Sweet Saboteur Read online

  Scarlett closed her eyes for a moment. Tears could wait for later. “Let’s not get excited just yet. Not until we know how much it’s worth.”

  “I have a good feeling,” Olivia stated. “If your Dad thought it was worth something, then I dare say he knew a little about it.”

  “It does look important, but none of us read Latin, so who knows?” Scarlett didn’t want to get too dependent on the outcome, but she’d already had several daydreams of how their lives would look with no mountain of debt.

  Judging by the looks of her sisters, they were off on that same voyage of what if, and Scarlett wished them well. Dreams had gotten them this far. Who knew what the future held?

  ~~~

  Thank you so much for reading Sweet Saboteur. I hope you liked it and are keen to leave a review either on Amazon or Goodreads.

  If you’d like to follow Scarlett and her sisters in another mystery, Book 2, Candy Corruption will be out in a few weeks, and you can order it here.

  Candy Corruption

  Finding a buyer for a book stolen from them twice, Scarlett and her sisters are almost relieved to part with it. Only things don’t happen so easily for this family.

  Excerpt:

  “Thinking about what we’ll do with all the money?” Violet pushed by, carrying a basket of fresh fruit and vegetables straight from their back yard several streets away.

  “No… I guess. It’s hard not to. I keep telling myself that owning an expensive book doesn’t mean we’ll be rich, but then I think about what if.”

  Violet laughed loudly. “Wow! Out of the three of us, I would have put money on you not dwelling on it.”

  “Really? So you and Ruby haven’t been thinking about how much the book is worth?” Scarlett scoffed as she set up an industrial mixer for the bread dough.

  “Are you crazy?” Violet laughed. “Every single day and most of the twenty-four hours of each of those.”

  “I don’t know whether that’s good or bad.” Scarlett grinned. “But at least I’m not the only one.”

  “Luckily, we won’t have to wonder for too long. What time are you expecting the man from the appraiser?” Ruby asked. Having another job meant she didn’t always come into the café in the mornings, but she helped on Monday’s or when they had large orders.

  Scarlett shrugged as she took a package from her bag, squeezing it behind the dry ingredients. The act gave her a sense of déjà vu since she’d found the stolen book precisely that way at the diner down the street.

  “He just said this morning.”

  Since 5 am was too early for most people to be out and about, they began their mornings routine with little conversation. No doubt, both thinking about the future.

  Before long bread, pies, and cupcakes lined the shelves in the café, and the first customers kept them busy. Ruby had left with George to begin her ‘real’ job.

  “Does it seem as though there are more customers than usual?” Scarlett asked Violet while making a fresh batch of coffee.

  “I was thinking the same thing. You know how it is around here—tell one person a secret, and you may as well have put a banner out.”

  “I daresay that’s why they’re hanging about.” Scarlett wasn’t amused. This was private business and could spell relief or disappointment, depending on the outcome.

  “I hope he comes soon. The suspense is killing me.” Violet sounded as frustrated as Scarlett felt.

  Glancing at the large clock on the opposite wall for what may have been the hundredth time, she decided that the darn hands must be glued in place. “Well, it’s almost 12, so the assessor shouldn’t be far away. Maybe he’s stuck in traffic or doesn’t know the roads. Although Portland isn’t the other end of the world.”

  Violet snorted. “The roads here are excellent. I’m sure if he’s as keen as his email sounded, he’ll be here any minute.”

  The front door of the café banged, and they turned to find someone wedged in the opening.

  To find out what happens to Scarlett and her sisters, pick up your copy of Candy Corruption here.

  Recipes

  These recipes are ones I use all the time and have come down the generations from my mum, grandmother, and some I have adapted from other recipes.

  Also, I am now in possession of my husband’s grandmother’s recipe book. Exciting! I’ll be bringing some of them to life very soon.

