Maxine grimaced. “Now, Cassie, I know I keep promising not to jump the gun. But you were so upset last night, I took the liberty to call Dr. Eskew. She wants to meet Truman, but she does not want to raise him.” The grimace turned to a smile. “Won’t it be nice to have a child living on Leftside Lane?”

  “I thought you weren’t a kid pers—” I shook myself and turned back to Ms. Mauve. I pointed to her satchel. “Is there some paperwork?” I asked, and she laughed. Hysterically.

  “Some?” She wiped her eyes and informed me her satchel was far, far too small to carry all paperwork required for an adoption.

  “You’ll need to go before a family court judge,” Jason said. “But I’ll certainly vouch for you, Cassie.”

  “Me, too,” Maxine said.

  “Me, too,” P.T. said.

  “Me, too.” My father, of course.

  “Me, too.” Ms. Mauve nodded.

  Joe reached for my hand. “Me, too.”

  “Me, too, babe.” Sarah and Truman had returned.

  “Me, too!” Truman ran over and tugged on me. “Cookies!” he said.

  I let him pull me toward the kitchen, tripped over Notz, and turned. “Let’s face it,” I told the gang. “Lake Bess is a good place to raise kids.”

  The End

  Why, yes! There is more.

  Curious to learn how Cassie came to live with her father? Wondering about that dead redhead-pajama incident? Want to see more of the Looney Tunes world of Lake Elizabeth, Vermont? Thought so! Follow this link to Cindy Blackburn’s Amazon Page, the Cassie Baxter Mysteries, and Cindy’s other popular series, the Cue Ball Mysteries. Meanwhile, here is a sneak peek of Unbelievable, Book One of the Cassie Baxter Mysteries. Small sleuth, tiny town, unfailing fun.

  Unbelievable – Sneak Peek

  Prologue

  Do yourself a favor. Never agree to move in with your father. Even if he retires and moves to Vermont to be closer to his only child. And even if he invites you to live with him rent-free. And even if the lease on your apartment runs out, and the owner decides to convert the building into condos, which you couldn’t afford, even if your teaching salary were doubled. And even if your father moves into a rambling old house with plenty of room, and offers you the entire third floor with a turret on top. And even if you adore turrets. And even if this old house is in a lovely lakeside town only twenty miles from where you work. And even if you’ve always dreamed of living on a lake. And even if your father promises to respect your privacy because he knows you’re an adult woman capable of conducting her own life.

  Don’t do it. Even then. Because this is what will happen if you move in with your father. He will: Drive. You. Nuts.

  Chapter 1

  I poked my right foot out from under the sheets and kicked at the rocking chair next to my bed. “Go away.”

  “But I can’t sleep, Cassie.”

  I kept kicking.

  “Would you stop doing that?”

  “When you stop waking me up at the crack of dawn.” I sat up and tore back the covers. “Move!”

  My father rocked the chair backwards, and I skirted past his feet.

  I pulled open the curtains and took a look outside.

  “The sun’s almost up,” he informed me. “It’s a beautiful day.”

  “It’s 4:42 a.m., old man. There’s nothing beautiful about it.”

  “Let’s have breakfast, shall we? How about waffles?”

  I turned from the window. “How about you letting me sleep past five at least one day this summer? Move!”

  Dad stood up, which put him even more in my way. But at least Charlie got the hint. The big black lab scooted his front half under the bed and out of my way as I stomped past and headed for the stairs.

  “We Baxters are early birds,” Dad called after me.

  “I haven’t been an early bird since I was twelve.”

  “We can put berries on our waffles.” My father was, of course, following me.

  I stopped at the second floor landing. “No berries. No waffles. I’m going kayaking.” I bounced down the remaining flight of stairs, and pulled my binoculars from their hook at the door.

  “We can eat when you get back.” Dad pointed to the binoculars. “You’re going bird watching?”

  I grabbed a lifejacket out of the wicker chest on the porch and kept going.

  “If we took the canoe, I could join you.”

  “I’m taking the kayak.” I started dragging my kayak over to the dock.

  “And if we took the rowboat, Charlie could come.”

