Sinful Moves (Book 5): Miss Fortune World: The Cappuccino Posse, #5

By J.K. Hage

Join Pepper, Gertie, Ida Belle, and Fortune for another explosive adventure...

When a country music superstar and his band find themselves with a broken-down tour bus in Sinful, Louisiana, the entire town turns out to make their stay as comfortable as possible.

But when the tour bus explodes and one of the group members is missing, people start pointing fingers and Sinful's gossip mill goes into overdrive.

With everyone keeping secrets and danger too close for comfort, Pepper and the Posse pull out all the stops to discover the truth before further disaster strikes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J&R Fan Fiction
• Release date: Aug 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386860242

J.K. Hage

J.K. Hage believes the world is a better place when you take the time to enjoy humor, coffee, and plenty of chocolate. Bitten by the writing bug in elementary school, Julie spent much of the eighties filling notebooks with romantic ramblings and story ideas before joining the “real world” of college, marriage, children, and working to pay the bills. But she never lost the desire to tell stories. Many years later, thanks to an inspirational friend, she took the plunge and began writing fiction for a wider audience.   If you were to visit Julie at home, you would probably find her writing a new story or blogging on her laptop while sipping a tall mug of sweet and creamy iced coffee. In her spare time, she loves reading or binge-watching her favorite television series with an orange tabby cat on her lap and the world’s laziest Jack Russell terrier snuggled in next to her.

Book preview

Copyright © 2018 by J.K. Hage

(First published under the same title in January 2018.)

This is a work of fiction, and the views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author. Likewise, certain characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

This story is based on a series created by Jana DeLeon. The author of this story has the contractual rights to create stories using the Miss Fortune world. Any unauthorized use of the Miss Fortune world for story creation is a violation of copyright law.

Sinful Moves can be read at any time during the Miss Fortune timeline, but it was written to take place after the first Miss Fortune book, Louisiana Longshot. Any variances in characters, timelines, or relationships after that point in the Miss Fortune series have not been incorporated into this spinoff series.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author and the publisher, J&R Fan Fiction, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Chapter 1

PEPPER AND FRANCINE heard the church bells ring, looked at each other, nodded, and braced themselves for the onslaught of Sinful residents. The weekly banana pudding race between the Catholics and Baptists to Francine’s Café was always tight, but the Baptists’s newest member Fortune Morrow gave them an edge. She was young, fast, and had a serious issue with Celia Arceneaux, the Catholic’s lead racer even though she was nearly as old as time. A while back Celia had accused Fortune of murdering her daughter Pansy. Although Fortune had nothing to do with the murder, things had been brutal between Fortune and Celia for a while, and neither tried to hide it. Pepper found Celia to be an extremely disagreeable person, and she secretly rooted for Fortune to win the banana pudding race every Sunday.

Pepper and Francine waited, but nobody came. Several moments passed.

Huh, Pepper said. Her earth-shattering observation fell on deaf ears, as Francine was already making her way toward the front of the café to find out what was going on. Pepper grabbed her tall mug of iced coffee before following. If there was a show happening somewhere, she wanted to be prepared.

When Francine and Pepper stepped through the front door, they didn’t see anything amiss at first. In fact, they didn’t see anything at all. No people.

Do you think the aliens came and took them after church? Francine whispered.

Or maybe the rapture. Since, you know, it’s Sunday and all, Pepper replied.

As they stood quietly, their ears finally picked up the sounds of people talking. After another couple of minutes, a crowd of Sinful residents came around a street corner and into view. They were all talking at once. Celia and Pepper’s friend Gertie were each holding the arm of an extremely handsome man.

Have the Chippendale dancers come to town? Pepper joked, I almost expect them to start tucking dollar bills into the waistband of his jeans.

Francine gasped, clearly not listening to Pepper. Oh lordy, that’s Owen Bryce! What’s a famous country singer doing walking down the streets of Sinful? Oh hell, who cares? I love his music, plus the man is H-O-T hot! Before Pepper could say anything, Francine took off to meet the crowd and find out what was going on. 

