Christmas In Paradise (Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries Book 4) (6 page)

Rum punch was a specialty of the resort
, and they had used the same recipe for years.

“Since we
’re giving this away and not trying to make a profit, we used some of the rum Bookman imported.”

“It’s really good. Maybe we should use it instead of our regular brand
,” Tj suggested.

Ben shook his head.
“It’s too expensive. We’d have to charge twenty dollars for each drink just to break even. We’re just about done here and thought we’d set up the sound system in the activities room next.”

“There
’s already a sound system set up in there,” Tj reminded the man who’d built the resort two generations earlier.

“Yeah
, but Bookman brought an upgrade.”

Tj notice
d the large speakers that were stacked near the door for the first time and rolled her eyes. Based on the size of the speakers, they were going to hear the music from the resort all the way in town. What was it with boys and their toys?

“Do you know if anyone took breakfast to our two guests?” Tj asked. Normally
, the guests who stayed at the resort came into the restaurant for meals, but technically the resort was closed until the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so Tj had planned to deliver meals to the two men in their respective cabins.

“I took both
of them pancakes and sausage first thing,” Ben confirmed. “Captain Tanner invited me in to chat for a spell while he ate, but the other one just growled for me to go away. How long is he staying exactly?”

“Just for a few days
, or until Dennis kills him, whichever comes first,” Tj joked.

“I have to say I would have expected Bonnie to make a better choice,” Doc commented. “The man seems to be as phony as a two
-dollar bill.”

“Two
-dollar bills are real,” Tj pointed out.

“You know what I mean. The man is just a little too smooth.”

Doc had a point. Tj had felt the same thing, as had Jenna and everyone else who had met him when he arrived yesterday.

“Bonnie hasn’t been in the dating game for quite some time,” Bookman pointed o
ut. “I’m sure Bob King can be quite persuasive when he wants to be. Bonnie is probably lonely since Dennis’s father passed. Maybe too good to be true is exactly what she was looking for.”

Ben began returning the unused rum to the locked cabinet. “Personally
, I don’t really trust the man. I’m not sure that Bonnie’s relationship is any of our business, but I just want to go on record as saying that.”

“So your other guest
, this Captain Tanner,” Bookman said, “what’s his story? I take it he’s not an actual uncle.”

Ben looked at Tj
, and she nodded. Doc and Bookman were family. Tj knew that she could trust them as much as she trusted Kyle, Jenna, Nikki, and Hunter. It seemed right to fill them in on what was going on, especially because Jordan Tanner would be around for the entire month of his leave.

“We have reason to believe that Captain Tanner
—who wants us to call him Jordan, by the way—is Gracie’s biological father,” Tj informed the men. “It seems my mom had a one-night fling that happened to coincide with the time Gracie was conceived. My mom never told anyone that Gracie didn’t belong to the man she was married to at the time, but somehow a friend of hers knew the truth and contacted Tanner after my mom died.”

“I
can
see the resemblance,” Bookman commented.

“Have you done any tests?” Doc asked.

“No. But he doesn’t appear to want anything from us other than to get to know his daughter, so I didn’t see any reason to rock the boat at this point. The only people who know why Jordan is here are Grandpa, Dad, Hunter, Jenna, Kyle, Nikki, and now the two of you. We’d like to keep it that way.”

“The girls?” Bookman wondered.

“Think he’s a friend of the family. He asked them to call him Uncle Jordan. We intentionally haven’t told Helen or Bonnie what’s really going on. I love them both, but there are no bigger gossips in town. I really don’t want Gracie to find out. At least not at this point. I’m afraid it would just frighten and confuse her.”

“We won’t say a word,” Bookman promised.

“And if you want to pursue testing, just let me know,” Doc added. “I can make sure the whole thing is taken care of under the radar.”

“Thanks.” Tj hugged both men. “I’m not certain how this will play out
, but I’m glad I have such good friends to go to if I need support.”

“So other than setting up the sound system
, what do you need us to do?” Ben asked.

“Jenna is coming by to help with the food
, but I could use some help arranging the tables. I thought we’d set up some of those long conference tables along the front of the room to put the food on. And we have those big round tables in the storage room that easily can sit ten to twelve people each, so maybe we can set up three. we’ll need folding chairs as well.”

By t
he time Tj had finished giving the men instructions, Jenna had arrived, and the two women retreated to the kitchen to work on dinner. Tj was glad she and Jenna had something to keep themselves occupied with; it was evident they both were little more than bundles of nerves by that point.

“
How did things go between your husband and his new daddy?” Tj teased.

“
As predicted, Dennis blew a gasket. Bob left right away, but I’m afraid poor Bonnie had to deal with his temper for several hours before she finally up and left as well. Luckily, Mom kept the girls last night, so they don’t realize anything is going on.”

“
The girls didn’t come with you?”

“
They’re over at the house. I picked them up on my way here, and Mom was going to head over to Bonnie’s to talk to her. I’ve done what I can with Dennis. When I left the house Josh was just pulling up, so I asked him to make sure Dennis made his way over here before dinner, and that he showed up sober. Josh is a good guy; if anyone can talk Dennis down it’s him.”

Tj turned the knob to preheat the industrial oven
, which was large enough to cook all four turkeys at once. Sometimes it really was handy to live at a resort where you had a professional kitchen at your fingertips.

“The whole thing is such a mess,” Jenna commented tired
ly as she began making the dough for the rolls.

“Maybe once Dennis has a chanc
e to think about things he’ll cool down,” Tj offered.

“I doubt
it. Dennis really hates the guy, and I’m not sure I blame him. I was prepared to like him for Bonnie’s sake, but there’s something about him that I just don’t trust.”

