Cades Cove 01 - Cades Cove: A Novel of Terror Read Online Free
Author: Aiden James
really should be more careful,” she continued, on the way upstairs. “But we all make mistakes. Just never make the same one twice.”
They moved past Jillian and Christopher’s bedrooms on the left side of the landing. Tyler’s room sat at the end of the hallway. He insisted on going in first. His two younger siblings rarely got to visit his private domain. Christopher, wide-eyed, surveyed the array of posters covering the walls. A couple of scantily clothed females made Jillian blush and Janice raise an eyebrow.
“ Mom knows about them,” he advised, after noticing their reaction. “There’s the window.” He pointed to a large French-paned window facing the backyard. The damage wasn’t as extensive as he feared. Only one corner of the window was broken, the panes directly above and below bore small spider web-like cracks.
“ This might not be too bad.” Janice moved over to the window and took a closer look. Most glass shards large enough to pick up safely, only a few splinters remained on the windowsill and Tyler’s desk. “Jill, would you mind grabbing the scissors and masking tape from the bottom shelf in the pantry downstairs?”
While Jillian left the bedroom, Tyler retrieved a cardboard box he no longer needed from his Guitar Hero game stashed inside his closet. His sister soon returned with the scissors and tape.
“ Now, give me a hand here and let’s see if we can’t repair this bad boy,” said Janice.
She moved over to the window and tested the strength of the two cracked panes. When satisfied they would hold for the time being, she turned her attention to the broken pane, making a rough estimate of the cardboard patch she needed. With the kids’ help she completed the patch and secured it in place within fifteen minutes, and then cleaned up the remaining glass shards and splinters.
“ If David decides to dock your allowance for this, I’ll pick up the tab, Ty,” she offered. Grateful, he smiled and thanked her. “Since this is our last night together before your mom and dad return home, how does pizza and a movie sound?”
“ Yeah-h-h-h!! Thank you Auntie Jan!!!” the younger kids shouted, followed by a hearty “Woo-hoo!” from Tyler.
***
Janice waited downstairs while the kids finished getting ready. She returned to her spot on the sofa in the living room, next to the fire that slowly died in the fireplace. The late afternoon sun had begun to set behind the foothills at the base of the Rockies. Its light diminished to a mere trickle through the main floor’s back windows.
Necessary to turn on a table lamp, she pulled out a note from her galley that also served as a bookmark, which had all of the pertinent memos and phone numbers Miriam had given her two days prior. On impulse she picked up the phone, prepared to dial the number. But then she noticed the ‘EST’ memo next to the phone number and remembered the two-hour time difference between Littleton and Gatlinburg.
“ Probably out on the town right about now, I imagine,” she mused to herself. “Enjoy yourselves, because there’s a little surprise waiting here when you get home.”
Chapter Three
“ Hey, hon’, what are you thinking about?” asked Miriam. She reached across the table to gently grasp David’s hand, bringing him back to the present with her.
“ Huh? Sorry, babe,” he said, sitting up straight in his seat and taking another sip from his beer.
Spending their last Gatlinburg dinner in one of the more expensive steak establishments, he smiled as he set the bottle down on the table. She smiled as well, and then urged him again to tell her what was on his mind.
He really didn’t know where to begin, as the day’s strange events filled his head like a spinning Roulette wheel. After they left the ravine and Cades Cove’s ‘forgotten’ Lovers’ Lane, and had reached the edge of the meadow that separated John Oliver’s property from the path leading to the ravine,
They moved past Jillian and Christopher’s bedrooms on the left side of the landing. Tyler’s room sat at the end of the hallway. He insisted on going in first. His two younger siblings rarely got to visit his private domain. Christopher, wide-eyed, surveyed the array of posters covering the walls. A couple of scantily clothed females made Jillian blush and Janice raise an eyebrow.
“ Mom knows about them,” he advised, after noticing their reaction. “There’s the window.” He pointed to a large French-paned window facing the backyard. The damage wasn’t as extensive as he feared. Only one corner of the window was broken, the panes directly above and below bore small spider web-like cracks.
“ This might not be too bad.” Janice moved over to the window and took a closer look. Most glass shards large enough to pick up safely, only a few splinters remained on the windowsill and Tyler’s desk. “Jill, would you mind grabbing the scissors and masking tape from the bottom shelf in the pantry downstairs?”
While Jillian left the bedroom, Tyler retrieved a cardboard box he no longer needed from his Guitar Hero game stashed inside his closet. His sister soon returned with the scissors and tape.
“ Now, give me a hand here and let’s see if we can’t repair this bad boy,” said Janice.
She moved over to the window and tested the strength of the two cracked panes. When satisfied they would hold for the time being, she turned her attention to the broken pane, making a rough estimate of the cardboard patch she needed. With the kids’ help she completed the patch and secured it in place within fifteen minutes, and then cleaned up the remaining glass shards and splinters.
“ If David decides to dock your allowance for this, I’ll pick up the tab, Ty,” she offered. Grateful, he smiled and thanked her. “Since this is our last night together before your mom and dad return home, how does pizza and a movie sound?”
“ Yeah-h-h-h!! Thank you Auntie Jan!!!” the younger kids shouted, followed by a hearty “Woo-hoo!” from Tyler.
***
Janice waited downstairs while the kids finished getting ready. She returned to her spot on the sofa in the living room, next to the fire that slowly died in the fireplace. The late afternoon sun had begun to set behind the foothills at the base of the Rockies. Its light diminished to a mere trickle through the main floor’s back windows.
Necessary to turn on a table lamp, she pulled out a note from her galley that also served as a bookmark, which had all of the pertinent memos and phone numbers Miriam had given her two days prior. On impulse she picked up the phone, prepared to dial the number. But then she noticed the ‘EST’ memo next to the phone number and remembered the two-hour time difference between Littleton and Gatlinburg.
“ Probably out on the town right about now, I imagine,” she mused to herself. “Enjoy yourselves, because there’s a little surprise waiting here when you get home.”
Chapter Three
“ Hey, hon’, what are you thinking about?” asked Miriam. She reached across the table to gently grasp David’s hand, bringing him back to the present with her.
“ Huh? Sorry, babe,” he said, sitting up straight in his seat and taking another sip from his beer.
Spending their last Gatlinburg dinner in one of the more expensive steak establishments, he smiled as he set the bottle down on the table. She smiled as well, and then urged him again to tell her what was on his mind.
He really didn’t know where to begin, as the day’s strange events filled his head like a spinning Roulette wheel. After they left the ravine and Cades Cove’s ‘forgotten’ Lovers’ Lane, and had reached the edge of the meadow that separated John Oliver’s property from the path leading to the ravine,
Readers choose
Jagmohan Bhanver
Katie Clark
Robert Brown
Amanda Leigh Cowley
Stuart Handley
Tim Flannery
Beth Andrews