The Boisterous Bridesmaids: Spruce Grove Cozy Mysteries, #2

By B. Allison Miller

Everyone loves a spring wedding until the guests start dropping dead.

Blogger/barista Charlotte O'Hara is looking forward to her brother Danny's wedding—especially since charming Officer Brian Gold is her plus one. But when the couple finds a dead wedding guest on the property of Charlotte's not-so-secret admirer, David Moore, suspicion falls on David, destroying Charlotte and Brian's romantic aspirations. To add to Charlotte's frustration, she's been tasked with looking after three boisterous bridesmaids, and they are proving to be more of a hassle than Charlotte bargained for. Can a blogger/barista find enough evidence to exonerate her friend without ruining her relationship with her police-officer-boyfriend? Find out when Charlotte O'Hara serves up a hot cup of chaos in this second installment of the Spruce Grove Cozy Mysteries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: B. Allison Miller
• Release date: Dec 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393072539

B. Allison Miller

B. Allison Miller is the author of the cozy mystery series “Spruce Grove Cozy Mysteries,” featuring witty amateur sleuth, Charlotte O’Hara, a blogger/barista who lives in a guest cottage on her parents’ Christmas tree farm. Meet Charlotte and her friends in ‘5 Days ‘til Christmas,’ the first book in the in the Spruce Grove Cozy Mystery series. While the books follow a chronological path, each book may also be read as a standalone story. Allison lives in scenic Colorado. When she isn’t plotting a murder, Allison can be found hiking, playing with her dogs, or experimenting with recipes in her cozy kitchen.

Book preview

Chapter 1

I can’t believe you aren’t taking today off from work, Char! exclaimed my best friend and boss, Cassie Binder. You know Joe and I would be okay if you wanted to help your family finish with the wedding preparations.

Cassie and I were standing behind the counter of Magic Beans—the homey little coffee shop that Cassie and her husband Joe own in Spruce Grove’s town center.

No way! I had to get out of there for a few hours, I protested. You think bridezillas are bad? You should see the momzillas! I knew my mom was crazy, but I had no idea Kristin’s mom was crazy too. Kristin is so sweet and normal!

At Christmas, my younger brother Danny, who was completing graduate studies in Iceland, brought home a big Christmas surprise—a five-foot-eleven-inch, blond-haired, blue-eyed woman named Kristin, and announced they were getting married in Spruce Grove at my family’s Christmas tree farm this spring. My mom, Patty O’Hara, was like a five-foot-two-inch category-four hurricane ever since—taking out everything that got in the way of her wedding preparations. You’d think it was her wedding she was planning—not my brother’s.

I hate to say it, but I think Kristin might be the most normal person in her family, confessed Cassie. Have you met her uncle yet?

You mean the one who lives in New Jersey? His name is Aron. I believe he’s Kristin’s mother’s brother, I nodded, as I prepared a latte, Aron is a strange guy, and not very friendly.

I’ll say! Yesterday, he came into Magic Beans and ordered hot water. I asked if he would like a tea, and he said ‘no’, and took a to-go cup of boiling water, and sat by the window for over an hour. I didn’t say anything since he’s a guest of your family, but paying customers could have used that table with the view.

I noticed that too. I asked Danny about it, and he said that Aron makes his homemade herbal tea blend from rare herbs he imports from all over the world. Aron won’t drink anything but his homemade tea—and water, I imagine.

Well, you know I appreciate a good cup of tea too, but I didn’t like Aron’s attitude, my friend admitted.

You’re not alone, Cassie. Kristin said the only reason she invited her uncle to the wedding is that her mom wants to mend fences while they are here in America. There was a big falling-out between Kristin’s dad, Jon, and Aron several years ago. They were all supposed to go into business together, and they had a huge disagreement. Aron moved to the states, and Jon and Briet, Kristin’s mom, stayed in Iceland. I thought it was going to be okay though, because the whole wedding party met up with Aron at the airport, and he drove them here in his car. I guess I was wrong, and there were still some bad feelings.