  Just a wee reminder that I am a New Zealander. Occasionally, I may have missed converting into ounces and pounds for my American readers.

  My apologies for that, and please let me know if you do try them, how they turn out.

  Keep well.

  Cheryl x

  Lemon Cupcakes

  Ingredients

  340g/12 ozs fine sugar

  300g/10 1/2 ozs plain flour

  1 tsp salt

  1 tsp baking soda

  230g/8 ozs lemon yogurt

  300g/1 3/4 cups canola oil

  1tbsp vinegar

  1 tsp lemon essence

  2 eggs

  Instructions

  1 Pre-heat oven to 190℃/375 ℉

  2 Line cupcake tin with papers.

  3 Sift all dry ingredients together in a mixer bowl.

  4 Mix all wet ingredients in a separate bowl.

  5 Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix on a slow speed to combine.

  6 Scrape down bowl and mix again until smooth.

  7 Divide batter into cupcake papers and bake for 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean from the center of the cupcake

  8 Cool on a wire rack, then frost.

  Cream Cheese Frosting

  Ingredients

  100g/3 1/2 ozs butter, at room temperature

  150g/ 4 3/4 ops cream cheese, at room temperature

  3 cups confectioners sugar

  pinch of salt

  1 tsp lemon essence

  Instructions

  1 Mix butter and cream cheese in a bowl or mixer until smooth.

  2 Beat in confectioners sugar, salt, and essence.

  Tip: If the mixture is too dry, add a little water. If too wet, add more confectioners sugar.

  3 Spread over cooled cupcakes.

  Double Chocolate Cupcakes

  Ingredients

  2 eggs

  1/2 cup oil

  1 cup milk

  1 tsp vanilla essence

  1 3/4 cups plain flour

  1/2 cup sugar

  1/4 cup of cocoa

  1 tbsp baking powder

  1/2 tsp salt

  1/2 cup chocolate chips

  Instructions

  1 Pre-heat oven to 200℃/400 ℉

  2 Line cupcake tin with papers.

  3 In a bowl, mix eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla essence.

  4 In another bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips.

  5 Fold the dry mixture into the wet until just mixed.

  6 Divide batter into cupcake papers and bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean from the center of the cupcake.

  7 Cool on a wire rack, then frost.

  Frosting

  Use recipe for Lemon frosting substituting 1 dessertspoon cocoa for lemon essence.

  Also by C. A. Phipps

  The Cozy Café Series.

  Sweet Saboteur

  Candy Corruption - pre-order now!

  Mocha Mayhem - out soon.

  The Maple Lane Cozy Mysteries

  Apple Pie and Arsenic

  Bagels and Blackmail

  Cookies and Chaos

  Doughnuts and Disaster

  Eclairs and Extortion

  Fudge and Frenemies - coming later this year

  The Celebrity Corgi Romances

  Charming the Chef

  Don’t forget to subscribe to her Cozy and Sweet Romance newsletter.

  There’s a free recipe book waiting for you. ;-)

  Books by Cheryl Phipps

  Prossers Bay Series - Set in New Zealand

&nb
sp; Prossers Bay Boxed Set – Books 1-4

  Doc’s Town

  Finding Liam

  Seducing Megan

  Saving Stephanie

  Emily’s Wish

  Billionaire Knights Series

  Billionaire Knights Books 1-5

  Restless Billionaire

  Ruthless Billionaire

  Reluctant Billionaire

  Reckless Billionaire

  Resident Billionaire

  Millionaire - Family Ties Series

  The Millionaire Next Door

  The Millionaire’s Proposal

  The Millionaire’s Seduction

  High Seas Weddings

  Against the Tide

  Waves of Passion

  Kisses on the Sand - Out later this year

  Sycamore Springs Series

  Jack and Gill

  Adam and Eve

  Samson and Delilah - Coming soon!

  About the Author

  C. A. Phipps is a USA Today Bestselling Author.

  ‘Life is a mystery.’

  Cheryl loves a good mystery filled with feisty heroines and wonderful small towns with heart-warming tales of strong family ties mixed in with a little romance and humor.

  She lives in a quiet suburb of New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, with her wonderful husband, who she married the moment she left school (yes, they were high school sweethearts).

  A lover of animals, with a few children, and even more grandchildren, who keep her young, she loves family times, dining out, and travel, in that order.

  www.caphipps.com

  [email protected]