Bossy Cakes: A Yellow Rose Cozy Mystery (Yellow Rose Mystery Series Book 3) (7 page)

When Betty opened her eyes she had to shut them again. Bright fluorescent lights beat down upon her. When she tried again she blinked them rapidly as her eyes grew accustomed to the light. She was in a hospital. Her daughter was with her, sitting in a chair beside her bed.

“Mom,” Brianna said, leaning forward.

“What happened?”

“That girl, Brittney, was attacking you. Candace got there in time and saved you. She and Heather went out to check on you guys, saw her choking you, then pulled her off just in time.”

“My throat hurts,” Betty croaked.

“You should see the bruise,” Brianna said. She motioned to her face. “We sort of match.”

“You aren’t in jail.”

“No, Amy is. She was crazy, obsessed with Brent, apparently. They weren’t even really dating.”

Betty nodded. It hurt to talk. There was a sharp rap at the door.

“Oh my gosh,” Brianna said under her breath as Johnny Dunbar peered in.

“May I come in?” he asked. He was holding a vase filled with beautiful flowers that looked ten times more expensive than anything Brianna had ever seen in the hospital gift shop.

“Sure,” Betty said.

“It’s all over the news,” the famous chef said. “What happened last night.” Dunbar stepped forward. “I got these for you,” he said.

“Thank you,” Betty replied.

“After dinner… I don’t know… I just felt – ”

Betty cut him off. “I’m not ready,” she said. “I felt it too, believe me, but I’m not ready. We can be friends though.”

Dunbar nodded. “Friends would be good.”

“And I totally want to be on your new TV show,” Betty added.

“I want to be on that, too,” Brianna said, and everyone laughed. “We’ll figure it out,” Johnny Dunbar said.

He sat and visited for a short while, but after he was gone it was just Briana and her mother.

“The girls wanted to see you. They asked me to call them,” Brianna said.

“They saved my life.”

Brianna nodded. “Call them.”

Brianna stood and went out into the hall for a short while. When she came back she sat down again. “They’re on their way,” she said.

“How are you?” Betty asked.

Brianna sighed and shrugged. “Worried about you.”

“You were in jail.”

Brianna couldn't help but laugh. “It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done,” she said.

Betty nodded. “I’m starting to think vacations aren’t really our thing,” she said.

Brianna nodded. “Remember the Grand Canyon?”

“You were thirteen,” Betty said. “The car broke down three times.”

“It was the worst trip ever,” Brianna said.

“Until this one,” Betty corrected.

“Right, until this one.”

“I heard you talking,” Betty said. “About school.”

Brianna took a deep breath. “I just don’t want to disappoint you, but I want to do hair. I know it’s not what you want for me. I know you think it’s not a good job.”

Betty shook her head. She reached over and took her daughter’s hand. “Honey, all I want is for you to be happy,” she said.

“Okay,” Brianna said with tears in her eyes.

“Just one rule.”

“What is it?”

“No more trips to the club with strange guys.”

Brianna laughed.

“Deal,” she said.

Ingredients
:

Butter (3/4 cup)

Chopped Garlic (1 tablespoon)

Chopped Parsley (1 tablespoon)

Lemon Juice (1 tablespoon)

Raw Shrimp (2 pounds, shelled and deveined)

*  *  *

Directions
:

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2.  Combine butter, garlic, lemon juice, mustard, and parsley in a saucepan and heat on stove top. After the butter has melted, remove from heat.

3. Place shrimp in a baking dish. Pour melted ingredients over the shrimp.

4.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the shrimp are pink.

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Bossy Cakes
, please consider writing a short review on Amazon. Many people base their buying decisions on what others are saying about a story.

Other books in the series:

Real Women Eat Cake
(Yellow Rose Mystery series, Book 1)

Cake and Taxes
(Yellow Rose Mystery series, Book 2)

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