That could be awkward, said Cassie, as she began filling sugar dispensers, having a bunch of people who don’t get along crammed together under one roof for a long weekend.

The bridesmaids—including me—are all staying in my cottage, and most of the other out-of-town guests are staying at the EZ Sleep Motel on the edge of town. Jon and Briet are staying in my old bedroom, and Danny is staying in his old room. Uncle Aron, on the other hand, decided he wanted to ‘rough it.’ He’s camping out on a clearing on David Moore’s property. My friend David is building a house in the woods, and when he learned that Aron wanted to camp out during the wedding, David graciously offered a spot on his property for Aron’s campsite.

Camping out? As in ‘sleeping in a tent with no running water or electricity’? That is odd, said Cassie.

From what Kristin told me, her uncle lives in a cabin in the woods which isn’t much more modern than the tent, I replied as I set a large latte on the counter, and called out, David, your latte is ready.

David Moore looked up from his laptop computer and smiled at me as he got up from his regular table by the front window of Magic Beans, and came to the counter for his drink. I couldn’t quite get over how different David looked now that he’d shaved off the large mustache that he had when we first met. Without the mustache, David looked younger, and more handsome, in my opinion.

I still can’t believe you aren’t taking the day off, Char, said David when he reached the counter—echoing Cassie.

David Moore moved to Spruce Grove just before Christmas. He is Spruce Grove’s most eligible single person/millionaire after selling off his technology company earlier last year. David and I became good friends despite my wrongly accusing him of the murder of a prominent real estate agent five days before Christmas. David is a great guy though, and he’s let me off the hook since then. He is also Magic Beans’ most loyal customer and visits the shop daily for a latte. Cassie contends that David visits the shop so often so that he can see me. No one would drive to Spruce Grove’s town center for one of your lattes, Char, she told me. I’m not a very good barista.

Honestly David, I was just telling Cassie, I had to get out of that crazy house! Mom is like a drill sergeant with all her wedding plans, and Kristin’s mom is no better. I feel bad for Kristin, but not bad enough to stick around and see what will happen next.

David chuckled, Your mom does seem a bit more crazed than usual. I was over helping your dad string a sound system in the barn where the wedding reception will take place, and your mom was running around giving your dad orders.

You are really sweet to be putting up with them David. They’ll both turn you crazy if you spend too much time with them, I replied. Cassie, since David met my dad, he’s helped him set up the new Smart TV, connected Wi-fi networks, and he’s even taught my parents how to do internet chats with my brother and Kristin since they are living in Iceland. David is a saint.

Your parents are great, Char, and anyway, your mom has me stay for dinner, and always sends me home with leftovers. I think I’ve gained at least five pounds this month, replied David patting his flat stomach.

She is a good cook. I think she feels bad for you since you are living in the basement of the house you’re building. She has a strong maternal instinct.

My current living arrangements are only for while longer. The house will be finished in a few months, and I’ll be able to live upstairs soon. Living in the basement isn’t so bad—it has plumbing and electricity and an internet connection, said David with a smile. I don’t need much more than that.

But it is in the middle of the woods, said Cassie. I don’t think I’d be able to sleep out there, underground, all alone.

It isn’t bad at all. Once it’s all finished, I’ll have you all out to see it. I’ll throw a housewarming party.

I’ve seen the house plans, Cassie. It will be amazing—a real show home! It’s going to have a second story wrap-around deck so you can see the entire property. David, you’ll have to do an open house for the Spruce Grove Christmas Show of Homes this winter. Spruce Grove may be a small town, but we Grovers take our Christmas celebrations very seriously. I’m a volunteer with the annual Christmas committee, and I knew that having David’s house for the Show of Homes would be a wonderful addition to our regular lineup.

Your house does sound amazing, David. Joe and I drove by your building site about a week ago. It looks like the house will be huge. Won’t it be lonely living there all by yourself? asked Cassie.

