Manic in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery (Christmas River Cozy Book 6) Read Online Free PDF

when things heated up had pretty much been nonexistent. Hell, a couple of days this last week, I’d actually had to wear a fleece pullover all day on account of the temperature being so unusually cool.
    But the way the temperature was spiking today, and the way the sky looked – white and washed-out – spoke of different things altogether. It whispered of brutal heat and steaming concrete and folks getting nervous about wildfires. Of hot dust, sweaty days, and frustration levels going through the roof like a busted thermometer.
    After living here for as long as I had, I didn’t have to consult the local news to know that a heatwave was in our midst. It was the first one of the season, and I had a feeling it was going to be a real doozy, too. Coming just in time for the Fourth of July.
    “Damn, it’s hot in here,” I mumbled.
    “Could be worse,” Tiana said, checking on the batch of Lemon Gingersnap pies baking in the oven. “You know, back when I worked in a restaurant in Milwaukee many years ago, there was this one summer when one of the cooks passed out because it was so hot and humid. He nearly burned himself to a crisp on the stovetop. I still don’t know if his eyebrows ever grew back.”
    “Jeez, sounds terrible,” I said, though I was smiling at the quirky way Tiana told the story, as I detected a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
    She closed the oven back up and added five minutes to the timer.
    “For him, it was,” she said. “But for us waitresses, well, I’d venture to say that nobody shed a tear over him being laid up in the hospital. You see, he was a real crabby fella with a short temper. Some of us thought him burning off his eyebrows was just old lady karma coming back to bite him in the behind.”
    She smiled slyly, and I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
    Tiana didn’t look the part, but she had a real wicked sense of humor that I very much enjoyed during the long hours we spent working together in the kitchen.
    I got a wooden spoon and gingerly stirred the filling for a batch of the Four Berry Pie, a brand new flavor that I had introduced just for the Fourth of July season. It had taken me all spring to get the pie just right, but I had finally found that magic balance of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries and vanilla pudding. I was mighty proud of the new addition to my pie menu, and it seemed that my customers were just as pleased with it as I was. So far this summer, it had been one of our top sellers.
    “Looks like it’s going to be a real back-snapper of a day,” Tobias said, popping his head over the door that divided the dining room from the kitchen. “Why, I predict we’ll be sold out by 2 p.m. this afternoon.”
    When he appeared, Tiana’s whole face brightened as if a raging bonfire had suddenly sprung up on her side of the kitchen.
    Tobias noticed too, and he quickly looked down.
    “Just, uh…” He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Just thought I should let you ladies know. The line’s looking quite long out there this morn.”
    “Thank you, Tobias,” I said, nodding. “We’ll prepare accordingly.”
    He quickly disappeared back into the dining room. I could almost feel Tiana’s heart sink as he left without so much as looking in her direction.
    It wasn’t any secret that Tiana had a crush the size of Texas on Tobias. She’d had it since I’d hired him way back in December. But Tobias, a veteran who had spent the better part of the past few years homeless, had told Tiana that he didn’t feel ready for a relationship. He’d told her, in so many words, that he had to focus on staying sober and employed, and couldn’t push his luck by adding romance on top of it.
    I knew his decision had saddened Tiana greatly. But I also knew that despite what he told her, Tiana’s crush on Tobias hadn’t seemed to dissipate in the slightest. Her face still lit up whenever he was around, even though I knew she did her best to conceal it.  
    I wished that it