Tj sighed. “I have to agree. I hoped for your sake and Bonnie’s that
he’d be really great, but I feel he has an end game of some sort, even though I can’t figure out what it might be. Bonnie doesn’t have a bunch of money I don’t know about, does she? Because the guy seems to be exactly the sort I would suspect of being a gold digger.”

Jenna put a towel over the dough to let it rise. It was going to take a lot of rolls to feed the crowd they expected.

“No,” Jenna answered. “She owns her house and has a small savings plus a share in the Antiquery, but as far as I know that’s it. She really has to watch her money most months. If he’s looking for a gold mine, I’m afraid he’s digging around in the wrong shaft.”

Tj frowned. Something really wasn’t adding up. Either
everyone
was reading the guy wrong or there was something going on that wasn’t clearly evident. What would a wealthy, smooth-talking businessman want with Bonnie unless it really was love?

“If you
’re finished with the yams, you can start peeling the potatoes,” Jenna instructed.

“I think we
’re going to have a
lot
of food,” Tj commented.

“Yeah, I guess I went a bit overboard
, considering some of our guests are bringing things, but focusing on the food took my mind off the Bonnie-and-Bob situation for short periods of time. We can send food home with everyone. How are things going with Uncle Jordan?”

“Better than I expected
, which simultaneously terrifies and relieves me.”

“Come again?” Jenna
began assembling the ingredients for her famous broccoli casserole.

“At first I was terrified he was going to be some creep who
would demand custody of Gracie in spite of the fact that it would destroy her sense of security and plunge her into a strange world filled with strange people. And when I met him and he seemed to be exactly what both you and Hunter assured me he would be—a nice guy who just wants to meet his daughter and has no intention of destroying her life—I began to relax. But the more I relax, the more terrified I get that he’s planning to wait until my defenses are down and then move in for the kill.”

“
‘Move in for the kill’?” Jenna laughed. “You’ve been watching too many dramas on TV. Kyle did a background check on the guy and he seems to be exactly what he says he is,” she reminded Tj. “A background check! Why didn’t I think about that before? I’ll have Kyle do a background check on Bob King. Maybe if there’s something to find, our super nerd can do it.”

“Speaking of our super nerd
, shouldn’t he be here by now?” Tj wondered.

“He mentioned something about brin
ging Kiara and Annabeth early, so he probably had to go by his mom’s to pick them up. I know Annabeth wanted to hang out with the girls and Kiara wanted to catch up with you. His mom is getting a ride with Frannie and her new boyfriend. They’re also picking up Hazel.”

“It’s probably a good idea for people to car pool with the storm,” Tj
agreed.

“It looked like it was letting up when I drove over
, but I have a feeling we’re merely experiencing a pause and not an end to the storm. The plows were out, and your dad did a good job clearing the drive, so unless it really starts to dump, we should be okay. If we get snowed in, you have lots of empty cabins.”

“How many of these potatoes do you think we need to peel?” Tj asked.

“All of them.”

“I was afraid of that. You do realize that you can get mashed potatoes from a box? No peeling required.”

Jenna made a face.

Tj returned to her chore.

“Do you think it’s too early to turn on some Christmas music?” Jenna asked. “One of the radio stations is featuring around-the-clock holiday tunes.”

“Music would be nice,” Tj
said. ‘There’s a radio on that shelf behind you.”

Jenna turn
ed on the music, then looked out the window at the snow. “It looks like Kyle and crew are here. Why don’t you go say hi while I start on the pies?”

“Do you really think we need four different kinds of pie?”

“Probably not, but pumpkin is customary, Dennis likes chocolate cream, my mom prefers pecan, and I know your dad likes apple.”

“
Apple? You aren’t making boysenberry?” Tj’s face fell.

“You like pumpkin.”

“I know, but I
love
boysenberry.”

“I’ll make you a boysenberry pie next week
,” Jenna promised. “Now go say hi to Annabeth and Kiara and send Kyle in to help me chop the veggies.”

“What kind of veggies?”

“Carrots, asparagus, and cauliflower.”

“And broccoli?” Tj asked hopefully.

“There’s broccoli in the casserole.”

“I know
, but I like plain broccoli.”

“Okay, I’ll chop some
broccoli and grill it in the oven.”

“With chopped garlic?”

“With chopped garlic,” Jenna confirmed. “Now scoot, before the kitchen is invaded and we have to figure out a tactful way of getting everyone out.”

“Everything looks so great,” Nikki commented as she nibbled on one of Jenna’s sausage and mushroom appetizers several hours later. Jenna really had outdone herself in the appetizer department. There were enough choices to make a meal.

Kallie agreed. “I really need to get the recipe for this dip.
What’s in it that gives it that kick? Is that horseradish?”

“
You’ll have to ask Jenna,” Tj said. “She organized all the food; I just chopped and stirred as directed.” Tj picked up a crab-filled wanton to nibble on. Everything really did look wonderful. Jenna might be distracted by the drama going on around her, but it apparently hadn’t affected her cooking ability.

“I noticed Jenna’s girls had on new dresses,” Kallie
added. “They look adorable. My mom always made me a new dress for the holidays when I was little. I wonder where she got that fabric. I love the fall colors in the print.”

“I’m pretty sure Jenna said she made them with fabric she got the last time she was a
t the mall in the valley,” Nikki replied. “I can barely handle a simple hem, but Jenna is a fantastic seamstress. I even heard she made those cool shirts for Dennis’s bowling team. Speaking of Dennis, where is he? I haven’t seen him since I’ve been here.”