I raised my eyebrows at Cassie in disbelief. We both knew that David is a widower, and we never broached the subject of his being alone for fear of hurting his feelings. David hasn’t said much about his late wife—we just knew that she died of cancer the year before David moved to Spruce Grove.

I kind of enjoy the solitude. I guess I’m so busy building and creating, that I don’t have time to get lonely. And if I do, I can always drive to town and visit my two favorite baristas, said David with a wink.

You’re not exactly alone at the moment, I interjected. How’s it going with Kristin’s Uncle Aron on your property? I asked with concern. I certainly hoped that the grumpy uncle wouldn’t put any strains on my friendship with David.

Honestly, I barely know he’s there now. The only time I notice Aron is when he drives that giant car of his up my driveway, oh and the other evening when he lit a fire to heat water for his tea. I had to ask him to be careful about building a fire so close to the trees, replied David.

Oh no! I exclaimed, cringing, I hope Aron’s not causing any damage to your property, David. If he is, you can send him back to my parents’ house. We’ll find a place for him. You’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty for us already, I said.

I think we’ve come to an understanding. I don’t think Aron will cause any more trouble, replied David without a beat or further explanation.

Anyway, I know you have work to do, and I need to put together some lesson plans for the technology Bootcamp I’m teaching next month. I’ll see you both at Danny and Kristin’s wedding tomorrow. David gave a smile and headed back to his table.

I waited until David was back at his table, and turned to Cassie, I wonder what David meant when he said he and Aron have come to an understanding. You don’t think they got into a fight, do you?

David getting into a fight? That would be hard for me to believe, he’s a laidback guy. I doubt even a looney like Aron could cause David to get into a fight. Cassie paused, and then spoke again, I hope I didn’t hurt David’s feelings by saying he’s all alone in his house. I didn’t mean anything by it.

Probably not. One thing I’ve learned about David is that he has a pretty thick skin. He forgave me for thinking he was a murderer, after all.

True, but he also has a crush on you, so he probably can’t stay mad at you too long, my friend said.

I know, and it doesn’t help that my parents keep inviting him over to the house. I don’t want to get David’s hopes up. I like David a lot, he’s a great guy, but Brian and I are going out now.

Brian Gold was my boyfriend—sort of. We hadn’t made it official—we weren’t going around telling everyone we were dating, and we hadn’t changed our social media statuses to ‘in a relationship’ or anything. The truth is, I had a crush on Brian ever since we were in high school, and I thought he felt the same. The problem was, our timing was just awful. Every time I thought we were finally going to get together something popped up to keep us apart. It didn’t help that Brian is a police officer with Spruce Grove’s police department, and he works long hours. Brian and I started dating after Christmas, and I thought things were going well, but Brian began studying for a promotion while working full-time, and we had even less time together than before. I decided that was going to change though because Brian was escorting me to my brother Danny’s wedding the next day. What better way was there to let the world know you were in a relationship than showing up for a wedding together?

What does Max think about being the flower girl for the wedding? I asked Cassie, while we were filling coffee, tea, and food orders for the customers as they wandered in.

She is so excited! I know she’s nearly seven, and she might be a little old to be a flower girl, but she’s never been one before. Every night she has me style her hair in a different way to see what she wants to do for the wedding, replied Cassie, smiling. Right now, Max wants to look like a mermaid.

Max is Cassie and Joe’s only child. She is an adorable little mite with long brown hair and big green eyes. Max is whip-smart and has a good sense of humor despite her young age.

I think Max’s age may be an advantage. I’ve been to weddings where the kids had total meltdowns or stage fright and then couldn’t perform their duties. I think Max will do great, I said with confidence. Remember how cute she was at the Christmas pageant? She wasn’t afraid at all.

That’s true. She must get her acting skills from her honorary Aunt Charlotte, Cassie said, referring to my days of acting in high school plays and one the glorious summer that I attended a prestigious acting program in New York. I’d since realized I had more skill working behind the scenes than in making scenes.

"Please, Max is a