Strawberry Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 13 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) Read Online Free PDF

wrong. I’m on vacation and I just want
to sit and watch some TV in peace and quiet, is that too much to ask?” he
complained.
    Echo
pursed her lips and took a deep breath, trying to keep her temper in check. She
couldn’t understand why the man who had wooed her for several weeks had now
turned into this brooding stranger. “My understanding was that this vacation
was going to be about spending time together and exploring our relationship,”
she said, giving him a pointed look.
    He
looked at her, annoyed at first, then seeming to soften. “Look, doll, I’m
sorry, okay? It was a long drive and I just need to catch up on some rest, then
I’ll be ready to get up and go do things with you. I need to decompress for a
bit, but I don’t mind at all if you want to go explore. I’ll be here when you
get back – take lots of pictures,” he smiled, kissing the tip of her nose and
considering the matter settled.
    “Okay,”
Echo replied, at least somewhat satisfied with his explanation. Truth be told,
she was actually looking forward to taking her time and exploring the shops and
restaurants that made the area famous. If she went by herself, she wouldn’t
feel rushed, and could linger in a coffee shop all afternoon if she felt like
it, enjoying the tropical breezes.
    **
    Echo
had lost track of time – delighted that there was so much to see and do. She’d
meandered aimlessly from shop to shop, stopping occasionally for coffee, gelato
and key lime pie. She’d talked with locals and tourists alike, and even
received an invitation to a beach party later on in the week. By the time she
mounted her bike to head back to the beach house, it was nearly dinner time, so
she stopped and picked up a large bucket of steamed clams, which rode proudly
in her bike basket. She strolled into the house, bearing her bounty of the sea,
and couldn’t find Frank anywhere. She went from room to room, calling his name,
before finally venturing outside to find him sitting under a beach umbrella on
a lounger, staring out to sea.
    “Hey
there,” she called, swinging her bucket of clams in one hand, carrying a bottle
of wine and two glasses in the other.
    “Where
have you been?” he asked without looking at her, his voice deadly quiet.
    “I
went into town, you knew that,” she said deflated. “You said you wouldn’t mind
at all,” she reminded him, her voice faintly accusing.
    “And
what were you doing?” he still stared out at the ocean.
    “I
shopped, I stopped for coffee and pie, I met some really fun people, who…”
    “Fun
people?” he cut her off. “You mean men. You met fun men, and spent time with
them. That’s what you really meant, isn’t it?” he accused coldly, finally
turning to look at her with disapproval.
    Echo
was done. She recognized a domineering, possessive man when she saw one, and
she had left that type of life behind a long time ago. “No, I said that I met
fun people, and that’s exactly what I meant. Fun. People. How dare you presume
to accuse me?” she snarled. “It was your idea to come on this vacation, your
idea to just drop everything and get away, and you’ve been nothing but a rude,
controlling, bastard the entire trip. I’m sick of it, and I’m leaving,” she
finished, making an on-the-spot decision.
    “You’re
not going anywhere,” he said quietly.
    “Watch
me,” she shot back, slogging through the soft, fine sand back to the house.
    She
went into the bedroom, pulled out her suitcase and snatched her clothes out of
drawers and off of hangers, throwing them in. She then went through the same
process with her toiletries, tossing them carelessly into her makeup bag. She
planned to either ride a bike, which could prove difficult with her baggage, or
walk to town, then take a taxi back to the mainland where she could catch a
flight home. They had driven Frank’s car down, so he could find his own way
back…or not, for all she cared. Echo had fled from California to escape a man
much like