Honey Buns, Hexes, and Hanging: Witchy Bakery, #2

By Naomi Muse

Nova Bell is settling into her new life as a bakery owner in a small town. Her attempts at baking lead a lot to be desired. She thought hiring a new baker would be easy until one of the bakers turns up dead! Now, Nova has to solve the murder and find a replacement. With sinister men on the loose, and a secret baking community of organized crime, will Nova ever get her hands on any sweet honey buns? Find out in the second Witchy Bakery Book!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Naomi Muse
• Release date: Apr 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9798201787936

Naomi Muse

Hello Musers, I’m Naomi Muse. I see the world through magically tinted glasses. You may know them as shades, I just like to look fancy. I seek magic in everyday situations, which is why I write urban fantasy and science fiction. I believe people can overcome anything, including monsters and aliens. When I need guidance, I turn to spirituality and tarot. Sometimes, tarot even prompts a story. Join me on this wild ride through my imagination. If you want to get in contact with me (I’m friendly I promise) you can find me in the following places: My Website: http://www.catchamuse.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/catchamuse Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/catchamuse Facebook: http://facebook.com/catchamuse Instagram: http://instagram.com/catchnaomi I hope to hear from you soon! Naomi

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

I still couldn’t get over the fact that I owned a bakery. A thriving bakery. Okay, maybe thriving was an exaggeration. The Bewitching Bakery was thriving when I moved to Temperance, but I had to close down temporarily when it was given to me by the previous owners. Looking for a new baker was going to take some work. Everything I knew about baking could fit on the head of a pin. Actually, that is an overstatement. I know two things. One, baked goods taste delicious. Two, they are usually made in an oven. That's about it.

After I helped to solve the murder in their bakery, the former owners, Mr. and Mrs. Quinn, were kind enough to turn the shop over to me. Finding a dead man in the bakery had taken a toll on them. Of course, it wasn’t their fault. Still, running the bakery had just lost its allure.

Once the bakery was legally in my hands, they skipped town. Maybe that’s too strong. They went on vacation. To be honest, it was long overdue. Mrs. Quinn told me that they hadn’t been away from the bakery for more than a day at a time in a decade.

I was touched that they trusted me enough to leave the Bewitching Bakery permanently in my care. Anita had worked for them part-time as well, and she agreed to stay on as my employee. Neither of us were bakers, so I had no choice but to interview applicants. I had never interviewed anyone before, but I thought it should be a breeze.

When I first acquired the shop, I tried my hand at baking. It didn’t look difficult. First, I tried recipes that I found on the internet. Disaster struck early. Then, I tried working alongside a cooking show. Those results were even worse. Finally, I decided to try using magic. It seemed like a great idea. After all, there is an entire practice based on kitchen witchery. The things I made in that kitchen should never be seen by human eyes. I should have known better after the frosting incident that happened when I worked for the Quinns.

I don’t discuss that on the property. There was no reason for me to tempt fate.

Anita tried her hand at baking as well. She was great with decorating but terrible at baking. We also discovered that it was frowned upon to use premade cookie dough at a bakery. There was a reason that we had both been part-time counter help when the Quinns ran the bakery.

My dog, Angelo, and I headed to the bakery to meet Anita for the first round of interviews. Angelo was the perfect keeshond. He was fluffy, brave, a bit silly, and an excellent judge of character. I trusted him above all others. Angelo was a big help when I was investigating the cupcake killing. Hopefully, he could help with the hiring process too.

Angelo and I rounded the corner to the store. I was half hoping that I would see a line of people standing outside. There was no one. The Help Wanted sign hadn’t gotten much action. I did have a few phone calls from my online ads, so there were a few prospects scheduled to come in.

I hoped that we would hire someone soon. I felt like I was starving to death without any goodies. At least we had a plan. Anita and I were going to repaint the bakery, hire a new baker, and come up with kitschy bakery items. I felt like we needed a theme. What could be better than magic?

Once we worked out all of the details, we planned to have a grand reopening with free samples and everything. The Bewitching Bakery had been a longtime staple in Temperance, Rhode Island, so I wasn't worried about losing any clientele. If nothing else, the murder last year had driven more customers our way. The killer, Corey, had been an employee at a rival bakery. The owners there had no involvement, but public opinion was set against them. I wanted to find a spell to help them out, but I wasn’t sure where to begin. Plus, I had my new bakery to worry about.

I was so eager to get the reopening of the bakery off to the right start.

I unlocked the door and inhaled deeply, half expecting to smell a wonderful scent of cakes, cookies, and pies that I had grown accustomed to. With no baker, there were no sweet smells for me. I sighed. Angelo did, too.

I knew this bakery was something special the first time that I had set foot in its doors. They even made dog treats. It was truly a place for everyone. We would get it back to its former glory.

I heard the familiar jingle of the bell over the door and turned to see Anita coming in. She seemed fresh-faced and happy. Maybe there was someone new in her life. She had been so down since the last guy who had a crush on her turned out to be a homicidal maniac.

Good morning, she said, placing a paper bag on the table.

Good morning, Anita. You’re in a good mood today. What's this? You baked?

Yeah right, she said with a laugh. I just stopped by the grocery store on the way over here. I figured it would be best if we weren't trying to stifle our grumbling stomachs during the interview, so I grabbed some bagels and cream cheese.

I started a pot of coffee. Should I make tea too?

I think coffee will be fine.

Okay. If the whole bakery thing doesn't work out, we can always sell plain coffee. We would be the only coffee shop in town that doesn't make lattes or other fancy drinks. I'm sure business will be booming, I said with a giggle.

Anita giggled around her mouthful of bagel. She took a sip of the coffee and glanced around the room, a frown crinkling her brow. Something seemed to be on her mind.

Are you okay?

"I feel fine. It’s just a