Kittens Cupcakes & Complications

By Amity Allen

A dog wedding. A runaway bride. And a murder.

Kelsie has spent the last few months working to make her aunt’s farm into her own place. But when she’s asked to host a dog wedding, she learns that planning an event for four-legged friends is a whole new ballgame!

And her colleagues’ concerns about the canine wedding being wrecked by their litter of magical kittens turn out to be nothing compared to the disappearance of the bride.

Not to mention that the photographer and Kelsie have a rocky history. So when he shows up dead, things get really complicated…

But with the help of her friends and the kittens, Kelsie just might be able to solve this mystery.

Kittens, Cupcakes, and Complications is a cute and clever cozy mystery. It is safe for work, lacks profanity, and has no on-the-page violence. Reserve your copy today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bad Baby Press
• Release date: Sep 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781736088852

Amity Allen

Amity grew up reading every mystery she could get her hands on, burning through everything by Agatha Christie in record time and wanting to be Nancy Drew when she grew up. After writing books in other genres for the past few years, she's finally come home to her true love - cozy mysteries. Amity and her husband live in L.A. (lower Alabama) with a houseful of teenagers and a half dozen pets. Besides books, Amity's favorite things are football, needlepoint, fried shrimp, and sweet tea.

Book preview

Chapter 1

B aking is for humans, Kelsie. What you’re doing here, Trudy waved a finger toward the mound of dough in front of me, is making junk food for dogs. Dogs should eat healthier stuff. Did you know that even being a couple pounds overweight can increase the risks of diabetes and arthritis in dogs? Oh! Heart disease too. And dogs are smaller than us. It doesn’t take more than a few extra pounds for some of them to be overweight. Half a pound on the toy breeds.

I leveled an amused look at my friend. I hear what you’re saying, but honestly, humans are supposed to eat healthier things than you and I normally bake for our businesses too. I mean, I made a living selling cupcakes online for years, and your bakery stocks mostly sweets.

Trudy crossed her arms and cocked out a hip, putting on a defensive front, even though the smile on her lips let me know she was at least partly playacting. Humans have all kinds of emotional reasons for not eating so healthy. Dogs have none of those. And they can’t bake or cook themselves or choose what they’re fed, so they rely on what their humans give them. They’re scavengers by nature, so they aren’t going to turn down a yummy treat, even if it’s not good for them. Plus, dogs already don’t live as long as people. Which is exactly why we should feed them only good stuff.

I gave the dough one last knead and decided it was ready to roll out. Wiping my hands on my apron, I turned to face Trudy squarely. This is a wedding. All the guests, as well as the bride and groom, should have fun. Anyone can splurge on their diet once in a great while, right? I gestured at the dough. I thought it would be fun if I could figure out how to make something that both the canine and human guests at this wedding will like. You know, since there will be so many canine attendees.

My cousin Stephanie—actually she wasn’t my first cousin but some sort of second cousin once or twice removed or something—stepped into the big farmhouse kitchen, having just come from the bathroom off the hall. I still think this is a ridiculous event to be throwing here. A dog wedding. She shook her head as she said it, words dripping with the derision she obviously felt. It’s just so … so…

Adorable? I supplied.

Trendy? Trudy tried.

Neither of those things. It’s so 2015. Stephanie wrinkled her nose as though she’d encountered a rotten odor. I thought you wanted this to be a classy wedding venue, not a laughingstock.

I drew myself up at that. Laughingstock? Why would people laugh about a dog wedding? Come on, Stephanie, think out-of-the-box. This should bring in a bunch of new customers who maybe don’t need to have a wedding but would like to throw a big party here at the farm.

It isn’t like your business is restricted to weddings only. Stephanie grabbed an apple out of a bowl on the counter and began to shine it on her shirt. If people want to throw a party here, they can do it without a ridiculous pretense like this.

What are you, a dog hater? I crossed the room to get my grandmother’s rolling pin out of a drawer. She’d passed away around six months earlier, and I had inherited the farmhouse, the sheep farm, and everything else she owned. I’d arrived from Chattanooga not knowing whether I would keep the place or sell it and go back to my apartment in the city. But I’d only been here a day or two before I started imagining the idea of throwing weddings and other big events at the farm. Somehow, with lots of help, I’d managed to clean up and update the barn and the farmhand’s cabin on the property and had hosted several weddings already.

My cousin Stephanie was also a wedding planner, with her own business separate from mine, but she’d been doing me the favor of helping out while I got my feet under me with the new venture.