  I looked down at the dog, who had followed me onto the dock, and he wagged his tail.

  “Sorry, Charlie,” I said gently and climbed into the boat. “It’s a one-seater. Single-occupancy. A phrase I am really, really, starting to appreciate.”

  “Cassie, wait,” Dad said.

  “For what?”

  “You’re in your pajamas, girl.”

  “Who’s going to see me at this hour? The geese?”

  I paddled away from the dock, and Charlie jumped in to escort me out. “Even the geese will be asleep,” I told him.

  He turned around and swam back to shore.

  ***

  Turns out the geese weren’t asleep. So I guess they did see me. But the woman in the canoe definitely did not see me, even though her eyes were wide open. Because the woman in the canoe was dead.

  “This is not happening,” I said.

  She didn’t answer.

  “Move!”

  She didn’t move.

  “Move, move, move, move, move!”

  Nothing.

  Well, if she wasn’t moving, I was. But I was a little flustered and ended up banging into her canoe a few thousand times before I finally managed to steer my kayak out of the cattails and into open water.

  I left her there unattended. Because, as she had so clearly demonstrated, dead people don’t move.

  ***

  “Please don’t be dead,” I said as I crawled out of my kayak and onto the dock of the Lake Store. I staggered barefoot up the side stairwell and pounded on Oliver Earle’s door.

  Nothing.

  I tried to estimate the time and decided it had to be at least 5:30. And the store opens at 6:00.

  “Don’t be dead,” I said as I retraced my steps downward. I pounded on the back door of the store, and Oliver answered.

  “Thank God you’re not dead.”

  “What?” he asked. “Why would I be dead?”

  “Why would anyone be dead?” I pushed past him and made my way through the stock room.

  “Cassie, wait.” He hurried to catch up. “Has something happened to Bobby?”

  “My father’s fine.” I barged through the swinging doors leading onto the main floor. “He’s making waffles.”

  “What?”

  I stopped at the deli counter. “With berries.”

  Oliver skipped a beat. “Do you need eggs? Is that why you’re here so early?” He pointed. “In your pajamas.”

  I looked down at my outfit—pajamas and a lifejacket—and muttered a colorful word. “We need the sheriff,” I said and rushed along the bread aisle toward the front counter.

  “Sheriff Gabe? Why?”

  “Because that’s who you call in an emergency, right?” I pointed at the phone. “So please call the sheriff.”

  “But why?”

  “Because!” I said. “There’s a dead woman in the lake!”

  “Dead!” Oliver grabbed the phone. “Why didn’t you say so?”

  ***

  I took a few deep breaths while he punched in the number. I knew Oliver Earle was the man to see. His general store is the heart of Lake Elizabeth, Vermont, and Oliver does most everything around here. He’s our postmaster, fire warden, realtor, and Avon lady. Definitely the guy to see in a crisis.

  I listened to Oliver listen to the sheriff.

  “Mm-hmm,” he kept saying. “Mm-hmm,” he kept repeating. He glanced at me. “Got it,” he said and hung up.

  “The sheriff’s on his way?” I asked.

  He held up an index finger and made about five other phone calls before answering my question. “Okay,” he said as he finally put down the phone. “Everyone’s coming.”

  I asked who everyone was, and Oliver spouted off the list—Sheriff Gabe Cleghorn, of course, but also the Hilleville Police Department and the Hilleville Rescue Squad. And a little closer to home, the Lake Elizabeth Volunteer Fire Department, and the forest rangers from Lake Elizabeth State Park.

  Oliver grimaced. “All nine of them.”

  “Lake Bess has nine forest rangers?”

  “No, but there are nine camp counselors.”

  Nine college kids. I looked up at the moth-eaten moose head gazing down at me from above the cash register. “It’s going to be a very long day,” I told him.

  Oliver waved the phone at me. “You should call Bobby.”

  “Good idea.” I took the phone. “Dad can make himself useful and bring me some clothes.”

  My father informed me I’d been gone a long time. “Where are you?”

  “At the Lake Store.”

  “Excellent, girl. Pick up some eggs.”

  Unbelievable is available on Amazon

  Still curious?