Pepper took a closer look at the man Francine had called Owen Bryce. He appeared to be about Pepper’s age of forty, tall—she figured at least a 36" inseam on those perfectly-fitting jeans—with wide shoulders and powerful-looking arms. He was tan, wearing an unbuttoned plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up over a tight t-shirt, rough cowboy boots, and a slightly tattered baseball cap. His rugged face was chiseled and clean-shaven. His hair appeared to be close-cut under his hat. Pepper’s snark kicked in when she thought he had to be hiding some baldness. When the group got closer, she finally noticed his eyes. They were a soul-melting brown, eyes you could fall into and drown without complaint. The whole package was put together seamlessly, with Owen looking like a down-home good ol’ boy who had just come into town for dinner after a hard day of working on the farm.

Pepper loved music and would listen to just about anything. But, to be honest, country music wasn’t her first choice—although she would deny that vehemently should any Sinful resident corner her on the matter. She had never heard of this Owen Bryce. But judging from the star-struck look on the face of every person in the group, Owen was a big deal around here. A very big deal.

Chugging her iced coffee, Pepper ran back into the café. It was time for some fast googling before the crowd descended. She was trying so hard to fit in here, she’d better at least find out who this guy was and why everyone loved him so much. Pepper grabbed her phone and started searching. Between Google and YouTube, she started to get an idea. The man’s voice was like honey, and he had moves on stage that were drool-worthy. Plus, he sang a few songs about trucks and fast cars, which also covered what the men around here seemed to love.

By the time Owen and the entourage entered the café, Pepper had an idea of what she was dealing with. She watched with amusement as the gray-haired ladies Celia and Gertie sat down with Owen while glaring daggers at each other. Trying not to laugh, Pepper made her way through the crowd and over to the table. Good afternoon. What can I get for you today?

Owen looked at Pepper with a smile, and she thought once again that a woman could happily drown in those eyes. Well howdy, ma’am. How are you doin’ on this fine Sunday?

Pepper couldn’t help but picture Joey from the television series Friends saying, "How you doin’? She managed to keep a straight face and smiled politely, replying with a simple, Just fine. How ‘bout you?"

Well, I would be happier ‘n a pig in poop to be in this little ol’ town if’n my tour bus hadn’t’a picked this place to break down. Now normally, I would love to spend some time here—small towns bein’ my jam and all—but I’m sorta behind schedule. S’posed to be in Houston for a show tomorrow night. Pepper couldn’t decide if he was laying the southern drawl on extra-thick because so many people were around, or if he really talked like that all the time.

Oh, that’s a bummer. But I’m sure our local mechanic will be able to get you fixed up and on your way in no time!

Gertie and Celia were both shaking their heads vigorously. Gertie explained, Pepper, you know it’s illegal to work on Sunday in Sinful. She turned toward Owen. The exception of course being Francine’s here. The Sunday banana pudding is better’n anything your mama ever made. Gertie turned back to Pepper. Please bring pudding for Owen and myself. It will be my treat. She beamed at Owen. Maybe she thought they were on a date?

Celia’s face was even more pinched than usual. Don’t forget my serving, young lady, she said with a snip in her voice.

Pepper just smiled and nodded. She wondered if Celia even knew her name. Oh, well. It was probably best to stay off that crazy woman’s radar. She wasn’t going to rock the boat. As she turned to head back toward the kitchen, she heard something like an explosion in the distance and felt movement under her feet.

Chapter 2

PEPPER LOOKED OVER her shoulder at Gertie. That wasn’t your latest batch of Sinful Ladies cough syrup, was it?

Gertie shook her head firmly. I don’t brew medicine at home. You should know that by now!

Celia sniffed in disapproval, although Pepper knew for a fact she purchased a bottle every week from Walter’s General Store.

The entire crowd moved toward the front windows of the café. Ida Belle got there first, and with one raised eyebrow gave the command to stay. They obeyed like well-trained dogs.

Ida Belle stepped out onto the sidewalk and looked in the direction of the sound. When she came back in, she broke the news, Well, Mr. Bryce, I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere on that tour bus ever again. From what I can see, pieces of it are probably scattered from here to the next parish.

Owen leaped