Little Fox Cottage
Page 18
When they were all inside Bree found herself looking around the little cottage, though she saw it almost daily. Helena had made it her own, bringing her gorgeous wool rugs to cover the walls, her little treasures to line the mantle, and with the additional shelves she'd had installed, she had space for many of her favorite books.
Maisy went and lay down in front of the little fireplace. Her tail whopped the floor as she wagged it, then she settled down and put her head on her paws and dozed, content to have all her people near.
Helena got busy making the coffee in the tiny kitchenette, humming to herself as she worked. "Please, sit," she said over her shoulder.
Nico sat in the chair by Henry's old desk, but Bree remained standing by the fireplace. She put out one finger to brush the pair of fox kits playing on the fireplace tiles.
"How's married life been treating you, Nico?" Helena asked. "You've been so busy at the clinic I only see you for Sunday dinner it seems, but your papa says things are going well."
"It's fine," he said, looking only at Bree. "Life is pretty good, Helena."
Bree turned back to the fireplace. She spotted the pair of sandstone and mother of pearl fox fetishes, perched together on the mantle, touching sides. They grew fuzzy as she looked at them, the tears welling up in her eyes making her vision blur.
"So here's your coffee, dear," Helena said, handing her a mug. "And help yourself to the cookies. They were made by a famous chef I know." She chuckled, then stopped when she saw the tears on Bree's face.
"What's wrong?" She took a step forward to hug Bree. "Oh, dear. Whatever is wrong?"
Bree shook her head. "Nico, help me."
Nico got up and led Helena to sit down in her easy chair. "Nothing's wrong, Helena. We just have something to tell you."
Helena looked frightened. "You're leaving. You've decided to move away to the big city." Then she calmed herself. "Of course you should. This town is too little for you. You need to do what's best for you, and not worry about me. I'm happy for you, I am. I've enjoyed having you in Vixen, but I understand you have to move on with your lives." She sipped her coffee, and it broke Bree's heart to see her keeping a stiff upper lip about it.
"No, no," Bree said, finding her voice. "That's not it at all." She took a deep breath, trying to get a hold of herself. "I'm sorry for frightening you. It's nothing like that at all." She nodded to Nico. "Tell her now, honey, please."
He pulled out a small device from his pocket, and Bree fumbled to get an envelope out of her purse.
"We're not going anywhere," Nico said. "We just have something to share with you. We hope you'll like it." He handed the device to Helena.
"What is it? I don't understand."
"Show her," Bree said.
Nico pressed play on the device, and a sound came out of the little speaker. It was an odd sound, rhythmic, like whooshing waves moving quickly, in a perfectly synchronized beat.
Helena's eyes grew wide. "What is it?"
"It's a heartbeat," Bree said. She handed the envelope to Helena.
Helena opened it and took out a grainy little black-and-white sonogram.
"It's a baby," Helena whispered. "Isn't it?"
"It's a boy," Bree said. "His name will be Henry Diego Silva."
"Henry," Helena whispered, in wonder. She sat back in her chair, holding the little digital player close. She pressed the play button, and the rhythmic whooshing repeated. "Henry's heartbeat."
Nico saw how unsteady Bree was, and he came over to the fireplace to put his arm around her.
"I'm fine," she said. "Just a bit emotional. It's natural in my condition, right, Doctor?"
"What's my excuse?" he asked, and she saw the tears in his eyes, too.
"It's my Henry," Helena said, holding the sonogram. "A new Henry."
"He'll have a grandpapa in Nico's dad, Helena. But he won't have a grandmother. We'll need you to be one for him. If you will?"
She nodded, crying. "I will."
"And you'll tell him all about your Henry, about where he came from and what kind of a person he was?"
"Our Henry," Helena corrected. "He was both of ours, in the end." She played the snippet of sound again, the little heartbeat that meant that life went on, repeated, and renewed. "And this Henry will be, too. He'll be ours."
Nico kissed Bree's cheek, kissing away the tears. "And he'll be loved."
Roxy spent 10 years in prison for a crime she didn't commit. Now she's got 72 hours to find the real killer, or she'll lose her daughter forever. Read Rum Cake Cottage to find out how Roxy uncovers a Pajaro Bay mystery almost a hundred years old.
