Bayou Easter: Miss Fortune World: Bayou Cozy Romantic Thrills, #4

By Riley Blake

It's Easter Sunday in the Louisiana Bayou. The Sinful Ladies Society and God's Wives are well-prepared for the annual festivities until a friendly competition spins out of control.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J&R Fan Fiction
• Release date: Feb 21, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386453239

Book preview

About Bayou Easter

Bayou Easter is a new installment written for the Bayou Cozy Romantic Thrills, a series first published as part of the Miss Fortune Kindle Worlds program. This short story series is now part of the Miss Fortune World published by J&R Fan Fiction.

Bayou Easter features many of the original characters created by Jana DeLeon (Gertie, Ida Belle, Fortune, Carter, Walter, and more). This short story series is best followed by readers who have already read the first two novels in the original Miss Fortune series created and written by Jana DeLeon.

Chapter One

SOME WOMEN ARE MADE for Dorothy and Oz. I frowned. But not me.

I’m surprised you’ve heard of either. Ida Belle gave me a curious look and shrugged.

Gertie used my shoulders and gave me a spin. "Hef had his own version of bunnies, but here in the bayou we have special wabbits." She smiled. You look lovely, dear. Ida Belle, what do you think?

Ida Belle scoffed. Lose the ears, Fortune.

What? I flattened my hands against my head. What’s wrong with my ears?

Not your real ones. Go like this. Ida Belle moved her head from one side to another.

I mimicked her motions and immediately realized I was top-heavy. I immediately dragged the headband from my hair and turned to the culprit. Bunny ears? Really, Gertie? What happened to the one that matched my dress?

You weren’t paying attention and I switched them.

Ida Belle said, You should’ve waited, Hebert. Today is dress rehearsal. Tomorrow, she’ll see you coming.

I’m willing to downgrade, Gertie said, slapping the bright yellow headband on the kitchen counter. But floppy ears are more appropriate. They’re festive.

If she wanted to fit in with the kids, maybe, said Ida Belle. Her job is to supervise the children.

My friend Ally and I had been recruited by Francine to help oversee the annual egg hunt event, but the kids were the least of our worries. Our jobs were to make sure the event didn’t turn into a battle between the Sinful Ladies Society and God’s Wives.

Speaking of children, let’s remember why I’m mediating this event in the first place.

Don’t look at me, Gertie said. When push comes to shove, I can get along with Celia.

As long as you’re pushing her over a cliff, maybe. Ida Belle removed a knife from her pocket and sliced off an apple piece. The timing seemed intentional.

These two were big on theatrics. And I loved it.

My skills are typically more in line with egg fights, not hunts.

Gertie’s spirits lifted. Good, because tomorrow may end in an egg battle. Ida Belle and Celia seldom fail to disappoint.

One can hope, Ida Belle said, sounding bored.

When I first moved to Sinful, I didn’t realize that my skill set would be used for managing children—or adults—in personal warfare.

And here we thought you were a trained CIA assassin who loved to show off in combat. Ida Belle finished off her apple slice.

Combat, maybe. Daily life is another beast.

And you’re excelling in it, by the way, Gertie teased.

Since Ida Belle and Gertie were former covert operatives, it probably wasn’t necessary to mention that my talent often relied upon ideal conditions, one of which included being dressed for physical struggles. Wearing a backless dress with a built-in bra and made-to-twirl flare wasn’t exactly my version of casual wear.

The dress suits, Ida Belle said.

Thanks. With any luck, maybe I can lead someone straight down a rabbit hole.  

Gertie clapped. Exactly.

So I can trap and kill them. I dumped some jelly beans in a dish and popped one in my mouth.

Ida Belle snorted a laugh.

I was talking about Carter, Gertie said.

I wasn’t. I yawned and sighed. I need a nap.

There isn’t time. Gertie fluffed the back of her cotton-colored hair. We have a busy night ahead.

Why am I not surprised? Since my arrival in Louisiana, I’d missed more sleep than when I was holed up in the Middle East. I was beginning to think CIA Director Morrow had ulterior motives when he sent me to Sinful, motives which undoubtedly included working on my patience under duress.

Hiding in the bayou wasn’t as easy as I’d expected. When Director Morrow first sold the idea of assuming his niece’s identity, he talked about a slower pace and an all-American city. Sinful looked like a quaint town modeled after a perfect movie set, but the slower pace was nonexistent.

Gertie and Ida Belle already had ‘Easter in their heels’ which meant the Sinful Ladies Society probably had big plans for a catastrophic finale after the holiday festivities ended.

Since I wasn’t a member of the faction, it didn’t seem right to ask for details. Besides, Ally and I had