Cold Hollow (Cold Hollow Mysteries Book 1) Read Free

twists and turns it takes, Dad.”
    There, she had settled it. She settled many things. Their daughter was not pretentious, just well-read, and she enjoyed sharing any new knowledge whenever the occasion arose. As Sophia stared at her, she noticed how attractive her daughter was becoming. She was blossoming into quite the beauty. She had her father’s face and blue eyes, but Sophia’s wavy, dirty-blond hair. She was getting taller and slimming out. Little Liam was all Sophia. His hair was blond and curly. His eyes were a mixture between blue and brown—some called it hazel. His face was all her too, round and cute, or so her husband said. He had just finished kindergarten and would be entering the first grade that fall.
    When they reached their destination, they met up with the movers and drivers, who had already unloaded the furniture and boxes to their respective rooms in the house. They handed over the keys to Angus. They exchanged payments and receipts as the children bolted from the vehicle, ran up the front porch, and waited by the front door. Sophia and Angus laughed and hauled their bags out of the vehicle.
    Sophia stood there and looked up at the largest log cabin she had ever seen in her life. It was magnificent, and so were the views. Each way she turned, the distant peaks of mountain ranges and tall, full-bodied pines, maples, and oaks enchanted her. She felt her husband put his arm around her waist and pick her up to carry her through the threshold because, according to him, he never got tired of his new bride.
     
    ***
     
    “Mom, can I have the bedroom with the little bathroom attached? I’m older than Liam and I should get first pick!”
    Sophia smiled as she made the bed in the master bedroom. She yelled back, “You sure can! That’s why your belongings and furniture are already in there. Liam has already picked out his room and likes the built-in toy box under the window.”
    She heard her teenage daughter’s squeals of delight, and the sound of furniture being rearranged inside her room. Sophia had already arranged it and only asked that Layla make her bed up with clean linens, but she was going through that rebellious teenage period and Sophia had decided it was not worth the effort to fight over a few pieces of furniture.
    She heard Angus with Liam in his room, unpacking his toys and arranging them on the built-in shelves; the less desirable toys went into the toy box. If Sophia knew them, it would not be long before she heard them playing with a few games. Sure enough, the war cries of men storming the castle walls began, and she smiled.
    With her bed completely made, she unpacked a few pieces of clothing and went to the kitchen downstairs to unload the coolers and dry groceries they had brought with them. After that, she scrubbed the bathrooms clean. Even though the home had already been cleaned and the rugs freshly steamed, she liked to know that she had done the bathrooms herself. She was meticulous about certain things.
    She halted at the sound of a lawn mower and peeked out the living room window to see a rather rotund, sweaty man mowing their lawn. He was positively filthy. The only thing she could discern from his dirty clothes was that his name was “Bob.” His name was embroidered on his T-shirt, over his right breast. When she moved to a different window, she saw flower beds brimming with glorious blooms, and a separate vegetable garden beside an herb garden. She was amazed but pleased. She loved nothing more than fresh vegetables.
    She heard Angus come into the living room behind her and turned. “Did the gardens come with the home, or did you hire someone to do it?”
    Angus shook his head and headed toward the kitchen. She followed him and watched as he poked through the groceries. “The town takes care of that. They encourage everyone to go green.”
    Sophia smiled. “I agree. Whom do we pay? I have to go into town to the market anyway, so I can pay the bill while I’m