Death by Devotion (Book #9 in the Caribbean Murder Series) Read Free

ears.”
    Cindy
couldn’t bring herself to though, right now. It was all too fresh. She’d been
enjoying living with the memory of Clint, didn’t want to go think of Mattheus
at all.
    “Not
yet,” Cindy put up her hand to halt the conversation.
    “Okay,
I get it,” said Ann. “You need to unwind. He hurt you too much.”
    “It’s
not that he hurt me, he took me by surprise, knocked me off balance,” Cindy
replied, feeling winded.  “I’ve lost my bearings for a little while.”
    “Not
good,” Ann responded.
    “And
I do need to unwind,” Cindy agreed, grateful that Ann wasn’t pushing it. There’d
be plenty of time to talk about Mattheus later. Right now she just wanted to
get him out of her mind.
    “The
welcome home party for you is at one o’clock tomorrow,” Ann quickly changed the
topic.  “Lots of people who love you and care about you are all still around.
They’re excited to see you again.”
    Cindy
couldn’t say she felt the same way. She would have actually preferred time
alone to herself, but she would never say that to her sister.
    “Thanks
so much for arranging everything so beautifully, Ann,” Cindy replied.
    “Thank
you for returning,” Ann whispered.
    *
    Cindy
was determined to look beautiful for the welcome home party.  She slept late
and awoke refreshed after a thankfully deep and dreamless sleep. Then, right
after breakfast she retreated to the bathroom to spend lots of time getting
ready. Cindy drew a hot, bubbly bath which she soaked in for a long, long time.
Then she shampooed and dried her lavish hair and brushed it until it shone.
After a quick manicure, she chose a lovely, amber wool dress that was hanging
in the closet. Once dressed she sprayed on a bit of her favorite lavender
perfume and finally felt ready to face the world once again.
    When
Cindy finally stepped back out into the living room, Ann, took a deep breath.  
    “Wow,”
she said, “you look fantastic!  Like you’ve walked off the cover of a magazine.
 Nobody would ever know you’ve been through hell.”
    Cindy
smiled, “thanks Ann.”
    *
    At
one o’clock sharp, the doorbell rang and the guests started arriving. To Cindy’s
surprise, she was happy to have them around her.  It was fun to step back into
time, even for an afternoon. In the festive atmosphere, Cindy felt as though
she were picking up from where she left off.
    Two
of the women who’d been part of Cindy’s book club in Cove Bay, Alana and Jewel,
were the first to arrive.  They walked in, took off their coats and rushed over
to Cindy all smiles.
    “My
goodness we’ve heard all the wonderful things you’ve been doing,” Alana
started, staring at Cindy.
    “You’re
famous,” Jewel echoed, reaching over to give Cindy a hug.
    “Is
it true that you’re really coming back to live here?” Alana interrupted. “You
know how rumors fly wild in Cove’s Bay.”
    The
doorbell rang again and in walked some of Clint’s old friends, Tina, Barbara
and Moira. They walked in together, had obviously met up before they arrived.
    “Cindy,
it’s so fabulous to see you,” Tina came over first. “It’s a bit like having
Clint back, even.” Then she caught herself, wondering if she should have said
that.
    The
other two women quickly joined her, interrupting what could have been an
awkward moment.
    The
doorbell kept ringing and Ann kept opening it, welcoming everybody.
    Cindy
chatted with the women, as the door opened again and Al, Clint’s best man
arrived. He carried a large food basket with him and was bundled in a heavy
coat.
    Ann
took the basket and thanked him as the doorbell rang again. This time Reverend
Tom Mallord walked in. He was the pastor who’d married Cindy and Clint.
    Cindy
began to feel strange, and wondered what Ann had told everyone about her plans.
    “Cindy,
how absolutely wonderful to see you,” Al came right over to her now, took her
hands and looked into her eyes.  It was clear to Cindy, that Al had been