Page 54 of The Magical Bed & Breakfast

“Yes, of course.” Rory began to tackle his breakfast casserole but found he’d lost his appetite. He noted that Kate, too, only picked at her food this morning.

She took another nibble of muffin. “How well do you know your band members?”

“We’re like brothers.” Weren’t they? He felt that way, but did they? They were all close friends, yes, but they had moved on with their personal lives now that they’d made a little money. Life was no longer all about the band. Were they drifting apart? Had one of them let an unstable family member get too close? Rory shook his head.

“Think about it. Think about who in the band might be connected to her. Go over in your head how they all responded when she showed up. Were they surprised? Upset? Resigned?”

“I’d know if one of them was lying to me.”

“Would you?”

“Sure, liars won’t meet your eyes, and the guys in the band are all straight shooters. There’s not one of them who doesn’t look me in the eye.”

Kate shook her head. “That hasn’t been my experience with liars, and believe me, in my profession, I’ve ferreted many lies. Liars look you straight in the eyes. They watch you to gauge your reaction to the lies they’re spinning. People who won’t meet your eyes aren’t lying. They’re trying to keep information from you without lying. They won’t look at you because they’re hurt or trying not to hurt you with what you might see in their eyes. But intentional liars will always look at you straight on.”

Rory paused to think about that.

Kate continued, “Listen, I can approach the paper, but there isn’t really anything in there we can use to insist on a retraction. I can scold them for not fact-checking and reaching out to you before printing the piece, but they put it forth as a type of exposé. Honestly, the press isn’t bad. I know you didn’t want your real name out there with your stage name, but it is local, and it isn’t like the Associated Press is pulling stories from theHazard Gazette.”

“Unless she has connections. We don’t know…” Rory ran his hand through his hair. “How can you be so calm about this?”

“Because this is what I do. I’ll approach the paper this afternoon to make sure the piece stays local. I imagine the historical society will back me on that.”

Rory nodded. “They’re a local force to be reckoned with. And, maybe Whitney Hopewell. She’s running for mayor and her cousin owns the paper.”

“You know her?”

“She’s a friend, sort of, from high school.”

“Okay, good. That’s good. After breakfast, give her a call. This afternoon, I’ll put on my professional garb and scare the editor of the local paper into doing my bidding. But first, I really need to learn to bake a muffin.”

*

“It’s easy,” saidIvy. “And fun. You’ll have it down in no time. The secret is knowing the proper consistency of the batter. Not too wet and not too dry. Here, see, stir for a while and get a feel for it.”

“Weareusing a recipe.” Kate needed that clarification. When it came to baking, no way could she wing it.

“Of course, but sometimes it doesn’t come out the same. It might be the humidity that day, or the temperature. Altitude has a lot to do with baking. So long as you get a feel for the altitude you’re in, you should be fine.”

“Why do I have a feeling these lessons would go differently if your sister Holly from the bakery was teaching me?”

“Oh, they’d be very different. Holly isn’t flexible. But this recipe is, and you’re going to love these muffins so much they’ll become your signature muffins. I know it!”

“So, if the batter is too wet…”

“Add more flour.”

“And if it is too dry…”

“Add more liquid. In this recipe, that would be the applesauce.”

“So, I’m making applesauce muffins, seasoned with allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove.”

“Yes, but subtly applesauce muffins. This will be your basic recipe. You can change it up depending on the season and what you have on hand. You can substitute the applesauce with mashed banana for banana muffins. You might add chocolate chips. Chocolate and clove are an unexpected flavor profile, and I love that. Holly would never let you experiment. She has a separate recipe for every type of muffin.”

Kate mixed and stirred and followed Ivy’s instructions. When she reached for her cupcake papers, Ivy shook her head.

“No, grease and sugar your pan instead. You don’t need the papers. The muffins will be like the top all the way around if you do it this way. And, it’s more fun.”

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