SLAY PAIRS WITH ROSE (The Kelly's Deli Cozy Murder Mysteries Book 3) by Sophie Brent (phonics reading books .txt) 📕

Erin turned, picked up her bag and walked quickly across the fine parquet oak floor of the cottage to the beautiful kitchen/diner which overlooked the rear garden.

Rosa had chosen a cream colour scheme so that the small cottage was light and welcoming rather than dark and gloomy. The fabrics and furnishings had been added to over the years, but she had always loved deep red and fresh green and the overall colour scheme was distinctive but still warm. This was the place that Erin had come to know almost as well as her room over the deli. A second home in so many ways.

“I like that stone fireplace,” Matt said as he carried two of Emma’s crates through to the living room. “It must be cozy in winter.”

“Very,” Erin nodded and started unpacking her bag onto the well-used kitchen table. “There’s a wood-burning stove in here when the weather turns really cold, but Rosa doesn’t mind turning the central heating on. Once an Italian, always an Italian. If the temperature drops below twenty degrees, she is officially freezing.”

She gestured with her head towards the table as she filled the electric kettle at the sink and turned it on. “Take a seat and I’ll get the coffee on. Zoe shouldn’t be too long. She had just finished the press release for the family when I called and to be honest, I think she was glad of an excuse to get away.”

“It’s a tough situation,” Matt nodded but leaned against the wall instead. “Nice place. As hideouts go, I’ve seen a lot worse.”

“Don’t forget private and secluded. You can scream and cry all you want and there are only a few neighbours to hear you.”

“Does a lot of that go on? You surprise me. I thought this part of Kingsmede was a rural retreat.”

Erin measured the Italian blend ground coffee into a large cafetiere. “Did you notice the cottage for sale we passed just down the road? Yes? That belongs to Rachel Ellis. The woman we helped to track down for the murder of her very married boyfriend last month. It is a lovely cottage but it’s still for sale, so you can reach your own conclusions from that.”

“Ah, so not so much of a retreat from the real world, after all. I have to admit, it is very special around here. I love the garden.”

Matt pushed his hands into his trouser pockets and stared out at the flowerbeds and shrubs that edged a narrow strip of lawn behind the cottage.  Beyond that were the low chalk hills of the Downs and from where Erin was standing, she could see sheep grazing in open fields and dark splashes of old woodland dotted the hillside.

“Are those lemon trees?” he asked.

“Rosa drove all the way from Italy with three young trees hidden in the back of her car. Very naughty! They seem to do well here. The garden faces south, and she cossets them at regular intervals.”

Erin filled the cafetiere with hot water from the kettle, opened the back door and stepped outside onto the sun-warmed golden flagstones on the small patio behind the cottage.

“This is Rosa’s favourite spot,” she said to Matt who had followed her outside into the warm sunshine. “The terracotta pots over there are sweet basil and oregano and this is lemon balm. It can get out of hand if you plant it in the soil, but it absolutely thrives over here.”

She let her head flop back so that the sun could warm her face. “When I was young, I would come out here with Rosa very summer day that I could, and we would make real lemonade from the lemons picked from those trees. She would fill some champagne flutes with sparkling water, and we would pretend that we were at some fancy party. It was magical. And it is still is. In fact, I should be planning some sort of welcome home party for the two runaways. Want to join in?”

She held up her right hand before he had a chance to reply. “In fairness, I should warn you that some major garden management will be needed to restore this weed-invested jungle back to its former glory before they get back, or I will be in big trouble. It’s amazing how things can get so tangled and out of control in only a few months.”

“Are you referring to the garden or life in general?” Matt grinned and watched her pour the coffee. “Of course, I would be very pleased to help. A couple of major projects have just ended, so I have some time to finish clearing the bookshop to make way for your new bistro. And maybe learn how to tell the difference between the weeds and plants you actually want to keep.”

“Ah,” Erin coughed and almost spilled her drink on the patio. “You are not a gardener then.”

Matt replied by putting his beaker down on the metal mesh patio table and taking a few steps over to the nearest flower bed. He pointed to a bright orange blossom. “This I recognize. Is it a marigold? Am I right? Great. Now, as for the rest of them?”

Erin watched Matt meticulously examine half a dozen plants in turn before finally butting in. “Okay, I get the message. Some training and supervision may be required. Thanks, I appreciate the offer.”

She was just about to talk dates when the front doorbell rang.  “That will be Zoe! I’ll be right back!” Erin instantly put down her untouched coffee, jogged to the front door and held it wide open to let her old friend into the cottage.

Her reward was a quick hug. “Wow, the cottage looks exactly the same as I remember. It never changes, does it?” Then Zoe sniffed the air. “Is that coffee I can smell? Fiona’s family only drinks tea