The Pajaro Bay Mysteries
WELCOME TO PAJARO BAY, the little California beach town where the cottages are cute, the neighbors are nosy, and it's always possible to find your personal Happily Ever After. The novels can be read in any order, or follow along from the beginning to see how the world develops:
* * *
HONEYMOON COTTAGE
A tiny beach town, a handsome sheriff, and a chance for a fresh start. Sure, there's a serial killer on the loose, but no place is perfect, right?
* * *
BOARDWALK COTTAGE
Hallie thought she'd spend a fun summer at a funky old amusement park. She didn't expect to become the key to solving a kidnapping plot!
* * *
LIGHTHOUSE COTTAGE
Alone at a lighthouse with a handsome, sweet… murderer? Lori had better figure out what he's hiding before they both end up as shark bait.
* * *
LITTLE FOX COTTAGE
Deliver a dog to its new owner, they said. It'll be easy, they said. They didn't say anything about murder.
* * *
RUM CAKE COTTAGE
Roxy spent 10 years in prison for a crime she didn't commit. Now she's got 72 hours to find the real killer, or she'll lose her daughter forever.
* * *
SONGBIRD COTTAGE
The abandoned cottage with her grandmother's portrait on the wall is the first clue. Will Robin find the others before it's too late?
* * *
SUNSHINE COTTAGE
Witness protection in a small town. If Teresa's cover is blown, she'll lose the best life she's ever known. Oh, and she'll die. That, too.
* * *
RIVERSTONE COTTAGE
A cynical private investigator (and former secret agent) finds himself in the sweet little village of Pajaro Bay, sipping blackberry tea with a hippie chick who raises goats. But when danger arrives in town, he has to figure out if the killers are after him—or the bohemian artist he's falling in love with.
* * *
AND MORE TO COME. Click here for the latest booklist.
The Carita Cove Mysteries
MAGGIE MCJASPER IS STARTING over in a little California beach town. She has a craft shop, a nice circle of friends, and a handsome movie star who keeps flirting with her. Life would be pretty great if she could just stop stumbling over dead bodies….
* * *
MAGGIE and the Black-Tie Affair
A bored trophy wife. A cynical movie star. One evening to save an innocent girl from prison. None of them will ever be the same after this Black-Tie Affair.
* * *
MAGGIE and the Inconvenient Corpse
A handsome movie star in her kitchen, and a corpse in the swimming pool. Just your typical Monday morning.
* * *
MAGGIE and the Mourning Beads
Can Maggie find the real killer when her teenage student threatens to strangle someone with a jet-black necklace... hours before the woman is found dead?
* * *
MAGGIE and the Empty Noose
When the handsome movie star renting Maggie's house is accused of murder, she's the only one who believes he's innocent. Now all she has to do is prove it.
* * *
MAGGIE and the Hidden Homicide
Maggie faces her most confusing case yet when she finds a treasured beaded knife–in someone'
s back! Can she figure out what happened before anyone else ends up dead?
* * *
MAGGIE and the Whiskered Witness
Maggie's dog-training buddy drops off her German Shepherd for a play date–then disappears. Soon Maggie begins to wonder if her friend could be leading a deadly double life.
* * *
MAGGIE and the Serpentine Script
A nasty paparazzo is accused of murder, and Maggie is torn between relief that he's out of her hair—and worry that the police have captured the wrong man.
* * *
MAGGIE and the Rattled Rake
Maggie's friend Nora is charged with trying to murder her younger boy toy husband, and Maggie is sure it's a bum rap. But to clear her friend's name, she's going to have to break a few laws herself….
* * *
AND MORE TO COME. Click here for the latest booklist.
BARBARA COOL LEE writes the kind of books she likes reading: fun and heartwarming romantic mysteries where the good guys treat people with kindness and you can always count on a happy ending.
She lives in a cozy cottage by the sea on the California coast. While she's writing her next book, she's got a loaf of sourdough bread in the oven, a pot of veggie soup on the stove, and the fog is billowing outside the windows.
Be sure to sign up for her newsletter to get all the free short stories and be first to find out when the next book is released.
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