Read Online Real Estate and Murder (A Port Grace Cozy Mystery Book 1) by Emily Page - Free Book Online Page B

thought made her smile.
    She lay on her back in bed, glad it was Saturday and she didn’t have to go into the office. She got a little giddy when she remembered her date with Cooper, and suddenly she couldn’t lie still.
    She went downstairs wearing the clothes from the night before. Mittens jumped up on the counter to greet her as she started making coffee. With the coffee maker bubbling and steaming, Georgia opened a can of cat food for Mittens, who thanked her by purring as she did a figure eight through Georgia’s legs on her way to the food.
    Georgia nearly had breakfast ready by the time her father came downstairs.
    “Wow. Smells great in here,” said Bill through a yawn. “What are you making?”
    “Omelets with peppers and spinach, bacon, and strawberry pancakes. It’ll be ready in a minute. Go ahead and sit down.”
    Bill eagerly obeyed and said, “Sounds great! I haven’t had a big Saturday morning breakfast in ages. I’m happy to give Rosy the weekends off, but I sure do miss her cooking. She leaves me leftovers, of course, but not breakfast food. It doesn’t keep.”
    “Yeah, well, I know how much you love your breakfast,” said Georgia as she set a full plate in front of him.
    Bill rubbed his hands together in delight as he looked down at the plate, but just before he could reach out and grab a piece of bacon, Mittens flew up on the table and snatched both pieces out from under his fingers.
    “Hey!” said Bill.
    Georgia yelled at Mittens, but she leapt off the table and streaked out of the patio door Georgia had left cracked open to let in the fresh sea air.
    “The cat just stole my bacon!” said Bill, a mixture of outrage and bitter disappointment on his face as he pointed to the place Mittens had vanished.
    He looked at Georgia with big, sad eyes, like a child who did not understand why he had been punished, and Georgia couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
    “It’s not funny, Georgia!”
    “Don’t worry, Daddy!” said Georgia through her laughter. “I’ve got more bacon.”
    She put two more pieces on his plate. He picked one up and took a bite.
    He chuckled and said, “I guess it was a little funny.”
    They finished breakfast in peace, but Mittens was not done with her hijinks for the day. The mischievous tabby was in top form.
    After breakfast, Georgia walked down the road to her own home to change into shorts and a T-shirt. When she returned, she heard the showering running upstairs and settled in with a paperback on the living room couch. She’d only gotten a few pages in, however, when her father screamed from the shower.
    Georgia shot up from the couch and was halfway up the stairs before Bill yelled, “Get out of here, you crazy feline!”
    Georgia went to one knee on the stairs, clutching the bannister in a fit of hysterical giggles.
    “Drop that! Quit it! I thought cats hated water.”
    Georgia made it to the master bathroom just as Mittens began yowling and chattering in protest and Bill started yelling, “Take that! Don’t like that, do you, kitty? Get out of here.”
    “Dad?” said Georgia, rapping on the bathroom door.
    “Georgia! Thank goodness. Come get this nutty cat! She’s jumped in my shower, and every time I throw her out, she just comes right back in.”
    “I’m not coming in there while you’re in the shower,” said Georgia.
    “Georgia, she’s playing with the soap. She’s gotten it all slippery in here. I’m going to slip and bust a hip if you don’t get in here.”
    “Daddy, you are not that old!”
    “I am when it’s convenient to me.”
    Georgia laughed and said, “Don’t I know it. Put a towel on and I’ll come in and get her.”
    There was some shuffling and thumping and meowing, and then Bill said, “All right, I’m decent. Hurry up.”
    When Georgia opened the door, Mittens ran up to her and yowled as if to say, “Look what he did, Mother!”
    Mittens was soaked, and lines of blue, half foamy shampoo ran all down her