  Here's the scoop on Cindy Blackburn's other popular series, the Cue Ball Mysteries. Jessie Hewitt may be a bit older and wiser than Cassie Baxter, but she can still find trouble. Just ask uber-hunky cop Captain Wilson Rye.

  The Cue Ball Mysteries

  Murder meets menopause. Take a guess which wins.

  Book One: Playing With Poison

  Pool shark Jessie Hewitt usually knows where the balls will fall and how the game will end. But when a body lands on her couch, and the cute cop in her kitchen accuses her of murder, even Jessie isn’t sure what will happen next. Playing With Poison is a cozy mystery with a lot of humor, a little romance, and far too much champagne.

  Book Two: Double Shot

  Jessie Hewitt thought her pool-hustling days were long gone. But when über-hunky cop Wilson Rye asks her to go undercover to catch a killer, she jumps at the chance to return to a sleazy poolroom. Jessie is confident she can handle a double homicide, but the doubly-annoying Wilson Rye is another matter altogether. What's he doing flirting with a woman half his age? Will Jessie have what it takes to deal with Tiffany La-Dee-Doo-Da Sass and solve the murders? Take a guess.

  Book Three: Three Odd Balls

  A romantic vacation for . . . five? This wasn’t exactly what Jessie and Wilson had in mind when they planned their trip to the tropics. But when Jessie’s delightfully spry mother, Wilson’s surfer dude son, and Jessie’s rabidly hyperactive New York agent decide to tag along the fun begins. What kind of trouble can these three oddest of odd balls possibly get into? Take a guess.

  Book Four: Four Play

  Bad news comes in . . . fours? For romance author and former pool shark Jessie Hewitt it does. She hasn’t written a decent sex scene in months, she hasn’t shot a decent game of eight ball all year, and don’t even ask about her supposed love life. Just when Jessie thinks things can’t get any worse, a body lands on her car. Altogether infuriating cop Wilson Rye suggests she concentrate on solving her other problems and leave the murder investigation to the experts. Does Jessie agree? Take a guess.

  Book Five: Five Spot

  At long last! Jessie Hewitt, a.k.a. Adele Nightingale, is about to be take her rightful spot in the Romance Writers Hall of Fame. Wilson Rye, much to his chagrin, has his own role to play at the meeting where Jessie will finally be inducted. But things don’t go exactly as planned. How can a conference named Happily Ever After take such a wrong turn? Take a guess.

  And be on the lookout for Six Easy Pieces: Book Six of the Cue Ball Mysteries, available on Amazon in 2017.

  Acknowledgements

  Unexpected is my seventh (!) book. Gobs of people have helped, advised, and encouraged me as I continue along this crazy path. Here are a few of them: Sharon Politi, Peter Lacey, Polly Iyer, Ellis Vidler, Linda Lovely, Howard Lewis, Dorothy McFalls, Paula Benson, Cindy Boudreau, Kathy Miller, Joanna Innes, Bob Spearman, Jane Bishop, Judy Buch, Sally Handley, Wayne Cameron, Louise Sobin, Karen Phillips, and Caroline Miller. And extra, super-duper, mega thanks to the person who continues to stick with me through thick and thin, and everything in between, John Blackburn. Autumn is John's favorite season, so I hope you like this cover!

  About the Author

  Cindy Blackburn is living the dream! She spends her days sitting around in her pajamas, thinking up unlikely plot twists and ironing out the quirks and kinks of lovable characters. When she’s not typing on her laptop or feeding her fat cat Betty, Cindy enjoys taking long walks with her cute hubby John. A native Vermonter who hates snow, Cindy divides her time between the south and the north. Most of the year you’ll find her in South Carolina. But come summer she’ll be on the porch of her lakeside shack in Vermont. Yep, it’s a place very similar to Lake Elizabeth.

  Cindy’s favorite TV show is The Big Bang Theory, her favorite movie is Moonstruck, and her favorite color is purple. Cindy dislikes vacuuming, traffic, and lima beans.

  http://www.cbmysteries.com

  http://www.cbmysteries.com/blog

  @cbmysteries

 

 

  Cindy Blackburn, Unexpected

 

 

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