Trudy owned Cupcakes and Sprinkles in downtown Cedar Grove, and she and I had struck a partnership of sorts too. We used her commercial kitchen to make the baked goods for the weddings, and I also helped her bake for and run her bakery. So far, things had been going pretty well. Neither business was making a ton of money, mostly because I was feeding almost everything back into the farm to update it, but we weren’t losing money either, and I had high hopes for doing well in the future.

I’m not a dog hater, Stephanie said.

You have to admit, this is a super cute idea, Trudy said. People love pets. And a pet wedding? She threw a hand over her forehead in a fake swoon. So delightful!

Right. The word of mouth alone should launch my business up a step, and I’m also taking out some new ads that I’d like to use pictures from this event for. I rinsed off my hands, then picked up the rolling pin again. I’m trying to get some reporters out here for the wedding too, but so far, I haven’t been able to drum up much interest in that. I’m going to keep trying, though. Can you imagine how much interested pictures of a dog wedding would drum up in the media?

Stephanie sighed and plopped onto a dining room chair. Good luck with all that. I’ll help as much as I can, but don’t expect me to be an expert on dog weddings.

Haven’t you ever thrown one for your business? Trudy asked. At the shake of Stephanie’s head, Trudy went on. I’ve made some treats for a dog birthday party before. Got an invitation too. My, it was so much fun. All the dogs had a great time—they put out little kiddie pools for them. My boys had a blast and ran around so much they fell right to sleep when we got home. Two whole hours early. I had time to take a bath and read four chapters in silence. She sighed. It was bliss.

Stephanie rolled her eyes. Dogs don’t need birthday parties. They don’t even understand birthdays.

These things aren’t for the dogs. They’re for the people.

I flipped the dough over to roll it from another angle and glanced at my cousin. She hadn’t only been helping me with the wedding venue business. She’d also been teaching me more about the other thing Gram had left me—an inheritance of magic I’d never known I had until I’d found some of her old spell books and a wand on the property after she died. My grandmother had been a witch, and I’d never known it, and Stephanie was one too. I’d managed to teach myself some stuff, and my cousin was filling in some of the blanks for me.

Of course, Stephanie and I weren’t practicing magic right now. Not in front of Trudy. She had no idea it existed.

Probably most of the people in Cedar Grove didn’t know about magic. But I’d met many who did, including several of my grandmother’s friends. Her coven, I guess, if you used the word loosely. Those ladies had aided my magic education here and there too. They’d helped with the weddings as well, sometimes making food, taking pictures, and filling in for other vendors when our regular ones weren’t available.

Now, that said, I don’t think we should be making these sweets for the dogs, Trudy said.

I shot them each a warning look. Listen, you guys are both bringing me down right now. If you can’t be of any help with the lovely wedding between Princess and Rover, then maybe you could take the kittens into the living room and tire them out for me? That won’t involve fattening up any dogs or engaging in ridiculous frivolous canine-related events, so you should both not feel ethically bound to mouth off about it.

Right on cue, the five kittens in the giant dog kennel in the corner of the kitchen began to mew and yowl and climb the sides of the cage.

They weren’t regular kittens. They had been, maybe, at one time, but then I’d accidentally waved a wand at them before I knew better, and now they were magical kittens who didn’t age.

Trudy crouched to open the kennel door. Aw, I’ll play with the little things for a few minutes before I have to go get the boys from school.

I couldn’t help but wonder when Trudy would notice the kittens weren’t growing like they should. I hadn’t yet figured out how to explain that to people who saw the litter often. Mostly, my plan was to hide them, but that wouldn’t work with Trudy.

You should bring Eli and Oliver over to play with the kittens soon, I suggested as I began to roll out the dough.

Yeah, I will. That’s just as much fun for me as it is for them because these guys really keep my kids in line. It’s amazing how they herd them around like they’re sheepdogs and my kids are sheep. I guess it must have something to do with the vibe on this farm, huh?

We all laughed at that. Gram had raised sheep on the property for decades before selling the herd a few years before she died. In the last five years or so that she’d done it, she’d managed to breed some prize-winning sheep.

Stephanie and I knew the reason the kittens kept Trudy’s boys out of trouble was because they were magically enchanted, not because of any sheep farm aura. But I couldn’t tell Trudy that. The lines between magical and non-magical folk in Cedar Grove were thick and clear. Those with magic never talked about it around those without.

