A Villa in Sicily: Olive Oil and Murder (A Cats and Dogs Cozy Mystery—Book 1) by Fiona Grace

Author:Fiona Grace [Grace, Fiona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2020-11-30T23:00:00+00:00

*

Audrey was in a massive home overlooking the white-capped bay, on a gray, dreary day in January. It was snowing, and there was no heat yet in the house, but her father had brought in a space heater, and so she kept returning there to keep her fingers warmed.

“All right, kid. Just a little more sanding and this wall will be smooth as a baby’s bottom.”

She giggled. Her father may have called her “kid,” but he didn’t treat her like one. He’d given her her own toolbelt and tools, not prissy pink “girl” ones—real, contractor-grade instruments, like his own. And whenever she got back from school and his crew members had to go home to their families, he’d stay later, inspecting their work and teaching Audrey lessons she hadn’t learned in the classroom.

Brina moaned from beside the space heater as she finished her algebra. “It’s almost dark. Isn’t it time to go home yet?”

Miles Smart laughed. “In a bit, Bri.” He turned on a lamp and motioned Audrey to the side of the bench. “Let’s move the workbench over there. Ready?”

She nodded eagerly, and the two of them picked it up. She may have held one side, sort of, but he did all the heavy lifting.

He handed her the sandpaper. “All right. You do that side. Just like I showed you.”

She took the sandpaper and moved it back and forth over the plaster. “Like this?”

“Yep. Good job. Keep it going. Put some muscle into it.”

She smiled at him, and he gazed back at her, such love and admiration in his eyes.

But suddenly, his eyes widened. He seemed to concentrate on something behind her, his face twisting into something like horror and surprise. His mouth opened to the shape of an O and called out her name, but it sounded as though he was underwater, miles away. She reached for him, but he backed away, then, in a blink, shattered into a million little pieces before her eyes.

Audrey sat up in bed, her heart pounding.

Her sudden motion made the fox look up, but he quickly rolled over and went back to sleep. She stared out at the lightening sky, with only a few remaining pinpoint stars, thinking of her father. She’d thought of him a lot in the years since he left without any explanation, but eventually, she’d tucked those painful memories away. They only served to remind her that she’d been abandoned. Now, with the renovation, it seemed like they were all coming to the forefront.

Now, more than ever, she wanted to know where he went, and why.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.