2. Lottie

LOTTIE

“ I am never getting knocked up again,” my sister, Lainey, grunts as we struggle to waddle up to our mother’s happily haunted B&B.

“ I’m never getting knocked up again,” I counter as we steady one another to keep from slipping in the snow.

It’s a late Saturday afternoon in January, and even though the new year has just gotten underway, I swear it feels as if all time has stopped—and I’m stuck at seven months pregnant forever. With twins.

Lainey is due in February and I’m due in March. Not soon enough for either of us.

“Well, I’m never knocking boots with Forest Donovan again as long as I live,” Lainey says defiantly as she wraps her fingers around the oversized door handle.

Forest would be the love of her life and her handsome hubby. He’s a firefighter, just like our father was.

“Sorry, sister.” I shake my head at her. “But this is where we part ways. Knocking boots with my handsome husband might be what landed me in this predicament, but I’m still of sound mind. I’ll be knocking boots with Judge Essex Everett Baxter until the cows come home—or until I go home to Paradise.” I pause for a moment. “But is Paradise really paradise if I can’t knock boots with Everett? It’s thoughts like these that keep me up at night.”

“Come on, before you spiral any further into the abyss,” she says as she pulls me into the B&B.

A tall mirror greets us to the right and we both grunt at our reflections. Lainey and I share the same caramel-colored, medium-length locks, same hazel eyes, same bone structure, too, which is odd, considering I was adopted into the Lemon family as an infant. And we happen to share the same supersized bodies—even though the size of my baby bump far outdoes hers by a baby-loving mile.

Lainey leans into her reflection. “I’d better get my roots done before this baby gets here or I’ll be aging rapidly before your very eyes.”

“Please, you don’t have any tinsel yet.”

“I sure do.” Her voice spikes a notch. “In fact, I’ve got enough to give Santa a run for his gray-haired money. Ooh , speaking of money, you should come by the library next week.” Lainey is the head librarian down at the Honey Hollow Library. “We’re having a big book sale and we’re practically giving them away for nothing. And blowing out a bunch of old magazines, too. It’s a great time to stock up on those cozy mysteries you like, and pick up a bunch of board books for Lyla Nell, too.”

“I might just do that,” I say as I look around at the foyer as we make our way through it.

The B&B hasn’t always been in our lives, but after our father passed away, Mom bought this old colonial mansion and made it her own. It’s dimly lit inside with dark floors and creamy marble counters at the reception area up ahead. There’s a sweeping wrought iron staircase to the right that leads to the bedroom suites. And as previously mentioned, the best, perhaps more lucrative part of this place is the fact it has a family of ghosts taking up residence in it.

Although, at the moment, there’s not a single rattle of the chandeliers. In fact, I don’t hear anything.

“That’s odd,” I say as Lainey leads the way to the conservatory where the dual baby shower is supposedly taking place. “It’s so eerily quiet here.”

The dual baby shower is for our sister, Meg, and Noah’s twin sister, Sam.

Homicide Detective Noah Fox is the father of my little girl, Lyla Nell. We were hot and heavy until things went south, and now I’m married to his old stepbrother, Judge Essex Everett Baxter. The three of us are complicated to say the least.

My mother asked me at the last minute if I would pick up Lainey for this big dual baby shindig and, of course, I said yes.

My mother already picked up my daughters, Evie and Lyla Nell, at about eleven this morning to help set up for the event. Evie might have been a helping hand since she’s a college student, but Lyla Nell is a tender twenty-two months old and I’m pretty sure she was more of a hazard than a help.

“Are we sure it’s at the B&B?” Lainey asks, looking equally stymied by the lack of noise. “This place is quiet as a cemetery.”

My stomach does a revolution when she says those words.

I’ll confess, my biggest fear today is stumbling upon a body. It seems to be a talent I’ve picked up as of late, especially when there’s a large gathering.

Personally, I’m shocked I get invited anywhere anymore. With the exception of the morgue. And they’ve credited me with singlehandedly giving them an uptick in business.

“I’m positive it’s here,” I say. “Or at least it had better be. I sent my employees here this morning to deliver all the goodies, not to mention setting up the crepe station.”

Both Meg and Sam have had a craving for crepes as of late. Most likely because both Meg and Sam share the same baby daddy. Oh, it’s a long and sordid story.

“That doesn’t mean the shower is here. Mom could have rerouted them to the right place,” Lainey says as we come upon the conservatory, only to find the doors sealed shut. “Either something came up and they had to move the venue or our pregnant brains both heard the same misinformation.”

She pulls open the door and the lights flicker on in the conservatory as a cast of thousands jumps out at us and they all shout, SURPRISE!