exes, please.” She straightened. “Much more of that and we’ll get a bad reputation.”
“Pish posh,” Grandma said, waving her glass of wine. “It’ll draw people. We’ll be known as the community of excitement.”
“I’m with Alice.” Ted, Grandma’s boyfriend and a retired cop, sat down. “The trouble Shelby gets into is enough to make me gray haired.”
“Darling.” Grandma ran her finger through his thick hair. “You already are.”
“See what she does?” He grinned.
Mom patted my hand in a gesture of goodwill. “You do tend to put everyone on edge, dear.”
I sighed and concentrated on my food. After the last fiasco where someone was poisoning people with deadly plants from my garden, I swore off solving crime. Every time, either myself or someone I cared about came within an inch of losing their life. It wasn’t that I went looking for murder and mayhem. But rather that it followed me like a homeless person to a free buffet.
Heath leaned close. “Don’t listen to them.”
“You agree.”
“True, but I also want you to be happy.”
Sweet Heath. I planted a kiss on his cheek. “Let’s get through Christmas without someone dying and I’ll be happy.”
Seth Willis, police officer and beau of my best friend, marched to our table. “Shelby, come with me, please.”
“Why? I’m eating.” Seriously, the man was becoming a thorn in my side. While we were tip-toeing around friendship, he still thought me little more than a troublemaker.
“I don’t want to make a scene.”
“Fine.” I stood, as did the rest of the table. It wasn’t as if he could make an announcement for me to follow him and not have them curious.
Seth led us to a far corner near the fountain.
Birdie perched on a concrete bench, jumping to her feet when we came near. “The body is over there.” She glared at me.
A body? My heart sank to my knees.
Heath grasped my hand.
Taking my strength from him, I stepped forward. A man’s legs stuck out from crushed poinsettia plants. I took a deep breath and followed the legs up to the face. Donald! A string of Christmas lights were wrapped around his neck. My legs gave way and I crumpled to the ground.
Heath knelt and wrapped his arms around me.
Seth stood over us. “Do you know this man?”
“My ex-fiance.” I forced the words from a throat clogged with tears.
“You were seen arguing with him earlier and quoted as saying ‘drop dead’. Is this true?”
I nodded.
“You can’t possibly think Shelby killed him,” Heath said, his voice cold. “Don’t you know her well enough by now.”
“I’m taking you both in for questioning. Don’t move.”
“You didn’t know him.” I glanced at Heath’s face, illuminated by multi-colored Christmas lights and looking anything but festive.
“Do something Teddy!” Grandma clutched his arm.
“There isn’t anything I can do. She isn’t under arrest, right Seth?”
“Just a person of interest.”
This couldn’t be happening. Yes, I was angry at Donald. I’d said some hateful words. But, I would never kill anyone. A sense of de ja vu washed over me. The very first murder of a resident, Maybelle, had resulted in Heath and I being suspects.
I pushed to my feet and faced Seth. “You know I’m not capable of murder.” I cut a sharp glance at Birdie. “I thought we were friends. I caught Maybelle’s killer.”
She lowered her head. “I only said what I saw and heard.”
“Right. That I wanted someone dead.”
“Did you say it?” Seth asked.
“Yes, but I didn’t mean it literally.”
“Do I need to cuff you and Heath or will you come peaceably?”
I sighed and headed for the parking lot.