Cades Cove 01 - Cades Cove: A Novel of Terror Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Everyone’s waiting on you, hon’. After we give the kids and Janice their souvenirs, I thought it might be nice if we took them out for a nice ‘coming home’ dinner.”
    “ Sure, why not.”
    He forced a broad smile, feeling nervous, like a little boy hiding a cherished family keepsake he’d just broken. He wanted very badly to get as far as possible from their bedroom. Taking her hand in his, he squeezed it tightly as they walked downstairs together.
    “ Okay, Dad’s here, everyone!” said Jillian, excitedly. “So, what did you bring us from Gatlinburg?”
    Jillian and Christopher could hardly wait to open their gifts, which made it easier for David to slip Tyler’s leather coat to him without the younger kids noticing the obvious disparity between his souvenir and theirs. Even so, David had a rehearsed explanation in mind if he had to justify the more expensive ‘teenager’ gift as compared to Jillian’s handcrafted Smoky Mountain rag doll and Christopher’s authentic Indian headdress and deerskin drum and mallet.
    When Jillian finally noticed her older brother’s gift from Gatlinburg, David’s planned response disintegrated when his little girl frowned and started to cry.
    “ Tell you what, sweetie,” he said, gently. “How about you pick the place where we’ll go for dinner?”
    At first she seemed uninterested in the offer, but then started to smile. David suspected his wallet was about to pay more than just the difference between Jillian and Tyler’s souvenirs.
    “ Casa Bonita!” she shouted.
    “ That’s a wonderful idea!” Janice agreed. “I’ll pitch in some cash if you’d like.”
    He almost accepted her offer, until Miriam waved her off and shot him a perturbed glance, reminding him of an ‘anniversary promise’ to lighten up on the kids and the budget. So instead of a less expensive outing to a burger or pizza joint, the restaurant known throughout the region as a Mexican food mini-Disneyland would deepen the dent in their expendable income.
    Miriam gave Janice her souvenir and a half-pound of Gatlinburg fudge, and then David handed an arrowhead each to Jillian and Christopher, while the pyrite piece went to Tyler. Afterward, the family piled into their minivan and headed north to the restaurant located in the older section of Denver’s sprawling metro area.
    With the house to herself, Sadie jumped onto the sofa and curled up in front of the TV, which Jillian had changed to the Cartoon Network for her just before they left. Soon she began to doze off…until a creak resounded on the stairway. She sat up with her ears perked high and listened. A hazy form drifted into the living room and then passed in front of the television, eliciting a low growl from her. Jumping down from the sofa, the dog followed the shadowy presence into the kitchen with her teeth bared, launching a full assault of angry barks.
     
    ***
     
    “ Sadie? Oh, Sa-a-d-i-e-e-e!”
    Nearly eight o’clock that evening, the Hobbs family had just returned home after dropping Janice off at her nearby townhouse, where she joked about gaining five pounds before morning from the Gatlinburg fudge.
    “ Sadie??” Jillian called again. She checked the kitchen, dining room, and the den before returning to the living room. “Where is she?”
    The Cartoon Network blared loudly on the TV, but the sofa sat empty. David followed Miriam and Tyler into the house, carrying Christopher over his shoulder, rueful he wouldn’t be able to do this much longer since his son seemed to get bigger by the week.
    “ Sweetie, she’s probably somewhere upstairs,” David assured her. Christopher fast asleep, he laid him on the loveseat. “I don’t think I can carry him up those stairs tonight,” he told Miriam, who had just hung their coats on the hall tree in the foyer.
    Jillian headed upstairs to look for the dog. Tyler paused long enough in the living room to change the TV channel to the G-4 Network before joining his sister in her