William Jarvis - Sky Valley 03 - Mayhem at the Mansion Read Free Page B

you let them get to you? You can start again. You can show them that you can do this.”
    “The last time I tried doing that, I failed and someone died.”
    “Just because it happened before doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again.”
    “Says who?”
    “Says me.” He answered. “You have to trust yourself again, Emmy. I’m here. I’ll be here for you. I know we still don’t know each other a lot but we’ll get to that and…and I believe in you. You can do this.”
    Emmy took a deep breath. She thought about how she let the opinions of other people rule her life in the past couple of months and how it affected her and she really didn’t want to live the rest of her life that way. She knew that she was bigger than all those things and even if there were still a lot of problems, she couldn’t really let those put her life on hold.
    “You know what?” She said. “Maybe, you’re right. Maybe, I really should try again.”
    He smiled. “I knew I could count on you.”
    She smiled back. It was nice to have a new friend, after all.
    “So…” he said, “See you at the mansion?”
    She smiled. “Sure.” She said. “See you.”

CHAPTER 5
SHE’S COOKING AGAIN
    Emmy didn’t waste any time. She went to the grocery after that conversation with Frank and bought some ingredients that she could use to make some pastries and sweets. She filled her shopping bags with sugar, flour, fresh fruits, flavorings, and everything else that could help her. She even bought some new boxes and ribbons that she could use for packaging and even some utensils that would make baking easy for her. She never felt this excited in so long.
    As she made her way to the front door of the house, she noticed that some of the neighbors were looking at her. They were looking at her many shopping bags, noticing that what she bought was meant for cooking.
    “Oh look!” One of the neighbors, Mara, a 50-something lady with red curls who loved to wear maxi dresses said. “She’s cooking again!”
    “If I were her, I would continue to lock myself inside that house. People might die, you know!” They laughed.
    Emmy took a deep breath. She knew that she had to say something but she could no longer tolerate this. These people were just too much.
    “Hey.” She said. “You know what? If I were me, I would punch the hell out of you.”
    Mara and her friend were dumbstruck and they walked back a bit.
    Emmy went on. “You don’t know what happened at that coffee shop or at the resort. No one really knows. But sooner or later, the truth will come out and all of you will be dead to me. All you’re good at is spreading rumors and I am so much more than that. So back off. Oh and just so you know? Yeah, I’m cooking again. Scared now?”
    Mara bit her lip and rolled her eyes. She then went back inside of her house with her friend which made Emmy smile. She instantly went to the kitchen and prepared the things and ingredients that she needed to make some Mango Macarons.
    She beat the egg whites until they were foamy, then added cream of tartar, salt, and sugar. Then, she stirred in the mangoes and the food coloring and she folded them in until everything was well-blended. She also added mango juice and buttercream and mixed some more. Then she placed the filling in a piping bag and piped perfect circles on a baking tray.
    She placed the tray inside the oven and waited for the macarons to be baked. Then, when they were done, she took them out and looked at them. The smell of mangoes enveloped the room and for the first time in a long time, she felt happy with herself.
    “That smells great!” Troy’s voice boomed into the room.
    “Hi Daddy!” Emmy said as she greeted her dad who just came inside the room.
    “Wow, you made macarons?” Troy said. “You’re baking again!” He exclaimed. “That’s amazing.”
    She laughed. “Thanks, dad.” She said. “I actually saw Frank at the park earlier today…”
    “Frank? Frank who?”
    “You