The House on Honeysuckle Lane Read Online Free Page A

asked.
    â€œBecause,” she said, “you seem unhappy. I know you, Daniel. I can tell when you’re feeling stressed.”
    He had roundly denied feeling stressed, certainly not about his sisters. “I think it’ll be great, all three of us together at Christmas for the first time in years.”
    â€œVisions of a Norman Rockwell holiday dancing in your head?” She hadn’t said it mockingly.
    Daniel had shrugged. “Yeah, why not?”
    But the truth was that he had been unhappy for the past months. The house and all it contained, both tangible and intangible, had become a drain on Daniel. Caro had left the property to all three of her children equally, but Daniel, as the local one and the trustee of the estate, had been the person keeping it in perfect order, paying bills and seeing to essential repairs. He glanced over his shoulder to the painting above the mantel of the fireplace. It was an oil portrait of his parents, done years ago by an artist in Westminster. Cliff and Caro were dressed formally, Caro seated in a high-backed armchair, Cliff standing a bit to the side, his hand resting on his wife’s shoulder. Both looked properly dignified. Daniel knew that his parents had paid dearly for the portrait, and to be fair it was a good likeness, but for some reason he couldn’t name, the painting had never appealed to him.
    With a small sigh Daniel turned back to the window. If one of his sisters wanted the painting—and that would probably be Emma—she was welcome to it. It was high time for the siblings to make a decision on the future of the house and its contents—and, as Daniel saw it, the future of the family.
    â€œDad, when are Aunt Andie and Aunt Emma getting here?” Sophia asked. Daniel hadn’t heard her come into the room. Unlike her brother, Sophia moved with grace.
    Daniel smiled at his daughter. “When they get here.”
    â€œDad!” she protested. “That’s not a real answer.”
    â€œThey said they’d be here sometime this morning. Travel is unpredictable, Sophia. Flights can be delayed and cars can break down.”
    Sophia sighed. “I wish they’d show up so the Christmas season can start. You know I’m impatient.”
    Daniel laughed. “You don’t get that from me.”
    â€œOh, yes,” she said, very seriously, “I do.”
    Daniel watched as his daughter ran off toward the kitchen where Anna Maria was monitoring the cookies that had gone into the oven about ten minutes earlier. From the wonderful aroma in the air, the cookies were doing just fine.
    Marco now had his nose pressed to the glass. “You’ll steam up the window,” Daniel said.
    Marco moved back an inch or two and with his forefinger drew a heart on the glass where his nose and mouth had been. “But now I’ve got a heart,” he said.
    And in his son’s simple reply Daniel saw an affirmation that he had chosen wisely for his life. After college in Arlington Daniel had gone to California to earn an associate degree with a major in culinary arts from the CIA. While there he had also taken a certificate program in wine and beverage studies. Why not? The campus was in the glorious Napa Valley. His plan had been to go home to Oliver’s Well after completion of his studies and pursue a career in cooking. And then he had met Anna Maria Spinelli in the lobby of the old-fashioned movie house in Westminster; they had both gone to see a screening of Casablanca .
    To say it was love at first sight wouldn’t be far off. There was an immediate physical attraction followed by the discovery of a shared love of food and family and the realization that they truly enjoyed being together, whether it be watching movies on Netflix or sitting quietly side by side on a bench in Oliver’s Grove, the town’s park, or experimenting with recipes. Anna Maria was close to her large family, still living in her