my stepfather passed.”
“He tried. Had three different women come out here for the job, but they all left straightaways. All got spooked by the place. Three women talking about haunts and such was enough to keep all the rest away.”
“Funny, William didn’t mention any ‘haunts and such’ when he was proposing that I come live here for two weeks.”
Amos rubbed his chin and nodded. “I expect William don’t believe in haunts.”
“Uh-huh.” Neither had she until she came here. And now...now, she didn’t know what she believed.
“Well, if you don’t need anything from me,” Amos said, “I got a toilet to fix on the backside of the house.”
“I don’t need anything, but thank you.”
The grizzled old caretaker nodded and started to turn.
Before she could change her mind, Alaina said, “Amos, you knew my mother, right?”
“’Course. I was born here. Ain’t ever lived anywhere else. Was here the night your mother was born and here the night she went away.”
“What was she like? I have these flashes of memory, but they’re so brief, and I...”
She what? Wanted to remember? She wasn’t sure. If she remembered the good times, then it might make her even more sad and angry that they were so few. If she remembered the bad times, it might make her even more sad and angry that they were so many.
“She was beautiful,” Amos said, “but I already told you as much. Thing was, with Ophelia, it wasn’t just her outside. Her inside was just as pretty. She was smart and funny but most important, she was kind. She had a big heart, just like her momma and daddy.”
Amos’s eyes misted over as he talked about her mother and she felt a lump form in her throat, that the crotchety caretaker still missed the girl he’d known.
“Well, I best leave you to it,” Amos said and left the kitchen.
Alaina watched him walk away and wondered how different everyone’s life would have been if her mother had lived. It seemed everyone lost when her mother died.
Everyone except her stepfather.
Chapter Ten
Carter made the lonely drive to the estate and parked his truck behind Alaina’s SUV. The evening sun cast an orange glow over the top of the swamp and onto the front of the house. His afternoon had been long and frustrating and the last thing he’d wanted to deal with was Alaina LeBeau. However, he’d made a promise to William and more important, his mother, and he wasn’t about to go back on his word. Plus, he had to make her aware of the situation with Jack.
He knocked on the front door, expecting to have to pound on it next if Alaina was off in the depths of this monstrosity, but he was surprised when the door opened seconds later. Even more surprising was the smile she gave him.
“Hi, there,” she said. “Come on in.”
Technically, he’d just accomplished most everything he had to accomplish. Alaina was on property, giving her credit for her first full day of occupancy, but her chipper attitude roused his curiosity, so he stepped inside.
“I’m getting the kitchen in order,” she said as they walked down the hall.
“You seem very cheerful for someone who’s cleaning.”
She laughed. “The day started off a little rocky, but I gave myself an attitude adjustment this afternoon. Now I’m on a mission to restore the house to the place I remember. It really was beautiful at one time.”
“I don’t doubt it. My mom says your mother was a woman of infinite class and exquisite taste. She’s never wrong about such things.”
Alaina grinned at him. “I really must meet your mom sometime. I think I’d like her.”
“Everyone does.”
He stepped into the kitchen and drew up short. “Wow!”
The cherrywood cabinets gleamed as if a coat of gloss had been applied to them. The glass fronts were crystal clear, showing the neatly stacked china inside. The stone countertops were polished to a high sheen and the stainless steel appliances appeared as if they’d never been touched before.
“He tried. Had three different women come out here for the job, but they all left straightaways. All got spooked by the place. Three women talking about haunts and such was enough to keep all the rest away.”
“Funny, William didn’t mention any ‘haunts and such’ when he was proposing that I come live here for two weeks.”
Amos rubbed his chin and nodded. “I expect William don’t believe in haunts.”
“Uh-huh.” Neither had she until she came here. And now...now, she didn’t know what she believed.
“Well, if you don’t need anything from me,” Amos said, “I got a toilet to fix on the backside of the house.”
“I don’t need anything, but thank you.”
The grizzled old caretaker nodded and started to turn.
Before she could change her mind, Alaina said, “Amos, you knew my mother, right?”
“’Course. I was born here. Ain’t ever lived anywhere else. Was here the night your mother was born and here the night she went away.”
“What was she like? I have these flashes of memory, but they’re so brief, and I...”
She what? Wanted to remember? She wasn’t sure. If she remembered the good times, then it might make her even more sad and angry that they were so few. If she remembered the bad times, it might make her even more sad and angry that they were so many.
“She was beautiful,” Amos said, “but I already told you as much. Thing was, with Ophelia, it wasn’t just her outside. Her inside was just as pretty. She was smart and funny but most important, she was kind. She had a big heart, just like her momma and daddy.”
Amos’s eyes misted over as he talked about her mother and she felt a lump form in her throat, that the crotchety caretaker still missed the girl he’d known.
“Well, I best leave you to it,” Amos said and left the kitchen.
Alaina watched him walk away and wondered how different everyone’s life would have been if her mother had lived. It seemed everyone lost when her mother died.
Everyone except her stepfather.
Chapter Ten
Carter made the lonely drive to the estate and parked his truck behind Alaina’s SUV. The evening sun cast an orange glow over the top of the swamp and onto the front of the house. His afternoon had been long and frustrating and the last thing he’d wanted to deal with was Alaina LeBeau. However, he’d made a promise to William and more important, his mother, and he wasn’t about to go back on his word. Plus, he had to make her aware of the situation with Jack.
He knocked on the front door, expecting to have to pound on it next if Alaina was off in the depths of this monstrosity, but he was surprised when the door opened seconds later. Even more surprising was the smile she gave him.
“Hi, there,” she said. “Come on in.”
Technically, he’d just accomplished most everything he had to accomplish. Alaina was on property, giving her credit for her first full day of occupancy, but her chipper attitude roused his curiosity, so he stepped inside.
“I’m getting the kitchen in order,” she said as they walked down the hall.
“You seem very cheerful for someone who’s cleaning.”
She laughed. “The day started off a little rocky, but I gave myself an attitude adjustment this afternoon. Now I’m on a mission to restore the house to the place I remember. It really was beautiful at one time.”
“I don’t doubt it. My mom says your mother was a woman of infinite class and exquisite taste. She’s never wrong about such things.”
Alaina grinned at him. “I really must meet your mom sometime. I think I’d like her.”
“Everyone does.”
He stepped into the kitchen and drew up short. “Wow!”
The cherrywood cabinets gleamed as if a coat of gloss had been applied to them. The glass fronts were crystal clear, showing the neatly stacked china inside. The stone countertops were polished to a high sheen and the stainless steel appliances appeared as if they’d never been touched before.
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