Pumpkins in Paradise (Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

class, then meet me over at the haunted house?”
    “Sure, no problem. ” Both Tj and Jenna had volunteered to help decorate for the upcoming haunted house, a fund-raiser for the local high school.
    Jenna set a large pan of butter on the huge commercial stove to heat . Tj had no idea how Jenna could make five different things all at the same time and not get the ingredients mixed up. If it were her, she’d have Cajun spices in the pumpkin cheesecake and puréed pumpkin in the Cajun shrimp chowder. “Are you planning on bringing Gracie to the decorating party?” she asked.
    “Yeah, why? ” Tj picked up a small piece of the bread Jenna slid across the counter for her to taste. It was good. While Tj could barely boil water, Jenna had always been a genius in the kitchen.
    “I was kicking around the idea of asking my mom to watch Kari . I know she’ll be disappointed, but it doesn’t seem like there will be much for a four-year-old to do.”
    “Your mom’s playing poker with Ben and the boys this afternoon . I overheard her more or less invite herself when Grandpa asked the guys back for a rain check on last nights’ game, which was canceled at the last minute. I guess Bookman’s editor popped in to try to talk him into another book.”
    “So, is he coming out of retirement again? ” Jenna asked.
    “Grandpa says no . Swears Bookman is staying retired this time, but honestly I don’t buy it. Personally I’d love to see another R. L. Hellerman murder mystery hit the market. I really miss the characters, if you know what I mean. And if you ask me, I think Bookman misses them too.”
    “I have to agree . It seems like I’ve been to at least four retirement parties for the guy. He writes a book, totally throwing himself into the process, gets burned out, retires, then gets bored after he has a chance to rest up a bit. I’d put my money on another book, although Bonnie seemed to think that after the last party he might actually be retired for good this time.”
    “Speaking of Bonnie, where is she? ” Most days Bonnie Elston could be found in the kitchen, working alongside Jenna. Most everyone in the small community thought Jenna was nuts for going into business with both her mother and her motherin-law, but so far the unconventional partnership had worked out fantastically.
    “She went to Tucson for her high-school reunion,” Jenna answered.
    “I thought she wasn’t going.”
    “She wasn’t until she got a call from an old friend, prompting her to change her mind at the last minute . All the flights were booked, so I guess they decided to drive and make a road trip out of it.”
    “Good for her. ” After Dennis’s father passed away two years before, the previously social woman had limited her activities to work and family.
    “Speaking of road trips, how was the field trip to the capital?” Jenna referred to the third-grade field trip Tj had chaperoned for Ashley’s class earlier in the week.
    “It was fun,” Tj hedged . “If you can classify a hot and stuffy bus ride lasting an hour and a half in each direction with twenty-three eight-year-olds, most of whom either had to pee or puke at least once, as fun. The children’s museum was cool, though. Tons of interactive stuff to play with. And Ashley seemed to have a really good time, which made any discomfort I may have had to endure totally worth it.”
    “ She doing any better?” Jenna wondered.
    “Honestly,” Tj said, “I’m not sure . She did really well on the field trip. She seemed to have fun and she got along well with the other kids, but let’s not forget that the whole reason I got a sub for my classes in the first place was because Ashley has been so disruptive since she started school in September that her teacher wasn’t going to let her attend if I didn’t go along to keep an eye on things.”
    “It’s only been three months since her mom died,” Jenna reminded her . “You’re doing your best, given the circumstances.