The kittens tumbled out of the cage and took off in a game of chase that led them into the living room, and Stephanie and Trudy trailed along behind. I had a few blessed moments of quiet to roll the dough before a knock came on the front door, followed by my friend Luke letting himself in. Hey, what are you working on? Smells good.

I’m trying to figure out a few types of baked goods for the dog wedding we’re having that both humans and dogs can eat. I’ve made a few things that the clients are coming to taste test soon. I also want to do a cake, but right now I’m working on some tiny little dog biscuits out of peanut butter oatmeal dough.

Hey, that sounds pretty good. I bet my dog would love them, and I would too. He wandered over and gave me a peck on the cheek, which warmed me all the way to my toes.

Luke had worked for my grandmother as a handyman—she’d kept him on retainer, though he worked other construction and handyman jobs as well. After Gram died, Luke had kept on, fixing things around the farm and then helping me overhaul the whole place for its new use as an events venue.

In the past few months, I’d gotten everything with my grandmother’s estate reconciled and all the finances straightened out, so I’d been able to keep him on retainer. We’d also become friends—Luke was a witch too, so we had that in common. Starting out, his feelings had been hurt because I had kept it from him when I first realized I had magic, but he’d grown to understand that it’d been a shock to me, and I hadn’t really known who I could talk to about it. I really liked Luke, and we were starting a romantic relationship but going very slowly.

Okay, the main reason we were taking it slow was because I was so busy with everything. And maybe a little because, deep inside, I wasn’t sure I could make a go of things here in Cedar Grove. I’d gotten rid of my apartment in Chattanooga, but in the back of my mind, I knew I could go back to the city and get resituated easily enough. I’d beef up my online cupcake business and do fine.

I tried to keep that deep in the recesses of my thoughts, telling myself repeatedly that I wanted to stay here. And I did. Mostly. But still, I found myself holding back a bit when it came to working on the farm. Not changing too much too fast.

Luke stepped back and opened his mouth to say something but closed it again when someone else knocked at the door.

Can you get that please? I held up my floury hands to show him why I couldn’t do it myself.

Luke winked and headed for the door but had to come to a fast stop, his top half continuing to move for a second after his feet halted, when Junior skidded across the floor in front of him like a ballplayer sliding into home plate. Before he took another step, Luke looked the direction the kitten had come from to check for more, as one would check for additional deer following the first one across a road in front of your car. Seeing no more roadblocks hurtling toward him, Luke chuckled and continued on his route.

When Luke pulled open the door, a man with short dark hair and large round sunglasses stood there. Oh, hey there, Tony, Luke said. Come on in. He stood aside to make room for the other man to pass him. Kelsie, this is Tony Varetti. He works for me on jobs here and there, and I work for him sometimes.

Tony grinned. I own my own construction business. Varetti Varieties.

Luke added, I hired his crew to help get ready for this week’s event.

I wiped my hands on my apron and offered one to Tony, even though it was still a bit flour covered. Seeming not to notice, he shook it, his grip harder than I liked, even though Gram had always taught me to have a firm grip myself. Nice to meet you, I said.

You as well. My, my. He looked me up and down.

Slightly uncomfortable, I glanced at Luke, but he knelt, ruffling Junior’s fur, and didn’t seem to notice his buddy’s wandering eyes.

Lukey-boy isn’t telling you everything, Tony said. I work for him on jobs here and there, and he works for me when he has space in his schedule, sure, but we’ve known each other longer than that. He tossed a look over his shoulder, then frowned. What is that, a cat?

Luke rose, Junior in his arms. Yep. And, yeah, we’ve known each other since we were in middle school, I guess.

That’s right. Tony kept his eyes on the cat, then swung his head around to look toward the living room when he heard a noise, spotting the other four kittens. He began to back toward the door with his hands up in a surrendering gesture. I’m allergic, he admitted, then sneezed, his eyes suddenly thick with a glossy sheen.

Oh! I’m sorry. Maybe you should go outside. I’m sure there’s lots of dander in here, I said. I wasn’t the best housekeeper, even with magical spells to help me.

Yeah, yeah. I’ll do that. He smiled at me. You have a real nice place here. I popped into the barn on my way up to the house because I heard about all the changes you’ve made to it. I was inspired and have lots more ideas of things you could do around the farm to update it and spruce it up, especially if you want to continue with the wedding venue business.

The thought of discussing more ideas for the farm made my stomach faintly queasy. But I said, That sounds great, thanks.