Sweetheart Cottage (Cranberry Bay #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

was old enough to stay home by herself. But when she left for the library, Rylee locked the door handle and forgot to take the set of keys. She spent the day reading stacks of books about starting a business. By four-o-clock, she was hungry and a light rain covered the sidewalks. By the time her grandparents arrived home, she’d fallen asleep, leaning against the porch railing. The next day, Grandpa walked to the local hardware store and bought a key box to install. He programmed the code to be her birthday, so she would always remember.
    Rylee clicked the numbers on the box, and, with a little tug, lifted off the lid. She took the key out of the box and inserted it into the door. The door stuck, and she gave it a hard push with her shoulder. As she stepped inside, the smell of cat urine and raw sewage overpowered her. Rylee quickly grabbed her sweater and jerked the collar over her nose. She reached for the wall light switch and turned it to “On.” Nothing happened. Rylee gritted her teeth. Of course the lights wouldn’t work. No one had been paying the bills. Mentally, she added call the electric company and add her name to the billing, as well as call the gas company for heat onto her list of things to do.
    Carefully, Rylee stretched her hand out and made her way through the darkened living room and into the hallway. She kept her fingers trailing along the wall as she moved slowly in the dark. A small bit of light from the street streamed in from the living room windows and gave her a bit of help in seeing her way. If she could reach the closet, Grandma always stored a box of storm supplies, including a radio, battery, and flashlights, inside a plastic bin in the closet. Suddenly, Rylee’s hand felt the closet doorknob, and she pulled it open. The plastic tub lay in the same place it had always been, at the bottom. A stack of kitchen towels rested on top of the tub. Rylee pulled out a small hand towel and buried her face in it. The softness reminded her of Grandma, and the tears bubbled in her throat.
    Raisin pressed his cold nose against Rylee’s side. She reached down to pet him, and his soft fur calmed her. Rylee placed the towel on the floor and reached back into the closet. She flipped open the tub lid and grabbed the flashlight. Thankfully, the flashlight still had a small bit of charge, and a dim light bounced off the walls of the living room. A large water stain ran from the ceiling, down the wall, and to the floorboards. Parts of the ceiling plaster lay scattered across the floor. Rylee clenched her teeth as she added to her list the growing number of items that needed repair.
    Scurrying noises moved above her head, and Raisin barked sharply. Rylee shivered. Rats or raccoons? Raisin bolted up the stairs, panting and barking. “Raisin!” Rylee hollered. A raccoon could tear him apart. Rylee ran behind him and clutched the flashlight in front of her. She tried not to think about small critters jumping from ceiling beams and into her hair.
    Raisin bolted into the bathroom and stopped at the edge of the tub. He barked twice. Rylee cautiously leaned over the porcelain. A calico cat with five kittens was tucked in the corner. The cat hissed and scrunched closer to the kittens. Rylee grabbed Raisin by the scruff of the neck and pushed him out of the bathroom.
    “Stay,” she said. Raisin sat on the hardwood floor and stared at her. He let out a small whine. His eyes pleaded with her. It was the same look he gave her when she allowed him to sleep on the bed with her. But this time, Rylee shook her head and shut the bathroom door. From the other side, she heard Raisin press against the door as he lay down beside it.
    Cool air blew inside the small bathroom from the open window above the tub. Rylee sank to the old and faded bathroom mat. She leaned against the toilet and rested the flashlight on the floor. The dim light bounced off the full-length mirror attached to the back of the door. How had things derailed so